Tiberian Sunset (Cancelled)

Chapters

Chapter 1: Today's Execution
Chapter 2: Secure the Area
Chapter 3: Memories
Chapter 4: Retaliation

Chapter 1: Today's Execution

Chapter 1: Today’s Execution

A young woman walked down the white halls. She stopped at a door with a stylised golden eagle in a circle on it. The woman was wearing a white lab coat. She had brown hair that fell to her shoulders and teal eyes.

She scanned her identification card through the high security lock next to the door. The door split open in the middle and slid into the walls on either side. She walked through swiftly and the doors closed behind her.

The room she had entered was empty of people. There was a large computer system at the wall on her right. On her left was a firing range; the walls were extremely fortified and were actually screens showing what the cameras on the other side of the door showed rather than the glass windows that they appeared to be.

In front of her was an advanced weapons research and development laboratory. There were many different types of weapons being researched and prototypes being built here. The only finished weapon was a laser rifle. It was built from advancements in laser technology that were gained from researching the Obelisks of Light that the Brotherhood of Nod had built in the First Tiberium War.

The woman walked towards the computer system, she used her identification to log in to the computer and plugged in a device then ran the program on the device.

She took off her lab coat revealing black clothing with red outlines and a red hexagon – it looked like a triangle with the corners cut off then the side connected with a new line – with a scorpion’s tail inside it. She had a pistol on each hip. She pulled a small device out of her pocket and put it in her ear.

“I’m in. Go when ready CABAL,” she said.

“Download in progress. Reinforcements on route. Rendezvous with the subterranean APC,” CABAL replied.

The woman took the laser rifle from the bench and ran to the door she came in from. She swiped her identification card through the lock and the door opened. She ran through the door.

Barely a second after getting out of the lab an alarm blared. Red lights flashed and the sounds of combat could be heard. The woman came to a corner. She stopped before it, moved to the wall, readied her rifle and peered around the corner. There were two men standing there with their backs to her. They were facing a closed door.

The men were wearing golden armour with a helmet. They were holding a rifle each, pointed at the door. The helmet had a blue tinted face plate; not that she could see it from where she was. Gunfire could be heard from the other side of the door.

The woman readied her rifle, aimed and fired. Twice. The two soldiers never knew what hit them. They both had a small hole burnt through their heads.

She moved to the door, readied her rifle and swiped her id through the lock. The door didn’t open. She moved back to the soldiers. Slung her rifle over her back and picked up one of the soldiers rifles. She aimed it at the lock and pulled the trigger. Three bullets shot into the locking mechanism. She put down the rifle and moved back to the door.

She pulled off the damaged cover to the locking mechanism exposing the hardware underneath. She cut a wire and connected it to one that was broken when she shot it. This caused the door to unlock. She moved to the right side of the door, unholstered her left pistol. She grabbed onto the doors handle with her right hand, readied her pistol with her left and pulled. The door slid open a little. Enough for her to get through, but only barely.

She looked through the door and found another soldier in golden armour shooting down the hallway. She quickly shot him in the head with her pistol.

She had a peek through the door and couldn’t see any more soldiers, so she slipped through the door and moved towards where the soldier she shot was. She peeked down the hallway. There were many corpses in the hallway. Most were wearing golden armour, however two were wearing black armour with the same scorpion logo she was wearing.

They were very tall, heavily built and were mostly made of metal. They were cyborgs. Made from those who volunteer so that they can better serve the Brotherhood. With their armour, cybernetic enhancements, training and heavy weapons it was rare for them to die facing down anything short of a wolverine unless badly outnumbered. And even then the cyborgs would inflict heavy casualties.

They must have been badly damaged before here, that is the only likely cause, the woman thought. She continued down the hallway, it was badly damaged from gunfire and explosives.

She quickly reached the exit. Standing in the doorway was a cyborg. It was taller than the others, by about another foot. It was more heavily armoured and it was armed with three weapons: an arm based plasma cannon on its right arm, a chain gun held in its left metal arm and a flamethrower slung over its back.

The cyborg commando saluted her as she passed. A vehicle was waiting in the courtyard only a few meters away from where the cyborg commando was on guard. It had a large drill at the front, and was a heavily armoured and tracked vehicle. It was a subterranean armoured personal carrier. She quickly got in the vehicle, the cyborg commando followed her in.

She sat down and strapped on her harness. The cyborg did likewise. Immediately afterwards the APC turned on its drill, tilted and drilled down into the ground at an angle. After a few minutes of driving the APC levelled off.

After another twenty minutes the APC entered a large tunnel system. It drove onto the tracks set into the tunnel. The wheeled tracks on the APC lifted and retracted into the base of the APC and wheels that resembled train wheels lowered.

The APC then drove down the track at a much higher speed. Ten minutes down the tunnel the APC stopped and drove off the tracks. The woman removed her harness and got off of the APC. She walked around the left of the APC.

There was a large vehicle there. It was a very large black and red train-like vehicle. It was extremely heavily armoured. It continued the scorpion motif with the front of the vehicle looking like a cross between a scorpion’s tail and one of its pincers.

It was the Montauk. A subterranean mobile command centre. It was the command centre of the head of the Black Hand: Anton Slavik. The woman’s immediate superior. Waiting there, however, was not Slavik as he usually was but a woman: Lieutenant Commander Oxanna Kristos.

She was blond, had blue eyes and was wearing her black uniform. She was waiting a fair distance away from the Montauk and the APC.

“Welcome back, Lieutenant Shimmer. We have a lot to catch you up on. Anton Slavik was captured by Hassan. We believe he was betrayed. I along with several of our most loyal soldiers are going to rescue him during his execution. I want you leading the main team. I will be using my occupation as a reporter to get in. You and CABAL will have to lead the team to get us out.”

“Who can we trust?” Sunset asked.

“You, me, CABAL and a few soldiers that will be helping me. No one else.”

“Is it at the usual place?” Oxanna nodded. “Good. Then I have a plan.” Sunset smirked. “You and your team save Slavik. We’ll take care of the guards.”

The next day Sunset and a team of cyborgs sat in a subterranean APC. The driver was also a cyborg. The cyborg commando from Sunset’s mission sat on her right. The cyborgs were all controlled by CABAL so they were the only allies Sunset could trust on this mission, besides Oxanna’s team.

They were watching the execution on the television Sunset and CABAL had installed in the subterranean APC the day before. Waiting for the signal to start their attack.

