Third Tiberium War

"I want you to have the privilege of starting the Third Tiberium War, the war to end all wars... Go ahead, my son. Push the button. Inscribe your place in history with the blood of GDI."

- Kane to the Nod Commander, following the attack on Goddard Space Center

The Third Tiberium War is the third and most destructive global conflict between the Global Defense Initiative and the Brotherhood of Nod. During this war, Earth came under attack for the first time by an extraterrestrial race known as the Scrin.

Background
Unbeknownst to most, Kane was not killed in the end of the Second Tiberium War, but merely incapacitated by Michael McNeil, with his body retrieved and placed in a stasis tube for regeneration. CABAL, after being reactivated by Anton Slavik, turned against humanity, but was subsequently destroyed by combined Nod and GDI forces. However, a cluster of tubes that powered it with bio-energy, and which hosted Kane's injured body, remained untouched. Remnants of CABAL's memory seemed to have merged with Kane's conscience, expressing disappointment at Nod and GDI's lack of understanding of their plans.

Nod power struggles


Kane would continue to remain in stasis until 2034, when his body recovered to the point it could live without relying on external support, but he still wore a mask to cover his facial injuries, most likely the same ones from the end of the First Tiberium War. The Nod leader emerged into a world where the Brotherhood broke into multiple mutually warring factions. Anton Slavik, his second in command, was killed by a fanatical Black Hand follower loyal to Marcion, who succeeded Slavik as the leader of the Black Hand and who was among the first to break off from the Brotherhood and denounce Kane and his teachings. Marcion traveled to Australia and gained a sizeable following with a respectable armed force.

Seething with anger, Kane activated LEGION, an AI based on CABAL and fragments of the Tacitus, and ordered him to incite rebellion in Rio de Janeiro to rally loyal followers. The disillusioned populace rose up against stationed GDI forces and rogue Nod warlords in the area were beaten into submission. With some basic support established, Kane dispatched LEGION to Australia, where it secured Brotherhood archives on stealth technology seized by GDI, and brought Marcion's renegade Black Hand faction back into the fold. This act provided Kane with a figurehead who would rally most other detached Nod forces back under his banner, which was the basis for recovery and further expansion of the Brotherhood's armed forces.

After this, Kane ordered the destruction of a GDI liquid Tiberium research facility in Australia, which triggered a detonation so powerful that most of the country was converted into a Red Zone. LEGION was shut down in order for Nod researchers to upgrade and expand its capabilities, while the Brotherhood as a whole kept a low profile in the coming years.

GDI's shift of focus
In the thirteen years that followed, Nod maintained a low profile in GDI's eyes all the while the latter grew complacent and overly dependent on their orbital facilities and defensive platforms. Despite protests by high-profile veterans like Nick Parker, GDI shifted its focus to the containment of Tiberium instead of military goals. By 2043, 60% of GDI military bases worldwide were shut down due to decreased Nod activity.

A prediction during the Firestorm Crisis that Tiberium contamination would cause the Earth to become toxic to human life within a year did not come to pass, possibly due to GDI's technological breakthroughs in Tiberium abatement, most notably the discovery of Tiberium's vibration frequency, which allowed GDI to break up Tiberium crystals using sonic resonators. However, by the 2040s, Tiberium growth once again became a threat.

By this time, the world map was split to zones based on Tiberium infection. 30% of the Earth's surface was designated as Red zones, where Tiberium had transformed the surface into an alien-like environment and could not support human life. 50% of the surface was designated as Yellow zones, areas partially contaminated by Tiberium that contained most of the world's population. These areas suffered decades of war and civil unrest, leading to a state of social collapse and decaying infrastructure. Nod operated virtually unchallenged in these areas, using them to conceal their operations and recruit new members. The remaining 20% of the surface was designated as Blue zones, with little to no Tiberium contamination and were considered the last refuge and hope of the civilized world. GDI's sonic technology was able to keep Tiberium in check in these zones, and even converted the Yellow Zone around the German city of Munich into a Blue Zone named "New Eden".

Course of the war
(Note: The following summary assumes the completion of all bonus objectives for every mission.)

Opening volley
In March 2047, InOps had downgraded Nod threat level to "Low", predicting another decade of peace. While most of GDI's leadership was attending the Annual Energy Summit aboard the GDSS Philadelphia, a Nod vehicle disguised as a produce truck detonated itself at a security checkpoint in North Carolina before it could be searched, and satellite recon revealed evidence of a Nod base in the area. The GDI Commander in charge of the forces on the eastern seaboard, acting on orders from General Jack Granger, led a recon team to the North Carolina badlands. While there, he uncovered a large Nod base and destroyed it using an ion cannon. General Granger realized that Nod has been planning a major offensive, but was unable to inform the Council of Directors in time due to the ongoing summit.

Unbeknownst to GDI, Nod had located a weakness in GDI's seemingly invulnerable ion cannon network after a strike team led by LEGION raided GDI's Johannesburg research facility in 2046 : the control system for the network was located on the ground in the Goddard Space Center, a poorly defended installation. A Nod Commander handpicked by Kane for his loyalty to the Brotherhood was chosen to lead the attack.

At roughly the same time as the battle in North Carolina, the Nod Commander launched his attack on the Goddard Space Center, cutting off the communications and breaking through GDI's defenses with a group of Nod's best soldiers. By the time GDI reinforcements arrived at the facility, the A-SAT control center had already been destroyed, paralyzing GDI's anti-missile defenses and ion cannon network. Impressed by the Commander's performance, Kane allowed him to launch the nuclear missile that would destroy the Philadelphia and begin the war.

By the time GDI officials realized what was happening, it was already too late. The Philadelphia, holding GDI's most important civilian officials, was destroyed. Kane interrupted a news broadcast on the Philadelphia's destruction and revealed himself to the world once again, issuing a declaration that the Blue Zones would run red with GDI's blood. Right on cue, Nod forces worldwide launched assaults on every Blue Zone in the world, meeting little to no resistance.

Invasion of the Northeastern Blue Zone
"The Philadelphia was only the beginning. Our forces will spread like a great plague across the earth. Every Blue Zone will feel our wrath. But for you... For you, my son, I have reserved the most important mission of all: taking the Northeastern Blue Zone. We have a secret attack force awaiting your command. You must show no mercy, for GDI deserves none."

