We're about to get into a rather interesting sequence of events. While we know the Forgotten is a loose coalition of mutants, we barely get a hint of their power. It is my belief that of the three powers the Forgotten have the greatest potential. In the games, in the missions where as Nod we fight against the Forgotten, they were very well equipped. Mammoth Mark Is, Tick Tanks, artillery, they have all the makings of an armored force. They even have a damn air force (I'm thinking of the mission to capture the Tacitus). Their infantry are a hell lot more powerful than Nod or GDI's basic infantry. That Mammoth Tank could tear apart a Tick Tank or a Titan one on one without any problems. It's just that they never really concentrated that power. I mean, if ten Mammoths showed up at my base in that mission (and they weren't coming in single column), I would have had a hell of a time holding them off. Thus I think it's time to show what the Forgotten can accomplish when fully united under one command.

I think I should address this, just because of the novelty of it. A few chapters back, someone wrote out a rather lengthy review that examined Chapter 1 from a technical and grammatical perspective. As far as I'm aware of, that is one of the first times I've ever received such a review. Thus I thought I should offer some clarification. Several highlighted issues made me aware of mistakes I had inadvertently made, especially in terminology. That is going to be very useful when I edit the entire thing for submission to PlanetCNC (if I ever get around to it). However, from the grammatical point, I feel I need to address a few things.

I often times ignore the intended use of commas, which is to separate ideas, and use them instead solely for pacing. While that may not go over well with English teachers, the English language is prone to change and and I don't feel ashamed in helping it along. Thus while these "errors" aren't ignored by me, it's just unlikely I'd be able to apply them. It would be a very jarring shift in my writing style. However, ultimately, technical reviews are greatly appreciated since they provide a fresh view on not just the content of the story but the writing style itself.

Chapter 10: Talon

"There's definitely activity," Elijah said. "Our scouts are seeing outlines on the side of the mountain facing away from the fiber line. Lots of them."

From the data off their binoculars, EVA had constructed a composite of the Nod base. "Activity" was a poor description for the resulting image. If this information was right, this would be the largest Nod base Wilhelm had ever seen. The resources they expended to keep the base hidden had to be astronomical. It would also explain the devastating attacks Nod kept launching in southern France despite GDI claiming to have cleared out all major Nod forces.

"I don't suppose the Forgotten have a nuke lying around," Wilhelm asked.

Elijah snorted. "If we did, we would have used it a long time ago."

Wilhelm took a deep breath as he looked at the composite. Conventional explosives wouldn't be enough to take out the base. Or at least they would need too many to pull off a successful sneak attack.

"What's the longest range artillery we have?"

After a few moments a tech had an answer. "We have some old German guns made by Krupp from World War II. Range, providing they still work, is something like ninety kilometers."

Wilhelm's mouth fell open and he stared at the tech. "Ninety kilometers!?"

"If it works," the tech quickly repeated. "These are old guns, as I said. And they're rather large."

"Hell, ninety kilometers, what does it matter if they're large?" Wilhelm replied. "And that raises another possibility. Any of you ever hear of an earthquake bomb?"

The tech nodded. "A massive explosive designed to be dropped from great heights so it would bury itself underground before exploding and setting off a miniature quake. And I can tell you now that we have nothing comparable that can be lobbed by an artillery."

"Then we improvise," Wilhelm said. "How hard could it be to make something that can dig into the ground?"

Glances were exchanged. One of the greatest strengths of the Forgotten was their flexibility, but there were limits to their resources.

"A Nod base of this size probably also has an underground compound," Wilhelm mused. "If we could get the shells to penetrate, the explosion might seriously cripple that base."

Elijah grinned. "Now there's a thought. Still, you're asking for a lot."

"And we'll be getting a lot," said Wilhelm. "Don't tell me you guys can't deliver."

Silence hung for several moments until finally a tech cleared his throat. They didn't know if they could do it, but they would certainly try.

"There is still the problem of targeting," Elijah reminded him.

Though that was a problem, his experience in GDI offered the perfect solution. If nothing else, GDI excelled at coordinating their units and troops.

"Simple," said Wilhelm. "We use fire control. We have spotters triangulate on targets and send back that information to our guns. And if they can be ninety kilometers away, all the better. We'll be able to encircle the Nod base from afar."