“Battle day twelve, thirty-two, seventy-one. Good welcome, citizens,” Maicheq, the television host said. “Our united efforts continue to be rewarded in the struggle for peace. Wherever there is oppression, Nod is there. Not with empty promises and propaganda, but with divination.”

The television cut to a screen, playing music, showing the words ‘Today’s Execution’, then returned to showing Maicheq sitting at the news desk.

“Good evening. By Permission of General Hassan himself,” he continued. “It is with great honour that we bring you the following live execution. One vision. One purpose. Oxanna.”

“One vision. One purpose. Maicheq,” Oxanna said. She appeared in a small rectangular piece of the screen to the right of Maicheq. She was wearing black and holding a microphone. She was standing in a room with a soldier visible behind her.

There was a window behind her through which Sunset could see Slavik strapped to a stone slab with a collar with tubes connected to it. The poison would run through the tubes into the collar then into Slavik’s bloodstream.

“I can tell from all the vert-com traffic tonight, that this termination is a special one,” Maicheq said.

“Yes, very special.” – the television switched to showing Oxanna on the full screen – “I’ve been told that the mixture this evening is one hundred percent toxin and no sedative. If everything goes as planned, our traitor should remain fully conscious to the painful end.” The screen then switched back to showing Maicheq with Oxanna in a small rectangle on the right.

“We’ll keep our fingers crossed.”

“General Hassan has joined us,” Oxanna said. The screen then changed to show a television screen with a man’s face on it; Hassan’s face. He is balding, in a military uniform with a large number of medals on its left side.

“One vision. One purpose,” Hassan said.

“The technology of peace,” the crowd replied.

“Be seated. One death is not enough for Anton Slavik. For attempting to give our enemy our most vital secrets, the GDI spy should die a thousand times. In the name of Kane.”

“Kane lives in death!” shouted the crowd.

“Sweet dreams, Slavik,” Hassan said.

After a few moments the poison was administered to Slavik. Oxanna pulled out her pistol and shot one of the soldiers guarding him. That was the signal.

The subterranean APC drilled the last few meters to the surface. Sunset put her helmet on. She was wearing black armour with the symbol of Nod on her right chest. Her armour was light but sturdy; it wouldn’t affect her mobility. Her helmet was black with a red tinted visor. She had her newly acquired laser rifle with her and her twin pistols were at her hips.

The APC stopped and the four cyborgs quickly exited followed immediately afterwards by herself and the cyborg commando. The cyborgs quickly shot down and killed the guards outside of the building.

The cyborg commando used its plasma cannon to destroy the door so that they could enter. Two of the cyborgs entered first, using their arm-mounted chain guns to kill the enemies in the way. They were followed by the cyborg commando and Sunset. The other two cyborgs took the rear. The APC drilled back underground to wait in safety.

They found no solid resistance until they found Oxanna and her two trusted soldiers. They had administered the cure to Slavik – he was now unconscious – but were pinned down in the room with him by a large contingent of enemies.

Sunset and the cyborgs were separated by extremely tough glass from the enemy soldiers. Sunset sent the cyborg commando and two of the cyborgs around to join Oxanna and get Slavik out. Sunset herself started shooting her laser rifle at Hassan’s soldiers through the glass. She managed to incapacitate seven of them before they realised that she was shooting them through the glass.

They took cover from her and most were promptly cut down by Oxanna and her soldiers or the cyborg commando and the two cyborgs she had sent with him. Two of the survivors shot at Sunset but the bullets failed to pierce the glass. Sunset killed another; a clean shot through his head. The cyborg commando torched the few remaining soldiers in the room with his flamethrower.

Oxanna released Slavik from the slab and one of the cyborgs carried him. They all came out in Sunset’s direction quickly. Sunset and her two cyborgs took the lead when they were joined. The cyborg commando and his cyborg not carrying Slavik took the rear. The cyborg carrying Slavik was right in the middle.

They encountered very few soldiers on the way out. The few they did encounter were cut down quickly by the cyborgs or Sunset. They quickly arrived at the exit. The subterranean APC surfaced when they got there and they quickly boarded and strapped Slavik in; he was still unconscious. Then everyone strapped themselves in.

The APC descended. They were on a course to join the Montauk as it came by in the tunnel system.

It took only a few minutes before they joined the Montauk. It slowed down and the rear cargo door opened up allowing the APC to enter.

Everyone disembarked the APC. A stretcher was quickly brought by to carry Slavik to the medical facility on board the Montauk. The stretcher was carried by a pair of cyborgs. Oxanna and Sunset quickly placed Slavik on the stretcher and the pair of cyborgs carried him to the medical facility. Sunset and Oxanna followed.

The four cyborgs separated to guard the exits to the Montauk. The cyborg commando followed Sunset and Oxanna to guard Slavik from the traitor in case they tried to finish the job.

The Montauk after having received the APC had sped up and was on a direct course for the closest Black Hand military installation. Only a few minutes after arriving in the medical facility Slavik awoke.

Oxanna was watching him. She had retrieved her hat from where she left it – in the medical bay because she knew she would be going there when she returned – and was now wearing it. “Dead and back commander," she said. "Dead and back.”

A few quick tests were run to see if Slavik was recovered. He was for the most part. He would only require some rest and to avoid high intensity exercise or extreme stress for a few days.

Slavik accompanied by Sunset and Oxanna walked towards the bridge. On the way he asked Oxanna for her pistol, which she gave him.

When they arrived at the bridge, one of the technicians there stood and said, “Sir. It’s an honour to have you back.”

Slavik quickly shot him through the heart. “Traitor,” he said. Slavik then sat in the command chair on a raised platform behind two others. One of which Oxanna sat in, the one the traitor had used. The other was taken up by another technician. Sunset stood to Slavik’s left.

“CABAL, situation?” Oxanna said.

“A division of Hassan’s elite guard is closing in on our position,” CABAL replied. “The probability of a favourable outcome can be increased if we can return to your main base and engage the enemy as we move.”

“Define favourable outcome, CABAL,” Slavik said.

“They all die.”

“That’ll do. Let’s go. No man or structure stays standing.”

Chapter 2: Secure the Area

The Montauk travelled down the tunnel at a very fast pace. After several minutes they passed by a small Black Hand military installation. It was surrounded by Hassan’s ‘elite guard’ and they were unable to escape.