- Kane

As Nod forces all over the world began attacking every Blue Zone across the globe, the Nod Commander responsible for the attack on Goddard Space Center was given the most important task of all by Kane: taking the Northeastern Blue Zone. For this task, he was given control of a secret attack force based in North Carolina.

One of the first targets hit by the Nod Commander was the White House. While it was little more than a tourist attraction by 2047, the attack served to distract GDI forces from more important targets, and the sight of Nod banners hanging over the White House dealt a serious blow to GDI morale. Nod forces also destroyed a nearby GDI logistics center. Also, as part of a coordinated attack on all GDI airbases in the region, the Nod Commander launched a surprise attack on Andrews Air Force Base, denying air support to GDI.

After these two missions, the Nod Commander launched an attack on Hampton Roads Shipyard, the largest naval base in North America. Under his command, a commando (who had infiltrated the base in a shipping crate) destroyed the aircraft carrier GDS Pathe docked at the base, the sole remaining provider of GDI air support in the eastern seaboard, allowing Nod to bring in more troops and take over the ports. With Hampton Roads in control, Nod was able to bring in supplies and reinforcements in bulk, paving the way for an attack on Washington DC.

With a flood of reinforcements arriving at Hampton Roads, Nod was poised to take Washington DC. The Nod Commander launched an attack on the outskirts of the city, decimating the GDI defenders. It seemed that Nod was about to claim its first Blue Zone. At this point, however, Kane departed Temple Prime to prepare for the next phase of the campaign and left the Commander under the command of Kilian Qatar, his second in command and the architect of the Philadelphia strike. Qatar congratulated the Commander's progress, but warned him that they have awoken a sleeping giant, and that GDI's retaliation would test their resolves.

With the destruction of the Philadelphia and the fall of Reykjavik, the Pentagon became GDI's last remaining worldwide command center. Fortunately for the GDI, the Commander who led the mission in North Carolina successfully rallied forces in the area and defended the Pentagon from a vicious Nod assault.

With the Pentagon secured, the GDI Commander moved on to other hotspots in the region. He led an amphibious landing near Langley Air Force Base to reinforce a small GDI outpost, recaptured the GDI airfields, and destroyed the Nod forces there, restoring air support for GDI forces.

In order to stop Nod reinforcements, the GDI Commander was ordered to eliminate the Nod forces at Hampton Roads. For this mission the Commander was assigned one of GDI's best commandos, who infiltrated the base and helped destroy all of Nod's production facilities in the area, forcing them to abandon the base.

With these two targets secured, DC was mostly back in GDI control, and former GDI Treasurer Redmond Boyle, who did not attend the Energy Summit since he was dealing with the fallout of an unexpected attack on the GDI Treasury, became the Acting Director of GDI. Unbeknownst to GDI, the attack on the Treasury was carried out by LEGION and ordered by Kane, who knew that Boyle was an incompetent leader who would play right into his hands.

Only one more target was left in the DC - the White House. While low in tactical value, recapturing the White House would provide a morale boost to all of GDI, and there was also a large Nod staging area near the destroyed GDI logistics center. The GDI Commander, with air support from the recently recaptured Langley AFB, destroyed a large number of advanced Nod military hardware. The remaining Nod forces attempted to hide using disruption towers, but were destroyed nonetheless. Soon, the Nod banners over the White House were replaced by GDI banners.

In the end, the Nod siege of the Northeastern Blue Zone was repelled in less than 24 hours, and GDI's victory in securing Washington DC seemed to have inspired more victories across the globe. Nod's initial momentum was completely gone at this point.

Mission to North Africa
"This is only the beginning. Fire will fall from the skies. Disease will waste your bodies. And your souls will cry for forgiveness when Kane unleashes his fury!"

- Anonymous Nod POW

During an interview, Redmond Boyle assured the public that GDI will prevail in this war, and promised payback for Nod's aggression. Meanwhile, a number of Blue Zones were still being contested, however, General Granger was more worried about how a number of Nod POWs were making threats that imply Nod was going to use WMDs. Therefore, he sent the Commander on a secret mission to North Africa, hoping a preemptive strike will remove the threat.

First, the Commander raided an irrigation plant in Casabad, Egypt, which was suspected to be a front for a Nod chemical weapons plant by InOps. However, once there, it was discovered that the plant was actually researching Tiberium based weapons, including a liquid Tiberium bomb. According to GDI Tiberium expert Dr. Alphonse Giraud, the bomb was not only much more destructive than a nuclear device, but could also cause a chain reaction that detonates all nearby Tiberium deposits, which could cause untold destruction in a Yellow Zone. Horrified at this new discovery, General Granger ordered the Commander to destroy the Nod-controlled Port of Alexandria to prevent them from distributing the weapon components.

With GDI supply lines up and running, the Commander was granted access to the latest Mammoth Mk. III tanks. The Commander destroyed Nod's cranes and administration buildings in Alexandria, stopping Nod's export of nuclear and chemical weapons through the port.

At this point, the GDI Commander was able to focus on northern Cairo, where Nod had consolidated its entire nuclear arsenal in a centralized launch facility. The silo that destroyed the Philadelphia was also connected to this facility. With nothing left to lose, GDI feared that Nod may fire all of its remaining stockpile, so the destruction of the launch facility was critical. These concerns proved to be well-founded - by the time GDI forces arrived, Nod was already planning another launch. Fortunately, the GDI Commander destroyed the launch platform before the missile could be launched, destroying much of Nod's nuclear weapons in one fell swoop.

Securing the weapon
"This worked in the Second Tiberium War, it should work here. You must channel the enemy forces like water in this region, dam the attacking flow around their targets in Brazil. This Yellow Zone is our most pressing concern, we have a lab here drawing heavy GDI fire, Kane insists we hold this facility at any cost. I wish I could tell you more, Commander, but even I do not know what is going on inside of there."

- Kilian Qatar

Five weeks after Nod's failed invasion of the Northeastern Blue Zone, things were beginning to look grim for the Brotherhood. GDI reacted faster than they expected thanks to the GDI Commander's efforts, and not only have their forces being driven out of a number of Blue Zones, but they have also lost many of their own strongholds in the Yellow Zones. Kilian Qatar privately expressed doubts at Kane's action to the Nod Commander, saying that Kane was overreaching, but nobody dared to tell him so. She quickly caught herself, and ordered the Commander to defend a Nod lab in the Amazon Desert in Brazil (formerly the Amazon Rainforest), though even she was unaware of the exact nature of the research conducted there.

