Model Write-Up #7 - The Gonarch Pod

"Gordon was, initially, little more than unsettled by the seething horde of headcrabs, zombies, and advanced Combine technology splayed before him. It was the same reaction he always had - he was still just a scientist, after all - but compared to the trials faced on Xen, and since then, there was nothing special about the scene. Then, something else caught his eye - an alien-looking contraption, almost out-of-place with the comparatively smooth and efficient design of the Combine technology around him. This, too, would not warrant more than a second glance from him, were it not for the quivering mass located at its epicentre. It pulsed and bubbled in a disgusting, off-putting manner. It reminded Gordon of a horror film he'd once scene, where an alien lay underneath the chest of its victim, ready to burst forth. Sure enough, as he watched the contraption with a mixture of interest and disgust, a yellow substance leaked from a small hole, and an infantile headcrab tore its way out from the sack. Immediately, Gordon saw images inside of his mind - a helpless creature, held up by Combine technology, squirming and squealing to be let free, as a cutting saw edged closer to it. He could not tell if it were telepathy or merely something he'd seen and put out of his mind, but as the saw blade cut into the sack on the underside of the creature, and an unearthly screeching assailed his ears, he could only guess at the latter. A single word came to his mind.

Gonarch.

The four legged headcrab matriarch he had fought and defeated on the border world was, evidently, not the only one of its kind. Its explosive demise ensured that fact - the Combine must have abducted another, and made "use" of it, as they do much of natural xenobiology. A creature Gordon had almost felt sorry for having killed - it was a creature purely of instinct, and one which could have offered so much in scientific knowledge. What he saw before him, however...

It would have been a fairer fate for him to have extinguished the only Gonarch, than for this to await other members of the species. He took a breath, reloaded his firearm, and then steeled himself for the upcoming confrontation."

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