~~The Tacitus~~

[V]

"CHILDREN! BROTHERS! SISTERS!" Before the podium, the bald man began to preach. Adorned in black, with a cape, and the emblem of Nod. "I stand before you, to present to us, our SALVATION!" The sea of men and women in black robes raised their hands in roar of appraisal. "For too long, GDI has oppressed us! Outsmarted even my best Commanders, killed our most loyal brothers and sisters! Forced us to live in these wretched Yellow zones!" Kane turned around, as a cart was wheeled in, draped with a red velvet over it. "Children of Nod! Behold..." He threw off the velvet, and in a protective case, was a red tiberium crystal. "Now, fear not my children. During the second tiberium war...we resorted to cyborgs, powered by tiberium. But as we all now, CABAL turned on the brotherhood...and waged war on the human race. But, CABAL was a flawed machine...powered by what was not pure. And this my children...this is pure." The giant screen behind him, started to power up. "My children...I introduce to you...LEGION!" The sea of people all let out a gasp simulatneously. On the screen behind him...came the sight of two eye shaped spheres. LEGION was a cyborg mind...capable such tactical prowess...just as CABAL was. LEGION was designed with one thing in mind...to expand the brotherhood...and fulfill the prophecy. As CABAL was, LEGION will command Nods primary forces in battle, it's tactical mind far superior than any human commander's.
Kane's evil smile lit up the room. "My children...do not fear LEGION. LEGION is my ultimate creation. The mistake I made with CABAL, was not overlooked. LEGION will lead us to victory..." He then shouted Nod's saying, which restated the Morale of the followers. "ONE VISION! ONE PURPOSE!" Kane left the up roared room, as one of his advisers followed him.
"This all goes according to the prophecy, brother." Kane spoke to him. "The appearance of the catalyst to unlimited life. The angry thunderbird that would attempt to crush us. A heresy within the brotherhood. The sickening of the thunderbird. And a new hope for us." He patted the adviser's shoulder. "Only a few things remain. And it will be fulfilled. "A tragedy so great it will shake the earth. The arrival of the visitors to purge this land of the unfit. There is more as you know, my brother. But...I will only reveal that much to you. Now, go. We must have LEGION strike fear into our enemies, and hope into our children. GDI's base in our very own Serbia...is the most heavily guarded in this part of the world. LEGION will destroy it. Have the troops get ready."

[V]

At the Serbian GDI base, things were going as usual. Nod never dares to attack. The most heavily fortified base on GDI's central global front. The rifle squads were doing their daily runs, the guards on duty were taking naps. Despite this location, this base was most likely the best to be....even if it is in a yellow zone. Nod never attacks...but that was about to change.

"How long until you go on leave?" A man begin to speaking to a woman, who was happily enjoying her lunch in a mess hall. About five and a half feet tall; black hair, brown almond shaped eyes. She was definitely asian. She gave the man an odd look. He chuckled. "Hehe...sorry. I'm just taking a survey. See how many many of us are going to leave."
"Oh....one month."
"Thank you." The departed with a nod, and the woman continued to eat. Within minutes though, the man was back. "Umm..hey....could I get you..."
The woman seemed to know what he wanted. "Kim Masane. Missile Squad."
"I see would you like...to hit...--"
"the south wall on guard duty tonight?"
"Uhh...yeah..."
"Well seeing as it is my post tonight...sure."
"Umm...that is great."
Kim was currently dressed in the usual GDI soldier fatigues. However in battle, she'd put on the composite armor, just as the others soldiers would. She walked across the base ground to one of the barracks', which held her room. Inside was a bed, an a place to her hold her equipment. however it also contained a rec hall..where all the fun happened. The woman was headed for that very room. On the way, several people greeted her. She was fairly happy living her 10 months out of the year...however she kind of wished they would change her post. Eventually...all soldiers yearn for action. Arriving at the rec hall, she took a seat on the couch, and watched what was on....which was some infomercial in Serbian. The woman let down her black hair from the accursed ponytail it was in; ask any woman, and they all say that it was an invention of man to torture them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"My children!" The voice of Kane echoed throughout the base...but it was not from the actual Messiah. It was broadcasted through one of his statues. "LEGION is taking command of this operation. GDI has not known about this base thanks to Lazarus. But soon my children. We will rise, and GDI will know we have returned. and this will be our footprint. The destruction of the Serbian GDI base! Prepare for battle my children! One vision....One purpose!"
All around this hidden encampment, the soldiers were arming up, operators and pilots were checking their vehicles. One in particular. He was a sepia toned man, maybe a little under six feet tall. He bore the emblem of Nod on his shoulders, and wore the apparel of a pilot. His hair was in a crew cut, with bushy black eyebrows. "Brother Adel." Some people approached him. "I hear you're one of the best operators here."
When he responded, he spoke with an Arabic accent. "Why yes. I have saved many brothers from those destructive Mammoths. GDI is so vain. They believe those tanks are unstoppable. If only they survived...they would know how wrong they were."
"I plan on seeing that. You'll be some air cover for us. The cannons on our tanks can't aim high enough."
"I'll do what I can, brothers." They nodded and departed, and Adel...continued to check the status of his tank.