The Casabad facility, which was destroyed by GDI not long ago, was one of two Nod labs researching next-generation Tiberium weapons, the other being the one in Brazil. However, a large GDI army was advancing on the lab, and the components for the Tiberium weapon could not be transported away until they were dealt with. The Commander took control of the small lab defense force, held off the initial GDI attacks, and built up enough force to launch a counterattack, destroying the GDI forward bases in the region and allowing the weapon components to be safely transported out of the lab.

However, the evacuation routes for the weapon components convoys were blocked by GDI artillery emplacements. Though the artillery were heavily defended by GDI air and ground forces, the Nod Commander managed to destroy them, clearing the way to the landing zones and allowing the weapon components to be airlifted to Temple Prime in Sarajevo.

Battle for African Red Zone
"Now we're playing with power!"

- Anonymous Nod soldier, at the sight of the Redeemer

After Kane left for Temple Prime to oversee the construction of the liquid Tiberium bomb, Abbess Alexa Kovacs, ward of LEGION project, informed LEGION of a developing situation in Red Zone R-2. GDI's anti-Tiberium division, Zone Operations Command, had begun Tiberium abatement in the zone. To make matters worse, they deployed a new weapon known as the Mammoth Armored Reclamation Vehicle, which had already destroyed several Nod patrols in the area. In order to develop a suitable counter, LEGION was ordered to locate the ZOCOM base where it was maintained and capture it.

Though the MARV proved to be a powerful unit, LEGION was able to destroy it and secure the wreckage. He then captured the reclamator hub within the ZOCOM base and uploaded the data inside to Nod's central server. ZOCOM forces attempted to destroy the reclamator hub to prevent the data upload, but were repelled by LEGION's forces.

Using the data obtained from the wreckage and the reclamator hub, Nod science division designed a unit to counter the MARV - the Redeemer, a massive walker based on technologies used in the MARV. Kovacs ordered LEGION to begin field trial immediately, so LEGION constructed a Redeemer engineering facility and assembled a Redeemer. ZOCOM forces brought in reinforcements, including two more MARVs, in a last-ditch attempt to defeat LEGION. However, LEGION was able to destroy both the MARVs and ZOCOM's base in the region, decisively ending their reclamation efforts in the African Red Zone.

Conflicts in Eastern Europe
"I will not lie to you, my son. GDI has gained the advantage. But as I have told Kilian, victory for us will not come on the battlefield. GDI is reacting exactly as I expected, converging all their forces in Sarajevo. Your first job is to retrieve the vital weapons components lost in transit from Brazil, then you must buy us enough time to complete construction of the weapon. This will allow us to enact... Phase two of my plan."

- Kane, to the Nod Commander

Qatar congratulated the Commander on not only accomplishing his mission in Brazil, but also exposing Kane's plan - she revealed that the Tiberium weapon being constructed at the lab was a liquid Tiberium bomb, and expressed confusion on why she was not made aware of this part of Kane's plan. She then informed the Commander that she was heading to Australia to deal with more pressing concerns, but Kane had insisted that the Commander remains in Sarajevo. She asked the Commander to keep her concerns between them, and wished him good luck.

Unfortunately, the transport carrying the weapon components was shot down by GDI in Slovenia. Before GDI could secure the truck carrying the components, the Nod Commander eliminated the GDI recovery team using a commando, and escorted the truck to an abandoned Nod base nearby. GDI attempted to destroy the truck to prevent Nod from recovering it, but the Nod Commander held off the GDI attacks until reinforcements arrived in the form of Avatar Warmechs. He then broke through a sizable GDI encampment and escorted the device out of the area.

At this point, Qatar's Australian command center at Ayers Rock came under heavy attack by GDI forces. However, Kane had not only refused to send reinforcements to her, but also airlifted some of her forces out of Australia to assist with the defense of Temple Prime. Qatar pleaded with the Commander to abandon Temple Prime and reinforce her, only to be cut off by Ajay, who instructed the Commander to deliver the weapon components to the Temple and help defend it.

When the convoy transporting the components reached the outskirts of Temple Prime, GDI had already established a base there and began an assault on the Temple, heavily damaging its outer walls. Despite only having a small force, the Commander managed to safely escort the components through the GDI forces outside and into Temple Prime. After this, he was given control of the Temple's defense force, and destroyed the GDI base assaulting the Temple. Soon after, an unexpected group of Nod reinforcements arrived and wiped out what was left of GDI's forces.

However, this new group was actually under the command of LEGION and Alexa Kovacs, who was trying to implicate Qatar for betrayal. According to Kovacs, it was Kane himself who wanted Qatar removed. However, that was a lie, and it was in fact Kovacs that wanted Qatar killed because of her doubts toward Kane. Kovacs' forces, posing as Qatar's men, declared that they no longer follow Kane and demanded the surrender of Temple Prime.

The Commander's forces were able to defend Temple Prime and destroy the Nod traitors. However, Kovacs' forces served as a distraction, allowing LEGION to steal the plans for the ion disruption field generators that protected Temple Prime from ion cannon strikes, which was later leaked to GDI to further solidify the appearance of Qatar's betrayal.

Kane was furious about the attack on Temple Prime by his own men, and began to prepare for evacuation. However, the Nod Commander was confused by his rambling speech about leaving behind the "insufferable race of animals who call themselves man" and escaping "this god-forsaken rock". Kane also promised that GDI will dig its own grave and told the Commander that preparations are already underway for Phase Three. His final order for the Commander was to go to Australia and salvage what was left of Qatar's forces.

Assault on Sarajevo
"Good afternoon, Commander! You must be lost. This is not your precious Blue Zone, this is Nod territory! I tell you what - I'll have my forces send you home.... in a body bag."

- Kane to the GDI Commander in Croatia

After the destruction of the Cairo launch facility, news of Nod's use of WMDs began circulating in the media. Fortunately, the GDI Commander's success prevented the public's fear from mounting and drove Nod forces in the region into hiding. However, the remaining Nod forces began converging on Temple Prime in Sarajevo. Director Boyle, in a press conference, dismissed his ignorance of the GDI raids in North Africa as a "simple communications error" and stated that he would be involved in all the important military decision in the future. However, the broadcast was once again hijacked by Kane, who promised GDI's destruction and Ascension for Nod's faithfuls.

