Half-Life: Opposing Force

A game by Valve Software

Written by: Randy Pitchford & Stephen Bahl Edited by: Brian Fuller
Valve Software 1998, all rights reserved

Foreword

Half-Life, which debuted in 1998, revolutionized the first-person shooter genre. Even to this day, it remains one of the most-acclaimed video games of all time. Having received over fifty game-of-the-year awards, it has been hailed by both critics and players alike as a giant within the art form. Though Half-Life presented intuitive gameplay mechanics and real-world immersion, what brought Half-Life such success was more likely its natural dialogue and robust narrative. Half-Life: Opposing Force sought to build upon the successes in the original, telling the same story but from a different perspective. While in Half-Life players stepped into the shoes of Dr. Gordon Freeman, this time they will view the Black Mesa incident from the perspective of Adrian Shephard, a soldier on the opposing force. In this edition of the Half-Life: Opposing Force script, I have compiled material from numerous sources to provide the most detailed, organic presentation of the games dialogue and narrative to date. Character emphasis has been italicized, in order to give due weight to the delivery provided by the games voice actors. I have also attempted to naturally streamline contextual dialogue, communicating in-game events with brevity and clarity. Whether you are a writer looking to glean some inspiration from this timeless classic or merely a fan of the series seeking to improve your understanding of the games events, you will surely find plenty to entertain and enthrall within this edition. I wish you all the best and sincerely hope you enjoy Half-Life: Opposing Force. Best Wishes, Brian Fuller, Esq.
SUBJECT: Adrian Shephard, Male, Age 22 TRAINING: United States Marine Corps, Special Forces RANK: Corporal COMMANDING OFFICER: Sergeant Dwight T. Barnes CURRENT ASSIGNMENT: Hazardous Combat Unit, Santego Military Base, Arizona MISSION: Classified As the game begins, soldiers are being transported in a helicopter. In the background, Adrian Shephard can hear the pilots talking with headquarters. Headquarters: Okay, Goose Seven, proceed to sector one-one-two-l-z and rendezvous with alpha-bravo-tango, over. Goose Seven: Copy that, HQ. Two soldiers in the helicopter, Tower and Jackson, joke about their upcoming mission. Tower: Hey, man, where the hell are we, anyway? Jackson: Well, a pilot thought we were heading to your mothers house. So far, this all looks familiar. Tower: Thats real cute, Jackson. Jackson: Anytime, anywhere. Tower: Hey, man, you smell that? Jackson: Smell what? Tower: Smells like, smells like another babysitting job to me, man. Jackson: Ha! No shit, man. Soldier 1: Babysitting job, my ass! This has training mission written all over it. Why else would they have kept our orders from us for so long? Tower: Yeah, what the hell is that all about? Throwing our asses in this hunk of junk and not even telling us where were going in, man.