[B]

The red flame finally hit the filter and the master of the stick finally decided that its use was finished. A flick and the finished cigarette hit the dirt with a flicker. The man sighed, gray smoke escaping his lips. He stood 6 feet 1 inch, his eyes were a dark hazel, his light brown hair was medium size, the bottom of his hair curling the slightest from his face. He looked to his right and left and sighed again, he supposes that he'll head in now, not long until guard duty. He turned and entered the barracks. The mess hall was full of troops, nothing unusual. The man didn't really feel hungry. He passed the mess hall greeting a few people with simple nods then made his way to the recreational room. "Astor." Jake Dawkins stated. The man was a power engineer, a woman sat with him, she had short black hair and navy blue eyes, a real baby face. "Jake, who's this?" "Kira Loretta. A rookie engineer and a.. Close friend of mine." She giggled and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. "Who is this man?" She asked, her accent had some french in it. "This is Astor Barrett. He protects our sweet Kim Masane here." Jake waved a hand to the asian across from him. "It's so nice to meet you!" She said with a bright sweet smile. "Well, love to stay and chat, kiddos, but I have some training to do with Kira here." Jake laughed "Yeah, you two play nice." The other man cleared his throat and left with the young rookie. Astor shook his head with a smile and sat by Kim. "Seems like a sweet girl." He commented and looked up at the screen. "Television is crap. If we wanted to buy something we wouldn't be in the army." He laughed. "Almost time for our shift anyways." Back in the day he would've sounded excited but nothing happened, therefor there was nothing to get excited about anymore.

[V]

Kim chuckled at her friends saying. "This isn't the army! We're a cut above that! Psh, where has your pride gone, mister." With chuckle, she lightly hit him. "You know...I kinda missed the old you. Always wanting to fight. Stealing my launcher to hit something out of the sky. I guess we had a better post in the second tib war. Psh. Now...we've got the supposed "best place to be". But there is never anything to do!" She sighed and looked out the windows. So many defenses. Cannons, Emitters, towers. A Nod attack would be thwarted by those alone. "I would switch this post in a heartbeat." She laid back in the couch, and crossed her arms. "You know...sometimes I wonder what it would be like to drive those big Mammoths. " She smiled and looked Astor's way. "You understand Serbian?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first to advance were cloaked scouts. It was a technique that...wouldn't be enforced by any Nod Commander...but, LEGION ordered three Harvesters to scout. However there was logic behind this. The Harvesters had better view from their cockpits, than a stealth tank or Vertigo...and were not as expensive. The scouts gave a report, and LEGION ordered the main attack force to advance. This consisted of several tanks of all kinds. Flame, Scorpion, stealth. As well as many Venoms. Vertigoes were flying over to drop disruption pods at certain locations, to keep the army hidden; Disruption pods are like portable disruption towers. As the army stood ready overlooking the "impregnable" base...LEGION ordered the final trump card. One who was given the honor...of initiating the downfall of this base.