Despite Granger's objections and the losses they had already suffered at Sarajevo, Boyle insisted that GDI launch another attack on Temple Prime in order to win a symbolic victory against Nod. Granger reluctantly obeyed and ordered the Commander to set up a foothold in Eastern Europe and proceed from there. For this purpose, a base in Croatia codenamed "Echo-2", which was set up during the Second Tiberium War, was chosen. Unfortunately, the base was heavily damaged by Nod attacks, and the Commander would have to defend the base with a small force until reinforcements arrive.

The Nod attacks destroyed the base's construcion yard, and it was too low on power to activate all of its defenses. Despite these odds, however, the Commander held out against waves of Nod attacks until the reinforcement convoy arrived. Unfortunately, a Nod ambush pinned down the convoy, forcing the Commander to destroy the blockade and rescue them. After escorting the MCV back to base, the Commander destroyed the Nod bases in the vicinity. With Echo-2 secured, GDI was poised to cut off Nod's supply lines.

GDI satellite recon revealed a large Nod logistics base in Albania, the last one in the region. A massive cache of weapons and vehicles were stored there, and destroying it would prevent them from assisting in the defense of Temple Prime. Leading a small strike team, the Commander destroyed Nod's outer defenses, allowing reinforcements to arrive by air. He then secured a reinforcement bay within the Nod base, and destroyed all the Nod vehicles and production facilities with the help of Firehawk air support.

With Sarajevo isolated from outside reinforcements, the GDI Commander finally mounted an assault on Temple Prime itself. By this point, GDI's ion cannon network was almost back online, so the Commander's primary objective was to destroy the ion disruption generators protecting the Temple for a potential ion cannon strike. After the last GDI attack was repelled, Nod was able to repair the Temple's outer walls and set up more defenses, and assaulted the GDI Commander's base with waves after waves of infantry and vehicles. In the end, however, the GDI Commander managed to breach Temple Prime's defenses and destroy all three ion disruption towers, shutting down the protective forcefield over the Temple complex.

Destruction of Temple Prime
"General, this is a Nod-controlled Yellow Zone. Whatever the repercussions of the ion strike may be, my concerns are not for the locals of this region. My concerns are for our public! The GDI populace who have been promised payback for the Philadelphia!"

- Redmond Boyle, on his decision to order an ion cannon strike on Temple Prime

With Temple Prime secured, GDI forces were able to capture the components of the liquid Tiberium bomb, which was already in its final stage of assembly. Also, there were reports that Kane and his Inner Circle sealed themselves in a sub-basement of the Temple. Unfortunately, Temple Prime itself was impenetrable, so Granger suggested the Commander "sweat them out". However, Director Boyle, after being informed that repairs on the A-SAT defenses had been completed, ordered an ion cannon strike on Temple Prime instead.

Granger objected to this, since an ion cannon strike could detonate the liquid Tiberium within the Temple and cause a catastrophic chain reaction, and contacted Dr. Giraud, hoping he could convince Boyle to reconsider. However, Boyle was adamant that his concerns were not for the people living in the Yellow Zone, but for the GDI populace. At this point, it was revealed that Dr. Giraud was missing. He was kidnapped by Nod forces, since Kane deemed his knowledge of liquid Tiberium to be an obstacle to his plan.

With no one left to object to Boyle, he ordered the Commander to fire an ion cannon on Temple Prime, and the Commander complied. Just as Granger said, a liquid Tiberium deposit beneath the Temple was detonated, causing a massive explosion visible from space that covered most of Eastern Europe in deadly fallout. A large portion of Yellow Zone Y-1 surrounding Sarajevo was converted to a Red Zone in an instant, and the resulting death toll was estimated to be in the millions. The only official response by GDI was a statement from Boyle, saying that though the death of so many innocent people was unthinkable, people should all be "eternally grateful" for the death of Kane.

After Kane's apparent death, Qatar assumed control of the Brotherhood. She ordered all of Nod's plans for Ascension to be put on hold, and recalled all military personnel to Australia. Her first order for the Nod Commander was to intercept a GDI convoy carrying nuclear warheads and replenish Nod's nuclear arsenal.

First contact
"...the Invaders have attacked GDI and Nod forces and civilian targets around the world with savage force. The largest scale enemy activity has been reported near Red Zone borders and in the larger population centers. Fortunately for the Brotherhood, the larger cities tend to be in the Blue Zones, so it looks like GDI strongholds are taking the worst of the punishment..."

- Nod A-NZ intelligence briefing

Not long after the liquid Tiberium detonation, GDI's JPL Deep Space Network detected six unidentified objects approaching Earth at relativistic speed. Though their origin was unclear, they were first detected at the Kuiper belt beyond Neptune. As they approached Earth, Boyle ordered all ion cannons in the Southern Hemisphere to be fired at the alien objects. This prompted the six objects to disperse into thirty-nine drone ships, which then crashed into Red Zones on every continent, suffering only minor damage in the process.

Almost immediately after the alien craft landed, they deployed into drone platforms and began releasing strange constructs that appeared to be fusions of organic and mechanical components. These alien constructs attacked major population centers across the world. One of the first cities to be hit was London, much of the city was destroyed by alien forces and the sonic repulsion fields used to contain Tiberium deposits were destroyed, allowing them to spread uncontrolled. Completely caught off guard by this unexpected attack, the GDI garrison in the city was quickly wiped out.

In the Australian Outback, the Nod Commander, leading an elite strike team of some of Nod's best soldiers, intercepted several GDI convoys en route to Sydney and captured the transports carrying nuclear warheads. However, before the extraction team could arrive, alien craft crashed into the Australian Red Zone and a massive alien force soon arrived at the battlefield, attacking everything in sight. A GDI air patrol responded to the disturbance, but was quickly destroyed. Despite the aliens' vast numerical superiority, the Commander managed to hold the ground and evacuate at least one nuclear transport.

Qatar informed the Brotherhood of the unexpected arrival of the alien invaders and how they were attacking both GDI and Nod indiscriminately. She ordered the Brotherhood to focus on defending themselves against these unknown invaders rather than the war with GDI.

Liberation of Kampala
"LEGION, I have been informed of a new alien offensive. Forces are materializing within Yellow Zone cities and enslaving the populace. The support of the Yellow Zone is essential to Nod's survival. We must defend these cities, these people... as if they were the Prophet himself."