"And if Nod sends in fighters?"

"We have MLRS units, don't we?" said Wilhelm. "That should offer at least some protection."

"And if they send ground troops, such as Stealth Tanks?"

"We deploy MSAs and have troops guarding the cannon," said Wilhelm. "And if they make a break for it, we can try and have troops standing by to harass them during their withdrawal."

The other mutants all looked at each other again as they took in Wilhelm's proposal. This was not a light raid or even a major sneak attack. Wilhelm was proposing the complete destruction of a massive Nod base.

"You're preparing to commit quite a large amount of resources," Elijah stated.

Wilhelm nodded. "And if it works, we'll have taught Nod a lesson they'll not forget for years to come."

Elijah sighed. "We're going to need to call the other Forgotten leaders. I don't think we've ever tried anything this big."

"You call them and I'll make my pitch," said Wilhelm.

While Elijah established communications with the relevant mutant commanders, Wilhelm began organizing the attack forces. The first order of business was making sure the artillery worked. As he walked alongside it, Wilhelm couldn't help but smile. These guns had once held back the mighty Soviet war machine. Soon, they might very well shower destruction upon another oppressor.

"We're ready for the test fire," the gunner shouted.

"Move back! Move back!"

The mutants scattered and waited at a distance as fire preparations completed. When the gun went off, several nearly fell back from the force. A thundering deafened the troops as the shell let the tube. Seconds later Wilhelm's radio crackled as the spotter called in his report.

"What? Okay, okay." Wilhelm turned to the artillery team. "The round was off by several feet. Good, but let's try to do better."

After he rattled off the actual impact, the sights were recalibrated and a second round was loaded. Though they knew how loud it could be, the shot still threw them off balance. Moments later the hit was confirmed. Wilhelm smiled and held up his hand in a V. Soon others were cheering and clapping. One gun confirmed working, only five others to go.

Three guns were in working order by the time Wilhelm came back to the command center. One was being stripped and should produce enough spare parts to get two more up and running. A grand total of five big guns would be ready in time for the attack, providing Wilhelm could convince the other mutant leaders to support him. The four Shiners that were on the line were the most respected leaders of the Forgotten. However, two other leaders were not present. Tratos, the de facto leader of the Forgotten, was on the Kodiak and thus out of touch. Oxanna was missing so she could not be reached either. Thus the three women and one man on the screens would be the ones Wilhelm would make his case to.

"The size of this Nod base is larger than anything we've encountered," said Wilhelm. "Even while in the GDI, I've only heard of a few bases of this size and all of them were deep in Nod territory."

"Your proposal does have merit," said one Shiner. "However, how do you intend to destroy the base with only artillery? The shells in your guns, no matter the size, would certainly not be enough."

"I intend to detonate their Tiberium silos," Wilhelm stated bluntly. "We've detected Tiberium harvesting activities and it is likely they have silos to store them for processing."

"How would you even find them?" another asked.

"I have a plan to disrupt their cloak long enough for spotters to triangulate on their power plants and Tiberium storage facilities. Once those have been located, the artillery can black them out as well as use their own Tiberium as a weapon."

The session went on for an hour as the mutant commanders grilled him on his plan. Wilhelm provided enough detail to answer their question, but kept others a secret. There was no point in leaking all his plans this early. Finally, the leaders offered their reluctant blessing and promised to send some reinforcements. The end result gave Wilhelm at least an armored battalion with supporting infantry.

"Make sure I get my men back alive," one of the women said in closing. "If they get slaughtered, expect to join them, blunt."

Wilhelm caught Elijah standing but stopped him with a hand. His eyes remained on the mutant leader that spoke and stared into hers.

"You'll find that I'm quite sharp," he replied calmly. "Cutting something isn't very hard for me."

That earned him a wary smile from the mutant leaders, including the one who called him out. The links terminated and Wilhelm sat back. If nothing else, this demonstrated that the Forgotten remained a rather cellular organization instead of a unified front. Maybe this would be a step towards a united people.

"Don't let her words bother you," Elijah said. "Ashanta has always had a rough tongue."