“We need to help them,” Sunset said.

“A large force of Hassan’s elite guard is tracking us. We are unable to stop to assist our forces,” CABAL replied.

“How about I go and lead our troops.”

“Very well. Take an attack cycle, it should get you there in time,” Slavik answered.

“Thank you, sir.”

Sunset retrieved her gear from her locker. She retrieved her special helmet. It showed her a transparent map of her forces locations and known enemy locations and had a direct link to CABAL. She also retrieved her laser rifle; she was already wearing her light armour and had her pistols holstered at her hips.

She swiftly walked to the rear of the Montauk and climbed into one of the two attack cycles. The attack cycle was a large enclosed motorcycle that could shoot rockets at enemies. It was black with the scorpion symbol on both sides of it.

She climbed into it and started it. The rear door opened and she rode out. She rode down the way the Montauk had come for several hundred meters until she saw an opening on the left wall. Shortly before turning down the tunnel she saw another attack cycle coming down the tunnel in front of her.

It was blue and black. It was one of Hassan’s elite guard following the Montauk. She fired her missiles at the cycle and turned down the tunnel on her left. She followed the tunnel for a few minutes at full speed until she reached an opening.

The tunnel angled upwards and opened out to the surface. She rode out still at full speed and the tires left the ground for a moment. She slowed down now that she was out of the tunnel and turned South West towards the Nod base.

She came across two Nod soldiers being chased by an attack buggy. She opened fire on the attack buggy. One of the rockets hit it on the rear and badly damaged the armour. The second hit it on the left at the rear and knocked off its wheel. The attack buggy spun off the road and crashed; facing back towards her.

She fired again and the rockets destroyed the buggy’s cockpit, killing the driver. She continued down the road, slowing down when she approached the two Nod soldiers. She escorted the Nod soldiers back into the Nod base.

The base’s main entrance was defended by two laser turrets, one on either side of the large armoured gate. The laser turrets were automated turrets that looked like a large cannon mounted on a platform. The turrets retracted into the ground when not in use for defensive reasons.

Inside was a Hand of Nod – it served as a barracks – it was shaped as a human hand grasping the ground and was coloured red with black outlines. There was also a construction yard. It looked like a large red factory, and like the name suggests, was necessary for the construction of other structures. There were also two power plants in the rear of the base. They consisted of a single large cooling tower and a turbine that is spun by steam. The cooling tower is the only part of the structure that is above the ground.

Inside the base were four infantry standing near the Hand of Nod and an attack buggy near the power plants. The two infantry she rescued joined the other four infantry. She parked her attack cycle on a paved area of the base clear of any buildings and climbed out. She started organising the defence of the base, starting with building a refinery.

A tiberium refinery is a structure that stores and refines tiberium. It separates the tiberium into components for use. The metals inside the tiberium are used for construction and the other components are used for other purposes or research if it can be safely transported to a technology centre or more specialised research facilities.

As the construction commenced she organised the infantry and discovered that the base has a second entrance which was not guarded. She sent the infantry and the attack buggy to defend that entrance. Shortly after she did so a subterranean APC surfaced just outside of the base in front of the laser turrets.

Several light infantry working for Hassan exited the APC and were quickly cut down by the laser turrets. Then the APC was shredded by the lasers.

The refinery was built quite quickly and the harvester that came with it immediately left through the path guarded by the troops to the tiberium field to begin harvesting.

Shortly another subterranean APC surfaced. This one was also working for Hassan however it surfaced inside the base near the corner. It released five light infantry which ran towards the construction yard.

Sunset ordered the Hand of Nod to outfit more troops with weapons and armour and ran to intercept the infantry. She came to a stop and raised her rifle after only a few meters. She aimed and shot. Her laser rifle had a larger range than the enemy rifles. It had a very similar range to an obelisk of light’s laser beam which it was based off of. However, it did not have the same power.

Her beam caught one of the enemy soldiers in the right shoulder. He dropped his rifle and screamed in pain. She shot a second; this one she hit in the head. The beam passed through his face plate then burned through his skull, killing him instantly. She shot at the next two. One she caught in the head and the second she shot through the heart. Both died very quickly.

The last one however managed to get in range and raised his rifle to shoot Sunset. She dove to her left. A few bullets passed through the air where she had been. She raised her rifle, from where she was lying on the ground, and shot it three times. The first beam passed through the soldier’s leg and he collapsed. The second passed through the air above him, and the third passed through his head.

Sunset stood, she could hear the sounds of fighting from the second entrance to the base. There was an enemy attack buggy trying to get in. She looked at the screen in her helmet and saw that her soldiers were going to destroy it before she could join in and help.

So she ran to the subterranean APC that Hassan’s troops had arrived in and walked inside. There was no one else in the back so she moved towards the front. She paused before the door, slung her rifle over her back and drew her left pistol. Her rifle would be too cumbersome for a fight in such close quarters.

She threw open the door with her right hand and looked inside. There was no one there. The driver must have joined the rest of the soldiers in the battle. She sat down and drove the APC next to her attack cycle.

She climbed out of the APC and moved towards the Hand of Nod. There were about twenty soldiers armed with rifles and armour.

She now had a force capable of removing the remainder of Hassan’s forces from the area. She led them down the path towards the tiberium field. The path had cliff walls on either side and led straight to a field of tiberium. Sunset and her troops skirted the cliff wall to avoid the tiberium as it is very damaging to carbon-based life, and lethal after a certain period of time, unless you mutate.

Once past the tiberium field they had three paths that they could take. The left and right both were slopes that led to a cliff. The path in front led back to the road to the base.

She sent a group of five infantry up each cliff. Both groups encountered one enemy light infantry. The group that went up the cliff to her right killed it before it could return fire. The other group wasn’t so lucky. They were shot before they could see the enemy. Two of the soldiers were wounded. One shot in the chest, the other in the arm. The other three soldiers quickly killed the enemy.

The armour prevented the bullet penetrating the soldier’s chest, but the glancing blow still made him fall down. He stood back up after the enemy was dead. He wasn’t badly injured but his ribs may have been bruised. The soldier who was shot in the arm, however, was not so lucky. The bullet penetrated his arm and blood was spilling out.

Sunset ordered the two to return to the Hand of Nod and get medical attention. She sent one of the other soldiers from their group with them. This left Sunset with seventeen soldiers to eliminate the remainder of Hassan’s ‘elite guard’ in the area.

