Chapter 18
"To be honest, even after the [expletive] hit Munich, we didn't think Cologne would draw much in the way of attention. We've been running simulations since 2038 or so and Cologne has never rated anything more than 'minor strategic value.' We figured that this would count for the aliens too...guess we were wrong.
By the time we detected the first wave, it was too late to form anything more than a basic defense. Fortunately, we'd been evacuating civilians for the better part of the day, but we were way behind on erecting defensive structures, let alone planning any kind of strategy. Things fell apart fast; those infernal air... uh... spacecraft came streaking in, wiping out half of our troops before they could even fire a shot. The rest of us scattered, taking shelter in whatever structures we figured were solid enough to withstand fire, at least temporarily. Then the power went out, and with it, our communications, our radar and any damn chance of us taking the city back.
At one point the insane hell of combat calmed down and it was almost quiet on the battlefield - the odd burst of laser fire, a scream, some radio static. Then, all at once, the sky lit up bright green and the silence became a deafening explosive howl. My heart sank...the [expletive] had taken out the Tib silos, all of them...the entire reclamation project, years of work, undone in a few seconds...a giant [expletive] Tib field spawned right at the heart of central Germany.
Then their ground units came...giant walkers and little disintegrator things taking out our tanks, clouds of razor sharp buzzing things reducing our infantry to unidentifiable piles of wet flesh on the sidewalk.
I called a retreat, grabbed my gun and ran...
Audio Transcript - Deposition of GDI Watch Commander Elliot Gruber, Cologne" Intel Database: The Fall of Cologne.
September 7th, 2047
Berne, Switzerland, Y-7
0145
Burke shifted her stance slightly, trying to relieve some tension while also trying not to draw attention. She and her squad were situated in the fuselage of a downed airliner. Their mission? To keep an eye out for more survivors making their way to the GDI base in Berne. The base had been built the same day of the invasion, as GDI tried desperately to halt the aliens and let the civilians escape from the city. In the three days since then, Berne had been almost completely flattened, and the aliens had spread across the globe. Both GDI and Nod had been hit, whole cities had been wiped out, and millions were already dead.
GDI had managed to rally what survivors it could from Germany and most of B-1 to Berne. It had been decided GDI would stand their ground here and try to push back against the aliens. Despite all of their advanced technology, the aliens could still bleed, could still be killed. The invaders weren't invulnerable, but would it be enough for GDI to push them back?
Burke's thoughts were interrupted by a burst of gunfire in the distance, followed by the flashing of alien weapons. The gunfire stopped almost immediately, before the entire Earth shook with the massive boom of the SkyStrike artillery cannon. A massive explosion went off roughly where the small battle had been, and Burke watched the shower of dirt and debris rain back to the ground. The SkyStrike was the main reason Berne had been chosen for a stronghold. The massive guns had been built after the Second Tiberium War, with the sole purpose of being able to fire from GDI Blue Zones into Nod territory. But with the invasion, most had been destroyed, with only the Berne SkyStrike remaining. It had proven surprisingly effective in holding back the aliens, so GDI had built an entire base around it.
"Contact! Twelve o'clock." Yusseif hissed.
The entire squad brought up their weapons, and Burke activated her night vision scope. She could see three figures running towards them and, given they had two legs, she felt pretty confident they were human. Still, they were dealing with a completely unknown enemy.
"White!" Haley called out the challenge.
"Oh, thank God! Hey, we're friendlies!" one of the trio called back.
"White!" Haley called out again.
"What? I don't…we don't know the fucking password, dude."
"Just get your asses over here." Burke said, shaking her head.
The three men ran over to Burke's position, and as they got closer, she could see they were ZOCOM riflemen. Unlike the regular GDI military, Zone Operations Command soldiers operated in Red Zones, trying to reverse Tiberium's affects, but that didn't mean they weren't combat effective. Operating in Red Zones meant dealing with hostile creatures and Forgotten mutants.
"You three keep heading west, the rally point is just a few klicks that way. And if you get challenged again, it's tree." Burke said.
"Thanks, Sergeant. Come on guys."
The three riflemen kept walking, leaving Burke and her squad alone in the dark once more. Burke allowed herself to doze off, watching the lights of fires burning throughout the city. She knew the aliens would attack soon; they all did. If GDI couldn't hold here, then the aliens would sweep across all of Europe.
"More contacts. Two of them." Yusseif whispered.
"White!" Haley challenged again.
"Tree." Came the soft reply.
Burke watched the two newcomers' approach, and noted they were SAS snipers, probably coming back from a scouting mission.
"Any news?" Ramirez asked.
"Aliens have built some kind of staging ground. They have portals bringing in more troops."
"'Portals'?" West asked in disbelief.
"I'm no scientist, kid. Best guess is fucking portals. They're amassing a big strike force. Its going to get real busy soon."
The two SAS snipers trudged off back to base. Burke could see her men were now dealing with the anxiety of the news.
"Almost makes you miss Nod." Haley mumbled.
"No, its doesn't. But at least they were human." Burke shot back.
"Menace 1-1, fall back to position Lima Tango. Say again; fall back to Lima Tango. How copy?"
"Copy that, Menace Actual. We're oscar mike." Burke replied.
Burke was happy to get moving after hours of standing in one spot. The squad quickly but quietly moved back towards the base. No doubt Command was starting to collapse the outer checkpoints in anticipation of the alien's attack. It meant the squad would have a long walk through the ruined streets.
"Fighting Nod was a hell of a lot easier. Least you knew what they were about. But aliens? Like how the fuck are we supposed to deal with that?" Haley complained.
"Same way we did Nod. By shooting them." Burke answered.
"Sar'nt is right. Sure, they may not bleed red, but they do bleed." Ramirez chimed in.
"No, Haley is right. Nod couldn't teleport around, or have flying battleships, or shields, or-"
"West, calm down." Yusseif interrupted.
"Quiet." Burke growled.
The squad stopped and brought up their rifles. Burke scanned the area, trying to locate the sound that had caused her to stop. She could hear what sounded like rustling leaves, or a swarm of insects. Burke indicated by hand signal for the squad to move slowly, making sure to watch each other's backs. It was too consistent for it to be something random, plus it seemed to be following them.
"The fuck is that?" West asked.
"I don't know. But I'll feel a lot better once we get to friendly lines." Haley muttered back.
Burke nodded in agreement and increased their pace. It wasn't too far from the next checkpoint, where there would be a machine gun nest and another full squad. A small comfort, but it would help put Burke's tired mind at ease.
"I can still hear it." Ramirez cautioned.
Burke raised her rifle to peer down the scope, then turned to look through the ruined doorway of a nearby building. She could see into the desolate hallway, but didn't see anything: no shapes, no alien creatures, nothing. She was about to lower her rifle and continue walking, when she noticed a glint through the scope. Then she saw more glints of light, then even more. Finally, a wave of silver came rushing out to them and Burke just depressed the trigger of her rifle.
"Run!" Burke shouted over the roar of her rifle.
The squad began to run, just as a swarm of metal blades came out of the building. Burke didn't have time to comprehend what she was seeing, she just kept shooting. But most of her bullets passed through the cloud of razors, and the thing kept coming towards her.
"Sergeant, move!" Yusseif yelled.
Burke turned to run to her squad, changing her magazine as she did. Yusseif was providing covering fire for her, but his bullets also passed through harmlessly.
"Grenade out!" Ramirez yelled.
Burke ran faster as the frag grenade flew over her head. It landed in the midst of the swarm, before exploding and sending individual blades flying in different directions. One nearly cut Burke's face, only missing by mere inches. She reached the squad then twirled around, only to see the swarm was now laying lifeless on the ground. Haley reached down to pick up the blade that had nearly cut Burke and inspected it.
"Fucking Buzzers." Haley muttered.
"Come on. We need to keep moving." Burke ordered.
"I can't, Sergeant. I…I can't keep doing this." West protested.
"Private, stop your bitching and keep moving." Burke growled.
"Fuck this! Fuck this! I can't!" West began hyperventilating.
"Kid, calm dow-" Burke tried to say.
"NO! Fuck this! I never wanted to enlist, but I was fucking forced to. Bad enough getting shot at by Noddies, but fucking aliens!? I didn't sign up for this."
