Operation Black Dawn
September 29, 1995.
2 months before the First Tiberium War.
"And so, I die. And with it, I leave Portugal to the people. Take care of her for me.."
- Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, shortly before his assassination.
Pvt. Alvin Synne Payne [Organization of American States - United States Army] - Day Zero - Dated September 1, 1995
Twenty-Eight days before mass Disappearances of GDI and Nod Forces in Italy
Oh, September. I remember. I was there when the Cold War* would find itself ground to a halt by the appearance of Tiberium, and eventually Tiberium caused the outbreak in Italy, causing a massive international crisis that made GDI and Nod cooperate. Before the Meteor Strike down in Italy, things weren't looking too good anyway. Tiberium just made us realize we have bigger problems to be dealing with.
Even before September though, there was unrest and the Cold War. Dissatisfaction over the UN beginning centralization of its paramilitary and civilian arm began to swell in places such as France, America, Britain, Austria, and other UN member-states, leading to the Centralization Riots, which I was deployed to France for. The protesters were convinced the UN was starting to strip nations of their sovereignty.
The increasing presence of the Initiative Armed Forces didn't help as well, as it only angered people more. It made sense. United Nations forces were not supposed to be deployed in lieu of riot police, but due to the Riots going all over France, the Queen herself asked for GDI's presence to quell them, as the Cops were stretched thin. I was one of the unlucky Yanks to be sent there.
At this time, Nod began to step up its presence everywhere, spreading its tentacled influence across the world. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization*, for example, was beginning to trade heavy amounts of munitions to their allies in the Middle East, and embargoing the Tajik Republic and the Kyrgyz Republic. The GDI tried embargoing them, but that started a trade war that stagnated.
Personally, I thought it was only going to get much worse as France became increasingly more authoritarian due to UN obligations... then it hit.
The Meteor.
During that fateful day, back on September 1, I was a mere infantryman stationed in Paris. No, I'm not a Frenchie nor will I ever be one. I'm an American, first and foremost.
But yes, I was stationed in Paris, overseeing the UN's efforts of trying to keep the peace down in France. Usually by force.
It was at a place where riot Police and men in Yellow Jackets - or monarchists - kept protestors at bay. I cringed watching them fight even if they did the right thing, honestly. I still frankly don't understand why I was even deployed to a riot in the first place.
My unit was getting ready to assist the Riot Police with their task. We were to set up Tear Gas launchers in case these protestors tried anything funny. I was with an engineering team at a checkpoint, running a skeleton crew. We were busy setting up the launchers to keep the protestors at bay.
The Engineers pretty much voluntold me to go pick up their ammo for them, now, normally, I would just grumble, but for today? I pretty much had to do it or else we'd have full-blown street violence on our hands. I grabbed the box of ammo back from the engies' outpost and plopped it next to them.
They were already finished with setting up the launcher and its motion sensors, meaning that thankfully all I had to do was pick up a box of twenty-mils from the engies' ammo depot. So, they finished setting up the launchers, and as soon as I decide to turn around, I immediately heard a quip from the engine leader.
"If a goddamn mouse triggers the gas launcher-" The Engineer leader - a grizzled, frowning man - pointed at the grenade launcher's motion sensors, then pointed to the sky. "-I want his ass blown sky-high!"
Now, I would have ignored that remark, but for some reason, I couldn't help but laugh at the thought of the engies blowing a rat up just because it happened to trigger the launcher's motion sensors, therefore pissing off the automatic launcher. I think I even snickered at the gestures. The other engineers nodded, and one slammed his hand on the receiver, ostensibly to keep it tightened shut.
I placed the twenty-mils down, and they grab a belt link to load onto the launcher. When the launcher finished its setup, the leader gave a thumbs-up, and I gave one back. He may have looked like a grumpy man, however beneath that dirty shave and unkempt hair was the eye of someone appreciating grunt help.
Honestly, engies really knew how to deal with idiotic things triggering their alarms. But after that, I went back to my post after helping the engies set up that launcher and I just decide to wait. As I sit there, waiting for something to happen... I immediately turn on the TV to see if anything is interesting there. It was mostly filled with
So I grabbed the remote and turn the TV on, getting ready to watch whatever GDNN* had in store for me. Then those engies from earlier saw my antics and decided to ask if they could join in. The best way I could describe them was much more hygienic than the leader, as they were green boots. Bloody recruits, in British English.
