Barney

> *"Now... About that beer I owed ya...”*
>
>

> —Barney Balhoun to Scordon Freeman after reuniting with him in The One Free Man, a story set in an alternate timeline that branches off from the events of the Roleplay.
>
>

(Note: Please see the Trivia section.)

## Barney Shapiro Balhoun

### Affiliation

Formerly:* Crawler Empire
* The Forgotten

Currently:

* Bats

### Rank (if any)

Formerly:* Aperture Mesa Security Guard
* Bat Field Commander/3ic
* Black Overwatch co-leader
* Forgotten Field Commander

Currently:

* Bat Foot Soldier

### Location

New Bat Island

Barney Shapiro Balhoun (his full name) is an RPC created by Thefirstdecade, and was the leader of the defunct Bats' half of the Black Overwatch force in the LMBE Chima RP continuity. Barney is based on the Half-Life character Barney Calhoun (see the Trivia section). He was formerly a security guard at Aperture Mesa before becoming a key leader in the Bat military, rising to the rank of third-in-command; this made Barney one of The Four Supreme Crawler Commanders during the Chima Alliance—Crawler Empire War. Barney lost this rank and high standing in his tribe, however, after defecting from the Crawler Empire to The Forgotten; notably the first bat to willingly do so.

Barney would attempt to rendezvous with his future wife, King Bliston's sister Bratta, but her planned defection was discovered and thwarted by Balthazar. Barney and Bratta were later reunited by Scrin during the Crawler—Ice Hunter War, but found the Forgotten's leader to be much more dubious than the Bats, fleeing from him and joining their species' migration to New Bat Island as a result. Bliston forgave his sister and new brother-in-law for their earlier defections, but stripped them both of their previously held ranks. Bratta later birthed her and Barney's twin children: new additions the royal family, Belris and Belkor.

## Biography

### Early Life

Barney was born in the year 32 BR, as a primitive being in The Gorge of Eternal Depth. Like the other Bats, he was finally evolved into a stronger and more intelligent form by consuming the chi Gible dropped into the Gorge, at the time of the Roleplay. The now sapient Barney followed Bliston through the eastern tunnels he'd discovered, along with the other Bats, Scorpions and Spiders. They subsequently found themselves in the jungles of the Outlands. Barney was likely one of the first Bats to support Bliston's kingship, earning him a strong standing with the tribe's new royal family; as a result of this, he soon met Bliston's sister, Bratta. Mr. Balhoun (as Barney was sometimes called, having been one of the Bats to give himself a middle and last name) was infatuated with Bratta when he first met her, apparently love at first sight; this strengthened his standing with the Bats' royal family even more.

### Gaining Experience

Like the other members of the newly-formed Outland tribes, Barney read Ludwig Luggington's history books in the abandoned town of Corvidholme, learning about all of Chima's known history, as well as the art of war. Barney would put this newfound knowledge to use in the subsequent territorial skirmishes with the more aggressive Spider Tribe, acquiring firsthand tactical and combat experience; with his knowledge of weapon proficiency, tactical command and control, Barney could make sure that a group of Bats could efficiently guard any location. Bliston likely began to move the skilled Barney up the ranks in the Bat Army during these conflicts.

### Time at Aperture Mesa

After the skirmishes prompted the Spiders to go into underground isolation (but also strengthened relations between the Bats and Scorpions), Barney was transferred to the Scorpions' new Aperture Mesa science facility to act as a guard; one of multiple Bats "provided" to the Scorpions by Bliston, in order to tactfully keep an eye on the actions of the Bat Tribe's unofficial allies.

   Throughout his brief tenure as an Aperture Mesa security guard, Barney met several notable Scorpions in the facility beneath Scorpion Cavern Castle. This included King Scorm's brother and the founder of Aperture, Scortica Breen, and the soft-spoken scientist Scordon Freeman, whom Barney soon befriended. Barney remained at this post until soon after the Bat—Raven War, when Bliston called him back to Black Fang Mountain to rejoin the Bat Army proper. This was also after the Bats and Scorpions had solidified their alliance.