"It doesn't matter how rough her tongue is," Wilhelm replied. "We got what we want. Now let's use it."

Elijah nodded but paused. "Mind telling me how you intend to decloak the Nod base?"

"Simple. We lob EMP grenades into their base with mortars."

Elijah sighed. None of his comrade's suggestions surprised him anymore, no matter how insane they might be.

"That's going to be extremely risky for the mortar teams," another mutant commented.

"If we do our jobs right, Nod will be too worried about their base blowing up to go after them," Wilhelm stated.

With that said, the entire camp was in motion. Testing began on the man portable mortars while the long range artillery teams continued refining the loading process. Reinforcements continued to build up as the other mutant leaders made good on their promises. Wilhelm again reverted to a diet of field rations and the stuff called coffee by the mutants as he worked out the fire control scheme. Scouts were routinely recording data at the Nod base before returning to upload it. With more raw data, EVA refined her original outline and soon there were even hypothetical locations for the silos and power plants.

Elijah walked into the command center to see Wilhelm fast asleep at his commandeered spot. He kicked the bottom of the chair and Wilhelm jumped as he woke.

"What? Huh? Something happen?"

"Just thought you could use a vacation," said Elijah. "We leave in two days and if you keep at your pace, you'll be useless at the battle."

Wilhelm rubbed his eyes. "No time. There's still too much stuff to do."

"Is the fire control ready?" Elijah asked.

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Do all of the teams know their callsigns and their part in the battle plan?"

"Yeah but-"

"And haven't they been rehearsing for the last two weeks?"

"Yes-"

"Then I'd say it's time you took a damn break," Elijah interrupted again. "The troops are ready, Wilhelm. The only things left are details. We have the rounds for the artillery, we have the modified EMP grenades, all we're waiting for is the latest upload from our scouts. You can't keep micromanaging everything. You're going to drive yourself crazy and you're going to drive us crazy. You need a break!"

"And where am I supposed to go for a break?"

"I don't know, home! Go congratulate the good doctor or something!"

"Huh?"

Elijah slapped his forehead. "You didn't know?"

"No. What? What happened?"

"She's bloody pregnant, you idiot! She sent a message about it three days ago!"

"What!"

"Jesus, you really are an imbécile. That message was addressed to you!"

"So how come you know what was in it!"

"Cause she got worried that you were maybe dead since you hadn't responded and called me."

At that Wilhelm slumped down and literally deflated. He massaged his temples and closed his eyes. He had been burying himself in all this work and ignoring the lives of those around him.

"It takes almost a day to get home," he said.

"So you won't go see her?"

Wilhelm shook his head. "After the battle. But I'll at least write her a letter."

Elijah smiled and patted Wilhelm on the shoulder. "The message is still in your inbox. Get to it, you blunt."

"Hey, watch the name calling, or I'm liable to cut you."

The sound of laughter answered him as Elijah walked away. Wilhelm was alone again with his thoughts and he stared blankly for several moments. He brought up his inbox and found the relevant message. Elijah had been right, the message from Grace was three days old. Since he was late, he needed to make this good. Carefully, Wilhelm began putting his thoughts down.

Sorry for the late response. Everything's been messy here these days. We're preparing for something big so

Stopping, Wilhelm sighed and deleted the line. It definitely wouldn't do to sound like that. He began once more.

I'm sorry for not writing back earlier, or for that matter coming back to visit. Congratulations. I've been around long enough to know this isn't something that happens easily. I'm sure you'll make a great mother.

That sounded better, but Grace deserved more. After all, she had looked out for him in her own way while he was at home.

Maybe when what I'm doing now is over, I'll come back for a little vacation. God knows we all need to rest when we can. That goes for you too. You may be a doctor, but you have to take care of yourself as well. And no one will hold it against you if you put yourself as a mother first.

Wilhelm didn't know whether he was trying to be comforting or what. He reread the message and considered starting over but decided against it. He did feel happy for her, yet something ate at him.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm happy that you found someone. At least I'm assuming that, since it's something that we all hope for. But remember, we're all family. I'll be there as whatever you need. Be it brother or whatever, I'm not going to let you get hurt. So be well and take care of your new family.

