Planet of Diedael; City of Nathrak; inhabitants: 2 307
Nathrak was a simple village, filled with simple people living a simple life. Or so it seemed. It was a remote town and nothing ever happened in it. The only known person who lived there was a retired General of the GDI, Mark Sheppard. He garnered fame when he led the Tiberium War against the Brotherhood of Nod, led by the sadistic Kane. Now, almost 30 years later, he was retired and enjoyed his life in Nathrak. He deserved it, so he knew. He spent his days fishing at the lake near the town, cycling in the beautiful region that was scattered with small hills or just chatting with the friendly people in town. Outsiders might think it was a dull place to be and that could very well be, but nobody in Nathrak seemed to think so.
Some would consider Sheppard lucky for being hundreds of miles away that particular day. The GDI had asked him to hold a speech at a convention about the Tiberium War and would could be done to prevent a tragedy like that from happening again. But when the black limousine was driving on the hardened dirt road to his peaceful town again the day after the convention, he didn't consider himself lucky. The retired General sat in the back of the car, all by himself. The black window that separated him from the driver was up so he was alone with his thoughts. Having spent the previous day talking about the Tiberium War had brought up bad memories of the war. He had lost many friends in that dreadful period, many innocent people as well. Millions of people he didn't even know were killed as well. But what him worried even more was the fact that Kane's body was never found. The Nod leader was in his Temple when it got hit by a beam of the Ion Cannon. Bodies of soldiers, scientists and even hostages were found... but no Kane. The popular theory was that he was vaporised, but Sheppard knew all too well it was just a theory that scientists came up with to console themselves and to reassure that Kane was dead.
Sheppard sighed and put his left hand on his stomach, as if to remove the uneasy knot that it contained. He raised his other hand to the window to pull it down. The cool morning breeze and the smell of nature welcomed him back home. For a moment he was able to clear his thoughts. His brown eyes slit over the waving hills on the outside. He closed them and summoned images of Nathrak, the town, his friends and most importantly... his loving wife, Eva. He thought about he had met her. Before the first Tiberium War, the GDI had invented an interface for their huge mainframe computer with which they could control their troops very effectively even though they were hundreds or even thousands of miles away. It was called Electronic Video Agent, EVA for short. One night when he was at a bar, he was talking to a friend of his about the interface. During the conversation, he saw someone sitting at the table in front of his. It was a woman with long blond hair and she was truly beautiful. Sheppard was immediately enchanted by her looks and her... he couldn't tell what it was. He called it an aura, something that she just emitted that struck him as very charming, friendly and warm. When his friend left, he stayed behind for one last drink and the woman approached him with a faint smile on her lips. She looked him in the eyes and for the first time he had a good view of her face and her hazelnut brown eyes, just like his. She said she couldn't help but notice how he was looking at her during the night and mentioning her name a lot during the conversation with his friend. Did he? Sheppard didn't remember but it was probably true, he was simply enchanted by her. She wanted to know how he knew her name when she was new in town. Sheppard didn't understand it at first, but then she said her name was Eva and Sheppard laughed. He explained what he was talking about and she laughed as well. They talked for a few hours and it just clicked. It all went fast and smooth from there: more dates, romantic things, flowers, movies, everything.
Then came the Tiberium War that lasted for three years. During those three years they saw each other on rare occasions, but those meetings were very passionate and strengthened their relationship. When the war was over, he immediately went to Eva's house. She opened the door and he proposed her. With tears in her eyes she accepted. They got married soon after and only a few days after their first year of marriage, they got their first child. Their daughter Kim. Four years later, Eva gave birth to their second child: a boy who they named Shane. It was their last child as soon after Eva had to have her uterus removed. It was a hard blow for the family but at the same time it strengthened them. It was also their only big disappointment as both Eva and Sheppard wanted a big family. After the Tiberium War, Sheppard got a desk job and stayed with the GDI until he finally retired. Kim became an architect and moved out to the capital of Diedael, Hertal, where she began a successful career. Shane on the other hand wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and joined the army. Until now, he made it to Sergeant but his goal was to become a General, just like his old man.
Sheppard's daydreaming came to an end when he caught an unnatural smell blowing in from the open window. He opened his eyes and frowned as he took a deep breath. The smell was familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. He tapped on the black window between him and the driver. A few seconds later it slowly lowered. Sheppard look at the black hair on the back of the driver's head.
"Yes, sir?", he said without turning around.
