FAN FICTION
TIBERIUM DESOLATION

By: GWRedwall

Introduction: A Turning Point

GDI was relieved. After years and years of fighting, NOD had almost been crushed. News from across the globe arrived every day telling of more GDI victories. Total victory within the next month seemed inevitable.

Then it came. Huge, vast, and mounted with a cannon of giant proportions, it seemed to appear out of thin air. Ten miles from GDI's command center, Philadelphia. Philadelphia stood no chance. A few escaped, but three-fourths of the space station's personnel were killed, instantly when the beam hit or from loss of pressure in space without a spacesuit.

It was the Scrin Command Ship. With it came a fleet of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of fighters. The aliens that had sent Tiberium to earth, the aliens that had been watching our planet since that day, had arrived.
Within the hour, the Scrin contacted the NOD leader and asked for an alliance. Amazed, the leader quickly agreed. New plans for vehicles and infantry equipped with Scrin weaponry were transmitted to the NOD. Using these, NOD began to take back the battlefields it had lost at.

Within the month, only fools thought the war would end by the end of the month. NOD was no longer almost crushed. It now had a powerful ally; far more powerful than any human. NOD had become a force to be reckoned with....

Prologue: The Power of Destruction

Six Ghouls, covert tanks with plasma weapons, were driving across the barren battlefield. The small GDI resistance force knew they were coming even though they couldn't see them. The dull, metallic CLUNK-CLUNK could be heard and the tread imprints on the soft, black mud were easily seen. The small force loaded and aimed their weapons as the Ghouls uncloaked. If they were to go down, at least they'd go down fighting.
Suddenly, a beam of hot, red light shot past them and destroyed a Ghoul on the left. The force turned around, and their mouths dropped open. Behind them were two giant mechs and an enormous tank mounted with a huge cannon. They had heard rumors of the two mechs; most believed them fools' wishful thinking. But there they were. GDI's top secret Titan Mk. II's. The other tank was even more secret than the mechs; the force had no idea what it was.
Then the tank fired. A huge beam of blue and white shot past them and completely demolished one Ghoul, while the aftershock of the beam destroyed another. The force recognized instantly what the beam was: an Ion Cannon. GDI had been working all these months since the loss of their Ion Cannon to create the Ion Tank. Soon it would be known far and wide and gain the nickname of 'Mobile Destruction Vehicle'. It was worthy of it.

The three remaining Ghouls started to retreat, but the Titans, with their faster firing rate, destroyed them before they could cloak again and leave to warn the base to the south. The base. It had been the original objective of the force, which had been, until the Ghouls came, a large number of infantry.
With these reinforcements, they could destroy the base instead of infiltrating as planned. They decided to go for it. They moved as quick as the vehicles could go and soon arrived at the back of the base, where they went unnoticed. The Ion Tank signaled their presence by destroying the base's fusion generator. The base went into blackout and panic. The GDI force began to move through the base, having little resistance. The base had counted on its six Ghouls.
The force moved quickly, but not fast enough. The base commander escaped to the Scrin Command Uplink and made a transmission to the Command Ship high above earth. Then he ran outside, jumped on an attack cycle, and got out of there as fast as he could. Twenty-five seconds later, he stopped and looked back. From the sky came a huge green beam of light. He watched as it the base and disappeared. It took less than a second, then it had been gone. The base and the GDI force with it. All that was left were piles of ash and microscopic pieces of melted, twisted metal.

Chapter 1
GDI command center
17 days after Scrin appearance

It looked bad for GDI. Although they were now pushing some NOD forces back, NOD's Scrin allies had more advanced technology than any human. The Plasma Devastator could destroy a base in one shot, while their units were equipped with cloaking devices more advanced than NOD's originals. GDI was being pushed on all fronts, and they were losing too many battles.
"MOLEADER!" yelled the deep voice of GDI's commander, General Solomon. Solomon was looking at a video screen of an are suspected to contain a cloaked NOD base. Solomon was a tall, large man dressed in the attire of a high-ranking officer, execpt for the emblem that told you he was commander-in-chief of GDI forces.

The small, thin man with tangled, brown hair that was GDI's head scientist, Edward Moleader, walked up behind General Solomon. He said nothing but the general knew of his presence. "Moleader, we are losing. We need a weapon to push NOD forces back and, eventually, destroy the Scrin, too. How is our Project Ion Tank coming? I haven't heard any news lately," asked Solomon.
"It's coming, sir. But it will not be ready for some time. I fear that NOD will find and destroy our research facility before it is finished. Something already done that we could improve upon would be faster. The tank is from scratch, sir," replied the wiry figure.
"Hmm...yes, I agree. But we need something now," answered the general. He pushed a button on the panel before him and the screen changed from the area view to the face of a tall, balding man. He wore the uniform of a NOD captain, but this was no NOD soldier. It was Griffin Trowman, the leader of GDI's spies. The captain looked at the general with surprise, but he quickly replaced the look with a straight face.
"General?" asked Trowman.