Wilhelm

However the good doctor reacted, he hoped she at least understood his intentions. He sent the message and slumped down again. The act of writing a letter was surprisingly draining. Wilhelm closed his eyes once more and let sleep overtake him.

Forgotten Field Command Center+

The equipment was still being set up and Wilhelm was having a few last words with his spotters.

"Remember your jobs," he said. "You're not supposed to be a hero, you're supposed to get out alive. We're going to kick Nod in the nuts today, but I wouldn't mind spitting in their faces either. And how do we do that? By staying alive. By taunting them because we are alive. So go out and spit in their faces."

The troops all nodded and began moving to their positions. If things went according to play, they'd all be in position in twenty minutes. Wilhelm walked over to Elijah and let out a sigh.

"Inspirational," the other mutant said to him.

"I try."

Elijah grinned and went back to watching the techs. Even within a building, wiring was all over the floors and walls. In the field, they were all over the ground and hung above them on the tent poles. To keep things simple, the spotters would report back coordinates and tag them accordingly. So instead of streaming video, it was just numbers and letters that would populate the situation map. The screen flickered to life and displayed the terrain but there was nothing yet.

"Gunbound check in," Wilhelm said.

To ensure there would be no leaks through radios until the last moment, the mutants had actually laid lines for communications with the big guns. While the actual laying risked catching Nod's attention, hopefully Nod wouldn't know what was going on until too late. Either way, it helped better guarantee that none of the firing orders could be intercepted.

"Gunbound 1, ready."

"Gunbound 2, ready."

"Gunbound 3, loaded."

"Gunbound 4, let's go already!"

"Gunbound 5, can we have a new callsign?"

"No," Wilhelm responded. "And stop asking."

"But you named us after a video game!"

Wilhelm sighed and took in a deep breath. "Get back to work or I'll change your callsign to Red Alert 2!"

This time there was no reply and Wilhelm shook his head. "How do they even know Gunbound is a video game?"

"Why wouldn't they?" Elijah asked.

Wilhelm shook his head. "I keep forgetting where all of you are from. All right, spotters should be ready soon. Mortar teams are standing-"

The radio suddenly crackled and hissed, taking all who were wearing it by surprise. Wilhelm tore off his set and threw it away. Most of the other techs did likewise.

"What the hell was that!?" Elijah exclaimed.

"Jamming field," a mutant reported. "It's blocking all radio transmissions."

Wilhelm let out a curse. "Order Gunbound 1 to fire at Backup Point 1 with incendiary, now!"

"Yes sir!"

"Try to break through that jamming and contact all spotter teams," Wilhelm continued. "And if you can contact the mortar teams, have them fire off one round each and then get the hell out of there."

By the time he was done shouting orders the first hit was being reported. Wilhelm ran up and grabbed the binoculars. Scanning the area, he saw a massive fire raging inside the base. Even before the EMP rounds could be used, the cloaking field had been completely negated by the napalm.

Putting his set back up, Wilhelm initiated the next stage in the battle. "Gunbounds two through five, begin firing sequence two."

Wilhelm didn't have to wait long. The gun teams had honed their skills in the last two weeks and could switch between the three types of rounds they had brought. Four bunker buster rounds were in the air and he watched as they smashed into the Nod base. Wilhelm didn't know how deep they dug, but the explosions shook the foundations hard.

"Gunbounds all, begin firing sequence three."

In his mind, Wilhelm imagined the teams dumping the old shell and bringing up the incendiary round. They raised it to the barrel and then pushed it in. After locking and switching to the backup firing coordinates, the guns roared once more. A new wave of fire exploded around the Nod base, reducing more of their facilities to rubble.

"Jamming field is down! Spotters reporting that power plants have been heavily damaged, as well as coordinates for Tiberium silos."

"Send them to Gunbound 5," Wilhelm ordered.

"Wilhelm! Spotter 4 reports a Nod armored company is leaving the base. They're-sir! Nod is using artillery against our spotters!"

"Have them pull back," Wilhelm ordered. "They've done their part. Just have them keep watching for enemy units moving out."

Moments later a massive explosion tore through the western part of the Nod base. Apparently Gunbound 5 had found the silos. Wilhelm had seen enough and ran back down to the command tent.

