Barney Calhoun
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Life at Black Mesa
Barney Calhoun was originally a security officer assigned to the Area 3 Security sector of Black Mesa. His job often involved sorting out maintenance issues as well as standard security patrols and posts. Since this assignment included the Area 3 Anomalous Materials labs, Calhoun came into contact with both Dr. Gordon Freeman and Dr. Isaac Kleiner, and he formed strong friendships with both. This even bred races with Dr. Freeman through the ventilation system to get into Dr. Kleiner's office when he managed to lock himself out of it.
However, once the resonance cascade commenced, Barney Calhoun was isolated and hurled deep underground as the elevator he was in crashed. Having to fight his way back to the surface, Calhoun learnt of a plan to escape Black Mesa and rescued Dr. Rosenberg, a reseach associate from the Anomalous Materials labs and creator of the scheme. The plan revolved around using the early prototype teleportation equipment to move outside the base, but required Calhoun to go to the border world, Xen, to properly align the equipment. After returning successfully, Calhoun was able to teleport out with the small team of scientists and escape, but not before witnessing his friend Dr. Freeman captured by the HECU soldiers assaulting the facility.
A Different World
Although much of his activities after Black Mesa are unclear, it becomes apparent that in the wake of the Combine invasion and occupation of Earth that Calhoun put his experience in security to use as he joined the Civil Protection force in City 17. However, he was in fact working undercover as part of the resistance, using his Civil Protection access to help people to escape the city.
When Dr. Freeman returned to the current scene, Calhoun aided his old friend in reaching Dr. Kleiner's lab. After the assault on Nova Prospekt, the citizens of the world rose in revolution, and Calhoun became one of the major resistance commanders in City 17, successfully attacking multiple Combine targets, and with the aid of Dr. Freeman, destroyed the Overwatch Nexus in City 17 before setting up a staging area for an assault on the Citadel itself.
In the wake of the destruction of the Citadel's dark energy teleporter, Barney Calhoun began to plan the evacuation of City 17 with Dr. Kleiner, Dr. Eli Vance and his daughter Alyx. With the assistance of Alyx and Dr. Freeman, Calhoun successfully managed to evacuate a very large majority of the citizens of City 17 using the railway network before the Citadel exploded from the damage it had sustained. The last known sight of him was on the last train of evacuees leaving City 17. He still owes Gordon Freeman a beer.
Appears in
- Half-Life -
Retconned in Blue Shift to be the guard knocking on a door early in Black Mesa Inbound. The line "Catch me later, I'll buy you a beer" is occasionally spoken by security guards in Anomalous Materials when the player attempts to speak to them. - Half-Life: Blue Shift
- Half-Life 2
- Half-Life 2: Episode One