- Alexa Kovacs

Kovacs was in shock at the destruction of Temple Prime and Qatar's subsequent takeover of the Brotherhood. However, Kane revealed himself to her, reassuring her that they would deal with Qatar's "betrayal" later and explaining that he was not at Temple Prime. He used himself as bait for GDI's ion cannon in order to trigger a liquid Tiberium detonation powerful enough to lure in the alien "Visitors", who will construct towers that will act as portals to an alien civilization.

However, the aliens attacked GDI and Nod cities alike, one of which was Kampala, Uganda, a Nod-controlled Yellow Zone city. The entire city, including its Black Hand garrison, was enslaved by the Traveler-59 subfaction of the aliens using mind control technology. Kovacs ordered LEGION to liberate the city from the alien invaders, but secretly jammed communications with Kane, preventing him from contacting LEGION.

Traveler-59 forces had established a large base to the north, and deployed three drone platforms in the center of the city, the destruction of which would force the aliens out of the city. Several surviving Black Hand units, presumably the defenders of the city, were mind-controlled by cultists - bizarre alien-human hybrids - and patrol the city alongside alien forces. LEGION was ordered to free them from alien control if possible.

After the destruction of the first drone platform, LEGION unlocked a pre-recorded message from Kane, telling him that his design was drawn from the Tacitus itself, and that as the Visitors' towers near completion, the Tacitus will begin to transmit a signal that only he can receive. Traveler-59 retaliated by deploying an Eradicator hexapod. Realizing the threat of the massive alien walker, LEGION was granted access to the Redeemer, and was ordered to destroy the Eradicator before it threatens all Nod holdings in the sector. After the destruction of the Eradicator, LEGION destroyed the remaining drone platforms, freeing the city from alien control.

Defense of Sydney
"Look, Commander. Forming an alliance with GDI is unorthodox, I know. But right now, the invaders pose a greater threat than GDI and I believe those missiles are the only way to defend ourselves against their forces. Everything depends on you, Commander."

- Kilian Qatar

Soon after the aliens landed in Australia, they launched a large offensive on the Sydney Blue Zone. Knowing that GDI will pull out of Australia if their Sydney base falls and that Nod will be unable to defend the entire country on its own, Qatar proposed an alliance with the desperate GDI commander in charge of Sydney's defense. Ajay accused Qatar of treason for working with GDI, but Qatar revealed that she planned to steal GDI's launch codes and delivery systems in order to assemble ICBMs.

On Qatar's order, all Nod forces in the A-NZ theater ceased combat operations against the GDI military, and several A-NZ commanders began coordinating with GDI forces against the invaders. The Nod Commander was sent to assist the defense of Sydney by destroying key alien structures in the alien base just outside of the city wall. However, he was also ordered to delay the destruction of the alien gravity stabilizer, since an alien Devastator warship could easily demolish the city wall and allow Nod to capture a GDI lab inside the city, which contained nuclear launch codes and the location of delivery vehicles. Unfortunately for Qatar, Nod troops were unsatisfied with the cease-fire order. To make matters worse, an unknown source was transmitting unauthorized orders to Nod commanders without her knowledge, straining the already fragile alliance with GDI. Regardless, the Commander carried out his orders, eliminated the alien structures and captured the GDI lab. However, he also received one of the unauthorized orders - destroy the ion cannon control center behind the city wall. The Commander complied, destroying the control center while GDI was too distracted by the aliens to notice.

With the ion cannon control center destroyed, Sydney was all but lost. GDI Central Command ordered the city to be evacuated, and the Nod Commander was ordered to coordinate with the GDI forces in defending the city from the aliens, escort the evacuating transports and ensure Nod's own survival by harvesting Tiberium. However, the Commander was eventually contacted by Kane, who was the source of the unauthorized orders before. Kane revealed his survival to the entire Brotherhood and ended Qatar's cease-fire order, calling her a traitor. On Kane's order, the Commander turned on the already weakened GDI forces and razed their base to the ground.

Evacuation of Munich
"We kept firin', but the metallic [expletive] just kept on coming right at us, crawling over their own dead like it were nothing. Then, right when I knew we were about to be killed, right when those [expletive] had us up against the wall, one of those smart [expletive] engineers figured out a way to get the old Munich sonic emitter grid back online and then, BAM!, the damn emitter towers just started chewing up those invading [expletive] like a Visceroid gone rabid. It was a thing of [expletive] beauty..."

- Staff Sergeant Arnold P. Coddington

The aliens attacked major cities in multiple Blue Zones and several prominent Yellow Zones around the world, and with Nod's forces concentrated in Australia, they were unable to mount a defense, leaving the burden on GDI. General Granger informed the GDI Commander of the existence of the Tacitus and how it contained a warning of a future alien invasion. Since the Commander was now considered one of GDI's best battle commander, he was given the most difficult mission - Germany.

After its reclamation, New Eden served as a secret research hub for GDI, particularly in Munich, where the Future-Tech Lab was located. The lab was compiling a full analysis on the aliens' operations when the city was attacked. Some of the lab's personnel managed to escape and were heading to Salzburg in a convoy. The information they possess was invaluable to GDI and the Commander was tasked with escorting them to safety.

The GDI garrison at Munich was taken completely by surprise. An alien Mastermind unit infiltrated the city and turned GDI units against one another through the use of its mind control ability. It planted a manipulator device on one of the GDI barracks and manipulated an engineer into shutting down the city's defense grid. With the defenses offline, the aliens brought in a large force of reinforcements and destroyed GDI's Munich base. A platoon from the 76th Mechanized Infantry Division escaped the base's destruction, however, and assisted in the protection of the evacuation convoy.

The civilian convoy was headed for an abandoned subway entrance in the ruins of old Munich, outside of the city wall. Above the city, a massive air battle broke out between GDI Firehawks and various alien spacecraft. The convoy was attacked by alien ground units and strafed by waves of Stormriders, but the GDI survivors managed to escort it to the subway, after which GDI reinforcements arrived and beat back the invaders.

During the evacuation, a GDI engineer managed to reactivate Munich's sonic emitter grid, which was used to reclaim the surrounding Yellow Zone from Tiberium. They proved extremely effective against the alien units, implying that they were structurally similar to Tiberium. The discovery of the aliens' weakness inspired some hope among GDI forces.

Retaking Northern Europe
"Back to Mars! Or wherever the heck you came from!"