Sergeant: Do you have a problem, private? I will give you your orders when we have reached the LZ. You got that, soldier? Tower: Sir, yes sir! Jackson: Well, I dont really give a damn what were going in for, as long as I get to kill me something. Soldier 1: I heard that. Goose Seven: Watch your vector, Goose 3, its getting little tight in here. Goose Three: Roger that, we copy. Tower: Man, if this is another search and rescue operation Im going to be pissed. Jackson: Yeah Im going to be pissed too when I got to search and rescue your sorry ass. Goose Seven: Anyone out there got a good view at LZ? Whiskey Six: Negative, Goose Seven. I can see activity up there, but I cant tell what it is. Tower: Hey Shephard, I think Jackson has got the hots for you. Jackson: Screw you, Tower. Soldier 2: Hey, you sleeping over there you want me to fluff your pillow for you? What the hell kind of mission is this, anyway? We didnt even get a briefing before take-off. Goose Three, the nearby helicopter, is attacked. Sergeant: Okay, listen up, people! We have an extremely hostile situation on our hands. Goose Seven: Holy shit! Goose Three is down. Goose Three is down! Headquarters: What the hell is going on out there? Whiskey Six: Watch it, Goose Seven. Youve got something coming up on you. Sergeant: Recon has not been able to determine the amount of opposition, so lets keep this tight. Your mission is to getGoose Seven is hit by a rocket. Adrian plummets to the ground still trapped within the chopper. Sergeant: Shit! Goddamn it! Adrian loses consciousness upon impact. He wakes in a medical facility, but quickly leaves.
Scientist 1: Oh, youve woken up. Corporal Shephard, is it? I read the tag on your uniform. Im glad to see my life saving efforts werent in vain. I cant say the same for him. Im afraid you have been through a serious accident. Most of your friends didnt make it. I was hoping that you soldiers had come to rescue us, but now it seems we are all in the same situation. I think I saw a radio near the crash site where I found you. Perhaps you can go there and radio for help. The scientist indicates dead and wounded soldiers nearby. Scientist 1: Im afraid these troops arent going to make it. I hope you have better luck out there, or I fear none of us will get through this alive. Scientist 2: Id give my right hemisphere for a few hours of sleep. Scientist 3: Do you recall any of those emergency survival procedures? Up ahead, Shephard comes to an airlock. A security guard inside wont let him in until he has geared up. Security 1: Sorry, Shephard, sir. See, now, I was told not to open this door for you until you agreed to help us. Besides, you wouldnt want to go out there without your armour vest. I left it for you where the other soldiers are getting treated. Just, you know, come on back here when youve found it. Scientist 2: These crab creatures have a unique parasitic strategy, dont you think? Scientist 3: Have you ever seen such a magnificent species? These crabs can completely control their hosts nervous system. Can you imagine what the next stage of mutation looks like? Shephard puts on his armour vest and returns to the security guard. Security 1: Ok, Shephard, I see you found your power vest. That should keep you safe out there. See, now, Ive heard rumours that you troops may not actually be here to rescue us. Just dont forget about us out there! Ready? Okay, Ill let you through now. Good luck, sir! Personally, I think if we could find more soldiers like you, wed make Canada cry. Up ahead, Shephard finds a radio near the crash site. Radio: Shephard, youre alive! Listen, weve been cut up pretty bad and orders are coming down to pull out. Repeat pull out! Apparently, they have other plans with Black Mesa now. If you can make your way through the transit system, you can probably reach the surface where were pulling out. Good Luck. Go through the transit system to the extraction point. Go noThe radio operator is apparently killed. He screams and then goes dark. Shephard boards the Black Mesa transit system. An intercom provides a corrupted welcome message.