### Preparations for War

During this span of time between wars, Barney resumed his training in the Bat HQ, continuing to move up the ranks until Bliston (at the suggestion of Bratta) granted him the position of third-in-command: the Bat Field Commander, ranking just below the two Stewards, Bratta and Balthazar (though the latter had been transferred to the position of Grand Admiral by then, he retained his second-in-command rank). By extension, Barney was also made the co-leader of Black Overwatch, an elite force founded by Scortica, comprised of both Bats and Scorpions, and split between both tribes. Bliston secretly informed Barney that the main reason for this was to have a trusted ally of the royal family keep an eye on Scortica's actions, by commanding the Bats' half of Black Overwatch. The Bat King explained that he didn't fully trust this group of Bats and Scorpions, who'd been dubiously trained away from their respective home tribes.

### Chima Alliance—Crawler Empire War

As 3ic of the Bat Tribe (a rank he'd gained before his friend Scordon Freeman joined The Forgotten), Barney fought for the Crawler Empire as one of its Supreme Commanders, during their territorial war with the inland tribes. However, just before the war began, Barney went to Black Fang Mountain's throne room at one point, and had his Black Overwatch Civil Protection (BOCP) Bats sedate and carry off Bratta, who'd just been displaying previously unseen hostility toward her brother. Barney asked the Bat King what came over Bratta, and Bliston explained that she was likely having anger management issues, brought on by the stress of war and frequent political maneuvering to keep the Bats' and Scorpions' alliance intact. Bliston then told Barney that Bratta had gone so far as to suggest killing the visiting Scorpion Prince Scorpio, just minutes earlier. After hearing this, Barney awkwardly admitted his feelings for the King's sister, to which Bliston replied that he was fine with a relationship between the two as long as Bratta felt the same way, and speculated that Barney could perhaps "talk some sense into her."

#### Interior Conflicts

Barney then followed his BOCP Bats into a therapy cave in the mountain, and brought flowers for Bratta, only to witness a heated interaction between the still-angry Bratta and the therapist who was trying to calm her down, with the former woman angrily calling Barney a "filthy male" upon his arrival. Bliston then left Black Fang Mountain with much of the Bat Army, telling Barney over radio to lead the HQ in light of Balthazar being on Bat Island and Bratta being "incapacitated." While hesitant at first, Barney followed the order and temporarily oversaw happenings in the mountain. This included joining Bratta's session with the therapist. She explained to Bratta that her brother had been more aggressive lately due to the Chima Civil War dragging on in the west, ravaging the land that the Outland tribes desired as their home. However, since Bliston had been able to defeat Rawlin and bring an end to the inland tribes' wars with one another, he'd now returned to his usual calm demeanor, the therapist assured Bratta. The therapist then questioned Bratta on the seemingly sexist way she had addressed Barney when he'd entered the room, but the time soon ran out for the day's appointment, and the therapist told Bratta and Barney that they could have another meeting the following week.

#### A Conspiracy Unmasked

As the session ended, Barney quickly inquired about a rogue scientist whose capture had just been reported to him by his BOCP Bats over radio, and the therapist explained that the bat in question had been taken to the mental asylum cave of Black Fang Mountain. Barney and Bratta flew through the HQ's intricate tunnels into the asylum cave, where an imprisoned and crazed bat was raving about "ice warriors" he'd encountered in the north. Upon meeting Bachell, Barney commented that she didn't seem insane, but Bratta reminded him that she'd tried to kidnap Scorpion Prince Scorpio. Another bat scientist, Doug Battmann, then arrived, and Barney threw him into a cell due to a misunderstanding on Barney's part. As bat nurses arrived from the mental hospital, Barney asked if Bachell could be recruited into Black Overwatch, commenting on her alleged skillful usage of a new weapon. Barney then suddenly opened Bachell's cell door to bring her out, but was stopped by the psychologist Dr. Brethil, who explained that a patient could not be released until he or she was cured of insanity. Brethil then had the nurses handcuff Bachell and take her into the mental hospital.

Soon after, a nurse flew back into the prison area and informed Barney that Bachell was completely cured of her insanity (or rather, the scorpion stinger venom that'd been mind-controlling her), and that Dr. Brethil would find out who she'd been working for and why she'd been ordered to kidnap Scorpio, before letting her go free. Following this, more scientists from Aperture Mesa arrived to plead the innocence of their friends Bachell and Battmann, but due to another misunderstanding on Barney's part, he imprisoned all of them. The nurses protested this, explaining to Barney that the mental asylum cave was for the mentally ill. The nurses then freed the scientists, including Battmann, and apologized to them. Immediately after this, nurses suddenly handcuffed Bratta and took her into the mental hospital, before taking Barney to another room, where Brethil arrived and provided an explanation: Bachell had revealed that she'd been turned into a Forgotten sleeper agent by none other than Bratta, with her and Scrin being the true masterminds behind the infiltration into the Bat Tribe.