"West, shut up or-"
"Fuck you, Haley! You don't get to…"
West abruptly trailed off, his eyes going wide. Burke reached out to put a hand on his shoulders but he began to shake violently.
"Fuck, kid is spazzing out." Haley scoffed.
"Haley, shut up! Yusseif, do you know how to stop it?" Burke asked.
Yusseif didn't answer as he began choking, everyone turned and stared, unsure of what to do. Then, to Burke's complete horror, she noticed something moving under Yusseif's skin. Buzzer blades began tearing out of Yusseif's body, forming back into a swarm. Tears began to streak down his face as he opened his mouth to scream. But no sound came out, only a red froth. Burke and the others continued to stare in slacked Jawed horror, unsure of what to do. Yusseif gave one final, terrified look at Burke before two blades came out of his eyes. Amir Yusseif fell to the ground in a literal heap of chunks of flesh, his body cut apart from the inside. The swarm hovered above its bloody work, as if taunting Burke and the others. Without a word, they all opened fire. Their bullets passed through the swarm, but some hit, destroying the blades. The Buzzer let out a strange alien scream, before it fell to the ground in a pile of blades.
Burke and the others stared at the corpse of their friend. Too much had happened too quickly, and no one knew how to handle it. Burke, without thinking, reached into the pile of flesh and fished out Yusseif's dog tags. She pulled them out, her hand now covered in gore. She began to openly weep, falling to her knees. Ramirez placed a hand on her shoulder but said nothing. West turned around to vomit while Haley began muttering to himself. Everything began to come at once, and Burke started to wail like a frightened child. She didn't care, this was too much, it was unfair.
As the four of them mourned, high above, a massive wing of Orca Bombers, Firehawks, and GD-22 supersonic fighters raced by in the opening strike of a pre-emptive attack. The SkyStrike began lobbing shells towards the aliens, along with Juggernauts and emplaced howitzers. GDI was raining total destruction on the aliens.
But the invaders saw the attack as little more than a nuisance.
… … …
Sydney, Australia, B-9
Onboard the GDS Superior
1000
The conference room on the Orca Command Vehicle was surprisingly spacious, able to accommodate a large rectangular table. However, only six people sat at the table, with three on either side. Malich sat next to General Qatar, with Ajay sitting on her other side. Across from Malich was a GDI commander, and beside her was General Adamek and some Intelligence Operations officer. Everyone was staring down at their counterpart, seemingly ready to leap across the table and strangle the other. Malich was already thinking of ways he could kill the GDI commander, and doubtless she was thinking the same thing.
Malich did not want to be here: it made him feel dirty, feel…wrong. Perhaps it was his eternal soul being tainted by the presence of infidels, or maybe it was the absolute absurdity of the situation, sitting across from his enemy while aliens decimated the planet. Killian took an exaggerated sip of water from a glass on the table, before placing it down with practiced grace. She smiled at Adamek, who returned the gesture with a growl. Killian held the smile as she opened the meeting.
"We don't have much time, so I shall skip the pleasantries. You need my help, and I am willing to offer it to you."
"Listen here, you Nod bitch. I'd rather leave you and your freaks to deal with the aliens on your own. Maybe they would do me a favor and kill you off for good. So, tell me why I shouldn't put you in the brig and leave your Brotherhood to burn?" Adamek spat.
Malich clenched his fists at such disrespect towards the Brotherhood. But Killian held her smile, keeping calm despite the direct insult.
"Because you can't hope to hold this Blue Zone without help. Because your forces are being slaughtered faster than you can replace them. And, because you don't want to be known as the first general to lose a Blue Zone to an enemy."
Adamek growled at that last remark, and he pointed a finger at Killian, mouth open to make a retort. But he stopped when the InOps officer leaned over and whispered something in his ear.
"It has been brought to my attention that you lack any armour divisions." Adamek said with a smirk. Now it was Killian's turn to frown in frustration.
"But you can be of help. The aliens are hitting my forces along the Zone Wall hard. Which means I can't afford to relocate forces to the alien beachhead in the Sydney Harbour. The Navy is busy trying to keep a corridor open for civilians to evacuate, so if you deploy your troops to the harbour area, I'll agree to your ceasefire." Adamek finished.
"Very well, General. I shall deploy my forces to where you need them. And in return, you will withdraw your forces from the Outback."
"Agreed. Now, get off my ship."
Killian stood up and quickly led Ajay and Malich out of the room. The three were joined by Killian's two Spetznaz bodyguards, then were escorted by four GDI riflemen towards the Superior's hangar bay. Their GDI escorts left them at the door, and Killian led the procession towards the Carryall and the single Venom parked in the hangar. As they drew closer to the Carryall's ramp, Ajay abruptly stopped and pointed an angry finger at Killian.
"I can't believe you did that." Ajay growled.
"I can not believe you are questioning my decision." Killian bit back.
"She betrayed us, just like she did to Kane." Ajay said to Malich.
"I betrayed no one. I saved the Brotherhood! The invaders are too many and too strong. GDI forces are falling as fast as our own; we're all in this together like it or not. We will help defend Sydney."
"How can you trust that weasel?"
"If that city falls, GDI will pull out of the region and we can not defend this entire country with our current arsenal." Killian stated, exasperated.
"This is treason! Kane would never cut a deal with GDI."
"Kane is dead."
"And that's exactly what you wanted."
Malich and the Spetznaz guards looked back and forth between Ajay and Killian, merely watching the argument play out. Killian took a deep breath to calm herself, before she continued in a much quieter tone.
"What I want, is a fully functioning arsenal of nuclear ICBMs. And while we help defend the city, we will steal the launch codes and delivery systems for the warheads we already captured." Killian turned to face Malich before she continued. "Look, Commander, forming an alliance with GDI is unfavorable, I know. But the aliens pose a much greater threat, and those nukes are our only way of defending ourselves from their forces. I trust you to know what is best for the Brotherhood."
Killian gave a final glare at Ajay before moving to board the Carryall, followed closely by her guards. Ajay sighed as he waited for her to be out of earshot, before turning to face Malich.
"Okay… so her plan isn't totally stupid. But still, helping GDI defend their lousy city from aliens? The world is upside down. Upside freaking down."
"We just gotta survive, Brother. We'll get out of this." Malich said reassuringly.
"Yeah, sure. Just gotta survive an alien invasion, piece of cake."
Ajay walked towards the Carryall, shaking his head and muttering to himself. Malich sighed deeply, suppressing his own fears and anxiety of the coming battle and boarded the Venom, which, as planned, would take him to the Nod command post in Sydney, while Ajay and Killian would return to Ayer's Rock.
The GDI OCV had landed in the middle of the city, serving as the primary command center. Killian's Carryall lifted off and flew through the small cordon of airspace not controlled by the aliens. Malich's Venom, meanwhile, took a short flight to the command post nearby. He could see through the canopy the bright flashes and colorful explosions of alien weaponry. The alien flyers filled the sky, but the GDI Airforce was giving it their all, and they even managed to take down some of the larger warships. But as the Venom turned to face the harbour, Malich got a glimpse of the enemy he was about to face.
"Kane, if you are out there, please come back." Malich whispered to himself.
The Venom continued its flight towards the approaching alien army. Towards the warzone.
… … …
Berne, Switzerland, Y-7
Onboard the Huron
0200
John watched with baited breath as the airstrike grew closer to the alien base. The ZOCOM GD-22s broke off to engage the enemy fighter craft officially designated as Stormriders by InOps. The human and alien fighters clashed, with the GD-22s unleashing air-to-air missiles and Vulcan rounds, while the Stormriders responded with plasma weapons. Unfortunately, given that GDI aircraft had been designed with countermeasures to enemy missiles or EMP attacks and not plasma, they had no way to avoid being hit. The supersonic fighters began to fall in droves, but they completed their job by of keeping the aliens distracted. Taking advantage of the Stormriders' distraction, GDI Firehawks began swooping in to deliver precision strikes against the alien's ground force, targeting alien AA guns and their walkers designated as Annihilator Tripods. Finally, the Orca Bombers carried out heavier strikes against alien structures, targeting power plants, Tiberium refineries, and portals that brought in a continuous flow of alien troops. The alien base was rocked by the sheer amount of explosives dropped on them and soon disappeared in cloud of smoke, dust, and alien debris.
