Hello ladies and gentlemen, and welcome back. Since the conclusion of Part 3: Ascension I have been suffering severe writer's block and a sheer lack of inspiration to write. Countless ideas, rough drafts, failed starts, and hundreds of crumpled and tossed (digital) pages led to a loss of interest in the creative process. Ultimately I felt it was time to hang up my writing aspirations but recently I have felt a renewed kindling of passion, not quite a full flame, but an ember. Of course it started with the hastily abandoned Genesis: Redemption story, but now I am trying again with a new idea; a complete rewrite and updated version of the C&C story. The idea essentially would to take old plot lines and characters, add new ones and events, and create an entirely new story.
My Project Genesis series was essentially just my interpretation of the games with an altered ending, while this would be an original retelling simply using C&C elements and settings. Think of it as my telling of the story if I was hired to write a "New C&C"
That being said, the idea is in it's infancy and could very well end up with all the others in the trash bin. However, I am releasing a "tester" chapter as a proof of concept. Depending on feedback and engagement I may commit to beginning this new project. For now, you can just enjoy this short single chapter.
Until next time, Commanders.
… … …
November, 1991
New York City, New York, U.S.A
Operation Portcullis
10:21
Liberty had fallen. It lay shattered and burnt on the ground, stained by the blood of those who had sworn to defend it. 111 years she stood, and in a single morning she had fallen. The Statue of Liberty was now a smoldering ruin, it's death throes sending up a cloud of dust and copper particles that obstructed Liberty Island from view. But with her fall the view of the rest of the harbour became clearer, enough to see the fires, the missile contrails, the explosions, the death.
All of New York City was burning as Soviet troops invaded. Police and National Guard units were scattered around the city, fighting against elite Soviet paratroopers. Carefully camouflaged transport ships had unloaded light vehicles and Soviet Mobile Missile Launchers, while communist sleeper cells began setting off bombs and creating general anarchy.
Liberty had fallen and the United States of America was under siege.
The enemy was inside the gates, but so long as Intelligence Operations Special Agent Tanya Adams was alive and breathing she would make sure the Reds would pay for every inch with blood. Finally looking away from the window and the burning city she finished her preparations. Her dual Colt M1911 pistols and were cleaned and loaded and she placed them in their hip holsters. Tanya gripped the police issued H&K MP5 on the table and double checked the magazine was loaded, and satisfied it was full of Commie killing lead, walked over to the two other InOps agents in the building.
They had been in New York for three weeks, trying to root out suspected Soviet sleeper cells. What had been a long and gruelling intelligence gathering operation had now put them in middle of a full scale invasion as the rest of the world tumbled into World War Three. Tanya felt equal jolts of excitement and anger at the events unfolding. She always relished a chance to change up from the cloak and dagger and just shoot down Reds, but not if it meant fighting on American soil. Her father always did tell to watch what she wished for.
"Ready Twenty-two?"
Tanya sighed at the code name that had been with her since her recruit days. Some absolute genius had managed to guess that eleven plus eleven equalled twenty-two, a joke on her preference for her two M1911 pistols. For whatever reason the name stuck.
"Ready, Nancy."
The large, burly man smiled, his blue eyes shining. Another ironic and hilarious – some thought – code name. Nancy was German, born and raised in West Germany, as such he earned his name because it vaguely sounded like a certain German political party that held power and caused trouble in Europe for roughly seven years.
"What is the plan exactly? Radio is a mess and I can't get a hold of anyone, civilian or military."
The question came from Spock, a wiry yet well toned dark skinned man. His name was less creative, coming from his open love of sci-fi shows. Whoever comes up with these code names is an absolute dumbass, Tanya thought.
"Last transmission from the Guard unit on Liberty Island mentioned an FOB in the city, near the main warehouses. Our only option is to make our way there." Tanya answered.
"So all we have to do is walk around the entire New York Harbour to reach the other side? Fighting through God knows how many Soviets?" Nancy asked.