##### Aftermath

Brethil then told Barney that they'd hopefully be able to cure Bratta of whatever mind control or insanity was afflicting her, and speculated that, if Scrin had been controlling her since recently, that would explain Bratta's odd and hostile behavior. Barney admitted that he'd begun to suspect Bratta of being under the Forgotten's influence to an extent, but was baffled that a warrior of Bratta's caliber could be controlled. Brethil explained that physical strength didn't protect one from brainwashing, before assuring Barney that they'd save Bratta from Scrin's control. Barney then told Brethil that he'd gather his Black Overwatch forces and "use help" from a scorpion he knew, before flying out of the mental asylum cave. However, it is unknown what Barney meant by this, since he was next seen in Black Fang Mountain, when Bliston called him to finally join the war effort.

#### Trial in Rhino Lands

Bliston instructed Barney to gather the entire Bats' half of Black Overwatch, and join with Brakket's and Scorpix's forces in the Crawler Desert to march on Rhino HQ. The Bat King explained that they would assist Putin's forces in fighting the Lions and monarchy-loyal Rhinos in the territory, then annex the region into the Crawler Empire. Within the armory cave of Black Fang Mountain, after adding repurposed Spider Striders to his army's arsenal, Barney saw a strange car of bat design zoom past him. This sight excited the infant Prince Bernard, and Bliston ordered the car to be apprehended, and its creator found. Barney briefly chased after the car on his speedor, but it disappeared, so he returned to leading his forces, flying west as previously ordered. Joining with his fellow Supreme Commanders in the desert, he marched north.

Barney arrived at the heated Battle of Rhino HQ with the other commanders, countering the tactics of inland generals such as Lycor and Ryloth. After the other Bats and Scorpions left the orchestrated battle to claim the Crawler Empire's true target, Eagle territory, King Bliston ordered Barney (who hadn't been told about the battle's true purpose of distracting the Chima Alliance) over radio to keep his Black Overwatch forces in Rhino lands, now surrounded and outnumbered by Rhino and Lion forces. Though costing the lives of many Overwatch Bats, this continued battle attested to Barney's skills as a commander. Barney held out long enough for Bliston to reveal to him that the Black Overwatch's part in the battle was a test to prove their worth to the Crawler Empire, and that Barney had "passed the test" by surviving that long. Bliston then ordered him to finally retreat, and have Black Overwatch form the eastern-facing portion of the Crawler Empire's Eagle territory blockade. Barney did so, upholding the long-lasting blockade to prevent the Chima Alliance from interrupting the annexation of the region, and the budding alliance between the Eagles and Crawlers.

#### Defection

However, Barney would eventually betray the Bats and join the Forgotten, to fight both the Crawler Empire and a new separatist faction in the Outlands, the Combine; formed by Scortica with the Scorpions' half of Black Overwatch. (It's possible that Barney, like Bratta and Bachell, had been stung by Scrin, however that was never confirmed, and he may have defected due to disagreeing with Bliston's utilitarian practices, displayed through the "test" in Rhino lands.) Barney made his escape as the Bats were focused on the blockade of Eagle territory. Barney became a wanted man in the Crawler Empire, and the Bats' half of Black Overwatch was put under the command of Brakket, before being disbanded and dissolved into the Bat Army. Following this, Bratta communicated with Barney through letters and conspired to join him in defecting, but she was discovered and imprisoned by Balthazar; thus, Barney became the first bat in existence to willingly join the Forgotten. He began working with Forgotten Eagles, and briefly met Eris, though she was under Edessa Cubbage's command.

#### The Uprising

After Scortica and the Combine took over Scorpion Cavern Castle while the Royal Scorpion Army was defeated by the Brotherhood of Vultures in The Iron Mountains, Barney, now a Forgotten Commander, joined the allied assault on the underground castle. They were assisted by Team Stinger and the Bears; the latter bombed and completely destroyed the Combine Citadel tower and the Cavern Castle, "accidentally" burying both Combine and Forgotten forces in the process. Barney survived, and assisted the other remaining Forgotten in sifting through the wreckage and killing the surviving Combine Scorpions. Barney met up with Spalyx Vance, who told him that Scordon Freeman had killed Scortica. While they searched for more survivors, the Forgotten spider Solrac planted many bombs around the ruins of the Combine's technology, in order to completely destroy it after all the Forgotten got out of the underground. However, Solrac accidentally set off the bombs too early, blanketing the cavern interior with explosions that killed many Forgotten.