The bombers and fighters attempted to return to base, but of the nearly twenty bombers and fifteen fighters, only five aircraft returned. John felt for the loss of airmen, but he kept his focus on the alien base. As the dust began to settle, he could see the strike had been successful, as most of the base laid in ruin. He smiled broadly, for a single second, before he noticed the aliens immediately began moving. Despite destroying several Tripods and tanks, and cutting off their flow of reinforcements, the aliens began marching unabated.
But John had anticipated such a move: these aliens didn't seem concerned about the lives of their forces. And given what little InOps had discovered about their new foe, it was questioned if the alien troops were even alive at all. Regardless, John immediately ordered the SkyStrike to begin its predesignated bombardment. The massive gun began lobbing shells at the aliens, joined by howitzers and Juggernaut SPGs. The bombardment caught the alien force out in the open, blowing mass of them apart. More Tripods and alien vehicles were destroyed, and alien foot troops were torn to pieces. The ground became saturated in the viscous, Tiberium based "blood" that coursed through the aliens, foot soldier and vehicle alike.
The artillery barrage stopped, and again John waited for the dust to settle. The aliens still continued to move towards the GDI line, merely moving around or even over their fallen comrades. And while both attacks had significantly reduced the aliens' numbers, the enemy force was still massive. There was no other trick, GDI would simply have to hold the line.
"Send word to all field commanders. Inform them the enemy will engage momentarily." John ordered.
His officers carried out his orders, and his combined force of the 7th Infantry Division, ZOCOM 102nd Battalion, and the 41st Enforcer Brigade prepared for the coming attack. But how could one truly prepare for an alien assault? John had had three days to come to terms with the new reality, but the truth was, he was still in shock. The only reason he had been able to rally himself and lead his men was because he had been thrust into a familiar position; of leading his forces against an enemy. Seeing the aliens as a hostile force allowed him to continue leading, but his mind still struggled to process everything. John was by no means a religious man, and in fact, most GDI citizens had adopted atheism as a sort of counterculture to the Brotherhood, but the arrival of aliens had not only proved humanity was not alone in the universe, but it truly put into question God's existence. For how could a loving and benevolent God create such horror as the aliens? Or if God did make them, why would humanity worship such a cruel deity.
Questions of faith aside, the aliens also utilized technology beyond humanity's comprehension: energy shields, wormholes, plasma weapons, and use of Tiberium that humans couldn't possibly have thought of. The aliens seemed to be made of Tiberium, which led to an even deeper series of questions about the invaders: were they the ones who created it? Or did they simply adapt to it? It was all so much, enough to drive someone mad. John's only comfort, was in his command and his staff. If they could hold together, then so could he.
"Sir! I'm detecting a massive energy spike!" An officer shouted.
John scanned the alien base for the source of the energy burst, but the Huron abruptly lost power.The ship began to plummet like a rock before the power kicked back on a split second later, and the pilots struggled to regain altitude. John held onto the table for dear life as the Huron climbed back up. As it did, the holographic display returned, and now John could see the alien force was nearly on top of them. However, there was now also a large alien air fleet heading their way, with over twenty Devastator Warships and ten Planetary Assault Carriers, along with a full wing of Stormriders. But there was something else approaching them, something that wasn't there before. John stared in slack jawed horror as a truly massive ship was now making its way towards the GDI base. The ship looked like a giant ring with four tower-like structures evenly interspersed along the circumference. And in the center, floating freely without any supports, was a large central command fortress or power supply.
"What in God's name is that?" John asked.
"InOps reports are sketchy at best, but these seem to be the mobile command and control stations for entire alien divisions. They are designated as Motherships." Athena answered.
"Deploy all air wings! Move up the Kodiaks and prepare the Huron for combat!" John shouted.
Klaxons began blaring as the crew prepared the Orca Command Vehicle for combat. While it wasn't designed to engage enemy planes directly, it could still provide AA cover. But it would be up to the hundreds of fighter craft John had brought under his control. With GD-22s and Firehawks meant to engage alien Stormriders and Drone fighters, while the larger Kodiaks would engage Devastators and Planetary Assault Carriers, the Huron would have to take on the Mothership alone. John also had dozens of AA guns and SAM sites deployed to offer assistance to the air element. While the aliens were sending a massive wave of infantry and vehicles, the true battle would be in the air, for if John failed to stop the alien warships, then the enemy could rain death and destruction on his forces unopposed.
"Time to contact…two minutes! Kodiaks will enter effective range in four." The Huron's flight control officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Ryder, reported.
With Athena and the ground command staff dealing with the ground battle, John decided to focus on the air. The Brotherhood had never posed a significant air threat, at least not one that GDI could not eventually overcome through attrition. But these aliens dominated the skies from their arrival, so John needed to focus his tactical skills on the air battle.
"All squadrons, break off and engage!"
"Remember, countermeasures won't work on these guys! Use evasive maneuvers!"
"Target down those PACs, that'll knock out the Drone fighters!"
"Get some you alien fucks!"
The chatter of the pilots marked the opening of the battle, as GDI planes engaged in the deadly dogfight with the alien fighters. Immediately the sky was lit up by plasma weapons and missile contrails, and the explosion of both human and alien fighters. A few GD-22s broke off to engage the insectoid Planetary Assault Carriers, missiles and Vulcan cannon fire causing the energy shields to light up. Drones began disengaging from the dogfight to defend their home ships, but as one PAS exploded in a brilliant purple fireball, dozens of Drones merely fell to the earth. John nodded at the small victory, before another set of voices sounded over the radio, causing him to shift his focus.
"This is Zeus. We are approaching maximum effective range."
"Hey, Loki, suggest raising your elevation to thirty-three thousand."
"Understood, raising elevation to thirty-three. Thanks Artemis."
John watched the fifteen lumbering gunships as they moved closer to engage the crustacean looking Devastators. The aliens seemed to sense the Kodiaks' mission, and moved all twenty of the warships to engage. Despite John having already begged, borrowed, or stolen every Kodiak he could, his ships were still outnumbered by the aliens as any Kodiaks left in the GDI air fleet had already been destroyed or deployed to B-15 to defend the capital. But John had a trick up his sleeve, one he desperately hoped would work.
"All Kodiaks engage! Engage!"
A thunderous boom resounded as fifteen Kodiaks fired from their ship grade cannons. The shells exploded against the Devastators' shields, doing nothing to stop the alien ships from moving closer. The Kodiaks continued their barrage, knowing that eventually the shields would fall after enough punishment. However, only two Devastators' shields failed before the rest returned fire. A massive hail of plasma disks glided through the air before impacting amongst the Kodiak flotilla.
"We're hit! We're hit! Loosing altitude!"
"Bridge is gone! Captain is dead, currently operating out of the CIC."
"Zeus is down! It just tore right through them!"
John clenched his teeth in an attempt to hold back his anger. In the first volley he lost two ships and another three severely damaged. The Kodiaks continued firing, but only three alien warships were destroyed. His Kodiaks would not survive another volley.
"Break formation! Begin evasive maneuvers!" John ordered.
The Kodiaks began moving off in different directions, some going higher while others went lower. The Devastators, however, seemed hungry for blood as they moved to follow the Kodiaks, which brought them within range of John's little trap.
"Stinger Actual, this is Command. Open fire! Take down those shields." John hastily barked.
"Yes, sir! Stinger Actual to all vectors. Engage!"
Over a dozen M301 Anti-Air variant Hover MLRSs moved out of concealed positions and unleashed a flurry of SAMs. Either the aliens had been surprised by the attack or they simply lacked proper countermeasures, but either way, the missiles struck home. Shields that had already been weakened by the Kodiaks failed immediately, while others flared and died out after several strikes. The Devastators responded by firing plasma disks at the offending M301s. Some were able to avoid being hit, but most were destroyed. But they served their purpose, and now came the next part of John's plan.
"Charlemagne, fire at target Delta Kilo!"
"Aye! Delta Kilo targeted. Fire!"