- Anonymous GDI soldier, after the destruction of the drone platform in Cologne

The GDI Commander's success over the aliens in Munich proved that the invaders were far from invincible. Though the aliens' motives, beyond simply wreaking havoc, were still completely unknown. Much to General Granger's relief, however, Boyle went into hiding in a reinforced bunker in Reykjavik, meaning he could no longer interfere with major military decisions. The aliens have spread out from Munich into several other cities in the region, and Granger ordered the Commander to retake these cities in order to build up some momentum against the aliens, just as he did against Nod.

One such city was Cologne, whose garrison force did not anticipate an attack due to the low strategic value of the city. Cologne's Tiberium silos were destroyed by the aliens, releasing large quantities of Tiberium and undoing years of progress made by GDI's reclamation project. However, the GDI base in the city was left relatively intact after the garrison force retreated, so GDI planned to reactivate the base and use it as a forward base in retaking Europe.

The GDI Commander led an advance team into the city in order to determine the level of resistance. The team fought their way through the alien-infested streets of Cologne and scouted the northern part of the city to investigate reports of an unknown alien structure, then provided fire support for an engineering team, allowing them to repair the GDI base's power grid. After reactivating the base, the GDI Commander built up a strike force and destroyed the alien structure, which was identified as their command center. This significantly disrupted the alien forces, allowing the city to be recaptured.

The city of Stuttgart was also devastated by the alien forces and captured. However, several GDI units managed to survive the initial attack, but were scattered throughout the city, either in hiding or pinned down. The GDI Commander was able to contact one of these survivors - GDI commando Lieutenant Fullerton, who was able to rescue the other GDI survivors and reactivate the damaged GDI base in the city. With the Stuttgart base operational once again, GDI forces were able to eliminate the drone platform in the area, liberating the city.

At this point, GDI analysis on alien transmissions finally shed some light on their origins. The pattern of the transmissions was similar to the data structure in the Tacitus, leading to the conclusion that the invaders may be the Scrin, the aliens who brought the Tacitus to Earth. Interestingly, however, intercepted alien chatter mentioned another alien species they had previously encountered, which they referred to as "brother", "ascended", "enemy", and "Scrin". This, along with noted differences between the invaders and the source of the Tacitus in dialect and physical form, implied that the invaders may be a related species of the Scrin, or share some ancient connection with them.

After driving the aliens out of most of Germany, their remaining forces retreated back to their last regional stronghold in Berne, Switzerland - the staging ground for the alien invasion of Northern Europe. The city was reduced to a wasteland after it was destroyed by a mothership and a large Tiberium field was seeded at the center of the resulting crater. The GDI Commander was once again called upon to destroy the central alien base in Berne, which was responsible for coordinating all alien operations in Europe.

The battle for Berne proved to be a difficult one. The central base was well fortified, with two support bases constantly producing vehicles and aircraft to attack GDI's position. The aliens even attempted to summon a mothership using a signal transmitter and destroy the GDI base with it. In the end, however, the GDI Commander was able to destroy the central base, pushing the aliens out of Northern Europe for good.

Battle at Ayers Rock
"Of all of Kilian's offenses, and they are legion, her proclamation that the Visitors are a greater enemy than GDI is an affront to everything I have planned for the Brotherhood. For this sin, she must be punished. You will take a team of your best soldiers and storm our Australian base. Kilian is dug in there. Capture her, alive if possible, but spare no one in her charge."

- Kane

At an undisclosed location, Kane contacted the Nod Commander. He assured him that the events at Temple Prime unfold exactly as he planned, and ordered him to storm Kilian Qatar's stronghold at Ayers Rock and capture her for her betrayal. Qatar pleaded with the Commander to abort the mission and told him that Kane ordered Nod forces to stand down against the aliens, causing them to be slaughtered. However, the Commander ignored her and proceeded with the mission.

Using a small force, the Commander captured a Nod base loyal to Qatar just south of her Ayers Rock stronghold. Using the base, the Commander established a large force and assaulted Qatar's compound. Despite fierce resistance from Qatar's elite forces, her Temple of Nod was eliminated, forcing her men to surrender bringing her base under the Commander's control.

However, GDI forces seeking to retaliate for Nod's betrayal at Sydney had set up a forward base to the east. After Qatar's defeat, they launched a large assault on Ayers Rock from the southeast and prepared to launch an ion cannon strike at Qatar's headquarters. But the Commander destroyed their ion cannon control center before an ion cannon could be fired and destroyed the GDI bases in the region.

With Qatar's headquarters secured, Qatar herself was soon captured and brought before Kane. She insisted that she never betrayed the Brotherhood, and that the Nod forces that attacked Sarajevo were led by a GDI mole. Ajay was asked by Kane to testify against her, but he was unable to confirm that the rogue Nod forces were Qatar's troops. Regardless, Kane ordered Qatar to be executed on the spot and, in typical Nod fashion, made the Commander his new second in command.

At this point, Kane finally explained the entirety of his plan to the Commander: while GDI viewed the Tacitus as a warning, he saw it as an opportunity to lure the technologically advanced aliens to Earth. According to the Tacitus, the only way to do so was to create a liquid Tiberium explosion. However, only the ion cannon could generate enough energy to trigger a detonation with the sufficient blast yield. That was the main reason he started the war (which he had no intention of winning) - to provoke GDI into firing on Temple Prime with their ion cannon. The other reason was to weaken GDI's forces in order to ensure that the aliens could achieve their true objective, which was to construct massive towers that would function as interstellar gateways. However, the towers were coded, so Kane ordered the Commander to capture one of the alien Nerve centers to gain the access code of the towers.

Intercepting the Tacitus
"The signal of the Tacitus has returned. You must find the artifact, you must capture it for Kane. I fear, however, that if you do, you will become something...obscene."

- Alexa Kovacs

Just as Kane predicted, LEGION's connection to the Tacitus allowed him to locate the Tacitus. It was in mainland China, escorted by a ZOCOM convoy. GDI planned to evacuate the device via an aircraft carrier, which the Brotherhood would have no way of intercepting, so LEGION was ordered to capture the Tacitus before it could reach the GDI carrier.

LEGION's forces attacked the ZOCOM MCV carrying the Tacitus, forcing it to deploy into a construction yard. LEGION then eliminated the ZOCOM defenses around the construction yard and captured it. However, just as he was about to bring the MCV to the extraction point, a large number of Tiberium meteors suddenly fell to earth, followed by the arrival of the Reaper-17 sect. These aliens attacked ZOCOM and Nod forces indiscriminately, but LEGION's forces held them at bay while LEGION brought the MCV to the evac point.

