Operation Black Dawn
Mission 6 - Expedition
September ? - 1995/1097
Sixty minutes after mass Disappearances of GDI and Nod Forces
"We knew the world would not be the same. Few people laughed. Few people cried. Those people were silent. I remembered a line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita. Vishnu... is trying to persuade the prince that he should do his duty, and to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form, and says; 'Now I am become Death, the Destroyer of worlds.' I suppose we all thought that."
- J. Robert Oppenheimer, Upon the creation of the Mobile Construction System, 1931.
The ride was something I'd rather not experience a second time, thank you very much. Those were the thoughts that rang out in my head as our APC kept bumping around and around, and we couldn't simply ask the drivers about what the fuck was going out there because they probably also had no idea about the bumpy-ass ride, and I can't say I blame them. The ride felt like complete ass, and the soldiers alongside my sorry ass agreed. At least based on their extremely exasperated expressions. One even gripped his rifle as if he was close to breaking it. To think that GDI command crammed eight of us in the same fucking APC. We were briefed on our objective, apparently, Camp Riverbed was east of our destination, a good 1.5km away from us. So, we're gonna have to deal with that later.
To clear up my mind, I'll let myself talk about some of the occupants next to me, let's go over them.
Several of the soldiers alongside me were clearly from a wide mix of nations, but most were GDI members or at least aligned with the Global Defense Initiative.
One of the guys was from Tokyo Pact, and he was the guy gripping his rifle as if he was choking someone out for a simple mistake. I guess the Tokyo Pact is very angry about many things. I could tell he was from the TP due to the flag and camouflage. The camouflage was of the Imperial Japanese Army, it was called the 'Rikugun Camo'. Based off the Reich's flecktarn. Nice stuff. As for the flag? Well. it was just the Japanese flag, but with stars surrounding a bigger star in place of the... whatchamacallit... Hinomaru? Yeah. That.
Another one was from the Allied Nations. He looked like he was jolted awake from attempts at sleep. Several times. Without delay. And with that, his expression looked like a tired child who spent hours in a flight without rest. I know that feeling. How he was identified as being from the Allied Nations was pretty easy. He was wearing an old tan-colored Reichswehr helmet, but outfitted with an NVG attaching point. His uniform was Flecktarn as well, so definitely from the Reich. Flag was pretty simple. A buncha stars, with the Allied Eagle in the middle.
A third guy was also there, who clearly looked like he belonged in the Russian Confederation. I could tell from his rifle. He was fiddling around with his AK-64M. The rifle worked fine, he said. Well, I'll see about that later. He was wearing one of those fancy digital camouflage uniforms. More squares than a fucking block game. The flag on his arm was that of the new Russia. White-blue-red. With a cyan star in the middle, representing the Confederation as one united nation.
And then there was another American alongside my sorry ass and some others, but unlike the other Americans, he didn't seem to be using any of the new gear the Barracks sent most of us. Rather than a M3, he seemed to be using the classic M16A2. That thing's been in service since the 1930s and hasn't been replaced in some parts of the United States military. His uniform was a classic olive green, with a tan M1 helmet to compliment the appearance too. Sure, it was also used by a lot of the Allied military, but it's still American. The flag displayed 13 stars surrounding a spread eagle, and that's what's beautiful about the American flag.
And that's pretty much everyone in the APC aside from me. We kinda just sat there, not looking at each other, doing nothing at all. At least, I would have been doing that, but...
"Anyone wanna listen to some music?" The Russian soldier asked, taking his headphones out from his ears, and offering to unplug it entirely to let everyone in the APC listen to the music.
I just shrugged, only waiting until the rest decided on the next course of action. Tightening my hands, I awaited everyone else's response. I was probably sure there were some who resorted to complaining, there were people like me who just didn't give a fuck, and people who'd say 'Yeah, go ahead.', so, there was me, waiting for an answer.
One of the other soldiers nodded. "Hell yeah, might as well spice up this ride while we're at it. Could give us some additional entertainment while the APC's track systems fuck itself due to the bumpy terrain."
Another soldier raised his hand, and, after getting the attention of everyone else, me included, said; "If I may say anything, please don't make it loud as fuck. This thing echoes. Hard."
The other soldiers nodded, clearly having nothing else to do nor say, really. Can't blame them.
