Vortigaunts

Vortigaunts are a resident species of the border world Xen, where they acted as hunter/gatherers at the top of the ecosystem. Being a very social and intelligent species, they use their connections to an unknown force known as the Vortessence to survive. During the events of the Black Mesa industrial incident, they were released into Earth during the various portal storms that appeared in their world. With the arrival of the Combine and the Seven Hour War finally ending, many Vortigaunts were captured and enslaved if they were not outright killed. Rumors began circulating under the leadership of Martreen that the Vortigaunt threat would return again, and not too soon after, they were proven correct.

Vortigaunt slaves/Biotics

Vortigaunt Slaves, otherwise known as Biotics, are the enslaved counterpart to their freed kin. They are significantly more numerous, commonplace in cities and are otherwise fairly timid. The shackles placed on them serve as dual-purpose for both preventing escape via a remote controlled shock collar, and for harnessing the Vortessent energy from a shackled Vortigaunt in order to power itself. It is incredibly difficult to remove these harnesses without causing them to trigger, and it is likely that most enslaved Vortigaunts will never see a day where they are reconnected once more.