"Unless you feel like swimming?" Tanya countered.
"Walking works."
Tanya smiled at her two teammates, then nodded for them to open the door. Both men carried Beretta M9s, with Tanya being the only one armed with something of a higher calibre than their issued handguns. Hopefully the Soviets would be nice and let them borrow some AKs.
Nancy opened the door and stepped into the street, pistol raised. Spock followed right behind with Tanya stepping out a moment later, MP5 pointed as she scanned the street. It was empty, and eerily quiet. It seemed the Soviet paratroopers hadn't landed on this side of the harbour. Nancy and Spock were already moving away, Tanya closed the door to the tiny apartment building that had been their home for the last few weeks.
Despite the silence of the street the orchestra of war could be heard in the distance; that staccato of gunfire, the booming of explosions, and the wailing of police sirens could all be heard as the three special agents made their way into the war zone.
"How the fuck did the Soviets hit us? How was there no warning?" Nancy growled as he led the group.
"Hard to tell, but police chatter made it sound like they snuck in. Civilian freighters and airliners puked out Reds into the city." Spock answered, eyes glancing to every window, and in a city like New York there were a lot of windows.
"Doesn't matter, they're here and we're gonna kill 'em." Tanya answered as she kept an eye on the smoke filled sky.
"Always the optimist, Twenty-two."
"Nancy, why don't you concentrate on walking instead of running your mouth?" Tanya snarled with more venom then she had intended.
"Shit, Twenty-two, didn't think-"
The conversation was cut off as the three stopped in their tracks as the very earth itself shook. A large skyscraper collapsed in a billow of black smoke and shooting flames, the result of a Soviet missile striking home. Tanya stared in wide eyed horror. She was a highly trained InOps agent, and she had seen her fair share of messed up things in this world, but nothing ever really prepared you for seeing your own home in flames. She steeled herself for the battle ahead, but did nothing to stop the anger rising at the Soviet bastards destroying NYC.
"Keep moving." Tanya ordered.
The three InOps agents continued through empty streets, hugging the edge of the harbour. The roar of gunfire was getting louder, and Tanya could distinguish the bark of American M16 rifles and the chatter of Soviet AK-74s. She tensed her grip on the MP5 as the rounded a corner onto a larger road, expecting to encounter Soviet troops, but instead they came upon a group of five men carrying bags out of a jewelry store. All five stopped to stare at the three armed people, who just like them, were garbed in regular civilian clothes. The only thing distinguishing Tanya and her compatriots from the looters was the bullet-proof vests they were wearing.
"Are you cops?" One of the men, a boy really as he couldn't be older than eighteen or nineteen, asked.
"No. Now get the fuck out of here. The city's being invaded in case you idiots didn't notice." Nancy growled at the lowlifes.
The five looters grabbed their bags and ran off and Tanya spat at their retreating backs. Only thing worse than communists was parasitic punks taking advantage of a crisis. Once the group had disappeared from sight the three agents continued their trek through the streets, getting ever closer to the front lines.
After navigating several streets clogged with abandoned vehicles and shattered store fronts, the team came upon a lone police cruiser. They all rushed over to the vehicle, noting one side was riddled with bullet holes. On the other, a single dead NYPD officer lay slumped against the vehicle, a Remington 870 shotgun at his side amidst numerous spent casings. Nancy grabbed the weapon and patted the officer's corpse for spare ammo, before tossing it aside and shaking his head. Tanya quickly scanned their surroundings but found no other corpses, meaning this cop could have either died fighting Soviets, or the very people he was trying to protect who decided to loot and steal while the city burned.
"At the pace we're going, we're going to miss the whole damn war." Spock muttered.
"Then let's move faster." Tanya snapped.
The three left the cruiser and the dead officer, jogging further into the city. Deeper in and now cars were not simply abandoned by panicked civilians but destroyed and reduced to blackened wrecks. Shops and apartments hadn't been broken into to be looted but had become hasty bunkers and strongholds. Finally Tanya and the team had arrived at the front, indicated by the number of dead bodies. As they carefully maneuvered through the carnage, Tanya couldn't help but note most of the bodies were American, police and Guard cut down as they tried to defend the city.