Sheppard didn't know what he wanted to say. He was trying to figure out what that smell was. He looked down at the back of the driver's seat with a slight frown. The driver turned his head to look at Sheppard.
"Sir? Sir, are you alright?"
With a snap, Sheppard looked up into the blue eyes of John. John had been Sheppard's personal driver from the day he was promoted to General and they had become friends over the years.
"Do you... Don't you smell something unusual?"
The driver turned around to watch the road again and sniffed loudly a few times, almost like a dog.
"I don't smell anything, sir."
"It must be my imagination. I worry too much. That's what my wife always says."
The driver turned around to look at Sheppard again, a smile on his face.
"Your wife is right. You do worry too much, mister Sheppard."
The right corner of Sheppard's mouth raised briefly for a smile but it immediately dropped again. The retired General sighed as he sat back in his seat. He looked outside again and tried to forget it.
It was quiet for the next few minutes, until suddenly John said something.
"Sir? Sir, look there."
John pointed at the horizon. Small silhouettes of what were houses. Sheppard smiled.
"Yes, John. Home at last. Soon you'll be released from my troubles."
"No, sir. Look above the houses."
Sheppard looked higher and he now he noticed it. Dark-grey and black smoke came from the buildings and disappeared in the air. Sheppard squinted his eyes and could see tiny orange dots at the houses themselves. His heart started to beat faster and the knot in his stomach returned. The image of Eva, his Eva flashed briefly through his head.
"Step on it, John."
"Yes, sir."
The limousine started to go faster and faster and hobbled on the dirt road. As they got closer, Sheppard's fears became bigger. The first building on this side of the town was an old, wooden shed from Michael Harken, a retired and rich businessman. He had several horses in there, one of which used to be a famous racehorse that won Michael quite some money. Sheppard leaned over and had his head nearly next to John's as he squinted his eyes to see what was wrong.
Suddenly John stopped abruptly and Sheppard almost fell over.
"God da-...", Sheppard muttered as he pulled himself up again. "John, why the hell did you stop?"
John pointed at the road right in front of the car. Sheppard was so fixed on the shed and the rest of the town that he didn't pay attention to the road. A beautiful white horse was lying in the middle of the road, it's snout pointing at the limousine. Its right hip was covered in blood. It was Pale Rocket, Harken's racehorse. It was still breathing and with every breath it took, sand and dust spread and flew away from its nose. John and Sheppard got out and kneeled at its head.
"Poor thing.", John said with well-meant pity and sadness.
Sheppard went with his hand through his brown-blond hair, taking a deep breath. He reached out his hand for the horse and tried to stroke its head, but the second he touched it, Rocket jerked his head away. Sheppard took another deep breath and got up.
"What should we do with it, sir?"
Sheppard kept looking at Pale Rocket, which neighed softly. A sound so quiet and sad it was capable of bringing a man to tears. Sheppard reached to his side with his right hand and grabbed his handgun. He pointed it at the head of the horse. John didn't say anything. He stood up and took several steps back. Sheppard hesitated for a few seconds, but suddenly... Bang! The capsule of the bullet fell down and made a metallic sound as it connected with a small stone. Sheppard kept pointing the gun at the head of the horse for a few more moments. He then slowly lowered it and with his last few ounces of strength he put the gun back in the holster. Just seeing this and doing what he just did had made Sheppard exhausted.
"It was the only thing we could do, sir.", John tried to console Sheppard.
Sheppard walked back to his seat.
"Let's go.", he said calmly.
John got back in the car as well and drove around the dead horse, continuing the painful way to Nathrak. Sheppard's fears came true as John stopped again. He looked up as John pointed in front of the car again. On the left side of the road, a person was lying face down. The blond hair on the back of his head was coloured red and a small puddle of blood had spread around his head.
"Just drive on, John. I don't want to see all my friends in various stages of decay."
John nodded slowly and silently and started the car again.
As the limousine got closer, both Sheppard and John could see the massacre better and better. Sheppard's heart almost jumped out of his chest and blood gushed through every little vein in his head, almost overloading his brain with thoughts, memories, possibilities and fears. The shed was almost completely burned up. One of the doors hung on only one hinge anymore and had a large hole in the lower half. As they drove further into town, Sheppard saw that all the houses were either burned down or in the process of burning down. Bodies were lying everywhere and here and there were small craters with black markings around them, probably caused by heavy explosives or bombs.
