Forgotten

"Unlike you Blunts, the Forgotten are a people of honor."

- Umagon

The Forgotten were loosely connected groups of nomadic tribal communities, composed of humans who were mutated by exposure to Tiberium.

Note: Although an official logo was not given to the Forgotten until Command & Conquer: Tiberium Alliances, that logo is used in templates like infoboxes for practical reasons.

Background
In the years leading up to the Second Tiberium War, a majority of Tiberium exposure victims began to show signs of genetic mutation and a variety of Tiberium-based maladies. While typically similar to the effects of extreme radiation exposure, the most heavily affected members were physically altered, causing Tiberium crystals to appear on their bodies. These people eventually formed underground communities and began calling themselves "The Forgotten", since they were alienated by the unexposed population.

Since they considered themselves abandoned by both GDI and Nod, the Forgotten were usually distrustful of outsiders, and some groups were known to engage in terrorist activies against them. The Forgotten are sometimes referred to with the derogatory slang "Shiners", due to the crystalline growths on their skin. In return, the Forgotten sometimes used the term "Blunt" to refer to non-mutants.

Because of their mutations, the Forgotten were healed instead of harmed by exposure to Tiberium. As such, they were capable of living in areas heavily infested with Tiberium. Perhaps due to the harsh environments they live in, the Forgotten are a reclusive and secretive warrior people, with their warriors able to defeat most GDI and Nod soldiers in combat.

Background
The Forgotten began as loosely connected nomadic tribes of Tiberium mutants, who bonded over their common status as outcasts. The largest of these collectives was led by Tratos, a venerable warrior who offered his people acceptance, home and community where once they had none.

After a disastrous ion storm in Bogotá, Columbia, more than twenty mutants were reported missing by GDI. Tratos condemned the situation, citing that the area was once a Nod stronghold and claiming that his people have been kidnapped by Nod, he accused GDI of refusing to act because of their mutant status.

During this time, Nod propaganda efforts attempted to sway the Forgotten to their side. They claimed to defend the Forgotten people, and constructed medical colonies, supposedly to treat the Forgotten's Tiberium afflictions. In truth, however, these facilities were used to conduct Tiberium-based human experiments and recruit new troops.

Despite this, some of the Forgotten were still sympathetic to Nod's cause, as shown when Nod commandos raided a GDI armory in the city of Munich and armed the local Forgotten population to fight against GDI.

Second Tiberium War
During the Second Tiberium War, the Forgotten were known to operate in North America and Europe, bringing them into conflict with GDI and Nod forces there. Both sides realized that the expertise of the members of the Forgotten was crucial to their war effort.

On one occasion, Nod forces dressed up as GDI soldiers and attacked Forgotten outposts in an attempt to turn the mutants against GDI. Ultimately, however, the Forgotten allied with the GDI to rescue their leader, Tratos, and helping GDI track down Kane's World Altering Missile.

Firestorm Conflict
In the early days of the Firestorm Conflict, the Forgotten suffered a severe blow when Tratos was assassinated by Nod on CABAL's orders, angering Slavik for acting without his knowing. As a result, the mutants revolted. At one point, it seemed a war between human and mutant was inevitable, but GDI timely rectified the situation and the two sides were brought to relative peace with each other. Unfortunately for the Forgotten, their trouble was not yet over.

Soon after Tratos' death, Nod forces under CABAL assaulted their main headquarters in order to retrieve a piece of the Tacitus. It soon became clear that CABAL's ultimate objective was the total extermination of all mutants. The loss of their headquarters and of so many of their people was a severe blow to the Forgotten, from which they did not recover even after the fall of CABAL.

Third Tiberium War
In 2037, the Forgotten embarked on a self-imposed exile into red zones. In 2042, GDI placed G-330X Habitat Modules on the borders of red zones as tokens of good will. While seldom seen during the Third Tiberium War, the Forgotten acted as mercenaries who could be hired from these modules.

Mutant Exodus
In 2037, shortly after the Firestorm Crisis, the Forgotten mutants went into self-imposed exile into the worst Yellow Zones and Red Zones on Earth. Despite having allies within GDI, the Forgotten kept the reason for their exodus to themselves.

Information about their ultimate fate is sketchy, but reports persist of mutant hovels established inside habitat modules deployed by GDI in 2042.

Ascension Conflict
By the time of the Ascension Conflict, the status of the Forgotten in human society changed little, and their soldiers remained mercenaries. However, they managed to strengthen their arsenal with scrapbuses and Ironback mechs to defend themselves and fight for their temporary commanders.

Organization
During the Second Tiberium War, the Forgotten as an organization was highly decentralized, with local mutant warlords commanding their forces. Tratos was the nominal leader of the mutants, but he could not consolidate the various factions of the Forgotten into one major faction.

Tratos' forces were divided into loose combat groups commanded by a Mutant Sergeant who led Mutant Soldiers and regular mutants.