‘Elite guard’, hah. If these are the best soldiers Hassan has, he might as well give up now, Sunset thought. They’re probably those he trusts to know that he is working for GDI. If he is working for GDI that is; he might just be an idiot.

She led her remaining troops through the path. Stopping at the road. She again split her team here. She sent ten of her troops to follow the coast line and led the other seven to the town to the north-east. Her team followed the road until they saw the town, where they paused. The town was surrounded on three sides by cliffs and the other side was open. It was a very small town.

The other team found an enemy attack buggy and two light infantry. She quickly used her communication system and connection to CABAL to order the infantry in that team to follow separate orders. She ordered three of them to attack the left infantry, three to attack the right infantry and the rest to take cover and distract the attack buggy, attacking it when it wasn’t attacking them.

The enemy infantry quickly fell, without landing more than a glancing shot. The six infantry quickly turned and fired on the buggy. The buggy managed to kill two infantry. One when the battle first started and the second shortly before the amour gave way and the fuel tank exploded. She ordered one soldier to escort the few who were more than slightly injured back to the base.

The remaining four infantry were ordered to escort the others back to the road, then follow the road to the north-east to join her team.

Sunset’s team moved into the town, stealthily. Sunset’s troops were not very good at it, nonetheless, the only enemy soldier they found in the town was unaware of their presence. Sunset chalked this up to his own bad discipline rather than her team’s stealth skills.

She aimed her laser rifle at the enemy soldier and pulled the trigger. The beam went through the side of his helmet and burned a hole through his skull. He was dead before he hit the ground. She ordered her team to double check the town was clear, and to defend the civilians if necessary.

Sunset moved back to the road leading to the base and waited for her reinforcements and her team to finish checking the town. There were no more enemy soldiers in the town so she was quickly joined by her team.

She didn’t have to wait long for her other forces to join them. They continued north-east along the road until they came to the hidden entrance to the tunnel system. She ordered two of her soldiers to hide in the bushes there and watch the entrance. They were to tell her if any enemies came out of it or came down the road.

She led the remaining nine of her soldiers along the cliff face to the east of the road. They quickly found another enemy attack buggy. Her soldiers opened fire on the attack buggy. Their shots were not concentrated so the buggy’s armour was being destroyed all over, but no internal damage was being done.

She opened fire on the cockpit. Firing several shots through the tinted, hardened glass. After several shots she could see several small holes burnt into the glass and the buggy stopped shooting. CABAL informed her that there were no more enemies in the area. She led her troops back into the base; the two watching the tunnel entrance were still there.

They set about getting ready to leave. Following Slavik’s orders they left no structure standing, and no man was to be left behind. They filled the APC to the brim. Two people driving: a pilot and co-pilot, ten seated in the rear, the rest of the infantry were either going to walk or were standing in the back holding onto whatever they could.

The construction yard had packed itself back up into a mobile construction vehicle. Doing so had taken the better part of two hours. The other buildings had their supports destroyed with c4 once they were not needed anymore; that caused the buildings to collapse. The harvester was carrying as much tiberium as it could.

Finally, they were ready to leave. Sunset climbed into her attack cycle and drove towards where the gate had been. She issued the order for everyone to get into formation. She was in the front in her attack cycle, the attack buggy was bringing up the rear. The harvester was behind Sunset, the MCV was behind it and the APC – unable to drill underground as it was unsafe with so many people in the rear – was behind the MCV. The remaining infantry were spread around the convoy, the majority were surrounding the MCV as it was the most important vehicle in the Brotherhood’s arsenal and was unarmed.

They slowly moved towards the tunnel. They arrived at the entrance with no trouble, where the two soldiers waiting there joined them. Sunset opened the hidden door and the convoy moved inside. Once the attack buggy was inside the door closed.

“Hassan’s forces trailing us have been eliminated,” CABAL said. “The Montauk is on route to your position.”

“Thanks, CABAL,” Sunset replied. “Troops, we’re moving down the tunnel another few hundred meters. There we will await retrieval.”

Sunset rested in her attack cycle. She had organised sentries and guards and had let the others rest until either their shift or the Montauk arrives. She had been awake for nearly two full days now and was very tired. She had been very stressed for a long time. Defending the base, rescuing Slavik and before that posing as a GDI tiberium scientist for several days.

She hadn’t had much time to rest; no time to sleep; not even enough time to wash the brown dye out of her red and yellow hair.

***

Sunset was running. People in gold armour were chasing her. They had shouted at her and pointed their weapons at her, she panicked and ran. She let her instincts take over her body. She wasn’t running like she was used to; she was running on two legs, pumping her fore-limbs back and forth as she did so.

She saw a field of green crystals in front of her. Other people in gold armour were standing around the side of it. She tried to use her magic but it didn’t work. She ran into the field of green crystals. Those chasing her were yelling louder now but she ignored them and tried to run through the crystals.

A large gold and grey vehicle drove in front of her. She screamed and tried to use her magic again. There was an explosion of light, sound and magic. She felt herself hit the ground, then everything went black.

She awoke. She was still in her attack cycle. Her heart was racing. Her breath quick and shallow. She looked around. She sighed. “Just a memory. It can’t hurt me anymore,” she said.

The Montauk arrived after another few minutes in which Sunset tried to calm herself down. She was mostly successful.

Everyone boarded the Montauk. The attack cycle, attack buggy, harvester, APC and MCV just barely fit. Sunset reported her mission to Slavik then went to get herself a coffee. The news was on the television when she got there.

“The result being GDI forces retreating further and losing valuable ground,” Maicheq said while sitting at the news desk. “In other news, Anton Slavik’s body was burned in the smelting fires of an unnamed factory, as is the custom for traitors. In a related story, we were all saddened to learn, that our colleague, Oxanna Kristos, was killed in a tunnel collapse near her home.”

While this was going on Sunset had gotten herself a cup of coffee and walked to the bridge. She could hear it continue on.

“The death was ruled accidental by authorities,” he finished.

Sunset walked onto the bridge right behind Slavik.

“I hear you’re dead, lieutenant,” he joked. “Rest in peace.”

Slavik sat down in his command chair and Sunset stood to his left again.

“The brotherhood is in chaos,” CABAL said in his robotic voice. “A strategic opportunity presents itself.”

“They’re desperate for a new leader,” Oxanna said.