Intercom: This train is inbound (sparks) from (sparks) from Sector C (sparks). Please keep your limbs inside the train at all times. If you have an associate, an associate, with a background in the areas of (spark) the, the (sparks), the, theoretical physics, biotechnology or other high-tech (spark) disciplines, please contact our (sparks) Civilian Recruitment Division. A re, re, re, re (sparks), a reminder to all Black Mesa personnel re, re, regular radiation and biohazard (sparks) screenings are a requirement of continued employment in the, in the, in the (sparks) in the Black Mesa Research Facility. Do, do, do (sparks), and do not attempt to open the doors (sparks) until the t, t, train has (sparks) come to a complete halt at, at, a (sparks), at the station platform now arriving at, at, at (sparks). Shephard exits the train and finds a security guard with his hand stuck in a vending machine. Security 2: Yummy candy! Stupid machines! Why dont these ever seem to work? Hey you, you wouldnt have a quarter I can borrow, would you? Upstairs, Shephard comes to a locked door. Through a window, he sees a young security guard and another scientist talking. Security 3: Have you seen the new IG88? Scientist 4: No, I havent, but a friend of mineSecurity 3: What the heAn alien soldier appears. Security 3: What is that, doc? Scientist: 4 I dont know! Ive never seen that species before. Security 3: Its okay sir. I can take him! Took a little damage, but I can make it. Well I, I got hit pretty hard. Scientist 4: No! I dont want to die! The security guard succumbs and the alien teleports the scientist. Security 4: Those poor bastards. Shephard breaks the glass on a nearby door. Inside the room is a scientist. Scientist 5: Oh, no, you are one of them. Cant we just get along? Radio: All units, retreat to the rally point. Retreat to the rally point. Orders have been changed we are pulling out. The safety of any units left behind cannot be guaranteed. Up ahead, Shephard finds a battlefield commander.
Commander: Come in, Cooper. Do you copy? Forget about Freeman. Were abandoning the base. If you have any last bomb targets, mark them on the tactical map. Otherwise, get the hell out of there. Repeat, we are pulling out and commencing air strikes. Give us targets or get below! Ah, Shephard, youve made it. I take it you didnt find Freeman? Forget it, Corporal. Were pulling out. The air strikes have started. Get to the hanger while we await evacuation. I said, get to the hangar. Shephard, thats an order! On his way to the hangar, Shephard finds a soldier attempting to interrogate a scientist. Soldier 3: Where is Freeman? We dont have time to mess around here. Scientist 6: Youve got to believe me. Freeman could be anywhere! Soldier: Im not letting you go until you talk! Outside, Shephard finds a dying soldier. Soldier 4: Youve got to get out of here. Listen to me, Shephard. Those things killed all of us. Shephard soon finds a scientist in hiding. Scientist 7: I dont know whats worse you soldiers under orders to silence the facility or these wild aliens. When all the fighting started, I hid myself here. I dont think any of the others have survived. Radio: Corporal Shephard, weve been left behind. We are on to your position now. Stand back from the maintenance door were going to blow it! Soldiers blast through a nearby maintenance door. Soldier 5: Looks like somebody really screwed up, Corporal. It seems the brass bit off more than they can chew. Soldier 6: Yeah, well, forget about Freeman! We got to save our own asses. Soldier 5: You with us, Corporal? Radio: Mayday! Mayday! Anyone copy? This is Tango Charlie (static) and we are under attack. Repeat, Black Operators (static) immediately. Over! Up ahead, Adrian meets a medic. Medic 1: Shephard, what the hell were you doing down there? Listen, we need to get our asses down to the extraction point near Lambda sector. With any luck well even get a shot at Freeman on our way out. Now, this transit system should take us there, but the door is sealed up pretty tight. Jeez, where is an engineer when you need one?

Soon, Shephard sees two Black Operations soldiers. They dont notice him nearby. Black Ops 1: Why do we always have to clean up the mess the Grunts cant handle? Black Ops 2: Tell me about it. I just want to deliver the package and get out of here. Black Ops 1: Yeah, sooner or later the Grunts are going to figure it out. Shephard passes by, and comes to an engineer bleeding out. Engineer 1: Corporal, I dont think Im going to make it. I need a Medic, bad. Shephard grabs the medic and sends him to help. Medic 1: Dont worry, soldier, Ill have you fixed up in no time. The medic heals the engineer. Engineer 1: Thanks, doc! Soldier 7: Corporal, what the hell is going on here? Nobody told us about Black Operations in the mission briefing. Soldier 8: Yeah, I mean, we are all on the same team, right? Soldier 7: Im not sure what their mission is, but we need to keep moving. Theres got to be a transit car somewhere on these tracks. Security 5: Im not sure I can trust you, but I dont know what else to do at this point. If you make it out of here, dont forget me! Scientist 8: Oh Dear, put that thing down! Why must you security guards always insist on playing with our prototypes? Security 6: Huh! Whats this? Some sort of transporter gun? Scientist 8: Be careful! No, not again! The security guard causes an explosion, and Shephard keeps on moving. Up ahead, he finds a trapped scientist. Scientist 9: Im afraid I trapped myself here to escape those beasts. Would you be so kind as to operate that transporter? Adrian moves the scientist to safety. Scientist 9: Thank you for releasing me. I can help you access any security area in this lab.
Soldier 9: Dont go in there, Corporal, that monster wiped out my squad. Shephard finds a hologram. Scientist 1: Ah, yes, Walter, we were finally able to successfully detach one of the barnacle creatures from its point of gestation. As before, we were still only able to coerce the creature into latching onto organic materials. Unfortunately, the administrator called me down to the Anomalous Materials Lab this morning for an important experiment, so I dont have time to further my analysis. Take specimen number one-one-seven-six and log anything else you can find. Radio: X-Ray-Zulu, are you there? We need back up in the waste sector. Some sort of worm creature. Tower and Eddy are down and Ive lost contact with the rest of the squad. We need backup now! Now, damn it! Now! Shephard eliminates the monster and finds some soldiers pinned down by snipers. Soldier 1: Hey, man, good to see you! Whoa, I cant believe you made it past those messed-up freaks. Soldier 2: Those snipers have pinned us down here pretty good we tried making a break-trough, but they know we are here. Theyre just waiting for their shots and those bastards are patient. Soldier 1: Yeah, Id love to turn the table on those guys. Get my hands on one of those rifles and show them a thing or two about patience. Soldier 2: Hey, with you here, now, we have the element of surprise on our side. Theyre not expecting three of us. Shephard eliminates the snipers and comes to a locked gate. An engineer stands nearby. Engineer 2: Its Shephard! Hey, stand back and Ill cut it. Were going to need your help. Engineer 3: Shephard, oh, man! We thought you might be out already. Engineer 2: Its good to see you, sir its a real mess out there. I mean these things are coming out of the damn walls. Isnt a way around them either they just keep coming. Engineer 3: We may just have enough fire power to push through, now. At the very least, we can give it our best shot. Engineer 2: I heard about some kind of big standoff at the damn up ahead. I say we make our break, now. It isnt going to get any better, thats for sure. And I bet they could use our help. Up ahead, Shephard finds another soldier.

