Black Operatives

"'Why do we always have to clean up a mess the grunts can't handle?'"The Black Ops, known in full as Black Operations, are a commando group of trained government assassins. They are briefly seen in Half Life and expanded in Half Life: Opposing Force. After the HECU, they invade the Black Mesa Research Facility to conceal any evidence of the Resonance Cascade.

They are divided into two groups: Female Black Ops and Male Black Ops. (Also known as Female Assassins and Male Assassins.)

Half Life
Female Black Ops are strikingly nimble and agile, able to sprint faster than any other enemy and can jump to extreme heights. They wear black jump suits and use night vision goggles that include a headset with a microphone, although none are ever heard speaking. They are armed with a silenced Glock 17 and grenades. At close range, they use an array of kicks to fight the player.

Half Life: Opposing Force
Black Ops are featured much more prominently in Opposing Force. The reason for their presence at Black Mesa is also explained, something that was never made clear in the original game. Opposing Force explains that, after the initial failure of the HECU's clean-up operation, the Black Ops are sent to cover up the whole incident by destroying the entire facility. To do this, they intend to set off a thermonuclear device within the complex. Adrian Shephard locates the bomb the Black Ops deliver in a parking garage and is able to disarm it, but shortly thereafter it is seen being reactivated by the G-Man. The flash of a nuclear explosion is later witnessed in the epilogue, indicating the successful detonation of this bomb.

Along with the Female Black Ops, Opposing Force introduced the group's male variant. Male Black Ops wear black combat gear and balaclavas that only expose their eyes. Some are seen wearing night vision goggles. Although not visible, they apparently have a communicator in their ear which they are seen listening to whenever they eliminate a target.

During game play, Black Ops are shown to have utter contempt for the HECU soldiers, considering them incompetent and inept. One assassin angrily remarks to another, "Why do we always have to clean up a mess the grunts can't handle?". The Black Ops are openly hostile towards Marines, killing any who have not yet escaped as part of their mission. While the HECU are aware that the Black Ops group exists, they are utterly confused by their arrival and wonder if they are there to assist. However, the Black Ops soon start killing all of the non-Black Ops personnel they can find. HECU radio traffic shows that the Marines are at first totally taken by surprise, much like how the HECU initially overwhelms the Black Mesa personnel. Further evidence of their viciousness can be seen after discovering a Marine engineer who, after being brutally beaten and interrogated, is simply left for dead, trapped in a garage.[3]

They are equipped with the same SMG with grenade attachment that the HECU use, but some male Black Ops have a M40A1 Sniper Rifle.

Black Ops soldiers can run much faster than the Marines. Up close, they use martial arts kicks and punches as melee attacks. Unlike Marines, Black Ops operate in total silence when in combat, refusing to even yell in pain.