Field Recon
|
Another explosion in the facility?
Unlocked: A Grand Gesture, automatic
Intercepted GDI Transmission regarding secret Liquid Tiberium research in Australia
To: Dr. James De Groot, Chair, GDI Institute for Tiberium Research, [Redacted], Australia
From: Eliot Smith-Johnson, Director, Department of Covert R&D, Washington DC, USA
Subject: Another explosion?!
Jack, I'm running out of excuses here. One more "accident" like that and the Council will have my neck - and your budget. You've lost almost two dozen workers in the last year alone and, as you are WELL aware, these aren't your garden-variety beaker-slingers, these are top-ranked Tib scientists and they're getting harder to replace! You have to understand, Jack, people just don't want to work for you, not with all that's happened already, no matter how many zeroes we add to their paychecks.
I understand the potential you see in Liquid Tiberium, and I applaud your passion, but I'm beginning to side with those in the council who seriously doubt whether this line of inquiry will amount to anything other than billions of credits - and lives - down the drain.
Listen Jack, I'm at the end of my tether here. Get it together and start producing results or we're going to shut you down.
- Eliot
Intercepted by Black Hand Prelate Lucius Bika
Tiberium Explosion Devastates Australia
Unlocked: A Grand Gesture, automatic
Excerpt from Channel 273 Nightly News with Darius Wong
Good Evening, I'm Darius Wong.
Reports are beginning to emerge of a devastating Tiberium explosion in Central Australia, one that may have long term environmental consequences for the Southern Hemisphere - and the world.
We go now to Leanne Downing, reporting to us live from Hobart, Tasmania.
Leanne...
"Darius,
It all started as a green glow in the sky, visible from as far as Auckland, New Zealand. Now, as panicked citizens attempt to flee what appears to be the largest environmental catastrophe since the Tiber incident, the world is asking one question - who did this? And why?
There are widespread fears that this horrific event is a sign that the long dormant Brotherhood of Nod has returned. However, highly-placed sources within GDI have informed us that the catalyst for this explosion may have been an accident in a top-secret GDI Tiberium research laboratory in the Australian outback.
Now, as millions are driven from their homes, as a continent is consumed by the deadly crystal, one can only ask - why did GDI let this happen? What are they REALLY doing to protect us?"
From the Nod Archives
GDI Treasury Damaged in Mysterious Attack
Unlocked: All That Glitters, automatic
Intercepted GDI Transmission regarding Treasury Attack
To: Redmond Boyle, Director of the Treasury, Washington DC
From: Ramon Vicente, Security Directorate, GDI Treasury, West Virginia
Mr. Boyle,
I know you have warned me in the past not to disturb you during your vacation time, especially given the limited time you have to spend with Lance, but I feel that this is important enough to violate protocol. To put it bluntly - things are bad, very, very bad. Last night, an unidentified entity broke through our defenses, shut down our power and triggered an explosive device within the Treasury itself.
The level of damage inflicted is unknown, but initial estimates indicate that the losses might be in the billions. We have no leads, no suspects - although initial evidence gathering has lead us to believe that the culprits may be the 'Sons of Umagon', a militant Mutant separatist group - and we have no idea how we are going to explain this to the Council.
We need you, Mr. Boyle, and we need you now.
Yours,
Ramon
From the Nod Archives
Unconfirmed Reports of Cyborg Activity in Central Asia
Unlocked: Will Made Flesh, automatic
QVCX News and Sports Hour with Mike Vanderhaven
Good Evening, I'm Mike Vanderhaven.
Nearly two decades have passed since the cyborg armies of CABAL blazed their trail of destruction across a terrified planet. Now, just as the world seems once again at peace, unconfirmed reports of a similar bio-mechanical menace have started to roll in from Central Asia and the Russian Steppes.
(footage of terrified local)
"The ground...it opened up and....and... these things, they came pouring out. Like men, but like machines also...I hid....they did not see me...but my village...."
(flash cut to Mike)
GDI has refused all requests for comment, but an anonymous inside source has informed QVCX that the rumors are being taken quite seriously, with multiple investigation teams being briefed and dispatched as we speak.
More on the breaking story as it happens.
On a lighter note, here's E.J. Brody with the latest in sports...
Transcript, from the QVCX Archives
Tacitus Destabilized?
Unlocked: Tacitus Regained, automatic
Intercepted GDI Transmission regarding secret Tacitus Research
To: Dr. Johan Hannes-Schmidt, Director of Tacitus Research, [Location Redacted]
From: Theodore M. Bynes, Director, Department of Covert R&D, Washington DC, USA
Johan,
Firstly, let me state that I have every level of respect for the excellence and professionalism of you and your staff. There is no finer research team operating in this country, if not the world. Now, with that said, I have some major concerns regarding your most recent enterprise. Simply put, the latest reports from your facility regarding the Tacitus' stability disturb me - and the Council - to no end.