The SkyStrike fired an artillery shell that collided against the Devastator. The alien warship was blown apart like an overripe fruit, and even some of the debris collided with its nearby sister ships. Normally, there would be no way for an artillery piece to target and actually hit a flying target. But if that target was a slow-moving warship, then it became much more possible. It also helped that John had ordered both the SkyStrike's EVA and all of the Kodiaks' onboard EVAs to calculate the math to ensure the strike hit on target.
The SkyStrike fired again, destroying another Devastator. Now the Kodiaks began to turn back around, ready to engage and seek revenge. John glanced at the air battle between the fighters, and was elated to see that almost all of the Planetary Assault Carriers had been destroyed. While the Stormriders were still dealing terrible losses to John's fighters, it seemed like GDI might win the air battle.
Turning back to the Kodiaks, John caught the end of their third volley, and saw three more Devastators go down in flames. Now feeling confident of a victory in the air, John turned to Athena to get an update on the ground battle. For all of their advanced technology, the aliens seemed completely unprepared for GDI's sonic weapons. Hastily erected Sonic Emitters and ZOCOM Disruptor tanks were tearing apart the alien ground forces. While the enemy was able to push past the sonic defences, they were met with a wall of Predator and Mammoth tanks, along with trenches filled with machine guns, riflemen, and Zone Troopers armed with railguns. The human defenders suffered losses, but the attacking aliens were dying in droves.
"Charlemagne, return to ground-based fire missions. Break. Loki disengage and move to provide close air support. Break. Tsunami Squadron, focus on those last PACs."
As John continued issuing orders, he almost forgot about the alien Mothership that had so far been absent from the battle. Aside from the initial shock of its arrival, the massive vessel had done nothing. Until now. The alien ship stopped midair, and the central structure began to turn and rotate to face the Huron. The four towers along the circumference began to light up, sending lances of energy to the core structure. John Lancaster didn't even have time to think, before a massive beam of energy fired and destroyed the Huron.
… … …
Sydney Harbour, B-9
Malakai Zemerik had his entire world shattered once before. For nearly twenty years, he had believed he was a devout warrior of the Brotherhood of Nod. He believed in Kane as a Messiah, believed in the cause, believed GDI to be demons and heretics. Then…then he discovered he had been tortured and brainwashed into believing all that. He discovered he was actually a GDI soldier and citizen, who had been left behind and forgotten by his comrades. But after such a revelation, Zemerik had decided to stay with Nod, with his squad. Because they were the only family he had left. He felt happy with that choice. Then Temple Prime fell and Kane was killed, and suddenly the Brotherhood was on the brink of annihilation and there was talk of civil war. Zemerik may no longer believe Kane as a divine being, but he felt shocked by his death. And then, as if the punchline to some vast cosmic joke, aliens invaded.
It was too much for an already fragile psyche to handle. So, one night, Zemerik had tasted the metal barrel of a handgun in his mouth, finger on the trigger ready to end it all. He was betrayed by GDI, tortured by Nod, and forced to watch the world come to an end. Knowing he was literal seconds away from ending the pain and suffering was…comforting. But then Akinjide, like a guardian angel, walked into Zemerik's room. He did not shout or scream, he did not swat the gun from his hand and berate him. Instead Akinjide walked over, gently took the gun from Zemerik, and sat in front of him. Zemerik was then forced to look into the eyes of a man who had seen too much horror at such a young age, a child forced to kill. Akinjide then took Zemerik in his arms, and allowed him to cry.
Zemerik swore from that moment that he would not abandon his brothers, his family. He would stand by Akinjide, Roake, and Jörm to the end. But in one final twist by a cruel universe, the Brotherhood of Nod and GDI were now working together, and Zemerik and his brothers were now in Sydney, along a defensive line meant to help cover GDI troops as they fell back to another line as the aliens advanced behind them. Instead of shooting down the fascist infidels – though he supposed he didn't really see them as that anymore – they were covering them as they retreated. Zemerik just shook his head and checked on their machine gun to make sure they had plenty of ammo. Theirs was just one of nearly ten along the line, along with three Attack Buggies that would lay down fire on the aliens. Both GDI and Nod had set up several lines of defence, in the event they would need to abandon their position. And given that GDI had already surrendered one line, Zemerik knew they would have too as well.
"Roake, are we good for ammo?" Zemerik asked.
"Yup, plenty of ammo. But I'm more worried we're going to burn through the barrel."
"Just have the replacement barrels ready!" Jörm added.
"Remember to focus down the xenos the infidels have named Shock Troopers. They are the biggest threat." Akinjide ordered.
"What about the Buzzers?" Zemerik questioned.
"Let the Buggies worry about them." Akinjide answered.
"Hey, Brother Zee? You good?" Jörm asked.
"Yeah, I'm good." Zemerik said with a reassuring smile.
Zemerik was thankful Jörm and Roake had been so accepting of him, since they learned the truth. If anything, they seemed to enjoy having him around more, now that he wasn't a cold overzealous Templar. Though to avoid being find out that his indoctrination had broke, Zemerik still had to maintain the air of an obedient Templar, since Lieutenant Miličević had been told that Confessor Kumar had been killed by GDI.
"Here come the pigs." Akinjide muttered.
Zemerik turned to watch the GDI soldiers as they streamed past. Many were carrying wounded comrades with them, while others clutched at bleeding wounds. They mostly ran past the Nod line without a second glance, but a few sneered at them as they passed. In response, the Nod soldiers merely yelled obscenities or jokes at them. Despite being at war with aliens, human hatred towards each other was still strong.
"Contacts in the open! Open fire!" Miličević roared.
Zemerik immediately forgot about the GDI soldiers still running past them as he fired on the approaching aliens. Disintegrators and Shock Troopers were advancing rapidly, firing plasma and energy lances as they came. Jörm opened up with the machine gun, scything through the aliens with ease. But the aliens pushed on relentlessly, unconcerned with their losses. Zemerik was already burning through ammo quickly, and more aliens were teleported in by the dozens.
"Douse them in flames!"
Zemerik fired another burst, killing a Disintegrator, just as a squad of Black Hand charged out from their cover. They triggered their flamethrowers, putting up a wall of fire that burnt the aliens like a swarm of locusts. It caused the alien foot troops to move around the flames, and into the hailstorm of bullets from the machine guns and Attack Buggies. The aliens still pushed on in a wave of flesh and metal, and Zemerik quickly realized the aliens were simply making the human defenders burn through their ammunition. He held his fire for a moment and used his scope to peer behind the advancing swarm of xeno foot troops. Sure enough, alien Gun Walkers and Seeker light tanks were coming up behind the alien wave, along with more Shock Troopers.
"Conserve your ammo! More aliens are advancing with armour support!" Zemerik shouted to anyone who could hear, before yelling into his radio. "Lieutenant, we need anti-armour weapons."
"I see them, Templar. I have rocket troops being brought up, but we also have artillery support from GDI. Callsign is Thumper 6, call in strikes as needed."
"Understood, Sister Miličević!"
Zemerik stared through his scope again, trying to acquire the appropriate coordinates. The alien light vehicles moved even closer, now almost in firing range of the Nod lines.
"Thumper 6, this is Papal 2-4. I'm requesting fire mission on grid Mike Romeo six two six. Requesting four HE rounds, how copy?"
"Papal 2-4, Thumper 6 copies all. Four HE, grid Mike Romeo six two six. Splash over."
Zemerik snapped up his rifle and resumed firing, as he waited for the artillery shells to hit. He didn't have to wait long before he heard the booming of the GDI Juggernauts in the city center. Seconds later, he heard the whistling of the artillery rounds as they impacted, destroying the alien vehicles and sending foot troops flying.
"Splash over!" Zemerik called out. "Good effect on target!"
"Copy good effect. Be advised, we are moving on to another fire mission. Thumper 6 out."
Zemerik glanced at the now burning and bleeding tanks, but the wreckage now provided cover for the surviving Shock Troopers. The aliens seemed to have abandoned their suicidal push and were now taking cover and firing at the Nod positions. The Nod defenders continued to pour lead at the enemy, but they were now feeling the effects of the mad charge earlier.
"Roake! Swap the barrel!" Jörm demanded.
Roake did as ordered and quickly replaced the burnt out barrel. Jörm opened fire as soon a Roake finished. Roake grabbed another belt to add onto the one Jörm was rapidly burning through. Zemerik and Akinjide now found themselves trading shots with the aliens, their bullets punching into the metal/flesh hybrid material of the tanks. The counterfire of plasma, however, was beginning to burn through the sandbags and metal barriers, meaning Zemerik's cover wouldn't stand for much longer.