So, the Russian guy upped the volume on his music player, hit pause, then unplugged it. I held my breath, awaiting the song that would play. I just hoped it wasn't one of those "funny" songs. Shit like 'Baby Shark'.
What came out was a surprise to me, and to some other soldiers in the APC.
"Is that Rossiya*, from Radio Tapok?" One of the Allied soldiers asked. Hell, I listened to it before, back in Paris, and it was an amazing song. Detailing the Russian people's effort to forget about their... red past. Amazing features include the brutal and blunt depiction of the Union's treatment of 'traitors' and 'partisans' and the immediate post-war collapse. Brutal shit.
I just sat there and listened the song playing. It hit a nerve with some of the Russian Confederation soldiers, who just wanted to forget everything. Their past doesn't deserve to be glorified, nor mentioned, and I think they'd like it kept that way. Better than glorifying Stalin, a fucking mass murderer.
"Russia - My heart, in pieces."
"I want to love you, but I want to damn you."
"Russia - Your breath's warm."
"So young, yet so cruel."
"Russia!"
The song's lyrics echoed in the APC, showing the cruelty of their past. The Stalin era, one of sarin gas, one of air strikes, one of NKVD patrols in the streets. The Russians are better off forgetting everything about that period. As much as I hate the destruction of information, it's one of the things I can forgive the Russians for doing regarding their history. Even if it means kidnapping high school teenagers who know nothing better and shooting them in the back of the head... God forgive the KGB*.
The APC was filled with solemn silence as the soldiers inside began to take in the lyrics and its meaning, despite not having any supporting images, they could understand some Russian, as dictated by GDI standard operation procedure of having a few lessons in Russian. And they were listening to a depressing song about Russia's history, from the Kievan Rus, to the Russian Empire, to the cruelty of the Red Regime. God, the song slaps.
The song continued on, expressing much more about Russia's cruel, imperialistic, and warmongering past. The part about the singer wanting to both hate and love his country... man. Russians truly are divided on how to treat the Red Regime.
The song finally came to an end in a few minutes, coincidentally, the APC stopped, and the bumping ceased. Much to the surprise of many of the soldiers, some who were even jolted by the APC's stop, as if they had been dragged out of bed. Almost literally, for some. They all gripped their rifles at the ready, now prepared for anything.
One of the American soldiers asked something pretty much on everyone's minds as of now.
"Well, what next?"
As he said that, I grabbed my M3 and began checking the cylinder, making sure it was fed properly. I lightly hit on the cylinder a few times, before checking the weapon out. "We wait until the door opens, then we accomplish our objective. Simple as... in theory, at the very least." I said, very much so unprepared for anything that could happen next. An ambush could happen, wild animals could kill us, or, even the environment itself might as well be against us. Fun times.
"Right... we're supposed to be a squad, all of us in this APC, yeah?" One of the soldiers asked, clearly wanting to know who the hell would be in charge of this whole search-and-rescue team. "Yes." I responded, prepared to stick around until we actually completed our simple, yet hard-as-shit objective. "Then who the hell is the leader?" Ah, there's the question. "I'm just a Private!"
"Well fuck, I'm a Private as well!" One of the AN soldiers said.
"So am I." A soldier from the Tokyo Pact, clearly wanting to clarify that he can't lead anything, also joined.
"Hey, hey, don't look at me! I'm also one of you guys!" The Russian guy with the music, yet again, repeated.
When everyone else clarified that they were privates, that caused a division between the groups. "Who the fuck is going to lead us now?" A Russian soldier, clearly confused by the hierarchy, said. "I don't even know, so don't look at me funny." Another soldier said, then one of the soldiers also chimed in with "Could we ask the guy over there?" And at first, I thought they were talking about someone else... up until the guy pointed at me. "Hey, you!" He called for my attention, and I turned my head to him. "What's your rank?" He asked.
I hesitated to state my rank. Sure, I am a PFC, but I'm not exactly qualified to lead a squadron like this. Eight people, being assigned to do orders by a single PFC? What kind of fucked up hierarchy does GDI align with? I mean, to be fair, while it does work in both theory and practice, it is still confusing as fuck- Wait, I need to stop rambling. Godfucking damn it.
Now, I was internally conflicted. Do I state that I'm a PFC or do I remain quiet about it? I weighed my two options, on the other hand, one meant that I wouldn't have to deal with the bullshit that is leading a squad, but at the same time, that would also result in me being looked at very suspiciously. The other option had me being tasked with the shitfuck task that is leading the squad. However, it would make the whole issue of command absolutely null and void since I am the only one with a rank higher than any of these people. I would call them clowns but I think that's not really a great thing to call my fellow GDI comrades.