"Over here!"
Tanya jogged over to Nancy who was standing above a dead soldier. While Nancy grabbed the man's discarded AK rifle, Tanya leaned in to study the uniform. It confirmed what they already knew, as the man was dressed in the uniform of a Soviet VDV airborne division. When she stood up from her examination Nancy had fully supplied himself with spare magazines for his looted rifle, while Spock came walking up armed with a M16.
"You boys feel better?" Tanya asked in a mocking tone.
"A bit more firepower always makes me feel better." Nancy answered.
"Then let's hope we can find an Abrams tank." Spock added.
"How about a plane ride to Moscow so we can return the favour to Ivan." Tanya commented as she took the lead.
"Amen to that." Nancy stated.
They left the carnage behind them and continued their long walk through the streets of New York. Tanya guessed they had made it roughly half way around the harbour, but they still had a long route ahead to reach the reported location of the Guard FOB. The three agents were about to cross an intersection and continue along the road when the crack of a sniper rifle sent them for cover. Tanya and Spock pressed themselves into a doorway while Nancy ducked behind a garbage truck that had swerved onto the sidewalk. They all listened for another shot to ring out, but instead they heard a fusillade of rifle fire. Tanya moved out from the doorway and peered down the left side of the intersection. Down the next road she could see a squad of National Guard troops taking cover behind several police cruisers and civilian cars hastily moved together to form a barricade. She looked further down to see they were engaged in a fire fight with Soviet troops inside a Burger Kong fast food restaurant.
Another crack rang out and Tanya watched as a Guard soldier collapsed, blood spurting from his neck. She couldn't see where the sniper had fired from, but guessed he was inside the restaurant with the other Soviet troops, who were pelting the car barrier with bullets.
"We have friendlies up ahead." Tanya explained as Nancy and Spock came up to here. "Reds inside a Burger Kong, and they have a sniper somewhere, couldn't get a visual."
"Damn, I could go for a good burger right now." Spock all but drooled.
"Focus. Plan?"
"Take too long to go around. I say we join with the Guards and try to push in." Nancy suggested.
"We could just as easily get bogged down with them." Tanya countered.
"With three InOps agents? Those Reds won't stand a chance." Nancy said around a full grin.
"Alright, I'm in. Spock?"
"On you, Twenty-two."
Tanya nodded before darting around the corner. She ran as fast as she could while crouching, MP5 tucked to her chest. She could see sparks as bullets pinged off the cars ahead, and another crack caused a window in one of the cruisers to shatter. A Guard troop dropped on his ass to reload his rifle and happened to glance up as Tanya and the boys came charging towards him.
"Friendly! Friendly!" Tanya shouted just before charging right up next to the startled trooper. "Who's in charge here?"
"Who the fuck are you?"
Tanya turned around to face a grizzled Latino man clutching a M16 in one hand, and a pistol aimed at Tanya with the other. Nancy and Spock ignored the exchange and simply added their fire with the Guards.
"I'm a Special Agent with InOps. Looked like you boys could use help." Tanya answered.
"What the hell is InOps?" The startled trooper from beside Tanya asked.
"Some secret spy type bullshit." The Latino Guard spat. "I'm Sergeant Antonio, New York National Guard. You know how to use that gun, missy?"
"The fuck do you think?" Tanya growled.
"Just checking." Antonio smiled. "Reds have a sniper in there. Can't see him though."
"We noticed."
"So how do you plan on helping?"
Tanya glanced over the car she and Antonio were using for cover. The space between the barricade and the restaurant was wide open road with no cover. However, near the corner of the building she noticed a blind spot where the restaurant's windowed front turned to solid brick, likely where the kitchen was located.