"All Papal callsigns are to fall back! Fall back to Line Two! I repeat; all Papal callsigns fall back!"
Zemerik cursed, but knew the order would have come eventually. Nod was now abandoning their first line, meaning it would be up to GDI to cover them and hold while they set up again. Zemerik finished off his magazine with two more bursts, before reloading while shouting out orders. "Jörm, Roake! Grab the gun and the ammo! Get back to Line Two! Akinjide and I will cover!"
"You got it, Zee!"
The two men quickly packed up the gun and began to run, while Zemerik and Akinjide fired on the aliens. Zemerik could see more alien foot troops and light vehicles approaching, and seemingly emboldened by the arrival of reinforcements, the Shock Troopers advanced. Zemerik reloaded again, glancing around as he did only to see the entire line was almost completely empty now.
"Time to go!" Zemerik shouted.
Akinjide merely grunted and the two ran to catch up with Jörm and Roake. They ran towards the GDI line, which was supported by Wolverines. They were careful not to run into the line of fire, but they still had to jump over the trench line. They could hear the GDI soldiers yell obscenities at them as they passed, but Zemerik paid them no mind. Barely a second after they passed, the roar of machine guns and Vulcan cannons resounded behind them. Now it was up to GDI to hold, at least long enough for Nod to set up.
By the time Zemerik and Akinjide reached the second Nod position, they found Roake and Jörm setting their machine gun back up. This time the Nod defenders now had heavy laser guns along with machine guns, and the Attack Buggies were supported by two Scorpion tanks, which were also upgraded with laser cannons. Zemerik was relieved to see such firepower, but he did note with some concern how close they were getting to the GDI HQ. If they were pushed back any further, then the aliens would have free access to Sydney proper, including the Nod field base set up not far away in an industrial park.
"Brother Templar!"
Zemerik looked up to see Lieutenant Miličević approaching. He started reloading his magazines from the ammo crate as she dashed up to him.
"Lieutenant. What do you need of me?" Zemerik asked.
"The GDI commander intends to collapse the second line immediately. She wants to consolidate the third line with more firepower, attempt to hold the line there. Apparently their General is sending reinforcements from the wall. She now asks we hold this position long enough for them to set up." Miličević reported.
"And how much time is that?"
"I don't know, these pigs seem pretty content letting us die for them. That's why I've tried to get some Venom support, help our chances. But if GDI intends to abandon us to the slaughter, then I have no plans to die for them. I want you and your men ready to possibly abandon this position completely. We will set up a tertiary set of defensive lines near our FOB."
"I understand. We'll be ready."
"Good. And may the Spirit Hand of Kane watch over you."
Zemerik watched Miličević rush down the line, passing on her new orders. Zemerik could understand the GDI commander's plan, consolidating her force into one formidable defensive position. But what he didn't like was how their supposed allies were treating them like cannon fodder. But Commander Malich had predicted such a move, and as such, had planned for Nod to abandon their "allies" and concentrate on defending the Forward Operating Base.
"Here come the GDI pests already." Akinjide pointed out.
Sure enough, barely ten minutes after Nod had finished setting up the next line of defence, the GDI soldiers were beginning to flood back. First the Wolverines came stomping forward, their hulls already blackened by plasma scoring. Then the GDI heavy weapons teams lugged their own machine guns and railguns, ready to embolden the last line. Last were the riflemen and grenadiers, who fired behind them as they pulled back. Zemerik was startled when one GDI soldier hopped into their trench, and came right up to Zemerik.
"Hey! Watch out, the bugs are deploying a new kind of infantry! Things are fucking fast, and they spit Tiberium shards like a damned Tib' Fiend. They also like to get in close and slice you up with their claws." The man blurted out.
"Wonderful, these visitors are full of surprises." Zemerik muttered back.
"Good luck."
The man climbed back of the trench and ran to catch up with his friends. Zemerik was a bit surprised by the exchange, but wasn't able to spare a second thought because, as the last of the GDI troops filed past, Zemerik could see the aliens hot on their trails. Blue and green bolts of energy followed the GDI soldiers, with some going down screaming as they were struck. But Zemerik also noticed sharpened shards of Tiberium flying towards them like a rain storm. Several GDI soldiers collapsed without even uttering a single moan of pain, as the shards tore through their bodies. Zemerik could finally see the new attackers, and like almost all of the aliens, it stood on four legs and had a squat body. Unlike the other xenotypes though, this one had a large protrusion of solid Tiberium sticking out from its back.
"Contacts in range!" Akinjide shouted.
"Open fire!" Zemerik roared as he pressed down on the trigger.
Bullets and laser fire exploded from the Nod line, cutting into the aliens. Dozens of the new aliens were cut down, as were numerous Disintegrators and Shock Troopers as they moved into cover. The new aliens - which Zemerik mentally called Runners - charged the line with reckless speed. They spat out Tiberium shards as they charged, but much like before, their suicidal dash was met with death. The Runners died screaming their horrible alien screech, but more charged over them. All the while, the other aliens remained back and fired on the Nod line, seemingly trying to lay down covering fire for the Runners.
Zemerik watched as Jörm moved the machine gun back and forth, trying to shoot over the Runners to hit the aliens in the rear. Zemerik tried to focus down the Runners that seemed to be focused on reaching his squad specifically. He unloaded an entire magazine, killing two Runners before his rifle clicked empty.
"Akinjide! Cover!"
Zemerik hastily reloaded as Akinjide fired more precise bursts. But just as Zemerik slammed his magazine in, he heard Akinjide curse. Zemerik swung around just in time to see a Runner jump into the trench, its bladed appendages slashing at Akinjide as he desperately crawled away backwards. Jörm and Roake seemed oblivious as to what was happening, as they were focused on keeping their gun running, meaning Zemerik was the only one who could help. He shouldered his rifle and fired on full auto into the Runner, spraying green blood everywhere. The alien collapsed in a heap, the Tiberium on its back glowing brightly.
"Brother, are you okay?" Zemerik asked.
"More coming!" Akinjide shouted in response.
Zemerik helped Akinjide up and the two turned to fire on the Runners threatening to overwhelm the trench line. From the screaming and shouted reports, Zemerik could tell the rest of the line was also being overrun by these things. Zemerik tried not to think about it as he focused on killing the aliens. He also tried to conserve his ammo as best as possible, but the things were tough to kill. One of the aliens stopped its mad dash to spew out shards, forcing Zemerik to duck to avoid the hailstorm, but not before one of the shards slashed across his face. Zemerik barked out in pain, and fear flashed through his mind at the thought of getting Tiberium sickness. Out of muscle memory, he began reciting a chant to pray for immunity from the sickness, even though he didn't really believe Tiberium was divine anymore.
Wiping away some of the blood, Zemerik hastily stood up to continue shooting. The aliens, including the Disintegrators and Shock Troopers, began to advance, seeing that the trenches were starting to crumble. Zemerik knew that if the order to retreat was not issued, he and his men would die here. A few weeks ago, Zemerik would have been happy to die in service to the Brotherhood, but after he had learned the truth, he took solace that he would at least die with his friends.
"Brothers, I just want to say-"
"If you're going to give some bullshit final speech, then you can shove it up your ass." Akinjide spat out.
"Save it for when we meet back up in hell." Jörm added.
Zemerik merely smiled at his friends and their resolution in the face of death. It was this moment that Zemerik truly felt he had made the right decision; that this is where he was meant to be. Together, the four men continued to fight off the advancing swarm of aliens, with every bullet fired bringing their enemy closer. Just as Zemerik thought that the enemy was going to overrun them, a voice boomed over the radio, though it was one Zemerik did not recognize. "Thumper 6, fire mission on grid Alpha Quebec one seven seven. Willie Pete authorized, fire for effect."
"Command Actual, that uh… that's right on top of the Nod line."
"Affirmative, Thumper 6, fire on those coordinates."
"Command Actual, we still have friendlies in the area. Please confirm tha-"
"Confirm, Thumper 6, just do it!"