To hear that the device is estimated as having a 15% chance of self-destruction, with the chance increasing with each test run, is just not acceptable. Look, I understand that you are operating in unknown territory here, but I need to be very clear about one thing - if you are doing anything that risks the stability of the Tacitus, anything at all, you must STOP, immediately.
I'm sorry to speak so strongly, but we cannot risk losing the device. Too many people died to secure it, we have no idea how dangerous the Tacitus' destruction would be and, most importantly, there is no way it can be replaced. In short, to risk the device is to risk everything that we've worked to achieve.
I'll be flying out to discuss this with you Monday. Until then, kid gloves.
Sincerely,
Theo
From the Nod Archives
The Tacitus
Unlocked: The Rio Insurrection, automatic
Intercepted GDI Intelligence Briefing
An archive of unknown age and alien origin, the Tacitus is key to the ascension prophecies, the core mythology around which Kane built the Brotherhood of Nod. While the device has remained safe in GDI’s fortified Cheyenne Mountain complex since its recapture from Nod two years ago, it is believed that Kane managed to extract an unknown amount of information beforehand. This data vanished with Nod at the end of the Second Tiberium War, leaving us with no concrete evidence as to what the so-called Prophet planned to use it for.
Given the lack of Nod activity over the last three years, one can only conclude that he failed.
Despite Dr. Boudreau’s breakthroughs in the early 2030’s, progress continues to be slow for our own attempts to interface with the device. What information it holds, and what value said information had to Kane, continue to be matters of serious concern for this agency.
Obtained by Nod Intelligence, Date Redacted
|
|
Weaponry
|
The Awakened
Unlocked: Tacitus Regained, automatic
Details on the Nod Awakened Cyborg Infantry
In the aftermath of his loss in the First Tiberium War, Kane tasked several of his most trusted followers with a project of utmost secrecy - to create an army entirely devoid of free will - one that would obey the Prophet's will without question or conscience. Cloistered away in the wastelands of central Asia, these scientists spent the ensuing decades pursuing that goal, the first results of which became visible with the Cyborg Infantry and Commando utilized by CABAL during the Second Tiberium War.
The Awakened are the end product of this research, deceased Nod soldiers mechanically re-animated and controlled via cyber-neurological implant devices linked to central "control nodes" across the globe. Equipped with arm mounted direct-fire weaponry and a high-impact EMP emitter, these emotionless cybernetic warriors are more than capable of tackling anything GDI can throw at them.
From the Nod Archives
The Enlightened
Unlocked: Tacitus Regained, automatic
Details on the Nod Enlightened elite Cyborg infantry
The ultimate realization of Kane's vision of an army stripped of its humanity and free will, the Enlightened are truly a horrifying sight to behold. While their weaker brethren, the Awakened, still bear some traces of humanity in their desiccated flesh, the Enlightened are almost entirely cybernetic, the last vestiges of their prior form encased in layers of bone white battle armor, faces concealed behind eyeless masks devoid of human emotion.
Slower than the Awakened, the Enlightened are also considerably more powerful, capable of withstanding multiple hits from a Mammoth Tank without even breaking their stride, before responding in kind with their devastating supercharged particle beam and EMP emitters.
From the Nod Archives
The Redeemer
Unlocked: MARV Rising, automatic
Details on the massive Nod Redeemer combat robot
The emergence of GDI's MARV in the Central African Red Zone, and its subsequent drubbing of Nod's forces in the area, necessitated an immediate response from the Brotherhood. After ambushing and, at great cost, eliminating the massive GDI tank, Nod scientists performed an in-depth analysis of the vehicle's construction and applied said knowledge to the construction of an appropriate counterpoint.
The Avatar, with its iconic appearance and heavy firepower, seemed to be the best choice for a platform upon which to build this new combat unit, and thus the Redeemer was born - a massive combat mech equipped with MARV-esque garrison pods, an Obelisk-derived tri-part laser and a "rage generator", designed to push enemy combatants to the brink of insanity via subliminal brainwave modification. Truly a mighty adversary.
From the Nod Archives
Tiberium Trooper
Unlocked: Tacitus Regained, automatic
Details on Nod's Tiberium based short-range combat infantry
With the "defection" of GDI's Dr. Giraud in 2047, Nod's ongoing experiments with Liquid Tiberium have finally begun to bear fruit in the form of portable, battlefield ready weaponry. The Tiberium Trooper is the first Nod combatant to utilize these new armaments. His heavily armored, cybernetically enhanced form is equipped with two large containment tanks and a reinforced spray nozzle, allowing the rapid dispersion of Liquid Tiberium over a large area.