[B]

Astor smiled. "My pride rusted with my gun." Kim seemed to continue talking. "You know...I kinda missed the old you. Always wanting to fight. Stealing my launcher to hit something out of the sky. I guess we had a better post in the second tib war. Psh. Now...we've got the supposed "best place to be". But there is never anything to do!" He laughed. "Don't worry. No matter how rusted we get, you're still my archer. Now go get your bow and don't forget your quiver and I'll meet you in the tower." He winked. It was only Astor who depicted rocket troops as archers because the rockets reminded him of arrows. Astor left to suit up. 10-20 minutes later both were up in the tower. Astor had his armpit supporting his assault rifle along with his right arm. His left hand had some chocolate. He popped a block in his mouth and chewed. There was one more piece left and he held it out to Kim giving a questioning grunt, she shook her head and he shrugged and popped the last piece into his mouth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jake had shown her most of the simple layout with the exception of places she wasn't allowed into. This was Plant 01. The first plant in this base to get a tiberium fuel cell upgrade and the only one. The others weren't due for a couple months. This was the base's main source of power for the time being. Kira smiled when the tour was done. She pressed up against him and kissed him. He smiled and returned a kiss. They were both alone in Jake's small office. Jake took off his lab coat, Kira kept hers one for the time being and both slowly went to the floor kissing. "You know.." She said with a sigh. "It's a shame you didn't join my family." "What's that mean?" He asked with a smile. His smile ceased as his mouth opened in dull horror. Blood began flow from the mouth but that didn't stop the woman from kissing him, blood flowing on her tongue and into her mouth but still she continued. When the man's courage to live finally ended, his head fell from her mouth and hit the floor with a thud. Kira wiped her mouth on her lab coat and took it off, revealing a black tactical uniform underneath. "Rest well little heathen." She said with care as she used two of her fingers to close the man's wide eyes.

Two rifleman were the only defense in the room. Scientists and engineers sat at their assigned spots running maintenance checks constantly. Everything was ship shape. One of the engineers spoke to one of the riflemen freely. The sound of an electronic door hit the ears of everyone inside the room but none of them looked up, it was nothing new. Suddenly a loud bang rung out and the unconversing guard fell, another shot and the one by the engineer fell, the bullets ripping through their armor like nothing and killing them instantly. Four more shots in quick session and everyone in the room was dead. Other than the hum of high powered electronic equipment, the sound of boots cluttering past was open. She withdrew an ID tag with the name "Jake Houseman" and put it into the card reader. A ding signaled granted access. The door slid open and two more shots and the two high security guards were lying in their own blood. Another door and she was in the core. There was a large glass pane presenting two enormous cylinders holding green liquid. Liquid tiberium that even the GDI use to power their base. It was beautiful. Kira took a few steps toward it and pressed her face lovingly against the glass. "You shall be our Noah, raise the sea of GDI defenses and guide us way." She pulled out a pack and took out a small gismo, she pressed a button and it opened up and began to beep. She placed it gently against the glass and turned. As she made her way out there were troops no doubt entering from the gunshots but Lazarus would be kind to her as she held the technology against her waist, making her completely invisible. She gently stepped aside and let the alarmed soldiers by then she continued out of the plant. "My siblings..." She spoke freely into her radio. "Watch the gentle gift of love that your dear sister has brought for you." Her voice was moved with intense love. She began to hum an angelic tone that would give the oncoming army warmth and fierce determination. She slowed her walking pace when she knew she was out of range, still invisible she began to dance as she continued her hum. A loud bang followed by more louder bangs and the explosion could be seen from where the army was like a giant firework. Her hums could still be heard. It was soothing to her brethren but haunting to the distraught GDI people who could hear.

Meanwhile, in the Command Center. "Hey Bob. Want to get a coffee?" "No, you go ahead. I'm going to continue and watch the radar, you never know." "Suit yourself. Eight months and you're still lording over that machine as if something will happen." Suddenly the place began to shake and almost instantly everything turned off. Secondary lighting was in effect and the room was red. The consoles were shut down. They wouldn't be able to use their radar. Throughout the base the electricity quickly shut off. The defense turrets were useless, anti-air batteries has become nothing more than idle monuments, anti-tank turrets became lifeless metal. The base had absolutely no power.