I took a deep breath, and I decided, fuck it, might as well say it.
"Private First Class." I said, expecting an angered reaction over me being quiet or that they had a PFC leading them rather than a sergeant.
However, instead, the soldiers all saluted and nodded. "Alright, then, sir." One of them said, before putting his hands down, followed by the rest putting their hands down.
I nodded as well, not really ready for leading a squadron. I mean, sure, I played as a squad leader in some tactical simulations as a child, but commanding real people who I can't bring back from the dead even if I pray to Kane himself? No. I'm not really into that, but I will try my best, even if it means that I die. As long as they get out of this mission alive.
The APC doors finally opened after several minutes of waiting, and I was the first one to stand up and immediately rush outside, given that I was tasked with leading the squadron in this search-and-rescue operation after all. Rushing out, I was greeted with the mysterious sight of the sky. It was a gray, bleak tone, with the ground looking like genuine shit. What in Sam Hell happened here?
Coming out of the APC were the soldiers I was tasked with commanding. GDI's command structure on the ground is a massive shitfuck. With PFCs commanding squads and all. But hey, could be worse. As they came out of the APC, they were also dumbfounded by the fucking shithole they found themselves outside.
"What in God's green earth?"
"Huh?"
"God be damned, what the shit is this?"
One of the Russian soldiers started praying to God underneath his breath. That was how shit the world looked.
"Well, we've got orders. Spread out and find Camp Riverbed. Riverbed's approximate location is east of us, so that's where the rest of the squads are heading. Keep yourselves composed and stable. Remember, we're here to find any remains of GDI and Nod outside of Tiber." I said, turning around to face my squadron. "Any questions?" I awaited a response. Nothing came. I let a small smile leak through my face. "Right, let's go." I said, gathering my men. "Stay close and follow my lead. Don't wander off or you'll risk the entire squad."
The soldiers nodded, and then I started moving east. The ground below me was dead, if I were to say as a plant or soil enthusiast. No life would be supported on this soil, good god. Continuing on with me leading my squad, we passed by several rocks and a fallen log. "Huh, that's something." One of the soldiers in my squad said, before resuming his march eastward.
The sound of our boots crunching the ground, the sight of a dead, cold landscape, and the assurance that several squads also supported us was enough to paint a scenario. Post-apocalypse? No, not really. But post-disaster? Certainly. After all, this looked like something a hurricane, or typhoon for asia, would cause.
"Whee. Clearly, the environment wasn't exactly agreeing with Riverbed."
"You said it. It seems as if God really was working against both GDI and Nod."
"Yeah, yeah."
Soldiers under my squadron started talking about the scenery, or, rather, how shit it is. Good God, I've seen ghettos that're worth more in city budget. And they were in the fucking Baltics, too.
"So, men, what do you think of this as a vacation spot?" I asked, jokingly, just to see what kind of reactions I'd get from the rest of my squad, who, mind you, aren't exactly used to seeing this type of hellscape.
The responses I got were just what I expected. Mostly annoyed quips from the men.
"Oh, sir, I dunno, zero out of ten, no nuclear weapons being detonated repeatedly."
"I've fucked prostitutes more lively than this."
"This place looks like Iran. I can't tell the difference between this and Tehran."
I smiled, knowing that soldiers will be soldiers. Always complaining about how shit command is. Could be worse, though. "Right," I said, taking a breath. "Moving on."
The boots continued crunching the ground, with some dead soil getting trampled over by the men. However they did find a dead leaf underneath their boot once or twice. But other than that, there wasn't much towards the march east. Part of me wished that there was something to do on the march, but that request wasn't exactly going to be fulfilled. Thanks, God.
Our advance was halted when one of the men noticed something in the distance.
"Guys, look."
"What is it?" I asked, irked at having to stop without warning.
"Take a look at that." He pointed at something in the ground that, when pointed out, actually did stand out very well.
Black crystals poking out of the ground. Almost like...
"Is that Black NCID?" A soldier poking his head out said.
"I think it is. Don't touch it." I advised, and as that was said a lot of the men immediately backed away.
"Well, what do we do with it?"
"Err... Can't we just inform command?"
