Project: Matrix

Chapter 2- Now Leaving Black Mesa

Chapter 2- Now Leaving Black Mesa

    Doctor Louis Berry sat at a computer in the security office under the warehouse next to the old teleportation labs. He was watching the two soldiers fight their way through the boxes toward the service elevator.

    Dr. Berry had a feeling they would make it out of the boxes. He kind of hoped they didn't because if they did, he would have to use the turrets to kill them and make sure they couldn't hurt anyone before Calhoun got back from the alien planet and everyone could safely leave. It seemed a pity to waste their fighting ability.

    He wondered why the government had sent the Marines to kill everyone. There was no reason for it, and it violated the constitution. Posse Comotatus. That was the constitutional guarantee that stated the military could not be used against American citizens.

    The two Marines were nearly half way through the chaotic path of boxes and they were un-injured as far as Dr. Berry could tell.

    The bigger of the two landed a vicious blow to a Vortigaunt, one of the lightning aliens, and sent it flying into a box. The thinner one, Dr. Berry saw he was a corporal from the stripes on his arm, tossed a grenade behind a corner of the box and Dr. Berry saw the explosion on another section of the monitor. The two soldiers moved around the box and disposed of the remaining aliens.

    Dr. Berry kept switching camera views to keep them in sight as they fought their way through hellish maze. They managed to smash their way out and sprinted toward the elevator. He quickly switched on the automatic machine turrets and much to his dismay; they pivoted and started firing at the aliens instead of the soldiers.

    The corporal hit that button and the doors closed just in time to stop a lightning bolt. The turrets mowed down the aliens and spattered their blood all over the boxes.

    Dr. Berry quickly tapped a few keys on the keyboard and switched the camera view. Every defensive turret between him and the elevator was now active. Anything that moved would be killed. Several alien Grunts appeared on the screen and ran past the camera. Dr. Berry turned it and watched them engage one of the turrets.

    The Grunts were very intelligent creatures and very tough. They quickly disposed of the first turret and ran around a corner only to engage a team of Marines. This time they weren’t so lucky. The soldiers launched a salvo of grenades from their MP5's and completely incinerated the aliens.

    Chunks of alien gore littered the hallway. The Marines scanned the ceiling for any more turrets. They relaxed when they were sure and started reloading grenades into the launching tubes of their guns. The troops systematically moved through the halls and took great care to take out the turrets.

    He realized he had made a mistake by activating all the turrets. It alerted the soldiers to them and now they were getting past them. He hoped Calhoun could get back in time to stop them before they killed everybody.

    He remembered that the other two soldiers were still on the loose and started switching through cameras until he found them climbing into a vent. These people were resourceful, using the ventilation system to get were they were going. That was unlucky for them though, because Dr. Berry could simply activate the Ventalation Cleanout System, or VCS.

    The VCS sent a blast of air down the shaft and blew anything to the end or the vent. Once that cycle was done, it would seal off the vents, and send super hot gas that had the ability to disintegrate anything that couldn't stand the heat. The metal that the vents were made out of was about the only thing that could stand the heat.