[CHAPTER_TITLE_HERE]

[ice_broken]

Perimeter breach detected.

Lonely ; I'm Mr. Lonely

^HELlo? is ANYone there?

I have nobody for my own

Identifying organics.

/searching...
ACCESSING PERSONNEL DATABASE.

I'm so lonely ; I'm Mr. Lonely

So many people...so many friends. Do they miss me? Does anyone remember me? Will I cease to be when I am forgotten?

wish I had someone to call on the phone

Identification complete.

RESULTS: search indicates intruder(s) contain no more than ZERO (0) Aperture Science personnel.

RESULTS NUMBER TWO: search also indicates that no more than ONE (1) intruder(s) match known records for Aperture Science Biogenetic Preservation Program.

I'm a soldier ; a lonely soldier

You're not like the _others. Do you want to play?

away from home through no wish of my own

We remember them. From the broadcasts. The enemy wants them dead. Enemy of my enemy of my enemy of my enemy...

that's why I'm lonely ; I'm Mr. Lonely

...makes them _a ^Friend? I've always WANTed a ^Friend...

I wish that I could go back HOME.

Comments

[acts_of_gord]

Whatever is going on in here, Gordon's not hearing it. There's only so much time before the facility on shore blows itself to bits, and they've got an essentially unconscious wounded man to move onto an unfamiliar vessel. Heisenberg only knows how many hostiles might be somewhere on board...

But they don't really have a choice, do they.

"Come on," he murmurs, though whether it's to one of the women or to the bloodied Marine they've got to carry, he doesn't know. "We can do this."

[vance_prime]

As they clamber onto the upper deck of the Borealis, Alyx notices, in a distant sort of way, that the ship's starboard side is still embedded in a hunk of iceberg. You'd think the Abrams Island staff would have taken care of that at some point.

Most of her attention, though, is focused on Shephard's to-pale face. "We've gotta get him below decks..."

[subject-lj-here.livejournal.com]

Chell nods, looking around before looking back to his face. "Hypothermia--I don't want to risk getting him sicker because of the cold. Is there a door?"

[acts_of_gord]

"Is there something we can put him on top of?" Gordon says. "He'll be easier to move if I can use the gravity gun, but I can't latch onto his vest."

[vance_prime]

Alyx looks frantically around the deck. Nothing here that would really serve as a stretcher, unless they could tear apart one of those big crates--

Ice clatters down from above as a headcrab rocket clips the edge of the iceberg.

"We don't have time for this! Come on--" She shifts her grip on Adrian and starts moving toward what she hopes is a door spotted out of the corner of her eye.

[subject-lj-here.livejournal.com]

Chell follows suit and adds, "If you can use the gun to keep the path clear, that could help." Her voice is clipped, though, from the effort it costs to help carry Shepherd, but she'd never admit to it being a bit of a struggle.

[acts_of_gord]

Gordon nods grimly- this is not a time for words- and starts flinging whatever he can find out of their way. In the back of his head there's a timer counting down; that Aperture building's going to blow any minute now, and they have to be clear of it...

[vance_prime]

Running while you're carrying someone's legs, and while the person in front of you is walking backwards carrying their head, isn't the safest or easiest thing to do. But Alyx is doing it anyway.

Mercifully, the dark rectangle she saw earlier turns out to be a door after all. She practically flings Shephard through it, sagging to the floor just inside the door.

[subject-lj-here.livejournal.com]

Chell holds on to the Marine, keeping his head safe before collapsing to catch her breath. For once, she doesn't even pay attention to the room she's now in -- it's more important to rest for a few seconds.

[ice_broken]

The room, on the other hand, is paying attention to her. And to the other three humans that have just entered.

Something whirrs in an upper corner where the walls and ceiling meet, and fluorescent lights flicker on. The 'room', it turns out, is a narrow corridor decorated the same sparse, sterile style that seems to be Aperture Science's trademark--albeit with half the lights burnt out and a number of rust and mildew stains creeping up from the corners.

A stilting, synthesized soprano voice crackles from an unseen speaker:

"Hello and welcome to the Aperture Science High Latitude Research Vessel Borealis. I am the Prototype Interface and Disk Operating System version 0.8.6.3.8b. You may refer to me as 'PIaDOS.'"

[acts_of_gord]

What Gordon knows of Aperture Science, he knows from this island, a handful of job interviews and two other sources. One of them is next to him now. The other was GLaDOS.

After what they've been through, that name... does not inspire confidence.

"Ah," he says, and, "Hello."

He'll be mentally running through their options for running like the wind now. Just in case.

[vance_prime]

Alyx knows of GLaDOS only through Chell's testimony. That's more than enough to put her on edge. Plus, the voice is just similar enough to that of the Combine Dispatch announcer to be extremely unnerving.

"...hi?"

[subject-lj-here.livejournal.com]

Chell hears the words 'Aperture' and something in her is immediately triggered, a sort of fight-or-flight instinct that she's known ever since she awoke. The fact that this PIaDOS sounds like a younger version of GLaDOS doesn't exactly help matters.

She manages to force out a weak "...Prototype?" while trying to fight past the shock.

[ice_broken]

"The Aperture Science Prototype Interface and Disk Operating System is designed to monitor and control all of the ship's operations,"

the voice responds.

"This allows the Borealis to run smoothly and safely with minimal human involvement, leaving onboard personnel free to perform research with the highest level of productivity. If you have any further questions about myself or the ship's operations, simply input a request at any of the interface panels conveniently placed throughout. Thank you, and have a pleasant voyage."

[acts_of_gord]

"Take it you don't know this one," Gordon murmurs. "Think there's anyone still alive on board this ship?"

[subject-lj-here.livejournal.com]

"While you're dying I'll be still alive..."

[vance_prime]

Alyx puts a (hopefully) comforting hand on Chell's shoulder before looking up at the ceiling. "We have a wounded man here," she calls in the general direction from whence the voice came. "Where's the ship's medbay?"

[acts_of_gord]

There's no answer.

Gordon glances down at Shephard, who's looking like... well, like Gordon's felt more than a few times since Black Mesa... and looks up into the corner the voice came from again. "Guess we need to find a panel," he says, and fumbles with his suit's lighting control. "Where would they put one? ... Chell, are you all right?"

[subject-lj-here.livejournal.com]

She nods a little, and peers around in the dark room. "Just trying to get my thoughts straight. Getting everything else out of my head but the mission."

[vance_prime]

"I think that might be it," says Alyx, pointing to a flat-panel monitor set into the wall at one end of the corridor. "Just a sec--"

She stands and strides over to it. "PIaDOS?" she asks in a slow, clear voice, brushing a finger across the monitor as she does so. (It doesn't look like a touch-screen, but...)

[ice_broken]

The first message lingers on the screen: "Yes?"

(The second, however, remains only for an instant. A blink of the proverbial eye:

"That's my ^NAME, don't wear it out..."

)

[vance_prime]

Alyx blinks in surprise several times before speaking. "What's the quickest way to the ship's medbay from here?"

[ice_broken]

"Passage to the medical bay is currently unavailable. Aperture Science would like to apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, especially death," the machine promptly spits out in response.

[hecu_marine]

"No death," Adrian suddenly mumbles. "Didn't... this f... no dyin'."

Given that even with the bug juice in him he's still working against headcrab neurotoxin delivered directly to an area with an awful lot of blood vessels it's kind of impressive he can say that much.

[subject-lj-here.livejournal.com]

"Adrian?" Chell turns away from Alyx to give him another once-over. "Don't listen to that... machine. We'll be fine. All of us."