"John, to my house."
John nodded and sped up. Soon Sheppard's house was visible. It was no exception and was burned down as well. A figure was lying a few feet in front of where used to be the front door. The long blond hair and the long blue skirt the person was wearing made it very clear to Sheppard who it was, even though she was lying face down. His wife Eva. The limousine came to a halt right in front of her and Sheppard jumped out of the car. He ran towards Eva and almost stumbled doing so. He fell to his knees next to her and turned her over. Sheppard spontaneously broke down in tears as he saw Eva's beautiful face and brown eyes. It was completely covered in blood, a big crimson mask. He hugged her tightly.
"Eva... Eva... Why?... Please God, tell me this isn't happening... Eva...", he sobbed.
John walked up behind him, visibly very uneasy. He put his hand on his left shoulder.
"I'm... I'm so sorry, sir." John knew it was stupid, but what else could he say? His boss, his long-time friend with who he spent so many hours just lost his wife and he didn't know why. Sheppard held Eva in his arms and kept crying. He closed his eyes. The tears burned like acid as they ran down his face. He was burning inside. Hate, anger and fury mixed with sadness, pure sadness. Why? What has Eva ever done to deserve this, or any other person from the village for that matter?
A loud bang opened his eyes. With Eva still in his arms, he looked around. He didn't see anything. He suddenly felt John's hand slide off his shoulder. John fell down, spreading dust as he hit the ground. Sheppard let go of his deceased wife and crawled on his hands and knees towards John as fast as he could.
"John? ... John!"
A trickle of blood ran down John's forehead. A bullet had penetrated his head, right between his eyes. Sheppard jumped to his feet and looked around frantically. Where was the shooter? He didn't see anything at first, but then he was blinded for a second as the sun shone in his eyes. He found it strange as the ray hit him while he had his back turned to the sun, so he scanned the region to the source of the light. For another split second he was blinded again, but now he knew where it was coming from: from the roof of the only building that wasn't burned. He looked at the roof and saw light reflecting from something small. Something a person was partially holding and was partially resting on the edge of the roof. Sheppard suddenly knew what it was: the visor of a sniper rifle! Before he could react, another bang sounded.
The last thing Sheppard remembered was a bullet penetrating his body.
Nathrak was a simple village, filled with simple people living a simple life. Or so it seemed. It was a remote town and nothing ever happened in it. The only known person who lived there was a retired General of the GDI, Mark Sheppard. He garnered fame when he led the Tiberium War against the Brotherhood of Nod, led by the sadistic Kane. Now, almost 30 years later, he was retired and enjoyed his life in Nathrak. He deserved it, so he knew. He spent his days fishing at the lake near the town, cycling in the beautiful region that was scattered with small hills or just chatting with the friendly people in town. Outsiders might think it was a dull place to be and that could very well be, but nobody in Nathrak seemed to think so.
Some would consider Sheppard lucky for being hundreds of miles away that particular day. The GDI had asked him to hold a speech at a convention about the Tiberium War and would could be done to prevent a tragedy like that from happening again. But when the black limousine was driving on the hardened dirt road to his peaceful town again the day after the convention, he didn't consider himself lucky. The retired General sat in the back of the car, all by himself. The black window that separated him from the driver was up so he was alone with his thoughts. Having spent the previous day talking about the Tiberium War had brought up bad memories of the war. He had lost many friends in that dreadful period, many innocent people as well. Millions of people he didn't even know were killed as well. But what him worried even more was the fact that Kane's body was never found. The Nod leader was in his Temple when it got hit by a beam of the Ion Cannon. Bodies of soldiers, scientists and even hostages were found... but no Kane. The popular theory was that he was vaporised, but Sheppard knew all too well it was just a theory that scientists came up with to console themselves and to reassure that Kane was dead.