“When we destroy the rest of Hassan’s elite guard, the people will sway with us in the name of Kane,” Slavik said.

“Kane lives in death!” everyone replied.

“We have reached the Benghazi border,” the technician piloting the Montauk said.

“The elite guard division we will engage is located here on this island,” CABAL said.

“Take the bridge out and their cut off,” Slavik said. “The island is a tomb.”

“Shut down the enemy’s power and protect your own,” CABAL said.

“A large force is approaching from the south,” Oxanna said. “They’re directive is to protect the guard, but I think they can be persuaded otherwise. Coordinates: broadcast studio. Get me into that TV station and I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Control the media; control the mind,” CABAL said.

“Let’s go,” Slavik said. “Sunset, you lead the cyborgs. Escort Oxanna into the TV station. I’ll lead the main force.”

Chapter 3: Memories

Sunset was in a subterranean APC with six others: Oxanna, the cyborg commando and four cyborgs. She was again in her light armour and command helmet. She had her laser rifle and her pistols. Oxanna was in the outfit she wore when reporting and carried her pistol with her. The cyborg commando carried his flamethrower and chain gun.

They were on their way to a bridge which they were going to cross to get to the broadcast station. The other side of the bridge was either in the middle of an enemy base or paved, which prevents a subterranean APC from surfacing.

The broadcast station was on a hill, the bridge connected to another hill over a section on both that were almost cliff faces. The only way there other than the bridge was through the enemy base.

Slavik was in the Montauk commanding their other forces, the majority of which came from the base Sunset had saved from Hassan’s guard. Slavik’s forces were to destroy the small enemy base and destroy the bridge leading to the large one. The bridge was the only way on or off of the island the large base is built on. Thus, destroying it will cause the enemy forces to be trapped there.

Sunset’s team, however, was to escort Oxanna to the broadcast station unharmed. Oxanna would then use the broadcast station to convince the large approaching force to join them rather than their enemies. If they are successful, then Slavik’s mission will be much easier.

The APC surfaced and the cyborgs rushed out. The cyborg commando and Sunset followed quickly. Oxanna stayed inside the APC for safety. Sunset saw the enemies guarding the bridge. Two light infantry, an engineer, an attack buggy and a laser turret. A sandbag wall blocked off the road shortly before the bridge.

Sunset ordered the cyborg commando to destroy the attack buggy and then the turret. She ordered two of the cyborgs to stay with the APC and defend it. The other two cyborgs she ordered to go with her and destroy whatever survives both her and the cyborg commando.

They were a large distance away and so had not been recognised by their enemy. Sunset and the cyborg commando lead the group towards Hassan’s forces. They stopped shortly outside of the laser’s range.

“Now!” Sunset ordered.

She fired her laser rifle at the left infantry and it burned through his head. The cyborg commando fired at the attack buggy with his arm mounted plasma cannon. It incinerated the front of the buggy and caused the fuel tank to explode.

Sunset fired at the second light infantry. He was hit in the chest but not killed. He fell to the ground screaming. Sunset shot him again; silencing him.

The cyborg commando shot at the laser turret. It was badly damaged but it endured. So he shot it again, destroying it. Sunset shot at the engineer. It hit his bag on his back as he turned and ran. She shot again and he fell.

Sunset moved to the bridge. “All clear,” she said.

The APC drove forward and all the cyborgs joined her. She sent two of them to check the other side of the bridge for an ambush. There was none. Oxanna left the APC and it tunnelled underground to await their return. They all crossed the bridge. Sunset in the lead, the cyborg commando bringing up the rear, Oxanna in the middle and the two cyborgs on either side of her.

They crossed the bridge and came out into a small town. They carefully moved through the town. The pair of cyborgs that had crossed the bridge first were scouting ahead of the group. They found no more resistance and quickly arrived at the broadcast station.

Sunset, Oxanna and one of the cyborgs entered. The other three cyborgs and the cyborg commando guarded the building from the outside.

Sunset slung her laser rifle over her back and drew her pistols; they would be more suited to close combat than her rifle and the building did not have wide open areas.

Oxanna guided them through the building. They did not encounter any resistance in the building and Oxanna led them to a communications room. She used it to she convince the large force approaching from the south to join Slavik’s forces.

Sunset was contacted by Slavik and told that the mission was successful. The island base had been cut off and the smaller base had been destroyed by a combination of the reinforcements and their forces. Oxanna had failed to convince all of the Nod reinforcements to join Slavik, but the majority did.

Oxanna then led them to the news room which she entered and sat beside her colleague, Maicheq. Sunset watched through the doorway.

When Oxanna sat down beside him, Maicheq stopped and looked surprised. After several moments he said, “Well this is a surprise.”

“Please, continue,” Oxanna replied.

After several moments Maicheq turned his head to a second camera that was aimed solely at him and continued with the ‘news’ he was reporting. “Head of GDI forces, General Solomon, is said to have become mentally unstable. …”

He was cut off by Oxanna shooting him in the back of the head with her pistol. He collapsed and the televisions Sunset could see in the hallway changed back to showing the whole news desk. Maicheq was hidden behind the desk where he had collapsed.

Oxanna put her pistol down on the desk, and said, “In other news, General Hassan’s weak and impotent rule was overthrown today, when forces within the brotherhood rose up to unite Nod under a new leader, Anton Slavik, rescued from death by the Spirit Hand of Kane, has been vindicated of all crimes against the state. He steps forward now to lead us. Follow him as you would follow Kane.”

Sunset was ordered to return to the Montauk. Oxanna was going to stay and continue convincing those loyal to Hassan to join them for the betterment of the Brotherhood.

Sunset left with the cyborgs and cyborg commando and returned to the Montauk using the subterranean APC.

When she returned she was finally able to have a shower and wash out the brown dye in her hair. She then went to bed; Slavik had given her another mission but it wasn’t until the next day.

So she slept; and she dreamt.

She was in a white room lying on a small bed that resembled a hospital bed. She was in a white robe with wires attached to small metal items attached to her body. The wires led to a machine next to the bed.

She looked around the room. It was very large for what was in it. There was her bed and the machine next to it but the rest of the room was empty and was several times larger than the space taken up by the bed and machine. There was only one door. It was white with a golden eagle symbol enclosed in a golden circle. The walls were white and unadorned except for the wall opposite the one her bed rested against. It had a mirror in it. The mirror ran nearly the length of the room and started from about waist height to about a foot above her head.