"Thumper 6 copies all. Grid Alpha Quebec, Willie Pete, firing for effect. Splash out."
Zemerik realized with gut wrenching terror that he was still tuned into the GDI radio frequency, and that they had just called a white phosphorus strike right on top of them!
"Lieutenant Miličević!"
"I heard! Everyone, get down!"
Zemerik grabbed Jörm and pulled him down as Akinjide and Roake hit the dirt. Zemerik heard the chattering of the aliens as they rushed the now silent Nod line, seconds before he heard the whistling of the artillery. Zemerik pressed his face into the dirt, just as an intense heat washed over him. It felt like the literally furnace of Hell was trying to cook him alive, but Zemerik kept his face pressed to the ground. As eternity passed by in a few seconds, he felt something heavy crash into him, then the heat began to dissipate. Realizing he was alive and not burning to death, Zemerik slowly got up, only to stop at the sight of what crashed into him. The charred corpse of an alien Shock Trooper laid just a few inches from him, its body blackened. Zemerik then realized numerous aliens had run into the trench, perhaps in an attempt to avoid the phosphorus. He then peered over the trench line and saw the devastation of the attack. The aliens were completely wiped out: hundreds of bodies burnt to a crisp. But the victory was short lived, as yet another wave was advancing, and likely would reach them in just a few minutes. And this time, the aliens were bringing heavy vehicles, including Devourer tanks and Corrupters.
"Command Actual, I need a BDA."
"Command Actual, Condor 2-2. Good effect on target."
Zemerik cursed the GDI commander for trying to get them all killed. She doubtless had hoped the attack would kill the Nod defenders the same as the aliens.
"All Brothers and Sisters of Nod. Retreat! Fall back to the FOB! Abandon your posts, retreat!"
Zemerik glanced at Akinjide and the others, shocked by the sudden command from Commander Malich. But with the next alien wave approaching, they didn't question it. Lieutenant Miličević quickly confirmed the order, and the remaining Nod soldiers immediately abandoned the line, leaving behind the heavy weapons as they ran towards the Commander, and hopefully a ride out of this doomed city. The Attack Buggies and Scorpions raced ahead of the infantry, moving towards the abandoned apartment blocs and the industrial park just beyond. With the aliens still behind them, the Nod forces should have no issue getting to safety, or so Zemerik had hoped.
"Those damned Noddies are deserting! All units, be advised, if you see any Nod soldier, shoot them dead! Nod is hereby classified as hostile!"
Zemerik cursed as he ran at full speed. He felt his legs burn, his lungs scream for air, but he couldn't stop. Not only were bloodthirsty aliens after them, but now apparently a bunch of pissed off GDI grunts.
"Belay that order! Forget about Nod and focus on holding the damn harbour!" Adamek roared.
Zemerik could see the Nod FOB, and the Carryalls waiting to extract them from the city. The sight gave him a second burst of energy, just as plasma bolts began to soar past them from behind. He didn't stop to look back, he just ran as fast as he ever had for the waiting transport. As more plasma seared past him, Zemerik barreled onto the Carryall, with his squad just behind. The transport took off before they could even reach their seats, and Zemerik had to grab hold of a nearby soldier for dear life as he nearly fell out of the open ramp. Plasma impacted against the hull of the Carryall or against the roof, leaving burn marks. But as the Carryalls began to move away from the city, the fire slackened before eventually stopping. Zemerik took a seat and breathed a sigh of relief. They had escaped the city, and he and his friends were safe, for now. Zemerik figured GDI would be pissed about Nod abandoning the city, but they had every right after GDI had nearly killed them in that artillery strike. And that was to assume GDI even survived the invader's assault.
"Zee, you okay?" Roake asked from across the aisle.
"Yeah, I'm okay. You guys?"
"Please don't make me run like that again." Jörm said breathlessly.
"We are all fine, Brother Ze-"
A blinding light filled the troop bay, causing everyone to gasp out in shock. Zemerik covered his eyes, trying to blink the blindness away. Suddenly the Carryall began to buckle and shake, and Zemerik could even feel it dive for several moments before violently pulling back up. With everyone still blinded by the flash, they could not see what was happening, causing a few to cry out in panic. Slowly, their vision began to return, and as Zemerik looked out the still open ramp to see what had happened, his mouth fell open.
A mushroom cloud now hung over the city.
… … …
Twenty minutes earlier
Malich watched the massive battle raging outside of the Sydney wall. While his concern was the alien forces in the harbour, he couldn't help but be enraptured by the sheer scale of the battle. Nearly one hundred Predator tanks and dozens of Titan walkers were firing on the alien advance, trading fire with Devourer tanks and Gun Walkers. Ten Mammoths tanks, all equipped with railguns, delivered a devastating attack against the Annihilator Tripods. All the while, GDI aircraft engaged the alien air fleet. It was a desperate and bloody battle, and Malich was glad he didn't have to command it. Though the battle in the harbour was just as bloody, and perhaps even more one sided than the one raging outside the city.
The aliens had firmly entrenched themselves in their beachhead, and the GDI Navy was powerless to assault their position. Dozens of Solomon-class battleships and Assault-class destroyers had been destroyed by alien Devastators, with only a few Aegis-class support ships left to provide anti-air support. The invaders were now sending wave after wave against the joint GDI and Nod line, slowly eroding them away. It would not be long before the defenders would be overrun, and the aliens would swarm into the city.
"We need to move more troops to assist." Malich said.
He looked up at Radec, who looked closely at the map. There were very few red markers indicating friendly troops amongst the sea of blue and purple representing GDI and the invaders.
"We have a few platoons providing cover for the civilian evacuation centers. We could pull them back, let the city police handle the civvies." Radec said after a moment of thought.
"Do it, get those men to the front lines. Anything else?"
"Everything we have has already been deployed. Though it seems General Adamek has withdrawn some troops from the wall to help hold the harbour."
"I don't trust the GDI commander. I want our forces to be ready to abandon the line and withdraw here. I will not let her use my men as pawns." Malich ordered.
"Of course, sir. But you need to focus your attention on our Shadow Operatives. I just received word they had reached the GDI command post." Radec stated.
Malich merely nodded before moving away from the central holographic table to a smaller console. Here, he could coordinate with the Shadows as they carried out Killian's plan of stealing the codes required for the nuclear warheads they had already acquired. With those, the nukes would be active, and Nod could do with them as they pleased. The operation should be simple enough: with everyone focused on fighting off the alien attack, they shouldn't expect a Nod infiltration.
Malich turned on the helmet cams, and watch the four Shadows approach the GDS Superior. Numerous guards and Wolverines defended the main ramp into the cavernous troop bay, but the Shadows were able to slip inside with no issues. With the layout Malich had provided from his time onboard, the Shadows were able to quickly make their way towards the CIC. Malich had told them to download the codes and get out without killing anyone. Malich had no idea how long this alliance would last for, and while he despised working with the enemy, he could ill afford to have GDI turn against him at the moment.
The Shadows slowed their progress as they began to encounter more security and random personnel going about their duties. While the Shadows were invisible to the eye, all it would take was for someone to accidently bump into them for their cover to be blown. As such, the four operators moved slowly and methodically as they inched towards the CIC. The Superior's crew seemed relaxed, however, indicating they weren't expecting an incursion.
After several agonizing minutes, the Shadows reach the CIC. They drew their silenced pistols and submachine guns, wary of the numerous officers and security guards in the room with them. As three of the operatives kept watch, the fourth moved to a console. He plugged in a USB stick which would automatically search for and download the appropriate data. All the team had to do was wait for the download to complete, then simply walk out.
"Warning! Unauthorized access detected! Malicious malware detected! Please initiate purge sequence to remove all unwarranted access." The Superior's onboard EVA gave out a shrill alarm, causing everyone in the CIC to bolt up and reach for weapons.
"Fuck! Shadow Team, get out of there!" Malich roared into the radio.
The Shadows disengaged their stealth fields and mowed down the officers inside the CIC. The once pristine and orderly combat information center was now splattered with blood. Three operators quickly moved to close the doors and secure the room, while the fourth began frantically typing away on the console.
"Shadow Team, get out of there! That's an order!"
"Negative, sir. We are compromised, and there is no way we are getting off this thing. I have begun transmitting the data to your console. It will take just a few minutes." The fourth Shadow reported.