"Where are those tanks moving?"

"Towards Gunbound 2," said Elijah.

"The closest units?"

"A few squadrons of infantry. They can slow that tank company down, but they won't be able to stop it."

"Obviously not," Wilhelm said dryly. "All right, break out the heavy armor."

The moment those words left his mouth, the trap was sprung. Moving in armor close to the Nod base would have been next to impossible. Instead, using the hilly terrain, tanks had been partially buried behind high points. Already warmed up, they tore out of the ground and soon thirty tanks rolled to intercept the Nod company. While most were stolen or salvaged Tick Tanks, a few were also the massive Mammoth Mark Is.

The Nod tanks were taken by surprise and tried to swing around to face the attackers head on. By then the lead Forgotten units were in range and opened fire, blasting through the weaker side armor. Several Tick Tanks were alight and ground to a halt. The other units used their fallen comrades as shields as they completed turning. They opened fire and knocked out two of the lead Forgotten units. After unloading their next shots, the Forgotten Tick Tanks pulled aside as the Mammoths charged forward. They rammed into the burning hulks and pushed them aside, letting loose their dual guns as they broke through. Despite their age, the massive cannons on the Mammoths remained deadly even to modern armor.

Even with their numbers more than halved, the Nod units stubbornly fought on. Four focused their fire on a single Mammoth, finally bringing the beast down. However, the Forgotten Tick Tanks had maneuvered around and came down on both sides. The pincer crushed the survivors in between and the skirmish was over.

Wilhelm had not bothered to monitor the actual battle but was alerted once victory was reported. He let out a sigh and looked at the map once more.

"More Nod units are trying to break out," said Elijah. "A lot of their armor survived and it looks like they're going for a concentrated push."

"Have Gunbounds 2 and 5 shift targeting to those units. Do we have enough armor to try and stop that?"

Elijah shook his head. "Not enough in the area."

"We can't let them get away," Wilhelm muttered. "Are any mortar teams in range?"

A pause. "Three of them."

"Have them start to lob EMPs. We need to slow them down as much as possible."

"Sir, something's wrong," a tech interrupted. "The Nod buggies and bikes are racing ahead of the main group. In fact, it's looking like Nod forces are simply fleeing."

"Fleeing? Damn. That base must be getting ready to blow. Get our units out of there, but I want that damn column stopped."

"Yes sir."

Whatever the Nod units were afraid of, they weren't wasting time getting away. The buggies and bikes tore recklessly across the terrain, completely unaware of the awaiting Forgotten infantry. When they saw the soldiers, it was too late. Rockets and bullets greeted them and sent the units crashing into each other. One buggy slammed into its leader and flipped over while the bike barely avoided the same fate. However, its luck ran out as a rocket found it and another fireball flared. The slower tanks behind saw the fight and quickly veered away right into the path of the EMP mortars.

Tank crews bailed out and began running on foot. Moments later massive artillery shells came crashing down on the now abandoned vehicles. By the time the Forgotten's own armor arrived, the only thing left for them to do was the mow down the more or less defenseless Nod troops. Wilhelm listened to the reports grimly but suppressed any regret. This was war, after all. He couldn't afford to get sentimental right now.

Nod soldiers continued to bail out of their respective vehicles, but these soldiers were armed. Rockets streaked through the air and began knocking out Forgotten armor. Those Tick Tanks that were still running joined the fight and more guns roared. Nod infantry began fanning out and peppered the Forgotten units with everything they had. Machineguns answered and more bodies fell. Both sides were now caught in a gridlock but Nod forces were slowly inching forward.

"Where's my damn infantry?" Wilhelm called.

"They're getting there now sir!"

Wolverines stomped forward, gun barrels spewing lead. Despite the reinforcements, Nod troops continued their breakout. They threw themselves into the line of fire, trying to knock out the armor and other mechs. Suddenly two Tick Tanks blew apart next to each other. Another high pitched shrill sounded before a third tank was aflame. A Ghost Stalker peered up and grinned. The fight was just getting started.

The number of troops pouring into the fight continued to grow as Nod forces tried to punch their way out. With so many enemy units trying to go forward, the Forgotten continued to give ground. They inflicted heavy casualties but couldn't keep the Nod forces back.

