(no subject)

[acts_of_gord]

Making his way to the target range through the jungle canopy was just a little too Viet Cong meets Tarzan for Gordon's tastes today. When he made his way back indoors he opted to take some time to make his next visit to the range worth all the fuss and bother- it's modding time. He might as well put the welding skills he learned for the bicycle to good use.

One almost-redheaded guy in nerd glasses and circled-lambda T-shirt doing terrible, terrible things to an unsuspecting Combine pulse rifle, over by the Window.



[tinytag: Gordon Freeman, Alyx Vance, John Vattic]

Comments

[vance_prime]

"Combine alloys don't take welds very well," remarks a passing Alyx. "They have a really high melting point."

[acts_of_gord]

"I've been learning that the hard way," says Gordon ruefully. "I'm starting to consider the possibility of superglue instead."

[vance_prime]

"And there's always duct tape." Alyx settles into a nearby seat and sets down her drink. "What is that you're putting on there, anyway?"

[acts_of_gord]

"A better sight," says Gordon. "They must have built the targeting system into Combine soldiers' implants, because there's nothing worth mentioning on the gun itself. How've you been?"

[vance_prime]

"Pretty well. I'm almost finished with the robot. The tricky part's going to be programming it... does the Bar loan out computers?"

[acts_of_gord]

"It might," Gordon says. "I've never asked. Every time I asked for something even remotely technologically complex, I got a pile of components and a note saying I should do the rest of the work myself."

[vance_prime]

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

[acts_of_gord]

"I've never had to make a bicycle from scratch before," says Gordon. "Replace components, sure, but that's something else. At least it taught me to use this..."

He holds up the welding torch.

[vance_prime]

"What did you want a bicycle for? There aren't a whole lot of places outside to ride..."

[acts_of_gord]

"Jungle wasn't there at the time," says Gordon. "And the singletrack in the mountains is incredible. I've never seen anything like it."

[vance_prime]

"The what?"

Mountain biking has fallen out of favor in Alyx's time, for obvious reasons.

[acts_of_gord]

"Trail about the width of the bike, or a little narrower," says Gordon. "I used to compete in races over that kind of trail. With the right bike under you, the experience is amazing."

[vance_prime]

"Hm." Alyx cocks her head to one side. "I've never had a chance to ride a bike before. What's it like?"

Part of her is genuinely curious, and part of her wants to continue on this topic because it seems likely to make Gordon smile more.

[acts_of_gord]

And it does, even if it's only a small one at first. "Like flying," he says, "but without all that distance to fall. And without the walls of some machine between you and the world around you. On some of the jumps I've taken it is flying, even if it's only for a few seconds."

[vance_prime]

Her smile is a little wistful. "Sounds like when I used to ride D0G. I'll have to try it sometime."

[acts_of_gord]

"Learning to balance in the saddle takes some repetition," Gordon warns. "I scraped my legs up pretty thoroughly getting the hang of it when I was a kid. I'd be glad to help you learn, though."

[vance_prime]

"I can handle a few scrapes," says Alyx. "Thanks!"

[acts_of_gord]

"You're welcome."

He doesn't quite grin, but it's close.