A Vortigaunt Breakfast - Half Life 2 Fan Fiction Thread - Writer's Club

Hi all

I quickly wrote this for lead modder Joure (1187 mod), as he wanted to see an example of my writing. Enjoy.

A Vortigaunt Breakfast
By Henry Swanson

They'd arrived by planetary shuttle only yesterday, narrowly escaping the team of Combine assassins sent from the Tower on Lix-15. A search-and-destroy mission. The rebels who had saved them said they'd meet up later on this evening.

They were safe for now - but also very hungry.

"This place is amazing, Kastan.. I can't believe the diversity of alien beings here."

The old Vort made a low grunting sound, which Gordon had taken to indicate a cross between a polite smile and quiet agreement. Vorts did not have or really need individual names, but often invented them "Out of respect for the limited cognitive capacities of humans." This always made Gordon laugh. Kastan was over four hundred Earth-years of age, but in their many recent fights together his powers of biocosmic energy projection were still incredible to witness - and if you were on the receiving end, simply terrifying.

"As usual, the Freeman is corr-rect. This location holds many life forms, many shades of being - a rich tapestry of Vortessence, a delicate co-existence woven from many distant life-threads. The tribes you see here represent at least one third of this galaxy's inhabitantsss."

"Please, tell me about them all as we walk through the plaza", said Gordon.

The plaza was buzzing with activity - it was a beautiful morning and the twin suns of Amarr and Sigg glowed brightly on the misty horizon. Brightly colored flags of all kinds hung from the parasitic vines which grew between the stone buildings, blowing in the gentle breeze which drifted in from the purple mountains East of the city.

Hundreds of alien voices filled the air - some of which Gordon recognized from his many travels. A myriad of wooden stalls had been set up, selling an incredible variety of foods for the local inhabitants. These - as Gordon quickly began to notice - were pungent smelling and often disturbingly alive.

There was a small tug on his arm. Gordon turned around.

"Freeman, this is a noble T'saknarri warrior." The Vort held his main set of claws together in greeting to a tall, thin alien creature which was checking out food items on a nearby stall. It looked around at Kastan and made a loud, happy-sounding noise in return. Armed with some kind of crystalline energy spear which made the air crackle, it appeared to Gordon like it had evolved from a cross between a dangerous house plant and a pile of skinny orange plastic coat hangers.

"When forced to attack", said Kastan, "the T'saknarri can enter your mind - and eat it from the inside out. Most effective against Combine foolish enough to challenge her, yessss."

Gordon blinked twice. This was a she?

The female creature turned suddenly to face him and he took a step back in alarm. Suddenly there was a large birthday cake floating in the air between them, with brilliant white icing and blue frosted trim. On top there was a lower case Greek letter made of marzipan - 'Lambda'. A single lit candle was stuck in the middle of it. A memory from his distant past, clear as day and twice as strange.

"What the.."

It suddenly popped out of existence. And with a polite bow to Kastan the creature gently shuffled off with its spear under one arm, chewing enthusiastically on what appeared to be - and unfortunately smelt like - a freshly baked headcrab.

"Wow", Gordon said. "I just saw a large floating birthday cake."

"It looked quite moist and delicious, did it not", agreed the Vort. "Just like the one's the good Dr. Kleiner tries often to bake."

Gordon laughed. That particular microwave back at Black Mesa was a complete wreck. "Come Freeman" said Kastan, "Let us wander this morning plaza and talk of plans for a hearty breakfast, worthy of our many adventures ahead."

An entire alien world to explore.
An infinite variety of life-and-death challenges to meet.
Deadly cyborg-ninja assassins to beat up.

Gordon only hoped he could find a decent cup of black coffee and some jelly donuts, somewhere on this remote planet before lunchtime..

"Hot donuts, hmm yesss" said the Vort.
"Where?" Gordon said, his stomach growling.
"Ah no" said Kastan, "I am miss-taken. Most unfortunate. These are the round living nasal secretions of the humble creature tending this stall. The Freeman might find them unworthy of a good eating experience."

A single exotic bird flew silently overhead. Gordon sighed; this was definitely going to be a long day.