"Any news to report? As Moleader tells me, the special project he's working on will not be ready for quite some time. He tells me, and I agree, that improving a unit would be easier and faster. So you see my need; do you have any stolen weapons or Scrin technology?"
"Sir, you know I would immediately report anything we had. I am sorry, we have nothing yet. ... Wait a minute, general. I'm getting a transmission from one of my troops. Just a second, General Solo-"
The screen blinked out, and was soon replaced with another face. This one wore the uniform of a high ranking NOD officer, but he was no spy. Solomon knew him well. The face belonged to none other than "Slavick," Solomon whispered. "What do you want?" he demanded.
"Ahh...my dear general, I will speak with no formalities. NOD and our Scrin allies demand the immediate surrender of GDI forces. If you do so, you and your forces will not be harmed, nor your pitiful mutant allies," the NOD commander replied with a slight smile.
Solomon then demanded, "And if I refuse?"
Slavik answered menacingly. "All GDI and mutant forces will be killed and destroyed by our troops. There will be no mercy; there would be no more surrender opportunities. Complete destruction. Understand?"

"I understand, Slavik, as well as," he answered hotly, "you know my own answer. GDI will never surrender. You will be stopped. If we don't, eventually the Scrin will destroy NOD and all other humans. Do you understand?"
"Destroy us? Ha!" And with that, the transmission ended. The screen disappeared shortly and then the spy's face reappeared.

Solomon explained about Slavik's transmission.
"Well," he replied grimly, "there is some good news. That message I was receiving when you were redirected was from Holden, one of my best. It seems he's found something small- a powerful laser."
"What kind of laser?" Solomon demanded.
"The one the Obelisk of Darkness has. The most powerful of them all," he replied.
"Yes, some good news at last," answered Solomon with a grim look. "Moleader! Anything you can equip something like this to?" he asked the scientist.
"Well," came the voice from Moleader, who had been standing there the whole time, "we may be able to equip it to a Wolverine or Titan, depending on its size. I'd have to see the plans first."
"I'm transmitting them as of now," replied Trowman, scanning some papers and entering a destination code.
"Good. Just get it done, and fast," answered Solomon, making the final decision. Everyone knew the discussion was over, and Moleader and Trowman left. Solomon flicked another switch and a 3-D projection of the earth came up. It was color-coded to indicate who controlled the area; the gold-yellow that represented GDI looked pitifully small.
Nod Command Center
Nod's commander, Slavick, turned away from the screen. He had just ended his transmission to General Solomon, and now he was thinking it over. He of course knew GDI would not surrender; their troops were filled with insane notions of glory and loyalty. They would keep fighting to the very end, when it would be too late to surrender. But Slavick also knew that Nod was in no position to conquer GDI. Although the Scrin could destroy the GDI Command Center with their Plasma Devastator, the command center could not be found. Slavick knew GDI had learned and was using stealth more than ever. Nod was pushing back GDI, but slowly, and the farther they were pushed the harder they fought. Now that GDI was holding such a small area, their troops pressed together and fought more ferociously than ever.

Slavick then turned to Solomon's last statement about the Scrin. He knew that it was a possibility, but Slavick had done some preparations if just a case happened. But it was unlikely it would. Slavick turned again to the screen and switched on a screen. It changed to show a battlefield where Nod forces were attacking a Forgotten base. A small force of GDI reinforcements arrived seconds later, consisting of four Titans and three Wolverines. A Ghoul appeared and destroyed one of the Wolverines almost immediately. The Titans tried to counter, but it cloaked and disappeared again.

The reinforcements forced their way into the base. They were amazed when they saw it: five desperate mutants and three Mammoth Tanks. That was all. Suddenly, one of the Mammoths erupted into pieces. The force looked and saw the Ghoul had reappeared. This time, the Ghoul didn't cloak again. It stayed to try and take out another Mammoth. One volley from the Titans caused an explosion in the back of the Ghoul. The covert tank was not built for armor and strength; another volley like that would destroy it. It cloaked and disappeared, probably to find some Mobile Repair Vehicle.
The GDI force now turned to look more closely at the force they were up against. There were two artillery in the back, and up front were some Tick Tanks backed up by a group of laser troopers. The two remaining Wolverines concentrated their fire on the infantry, while the Titans aimed to stop the Tick Tanks. The mutants helped the Wolverines, while the two Mammoths started to go around the Nod force to the back, where they could take out the artillery. But soon, one Titan fell, then a Wolverine, then a Mammoth. The Ghoul, fully repaired, reappeared and made quick work of one of the Titans, and the remaining Tick Tanks soon destroyed the last one. That left one Wolverine, a Mammoth, and the mutants. The Tick Tanks and the Ghoul destroyed the Wolverine, then concentrated their fire on the Mammoth. It fought back, but it too eventually was destroyed. The mutants still living fled, and Nod forces moved in to take the base. Seeing nothing technologically advanced, they destroyed it, leaving no traces. Then the Nod troops moved on.

