Black Hand

''“When we are crushing the black hearts of our oppressors, we will find our hands blackened. We cannot cultivate our garden without digging in the dirt.“''
 * Kane

The Black Hand of Nod is an organization within the Brotherhood of Nod formed with the blessing of Kane, originally founded as a cult that enforced the teachings of the Brotherhood's charismatic leader, Kane and was responsible for the Brotherhood's wet work. The cult has since grown to become a powerful and influential religious group that, until recently, had operated mostly in secret. The members were hand picked by General Raveshaw and given exceptional training, as well as best equipment and body armor available, with the most notable being the Ezekiel's Cape chameleon suit and experimental portable Obelisk of Light modules, codenamed Firefly and Tarantula respectively. Recent intelligence suggest that the trend continues presently, with Black Hand having exclusive access to certain technologies.

The Black Hand proved to be an ample opponent to GDI, as small groups of their operatives could infiltrate and easily destroy enemy bases. Also, they served as personal bodyguards to Kane and protected Temples of Nod with unparalleled religious zeal.

The members are handpicked from the best and most faithful members of the Brotherhood. While many brothers are eager to join, the final decision is left to the current Black Hand commander. When accepted, the members undergo extreme indoctrination, resulting in nothing less than a lethal zealot, completely devoted to the Brotherhood.

Obviously, the organization is a major power (some might even say subfaction) within the Brotherhood.

First Tiberium War
During the First Tiberium War, the Black Hand was founded as the personal guard of Kane by General Gideon Raveshaw. Built from the ground up as the most elite combat force in the Brotherhood absolutely loyal to Kane, it soon became more than just a guard - they were deployed as special forces whenever the situation called for it.

The Black Hand had a radically different modus operandi from other Nod forces, as they cared little for civilian casualties. Nod tended to avoid civilian casualties in order to more freely manipulate the media and cover up their operations. Other activies included sabotage, assasinations, kidnapings, and terrorism. The Black Hand was primarily responsible for safeguarding the ReGenesis project as well as capturing important GDI personnel, such as Dr Ignatio Mobius, Dr Sydney Mobius and Dr Elena Petrova.

The organization also served as a type of religious police withiin the Brotherhood. Initiates were impressed with Nod's pseudo-religious teachings. Indeed, the Black Hand were considered part-elite force and part-priesthood. Dispite the rigid lifestyle and harsh discipline, many Nod soliders wanted to join the organization.

Three most common Black Hand operatives included the snipers, support infantry and the Black Hand Chameleons. The Black Hand had their own designs for the Light Tank, Flame Tank , and Stealth Tank during this time.

Prior to the last battle of the war, General Shepard debriefed the then Commander Solomon on Kane's main Temple, protected by Kane's "own crack militia". While there is no direct evidence, the "militia" protecting Kane is likely to the Black Hand.

Second Tiberium War
It is unknown who became the commander of the Black Hand following the death of General Raveshaw at the hands of captain Nick Parker, but it is known that at the time of the Second Tiberium War the unit was commanded by Commander Anton Slavik.

Slavik commanded a substantial force of these men, which allowed them to become a significant player in the struggle for power prior to the Second Tiberium War and allowed the rebirth of the Brotherhood, stronger and more resilient than before. Members of the Black Hand served as officers, advisers and commanders and following the destruction of Kane's Pyramid at the last moment by commander McNeil and the rebellion of CABAL were called upon to fight for Nod in the field, as their elite cadre status made them formidable soldiers.

Following the Firestorm Crisis, internal strife began to rise, even within the Black Hand. Following the assassination of Slavik by Marcion, the Black Hand itself became fragmented, with the bulk of it's followers taking root in Australia. This problem later became rectified; and the Black Hand resumed it's role as a lethal enforcer unit within Nod.

It is at this period that Marcion began radical changes to the Black Hand, trying to reflect himself as a "pure" religious figure. The groups focus became increasingly religious, replacing regular infantry with Confessor Cabals. It's combat doctrine shifted from covert operations to a more agressive stance due to their beliefs. With their focus on purity, the subfaction found flame weaponry best suited to reflect this.

Third Tiberium War
After the internal conflicts were rectified, the Black Hand of Nod formed the core of the Brotherhood revival efforts, gathering support for them in the Yellow Zones and procuring supplies and technology. They played a crucial role and soon their ranks expanded, to the point of them becoming elite infantry formations of the Brotherhood.

Black Hand infantry operate as shock troops, while supported by the numerous militia squads. Currently, the Black Hand wear full powered armor, fireproof cloaks masking their thermal signatures, and helmets with three horizontal visors. This equipment allows them to use their advanced flamethrowers effectively without harming their health as well as effectively clear out garrisoned buildings and decimate infantry. The Black Hand Chameleons were retired from service, the task of infiltration and sabotage granted to the elite Shadow Teams.

Military Assets
Along with its Infantry formations serving in the regular Nod forces, the Black Hand's influence allows the organization to act as another military arm of Nod. Instead of poorly trained Militias, its main infantry consists of Confessor Cabals, introduced after Marcion's ascension to the position as the Black Hand's leader. Extremely well trained commandos are also much more available to Black Hand Commanders, allowing two to be allocated to their forces. Also available is the Purifier Avatar-variant, armed with flamethrowers and infantry-suppression. Replacing the stealth tank, the Black Hand developed the Mantis for defense against areal units. In addition, nearly all Black Hand-employed infantry are hardened combat veterans, making them more formidable than standard Nod infantry.

Exclusive upgrades and powers include improved flame weaponry and signature scans, an intelligence-gathering ability that locates enemy power plants.

Combat Doctrines
Black Hand forces, when deployed into the field as a combat force, choose aggression and swift, hard strikes against the enemy, and favor flame weaponry. The Black Hand infantry corps are superior to standard Nod troops.

Despite their history of using Chameleons, under Marcion's religious beliefs, Black Hand forces currently shun the use of stealth, prefering to overwhelm the enemy head on. Additionally, the Black Hand lacks airpower, engaging enemies solely on the ground.

Possible historical connections
An organization named Black Hand has existed, as a secret society in Serbia. It was financed by Serbia, as part of the Pan-Slavism nationalist movement, with the intention of uniting all of the territories containing South Slav populations (Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, etc) annexed by Austria-Hungary. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria is considered to have been the main catalyst to the start of World War I. The assassination was carried out by the Black Hand. The connection to the Black Hand of Nod is unclear, though it should be noted that Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by a Black Hand member named Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, a key location for the brotherhood.

External Datafiles
Intelligence briefing with Engineer Jim Vessella