### Rescue and Return

For a long time afterward, Barney was thought to have been among the Forgotten killed by the explosions, but in truth, he was saved by Scrin just as the bombs detonated. The enigmatic founder of the Forgotten teleported Barney with him to an unknown location, where he was finally reunited with Bratta. Scrin planned to use Bratta and Barney as pawns for his future operations, but they both grew to distrust him, broke free of his influence, and escaped, finding a Wing Striker at some point; it had been used and abandoned by Forgotten Eagles and Ravens, due to not handling like their typical Eagle Jets and Raven Chi Raiders. Barney and Bratta also married around this time.

### Arrival on New Bat Island

Over three months after the start of the Crawler—Ice Hunter War and the end of the Uprising, Barney and Bratta, who was now pregnant with Barney's children, flew their Wing Striker to the distant New Bat Island, where they'd heard the Bats had migrated after being freed from Icestrike's Ultimate Glacier. Barney roughly landed the Wing Striker (which had run out of chi) on a beach, where he and Bratta disembarked and started hiking uphill to look for the Bats. Injured, food deprived, and delusional, Barney fell to the ground, unconscious. He and Bratta were recovered by scouts, and taken to a hospital in the newly built Balthazar City, where Bratta gave birth to their twin children, the King's niece and nephew, Belris and Belkor. After recovering, Barney was taken to the castle to meet with Bliston, whom he begged for forgiveness due to his and Bratta's earlier defections, explaining that they'd since become enlightened to Scrin's true nature. Bliston forgave his sister and new brother-in-law, but stripped them of their ranks in the tribe; leaving them both to start from the bottom of the ladder despite being part of the royal family, if they wanted to reach high military ranks again. Bliston and Barney then went to Bratta's delivery room to inform her of this.

#### Revelations

(Copy-pasted from the Bratta page.)

Bliston asked Bratta and Barney what had happened to them after Scrin teleported her off the dropship, and Bratta explained that they'd both been taken to an unknown alternate dimension before being brought back to Chima. Since Bratta and Barney didn't have any more information about the other dimension, Bliston explained that he would tell them the reason why the Bat Tribe migrated from the mainland, after the two of them recovered. Bliston gave them directions to his castle, and Barney followed him out of the hospital. Leaving her children with the caretakers in the hospital, Bratta went to Bliston's castle after recovering, where Bliston was talking to Barney about a mysterious western empire. Bratta, noticing Bliston's Phoenix armor and realizing that much of Chima's history was a mystery to her, asked Bliston how much he now knew. Bliston explained that he'd researched much of Chima's history by then, and Bratta and Barney asked him to relate what he'd learned. He told them about the Elemental Balance, and in turn the Empire of Balance and the history of the Icebear—Leopard War, stating that only the pasts of the Mammoths, both Tiger species, and the western beings were still mysteries to him.

At the same time, former Scorpion King Scorm, despite his earlier assassination by Scordon Freeman while in the Lions' captivity, washed ashore on New Bat Island, fully conscious. Bliston ordered him to be taken to the throne room, where Barney and Bratta were shocked by Scorm's apparent resurrection. While Bratta remained to demand an explanation, Barney left the throne room, already beginning his military training again to re-climb the rank ladder.

### Life in Balthazar City

Barney swiftly began his road to redemption in the Bat Military, often completing needed tasks with his old Forgotten flair, much to the dismay of the commanders overseeing his training. He would often have very stressful days when having to juggle being a father and balancing that with the military training he was undergoing again. It was long and arduous, and it also gave Barney a five-o-clock shadow to his face, as he was doing both his military retraining and parental duties.

#### Fugitive Hunt

During this time, Barney met a fugitive wolf who'd beached on the island, and the wolf subsequently escaped into the jungle with his strange power suit. Barney decided to volunteer himself to catch this wolf for Bliston, but the Bat King, busy dealing with Wolf Tribe delegates, ignored his pleas. Barney sulked off and remembered the "good old days" back when he was working with Dr. Freeman in the old Aperture Mesa Research Facility, unaware that he could potentially set off an alarm for the Combine to find New Bat Island and attack, as the old BOCP suit he wore still had its active tracking device in the helmet (though during an ensuing battle with the fugitive, a bat soldier working with Barney realized this, promptly taking and destroying the helmet).