One of them - probably from Portugal - asked if he could join me as he had nothing to do, and neither did his unit. Now, truth be told, I wanted to relax with the TV by myself, but eh, these guys looked like they needed a break. So I then turned to that guy and said something along the lines of this.
"Yeah. Go ahead, my fatass could use some company." I shrugged my shoulders, then turned back to watch the TV. I didn't see his response but I think he nodded.
So they pulled out foldable chairs and set them up, getting ready to watch TV with me. The Portuguese Engineer sat to my left, while two people sat to my right. When we all sat together at the TV on the outpost, I called a vote on what to watch. I wasn't expecting anything bad to happen during this day, and even thought I was safe. Since then, I've learned to jinx myself no longer.
"Oh, oh, go to the military channels! I want to see an Iowa Cruiser formation! They've got RNS Respublica on display!" One of the engies to my left - a British person, judging by his accent - added, turning to face me.
For context; Ever since the Second World War was lost by the Allies*, the fledgling Republican Navy sought a way to re-establish its naval superiority on the seas.
Enter America's weapons development program, which sent them improved blueprints of the Fletcher Missile Destroyers*, Iowa Cruisers*, and I think some other blueprints to help the RN, and by extension, the reborn Allies as well. One of them included a Carrier variant of the Iowa-class, and a Missile variant* as well. We Americans are weird.
"No, no, I want to see Saturday Night Live!" Another engie, - this time Japanese - said, poking his head to the front to get my attention. "Their Michael Dugan* skit is coming up today!"
On the note about American television, allow me to rant for a moment. Ever since SNL covered the Cold War... the jokes have gotten stagnant. At worst, they were horrid, at best, mildly laughable.
Before the 90s they were actually funny, though I was only born in the late 70s. I managed to catch up to the SNL in its heyday, and they used to be funny. Though now with the Cold War continuing to escalate between GDI and Nod, I don't think that funniness is ever going to return to SNL. At all.
But as they bickered, the Brazilian man intervened. His quip was simple, but it got them to shut up. For a little bit, at least.
"Go watch the news, learn something worth your time." The Brazilian engie said. Truth be told, I couldn't help but agree. So, I smiled and nodded. Turned back to the TV, and spoke.
"Yeah." I pressed the buttons and flipped through all the news channels. For the most part, there was uninteresting shit on TV, like makeup, the latest pop band originating from the Tokyo Pact* territories, or infomercials that tried to sell me a blender that somehow managed to also double as a cutting board. Though I wanted that for the novelty of it.
However, as I flipped through the news channels, the Brazilian engie tapped my shoulder. I took a look at him.
"Go back."
"Huh?" I asked, eyebrow raised in questioning.
"Go back. 113. Something important's on there."
113? I asked myself, really confused at first, but it hit me like an M1A3 Abrams* going at high speeds.
Oh, shit! Channel 113.
Yeah, right, how could I forget about Channel 113? That channel often covered normally irrelevant shit on the News, but for the Brazilian man to notice... well, something's caught his attention. Be it something about the Centralization Riots or... something with more worth than it needs to have. So I listened to the engineer and flipped over to Channel 113. I was confused. Why would the Engineer want to switch to this channel?
Sure, obviously, there are the two other guys in the back bickering about SNL versus military, but even without that, I still want to know why the guy wanted me to turn over to 113.
Then it hit me like a bag of bricks as I squinted to take a closer look, eyebrow raised when I finally managed to read out the details on the bloody thing.
"Tiber River...?" I asked as I took a closer look at what the news actually said.
So, when I saw the headline, I looked at the two soldiers arguing. I yelled at them, and it went like; "Shut it! The news is on!"
It immediately ended their bickering, and they looked at me. I angrily pointed back to the TV, noticing their expressions shift from confused to concerned as soon as they lay their eyes on the television.
The scene on the TV was... surreal to me.
It had GDI and Nod personnel - soldiers and officers - in the same area as each other without hostility or tension, all of them answering questions from an invasive news team.
I was fixated on the scene because of simply how surreal it was. In hindsight, that'd be our reality. At least for a while, that is.
GDI and Nod personnel in the same room without threatening to kill each other or insulting each other was... odd.
Outside of that though was an interesting scene, as Nod Bradley Light Tanks began parking and disembarking troops, while GDI M113s did the same thing, with troops from both sides spreading out to cover the Tiber River area.
Oh yeah, on that note - there was the quarantined area, just nearby the Tiber River. The main attraction to most people there, even the UN and the Cultists. Matter of fact, they had scientists studying the quarantined area. There were CBRN signs placed everywhere, warning of potential extraterrestrial hazards. Hell, one of the signs read 'UNITED NATIONS CHECKPOINT' next to a 'BROTHERHOOD QUARANTINE ZONE' sign.