[V]

"You know...chocolate promotes acne."Kim said jokingly. Astor seemed to shrug. "You know that was discredited ages ago, right?" Suddenly, the humming stopped behind them, and everything went dark.
In the Command Post, people were frantic. "Sound the alarm!"
"We can't! Power is completely out! Vehicle bays are closed. Can't get any door open. Is this a Nod Attack?!"
"Of course it is! Our plants cannot melt down!"
"Get shouter out there! It's all we can do!"
The doors to the Command post opened, and several people were thrown out with megaphones. Each one ran into a different building, awakening all the sleeping troops. It would take them a while to get suited up in the dark. So right now...this bases' only defense were a few riflemen, missile troops, and some Predators.
One of the shouters was in the middle of the walled base. "All wall guard report to the center!"
Kim nodded, and she and Astor ran to the where the shouter was. This wasn't good. There were about ten infantry and two tanks currently out for defense. And all that protected them right now, was a gate.
"Keep your weapon ready guys...this won't be good at all."

They all waited for maybe five minutes...they could hear the treads on the other side, the stomping of the Avatars. Then all of a sudden...a massive explosion, which took the gate clean off. Then several more, and most of the wall segments came crumbling down. The others were just starting to get out... and the bays to vehicles were being rammed.
The soldiers who were already their watched as the Nod Militants charged in, their old sub machine guns blazing. The Predators turned their cannons on them, and fired a few times, turning several squads of them into craters. But these were just Militants. And there were many. The riflemen began firing, taking several done, but they fired back. Their weapons were old but no less dangerous, as the first of them fell. "Back up!" Some called from behind. Some of the others had set up some sand bags. Kim was happy for some cover, but as they turned around to run for them, an explosion roared behind them. A Predator had been destroyed. Before the gate, stood one of Nod's most destructive weapons, the Avatar, it's laser cannon smoking. The other Predator tried to back up, and get away, but was quickly stomped on by the mech. "Shit!" Kim swore loudly, as she and Astor ran as fast they could for the other group. The Avatar raised it's laser to fire again, and for a second Kim thought she was dead for sure...when the cannon itself was met with an explosion...then a second one to the mech's leg, followed by a volley of four missiles to it's cockpit.. Looking in the direction it came from, a Mammoth had emerged from the vehicle bay, rolling over the bay's gate. Maybe GDI had a chance now, as they watched the first Avatar crash to the ground.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Adel was smiling and humming along to the beautiful music on his radio. It was wonderful. A few of the Nod operative knew they had a man...or rather woman, on the inside. The explosion of the power plant was a sight to behold. LEGION's voice came to them. "Advance now. Militants and heavy vehicles hit the front as a diversion force. Stealth tanks and flame tank hit the sides and rear. Surprise them...and set them on fire. Aircraft...stand by...your time has not yet come."
The stealth tank group glided over to the east side of the base. They stealth tanks had to await the arrival of the flame tanks. Their job was to break the shell, the Flame tanks were to cook everything else. Adel could see muzzle flashes and some explosion coming from the front side of the base. No doubt the militant were dying. It was sad for the militants. They truly are children of Nod...but are useful only as fodder. Next to fanatics however, they are likely the most loyal of all nod soldiers. Their blind devotion leads to be willing to die for Kane. He continued to watch the front battle...but winced as he say one of the avatars take a fall forward. "Hurry up Flame tanks! Our brothers are dying!"