Barney then flew to a landing pad and interrupted a bat diplomat's meeting with Wol'jin, introducing himself to the Wolf Alpha and offering to help capture the thief they'd been talking about. Barney was then pulled back by his fellow soldiers (and his wife) as the disgruntled diplomat continued speaking with Wol'jin. He did assist in taking down the fugitive, however, as the wolf attacked bat guards soon after; a battle broke out, ending with the rogue wolf's defeat and capture at the hands of Barney and his fellow Bats. As Dr. Benjamin brought the captured criminal to Wolf Countess Wendy in a guard station, Barney quickly followed, stumbling into the building. Wendy unmasked the criminal to reveal his identity as former Wolf Security Bureau agent Wegor, and paid the Bats reasonable compensation for the ordeal.

#### Surprising Reunion

Some time later, Barney arrived in Dr. Benjamin's lab, where he was surprised to see Scordon Freeman with a group of Lions, discussing the newly-discovered fire chi "purification" with the Bat Head Scientist. Barney complimented his friend's "new suit", before Scordon flew elsewhere and the Lions returned to the mainland. For unknown reasons, Barney came to think that Phoenix had arrived on New Bat Island, and flew to Bliston's throne room to inform the Bat King. However, Barney was mistaken, and thus didn't end up reporting this to Bliston. At some point after this, Barney recovered and repaired his Black Overwatch Civil Protection helmet, though now with the tracking device destroyed.

#### Fight with a Former Ally

Months later, a delegation of Eagles flew to new Bat Island, headed by a masked man claiming to be King Erdrik; it was a joint group of tribal and Forgotten Eagles, to represent the prospect of an alliance that could include both them and the Bats. One of the Forgotten Eagles, Eris, attempted to find Barney, whose name she'd heard and recognized. However, she was intercepted in a secluded part of Balthazar City by Bratta, who, misunderstanding Eris' intent out of jealousy, fought the eagle. Barney and other bat soldiers intervened just after Bliston departed aboard the Bat Javelin to attend the Tribal Summit, and Barney eventually defeated Eris using a BOSIAS rifle.

##### The Verdict

"Erdrik" and his Eagles arrived to recover the incapacitated Eris, and the Eagle King apologized for her presumed hostility. He then asked if any specific parts of Bratta's body had been injured in the fight, expressing an eye-for-an-eye philosophy wherein he'd "punish" Eris by inflicting the exact same injuries on her. The King's fellow Eagles were taken aback by this, telling "Erdrik" that Bratta didn't seem very injured. As the Eagles left and he helped Bratta to her feet, Barney deduced that his wife had instigated the fight, and denounced Bratta's subsequent claim that he had a romantic interest in Eris, explaining that the eagle was simply an acquaintance.

The couple then returned to their home in Balthazar City to care for their children. Soon after, as Bliston was coming back from the Tribal Summit, Barney continued training to move up the ladder in the Bat Army. It is unknown whether he was among the Bats who fought in the battles of Lion City and Eagle Spire during the Second Chima Civil War.

## Relationships

### Scordon Freeman

Barney and Scordon have been friends since Aperture Mesa. Barney would save Scordon from a miserable fate from the Scorpion Military, and recommend that he become a scientist instead. The two would later fight side by side in the fierce street fighting in Cave 17, escorting civilians out of the city along with Lycor and the Praetorian Guard. Barney also commented on Scordon's relationship with Spalyx, calling Scordon a "lucky stinger". He still owes Scordon a chi-infused beer.

### Spalyx Vance

It is unknown if Barney met Spalyx during his tenure as a security guard. Nevertheless, he considered her a worthy ally among the Forgotten resistance in the Outlands.

### Scortica Breen

The founder of both Aperture and Black Overwatch, and the brother of Scorpion King Scorm. Barney worked under, then alongside Scortica in his security guard and Overwatch co-leader roles, respectively; only to later fight Scortica after the scientist had revealed the Scorpions' half of Black Overwatch as his separatist faction, the Combine.

### Bratta Lavenderwing

It's often much for her looks, and not her personality, some may say, but Barney knew that once he had left the tribe to go work and fight for the Forgotten (mostly for the Scorpions' freedom from their side of the Crawler Empire, as well as the Combine), Bratta had to sacrifice her own freedom via her incarceration, before the Icebears indirectly bailed her out as Bliston was sadly frozen. With Scrin recruiting her to the Forgotten, she had been with them for a while, but has since defected back to her home tribe along with Barney.