"Good point. I didn't expect NCID to be here, and so would command. Get word to 'em."
"Alright." I said, turning on my radio.
"Command, this is..." I stopped, not knowing what to call ourselves.
"What do we call ourselves?" I asked, turning my head to the soldiers.
The resulting answers were mostly hushed debates on names. Funny ones or actually serious ones were being thrown around, things like 'Shitfuck One' or 'Hunter Two' were some popular answers.
However, I did find an actual answer that was a mix between both absolutely stupid and somewhat fitting.
"Dentist One." Was the callsign. It was stupid, but it was somewhat serious. I mean, there's Hunter One, right? So Dentist One fits.
"Right. Command, this is Dentist One, requesting permission to speak, over."
"Permission granted, Dentist One." The radio replied. I swore I heard a laugh somewhere, though.
"We've... uh... encountered something peculiar on the search for Riverbed."
"What is it?"
"NCID Crystals. Black-colored." I answered, without hesitation.
The man on the radio was silent for a good two minutes, but I did hear background noises in command and what I think are sounds of exasperation from the other communications officers. Or those could be something else.
I received an answer in the form of an advisory and 'warning' from command.
"NBC protection troops have been dispatched. Do not come into contact with Crystals. Potential unknown hazard in your area, so move out, quickly."
"Roger, Dentist One out."
I turned back to the assembled soldiers. "Well, orders are orders. Can't stay in the vicinity of black crystal shit for too long. NCID risk is there." I shrugged, just wanting to go.
"Back to our actual objective we go." One of the men said, hauling his Type 64 rifle.
And we started marching on. Again.
The march was boring, and would have continued staying that way... Until one of the soldiers started singing abruptly.
"Emisee-keyewhy Em-oh-you-es-e." He said. It took me a minute to understand what he said.
"M-i-c-k-e-y M-o-u-s-e." He continued, "We play fair and we work hard and we're in harmony," The song was then parroted by several squad members. "Mickey Mouse! Mickey Mouse!" The other soldiers chanted, while marching in unison. "Forever let us hold our banner, high, high, high!" They continued, "Boys and Girls from far or near you're welcome as can be!" I chimed in, as the marching became drowned out by the Mickey Mouse march. I remember as a kid, I used to watch that shit. Now I'm in the US Army, and I'm still singing it.
The March and Cadence echoed as we continued marching, and then I decided to check how far we were from the approximate location of Camp Riverbed.
We were about five-hundred meters away from the approximate location, and were rapidly approaching. Four-ninety-nine...four-ninety-eight...
As soon as the GPS ticked to 399, I'll get the squad to stop singing and prepare for anything. After all, can't have the fucking environment work against the United Nations.
The GPS ticked down, down, and down, until it was four-oh-ten. I counted down the ticks slowly, as my body lurched forward with every step.
Four-oh-nine...
Four-oh-eight...
Four-oh-seven...
Four-oh-six...
Four-oh-five...
Four-oh-four...
Four-oh-three...
Four-oh-two...
Four-oh-one...
Four-oh-oh...
NOW!
"HALT!" I shouted, and with that the Squad instantly came to a halt, however there were some that were confused.
"Sir, why the hell did we have to halt?" A GDI Soldier poking his head out of the line.
"What's your name, Private?" I asked.
"Willy West, sir."
"Well West, that's because we're three-hundred meters close to Camp Riverbed. Or at least where we think it is. Now, Mickey needs to take a rest, and pave way for the UN Tanhelms, okay? Be ready for anything, and remember, every encounter is going to be much more difficult. This is about combat, gentlemen." I said, completely pulling everything out of my ass. I don't even know what parts made sense and what just sounded like fucking gibberish.
"Yes sir!" West said, readying his M3 Eliminator. The rest of the squad also hurried into ready positions, however, in classic GDI fashion, some screwed up and almost played hot potato with their rifles. I mean, it's funny, but dangerous.
"Keep cool and if we engage anything, don't spray. Use burst fire." I advised the squad, before issuing them another order. "Spread out! Spearhead Formation!"
The soldiers spread out and I was the leader of them. They swept their rifles around everywhere. While Muzzle Sweeps are a very dangerous thing to do, in the context of this hellhole, and in the context of the training of some GDI Tanhelms, it's the only option they can do. Some were sweeping the air, some were sweeping the flanks, while some just refused to sweep and just walked in a straight line. Me included.