"Damn it. I will not forget your sacrifice, Brothers."
"Thank you, sir. Peace through power."
"One vision, one purpose." Malich replied softly.
Malich continued to watch as the Shadows prepared for GDI to breach the CIC. They had only a few seconds, and the progress bar indicating the transfer seemed to be proceeding excruciatingly slow. As the team awaited the enemy, one of the Shadows worked to set up C4 explosives. However, the doors exploded inward, and the Shadow setting up the C4 was killed instantly. The other three fired off a single burst before they too were cut down. GDI riflemen poured into the room, and an engineer ran over to the consoles. He located the USB and pulled it out, before crushing it beneath his boot. Unfortunately for GDI, the transfer had completed, and Nod now had access to the launch codes. Malich offered a prayer for the Shadows, before turning off the helmet cam feed.
Now Malich had only a short amount of time before the GDI commander and General Adamek would be made aware of the attack. He would need to begin evacuating his forces from the front, without eliciting GDI's attention.
"Major Radec, relay the codes to Ayer's Rock. Make sure both Ajay and General Qatar get them."
"Yes, sir."
"Abbess Kovacs, prepare all Carryalls. We need them fueled and ready for rapid departure." Malich ordered one of his officers.
"Of course, sir, I'll-"
Abbess Kovacs stopped mid sentenced as she turned to frown as the console she was operating. After pressing a few buttons, she turned back to Malich.
"Sir, I have an incoming transmission directed to you. Unknown source."
Malich was confused by the news. Who the hell would be trying to contact him now? Ajay perhaps? Or perhaps someone else within the Brotherhood ready to support his revolt against Killian.
"Put it on the main screen." Malich said after a moment.
The screen lit up to receive a video call, and upon seeing who it was, Malich fell to his knees. Others gasped and began to weep, while a few fell to the ground and bowed their heads in prayer, for standing there like a vengeful angel, was Kane.
"Once again the world is quick to bury me. How could my own followers believe that what transpired at Temple Prime did not unfold exactly as I planned? Of course, I could not have planned for an ambush BY MY OWN FORCES!"
Kane's thunderous anger caused those in the command room to step back in fear and bow their heads deeper. Even Malich trembled from Kane's fury.
"Of all of Killian's offenses, and they are many, her proclamation that the visitors are a greater threat than GDI is an affront to everything I have planned for the Brotherhood. For this sin, she must be punished! Withdraw your forces immediately, Commander, for greater things await us. Leave Sydney in ashes; remind the world that the Brotherhood shall never ally with GDI!"
"A-as you will, uh, sire. I… but-"
"Do as I command, Karsten. Reduce this retched city to nuclear waste!"
"Yes! Your eminence!"
The room was left stunned, not only had they witness Kane's third escape from death, but also his fiery proclamation. They were not simply to leave Sydney, but to destroy it with nuclear fire. Malich felt the seldom rush of religious euphoria upon Kane's turbulent return. But more so, he felt absolutely giddy about reducing the city to ashes and finally being able to take vengeance upon Killian.
"You heard the Messiah! Break down this base, evacuate all Nod forces at once!"
The gathered officers raced off to do as he ordered, with determination in their steps upon seeing the return of Kane. Malich called Radec back over, and the two quickly began working on priming the nuclear warheads they had stolen. All three had been transported back to Ayer's Rock and readied for immediate use. Given that Malich still had all the proper codes and access, he could fire at least one missile before Killian could overwrite his access. With everything primed and ready, it was time to leave B-9.
In a short time, the FOB was hastily broken down. Everything that could be taken was loaded onto transports, and anything that couldn't would be left to be eradicated in the ensuing nuclear blast. As Malich and his staff loaded onto the Carryall, he noticed his forces running for dear life towards them. A few alien foot troops were giving chase and firing plasma at them, but they were too far away to stop their escape. Malich smiled at this victory over the aliens, GDI, and Killian. As the first transports began to lift off, Malich gave the final order to launch the missile. It mere minutes it would impact, and destroy one of GDI's premier cities.
The aerial convoy had barely reached the minimum safe distance when the nuclear missile detonated directly above the GDS Superior. Almost all of Sydney, and every alien and human being inside, was obliterated. The alien beachhead in the harbour was turned to ash and radioactive slug the same as the human structures. GDI and invader forces outside the Zone Wall were also wiped out, if not by the actual blast, then by the devastating shockwave. Sydney, Australia was no more, and with its destruction, came the death of the short-lived alliance between GDI and Nod.
For even in the face of alien conquest, humanities' personal hatreds ran too deep and burned too brightly to be extinguished by ideals such as a common enemy.
… … …
Berne, Switzerland, Y-7
At the same time
After Yusseif's death, Burke had hoped she and her men could be pulled off the frontline. Several men had been sent to the rear hospitals due to severe mental trauma. But unfortunately for her and the others, their trauma wasn't rated severe enough, and GDI desperately needed soldiers on the front line, so she and her squad had to continue fighting on, hoping to hold back the tide of the alien armies. And for awhile, it seemed as though GDI may win, that the aliens would finally be beaten back. But then… then the Huron was destroyed in a single blast by the alien Mothership whereupon, the aliens immediately redoubled their attack while GDI was still reeling from the disruption of their command network. And now the Mothership lumbered towards them, energy once again building up within the central weapon.
What few remaining GDI aircraft left tried desperately to destroy the Mothership, but the massive craft simply shot them down with energy weapons. Nothing could get close to the thing, and within minutes it would be right on top of them. And then it would all be over; they would all be wiped out. Burke sincerely wished there was a Heaven, and that it would be ready to accept a sudden rapid influx of new guests.
"Ravagers! Two o'clock!" Haley called out.
Burke shifted her aim and fired on the duo. She managed to kill one before the other fired a spray of Tiberium shards. She ducked down as a shard passed through the space she had just occupied. Ramirez stepped up and fired two shots from her DMR, killing the alien. While the immediate threat was dealt with, they were still taking a lot of plasma fire, and no doubt more Ravagers were moving to the front. Burke and the others were already standing ankle deep in bullet casings, and the invaders still pushed on. Burke was getting tired, as were many others. They wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer.
"Rubicon Company, 1st Platoon, come in? Platoon Sergeant Burke, do you read?"
"Sergeant Burke here, I read you loud and clear."
Burke felt a pit form in her stomach: if Major Ri was calling her without using code names and callsigns, then it implied something had gone horribly wrong.
"Sergeant, I need you to take 1st Platoon and link up with the 7th Platoon from the 41st Enforcer Brigade's, D Company. Lieutenant Fullerton is leading a rescue operation to the Huron. How copy?"
Good news? Burke almost didn't want to believe it, but if there were survivors at the crash site, then maybe that meant Commander Lancaster was alive. Maybe he could help turn things around.
"I copy all, sir. Do we know if the Commander is alive?"
"That is unknown at this time. But we did confirm that Colonel Miles is alive and okay. Get your people over to Fullerton, now!"
"Solid copy, we are oscar mike."
Burke felt a genuine smile spread across her face, as she quickly grabbed several fresh magazines.
"Load up guys, we've got a CSAR OP. Lieutenant Fullerton is leading us to the Huron, maybe we can find the Commander." Burke hastily ordered.
"You really think he survived that blast?" West asked.
"Colonel did, which means he might have. Now let's hustle!"
Burke led her squad out of their foxhole, and quickly rallied the other squads behind her. They darted behind the line of foxholes, and pillboxes, making their way to a trio of Guardian APCs. 7th Platoon was already loaded, but the commando Fullerton was standing by waiting for them.
"Load up! We gotta move quick! That Mothership will be over top the Huron soon."
"We bringing any ZTs with us? The enemy is gonna have armour between us and the crash site." Burke pointed out.
"No ZTs, but I got something better."
Fullerton pointed towards the lines of GDI armour. Predator and Mammoth tanks were trading fire with alien vehicles, while older Disruptor tanks created a ceaseless wall of sonic energy. But bolstering these forces were ZOCOM's fully automated, AI controlled Titan MK. III walkers. Unlike the older MK. IIs and MK. Is, the ZOCOM Titans were armed with dual canons and a slimmer design. Burke noted two of these robot walkers were stomping towards them, and she felt relieved at having heavier support.