"If your boys can lay down cover fire, I can run for the corner, get out of their view." Tanya said after a moment.
"That sounds like suicide."
"Not for us. Nancy, Spock! I'll go first, you boys follow." Tanya called.
"Roger that!" Nancy called back.
"On my go." Tanya shouted to Antonio.
"Your funeral." Antonio replied before relaying the plan to his men.
Tanya took several deep breaths before yelling out, "Now!"
"Fire!"
Tanya ran straight towards the restaurant as Nancy, Spock, and the Guard troops all opened fire. The front of the building was showered with bullets and Soviet soldiers ducked for cover. A few rifles popped up as a few Soviets tried to blind fire just as the sniper rifle boomed. Tanya ran into the brick wall and gasped for breath before turning to see if anyone had been hit by the sniper. But to her relief it seemed no one had.
Moments later the Guards again exposed themselves to fire as Nancy and then Spock ran to meet her. By Spock's run the Soviets must have guessed their plan as bullets impacted mere inches from him as he ran. By the time the three had reunited, Tanya brought her MP5 to bear and moved around the corner, looking for a back entrance to the restaurant.
They found an employee entrance which Nancy kicked open. Tanya charged in and found a Soviet medic tending to two wounded soldiers. Before she could yell for him to surrender he reached for a nearby rifle. Tanya put three bullets into his head then aimed at the two wounded men. One had his head completely bandaged and was evidently unconscious, while the second held up one hand in surrender, the other hand in a sling. Tanya ignored them and moved from the kitchen to the front counter. Six more Soviet troops were positioned in booths lining the windows, still firing on the Guards down the street. Tanya leveled her SMG and fired, slicing the Soviet squad down in a hail of bullets and staining the leather benches with blood.
"Found a ladder!" Nancy called.
"Up top, we still need to find that sniper." Tanya shouted back as she changed the magazine.
Nancy began to climb when a gunshot rang out from above, causing him to fall onto the floor. Spock fired a wild spray at the roof access to before the hatch slammed shut.
"Nancy!" Tanya called as she rushed over to him.
"I'm good! I'm good. Bullet grazed me, nearly blew off my damn balls."
"Stay here. I'll check if there's another ladder outside."
Before either man could respond Tanya ran back outside, passing the two wounded Soviets in the kitchen. As soon as she got back into the open air, the sniper fired another shot though she couldn't see who he was shooting at. She frantically looked around for a way onto the Burger Kong roof and found another ladder on the side of the building where staff would hand orders to customers in their cars. She held the MP5 one handed and used the other to climb up slowly, careful not to make a sound. With any luck the sniper would believe he had killed the only assailants in the building and would be focused on the Guard troops still by the barricade.
As she reached the last rung, Tanya slowly peeked over the edge and saw the prone figure of the Soviet sniper. She leveled the MP5 and fired a single shot into his back, shredding his spinal cord. The sniper simply laid his head down as if to sleep and made no other moves. Tanya slowly crept forward, confident he was dead but still cautious in case he was playing opossum. As she reached the sniper she put another bullet into his head, confirming he was indeed dead.
She leaned over the edge to call out to Antonio and his men, "Clear!"
"Copy, clear! Moving up!"
Tanya slowly made her back down, using the ladder that led inside the restaurant. When she got down the Guard troops were already inside while Nancy and Spock busied themselves with their new prisoners. Tanya sat on top of the counter to rest for a moment just as Antonio came over.
"Impressive work. What'd you say you guys were? 'InOps'? Might as well be goddamned commandos or something." Antonio remarked.
"Thanks." Tanya replied.
"What should we do about these two? One of 'em if pretty banged up." Nancy asked jutting a thumb in the direction of the prisoners.
"Can't drag them with us all the way to Bradley. Have to leave them, see if our guys or theirs pick them up." Antonio remarked with a shrug.
"Bradley?" Spock asked, joining the conversation.