Several hundred meters later and we arrived at our destination, and, let me say this once.
What we found wasn't Riverbed. It was something else entirely.
"What the fuck?"
"Wha..."
"Hold on, is this what we're supposed to be looking for, Sir?"
"Uh..." I had no words.
Instead of Riverbed, we found something else. Something that I'm fairly certain would not look out of place in Southern Italy.
We found a village, but that's not the gut punch.
The gut punch was that it was coated in Black Crystals. NCID.
"Oh shit." I heard Private West say, completely... how do I put it... angry and confused? Yeah.
"I..." I tried to say something, but then decided to radio the other squads and see if they found anything.
"SAR Teams, come in." I said, hoping for responses.
"This is Sierra 1, over."
"This is Delta 8, send."
"This is Hermes 5, send it."
"This is Crusader 9, send message, over."
"Uh... you guys seeing this?" I asked, and got a collective "Negative." But someone managed to sneak in a "How are we supposed to see, dipshit?" in those answers. I blame Sierra 1.
"Well, it's not Riverbed we found."
Collective confusion reigned amongst the GDI, Nod, and Humanitarian communications. But Riverbed was supposed to be there, right?
"We found a village."
Some were confused, but alright with it.
"It's compromised by NCID."
And now the responses I get are wilding.
"WHAT?!"
"NCID'S SPREADING?!"
"CALL IN THE HEAU!"
"Hold on," I said, "Before we do anything, we'll... go check for signs of life."
That immediately triggered several questions and most of them were exasperated at my actions.
"WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!"
"YOU IDIOT!"
"DON'T!"
With those responses blasted at my ears, I had two options, to either listen to them and back out... or actually go through with it.
I chose the latter, so I immediately turned off my radio to silence more complaints. We're gonna have to check it out for ourselves, at least before HEAU burns the place down.
This sounds very idiotic, yes, but for the sake of finding out what the hell this place was, we're gonna do it anyway.
"Right, before we go and investigate, I want to structure the team." I said, before turning to Private West. "West!" I said, "Yes, sir!" He shouted back, saluting.
"I want you to take these people," I began designating people to accompany West, and I got three. "And investigate the East side of the village. I will take these men," I designated people to follow me, "And investigate the West Side." I finished, "Alright, West, your team is Team Red. My team is Team Blue. Now let's go!" I said, before my group and West's group split up.
I found myself facing a house whose roof was absolutely covered in black crystal shit. I had to inform the rest of the squad. "Squad, if you encounter any black crystals, do not touch them. Risk of NCID infection is very high and will likely result in death, so stay away."
"Roger that." Was all I got from West, then that conversation ended.
"Blue, stack up." I ordered my team to stack up on the door in question and check the lock.
"Door's unlocked, sir."
"Open and clear." I ordered, crouching with my Calico rifle in hand.
"Opening." Blue team responded, and they opened the door, rushing in with rifles in hand.
"Clear." I heard Blue team's members say.
"Blue team, on me." I said, taking a look at the house.
It was a relatively simple house design. There was a kitchen and dining table, a living room, and what appeared to be a bedroom door. An unchecked one, at that. I would have ignored it if it wasn't for the fact that I felt something fishy about that bedroom.
"Blue team, stack up." I said, and they did it again, and one of them lurched forward and checked the lock.
"Door's unlocked, sir."
As he said that, however, I heard a noise inside, almost like something dropped. I took notice of the floor. Concrete. So something definitely broke, and I don't think it happened before we came in. Obviously not.
"You hear that?" I heard someone from blue team ask. "Might as well check it out." I said.
"Open and clear." I ordered, putting my finger near the trigger of the rifle in my hands.
"Opening!" Blue team shouted, before moving in.
The room was dimly lit, but visible. Though this did not prevent the squad from complaining.
As I entered the room, I saw what caused the noise.
Standing in front of me was a terrified woman, a shielded child, and a broken portrait frame lying front-first into the fucking pavement. There was another problem, however. They were both covered sporadically by black crystals. Almost like an NCID infection.
"Civilians spotted."
"Better radio West." One of the Blue team members said.
"West, this is Blue Team. We've found civilians."
"Oh, goodie!" West said genuinely happy to see signs of life, and I continued. " However, they appear to have... contracted NCID. Contact IDAP HEAU. We're going to take them in for questioning."