From the Nod Archives
Specter
Unlocked: All That Glitters, automatic
Details on Nod's stealth artillery
Developed during the post-Second Tiberium War period, Nod's Specter stealth artillery tank was designed as the ultimate evolution of the artillery-based guerilla warfare tactics first developed in South-East Asia during the mid-twentieth century. Alternating between two modes, one high-speed and stealthed, the other visible and static but capable of launching high-impact artillery from a massive distance, the Specter is a confounding opponent to face in battle. Able to enter occupied territory undetected, deploy, take out key structures and vanish before the enemy can hope to react, it is truly an insidious and dangerous opponent. This is even more the case when the unit is paired with the equally stealthy Nod Shadow Team, which has been equipped with targeting beacons, allowing the Specter to launch bombardment attacks from an even greater distance.
From the Nod Archives
Confessor Cabal
Unlocked: Persuade Him..., kill a Confessor Cabal
Details on Nod's elite confessor infantry
While the Nod Confessor has been an increasingly common sight on the battlefield since the Second Tiberium War, it was not until the establishment of Brother Marcion's post-Slavik Black Hand that these armored priests were considered effective combatants in their own right. Seeking to bolster his own standing as a 'pure' religious figure, untainted by the purported heresy of his predecessor, Marcion took the radical step of replacing his standard Nod Militant advance guard with regiments of combat-ready Confessors, armed, as always, with machine guns and psychotropic hallucinogenic grenades, all the better to spread his word...and put his enemies to the sword.
From the Nod Archives
Purifier
Unlocked: A Grand Gesture, reactivate ALL Purifier husks
Details on Nod's first generation combat robot
A significantly more primitive precursor to Nod's Avatar, the Purifier was inspired by Brother Marcion's first hand urban combat experience during the Second Tiberium War. After using an improvised flamethrower to rout entrenched GDI forces, saving the rest of his regiment from certain death, Marcion was declared a hero of Nod and saw his very presence have an inspirational effect on the Nod Militants that surrounded him.
The Purifier was developed to recreate that experience, representing Marcion on the battlefield in the iconic form of a hulking, flame-toting humanoid, one equipped with a subliminal projection device that would enhance the morale and righteousness of the Black Hand troops surrounding it. While by no means as advanced or flexible as its successor, the Purifier is an effective combat unit in its own right, especially when accompanied by infantry it can "inspire."
Ironically enough, upon its initial deployment, the Purifier was the subject of no small amount of controversy, with many Black Hand hardliners decrying the use of a "soulless machine" within a religious army that otherwise stood opposed to such devices. Marcion, seeking to prevent further schism within the Black Hand, remedied the situation by requiring each machine be blessed by a Black Hand abbot before entering the battlefield.
From the Nod Archives
GDI Zone Raider
Unlocked: MARV Rising, kill a Zone Raider squad
Details on GDI's Zone Raider elite infantry
Sleek, agile and heavily-armored, the Zone Raider was initially intended to function as a lighter, speedier anti-air counterpart to GDI's bulky Zone Trooper elite infantry unit. With the establishment of ZOCOM, the Zone Raider's role was evolved into that of a first response Red Zone scouting unit, with Tiberium-resistant armor, sonic grenades, and stealth detection capabilities integrated into their core armor design.
From the GDI Archives
GDI Shatterer
Unlocked: The Doctor Vanishes, capture the spaceport
Details on GDI's sonic-based Shatterer hover vehicle
As with its non-mobile brethren, the Sonic Emitter Defensive Turret, the GDI Shatterer was originally designed with Tiberium abatement in mind - using a modified version of the aforementioned turret to propel concentrated waves of sonic energy deep into the Tiberium Fields, operating safely from a HoverTech-derived mobile platform.
However, with Nod's devastating attack on Washington DC, GDI High Command ordered that the vehicle be re-designed as a combat vehicle. With the Sonic Emitter's bulk leaving little room for armor, the slow-moving Shatterer is something of a sitting duck. However, when deployed in unison with GDI's other, more flexible armored elements, the Shatterer is a force to be reckoned with.
From the GDI Archives
GDI Slingshot
Unlocked: What is Rightfully Ours, destroy a Slingshot
Details on GDI's Slingshot anti-air hover vehicle
With GDI's shuttering of its costly, failure prone HoverTech initiative in the aftermath of the Second Tiberium War, the GDI Slingshot is something of an anomaly - the last bastion of this once dominant GDI program, finally out of testing after a decade-long development phase. While this exclusively anti-air vehicle is less vulnerable to Ion Storm interference than its predecessors, the Slingshot remains a relatively fragile unit - trading armor and additional weaponry for high speed, maneuverability and a powerful quad cannon that can quickly bring even the most powerful aerial opponent crashing to the ground.
From the GDI Archives
GDI Hammerhead
Unlocked: What is Rightfully Ours, automatic
Details on GDI's Hammerhead heavy assault aircraft
A direct descendant of the assault/transport hybrid attack choppers of the 20th century, the large, heavily-armored Hammerhead was designed to act as a longer ranged compliment to the relatively range-limited GDI Orca. Armed with multiple Vulcan Cannons and enough space to transport an entire infantry regiment, the Hammerhead's secret weapon is its massive supply storage capacity, allowing the aircraft to operate in the field for days at a time without needing to either refuel or rearm.