"Fort Bradley is the call-sign for the Guard FOB. They managed to secure one of the major roads out from the dockyards when the enemy first starting pouring troops in. Just before our radio got busted they sent a call for all forces to rally there." Antonio explained.
"Alright then. Leave those two with some food and water and let's get going." Tanya said standing up.
Nancy and Antonio exchanged glances, seeming as though they didn't want to give the enemy anything. But a quick stare from Tanya silenced any argument before it could form.
Tanya and Spock led the Guard unit, now consisting of just five men including Antonio, while Nancy took up the rear. They walked closer to the epicenter of the attack, where the Soviets seemed to be concentrating their push in Manhattan and out into the other boroughs. Now Tanya could see the full extent of the Soviet attack; buildings were in ruins, engulfed in flames and spewing black smoke into the air. Missile impacts had created vast craters in the roads, creating jagged pockmarks of shattered concrete and broken metal. Worst of all, however, were the bodies. Dozens, hundreds, perhaps thousands of corpses. Police, National Guard, Soviets, and civilians all united in death and strewn about the sidewalks and streets of New York like trash. Tanya had seen war, she was an expert in all things related to war, but war wasn't supposed to be happening in American cities.
"Just a few more blocks! Fort Bradley should be behind that row of high-rises!" Antonio called.
Tanya checked her magazine and grimaced when she realized it was only half full, she would have to rely on her twin sidearms soon. She slammed the magazine back and jogged to catch up as the group moved with a renewed energy, seemingly eager to reach friendly lines. Their eager pace halted an instant later when a missile screeched overhead, impacting into a building further into the city. The Soviet's seemingly random and relentless artillery barrage of the city continued causing Tanya to let out of a growl of anger.
The group moved on again, still eager to reach the base but always sending the occasional glance skyward. Missiles continued to streak overhead, crashing into buildings and reducing the great city to ruins. If the American forces didn't find those MMLs soon, then there wouldn't be a New York City left to rescue. So many structures were now piles of concrete and twisted steel, so many monuments and landmarks wrecked or outright destroyed. So it came somewhat of a shock when Tanya saw the large apartment building almost entirely intact. Windows were shattered, and some masonry had fallen but for the most part it was mainly untouched.
"Just on the other side of this building! Come on-"
An abrupt eruption of gunfire sent the group scrambling for cover, only to quickly discover the violence was coming from the other side of the building. Tanya jogged out from her cover behind a burnt out bus over to Antonio and Nancy who were crouched behind a billboard that had fallen from the top of one of the many ruined high-rises.
"Do you have anyway of contacting Fort Bradley?" Tanya asked over the near constant din of gunfire.
"No! All of our radios are busted. All I know is that Fort Bradley is on the other side. For all I know, it could be Guard units trying to retake the base from the Reds." Antonio grumbled.
"What's the plan then, Twenty-two?" Nancy asked.
Tanya glanced back at the building, as if she could magically discover who was who. If they moved around to the front they could very well get caught in the crossfire between hostile and friendly forces. That left only one option; "We go inside through the back. Take it nice and slow, that way we don't spook our guys if they're the ones inside. And if it's the Reds, we can give them a nasty surprise." Tanya laid out.
"Sounds good to me." Nancy replied quickly.
"Don't see any other option. You commandos take point then." Antonio remarked.
Tanya nodded as she readied her twin M1911s and walked up to the building with Nancy and Spock taking her flanks. She found a fire escape door at the buildings rear, and slowly opened it, cautious of possible booby traps. To her surprise, the door was completely unguarded, and opened to an empty hallway that led straight to the front of the building. The trio walked as quietly as they could, though the roar of automatic rifles drowned out most noise. As they inched forward, Tanya could hear men barking out orders in thick Russian.
"Guess we know who's inside now." Spock whispered.
Tanya continued to move forward until she came up to the building's main lobby. Soviet troops were huddled by windows and quickly made barricades and were shooting at American forces likely trying to defend Fort Bradley. However, she could also hear muffled gunfire and more shouted Russian coming from the upper floors.