She stood and removed the metal devices from her body. She felt as if she had used up all of her magic. She tried to remember where she was; and then she remembered. She had been running from people wearing that symbol. She had run through a field of green crystals. A large vehicle had got in her way, and she had used magic. But it didn’t work properly and then she collapsed.

So how did she get here? And what are they going to do to her?

As if to answer her unspoken question the door opened. In came someone wearing a full-body green suit with a slightly blue transparent visor. The man looked old. He had little hair, what hair he did have was grey. His face was wrinkled. His eyes looked at her with cold curiosity; like she was an interesting experiment.

The man approached her and she stepped back. She eventually reached the wall. She tried to use her magic but nothing came. The man continued towards her and pulled out a device. It somewhat resembled a syringe.

She slid herself along the wall to get away from the man. He continued after her. She eventually reached the corner and the man blocked her only means of escape. He grabbed her left arm and stabbed it with the device where the vein was, as if using it as a syringe.

Blood filled the device. After a few moments the man removed the device, let go of her arm and left the room.

***

The man was back. This time he brought one of the green crystals. Sunset again tried to use her magic. But nothing happened. She tried to run around him to the door. The door didn’t open. He came to her and held the crystal to her. She felt pain run up and down her spine. It was agony. She screamed. After what felt like hours everything went dark.

She would be delivered food by a younger man wearing a similar suit three times a day. The food was basic, almost tasteless and unsatisfying.

The old man, her tormentor, would return irregularly. Sometimes it was several times a day, sometimes he wouldn’t be seen for several days. When he visited her it would either be to take some of her blood or to cause her agony with a green substance; usually crystal. The colour of the crystal changed slightly between samples, she took this to mean that the substances were slightly different; probably different compositions.

After several weeks of this the man brought in a blue crystal. He held it to her. It caused her horrific agony. It was ten times worse than the green crystals. She screamed and tried to escape with her magic. The room shook. Loud booming sounds could be heard outside her room. She tried to use her magic even harder.

Then the crystal seemed to explode! Shards of the crystal went flying backwards and tore through the man. Blood poured out all over her. Surprisingly the pain was gone. She looked down and found that she wasn’t hurt. The only blood on her was the man’s. She looked around. The door had been torn out of the wall.

The mirror had shattered revealing a room behind it. She could see several people in there; they were all dead. Holes sticking through them from where the crystal had torn through them and shards of the crystal lodged inside of them. One of the people, the man who had fed her was pinned to the door with a large shard though his chest.

She took several minutes to calm herself down. Then she tried to escape. She ran out the door to her room and found herself in a hallway. There were two paths she could take. One to her left that went towards the room that she saw the other dead people in and one to her right. She took the path to the right. Most of the doors she ran past were destroyed similarly to the one to the room she had been locked in.

She saw more bodies; they were wearing golden armour like those that had chased her. Some had green crystal shards in their bodies. She tried not to look at them as she ran past. She came to the end of the hallway. There were stairs going up. So she climbed them, hoping that they would lead to the way out. She got to the top of the stairs and found a window. It was broken and showed that she was on the ground floor of the building. She climbed out of it and looked around.

There were many buildings around her. They were all very large, golden and decorated with the golden eagle design. Most of the buildings had smoke coming out of them and large cracks in the walls. There were several vehicles on their sides and several people stumbling around in golden armour.

Sunset ran. She ran away from the buildings. She ran away from the vehicles. She ran away from the people. And she ran away from the crystals.

She ran. And then she stopped.

In front of her she saw people in black and red fighting the people in gold. There were black wheeled vehicles destroying the golden metal things with legs. There were people in black armour using some kind of ranged weapon to kill people in gold armour using similar weapons.

There were tall men that looked like they had metal limbs killing the people in gold by pointing their arms at them. And she saw another one that was even taller wearing black armour. It pointed its right arm at one of the giant metal things with two legs and out came a green orb.

The orb flew very quickly at the metal giant and crashed into its leg. The orb exploded, tearing the leg off. The giant fell down and crushed someone in gold underneath it.

The black armoured man marched towards the golden army. It shot another orb at a metal giant and blew off its weapon. The giant exploded shortly after. It approached the golden people and grabbed something off its back in its left arm. It led the black army towards the golden people.

And it started shooting flames from the device in its left hand. The golden soldiers ran. Most didn’t escape. The large, black armoured man moved into the base and looked around. Noticing the destroyed buildings, it looked around again and spotted Sunset; standing there stunned.

He marched towards her. In a robotic voice he said, “Do you know what did this?” Sunset nodded shakily. He looked at her closely. “Come with me.”

He turned around and headed towards a black vehicle with a drill on it. Sunset looked around quickly. The others in black were going inside the buildings or walking around looking for enemies. She turned and followed him into the vehicle.

The man sat in a seat and attached a harness. Sunset sat opposite him and did the same, with difficulty.

Once she had buckled the harness the vehicle moved. It tilted and drove down at an angle. After several minutes it levelled off and sped up. After another few minutes it stopped. The door opened and the armoured metal man walked out. Sunset followed after removing her harness; again with difficulty.

She found herself looking at a large red and black vehicle. She didn’t have time to look at it before she followed the man inside. They walked down a hallway and through several doors before coming to another door.

It opened and she saw four people arguing. One, a male sitting in the chair closet to Sunset, at a higher elevation to the others, was saying that they can’t make assumptions.

A woman standing to his right was saying that ‘shiners’ did it. A man in the far right of the room sitting in a chair was saying that they should leave and let the ‘shiners’ and ‘GDI’ fight it out.

And the man in the far left was arguing that it was their research that caused it. Apparently, ‘GDI’ doesn’t understand ‘tiberium’. Sunset was confused; that was until she saw the screen.

It showed the building she had escaped from. Green crystals had pierced through everything: Metal walls, armoured people, the ceiling, the floor, even several meters into the ground.

A fifth voice announced her presence. It sounded robotic but not the same as the man that brought her. She couldn’t see where it was coming from.

They all turned to look at her.

“She was found at the base,” said the disembodied voice. “She did not run from us or try to fight. One of the cyborgs saw her running towards our battle then stopping when she saw our forces. She complied with all directives given by the cyborg commando and does not appear to be a soldier or scientist. She was likely a test subject. She acknowledged that she knew the events you are discussing.”

“My name is Anton Slavik,” the closest man said. “Could you please tell us how this happened?” he gestured at the screen.