From the GDI Archives
GDI Mammoth Armored Reclamation Vehicle (MARV)
Unlocked: MARV Rising, destroy the first ZOCOM MARV
Details on GDI's Mammoth-derived anti-Tiberium tank
Born from the same initiative that led to the creation of ZOCOM, the Mammoth Armored Reclamation Vehicle, or MARV, combines the near-impregnable armor and massive firepower of GDI's most potent tank designs with a full-capacity Tiberium processing facility. Tasked with single-handedly abating Tiberium in Red Zones currently held by Nod or mutant separatist forces, the MARV was designed with battlefield flexibility in mind. With a powerful main gun and four upgradable hardpoints, the vehicle can adapt to changing combat situations, take on any mix of enemy forces, and turn the tide of battle in a matter of minutes. The MARV is truly a force to be reckoned with.
From the GDI Archives
GDI Combat Engineer
Unlocked: What is Rightfully Ours, automatic
Details on arming of GDI's Engineer Corps
It has been a longstanding tradition of the GDI Engineering Corps to forego weapons training, with its members preferring to spend their time studying structural engineering and electronic subterfuge. However, Nod infiltration of the civilian population has placed Engineers at increased risk, resulting in a series of devastating casualties that have stripped the Corps of many of their best and brightest.
In response, GDI has initiated a combat training program for any Engineering Corps member facing a battlefield assignment, outfitting each with a pistol and slightly upgraded body armor. The outcome of this effort remains to be seen, but initial reports indicate that the Corps members still prefer to "let the fighters do the fighting."
From the GDI Archives
GDI Behemoth
Unlocked: What is Rightfully Ours, destroy a Behemoth
Details on GDI's modified assault walker
While an essential part of the GDI arsenal, the limited weapon payload of the Juggernaut Mobile Artillery walker's left the vehicle uniquely vulnerable to close-range engagement. After one too many Juggernauts were rendered a smoldering heap by little more than a Nod infantry regiment, a frustrated GDI Engineering Corps jury-rigged an infantry-capable garrison pod onto the walker's chassis. The end result was so successful, not to mention devastating to the ill-fated Nod recon patrols that came across it, that this updated walker, nicknamed the Behemoth, was soon approved for full development. After a period of field testing with the Steel Talons, the Behemoth is expected to provide long range artillery support across the globe.
From the GDI Archives
Rocket Harvester
Unlocked: MARV Rising, destroy a Rocket Harvester
Details on GDI's new, combat-ready Harvester
Of all GDI harvesting operations, ZOCOM's Red Zone abatement missions have always been the most vulnerable to Nod and mutant attacks, often delving deep into hostile territory with little more than a few Zone Raiders as an escort. In a bid to cut down on Harvester losses, General Renteria commissioned the development of an upgraded Harvester, outfitted with a high-impact rocket turret that would, at the very least, hold the enemy at bay until backup arrived.
From the GDI Archives
Heavy Harvester
Unlocked: What is Rightfully Ours, see a Heavy harvester
Detail on GDI's new, garrisonable harvester
General Mitchell places a high value on battlefield flexibility, a doctrine that spreads even to the Harvesters his Steel Talons employ for resource gathering. Rather than the standard turret machine gun, the Steel Talon Harvester is outfitted with an infantry capable garrison pod, allowing the vehicle to be adapted to counter whatever threat the commander deems most pressing.
From the GDI Archives
Eradicator
Unlocked: Hearts and Minds, destroy the Eradicator Hexapod
Details on the Scrin's massive combat unit
Rumors of a megalithic Scrin unit have been circulating amongst the populace in recent months. Though there has yet to be a confirmed sighting, tales of a massive, many-legged creature have spread rapidly throughout the yellow zones. Ghostly images, mostly taken from the edges of the infested red zones, show an enormous lumbering beast, its insectoid features illuminated by a fierce glow emanating from the center of its arthropodal body. Should these rumors prove to be true, maximum discretion is advised.
[Source Redacted]
Reaper Tripod
Unlocked: Hearts and Minds, destroy a Reaper Tripod
Details on the heavily mutated Scrin Tripod
Reaper-17 have long displayed a disturbing fascination with the act of excessive Tiberium infusion, an obsession considered both self-destructive and needlessly wasteful by their fellow Scrin. However, for all of the downsides, notably madness and death, the process does have its (albeit disturbing) benefits. The most notable example would be the Reaper Tripod, a horrifically mutated assault tripod equipped with a conversion beam, its bulk form even stronger than the Annihilator employed by the conventional Scrin mining force.