"We need to clear this whole building, floor by floor." Tanya said.
"How are we going to do that?" Antonio asked as he slid up to the three InOps agents.
"Sergeant, you and your men clear this level. Once you've done that, try to find a way to contact our boys across the street. We will clear the rest of the building."
"Just the three of you?"
"That's all we need."
Antonio merely nodded before Tanya, Nancy, and Spock moved off towards the stairs that would take them up to the next floor. Tanya suddenly found herself more at ease as she found herself in her element. She was trained for clearing out enemy positions silently and efficiently, so long as she ignored that this was an American apartment building and thought it was some dingy Eastern Bloc shithole.
"Reminds me of Tehran." Nancy commented silently, apparently sharing Tanya's thoughts.
"Never thought I'd be nostalgic for fighting the GLA." Spock whispered back.
"Focus, boys. Spock, you take this floor." Tanya ordered.
Spock responded by shouldering his rifle and stepping through the door onto the second floor hallway. Tanya didn't stop as she and Nancy continued their climb. A single bark from Spock's M16 signaled Antonio and his Guard squad to attack, causing shouts of surprise to be cut off in a spray of gunfire. Nancy readied his looted AK and moved onto the third floor without any need for orders. He immediately let off several shots as he moved in deeper while Tanya ascended further.
She reached the fourth floor and kicked the door open. She moved into each apartment with twin pistols at the ready, checking for Soviets. The danger of searching a building like this was that she had no idea how many hostiles there were or where they were. For all she knew an entire Soviet VDV platoon could be inside this building. But as she got closer and closer to the final apartments on this level, the more she wondered if they had stumbled upon a single squad. Finally she reached the last apartment, which would have a window over looking Fort Bradley, and slowly opened the door. Immediately she spotted two Soviet troops by the window, rifles resting on the windowsill as they fired down on American forces. Tanya raised both pistols and fired a single round from both. The two Soviet snipers slumped over, leaving a trail of blood on the wall. Tanya moved back to the stairwell just as Spock and Nancy came up.
"Second floor cleared. Four snipers KIA."
"Third cleared. Just one sniper."
"Good. Let's keep going."
They spent another forty minutes clearing the building. It turned out only a single VDV squad along with several snipers had taken the building, as the rest of the floors were empty. By the time Tanya and the others reached the bottom they found Antonio talking with an exhausted and portly looking man in a NYPD uniform.
"We good?" Antonio asked as Tanya walked over to him.
"Building's clear. Who's this?"
"Officer Clemens. The National Guard commander sent me to grab you guys and get you over to Bradley" The policeman stated with strained breath.
"What's the situation?" Tanya asked the man.
"This was just a side show. The Reds are launching their main assault from the piers."
"Are you alright?"
"I'm used to dealing with petty street thugs, not goddamned invasions."
Tanya patted the policeman on the shoulder before moving past him. She took Nancy and Spock and jogged across the street into Fort Bradley, leaving Antonio and his men to catch up.
Fort Bradley, the National Guard Forward Operating Base in New York City, was little more than several tents set up inside a construction site. The area was a flat square of dirt littered with steel girders and construction vehicles, and now military tents and both Guard troops and police officers milling about. A single M113 APC sat in the center, with a camouflaged netting set up over top the vehicle and a small space crowded with officers, clearly serving as the Guard's command center.
Tanya marched straight for the command post, noticing Guards glare at her and wondering why three armed civilians were here. No one moved to stop them, however, as Antonio and his group came up right behind them. Tanya spotted a man in a Guard uniform jabbing at the table in front of him with a lit cigarette dangling from his mouth and guessed him to be in charge. The man looked up as she walked up and spat his cigarette onto the ground.
"Who the fuck-"
"InOps Special Agent Tanya, reporting in. This is Special Agents Klaus and Michael. We're here to help." Tanya introduced quickly.