However, Kovacs, overcame with paranoia and believing that connecting with the Tacitus would make LEGION unstoppable, inserted a virus into LEGION. The virus purged LEGION's systems while Kovacs revealed to Kane that she framed Qatar for the attack on Temple Prime. Angered that Kovacs made him lose one of his best generals, Kane ordered his men to arrest Kovacs and interrogate her, but Kovacs pulled out a pistol and committed suicide just as LEGION was forced to shut down. With LEGION cut off from the Nod forces in the field, the Tacitus fell into GDI's hands once again.

Protecting the catalyst
"I always knew there was a chance the Visitors might not be entirely... cooperative. And that's why I developed a weapon that targets their weakness. This will allow you to claim one of their towers, but you must act fast, the Visitors are attacking the facility as we speak. Secure the facility, and feel free to test out this new addition to your arsenal."

- Kane

Even though Nod has been avoiding combat with the aliens unless absolutely necessary, Kane had foreseen that the Visitors may not be entirely cooperative with his plan, and had developed a weapon that targets their weakness - a catalyst missile capable of detonating Tiberium deposits, which would be extremely effective against the Tiberium-based alien forces. Kane believed that the weapon would help the Nod Commander claim one of the Threshold towers. However, the research facility for the missile was under attack by the aliens, and the Nod Commander was sent to secure the missile silo at the facility.

The Nod Commander established an outpost just outside the catalyst launch facility. He led a small force into the seemingly abandoned catalyst facility, fought off the alien attacks on the facility and captured the heavily damaged silo with a saboteur before repairing it, restoring it to operational capacity. Alien reinforcements soon arrived from the north, but with the newly acquired catalyst missiles, the Commander easily destroyed their gravity stabilizers and routed the attack.

With the catalyst missile facility secured, the missile was deployed to all Nod combat units, to be used whenever combat against the aliens have been authorized in order to channel the invasion in more productive directions.

Eliminating the Rome tower
""Now what can you tell us about these strange Red Zone towers?" "As with everything involving invaders, Tiberium is key. They utilize these green crystals in ways we cannot even imagine. We know for instance that Tiberium fuels their craft, their weapons, and we know these towers are made of a Tiberium composite material. What we don't know is the purpose of these towers, we have only theories." "Fascinating, just what are those theories?" "Could be... Tiberium refineries, missile silos, even a planetary destruction system. We need to get close, we don't have enough information.""

- William Frank and Dr. Emel Ibrahiim, on the purpose of the Threshold towers

After driving the alien invaders out of Europe, GDI realized that their initial attacks on civilian population centers were only diversions, with their true objective being the construction of massive towers in the Red Zones. Any attempt to impede or even investigate these construction sites were met with overwhelming force. According to Dr. Emel Ibrahiim, research manager of Future-Tech Lab, while they knew that these towers were made of a Tiberium composite material, they have only speculations on their purpose due to lack of information.

While the purpose of the towers was unknown, GDI was determined to destroy them before their completion. General Granger ordered the GDI Commander to destroy the largest of the tower, which was almost complete. The tower was located in Rome, Italy, close to where Tiberium first landed on Earth.

The Rome tower was protected by three phase generators, which rendered the tower itself completely invulnerable. To make matters worse, the aliens also constructed a superweapon in the area, which had already wiped out a GDI recon team sent there earlier. In addition, Nod also has a large force in the area, apparently trying to capture the tower for themselves for unknown purposes.

The Red Zone terrain near the area proved to be treacherous as well, with many chasms preventing conventional ground forces from crossing. The aliens used this to their advantage by using a Mastermind to teleport Shock troopers and vehicles across the chasm and attack the GDI base. Unlike the standard variant, this particular Mastermind was equipped with a long-range disintegrator plasma beam effective against infantry and aircraft, and was even able to shield itself using a nearby stasis chamber. These factors made it an extremely dangerous opponent, able to keep up pressure on GDI's position with a minimum number of units.

Despite the difficulty of this mission, the Commander was able to destroy all three of the phase generators before calling an ion cannon strike on the tower itself, destroying the massive structure before it could reach completion.

Italian campaign
"The Visitors are divine instruments. They are not divine in their own right but because of what they are doing for us, building the sacred towers in the hearts of our Red Zones. The Visitors remain hostile to us because they know not what they do; their vision is limited and they cannot see their own part in a Plan that goes beyond their purpose."

- Excerpt from Brotherhood of Nod priority order

Kane praised the Commander for his victory and told him that they are one step closer to Ascension. He then ordered the Commander to infiltrate an alien base to capture the access code to the towers, which was embedded in a crystal lattice similar to the Tacitus. Nod was unable to airdrop any heavy equipment for this mission, so the Commander was forced to use an abandoned construction site nearby to build up a base.

By this point, the GDI Commander's victory in Rome had inspired GDI forces worldwide, and the towers in multiple Red Zones have already been destroyed. In response, Nod High Command shifted its strategy toward ensuring the survival of at least one tower.

The aliens had a large presence in the area, especially around the nerve center that contained the code, and the situation was further complicated by the arrival of GDI Zone troopers via drop pods. However, some of the alien extractors were poorly defended, allowing Nod to capture them to boost their income and study the aliens' Tiberium refinement techniques. In the end, the Nod Commander successfully captured the key code.

Despite the successful capture of the code, the situation was still dire for Nod. GDI was advancing through the Italian Red Zone more quickly than they anticipated and would soon threaten every alien installation in Italy. The largest threat came from a force currently routing the aliens on the east bank of the Tiber. Since Nod's manpower was limited, a direct confrontation was not an option. Instead, a plan known as "Operation Stiletto" was drawn up - a plan to turn the enemies' weapons against them.

The Nod Commander was given command of a small infiltration force led by a commando. Since both GDI and the aliens were too focused on each other to regard Nod as a threat, the small team was able to infiltrate and capture two GDI construction yards in the region. With GDI's production facilities secured, the Nod Commander built up a force and captured the alien drone platforms as well, successfully delaying GDI's advance on the towers while committing a minimal amount of force.

Battle for Threshold 19
"This tower is our gateway to the stars. It is the key to the future. It must be protected at all costs."

