A/N
Random drabble based on Rivals, in case you were wondering.
A Thing About Missiles
What is it with Nod and missiles?
Seven years ago, I stopped a missile in Cairo that, if launched, would have converted the world into a tiberium wasteland. Terraforming (tiberiumforming?) on a massive scale. Proof to any sane person that Kane was a maniac, and that his only goal was world destruction.
Of course, the Brotherhood of Nod aren't a group you could call sane, so this is a moot point.
Point is, missiles. Or, right now, a missile. One found in central Asia, in what was once the country of Kazakhstan. I say "once," because countries don't really exist anymore. Not really. It's the unspoken truth of our times that planet Earth is under the control of the Global Defence Initiative, and that anyone who opposes it tends to fall under Nod. Countries, and their old rivalries and alliances, don't really matter.
The new rivalries, however, do. And that's why I'm here.
I'm here, leading the 11th Mechanized Infantry Division into the wastes of central Asia, for the same reason that the Brotherhood of Nod is. Missiles.
Nuclear missiles.
Missiles that have come on both our radars. In truth, these are relics from a prior century. After the Second World War, when the Soviet Union briefly gained control of all of Europe, but then fell into infighting when Stalin was assassinated in London. By whom, and why, is a matter that keeps some historians up at night, but it doesn't matter. The world became fragmented (the type of world that allowed groups like Nod to thrive, come to think of it), nuclear arsenals were built, and here we are. Fighting over missiles. Again.
Some things never change, I reflect, as I look at the tac-screen of the Yukon. The technology does, but the wars don't.
"Sir, message from Lieutenant Strongarm."
I look at the comms. officer, sitting at her station.
"The lieutenant has line of sight on Nod units, and is requesting permission to-"
"Denied. The division moves when I say it does."
"Sir, the lieutenant feels very strongly about-"
"I felt something when I used the restroom this morning, doesn't mean that shit didn't come out. The lieutenant is to remain where she is."
"...yes, sir."
There's resentment in the comm.'s voice, and I don't entirely blame her. Being Michael McNeil, there's a reputation that people expect me to uphold, and when I don't?
"Yes, lieutenant, the commander is ordering you to remain put."
Disappointment.
Fuck, when did I become my dad?
Don't know, don't care. Never knew either of my parents. But I'm aware of the irony of urging caution now, when at the end of the Second Tiberium War, I threw caution to the wind, attacking Kane's base in Cairo despite being outnumbered and outgunned. Even after saving the world, I don't think General Solomon ever forgave me. And I don't think the troopers will ever get over the fact that these days, I'm too old to go into the field with a rifle in my hands.
"EVA, tac-map."
I get out of the commander's chair and move across the bridge, to where a holographic map of the valley is displayed. GDI forces on one side, on the other. It's flat, it's barren, it's empty bar the tiberium crystals growing out of the soil like cysts, and there's a big missile silo in the centre that we both want to control. The Brotherhood is a pack of mad dogs, but for now, they're holding put. Daring us to make the first move.
"EVA, status of GDI forces in vicinity."
"No forces within a twenty-mile radius."
I swear under my breath. There's an old saying - "never start a land war in Asia." I don't know who said it (I think it was an Italian), but Nod, bastards as they are, have done so. Asia's big, these missile sites are everywhere, and GDI's supply lines have been stretched to their limit.
"EVA, status of the missile."
"Missile silo shows no signs of activation. However, based on Nod's prior activities...theory, they will try to activate it remotely and move in."
"Daring us to move in too."
"That is a possibility."
Nod's got us by the balls. We outgun them, and in the greater sense, probably outnumber them as well. But Nod's always had speed on their side. Something two wars have shown GDI is that it's a mistake to play the game Nod wants us to. You can try to engage Nod directly, you can go in marching as thunder rolls at your backside, but when you see one snake out in the desert, there's always two more ready to attack you from the sides.
Nod's a poison, almost as deadly as tiberium itself. And it never hesitates to bite.
"EVA, what information do we have on the enemy's commander?"
"GDI InOps has no confirmed data. But intercepted transmissions point to a man named Seth."
"Seth?" I ask.
"From God, to Kane, to Seth."
I glance at Doctor Liang, who's just entered the bridge. "The heck are you doing here?" I ask.
"Came to see how the other half lives."
"Right." And I might grow an extra head.
I know why Liang's here. He's here for the same reason he's always here. It's been confirmed that his sister, Jade, is operating in this region, and he's holding onto hope that she can be made to see the light. Far as I'm concerned, that's a doomed cause, but then, we're living on a planet that's slowly being consumed by a green alien crystal that kills/mutates everything it touches. False hope is kind of our schtick.
"But Seth is dead," Liang murmurs. "Isn't he?"
"Confirmed, "says the EVA. "Seth, real name unknown, birthplace unknown, birthdate unknown..."
"The facts, EVA."
"...confirmed to have been killed by Kane in the last year of the First Tiberium War. Seth's role as the Brotherhood's second was taken over by an unidentified Nod commander. Ultimately, the change in leadership did not avert the outcome of the First Tiberium War, as-"
"Yes, yes, ion cannon, boom, war ends, tiberium still consumes the planet, I know," I sigh. "Though considering that Kane survived it..."
I look at Liang. He looks at me. There's the unspoken question that's consumed every man, woman, and child of the free (alright, somewhat free) world since 2029 – how did Kane survive Temple Prime, and how did he seemingly not age?
I'm a bit more informed on the matter than a lot of people, but the good doctor has no way of knowing that. He can't know, I tell myself, that Kane died by my hand. He has no way of knowing that when we sent in a team of commandoes to secure his pyramid, after I retrieved the Tacitus and Umagon (…no, I can't afford to think about her right now) the madman's body was nowhere to be found.
He can't know that I lie in my bunk at night, fearing that I might have let the worst monster in history escape my grasp, and that I might live long enough to see that oversight bite us in our collective arses.
"So," Liang says. "Seth, or a man named Seth, is commanding Nod forces here." He gestures to them on the tac-map. "And our forces are stationed here." He gestures to the GDI forces. "I believe that's what we call a Columbian standoff."
"Mexican," I grunt.
He looks at me.
"Oh don't worry, those countries don't exist anymore. I..."
I trail off. But it's the EVA, bless her (it?), who says what I'm thinking.
"Commander, the missile silo has activated."
"What? How?"
"Theory: Nod has activated its systems remotely."
It's a theory I agree with, as the tac-map shows the Nod forces rolling out.
"Sir?" Calls out the comms. officer.
I stare at the map. Nod will get to the silo first. It's their thing. Whether they can hold it, however...
"Sir!" Calls out the officer.
I grit my teeth, ignoring her. They get there first. We get there second. I time this right, if I coordinate my forces, I can-
"Sir, Lieutenant Strongarm is requesting permission to engage!"
"Tell the lieutenant that..." I take a breath. "Tell the lieutenant that permission is granted." I put a hand to my ear-radio. "All forces, this is the commander. Prepare to roll out, and kick arse."
As orders go, it's not the best. But it'll get their blood pumping. From the tac-table, I can call the shots, and have the EVA unit translate those orders to soldiers in the field. From the largest company to the smallest fireteam.
"Think you can do it?" Liang asks.
Despite everything, I smile, and pat the doctor on the shoulder. "Course I can."
He doesn't look convinced, bless him.
"After all," I add, as I look back to the table. "It won't be the first time I've stopped Nod from launching a missile."