[Source Redacted]
Prodigy
Unlocked: Hearts and Minds, automatic
Details on the heavily mutated Traveler mind-control infantry
Focused on infiltration and enslavement, the Traveler sect has long sought to expand the powerful but limited mind control abilities of the Scrin Mastermind. Years of experimentation, inbreeding and genetic research have finally produced exactly what they seek - the Prodigy, a horrifically mutated Mastermind blessed with the ability to possess not just individual entities, but entire groups. The Prodigy is capable of blink-teleporting itself onto the edges of an enemy encampment, seizing control of an entire regiment and staging a "mutiny" without ever drawing attention to itself.
[Source Redacted]
Shielded Harvester
Unlocked: Tacitus Interruptus, automatic
Details on the heavily shielded Scrin Harvester
While their Scrin brethren choose to avoid direct confrontation except when absolutely necessary, the Cult of Reaper revel in danger and bloodshed. Consequently, even their non-combat units require additional technological support if they are to survive on the frontlines. Case in point, the Shielded Harvester, a standard Scrin Harvester that has been jury rigged with an Annihilator Tripod derived shielding system in the hopes of extending its life on the battlefield.
[Source Redacted]
Cultist
Unlocked: Hearts And Minds, save Nod infantry from the cultists
Details on the heavily mutated human abductees
Perhaps the most twisted product of the Traveler sect's quest to control the minds of all who oppose the Scrin, the Cultist is an unprecedented merging of two species - the heavily mutated, insect-esque spawn of the Prodigy directly implanted into the brain of a human abductee. While the Scrin offspring's massive carapace makes it impossible for the Cultist to invisibly re-assimilate into normal society, their limited mind control abilities and relative disposability make them an increasingly common frontline unit for Traveler.
[Source Redacted]
Shard Walker
Unlocked: Tacitus Interruptus, automatic
Details on the heavily mutated Scrin Gun Walker
Believing the Scrin Gun Walker to be an antiquated relic, barely useful against anything but the most primitive of cultures, the Cult of Reaper took upon themselves the task of returning this once storied combatant to relevance. After a prolonged period of ritualistic, Tiberium fuelled experimentation, the Cult revealed their new Shard Walker. A being of equal parts machinery, flesh and pure Tiberium, the Shard Walker is everything that the Gun Walker was not - fast, tough and capable of projecting chunks of pure Tiberium at a rapid, devastating pace.
[Source Redacted]
|
|
Rumors
|
The Corruption of Brother Marcion
Unlocked: Persuade Him..., destroy Marcion's statues
Intercepted GDI Transmission
(static)
...Park contacting central, GDI Central Command, do you...
(static)
...mission unfolding as planned. First objective has been met and was an unqualified success. Marcion now regards Agent Park as an orthodox Nod fanatic in his own mold. Target is proving very receptive to messages of distrust re: Kane. Moving on to second objective - laying the groundwork for the "removal" of Slavik.
(static)
Seeds have been planted...
(static)
Park out.
Intercepted and decoded by Brother Othus Qatar
Mysterious Homestead Attacks Continue
Unlocked: The Betrayal of Kilian Qatar, automatic
Archived Report on massacre of Nod separatists
For the third time this year, a separatist Nod settlement in the Central African region has been brutally attacked. While investigations are ongoing, initial reports identify the deceased as respected prophecy scholar Caleb Kovacs, his wife Ileana, daughter Alexa and an unidentified number of servants.
While the mainstream media continues to dismiss these attacks as the work of Mutant fundamentalists, the Fist of the Prophet can exclusively reveal that there may be more sinister forces behind the attack - forces stemming from within the Brotherhood itself. Evidence gathered from the ruins (and, according to our sources, suppressed on the direct orders of Anton Slavik) has been made available to us.
Analysis of this evidence reveals the attackers not to be Mutants, but Cyborgs, under the direct control of the renegade AI CABAL. The Fist has raised concerns about CABAL's stability and the Brotherhood's general dependence on such soulless machinery in the past, but even as the evidence mounts, Slavik refuses to accept the truth, and now the Prophet's most devout followers are paying the price for his willful blindness.
Excerpt from "Fist of the Prophet", underground Nod Separatist infocast
|
|
Background
|
Brother Marcion, Biography
Unlocked: Persuade Him..., automatic
Biographical Details of Black Hand Leader
Once the leader of the Brotherhood's religious wing, charged with proselytizing the prophecies of Kane, Marcion grew disillusioned with the Brotherhood and its leader as the Second Tiberium War drew to a close. Increasingly outspoken, few within the Inner Circle were surprised when Marcion was the first to break with Nod following their devastating series of losses, branding the deceased Prophet a charlatan and retreating to the Australian outback.
Marcion was not quiet for long; his powerful oratorical skills and deeply ascetic lifestyle won him many devotees in what would come to be known as yellow zones. Within a year of his break with Nod, Marcion had organized his followers into a disciplined theocratic army - the "new" Black Hand. Dedicated to spreading "truth and purity of the Tiberium prophecy," their popular support continues to grow amongst the increasingly splintered Nod survivors.
Rumors that GDI had a hand in Marcion's break with Kane remain unsubstantiated.