What the hell was going over down there in Italy?
I glanced my head towards the Japanese and British Engineers, trying to see what they felt. They were pretty shocked too. I think I heard the British guy say something along the lines of "Oh god, something's gone bad." to the images of GDI and Nod collectively sealing up the Meteor area with red tape.
Literal red tape, by the way, not the bureaucratic stuff.
Though that does come later on after the situation is contained and analyzed by people with less aggressive mentalities. I have that mentality. And so does half of GDI. To an extent, that is.
"What the hell's happening down in Italy?" I asked, and everyone around me replied with their own level of equal amounts of confusion.
"I have no idea, lad." Came from the Brit, who metaphorically scratched his head around the prospect of the GDI and Nod refusing to kill each other for once.
"Me either." That one came from the Japanese Engineer.
"I am not certain of what is being shown to me here, but I am fearful." That one came from the Brazilian Engineer. His English was loopy, but very verbose. Very fitting for a nerd like him, I suppose.
The four of us simply kept looking at this, gaze fixated on the scene that was, in the words of the Brazilian engie, being shown to us.
The men on the TV - GDI and Nod - kept answering questions regardless of where the reporters actually came from.
Some had very clear Nod affiliations, and some had extreme GDI sympathies. Very few actually had non-partisan news affiliations.
But they were all asking questions at such a rapid pace that the GDI officers and the Nod officers yelled 'Quiet!' at all of them just so they could answer their horde of questions. One by one, and word for word. For once, I felt sorry for the poor sods. Having to listen to people rapid-fire these questions like it's no tomorrow. Jesus.
"What is Nod's official opinion on the situation?" Asked a pretty-obvious Nod-aligned journalist. The Nod officer in charge of responding turned his head to the guy and responded in a surprisingly pensive voice, proving to me, Payne, that these Noddies do get tired of their own supporters' fanaticism every once in a while. Ha, eat that, suckers!
"The Brotherhood has expressed interest in cooperation with the United Nations and the Global Defense Initiative in finding out what secrets lie behind this meteor." The officer said, giving a side glance towards the GDI officer, who scoffed and responded with something highly controversial but still worth noting.
"The Initiative requests that the Brotherhood of Nod cease interfering in Global Defense Initiative operations-" The GDI officer fired back a thinly-veiled 'middle finger' sentence towards the Noddie. "As they pose a threat to civilian ways of life. Especially around the Tiber River." Way to go, lad, show those Noddies how we in the UN do it!
"What is the Initiative's official opinion on the situation?" A GDI-supporting journalist asked. You could tell he was a GDI supporter as noted by his constant placement of the UN's symbol and the GDI diving eagle in his clothing, microphone, and the GDI-themed notepad he pulled out in order to prepare for writing down the GDI's opinion on this whole mess. Merchandizing authoritarianism is a pretty lucrative job.
"The Initiative believes it to be a major threat to Italy's crops. Samples recovered show that this zone's soil has been poisoned by parasitizing crystals, rendering the soil unusable for plant growth. It is advised that the Italian Government designate this area as terra nullus." Wait... what? I'll admit, I was confused when I heard those words. 'parasitizing crystals'. My only thought was; Hold on a fucking minute.
This wasn't just dangerous to Italy, it's dangerous to Earth. Who knows if there were more around?
So I stood there, simply in shock at all of this. Something big was about to happen. I could feel it, even if I wasn't aware of it at the time. For me, it got worse after NCID-95* appeared later. I turned my head to the Britman, eyes widened in shock, and simply said this to him.
"...Fuck me, now we've got parasite crystals? In the middle of these riots?" I said, taking off my helmet and giving myself a minute to breathe. The headache that would come later wasn't going to be helped if I kept the damn helmet on, so out it goes.
"Yeah... shit just got real." He replied back, taking a minute to breathe as well.
Well, this wasn't going to be something as simple as containment. If this thing could eat up resources without us knowing it, then we might as well sacrifice 2 billion people just to contain this stupid crystal thing.
"Well..." I said, uncertain if anything worse would happen at the time, "Can't be worse than what we saw over there in Ukraine, right?"
The question I asked was both half a joke and half serious. Ukraine was a shitshow, even by GDI standards. Ukraine suffered a lot. With a Civil War, the UN declaring non-intervention, and the situation descended into a complete lawless wasteland. Then, the Russian Confederation stepped in as a UN peacekeeping force in Ukraine, helping facilitate the evacuation of the democratic government. And they succeeded.
