Justify the MeansJustify the Means logo.Part 5: The sum of our experiences.

Carl comes to in the infirmary with a bandage on his head. He looks to the side and finds Doc snoring. He gets up, noting to himself that he's getting tired of waking up with a stabbing pain in his head, and walks out. He passes the workshop, finding no one to talk to and realizing that everyone seems to have left, then notices the bloodstains on the ground and notes they could have at least cleaned that up. Carl goes for some fresh air and heads towards the pier. He sits down at the edge, holding his head, thinking that it feels like an elephant stepping on a mouse and that people are on edge, not too strange considering what happened. He adds that to them it must be hard to trust the Combine, but it isn't for him. He rationalizes that the soldier had been captured and was acting in self-defense. He guesses it's all about past experiences as the thumper rhythmically hits the ground. Four years earlier, six months into Combine occupation, Carl and a couple of roommates arrive at an apartment. One of his roommates comments that it isn't so bad and could be a lot worse. As Carl sits down and stares at a nearby bust of Doctor Breen, he thinks to himself that he's right, it could be a lot worse, and in fact is not even half as bad as the shelter he used to live in. Carl notes it's got heat, electricity, only cold water but it's got a lot less headcrabs and zombies, plus armed guards outside. Carl relaxes as he thinks it's safe there. Meanwhile, at the Citadel, Combine elite soldiers are watching the scerens.
A woman checks on a man, telling him to try not to move and that he's bleeding pretty much but she thinks it's just a flesh wound. Another man asks if he's gonna live and she replies she thinks so. The man on the floor bleeding is Adams, who groans in pain. The other man retorts that that's too bad. Adams asks that the woman help him up. They approach a crowd who are standing nearby, watched by Combine elites. Adams asks where they are and the woman tells him they don't know, they brought them by train. She explains that a guard comes out every now and then and brings someone into a sideroom. The other man explains they don't come back, though, and they've taken twenty of them so far. The guards approach and notice a couple holding hands. One of the guards orders the woman to come with them. The man begs them that he needs to know his wife is safe. He tells them he needs to be with her. The Combine elite stares at the woman for a moment, then points a gun at her face, as the husband implores him not to.
The gun goes off, then the guards drag the man out, who screams at them to let him go and calls them bastards. Suddenly, a citizen makes a move at the soldiers, who go on alert and fire at him. The man falls on the ground but turns around, revealing a grenade in his hand. He declares they can all fuck off and detonates the grenade. After a moment of darkness, Adams comes to in a walkway nearby. He looks down at his wound, then at the empty walkway, and back at his wound. When he looks back up again, a stalker, a cadaverous slave of the Combine walks towards him slowly. He recoils in shock but the stalker simply walks past him, not noticing him. He stands to the wall for a moment in shock, then proceeds.
Adams walks across the walkway and looks up. The Citadel's interior towers above him, full of prisoner pods. He stares gobsmacked at the terrifying grandiosity of the Combine. Back in the present, Adams oversees the pier. A Combine scanner flies over the rebel base unnoticed, registering three lifeforms moderately armed. The scanner completes its evaluation and flies away, reaching a soldier across the sea on a bridge. The scanner transmits its data at the head soldier. Another Combine approaches and asks for their orders. The soldier orders that they transmit to base, requesting deployment permissions, full squadron 2, Gamma flame, plus Airwatch deployment units and Overwatch augmentation forces. He concludes by diagnosing the transmission, ordering to prepare for surgical strikes along the grid. End of part 5.

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