Excerpt from "Kane: Visionary or Maniac?" by Carlos Del Mar.
Kane - My Lowest Ebb
Unlocked: The Rio Insurrection, automatic
Excerpt from private audiologs of the prophet Kane
My brothers, the departed, are surely looking down at me with contempt. After millenia, their ultimate vision of my fate has been realized. I have been rendered impotent, a sham, a failure, my very existence a mockery of all that I know to be right and true. Once a prophet, the messiah for this world, now imprisoned. As I lie here, trapped in these tubes, in this twisted, ruined shell of a body, the Brotherhood of Nod has been torn asunder by the infighting and heresy of those who presume to speak in my stead. Is it any wonder my followers have scattered to the four winds?
I think not.
So, has it come to this, that all that I fought for, all that I have sacrificed, is as dust?
This cannot be...
...I must heal, I must survive, I must claw myself up from this pit...
...and then, truly, shall this pitiful world - and my dear departed brothers - know my wrath.
[Source Redacted]
Kane - A Spark...
Unlocked: The Rio Insurrection, automatic
Excerpt from private audiologs of the prophet Kane
Curse this mask, these tubes that imprison me, for even as my flesh is restored, my mind is left to wander alone in darkness. This isolation, it weighs heavily upon me. I must focus, think, lest insanity take me once and for all.
I must prepare...I must plan...
...and so it is that my thoughts turn to CABAL, that which was my creation and is now, in a way, part of what I have become. In the end, the AI's legacy was little more than wanton destruction, proof to the heretics that I am nothing but the madman they claim me to be. Yet, deep within that AI, within its very conception, there lies a spark, a light, a sign.
There is something there, something hidden, something...great. I must think more on this.
[Source Redacted]
Kane - Awakening
Unlocked: What is Rightfully Ours, automatic
Excerpt from private audiologs of the prophet Kane
...and so the day comes, the day when at last I emerge from this hated apparatus and again walk upon the Earth. My face is scarred, true, and thus must be kept hidden from those who seek me, but my hands, my eyes, my mind, these are mine again to command.
Years I have waited, body in ruins, roaming the darkened recesses of my own mind, and in those darkened corners I found inspiration...I found a vision, a plan. Now it is time to make that vision a reality.
The world sleeps, hostage to its own ignorance, for it knows not what is yet to come...
[Source Redacted]
Kane - Realization
Unlocked: Persuade Him..., destroy Steel Talons' pulse scanners
Excerpt from private audiologs of the prophet Kane
Blessed be he who has preserved these shards of the Tacitus, for within them I find the means to transform the visions of my...confinement...into reality. The journey is arduous, true, but with each day spent, each gauntlet passed, I move one step closer to my ultimate goal...creation!
[Source Redacted]
Kane - Creation
Unlocked: A Grand Gesture, automatic
Excerpt from private audiologs of the prophet Kane
It has all been worth it - the isolation, the failures, the frustration, the agony of years spent devoid of senses, locked in a forsaken tube - all of it. For today I reached out and gave life to something, something new, something the world has never before seen, born from memories of the Tacitus, shaped in my image, created with one vision...
One purpose.
This creation of mine, it is far more than anything that has come before - no mere AI, no CABAL-esque simulacra, nor a sentient bag of flesh, a mere genetic anomaly laying claim to the Earth through some misguided sense of privilege...
No, this is something greater. This is...LEGION.
"For the world shall quake at his footsteps, and all shall begin anew."
[Source Redacted]
Black Hand - Origins
Unlocked: Persuade Him..., complete bonus objectives
Background on the Black Hand Nod splinter faction
A cult within a cult, the origins of the Black Hand date back to soon after the founding of Nod itself. Initially established as a form of religious police and tasked with enforcing adherence to the teachings of Kane, in the ensuing years the Black Hand saw their purview expand significantly. By the time of the Second Tiberium War, the cult had become Kane's chosen wardens of all things religious, charged with the distributing and proselytizing of his prophecies while also maintaining spiritual discipline within the Brotherhood...by force if necessary.
The Black Hand maintains a parallel organization within the Brotherhood with political, religious and military wings.
Yet, for all of their power and influence, until recently the Black Hand had managed to maintain a surprisingly low profile, shrouding their rituals, beliefs and, to the world beyond Nod, their very existence in a veil of mystery and obfuscation. However, as the Second Tiberium War drew to a close, all this would change. With Kane's "death", Anton Slavik, a respected military leader, rose to become leader of the Brotherhood of Nod - and revealed himself to be a Black Hand prelate, raised from childhood within the cult. Needless to say, Slavik's ascent drew significant attention to the Black Hand, attention that was not always welcomed.