Sunset gulped, nodded, then tried to speak. It came out as a croak so she tried again. “They were tor-torturing me with green crystals,” She teared up at saying this, “for several weeks. T-to-today th-they tri-tried wi-with a blue cry-crystal. It-It was agony.” She paused and started to calm down a little, but not for long. “There were explosions outside the room. I-I think that it was the green crystals exploding. The-then the blue crystal exploded. It-it cut them apart. I don’t know why I-I’m okay. The explosion destroyed the door, so I-I ran out.

“I ran down hallways, the-there were green crystal spikes sticking through walls and people. I ju-just kept running. I found my way out and ev-everything was destroyed. I ran from the gold people and saw your people.”

“Commander, you need to see this,” said the man at the front right.

Slavik turned around and looked at the screen. It showed the room Sunset had seen from her room through the broken glass. Sunset looked away.

“Project Sunshine,” Slavik said. “We found it.”

Sunset looked up at the screen when he said that. It showed a research journal. It said ‘Project Sunshine’ at the top.

“See if you can get the computer working,” Slavik said.

The camera moved to a small machine on the side. It was one of the few things that didn’t have holes or shards through it. The screen showed hands moving across the machine and after several minutes it lit up. The camera moved to show a screen with several holes in it. It still turned on.

“Play the most recent video,” Slavik said.

It showed what happened to Sunset and how the crystal had exploded. The reactions were emotional. Slavik was livid, the others were visibly either terrified or enraged. Things like ‘No one should be tortured like that’ and ‘She’s just a child’ were shouted around the room.

Eventually everyone calmed down. And Slavik ordered, “Play the first video.”

This video was shaky and showed Sunset running from a man in gold armour. The camera was also chasing Sunset. It showed her run out into a field of green crystals. It showed a large gold and grey vehicle drive in front of her.

Then the tiberium began to glow. The tiberium closest to Sunset changed colour, turning teal. Then, in a flash of light, the tiberium vanished, as did the harvester. Then Sunset collapsed on the ground. The video ended.

The people turned back to face Sunset. “I think we need to protect her from GDI,” Slavik said.

Sunset awoke. Breathing heavily. Tear stains on her pillow. “Thank Celestia, Slavik found me,” she said.

Author's Note

Note:
I am not saying that GDI is evil or all of them would torture someone, or continue research if that research caused agony to someone else.
I do not believe either side of this conflict is right or wrong. Both are morally grey and contain bad elements.
The scientists are not evil; just doing something wrong to try to prevent something worse.

Chapter 4: Retaliation

Sunset led a small team along a canyon. Her team consisted of the cyborg commando, two attack cycles, four cyborgs and two attack buggies. Her mission was to rescue a commander imprisoned by Hassan.

The commander was loyal to Hassan, but he had found Hassan’s drive to fight other Nod factions over GDI to be off-putting and against the ideals of Nod. So he disobeyed Hassan to lead an attack on a small GDI force in Nod territory.

She was to rescue him so that he could help them defeat Hassan and then fight back against GDI. Slavik was already starting his attack on Hassan’s main base; to defeat and capture Hassan.

Sunset had studied the terrain of the surrounding area and what they knew about Hassan’s forces in it. There were two bases in the area. One was a small base with a refinery, the second was a large base with a construction yard, war factory – where vehicles are produced – and the small prison complex that the commander is imprisoned in.

The large base had two entrances, the main entrance was heavily guarded with walls, laser turrets and guards. The second entrance was in the back across a bridge and was unguarded when they were briefed. The back entrance did pass through the small base, however.

The small base, on the other hand, had several entrances. One passed right in front of the gates of the main base, a second was the back entrance from the main base. A third was through a tunnel and then up a hill. And the fourth was from around the back.

The fourth entrance would require causing a landslide down a cliff side. It would be easy as the cliff was already unstable and might collapse by itself. This entrance leads past the small base straight to the bridge leading to the main base.

This entrance was the path Sunset planned on taking as it left them with the element of surprise. Unfortunately, from where they were it was a long path to get there and it required moving through the tunnel, up a hill, through a town and then back down off the hill before they got to the cliff.

She continued through the ravine until she saw a path through the cliff face on their right. It was a small gap between the cliffs but it was wide enough for them all to pass through. She moved towards the cliff before the gap and motioned for her forces to follow.

She moved to the edge of the cliff and peered around the corner. There were two of Hassan’s light infantry crouched on her side of a sandbag wall. They were shooting at something on the other side.

Sunset shot the closer one through the back of the head and quickly shot the other one in the chest. She moved back to her forces, then she heard it. The sound of engines. But not any kind of engines. Orca engines. GDI was nearby.

She growled and looked to the sky. She saw a badly damaged orca bomber. It had risen from where she had killed Hassan’s forces. It flew towards the north, towards the town and the enemy bases. She heard the sound of bombs. The orca bomber kept flying north.

She growled again. She felt guilty, disgusted even, for saving the enemies life. It had flown over the town. She might have been responsible – indirectly – for the deaths of innocent civilians.

She regained her composure and led her troops down the path. The cyborg commando used his plasma cannon to put a large hole in the sandbag wall so that their forces could get past easier.

She led her forces into the tunnel. Near the end she sent two cyborgs to scout the other side, to be safe. They found no enemies but they did find signs of wreckage and explosives. The wreckage was that of a tick-tank loyal to Hassan.

A tick-tank is a tank that can burrow the majority of itself underground. This makes it unable to move but much harder to destroy.

She led her forces in formation up the hill and into the town. Luckily, the town was undamaged and the people in it – while terrified – were unharmed. There were no enemy forces in the town and she led her troops down the hill on the other side.

She kept her forces away from the damaged cliff side and had one of the attack bikes cause it to collapse by shooting it with a rocket. They climbed up the resulting slope and turned right towards the bridge; the small base was to their left.

They came across the bridge. It was destroyed; the middle section of the bridge was completely missing. She walked into the engineer’s hut next to the bridge. Inside were a large number of machines. Most of which she only vaguely knew how they worked.

She silently thanked the engineers who taught her about electronics and machinery and got to work. She powered on the computer and used it to order the large number of machines to fix the bridge as quickly as possible.

The machines repaired the bridge quite quickly; it only took about twenty minutes for it to be stable enough to cross. They crossed the bridge, carefully, two cyborgs leading the group across.