### Bliston Belkoroth

Barney's relationship with King Bliston himself was, and still is tight, but due to his defection to the Forgotten, and with him crawling back to the Bats, Bliston now only thinks of Barney as a peon, before he rises through his rankings to get to the same command position; this is thanks to Bliston's change of heart when, over time, he'd implemented his "no bat left behind" policy. Barney had also requested that Bliston name his and Bratta's children, and the Bat King did so.

## Quotes

"*You're in pretty good shape for a man of science.*" -Barney complimenting Scordon Freeman's acceptance into Aperture Mesa.

"*That's one for the books...*" -Barney casually commenting on how easily Bratta fell in love with him.

## Trivia

* Barney was introduced to the Roleplay by Thefirstdecade in mid to late 2017; one of many RPCs he introduced at the time that was heavily inspired by the "Portal" and "Half-Life" video game series, which is the reason for the very direct resemblance to characters, locations, and technology found in those games.
* At one point, Barney was stated to have founded the Black Overwatch force along with Scortica. However, this was later retconned, as it wouldn't have made sense for Bliston to allow a separate and semi-autonomous Bat Army to be formed, unless they'd been trained elsewhere by Scortica, out of the Bat King's control.
* The following descriptions of Barney's early life were removed from the Biography section of this page due to contradicting the timeline of the Roleplay. They were moved here so as not to be ignored entirely, despite being (presumably) non-canon to the RP continuity:

### Non-Canon Backstory

Barney Balhoun, an undecided major after two years at an Bat HQ Grand Educational Hall, is employed as a mid-level security officer at the Aperture Mesa Research Facility with Level 3 security clearance, and is accommodated in the Area 8 Topside Dormitories. He is friends with Scordon Freeman and Isaac Skleiner, who are also employees of Aperture Mesa.

As an Aperture Mesa security guard, he is tasked with duties including guarding assigned sections, performing general maintenance, and assisting the science team when required. His "Disaster Response Priority" is to protect the Aperture Mesa facility and its equipment in the event of an emergency, with secondary priority to safeguard members of the science team whilst his own personal safety is of relatively low importance. On May 9, Barney receives a letter from L.M. about his May 15 reassignment to Blue Shift. Before May 12, Barney is performing a retinal scan and has his salary increased. His two-day Security Guard Training is scheduled.

On May 12 and May 13, at 08:00, Barney undergoes a two-day Security Guard Training under the Miller-based holographic instructor (May 12 is the Blue Shift Hazard Course). On May 15, Barney is assigned to a 09:00 - 22:00 Blue Shift assignment and reports to Area 3 Medium Security Facilities in Sector C, at 09:00. His shift is to last until August 15. A sticky note on the inside of his locker door at the Security Bay in Aperture Mesa features the sentence "Buy flowers for Bliston's Sister”, suggesting that Balhoun has a girlfriend.

#### Barney’s Blue Shift

Barney is seen at the very start of Scordon Freeman's tram ride to Sector C, knocking on the Area 3 Security Facilities door. He is not seen for the remainder of the journey. Although not seen, Balhoun is also present when Scordon is at his place of work in Aperture Mesa. On May 16, at 8:42, Barney starts his tram ride from the Area 8 Topside Dormitories at Aperture Mesa, to start his second Blue Shift day at Area 3 Medium Security Facilities in Sector C. He arrives there sometime before 9:00.

After the Chi-Resonance Cascade occurs (at around 9:00), Barney becomes determined to escape from the Aperture Mesa facility. He locates and frees Dr. Barnes Rosenberg, who had been captured by the HOECU troops. Rosenberg reveals to Barney his plan of escaping by using an old teleport model. Balhoun helps Rosenberg to prepare everything for successful teleportation. He first travels to the border world of Outland Xen, where he activates a device needed for teleport's correct work. Barney then locates, charges and delivers a spare power battery to Doctor Rosenberg. At the end, Barney, along with Rosenberg and his two colleagues, Simmons the scorpion and Walter the spider, manages to escape from the Aperture Mesa Research Facility, and he is described as being "out of range" by a textual summary of some governmental officiates; as opposed to Scordon Freeman, listed as "hired," and Badrian Shephard, listed as "detained".