Sheppard sighed and put his left hand on his stomach, as if to remove the uneasy knot that it contained. He raised his other hand to the window to pull it down. The cool morning breeze and the smell of nature welcomed him back home. For a moment he was able to clear his thoughts. His brown eyes slit over the waving hills on the outside. He closed them and summoned images of Nathrak, the town, his friends and most importantly... his loving wife, Eva. He thought about he had met her. Before the first Tiberium War, the GDI had invented an interface for their huge mainframe computer with which they could control their troops very effectively even though they were hundreds or even thousands of miles away. It was called Electronic Video Agent, EVA for short. One night when he was at a bar, he was talking to a friend of his about the interface. During the conversation, he saw someone sitting at the table in front of his. It was a woman with long blond hair and she was truly beautiful. Sheppard was immediately enchanted by her looks and her... he couldn't tell what it was. He called it an aura, something that she just emitted that struck him as very charming, friendly and warm. When his friend left, he stayed behind for one last drink and the woman approached him with a faint smile on her lips. She looked him in the eyes and for the first time he had a good view of her face and her hazelnut brown eyes, just like his. She said she couldn't help but notice how he was looking at her during the night and mentioning her name a lot during the conversation with his friend. Did he? Sheppard didn't remember but it was probably true, he was simply enchanted by her. She wanted to know how he knew her name when she was new in town. Sheppard didn't understand it at first, but then she said her name was Eva and Sheppard laughed. He explained what he was talking about and she laughed as well. They talked for a few hours and it just clicked. It all went fast and smooth from there: more dates, romantic things, flowers, movies, everything.
Then came the Tiberium War that lasted for three years. During those three years they saw each other on rare occasions, but those meetings were very passionate and strengthened their relationship. When the war was over, he immediately went to Eva's house. She opened the door and he proposed her. With tears in her eyes she accepted. They got married soon after and only a few days after their first year of marriage, they got their first child. Their daughter Kim. Four years later, Eva gave birth to their second child: a boy who they named Shane. It was their last child as soon after Eva had to have her uterus removed. It was a hard blow for the family but at the same time it strengthened them. It was also their only big disappointment as both Eva and Sheppard wanted a big family. After the Tiberium War, Sheppard got a desk job and stayed with the GDI until he finally retired. Kim became an architect and moved out to the capital of Diedael, Hertal, where she began a successful career. Shane on the other hand wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and joined the army. Until now, he made it to Sergeant but his goal was to become a General, just like his old man.
Sheppard's daydreaming came to an end when he caught an unnatural smell blowing in from the open window. He opened his eyes and frowned as he took a deep breath. The smell was familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. He tapped on the black window between him and the driver. A few seconds later it slowly lowered. Sheppard look at the black hair on the back of the driver's head.
"Yes, sir?", he said without turning around.
Sheppard didn't know what he wanted to say. He was trying to figure out what that smell was. He looked down at the back of the driver's seat with a slight frown. The driver turned his head to look at Sheppard.
"Sir? Sir, are you alright?"
With a snap, Sheppard looked up into the blue eyes of John. John had been Sheppard's personal driver from the day he was promoted to General and they had become friends over the years.
"Do you... Don't you smell something unusual?"
The driver turned around to watch the road again and sniffed loudly a few times, almost like a dog.
"I don't smell anything, sir."
"It must be my imagination. I worry too much. That's what my wife always says."
The driver turned around to look at Sheppard again, a smile on his face.
"Your wife is right. You do worry too much, mister Sheppard."
The right corner of Sheppard's mouth raised briefly for a smile but it immediately dropped again. The retired General sighed as he sat back in his seat. He looked outside again and tried to forget it.
It was quiet for the next few minutes, until suddenly John said something.
"Sir? Sir, look there."
John pointed at the horizon. Small silhouettes of what were houses. Sheppard smiled.
"Yes, John. Home at last. Soon you'll be released from my troubles."
"No, sir. Look above the houses."
Sheppard looked higher and he now he noticed it. Dark-grey and black smoke came from the buildings and disappeared in the air. Sheppard squinted his eyes and could see tiny orange dots at the houses themselves. His heart started to beat faster and the knot in his stomach returned. The image of Eva, his Eva flashed briefly through his head.
"Step on it, John."
"Yes, sir."
The limousine started to go faster and faster and hobbled on the dirt road. As they got closer, Sheppard's fears became bigger. The first building on this side of the town was an old, wooden shed from Michael Harken, a retired and rich businessman. He had several horses in there, one of which used to be a famous racehorse that won Michael quite some money. Sheppard leaned over and had his head nearly next to John's as he squinted his eyes to see what was wrong.
Suddenly John stopped abruptly and Sheppard almost fell over.
"God da-...", Sheppard muttered as he pulled himself up again. "John, why the hell did you stop?"