"Well, they aren't Mammoth walkers, but they'll do." Burke commented as she stepped past Fullerton into the APC. They waited for the Titans to take the lead, then the convoy moved past the frontlines towards the crash site. While the Huron had crashed behind alien lines, the crash site was relatively lightly defended compared to the rest of the battle line. It was Burke's hope they wouldn't encounter too many hostile forces. But almost instantly, the APC's guns began spewing out bullets, and Burke could feel the impact of plasma and energy weapons against the side of the vehicle. Soldiers reflexively ducked down, hoping to avoid being lanced through by an energy beam.
"We are almost at the crash site! Several hostile infantry units are already there, and more are on the way. So, get ready to fight your way in!" Fullerton announced.
The troop bay was filled with the sounds of rifles clicking as men readied themselves for combat. The entire ride, the Vulcan cannons atop the APCs had never stopped firing, but now the booming of the Titan's guns could be heard. Without warning, the APCs abruptly came to a stop, and the rear ramps lowered. Burke yelled for her men to charge out and secure the area, and she followed out behind them with her rifle raised. Immediately the GDI soldiers opened fire, shooting at the Shock Troopers and Ravagers which were swarming over the Huron. The APCs began to focus their fire on the Buzzers attempting to cut their way inside, blowing the clouds of blades to smithereens. Meanwhile, the two Titans were firing on targets farther off. Burke stole a glance in the direction they were firing on, spotted several Gun Walkers and Seekers heading for the Huron.
"Sergeant Burke, with me! We need to reach the bridge." Fullerton roared over the gunfire.
Burke and her squad followed the commando inside the wreckage, as the rest of the GDI forces continued to battle the aliens. Burke and her team entered the wreckage two decks below the bridge, through the massive gape created by the Mothership's blast. The decking was scorched completely black, and everything inside was turned to slag. Burke tried not to think too much about it as they charged through the wreckage.
"Buzzers!" Fullerton called out.
Everyone brought their weapons and fired into the large Buzzer swarm. The alien drones broke off into smaller clusters and charged the team. However, the sheer amount of fire Burke and the others poured down on them caused many clusters to burst apart and collapse. But one managed to reach Fullerton, and the blades attempted to cut through his armour. Fullerton quickly grabbed an EMP grenade and detonated it, engulfing himself and the Buzzers in an electric pulse. The blades fell to the ground with a clatter, but Fullerton collapsed like a chopped tree. Burke rushed over to check on the commando, only to hear a muffled voice through his helmet.
"What?" Burke asked.
"Give me a second!" Fullerton shouted back.
Burke stepped back and watched as Fullerton slowly got to his feet. He patted down his armour before shouldering his rifle and continuing forward without a word.
"You okay?" Ramirez asked.
"Fine. Suit just shut down for a second, but I'm good to roll."
"How much farther?" Burke questioned.
"Hang on, map is still loading… okay. We take a turn here, then bridge should be at the end of the hall."
Burke and her squad followed behind Fullerton as he led the way. The door to the bridge was still closed, and Burke saw no signs of life. The sounds of gunfire and energy weapons could be heard outside, and it seemed like the fighting was growing more intense.
"Lieutenant Fullerton, that Mothership is almost right on top of you. What is your status?" Major Ri demanded.
"We're at the bridge, checking for survivors now."
"Hurry up and grab who you can. You need to get out quickly!"
"Copy that, Major."
Fullerton looked back and nodded at Burke and her squad, before opening the door. The five of them stepped into the bridge, and felt both relieved and horrified at the same time. Most of the command staff was dead, with heads smashed against bulkheads or burnt to a crisp. Those who were alive huddled together as they tended to each others wounds. One figure stood on their own near the shattered window at the head of the bridge. Burke recognized the man as Commander Lancaster, and she could see he was relatively unharmed.
"Commander! We need to get you out of here, sir." Fullerton said.
"Not yet." The Commander answered back.
"What do you mean? That Mothership is almost right on top of us!"
"Exactly."
"Sir, did you hit your head and scramble your brains? We need to go!" Burke said, not really caring about her insubordinate tone.
Commander Lancaster turned to look at Burke, surprised by her words, but he merely smiled and turned back to the window.
"No, Sergeant, I did not. That Mothership is coming right for us, or will at least pass over us. I'm waiting for it to do so, because the timing needs to be perfect."
"Timing for what, sir?" Fullerton asked.
"Colonel Miles, has Charlemagne plotted the appropriate coordinates?"
"Yes, sir." The Colonel answered from the huddled group.
"How long until contact?"
"Counting down from sixty seconds now!"
Burke didn't know what the Commander had planned, but she held her breath as they waited for the single minute to pass. Everyone on the bridge grew anxious, as the fighting outside continued. Eventually, a dark shadow fell across the crash site and surrounding area, and the air was filled with a loud droning sound. The invader's Mothership was directly above them, slowly flying past towards the GDI base. Just as Burke thought nothing was going to happen, the Commander shouted.
"Now!"
The sound of fabric being ripped over and over broke through the droning. The Huron's still active CIWS and point defence lasers opened fire, straight up at the Mothership. The heavy calibre rounds and laser fire was targeted at one of the four ring towers, and Burke could bits of alien metal and green blood fall to the ground as the ship took damage. The Mothership stopped directly above them, and Burke could see through the ruined roof that the main weapon was charging to fire.
"Come on, come on." The Commander muttered.
A series of anti-fighter missiles were fired from a single tube, firing straight up. The rockets impacted against the already weakened tower, causing it to explode. Debris rained down onto the Huron and the soldiers still fighting outside. A huge gap had now appeared along the Mothership's ring, and the Commander shouted another order.
"Charlemagne, fire now!"
The earth shook as the SkyStrike fired, and Burke witnessed the shell exploding against the Mothership's central weapon. The expanding fireball abruptly turned into a blinding white light, and everything went deathly silent. Burke wiped her eyes to regain her vision, and noticed the sky was now filled with a multi-colored aurora. There was no Mothership above them, nor was there anymore debris raining down. The alien ship had simply disappeared. Sound came back in a painful rush, as people moaned and gunfire still roared outside.
"What the hell just happened?" Burke asked after a long moment of silence.
"Colonel, can we confirm if we destroyed that thing?" The Commander said instead.
"Yes, sir! Alien Mothership destroyed!"
Everyone in a bridge gave a brief cheer, stunned they had pulled it off. Burke merely sighed in relief at the news.
"Sir, I'm getting reports that the alien forces completely stopped for thirty seconds. It seems we briefly severed some kind of control link. But whatever it was, it was enough, we're pushing the aliens back!"
This news caused even more cheering, and Burke noticed the Commander smiling broadly.
"Lieutenant Fullerton, I do believe it's time we got out of here. As sad as I am to say, I believe the Huron is lost. But at least she went out with one last hurrah."
"Aye, sir. Load up people! Let's get out of here."
Burke stared for a brief moment at Commander Lancaster, still in disbelief at the miracles he seemingly pulled out of his ass. She didn't care about what people said about his actions in Sarajevo, he had just saved their lives and turned the tide in the war. To her, he was a goddamned hero.
… … …
Author's note: The GD-22 supersonic fighter is a canon unit from Kane's Wrath. It can not be built, but it is seen when you use the Supersonic airstrike power. The GD-22 designation is one I made up.
The SkyStrike is another unit, or rather building, from Tiberian Twilight. It is a heavy artillery canon.
The Disruptor tank is a unit from Tiberian Sun, and was used for Part two: Sun. I have decided to replace the Shatterer with the Disruptor, purely because I personally do not like the Shatterer unit.
The Titan MK. III is actually the Titan from the canceled Tiberium FPS, I merely gave it the MK. III designation. Given ZOCOM operates in Red Zones, I thought it made sense they would use more drones and unmanned vehicles. So, giving them the AI controlled Tiberium FPS Titans made sense to me.
These three units are meant to be part of ZOCOM's unit roster. As the story now shifts to the war against the Scrin, GDI will be using more of ZOCOM's units. This was just may way of trying to bring the sub-factions from Kane's Wrath into the story.
What about the Marked of Kane, I hear you ask? Well, you will just have to wait and see.
That is all for now.
Until next time.