Unsurprisingly, many within the Black Hand chafed at the cult's new public profile, with internal dissent quickly escalating into a series of impassioned public confrontations between Slavik loyalists and those who claimed the Nod leader to be a traitor to the Black Hand's true purpose. From within the anti-Slavik ranks there soon rose a figure who could stand toe-to-toe with Slavik, an impassioned and popular preacher by the name of Brother Marcion. With leaders chosen and battle-lines drawn, what had started as a doctrinal disagreement had quickly escalated into a schism that threatened the very existence of Nod itself.
Despite the Inner Circle's repeated attempts to heal the rift, the situation soon spun out of control, leaving Slavik dead at the hands of an assassin and Marcion and his followers retreating to self-imposed exile in the Australian outback. These cataclysmic events splintered the remainder of the Brotherhood into countless sub-factions, each claiming to follow the "true" word of the Prophet, with, ironically, Marcion's new Black Hand serving as one of four surviving links to the Brotherhood's storied past.
Now claiming himself to be the one true prophet, and, in turn, branding Kane a heretic and charlatan, Marcion sets forth to make his own mark upon the world.
Excerpt from "Marcion - as I Knew Him" by Elbert Goldman
Steel Talons - Origins
Unlocked: What is Rightfully Ours, automatic
Background on the GDI Steel Talons experimental warfare division
With the end of the Second Tiberium War and the Brotherhood of Nod's subsequent implosion, GDI came to believe that the quasi-state and fanatical cult no longer represented a significant threat to Earth's population. Consequently, GDI shifted its strategic goals from defeating Nod to the reclamation of those parts of the planet previously consumed by Tiberium. The vast majority of GDI's research and development budget was repurposed to further that goal, bringing to a close the period of rapid technological development that had characterized GDI's military over the previous several decades.
Needless to say, there were several within the military who questioned this new directive - notably General Joshua 'Mitch' Mitchell, a decorated veteran of the Second Tiberium War renowned for his youth, aggressiveness and tactical innovation. Mitchell contended that while Nod may have been defeated, it would be foolish for GDI to assume that no successor would rise from the dispirited populace of an increasingly Tiberium-stricken earth. Therefore, he argued, funds allocated towards Tiberium control should instead be earmarked for the research and development of new combat technology, in anticipation of this next potential conflict.
After a lengthy, volatile hearing, Mitchell emerged with a partial victory. While GDI refused to divert a significant part of its R&D budget to the General's cause, they did agree to fund a new experimental combat technology division under Mitchell. Dubbed the 'Steel Talons' by Mitchell's admirers - notably famed war hero Nick 'Havoc' Parker - this elite, unconventional combat battalion quickly rose to prominence in the splinter faction skirmishes that followed Nod's implosion, becoming known both for their ruthless efficiency on the battlefield and for the shroud of secrecy they maintained at all other times.
Excerpt from 'GDI and the Future of War', by Xavier Des Jardins
Alexa Kovacs, Biography
Unlocked: Keys to the Kingdom, complete bonus objectives
Biographical Details of Abbess Kovacs, ward of LEGION project
Raised in near isolation by migratory Nod separatists on the edge of what would become the Central African Red Zone, Alexa Kovacs was orphaned in her pre-teens. After surviving over a year alone in the burnt-out remains of her parents' homestead, Alexa was discovered mute and near-starving by a patrolling group of Nod scavengers.
Intelligent and pragmatic, she quickly took up with her rescuers as a rookie zone runner. Kovacs' devout religious beliefs and near-preternatural understanding of cybernetics and AI quickly garnered attention within the Brotherhood, leading to her enrollment in the Nod Academy.
Rising quickly through the ranks post-graduation, Kovacs developed a reputation for coldness, reserve and near-fanatical religious dogmatism that segregated her from her peers - and drew the attention of Kane himself. Despite her youth, Alexa was raised to the level of Abbess and enlisted to participate in one of the Nod leader's most secretive projects - working on the development of LEGION, a CABAL-derived experimental combat AI.
Excerpt from "Nod in the Post-Kane Era", by Ficus Quartermaine, PhD
Marked of Kane - Origins
Unlocked: Will Made Flesh, complete bonus objective
Background on Nod's Marked of Kane Cyborg Cult
As the First Tiberium War drew to a close, pervasive and disturbing rumors began to emerge from the Tiberium wastelands of Central Asia and the Russian Steppes. Nomadic travelers and Nod separatist colonies alike have shared tales of Nod bunkers hidden deep beneath the earth - laboratories where cultish techno-fetishists perform horrific rituals upon the corpses of the Brotherhood's fallen - the goal? Nothing less than raising the dead.
Needless to say, Nod has continually denied all knowledge of any such acts, and even those within the Brotherhood believe these Necromantic tales to be little more than the mutterings of frightened outcasts. The truth, however, is far stranger. In the aftermath of his first defeat at the hands of GDI, Kane spent long days pondering how it was that Nod had been defeated. Ultimately, he formulated a unique hypothesis - the humanity of his soldiers had been their undoing. Thus, the Prophet concluded, to achieve victory he would require an army devoid of free will - of love, hate, fear and regret, of both conscience and consciousness, a legion that would willingly and unquestioningly obey his every command.