John pointed at the road right in front of the car. Sheppard was so fixed on the shed and the rest of the town that he didn't pay attention to the road. A beautiful white horse was lying in the middle of the road, it's snout pointing at the limousine. Its right hip was covered in blood. It was Pale Rocket, Harken's racehorse. It was still breathing and with every breath it took, sand and dust spread and flew away from its nose. John and Sheppard got out and kneeled at its head.
"Poor thing.", John said with well-meant pity and sadness.
Sheppard went with his hand through his brown-blond hair, taking a deep breath. He reached out his hand for the horse and tried to stroke its head, but the second he touched it, Rocket jerked his head away. Sheppard took another deep breath and got up.
"What should we do with it, sir?"
Sheppard kept looking at Pale Rocket, which neighed softly. A sound so quiet and sad it was capable of bringing a man to tears. Sheppard reached to his side with his right hand and grabbed his handgun. He pointed it at the head of the horse. John didn't say anything. He stood up and took several steps back. Sheppard hesitated for a few seconds, but suddenly... Bang! The capsule of the bullet fell down and made a metallic sound as it connected with a small stone. Sheppard kept pointing the gun at the head of the horse for a few more moments. He then slowly lowered it and with his last few ounces of strength he put the gun back in the holster. Just seeing this and doing what he just did had made Sheppard exhausted.
"It was the only thing we could do, sir.", John tried to console Sheppard.
Sheppard walked back to his seat.
"Let's go.", he said calmly.
John got back in the car as well and drove around the dead horse, continuing the painful way to Nathrak. Sheppard's fears came true as John stopped again. He looked up as John pointed in front of the car again. On the left side of the road, a person was lying face down. The blond hair on the back of his head was coloured red and a small puddle of blood had spread around his head.
"Just drive on, John. I don't want to see all my friends in various stages of decay."
John nodded slowly and silently and started the car again.
As the limousine got closer, both Sheppard and John could see the massacre better and better. Sheppard's heart almost jumped out of his chest and blood gushed through every little vein in his head, almost overloading his brain with thoughts, memories, possibilities and fears. The shed was almost completely burned up. One of the doors hung on only one hinge anymore and had a large hole in the lower half. As they drove further into town, Sheppard saw that all the houses were either burned down or in the process of burning down. Bodies were lying everywhere and here and there were small craters with black markings around them, probably caused by heavy explosives or bombs.
"John, to my house."
John nodded and sped up. Soon Sheppard's house was visible. It was no exception and was burned down as well. A figure was lying a few feet in front of where used to be the front door. The long blond hair and the long blue skirt the person was wearing made it very clear to Sheppard who it was, even though she was lying face down. His wife Eva. The limousine came to a halt right in front of her and Sheppard jumped out of the car. He ran towards Eva and almost stumbled doing so. He fell to his knees next to her and turned her over. Sheppard spontaneously broke down in tears as he saw Eva's beautiful face and brown eyes. It was completely covered in blood, a big crimson mask. He hugged her tightly.
"Eva... Eva... Why?... Please God, tell me this isn't happening... Eva...", he sobbed.
John walked up behind him, visibly very uneasy. He put his hand on his left shoulder.
"I'm... I'm so sorry, sir." John knew it was stupid, but what else could he say? His boss, his long-time friend with who he spent so many hours just lost his wife and he didn't know why. Sheppard held Eva in his arms and kept crying. He closed his eyes. The tears burned like acid as they ran down his face. He was burning inside. Hate, anger and fury mixed with sadness, pure sadness. Why? What has Eva ever done to deserve this, or any other person from the village for that matter?
A loud bang opened his eyes. With Eva still in his arms, he looked around. He didn't see anything. He suddenly felt John's hand slide off his shoulder. John fell down, spreading dust as he hit the ground. Sheppard let go of his deceased wife and crawled on his hands and knees towards John as fast as he could.
"John? ... John!"
A trickle of blood ran down John's forehead. A bullet had penetrated his head, right between his eyes. Sheppard jumped to his feet and looked around frantically. Where was the shooter? He didn't see anything at first, but then he was blinded for a second as the sun shone in his eyes. He found it strange as the ray hit him while he had his back turned to the sun, so he scanned the region to the source of the light. For another split second he was blinded again, but now he knew where it was coming from: from the roof of the only building that wasn't burned. He looked at the roof and saw light reflecting from something small. Something a person was partially holding and was partially resting on the edge of the roof. Sheppard suddenly knew what it was: the visor of a sniper rifle! Before he could react, another bang sounded.
The last thing Sheppard remembered was a bullet penetrating his body.