[B]

Astor smiled at her words. Suddenly something reached his ears. A very faint humming. It wasn't Kim but it didn't matter. Well, at least he thought it didn't until the sound of an explosions drowned out the voice. Suddenly things went to hell and they were reported to the ground. As the man with the microphone spoke Astor stomped his feet a couple times to psych himself up for the upcoming battle. The battle started. He kept close to Kim as he began to mow down the Nod fodder that moved on them. He couldn't believe what was happening but he couldn't allow himself to think about it. Kim comes first. Some of the men were building up cover and Astor made it known to Kim. Astor was the first to dash off and when he noticed he was alone he looked back and saw his friend face to face with the laser cannon of an Avatar. He nearly had a heart attack until relief came to save the day. A Mammoth, dear god he's never been so happy to see one, even more so than the previous battles he's ever been in. Astor ran up to Kim and pulled her to the cover. Astor nudged Kim and pointed. "Flame Tank, en route!" Basically he was giving her a target. She was experienced enough and the arrow connected with the fuel tanks taking the tank out quickly though there were several more where that one came from. Astor can still hear humming, even among the the battle. In fact a militant's body was close, the radio was alive with the voice. "We're not going to be able to hold out here. There's too many!" A beeping noise caught his ears. "What's that...?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An Avatar went down. The humming ceased a few seconds and a tear escaped Kira's dark blue eye. She looked over to see the dead militants and the water kept flowing but she rose up in song even louder now. She took a spin and began dancing gracefully to where a small quickly made cover was created. A sandbag hole created by the GDI rifleman. It would be cute if she wasn't enraged by the losses of her family. She moved over and continued the sing. She could hear the GDI scum talking amongst themselves, a few noting the song and looking her way only to see nothing. She took out another gismo and opened it up. She placed it by the sandbag, it started beeping. Now to get a little away to 'purify' them.

[V]

Kim could also hear the beeping as well. "That's..." her eyes widened at the sight of the small dvice on the small sandbag wall. "C4! Get out, quick!" It seemed Astor caught on, as did two of the rifle men...but the rest, which were about four, didn't attempt to move until it was too late. The explosion was big, and killed all those who didn't get away fast enough. And Nod was still filing in. "All infantry, get behind the tanks!" The Mammoth driver shouted into the radio. More vehicles appeared from the vehicle bays...including a Pitbull. The driver's face showed disbelief. "Oh shit ,we're surrounded by stealth units! All sides!" Suddenly, the walls started to explode and crumble, as the stealth tanks destroyed them. One of the Predators was able to fire before Lazarus could be activate on one, which ended the paper armored tank's life. "Careful! Stealth tanks! Watch your six!" Soon, GDI had deployed it's entire motor pool. They didn't have many vehicles hear...this impregnable base relied completely on it's batteries...which no longer were of use. All they had were Three Mammoths, Four Predators, a Pitbull, and Four Orcas. The Orcas however, were completely grounded. No way to open their hangars. Kim reloaded another missile, and locked onto one of the Flame tanks fuel tanks. "Sending her over!" She shouted to Astor...which was her warning to get out from back of her. The missile flew at the target...but instead, slammed into an unseen target...which turned out to be another Stealth tank..it's missile rack to be precise.. The missiles already load exploded internally, and the tank was gone. "Nice shot!" One of the riflemen shouted. The Predators and Mammoths took out the wall of Flame tanks on that side.
The front and West were covered well..but the south and east were being overrun. Already, most of the Barracks had been burn down, as well as the command post. A sudden flash of blue to Kim's right, and she saw one of the stealth tank unleash it's volley on the rear of one of the Mammoths. It would be over for that tank, as one of the missiles hit's fuel tank. The tank went up in a blaze. They'd already lost a Mammoth. Before Kim could even target the Hit and run offender, it was gone. "Astor...we...we're not going to survive!" She was horribly terrified right now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A smile spread on Adel's face as the Flame tank were in position." LEGION's voice came up again. "All stealth tanks fire on my command. Starting countdown. Five, four , three, two..." Adel's fingers twitched on the fire button. "Launch!" The night atmosphere was suddenly ablaze with rockets, as all the walls came crashing down. The Flame tanks then moved forward, and set fire to all all the other buildings. Adel had another plan in mind. He advanced forward, right in the center of the base. There ahead, a group of vehicles were making their last stand. "How cute...like a desperate mother mouse trying to protect her young from the cat." He set his sight for a Mammoth's rear armor. "And here comes the strike." After a couple second for lock-on, Adel shut off Lazarus, and let the rockets fly into the chassis of GDI's super tank. "Ah..those fools, still believe their precious Mammoth is invincible." A few rockets more, and the tank exploded in a massive fireball. Lazarus came back up, and Adel threw it in reverse. Ready to strike again. "This fight is our, brothers! Long live LEGION!"
The radio came with an echoed uproar. "Long live LEGION!"

