There is pain and darkness, where moments ago there was nothing. It's cold and you can't breathe, every millimeter of your skin raw and spongy. You can feel things moving all around, covering and binding you, but you can't see them because you have no eyes. Your bulbous flesh writhes within a sarcophagus of hard metal, scraping at the walls surrounding you in primal terror. More pain, and vision comes to you at last, a pair of blue-tinged arrays stacked atop one another. The machine that gave you sight brings a mask to your face, and you take your first breath of sterile air in this new body.
The feelings begin to abate, wicking away from your mind like water on wax with the activation of your implants. Cold tendrils in your brain strip away the last ancient instincts screaming at you to fight, to kill the interloper, rip out it's- Your mind calms enough to remember why you're here now. The panels of the gestation chamber fold away from you, a pair of great metal arms placing you in the embrace of the Pod Synth that will sustain you until your deployment. The presence of another flows over your still-groggy mind, and you accept the connection.
Your current designation is Adjunct 3-A. You were awakened to manage one of the Combine's many projects on a pacified world. You recall now that this is not the first time your mind has been called upon to serve, and it will not be the last.
Adjunct 3-A is: (Pick two, all stats have +5 at base.)
[ ] Old.
Old enough to remember the Advisors still calling themselves Shu'Ulathoi, when the union was young and had only visited a handful of dimensions. You've seen the Combine in it's earliest, basest form and still continue to serve it all these centuries later. One lesser might struggle without all of the tools the Combine has since developed, but you? You've done this before.
+10 to Administration.
[ ] A Convert.
You weren't born to the Combine; your people were dying, starving in the wake of a star gone cold, the survivors huddled in the few nexuses of warmth left on your world. And then they came. Others feared them, their power and machines. You didn't. You stepped away from the light of the flame, and found peace. You find it easier to convince others to do the same.
+10 to Diplomacy.
[ ] Thoughtful.
Something was off about you from the very beginning, a spark, something the implants didn't take away. Even in the process of your duties your mind wanders, meandering through concepts and arriving at rather unorthodox solutions. While considered unusual, your effectiveness has more than proven your worth.
+10 to Research.
[ ] A Subjugator.
In the past your purpose has always been of growth, of expansion, of breaking demigod and infant race alike before the relentless machine of the Combine. A past incarnation of yours participated in the acquisition of this very world. Some small part of you is displeased that this is not your duty once more, but you know that the Combine will eventually have need of your skills again.
+10 to Tactics.
[ ] A Dreamer.
The psychic abilities of the Advisors are a known factor, enabling the Host bodies to effectively handle the leviathan task that is maintaining an Interdimensional Empire. However, ever since inception you've demonstrated a higher degree of affinity for such powers than your peers, no matter how many times your mind is transferred between bodies.
+10 to Psionics.
The task itself is relatively simple in scope, establish a presence in Section 26 of the target planet's surface, bring local Citizen populations back into the fold and begin resource extraction operations. This would fuel the construction of research facilities where you would supervise Impressed scientists in unraveling the various technologies left behind after the Combine intercession on this world.
Your initial research was to focus on: (Pick one.)
[ ] Recovered Black Mesa Facility Materials
Located with the grateful assistance of the Earth Administrator, these artifacts are distinctly lacking in surviving documentation, however what you do have indicates a number of breakthroughs of great desirability for the union, not the least of which being the long sought-after Intra-Universal teleportation. (Physics focus, eventual access to Black Mesa weapons and equipment.)
Unlocks an FTL option.
[ ] Xenian Exogen Biosamples
Hundreds, if not thousands of tiny vials, containing cell cultures of every single Exogen type the Combine has encountered over the course of it's twenty-year custodianship on Earth. Viromes, Parasitics, and all other manner of flora and fauna will find their place. (Biological focus, eventual access to cloning most Xen creatures. Xenian bio-compatibility will make the creation of new Synth types significantly easier. Basic Headcrabs and Antlion grubs are still available without this.)
Unlocks ???. Bullsquid
[ ] Arbeit Communications Hard Disk
Simply labeled 'GLaDOS alpha v0.10.10.07' in black marker, this unusually large data-storage device contains a truly staggering quantity of information, compressed and encrypted with means previously unknown to the Combine. (Mechanical focus, eventual access to Aperture technologies. Will require massive computing power to decrypt.)
Unlocks an FTL option.
To facilitate your efforts you were provided with a number of Construction Striders and Dropships, alongside a contingent of Transhuman Overwatch forces. However, due to the heavy presence of Xen-Mutated and Parasitized organisms within Section 26 you were able to acquire the usage of a second combat unit, in addition to your base garrison of soldiers.
You have an extra unit of: (Pick one.)
[ ] Heavy Synths
Some of your peers may define this as 'Overkill' given the circumstance, however a full unit of Combat Striders and Gunships would no doubt make quick work of even the mighty Gonarch, should one appear.
Gain a mixed unit of Gunships and Striders.
[ ] Light Synths
That being said, a subtler touch may be just what is needed to stabilize the area for your studies. The Hunters could weed out even the most elusive of Xen's creatures, and the accompanying Mortar Synths should be able to handle the larger organisms.
Gain a mixed unit of Hunter and Mortar Synths.
[ ] Overwatch Elites
Perhaps there is some merit in considering the Earth Administrator's point regarding the viability of the Transhuman Overwatch. The superior cognitive abilities of these soldiers would allow them to adapt to changing conditions independently of Overwatch commands, and should easily handle any potential Anti-Citizen activity in the area.
Gain a unit of Combine Elite Soldiers.
[ ] Combined Arms
Or, you could simply get more of the Transhuman forces regulars, and supplement them with the light ground vehicles and Hunter-Choppers normally utilized by Civil Protection. Inelegant perhaps, but no doubt effective.
Gain an additional unit of Combine Soldiers, and a handful of vehicles to support them.
With your decisions made, your Pod tucks itself into the Core of your future facilities, to be teleported across Universes directly to a prepared site in a former Urban center in Section 26. Little more than a bare frame around a Dark Fusion reactor and some Fabrication machines, it is from here that your work will begin.
That is it would have begun, had a 'minor' insurrection in City 17 not managed to disrupt the Interdimensional Network at the very moment you were being transported to the destination site.
(AN: This is very much my first time writing a Quest, or really writing in general, so as always C&C are appreciated. I don't know how frequently I'll update this or if I'll be able to keep up with it, but we'll see. I'm going off of my own headcanon for both Star Wars and Half-Life, so don't expect 100% canon compliance, though I will try. Voting will be open until 10:00PM CST this Sunday.)