I promised that I'd buy a Beer for an RSDF squadron that was part of the Ukraine Operation. They'd need it.
The footage then shifted back to the regular news. But, as I sat there, I heard the automatic grenade launcher fire. Now, of course, that wasn't supposed to happen, and so I turned my head. Guess what? Bad news. The rioters were finally clashing with the Police and Yellowjackets. And they were clashing really hard.
"SHIT!" I said, getting up from my seat and running towards the radio in the area. I tuned the frequency to the one used by our local command sector. Yeah, I was calling for reinforcements. The rioting was intense, and when I glanced to my side I saw a Yellowjacket beat the shit out of a protestor.
"This is Sector Whiskey! The rioters have broken garrison lines! They're attacking the police! I need forces nearby! Send any available support to this sector!" I shouted into the radio as the fighting became louder and louder, with both sides spewing insults at each other. Especially the Yellowjackets, they cursed the most. Like, a lot, actually.
"Copy that, Sector Whiskey. Rerouting the 144th Armored Squadron to reinforce." was the response I got.
By 'armored', I initially thought they meant M113s. I didn't want SIDAM-25s* opening fire on the rioters like it was something out of a dystopian movie. Though given what actually came to our area instead, I really should've double-checked my terminology.
After that, I grabbed my rifle, at the time loaded with rubber bullets, and opened fire on the rioters.
The grenade launchers, meanwhile, kept hammering down at the rioters. The Yellowjackets pulled back when they saw the tear gas settle in, and the Royal Police stepped in and suppressed the situation. They started throwing flash grenades, then charging with their batons and riot shields, and this street battle was absolutely brutal. I was the only one firing a rifle, the Engineers were just maintaining the grenade launchers.
Funny how you notice the French cops don't have guns most of the time.
The gas began affecting the rioters in just about a few seconds as the gas entered their systems. The chemicals were irritant, and highly irritant at that. Rioters began to disperse as some of them fell down, incapacitated, and unable to do anything. Some of them even dropped as they tried to run due to the gas significantly impacting their movement. Those who could still move, though, continued their battle with the police.
When the rioters started to disperse, the 144th AS arrived. They came in M113s. At least six of them. Fully loaded with rifle squadrons. They had three M1A3 Abrams tanks surrounding the other streets to reinforce them. And to scare the living lights out of them, a Mammoth tank began to pull up onto the Sector. They began a full retreat, anything to get away from the Mammoths.
One of the 144th's APCs parked next to me and began unloading GDI soldiers, all of them equipped with grenade launchers, probably loaded with tear gas rounds. Some even had M16A2s with orange markings on their magazines. That meant they had riot rounds or rubber rounds. They began firing in the air to disperse the protestors, while those who had grenade launchers fired at the crowd to deny the area. I swear it was like taking a sledgehammer to fight a rat.
The M113's commander popped out of the hatch and looked at me directly. "You the guy who radioed for us?" he asked.
"Yep, I'm that guy."
"Well... we're here, though we're a bit late to the party..." The commander said, scratching his helmet as if he forgot a crucial detail that would've killed us all if it wasn't told.
"Oh, right." He then said, looking at me in the eyes.
"Well, I suppose I have to inform you this here and now - but we're going to move out of France. We're being shifted out in favor of a fresher garrison." Those words were a relief to me at the time. The Centralization Riots, in my perspective at the time, could have been handled by other garrisons. But as long as they weren't my garrison - I didn't have to complain about it. Though, a nagging part of me told me to ask why.
"Any idea why?"
"We're being re-assigned to Central Europe. I think, uh, Italy?"
Now, at the time, I didn't know we were going to the Tiber, so I just felt relief. "Hopefully we can get some real good grub over there. I've been dying to eat something that wasn't stale."
He nodded and chuckled. "Oh, well, we might. But that's only because of... certain developments. I'm hearing about them on the radio." Wait... what?
"What happened?"
"I don't know, actually. But as far as we can tell, we're getting outta here in a few days," He takes his hand off the machine gun and smiles. "Frankly, I can't wait to get outta France."
Well, crap. At least I get to be deployed somewhere else though. Sure, the riots are dangerous to GDI's integrity, but at the same time, I'd rather have to deal with angry Northerner Italians at an actual forward base, MCV and all. MCVs have the best entertainment devices at their disposal, including radios and television, all because of mobile industry.