- Kane

Despite the Nod Commander's successful delaying action, GDI forces still advanced relentlessly and continued destroying the Thresholds. Only four towers remained, with the closest one to completion being the one in the Mediterranean Red Zone - Threshold 19. The situation at this tower was dire - GDI had already amassed a large force in the area and continuously assaulted the alien position near the tower, trying to destroy the phase generators protecting the tower.

When the Nod forces arrived, GDI had deployed five modified Juggernauts with a much longer range than normal, and began bombarding the phase generators from out of the aliens' reach. They also launched continuous land and air assaults on the Threshold, which quickly threatened to overwhelm the alien defenders. However, the Nod Commander was able to destroy the two GDI bases mounting the attack before all of the phase generators were destroyed.

On another side of the tower, the aliens fought a desperate battle to defend the tower from GDI forces until its completion, which would render it invulnerable. During the battle, the three other remaining towers were all destroyed, leaving Threshold 19 the sole remaining Threshold on the planet. Despite a concerted effort by GDI, however, the tower was completed, and an alien mothership was able to escape from Earth using it.

In the end, the combination of two enemies working against them proved too much for GDI, and by the time their forces fought their way to the tower, it was already completely impregnable. However, GDI scientists stated that the tower was now inert and completely harmless, though they were still unaware of its true purpose. In the meantime, Kane congratulated the Nod Commander's success and told him that the secrets to Tiberium await them inside the tower. He then welcomed the Commander into the Inner Circle to make preparations for Ascension.

Battle of Ground Zero
"The alien Control Node at Ground Zero is a unique structure that seems to channel some sort of exotic Tiberium-based radiation to the invader forces [...] we do believe that the Control Node is the key vulnerability for the aliens. Take out the Control Node and there is a good chance the whole invasion will end quickly."

- Excerpt from InOps FLASH report

While the battle at Threshold 19 was unfolding, GDI located an alien structure identified as a control node at Ground Zero, where the meteor that brought Tiberium to Earth landed in 1995. According to Dr. Ibrahiim, this structure regulated the flow of Tiberium radiation to all alien units and destroying it would cause them to cease functioning. However, before the mission to destroy the control node, the GDI Commander was secretly contacted by Boyle from the bunker in Reykjavik.

Boyle told him that Granger was withholding vital intelligence from him - under Boyle's order, GDI had constructed a liquid Tiberium bomb of their own using the material confiscated from Sarajevo. Boyle had already armed his troops with the bomb and asked the Commander to destroy the control node quickly by using it. He told the Commander that he was not informed about the bomb because Boyle was a political threat to Granger, who would be rendered irrelevant if the war was won using Boyle's strategy, and urged the Commander to make his mark on history.

Ground Zero was not only heavily defended by alien forces, but also had a large Nod presence in the area (presumably there to buy time for the completion of Threshold 19). Both of the factions have deployed their full arsenal, including their respective superweapons. The aliens also deployed a mothership in an attempt to wipe out the GDI base while Nod concealed theirs using disruption towers.

During the mission, General Granger found out about Boyle's plan and contacted the Commander, asking him not to use the liquid Tiberium bomb no matter how dire the situation on the battlefield may seem. He told the Commander that a liquid Tiberium detonation in the world's largest Red Zone would set off a cataclysmic chain reaction, but more importantly, it would set a dangerous precedent on the use of Tiberium weapon, causing GDI to become dependent on the very thing that they have sworn to destroy. He was interrupted by Boyle, who told the Commander that he must use every asset at his disposal to end the war quickly and asked him to do the right thing.

In the end, the Commander made his choice, and was able to wipe out the Nod forces and destroy the control node. This caused all alien structures to disintegrate and all alien units to collapse, ending the invasion in an instant.

GDI's change of leadership
If the GDI Commander chose not to use the liquid Tiberium bomb:

Redmond Boyle was forced to resign in order to avoid war crime charges for authorizing the use of the liquid Tiberium bomb, and was replaced by a new leadership. General Granger praised the Commander for his decision and told him that history would remember him as a hero.

If the GDI Commander chose to use the liquid Tiberium bomb:

The liquid Tiberium bomb caused a chain reaction which sent a shockwave thousands of miles in every direction. The blast killed more than 25 million people, GDI and Nod alike, with scientists predicting even more tragic fallout in the near future. General Granger tried to court-martial the Commander for killing tens of millions, including his entire force, but was unable to do so due to Boyle's influence and resigned in disgust. The Commander was appointed GDI's commander-in-chief by Boyle, who promised him that they would lead GDI to a bright new future.

Ecological impact
Even if the liquid Tiberium bomb was not used, the Third Tiberium War still left the Earth environmentally scarred. The aliens' destruction of GDI's anti-Tiberium infrastructure, such as sonic emitters and anti-Tiberium walls, caused many Blue Zone cities to suffer extensive Tiberium contamination. The worst victim of this was New Eden, which had once again become a Yellow Zone by the end of the war and was completely consumed by Tiberium in 2052.

But the most damaging action during the war was the liquid Tiberium bomb detonation at Temple Prime, which not only turned the surrounding area into a Red Zone, but also triggered another evolution of Tiberium itself, which would have catastrophic consequences for the planet in the future.

Nod's resurgence
"LEGION my child, you are my greatest creation. It is time for you to take center stage, time for you to achieve the purpose for which you were created. One vision, one purpose!"

- Kane

The Brotherhood disappeared from public eyes once again after the end of the war. With its generals killed, its armies defeated, and Kane himself presumed dead after the destruction of Temple Prime, it was believed that the organization was finally destroyed.

However, in 2052, LEGION was reawakened by a signal from the Tacitus. He was directed by Kane to activate the Marked of Kane, a cyborg army that has been dormant in underground bunkers in Russia and South East Asia since the Second Tiberium War.

After LEGION activated the Marked of Kane, Kane informed him that GDI's experiments on the Tacitus has rendered the artifact dangerously unstable, and ordered him to capture the Tacitus immediately before it was lost forever. The Tacitus was kept in GDI's heavily fortified Rocky Mountains Complex, kept behind an impenetrable energy barrier. With the Marked of Kane, Black Hand and mainline Nod forces at his disposal, LEGION was able to bring down the energy barrier and capture the alien device before it could self-destruct.

With the Tacitus captured, Kane inserted the alien device into LEGION's console. After interfacing with the Tacitus, LEGION saw a message in the alien language. "EARTH WARP GATE STATUS ACTIVE COMMENCING PHASE 2 INVASION"

- The message