Slavick turned from the screen. It had been an easy battle, and Nod had sustained light losses. But it had been a mutant base, and the mutants were a weak group and easily exterminated. Had it been an actual GDI base, the fight would have been much more difficult.
He exited the room and walked to another where a strange screen awaited him. He flipped a switch and a face appeared. It was the face of Nod's old leader, the one who had defeated death. It was the face of Kane.
Unfortunately, this was not the real Kane. He had died at the end of the second Tiberium war and had not come back, as before. This was an image put on by the Scrin commander, whose name Slavick did not know.

"Slavick!" he demanded, slurring his A's. "How is our war on earth proceeding?"
As if he didn't already know, though Slavick. "We are winning, but the process of war is slow, and GDI fights bravely."

"Yes, we know. Did you also know that today something was stolen from a Nod base?" replied the commander with a slight smile on the apparition of Kane.
"I would hope you were trying to deceive me, Scrin commander, but I fear it may not be so," Slavick answered acidly.

"No, I am not deceiving you; a small piece of Scrin technology was stolen from a base in Quadrant 19." The image of Kane disappeared and a map of Quadrant 19 appeared. A small are was selected, then zoomed in on. It showed a Nod base. "This base," the alien told him, "was infiltrated somehow today by GDI spies. Only one thing was stolen- a small, prototype laser. Do you know which one I mean?"
"The laser for our Obelisk of Darkness?!" replied Slavick, the smile gone from his face.
"Yes, the very one. I would be careful from now on, commander. GDI may combat you more ferociously than ever." The transmission ended; Slavick sat down to think about today's events.

Chapter 2
Forgotten Base 27 (35C)
23 days after Scrin appearance

INCOMING TRANSMISSION...
PROCESSING... PROCESSING... PROCESSING...
ENTER PASSWORD: *** ** ****
PROCESSING... PROCESSING...
PASSWORD ACCEPTED.
TRANSMISSION ACCEPTED.
TRANSMISSITTOR LOCATION: GDICC2
TRANSMISSITTEE LOCATION: ALPHA 35C, FB 27
BEGIN TRANSMISSION
------------
Umagon, I speak frankly.
Our forces are being pushed back on all fields. Our technology is limited, and old. The Forgotten to Nod are just small, pathetic resistance- like a scab waiting to be picked off. Nod aims to destroy all of our forces utterly, and full of pain.
We must forsake our land. All our soldiers will perish under Nod fire if we do not. The Forgotten will be just that, forgotten, their bodies lying dead and blood-soaked on the battlefields. Just retreat, this one time. We must. We will regain our land; but not until we have the power to do so. Because of your stubbornness, you may have glory; but you will also be dead.
Tratos
------------
END TRANSMISSION
------------

Umagon, the commander of the Forgotten forces, tore the piece of paper off the machine. Skimming it quickly, she shook her head in anger and frustration. Nod or GDI, they both wanted to use them for their own ends. None of them thought of the Forgotten as people; Nod saw them as pathetic outcasts, and GDI as poor souls that could be made happy by doing the work of others. And Tratos just went right ahead with GDI. He really believed all that junk they promised the Forgotten.

But Umagon knew better. Having always been an outcast, even before being captured and mutated by Nod, she knew the rules. Never trust anyone; even your best friend could be a traitor, ready to sell you off to your enemy just for the promise of happiness. Which would never come.

She looked at the transmission feed again, and shook her head. He would never understand. She put the paper down, walked to the door of the tent, and pulled back the flap. She looked out on the small, base; more of an outpost, in the middle of a desert. Or what would have been a desert- now, Tiberium covered it and the vast expanses of sand were covered with thickly, fast growing, Tiberium Reparious. Crystals of it grew on her on body, and she knew it well.