Following his assassination (by Nod forces on CABAL's order), no leader rose to replace Tratos and the Forgotten became even more fragmented. It may have contributed to the eventual mutant exodus.

During the time of Athos' leadership, the Forgotten built camps, outposts and bases to protect their Fortress, where it was rumored the Tacitus was held.

Military
The Forgotten use equipment which consists almost entirely of scavenged, hijacked or otherwise stolen weaponry and vehicles, which has been known to include anything from modified civilian vehicles outfitted with armor plating and weapons to equipment hijacked from both GDI and Nod depots, to disposed and obsolete Mammoth tanks to stolen experimental high-tech weaponry such as a portable railgun.

The bases they operate from tend to be composed of old and abandoned military buildings and/or converted civilian ones (for instance, observation towers converted into sentry turrets), and are typically set either in deserted Tiberium-infested wastelands or former ghost towns (and cities) which The Forgotten settled in.

Following the Exodus, they built organized camps with defenses.

Interestingly, the Forgotten have managed to tame Tiberian fiends and use them for combat.

Vehicles
The Forgotten use a variety of scavenged military hardware and civilian vehicles, often mixing them, which results in unconventional weapons such as vulcan cannons mounted on armoured sedans or siege cannons housed in school buses. In addition to converted civilian cars, the Forgotten also are known to field old, decommissioned combat vehicles used during the First Tiberium War, the most powerful being old X-66 Mammoth tanks supported from air by helicopters.

Their bases also are composed of both civilian and military buildings, with them utilizing observation towers with mounted cannons as makeshift gun emplacements and solar arrays as power plants. Also, several old, prototype models of the Obelisk of Light are known to be in possession of the Forgotten.

Infantry
The infantry corps of the Forgotten are composed solely of volunteers, mutants who wish to fight to protect themselves, their loved ones, the organization, to extract revenge or just to survive.

Prominent members
 * Tratos
 * Umagon
 * Ghost Stalker

Known Forgotten Infantry Units
 * Mutant (has 2 one-handed weapons, what these weapons are is unclear)
 * Mutant Soldier
 * Mutant Rocket Soldier (uses the same sprite model as Nod rocket infantry)
 * Mutant Sergeant (similar to Mutants, only they use more powerful handweapons. The weapons have blue muzzle flames)
 * Mutant Hijacker (also available to Nod)
 * Mutant Sniper
 * Mutant Commando (otherwise known as Ghoststalker, which is available to GDI)

Mutant soldiers are exceptionally strong and resistant. Most of them are ambidextrous and use dual pistols or small submachineguns as their preferred weapon, with some mutants (usually women) preferring long range battle rifles. They fight in small bands as well as in even smaller commando raids and are often lead by minor leaders known as Sergeants. Unfortunately, the armor possessed by mutants is not comparable to the weaponry that they wield, and they can be easily torn apart by anti-infantry weapons. This lack of armor prevents them from being a match for cyborgs.

The Forgotten Commando is known as a "Ghostalker". He uses a powerful prototypical railgun, carries the ubiquitous C4 explosive charges, and is usually allied with GDI.

Some Mutants choose to specialize as skilled vehicle hijackers and building infiltrators. These individuals could be the primary reason(and means) for accruing some of the Forgottens more exotic weapons(ex. Mammoth tanks and the fabled Rail Gun). These Mutants are associated with the Brotherhood of Nod, as often their military ideology of stealth and infiltration coincides with that of Nod, but on at least 3 occasions, GDI has been fortunate enough to employ Mutant Hijackers.

When the proliferation of Tiberium takes even further and uncontrolled mutations, the mutants become more savage and powerful, being able to wield powerful gatling guns with ease. An example of these mutants is the Mutant Marauder of the Third Tiberium War. They would hire their services out to anyone willing to pay for them and in a few cases the Scrin invaders used mutants.

Third Tiberium War

 * Mutant Marauder

Post-Mutant Exodus

 * Forgotten infantry units
 * Missile squads
 * Rocket fist
 * Bowler
 * Scooper
 * Scrapbus
 * Forgotten Mammoth
 * Harvester
 * Demolisher artillery
 * Reaper artillery
 * Forgotten machine-gun nest
 * Flak cannon
 * Construction yard
 * Defense HQ
 * Forgotten trade center

Ascension Conflict

 * Ironback
 * Scrapbus
 * Visceroid

Cut content
In Westwood's cancelled Command & Conquer 3: Incursion, the Forgotten were to play a major part in retaliating against the invading Scrin, as they could control Tiberium and the environment it has reshapen in ways the aliens could not, making them an extreme threat to the invaders and an extremely valuable ally. Some of their powers included the ability to negate Scrin abilities, control over Tiberian fauna and flora as well as the ability to call in ion storms. These plans were shifted out but the Forgotten still made an appearance in CnC 3, as controllable units that could be enlisted from Mutant Hovels that GDI created for them.