A tank shell ripped through one of the cyborgs legs, tearing it off. The cyborg fell to the ground and crawled towards the tick-tank. Sunset dove behind a concrete wall. The cyborg commando walked towards the tank firing its plasma cannon. The attack cycles drove towards it firing their missiles. The attack buggies drove further into the base and tore apart the enemy infantry with their raider cannons (powerful roof mounted anti infantry guns). The cyborgs charged into the base firing their arm mounted chain guns at the enemy infantry and light vehicles.

Sunset shot her laser rifle at the enemy rocket infantry, as they were they greatest threat that she could remove quickly. The cyborg commando had destroyed the first tick-tank and tore apart a second.

An enemy attack buggy tried to run him over; he grabbed the buggy with his left hand and kicked it. The cockpit caved in crushing the driver. The cyborg commando threw the attack buggy at the enemy Hand of Nod nearby.

The attack buggy wreck blocked the main entrance to the Hand of Nod, preventing many enemy soldiers from joining the battle. The cyborg commando then went about the base systematically destroying the enemy structures and laser turrets. Sunset’s other forces were finishing off the base’s guards.

Sunset ran into the prison complex. She found only a few guards, who she quickly killed. She found the prison’s control centre and used it to release all of the prisoners; they were the commander and his forces who had been captured.

The prisoners ran to the prisons armoury and retrieved their weapons which had been confiscated from them. They then ran outside to join Sunset’s troops destroying the enemy base.

She found the commander and told him of the rescue mission and Slavik’s attack on Hassan’s main base. He used the base’s communications building – which had been left standing but cleared of enemy forces – to arrange for several of his troops that had escaped capture to join Slavik’s force and for a harpy – a helicopter gunship – to pick him up to take him back to his main force.

Sunset then inspected her troops. One of the attack buggies and an attack cycle were destroyed, the other two were damaged but otherwise fine. Several of the escaped prisoners were wounded and a few were dead; the wounded were being treated in the prison’s medical facility as there was no other medical facility left in the base. The cyborg commando had little damage beyond scrapes and dents in his armour. And three of the cyborgs were missing limbs: one was missing a leg, one was missing both legs, and the third was missing its chain gun arm; it was wielding a rifle in its left hand. The fourth cyborg was unharmed.

Sunset called for extraction and shortly four subterranean APCs arrived to take them away. The attack cycle and buggy drove back down the road and out of sight; they were returning into the tunnel system. The rescued prisoners and the damaged cyborgs climbed into three of the APCs, Sunset helped the injured in.

Sunset, the cyborg commando and the undamaged cyborg climbed into the last APC once the others had left. They were going to join Slavik in his attack on Hassan’s main base. The rest of the APCs were taking the people inside for medical attention.

CABAL informed Sunset of the situation as they travelled. Slavik had built a base just outside of Hassan’s and had captured one of Hassan’s small support bases and destroyed the other. There were several paths to Hassan’s base. Across a destroyed bridge with the engineer’s hut on Hassan’s side, across a bridge then through a heavily fortified gate with many defences, or through a long winding ravine that eventually led to a way to climb up to the base.

Slavik was planning to cross the destroyed bridge, he just needed to get an engineer onto the other side.

The APC surfaced inside Slavik’s base. An engineer and several rocket infantry climbed in, joining Sunset. The APC then submerged again. It tunnelled to the other side of the bridge.

Sunset and the cyborg commando were the first out. Followed shortly by the cyborg, the rocket infantry and then the engineer. Sunset shot several of the enemy infantry before they could respond and the cyborg commando destroyed two attack buggies. The APC went back underground.

The engineer entered the hut and started to repair the bridge. The rocket infantry were shooting at several attack cycles, the cyborg commando was destroying several laser turrets around that section of the base. Sunset ran into the enemy Hand of Nod nearby and quickly cut through the enemy guards.

She planted explosives on several of the support columns and left the building. She then used the remote detonator and the roof fell down, completely destroying everything above ground causing the remaining enemies inside to be trapped in the underground section.

She looked around. The area of the base they were in was in ruins and the bridge was repaired. The engineer had repaired the bridge in less than five minutes. Slavik’s main force drove into the ruins. It consisted mostly of tick-tanks and a large number of attack buggies and attack cycles as well. There were a few cyborgs; only about a dozen.

They marched through the destroyed section of the base, towards a gate. The tick-tanks tore it apart with their cannons and they drove through.

Slavik’s voice came over her communication system, “Sunset, I need you and the cyborg commando to capture Hassan alive if he stays in the temple.” A soldier ran up to Sunset holding a powerful tranquilliser rifle and gave it to her.

“Consider it done,” she said.

She slung the tranquilliser rifle over her back and swiftly marched to the broken gate. She could hear the sounds of gunfire from around the hill but every building she could see was destroyed and every living person and working vehicle was one of theirs.

She barely had to wait ten seconds for the cyborg commando to join her. He also carried a tranquilliser rifle slung over his back. It rested next to his flamethrower. They moved towards the sound of gunfire.

There wasn’t much left when they arrived. There were several of their tanks firing at a few laser turrets and several more tanks destroying a construction yard and war factory. Their destination, a pyramid that was re-purposed into a command centre and temple by the Brotherhood, rested on top of a hill nearby.

The last vestige of the enemy resistance was fighting on top of the hill. Several rocket infantry, tick-tanks, attack buggies and attack cycles were in front of the temple firing down the hill at Slavik’s forces. But they were being destroyed.

Sunset fired her laser rifle up the hill and killed several of the enemy infantry. The cyborg commando fired his plasma rifle at a clustered group of attack cycles and they all went up in flames. This turned the battle into a slaughter as the morale of the enemy broke and many tried to run or surrender. Slavik’s forces drove or ran up the hill and killed the few of the enemies that did not surrender.

As Sunset and the cyborg commando were about to enter the pyramid, a harpy emerged from underneath it and flew away from the temple. Sunset drew her tranquilliser rifle. A subterranean APC emerged in the harpy’s path and out came several rocket infantry. They fired at the harpy.

It was badly damaged but survived and managed to land. Hassan emerged from the harpy and Sunset shot her tranquilliser rifle at him. She hit him in the back. Hassan stumbled from the force. Straightened back up, wobbled, and collapsed.

The rocket infantry approached him carefully. They checked if he was really unconscious – which he was – and then carried him back to the APC.