Umagon scanned the rest of the base. A small power generator, a radar station, a refinery, and a barracks. As a soldier passed threw, she yelled to him.
"Yes?" the soldier turned and asked. "Where is the sergeant?"
"The radar station. The GDI truck arrived with the new hardware. They're setting it up as we speak." "What?! What GDI truck?! There were no shipments!"
"The technicians said it was orders from GDI Supreme Command. Installation immediately on all GDI and Forgotten bases."
"What?! I must see these men." Umagon said. She had a feeling about these men, something that wasn't good. Walking quickly, Umagon reached the radar station. She opened the door and entered, not pausing to look around at the familiar building's interior. At the end of the hall, near a computer, the sergeant and a small, bowed man stood. They both looked up as Umagon approached, and she saw the bowed man's face. It was dusty and dirty, with messy hair filled with dust and grime; he also bore the look of a Russian. He wore the uniform of a GDI Communications Officer. He smiled as she stopped in front of them, and offered his hand, but Umagon refused. "Who are you?" she demanded.
"I am Gennadi Volodnikov, GDI Communications Lieutenant," he replied, the smile gone. "Why do you appear so angry?"
"I had no word of this. What exactly are you doing to the system?" she demanded once more.
"It's okay, calm down," the sergeant told Umagon. "It's just some new hardware, to make the radar more effective. Just an upgrade, no changes to the actual system, okay?"
"I'd like to see the orders. And get me one of our technicians."
"Yes, right away," replied the sergeant smartly, walking quickly down the hallway."
"Please, commander, there really is no need. It's just some-"
"I will say when there is no need. Now, where is the other man?"
"Other man?"
"You know. The other man that came with you."
"I assure you, commander, I came alone."
"No." Umagon answered, knowing something to be wrong now. She opened the door on her right, and raced down the hallway. Behind her he heard the footsteps of the GDI soldier. She pulled a door open, and looked in.
"I knew it," she said, looking at a man, dressed in black, working away at a computer panel in the small room. He looked up, surprised, then smiled. "What's so funny? You've been caught."
"I think he means me," came the voice of Volodnikov from behind Umagon. She heard a click, then felt the muzzle of a gun against her back. She looked back into the face of the soldier, then back to the other man. He had now pulled out a gun also, and it was pointed straight at her.
"Now, we're going to go back to the computer now, and you won't say a word about this to anyone. And you'll send back that nice computer officer of yours who should be arriving soon." "You-"
"Get moving!" Umagon felt the muzzle dig deeper into her back, and she started slowly down the hallway. She turned through the door to the main hall, and she felt the gun move from her back. The technician was at the computer, typing away, and turned at the footsteps of Umagon and Volodnikov. "Commander, I found something," he said with an urgent look.
"Really?" Umagon replied, giving the soldier a look to shut up.
"Yes," he continued, ignoring her, "It seems something has been done to the original system; a sort of worm has been placed, that transmits data back to-"
His sentence was cut short by the sound of a gun firing. A red and black hole appeared on his forehead, then he dropped down dead. Umagon turned to face Volodnikov, his gun out and ready.
"Too bad for him. He found out to much."
"A worm? Data transmitted?... Nod!" Umagon finally realized.
"Yes...Nod. You really should be more careful, commander. Your defenses were so pathetic... we could have waltzed in here without disguises if we wished." "Why you-"
"Unh unh unh... you wouldn't want your sergeant to find you looking like him, would you?" interrupted Volodnikov, motioning with his gun towards the dead technitian.

Umagon took her chance. Moving quickly, she knocked the gun out of his hands and punched him hard in the jaw. Falling back, he kneeled down, reaching for the gun. Umagon dropped her foot down hard on his back, then pulled him up.
"Unnhhh..." he moaned, before Umagon had knocked him unconscious. Picking up the gun, she entered the second hallway once more, and continued to the room where the other man had been. He was gone. Looking around, Umagon reentered the hallway, walking cautiously down it. From behind her came a click, and she ducked just as a gun fired from behind her. She turned quickly, hiding behind a table, and returned fire at the shooter. The other man fell back, dead. It was almost too easy. Getting up slowly, she looked down at the dead man. It was a Forgotten soldier, not the other man.

Suddenly, the sound of gunfire came from behind her. She turned and looked back to see the other man, gun in hand, fall to the ground dead. From the door entered the sergeant, his gun at his side. "Well, maybe you should tell me when these people are out to kill us," he said, smiling. Umagon sighed, and walked down the corridor.
"Get another technician. We need to deactivate the worm."
"Worm?"
"The men were from Nod. The other guy, the one you shot, entered the system through another panel and planted a worm that sent data back to Nod."
"Great..."
"I know."
"Uhh... I have another question."
"What is it?" Umagon asked, impatiently.
"After I called for the technician, I happened to glance at the transmission in the command tent."
"And...?"
"Well, I noticed it listed the location as GDICC2. That would be the second GDI Command Center."
"I didn't know there was one."
"That's the thing. There isn't one."
"What? You mean to say it was rigged somehow?"
"That's what I think."
"Yes... the transmission was supposedly from Tratos, but I don't think even he was that pathetic."
"What?"
"The transmission... he wanted us to retreat from our land, saying Nod would kill us otherwise."
"Hmm..."
"This is just great..." Umagon sighed, and walked back to the temporary command tent.