"InOps huh? Alright, good. I need everyone I can get. Soviets are trying to push out from the harbour. They've got those damned missile launchers set up and they're trying to move up more troops and light vehicles into the city. We've got them hold down here for now, but if they break through they'll have full run of the city." The commander explained.
"What do you need us to do?"
"Help hold them off until more Guard units show up. Or maybe the Army will get off their ass and do something."
"We can do more than hold here. We can push the Reds back, retake the harbour." Tanya insisted.
"With what? All I've got is Guards with rifles and police with wet pants. Soviets have BTRs with them and we have no anti-armour weapons."
Tanya turned and let out a sigh of frustration. She watched the small bridge that connected this section of city to the harbour, which the Soviets were desperately trying to take. Guard troops had set up foxholes and sandbag pillboxes and were shooting at Soviet foot troops on the other side. She knew the commander was right, and as soon as those BTRs showed up the Guard wouldn't stand a chance.
"What if we blew the bridge?" Tanya thought aloud.
"With what? I told you were don't have any heavy ordinance." The Guard Commander replied as he lit a new cigarette.
"Then barricade it. Move as many vehicles and shit onto the bridge. Stop the Reds and those BTRs." Nancy added.
"Hmm. That might work, or it could just piss them off."
"It will work. You get your boys working on blocking off this bridge, I'll take my team across and start hitting the Soviets from the rear." Tanya said.
"Alone? The three of you?" The commander asked incredulously.
"This is what we are trained for." Spock answered.
"And who says you get to order me around? Special agents or not, I'm in charge of securing this city." The commander sneered.
"You really want to get into a passing match over who's in charge?" Tanya bit back.
The commander stared at Tanya, blowing smoke from his nose. Tanya held her ground, ready to chew the man out to get her way. But the commander relented as he reached into his carton for another cigarette, only to grumble as he tossed the empty package away.
"Fine. Maybe you know what you're doing, or maybe you'll get yourself killed. Either way, I was told to stop this city from falling, and if there's a small chance you can help then who am I to stop you."
"Thank you. Sir." Tanya said with as much diplomacy as she could muster.
"In that case I'll get my guys to work. Lord knows there's enough wreckage around to use. You three get the hell out. And Godspeed."
Tanya nodded to the man before leading her team away. Already the commander was growling out orders as Tanya made her way to a table set up near an excavator, which served as a makeshift quartermaster station. Tanya exchanged her half spent MP5 for more M1911 mags, while Nancy left his looted AK and grabbed a standard M16. Once the trio was loaded up, they made their way across the bridge, earning odd glares from the Guards defending the bridge.
The other side was littered with the corpses of Soviet soldiers killed in the myriad attempts to take the bridge. Tanya felt no sympathy for the enemy and left the carnage behind as they officially crossed into enemy territory. The entire New York City harbour was held by the Soviets, and enemy freighters disguised as civilian ships were still busy unloading troops and equipment.
Tanya and her team darted across empty roads and through desolate parking lots for the numerous warehouses. So far Tanya could see no sign of the Soviets, save for the distant sound of heavy machinery moving and the infrequent and powerful rumblings of missile strikes further in the city. The three InOps agents moved through the industrial park like thieves on a heist, careful to be unseen or heard. They were about to dart out from one rundown looking warehouse to cross an open street to a small factory when the roar of a missile being launched nearly deafened them. A thick cloud of smoke wafted towards them from the missile's exhaust.
Tanya coughed and waved the smoke away before trying to see where the missile had been launched from. She noticed smoke still hanging in a thick cloud near another warehouse across from them and began to move towards it.
"What are you doing?" Nancy asked.
"Taking out that damned launcher." Tanya snapped back.
"Let's do it." Spock said jogging to catch up with her, Nancy just a step behind.