Soldier 3: Shephard, I dont know what those Black Ops guys are up to, but it doesnt involve getting us out of here alive. Weve got no choice but to fight our way out. Lets go! Radio: Adrian, is that you? Listen, were holed up across the motor field. Were pinned down by a group of Black Ops. Well open the bunker door, but you better get over here quick. Security 1: Now, dont hurt me. I, Ill tell you a secret. Ive been hiding up here listening. These Black Ops have some sort of bomb. I think they plan to blown up the base. Now, why do you think they would do such a thing? Shephard comes to a locked door. On the other side is a security guard. Security 2: Are you crazy? Im not opening this door until someone turns that bomb off. Up ahead, Adrian finds some Black Ops soldiers arming a bomb. Black Ops 3: Be careful with that thing one false move and this whole facilitys gone. Black Ops 4: Ive got it covered. You just keep your eyes open, there are still some targets running around out there. Black Op 3: Get down! I hear something. Shephard eliminates the soldiers and disarms the bomb. Security 3: Uh, that was a close one. You better get in here. Security 4: Its not going to be easy from here on now. The only way out is through the Level 4 Storage Unit, but its a mess down there. The Black Ops were using it as a staging point until the aliens came in. If you do make it through, make sure you have them come back for us. Security 5: I guess youre a good guy, Corporal. Listen, youve got to get down below. There is something coming through, and its the nastiest looking thing yet. Some of your buddies went down there a while ago, and I havent seen them since. Ive got some weapons Ive piled up in here you better take as much as you can carry, because I think this is it. Good luck, Corporal. Shephard slays a truly gigantic alien creature. As soon as the deed is done, the G-Man appears and teleports him away. G-Man: So, Corporal Sheppard, we meet at last. Please don't think that I've been avoiding you - a great many matters require my attention in these troubled times. I do hope you understand, and now I require a further indulgence on your part. I cannot close my report until every loose end has been tied up. The biggest embarrassment has been the Black Mesa facility, but I think that's finally taken care of itself.

The G-Man shows Shephard a nuke impacting Black Mesa, destroying the facility. G-Man: Quite so. But there is still the lingering matter of witnesses. I admit that I have a fascination with those who adapt and survive against all odds. They rather remind me of myself. If for no other reason, I have argued to preserve you, for a time. While I believe a civil servant like yourself understands the importance of discretion, my employers are not quite so trusting, and rather than subject you to the irresistible human temptation of telling all, we have decided to convey you somewhere where you can do no possible harm, and where no harm can come to you. I'm sure you can imagine there are worse alternatives. The G-Man steps through a portal, leaving Shephard alone in the dark. SUBJECT: Shephard STATUS: Detained, Further Evaluation Pending The game ends.