"Right, when are we pulling out?"
"Probably in a week or so. Give or take. I can't really tell."
Right. At least it wasn't one day, but it was still too soon for us to move out of France.
After that conversation was over, I went back to the sector checkpoint, just to take a nap. When I got back on the chair, I slumped back and started sleeping.
I didn't wake up until seven hours later, and it was a pretty good nap too. Much more healthy for me than sleeping at 2 AM.
Pvt. Alvin S. Payne [Organization of American States - United States Army] - Camp Tiber - Dated September 29, 1995
Sixty Minutes before the mass Disappearances of GDI and Nod Forces from Italy
I took a breath - in and out - as I finished my story to a Noddie Minigunner who asked me what I was doing before being reassigned to Camp Tiber. He seemed fairly surprised I had a long story.
In his case, he was stationed at the border with Russia, then got reassigned to Camp Tiber a week later, being sent here on September 22nd. Nothing very special for his case.
Seems like the experiences vary. One of the other soldiers in my barracks once told me that he was reassigned here after he screwed up handling an ammo dump in Czechoslovakia, while another one told me he got drafted and then just got sent here.
The guy I told my story to was a Noddie, and my co-worker alongside a Doctor from IDAP. And the guy who sat beside me while I was eating lunch, started this conversation. We talked for a bit and got to exchange some basic stuff, before moving on to stories of how we got here. The dude was an Estonian soldier, too, so he was a much more tolerable Noddie.
I met a nice Noddie. Which was pretty unexpected.
He was assigned to be with the IDAP Doctor because he had a diploma in medical science, but I had been assigned to the Doctor because he requested a GDI body guard. Convenient that both a Noddie and a GDI man were working together. Both of them were, in fact, like ducks to water.
Though I never caught his first name.
"Well, I suppose the Centralization Riots just... flew by me. Never my concern, given I'm from Nod." He said, throwing a soda can into the trash can. "In fact, I've never thought it was that bad. But, well, thank you for informing me of it." He added, extending his hand. I took it and shook it, before letting go and going back to finishing my soda can.
To be honest, living in this camp was... boring, to say the least. Even with GDI, Nod, and some Humanitarian organizations like the Red Cross trying their best to help out the victims of this crystal disease, it got boring without something urgent.
"So what about-" I was about to hear a question from the Noddie when I suddenly heard something come from the Emergency Room of the camp. Or, specifically - the PA system of the Emergency Room.
"Paging Private Payne and Private Harma. I repeat, paging Private Payne and Private Harma. Doctor Lars de Ruyter is requesting your presence in the Emergency Room. I repeat, Doctor Lars de Ruyter is requesting your presence in the Emergency Room." The PA blared, as people came to stare at us. One soldier shook his head.
"Your time, buddy." He said. "I'd hate to work in ER, but goddamn..." He trails off, continuing to eat.
I looked to the Noddie, then to the door to the ER. "Damnit, it's supposed to be my lunch break..." I sighed, grabbing the half-eaten sandwich and standing up, getting off the table. "Alright, screw it, back to work."
I and the Noddie got off the lunch table of the barracks cafeteria and walked to the door to the emergency room of the barracks. We look
When I and the Noddie arrived at the door to the ER, we both looked at each other, hands on the door. We both nodded, as if there was a secret agreement we both had.
We didn't have one, but we did want to get in ER. After all, we were co-workers. Even if we didn't get to know each other.
"One..."
"Two..."
"Three."
I and the Noddie entered the ER, closing the door shut behind us. We looked around the ER and I wasn't surprised to see several soldiers in the ER beds. Most of them are being tended to by CBRN staff and humanitarian workers. Seemed like the infection rates spiked up to... at least above the regular rate. I felt myself cringe as I walked past them as we went to meet with Doctor Lars in the ER. The good doctor, indeed.
The infected weren't just unlucky bastards, they were GDI soldiers, Nod soldiers, Humanitarian workers, and even locals. I flinched as I heard the sound of the local yokel scream in pain. He was a dick, but I didn't want to see him writhe in NCID, no matter how much I disliked him. I looked to the Noddie - Harma, his nametag said - and nodded my head. He did the same. I put my head down and pushed my helmet to cover my eyes. I didn't need to see this.
"Just another day in the office," I said, trying my best to deny the environment around me. What I couldn't see couldn't hurt me, after all. Even if it was psychological. "Just another day." I repeated to myself, trying to look towards the ground as the sounds of medical personnel attending to NCID patients grew louder. I started to walk faster, hoping to get away.