"And what, risk NCID?" West sarcastically asked, clearly knowing the risks as much as I do. "You're gonna doom us all!"
"We need information, and as idiotic as I may be, I know good information when I see it." I said, before shutting off the radio. Damn idiot.
"Who are you?" The woman asked, shielding the child further.
"Easy, easy. I'm not here to hurt you." I said, extending my hand to them. However, the woman retreated further, pressing herself against the corner.
"Who are you people?" She asked, this time, quieter.
"United Nations Peacekeeping. And we're here to get you out of here."
The woman responded violently.
"And then what?! Execute me just like the others?!"
"Woah, woah, take it easy. We're not here to hurt you. We're here to get you out of here, and we have some questions."
"That's what they all say..." She replied, further retreating.
"Look, woman. We're the fucking United Nations. We're here to help those who can't help themselves. You're coming with us." I said, extending my hand over near her.
"You have two options, miss. You either come with us. Or you stay here, isolated, and all alone. If we wanted you dead, we'd either shoot you or leave you here."
I decided to make an offer to her, hopefully that'd convince her.
"I'll tell you what. If you come with us, we promise to get you to safety as soon as possible. No bullshit. Just please, come with us."
She took a few minutes to consider, and I still had my hand extended.
"I promise you. The United Nations is here to help."
After saying those lines, she begrudgingly agreed.
"Fine..." She said, as if her tone told her she was expecting to be betrayed.
"Bring your kid too. We'll get you both out of here."
The kid stood up, and immediately clung close to her mother.
"What're your names?"
"Why would I tell you?"
"Come on, please."
In the face of several armed men with firearms in front of her, she answered with the closest thing.
"...Is it alright if I'd rather have my name called by the first letter?"
"That's good enough for me, ma'am."
"Right, then my name is K. And my Daughter is M."
"Alright then, K, we're here to get you and M to safety. I promise."
I turned to face blue team, who were, despite being silent, extremely annoyed at me.
"I know our job is search-and-rescue, but you're carrying a ticking time bomb of NCID right there. Sir, are you really sure we should bring them back?"
"If we don't, then we don't get a firsthand look at this NCID variant when it spreads. Do we want an NCID outbreak?"
"...Alright then, sir."
As I was preparing to head out, I got a radio message.
"Blue team! Blue team! This is Red team! Come in, over!" I heard gunfire in the background, alongside barking of orders.
"This is Blue, send." I said, expecting something.
"We're being engaged against literal slugs over here!" Another burst of automatic weaponry.
What?
"THEY APPEAR TO BE INFECTED WITH NCID! SEND SUPPORT IMMEDIATELY!"
Oh.
Fuck.
"Let's get the civvies and West outta here!" I shouted, immediately bursting out through the door, with Blue Team and the Civvies following me.
"This is Blue team, we are Oscar Mike!"
Notes from Payne:
KGB - Counter-Soviet State Security, or the Kontrsovetskiy Gosudarstvennaya Bezopasnost'. Their job is to eliminate traces of communism from both Russian and global history. They often engage in espionage against communist parties, communist groups, and even enact mass purges of students supporting the USSR. The KGB is often considered to be an extremely effective intelligence agency that also doubles as secret police.
Rossiya - A song about Russia's history, under six minutes. Written by Radio Tapok, a Russian solo band, in 1989. It received support from both the Confederation Government and the KGB, though with sparse references to the USSR, as to avoid getting silenced by the KGB or KGB proxies.
Author's Notes:
Fuuuuck. I managed to get this out. Yeah, sorry for everything, I was dealing with moving to the US, Visa stuff, and general, just real-life trips around the United States. I managed to get this out after a while, and I'm sorry if it feels rushed, because I certainly think it's rushed as hell, but there's not much I can do about it.
Helicopter Pilot Man's saga will continue later on, however, for now, I want to focus on GDI for now. Nod'll someday get its spotlight.
This is also the first chapter where GDI tagged and reported Originium, and fully encountered the Infected. Now, seeing as they're GDI, and have humanitarian organizations alongside Nod backing them, they're going to try their best and be a Rhodes Island of their own, with technology scattered from both 1995 and 2021.
I promised to have Nod, GDI, and IDAP PMC contractors working together to defeat Originium creatures, but I couldn't fit it in in this chapter. Next one, however, I'll finally show what two superpowers fighting alongside each other looks like.
Seey'all in the next update, which is probably going to be in a long while.