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The following is based on the Soviet campaign of Red Alert 3 and might contradict canon. |
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The Stone-Faced Witnesses is the eighth mission of the Soviet campaign in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3.[1]
Background[]
| “ | We will sign this treaty, we will come together as brothers, and then we will crush them! - Premier Cherdenko, explaining his plan |
” |
With Emperor Yoshiro dead, the Empire of the Rising Sun soon fell under Soviet occupation. Premier Cherdenko believes that the Empire's people is superstitious and culturally backward, but do possess advanced technologies. He contacts Gregor Zelinsky to see if he has made any progress studying the Empire's technology, only to find him missing from his lab.
Cherdenko then informs the Commander that he has convinced the Allies that the Soviet people is war weary, and orders the Commander to meet the Allies at Easter Island to sign a peace treaty. However, Cherdenko has no desire for peace, and only wants to use this opportunity to kill the supreme commander of the Allied Nations, dealing a crippling blow to the Allies.
Events[]
Treaty Trickery[]
As Soviet forces established a base of operations on the Easter Island, an Allied fleet of Aircraft Carriers, Hydrofoils, Assault Destroyers and Riptide ACVs arrived at the dock. The Allied ambassador was ordered by Field Marshall Robert Bingham to meet his Soviet counterpart between both the naval fleet and Soviet entrenchments to greet each other and get Anatoly Cherdenko who is nowhere to be seen to come and see Bingham.
| “ | Good afternoon, my friend. Are you here to escort us to your meeting with the Premier? I'm afraid not, “my friend”. Comrades, attack now! What the?! They double crossed us! Open fire now! - Allied and Soviet emissaries |
” |
The Allied ambassador and his escort fleet
The Allied emissary arrived and asked if he was there to escort them to their meeting with the Premier. The Soviet emissary responded by ordering the Soviets to attack and not allow the treaty to commence. The Allies realized it was an ambush and ordered their forces to open fire on the Soviets.
A huge number of Akula Subs surfaced to ambush the Assault Destroyers and their torpedoes fired away and Riptide ACVs, Hydrofoils and Assault Destroyers were seen sinking into the ocean. After destroying their escorts, the Akulas sunk the Aircraft Carriers.
| “ | Did you really think we would fall for a trap like that? We came to this meeting with our guns loaded and our safeties OFF! - Field Marshal Robert Bingham preparing a full counterattack |
” |
The Allies did indeed suspect a Soviet trap and Field Marshal Bingham informed the Soviets that they came to the Easter Island with their guns loaded. The Allies deployed an MCV and several Assault Destroyers to get revenge for the ambush. However, the Soviets had built defenses all around their base, and the Allied attack stalled. Zhana built up a sizable air force and her Kirovs and Twinblades leveled the base, presumably eliminating Bingham as well.
Cherdenko's Betrayal[]
| “ | Thank you, Commander, for so thoroughly and brutally dispatching my enemies. But now, I'm afraid, you have outlived your usefulness. You know just enough to be a threat to me, and with that, the future of the Soviet Republic. I will not say do svidanya, Commander – as I can assure you, we will never meet again. - Cherdenko, prior to his assault. |
” |
| “ | Brother against brother! May we put an end to this madness quickly?! - Zhana Agonskaya, being attacked by Cherdenko's forces. |
” |
The Premier reveals the true nature of the Moai statues
Cherdenko transmitted a message to the Commander from his fortress, declaring the Commander's usefulness has expired, and intends to eliminate him. Dasha contacts the Commander shortly after, swearing her allegiance to the Commander and implores him to defeat Cherdenko for the good of the Soviet people. The premier reveals his trump card: He has modified the Moai statues around Easter Island, turning them into secret weapons. Three of which conceal man cannons, which were used to deploy infantry loyal to him. Others contain powerful tesla coils, deadly against ground forces. In addition, the Premier also unleashes experimental Tesla tanks against the two Commanders.
Some Moai statues contain hidden tesla coils
| “ | Commander, I have a surprise for you! I'd like you to meet my new toy. The Tesla tank! - Premier Cherdenko revealing the Tesla Tank to the Commander. |
” |
To eliminate the Commander, the Premier deploys the Vacuum Imploder, a new superweapon based on the Allied research data obtained from Mykonos Island. The weapon was heavily defended by Moai statues, MiG fighters, and flak cannons. However, the two Soviet Commanders managed to destroy it using V4 rocket launchers and Dreadnoughts, allowing them to focus on the Premier's volcano fortress.
| “ | I'm sorry, Commander, but nobody will stand in my way. Especially not a fool like you! - Premier Cherdenko after the Vacuum Imploder is destroyed. |
” |
Volcano Fortress
The Premier's ultimate weapon is no more, but Cherdenko himself is still hidden inside his private fortress. Since no other forces can reach it, air units were dispatched and demolished its support structures, which sink into the lava below as Cherdenko presumably dies.
| “ | No! I must have victory! I am the Premier... This is MY timeline! - Cherdenko's final transmission. |
” |
Aftermath[]
It was revealed afterwards that Cherdenko had faked the attempt on his life, framed General Krukov and was responsible for the subsequent disappearance of Dr. Zelinsky in order to eliminate the witnesses to the Time travel incident that brought him to power. With the Allies reeling from their defeat, the time was deemed right for the assault on the United States where Tanya and Ackerman funeralised the deceased Bingham.
Walkthrough[]
The first part is to build up a large navy and/or air force to ambush the allies. Avoid actually engaging them until the Soviets openly declare their aggression, or the mission fails.
To handle the Allied air power, get Bullfrogs and MiG Fighters; to handle the Assault Destroyers, get infantry, Apocalypse Tanks, Akulas, and Dreadnoughts.
Once the Allied fleet is destroyed the next part is to destroy the Allied base on a small island. Get Dreadnoughts and Kirovs to deal with them but watch out for naval and aerial units.
Once the Allied base is destroyed the Premier will betray the commander and send in everything he has. Among these are Tesla Tanks, which can devastate the player's infantry, so get Twinblades. Their mobility makes them incredibly useful for taking out Cherdenko's ground forces, though beware of Bullfrogs and MiG Fighters. If the Allied MCV was captured, it is possible to utilize Century Bombers' speed to quickly target and destroy Cherdenko's Super-Reactors, thereby cutting power to many of his Flak Turrets.
The Vacuum Imploder is guarded by MiG Fighters, Flak Turrets and Tesla Coils hidden in Moais. A force of Dreadnoughts, Akulas and Bullfrogs should assault and destroy the nearby Shipyard. The Dreadnoughts can attack defenses at range while Akulas and Bullfrogs provide escort. Depending on the difficulty, the amount of time available varies (20/15/10 minutes on Easy/Normal/Hard). Cutting off its power does not freeze the scripted timer, so to clear the mission it must be removed from play before that hits zero.
Once the superweapon is neutralized by destruction or capture, the timer is removed. Send air units to destroy the three marked structures. Again, Century Bombers, Twinblades or Kirov Airships should do the job if escorted by MiG or Apollo Fighters.
Trivia[]
- Both Emissary ships can be sniped by Natasha and captured thereafter. Their names and descriptions will not change after being captured as if the ambassadors were still aboard. The Allied Emissary does not change team color after being captured, although her UCAVs and the Soviet Emissary do. This makes the captured Allied Emissary the only controllable unit in the Red Alert Universe to have a white team color.
- However if the player loaded a save of this mission, the Allied Emmisary ship team color will change.
Videos[]
References[]
- ↑ Electronic Arts Los Angeles, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3. Soviet mission 8: "The Stone-Faced Witnesses".