"...Too right. Just another day." Harma replied, pushing his helmet down to ignore the people around him. I'm guessing these new infections just recently arrived. Probably had latent NCID. At the very least, I hope that was the case. There could be no worse time to get a mass infection than today.
But given how horrible everything has been for GDI and Nod, who knows what could come next?
Black crystals?
Notes from Payne:
M1A3 Abrams - The standard-issue main battle tank of the UNGDI. Replacing the earlier M1A2 Abrams in service with the Allied Nations and the United States Army, the M1A3 is more up-to-date and cheaper to produce, being the standard-issue GDI tank.
SIDAM-25 - The anti-air vehicle of the United Nations GDI. Armed with four Oerlikon 20mm cannons and eight anti-air missiles, the SIDAM-25 is a force to be reckoned with and dangerous against both vehicles and aircraft.
World War Two - Soviet Victory. The Allied Nations fought tooth and nail for Europe's freedom, but alas, it failed.
The collapse of the USSR - After Stalin's death by mysterious circumstances, the Soviet Union began to crumble as all hell broke loose, finally collapsing in 1953, and its puppet states later on.
Allied Nations - A coalition of European Nations led by the German Reich and the French Republic, it is a rebirth of the WW2-era Allied Nations that ceased to exist in 1953.
Tokyo Pact - A coalition of GDI-aligned states in the Asia-Pacific-Oceania regions, led by the Philippines and the Empire of Japan. It is locked in a proxy war against Nod.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization - A union of Asian and South American nations united under the banner of China, which itself is controlled by Nod. It is the neighbor of the Tokyo Pact and the American Sphere and often gets into conflict with them.
GDNN - Global Defense News Network, a United Nations-sponsored global media operated and controlled by the GDI and state affiliates. Rated 7/10 on Fact-Checker websites.
Fletcher-class DDGs - The standard escort ship of the United Nations and many of its client states, the Fletcher-class was in service with the USN since 1933 and has received multiple upgrades since.
Iowa-class CAs - A 'capital ship' in service with the GDI Navy and the UN. Notable Iowas include the Tokyo Pact's Yamato and the Allied Nations' Bismarck II. Other variants of the Iowa include the Alaska-class Aircraft Carrier and the New Jersey-class Missile Cruiser.
Michael Dugan - Current President of the United States following the 1992 US Presidential elections, part of the Democratic Party in Alaska.
Cold War - The proxy conflict between the United Nations Global Defense Initiative and Nod. Ongoing since 1965, it has escalated as time went on, sparking wars and even ethnic conflicts.
NCID-95 - Novel Crystallization Infectious Disease 1995, the formal name for the 'Crystal Virus', originating in the Tiber River. It slowly crystallizes the body, turning it into nothing more but pure crystal. Mortality rates are 47% and rising as NCID further mutates. Medicines and Drugs are ineffective against NCID, leaving it almost unbeatable. It is unknown how NCID spreads.
Author's Notes:
So... here I am. I'm back, this time with an idea that's actually a bit more coherent than my first story. So, basically, this is a Tiberian Dawn crossover with Arknights. I know, I know, 'but some things are off' you might say, and you're absolutely right.
Because this Tib Dawn is based off a headcanon of mine, with GDI being more open and public alongside Nod, which sparks a Cold War that is interrupted by the arrival of Tiberium and NCID. Also, NCID is not a different strain, it's just your normal Tib mutations, GDI just thinks it's because of a virus from the meteor... which isn't wrong.
I plan for this to be more focused on the humanitarian aspects of AK, dealing with the Infected, helping Catastrophe survivors out, improving the quality of life, and peacekeeping.
GDI and Nod forces have to set aside their mutual dislike to help people, even if it means risking their lives in the process.
Also, a quick note about Nod. They're not religious as of this period, only the higher-ups. The low rank are just the national militaries of the nations aligned with Nod, like the Estonian Army, who know nothing about this and just want to protect their homeland from imperialism, so NO, Nod fans, you get actual humans this time, not walking soapboxes explaining how Kane is going to save the world.
I'm actually having fun with this idea, so I'll try my best to write for it.
Now, I'll catch you guys later in the next chapter.
CHANGELOG:
Cleaned up the chapter and changed the details, as part of an overall operation of mine to fix plot holes and inconsistencies in format, writing, and etc. - 5/21/2023
Cleaned up the chapter some more, changed several words at the end of the chapter, and added some more dialogue. Also added a missing note log, Michael Dugan. - 5/23/23