To that end, Kane initiated the development of an army of emotionless, endlessly malleable cybernetic warriors that would do his bidding without question. Knowing that such research would cause dissension within the ranks of his existing army, the Prophet sequestered this work in the hinterlands of Russia and China, where few would stumble across the project and even fewer would be believed if they shared such tales.
The path was long and arduous, and outside of a few promising developments - the most notable being the cyborg armies of CABAL - far from successful. Eventually, as the Second Tiberium War drew to a close, the Marked of Kane finally neared completion. However, it was too late to save Nod and the Marked of Kane were left to slumber deep beneath the Earth, awaiting their master's call...
[Source Redacted]
ZOCOM - Origins
Unlocked: MARV Rising, automatic
Background on the GDI ZOCOM Tiberium eradication division
With a post-Nod GDI shifting its focus to the reduction and eventual elimination of Tiberium, it was natural for the council to establish a branch of the military tasked with the enforcement and execution of that goal - Zone Operations Command, or ZOCOM. Their peacetime mission was threefold; to improve GDI's military capabilities within areas of high Tiberium infestation, to establish 'beachheads' within such areas allowing reclamation to commence, and to protect existing reclamation operations from any attacks, be they terrorist or mutant in origin.
Command was given to the eminently qualified C. Elena Renteria, a decorated war hero and one of the first women to rise to the rank of General within GDI. Beyond her reputation as a smart, no-nonsense battlefield commander, Renteria's unique upbringing provided insight into the task at hand. The daughter of Mexican nationals, the General spent her childhood in the Tiberium wastelands of central Africa, while her parents, both GDI scientists, attempted to understand and contain the deadly crystal. After witnessing firsthand the devastating effect of Tiberium on the human population of those areas, Renteria dedicated the rest of her life to its elimination; first focusing on the systematic and ruthless dismantling of the Brotherhood of Nod, and then later through ZOCOM's Tiberium control and reclamation operations.
Few would deny that Red Zone service is perhaps the most demanding of any GDI assignment. Most soldiers cannot endure significant Tiberium exposure for more than a few weeks at a time without risking serious physical and psychological damage. There are exceptions, however - men and women who find the experience of living and fighting in a near alien environment to be an energizing, engaging experience. These individuals quickly find themselves assigned to ZOCOM - and few, if any, would be happy anywhere else.
Excerpt from "C. Elena Renteria: My Life" by C. Elena Renteria
Traveler-59 - Origins
Unlocked: Hearts And Minds, automatic
Background on the Scrin Traveler Sect
If Reaper-17 embody the darkest impulses of the Scrin, the benignly named Traveler sect represent something far more insidious. Trained from birth in the art of subterfuge, Traveler cells specialize in nothing less than the infiltration, destabilization and eventual enslavement of entire rival species. Where the Cult of Reaper seek to dominate through brute force, making bloody examples of those who oppose them, Traveler instead attempt to draw as little attention to themselves as possible. Traveler pods will blink-teleport into hostile territory and deploy Prodigy units - Tiberium-mutated Masterminds with significantly enhanced mental faculties - bringing the entire population under Scrin control within days.
Traveler-59 is the most recent cell raised to full active duty, and has yet to be verified as combat-ready on the battlefield. Recently attached to the Scrin mining fleet on the far side of Pluto, the cell has activated far-reaching scanning technology to locate its first host planet. In addition, the cell has been outfitted with a new, more efficient form of enslavement - twisted offspring of the Prodigy capable of being implanted directly into the cerebral cortex of an abducted life form. The victims gain limited mind control abilities...at the cost of complete subservience.
The Earth shall be their proving ground...
[Source Unknown]
Reaper-17 - Origins
Unlocked: Tacitus Interruptus, automatic
Background on the Scrin Cult of Reaper
Throughout the many worlds beyond our own, few names have inspired as much fear and fascination as the Cult of Reaper, a mysterious, ritualistically violent Scrin caste that takes as its creed the brutal, public extermination of any being unwise enough to stand in the way of the race's advancement. Believed to have been established in eons past as a first-strike native pacification force, the Cult has since cloaked its purpose in religious overtones. The members regard it as their divine right to cleanse planets of any life forms perceived as potentially dangerous, with that definition determined almost entirely within the cult itself.
Even within the Cult of Reaper, the 17th sect are considered almost preternaturally violent, displaying acts of unparalleled cruelty such that few within the Scrin wish to even acknowledge their existence. Of particular distaste to their fellow Scrin is Reaper-17's penchant for excessive Tiberium infusion, far beyond that which its parent race requires to survive. This deranged form of self-mutilation, a form of religious zealotry, has left many of their members as grotesquely mutated as they are immensely powerful. Outcasts even within their own society, Reaper-17 continue to plow their own bloody furrow...one that will next lead them to the planet known as Earth.
[Source Redacted]
|
|
|