The trio continued to move slowly as they crept around the next building. Voices speaking in hurried Russian began to grow more audible as they reached the corner of the building. Peeking her head around she quickly scanned the parking lot of the warehouse; it was completely empty save for a Russian ZIS-5 4x2 truck and a large pallet of V2 rockets. Four men in VDV uniforms were busy trying to load another missile onto the launcher mounted to the back of the truck, too distracted by their work to noticed her. Without a moments hesitation Tanya stepped out and fired with both of her pistols, killing all four men with deadly precision and ease. The passenger door of the truck burst open and a man leaned out with weapon raised, but Tanya shot him between the eyes before he could even grasp what had happened.
In a the span of several seconds five Soviet soldiers were dead and an enemy artillery piece neutralized. Tanya casually placed her pistols in their holsters and sauntered over to the pallet of spare munitions. She bent over to grab a grenade off the belt of one of the Soviets just as Nancy and Spock came over.
"Damn, Tanya, remind me not to get on your bad side."
"You're always on my bad side, Nancy." Tanya remarked. "Let's blow this and keep moving."
"That's going to attract a lot of attention." Spock cautioned.
"Good, let the bastards come."
As if to answer her challenge, the doors to the warehouse suddenly burst open as Soviet troops came pouring out. The air was filled with the chatter of AK-74s as the enemy sprayed the entire parking lot. Tanya and the others ran for cover behind the Katyusha as they were pelted with shards of asphalt. Tanya growled as she readied herself to return fire but stopped when she noticed sparks flying off the pallet of missiles.
"Shit! We can't stay here!"
"No shit!" Nancy yelled back.
"We need to push!" Spock suggested.
Tanya nodded, "Push on three! Three!"
The three InOps agents darted out from the Katyusha and charged directly at the Soviet troops. There was a total of seven of them, and they all seemed stunned at the abrupt charge. Their shock lasted for merely a second before they tried to concentrate their fire, but Tanya was already firing with both pistols. Her shots went wide, hitting asphalt or pinging off the walls of the warehouse, but it was enough to drive most of the riflemen into cover. Nancy and Spock used the break in gunfire to rush forward and spray down the enemy with their M16s. Tanya hastily reloaded her weapons but the firefight was already over, the entire squad cut down in seconds by the lethal trio of commandos.
Without need to speak, they moved to breach the warehouse and clear it of any more hostiles. But before Tanya could get into position, she stopped at an odd sight; these Soviets weren't dressed like the paratroopers she had encountered all day. She hadn't noticed at first as she was too focussed on killing them before they killed her, but now she noted they were dressed in full chemical warfare gear, complete with gas masks. She glanced at the others who nodded in return that they noticed the same thing. Pushing the oddity aside, they charged into the building.
It was empty.
Tanya lowered her weapons as she walked deeper into the vast space of the open warehouse. There were no more Soviet troops, in fact it was completely empty save for another Soviet truck. Except instead of being retrofitted into another Katyusha launcher, it was filled with heavy metal crates, half of which were on the warehouse floor in the process of being unloaded. Tanya walked over to one, already knowing what was inside but still compelled to check. She opened the lid before instantly jumping back. All three stared in utter horror at the baleful green glow emanating from the crate.
The Soviets had brought Tiberium into the USA.
… … …
Author's note: so like stated at the beginning, this single chapter is meant more to see if people want me to write a new fanfic while also seeing if I want to continue writing. It all depends on engagement so if you want to see this become a full story, be sure to leave reviews! Or feel free to send me a message!
I will leave this up for a few weeks before making a decision, which I will upload the update as a second "chapter" to this. Even if I decide to commit to a full on project it will take time to plan it out, write out ideas and set up chapters and events. I don't want to confine myself to a timeline, but I'll say Summer of 2024 for the first chapters (if this gets the greenlight)
The story will be an original one but obviously borrowing elements, characters, and events from all three C&C universes. A blend of Red Alert, Tiberian, Generals, and my own ideas, unlike Genesis which was me simply making stories based entirely on the Tiberium games.
So I hope everyone enjoys this little snippet and maybe we will see more. Or perhaps this will serve as a final send off. Either way I'll say:
Until next time. Peace through power.