"Sir, we've spotted GDI aircraft approaching."

"Took them long enough," Wilhelm muttered.

As he turned around the ground began to tremble. Wilhelm grabbed onto a post as the shaking grew.

"All units pull back!" he shouted into the radio.

This order proved even harder to follow than it was for Wilhelm to issue. Infantry stumbled away while continuing to trade shots while the vehicles tried to void crashing into each other. A deafening boom finished what the shaking began and knocked everyone off their feet. Wilhelm pulled himself up and looked towards the Nod base in time to see a massive fireball rising into the sky.

"Gott im Himmel."

As the fires continued the burn, Wilhelm tore himself away from the sight. Whatever was there, Nod did not want it falling into enemy hands.

"Try to take some prisoners," Wilhelm said into the radio. "I want to know what the hell they had there."

With the base destroyed, the Forgotten refocused their efforts against the fleeing Nod troops. By now the other units had converged on the battlefield and joined their brethren. Victory was only a matter of time.

End of Chapter 10

I have a big ego. Anyone that knows me personally knows this to be true. I also have a sense of humor. It can be decidedly dark but there are twists to it. Thus it is without regret that I celebrate the fact that I have one of the highest review counts in the C&C section. And because of my ego, I thought I might make an observation about fanfiction in general.

I hold nothing personal against new writers. They're still learning the ropes and stuff, so there are issues with pacing and other things. Spelling, I'm less willing to forgive since now that Firefox has a spellchecker, I fail to see how one could let so many slip in unless you're just being lazy. But anyways, I digress. The beginners generally just need time to work on their craft, so keep at it. If you try, you'll succeed. And ask help if you need it. Generally, people won't bite. Generally.

The intermediate writers are actually at an impasse, at least I believe they are. They might not be aware of it actually. The thing is, today people want more and more instant satisfaction. Thus more and more readers lose interest over longer pieces. That's generally what I risk by making Bird of Prey so long (compared to others). I've browsed over a few of the other high review count fics (the non humor ones). Several of them are fairly short in length compared to mine, at least individual chapter wise. That usually indicates an intermediate author or a more advanced author that made the conscious decision to keep his or her work short. So here we stand, with two options. We as authors can either change to give people a quick shot, so to speak, or create a piece with more depth but requires more effort on the part of the readers. I tend to the latter since my writing style developed into that field. However, I've also done my share of short stories (none of which are posted on either this site or the sister site) so I know how powerful short pieces can be. But if you're in for the long haul, short bursts can work against you. Make the chapters too short and the pace suffers. Yes, there is a longer delay in updates with longer chapters and that can also break the pace, but at least with longer chapters the pace is restored. At least that's how I feel.

If you're in for the long haul, don't break your story just to update faster. That will almost always work against you. If nothing else, take the opportunity to learn how to deepen each event. You have an entire chapter to work with. Don't limit yourself.

Final note. Yes, there's another one. I swear the notes equal half the chapter. Anyways, according to EA, GDI has developed a new way to neutralize the Tiberium problem. Their explanation is using a harmonic resonance device to break down the crystals. This sounds fine in theory. Except I see a minor problem. Let's compare this to something else. Say we have a crystal that's composed of various elements. Perhaps one of those elements is radioactive. I remember basic chemistry enough that this is very unlikely if not impossible, but bear with me. So say we break it down somehow, like what EA says can be done with Tiberium. Does this remove the problem? Not necessarily. The radioactive element is still there.

What's causing the problem to begin with? It's not just the Tiberium itself, the elements within it can also cause problems. Providing that composition of Tiberium remains canon, we still have that little unknown element to account for. And unless whatever is causing Tiberium to emit radiation has a ridiculously short half-life, I don't see how breaking down the crystal will do anything. Heavy concentrations of certain elements can still poison the soil, so the leftovers still have to be cleaned up. And the biggest problem is the residual radiation. As far as I know, there is absolutely no way to de-radiate something except to let the radiation dissipate over the years. If there was a way to remove radiation quickly, then nukes wouldn't be weapons of last resort since the radiation could be cleaned up quickly after.

Z98