Major

The woman known only as The Major has been one of The Combine’s deadliest operatives for over a decade, but what she did before entering their employ is a matter of rumor, conjecture, and legend.

Some say she was a soldier in the Balkan Wars of the mid-to-late 90s who endured (or perhaps inflicted) some form of violent torture before attracting the notice of a Combine spy.

Others whisper that The Major was born and raised in a Soviet-era gulag, where she learned the art of survival amid the most hellish conditions on Earth.

Some even claim that she was simply an urchin girl picked up by the Combine in some Third-World slum and programmed to be their ultimate tool of violence.

Whatever her true origins, there are a number of indisputable facts known about The Major:

• She is a ruthlessly effective hand-to-hand combatant
• She is a brilliant tactician, having planned and overseen numerous successful Combine operations involving espionage, disinformation, and assassination
• She inspires fear, if not loyalty, amongst her subordinates

Though presumably those in the upper echelon of Combine leadership know who she is and whence she came, The Major has never alluded to any family or other emotional connections during her time as the cabal’s Chief of North American Security. She preaches a gospel of cold logic and constant challenge to her recruits, believing it is the only way to prepare them for a world ruled by injustice and chaos; a world she and The Combine plan to rebuild.

Perhaps there was once a place for love and mercy in her heart…but one look into her cold, gray eyes is enough to tell any foe, or ally, that it is long gone.