[B]

Astor winced at the thought of defeat. It was too sudden, everyone was too relaxed, how'd they even get in? How'd they lose their power plant? Astor looked over to see two Nod Bikes firing missiles at one of the power plants. "This isn't the end of us, yet." Astor moved over to the side of a building and began firing at the glass of the bikes. It was relatively thing glass and the bullets made it through, killing the drivers. "Come on, Kim. We're getting the hell out of here!"

~~~~~~~~

"Na naaa nanana..." She hummed as she danced her way to one of the two remaining Mammoths. Her last C4 bomb. She took it out and opened it then stuck to the fuel tank. She walked away and detonated, another Mammoth went up in flames, all chances of holding any kind of defense was now lost. GDI has lost. The battery to Kira's Lazarus began to wear out and she was visible. To her satisfaction the two who could have identify her, namely Kim and Astor would not see her on the opposing side. She ceased her humming when the cheers rose up. "LONG LIVE LEGION! LONG LIVE THE BROTHERHOOD!" She shouted fiercely. This day was won. The strongest defense taken down with less losses than would have been expected. There were more GDI vehicles valiantly taking their last stand. One Mammoth which was in critical state. Some Rocket Buggies and a Predator. She aimed her gun to a nearby Rocket Buggie and fired, killing the driver with precision. She ran over and climbed into the driver's seat and the rocket launcher turned around to the final Buggie and she unleashed the rest of the rockets, destroying that one. She didn't know how to load the buggie anymore so she just left it.

Minutes passed and the final predator was destroyed right after the mammoth. GDI have lost all their armor. There were three survivors, chained surrounded by a good number of the group. They decided to take them out execution style and three militants stood behind them and pointed their guns at their head up until a feminine shout halted them. Kira placed her hand on one of the stealth tank drivers who had left his vehicle to see the last of the GDI get executed, she only did to be gentle and loving as she passed her brother. The three GDI rifleman looked up at her. One was young, possibly around 16-18 years old, he had tears running from his eyes. The other two were middle aged and strong looking, their eyes didn't flinch at her. Kira made her way over to the boy. "Stop." One of the men said. "He's my brother, let him go!" He shouted at her and she turned to him, her eyes fierce. "Your brother? And would you have spared my brothers had I asked you to? Would you have dropped your gun and submitted to us if I asked you to give up so that my brothers may not die?" He didn't answer, she turned to the boy and walked up. "P-Please.." he cried and she knelt by him. Her eyes were gentle and she embraced him and lightly rocked. "Rock-a-bye baby... In the tree top.." She sang gracefully. "When the wind blows, the cradle will rock.. When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall." She kissed the boy on the forehead. "And down will come baby... Cradle and all." A shot and the boy fell limp in her arms. She shut his eyes and gently laid him down. Kira's eyes were moist as she looked up at the now-grieving man. "Now you know my pain, only mine is tenfold... You shall not die but be released to your sorrowful existence but I want you to know that every one of my family killed is stab to my heart and now you know how it feels." She looked up at the others. "Keep him chained but see him out of the gates. As for the other one, I believe you want to avenge our brothers?" She looked at one of the militants and gracefully smiled at him. She turned and made her way toward the surrounding group of brethren, similar to how she put her hand on the stealth tank driver's shoulder she gently rubbed her hand on one of her brother's cheeks as she passed him, he smiled and he felt like he was on a cloud. This battle was done.

[V]

"I can't believe this. Reduced to rubble so quickly..." Kim mounted on of the bikes, and with Astor, sped out one of the many openings formed by Nod. "How can they have destroyed the power plant? The batters would have shot down any bomber that tried to fly near us." They stopped a few miles from the base. "We need to figure out where to go."

Although not a real base, a GDI outpost did lie North about thirty miles. It would have communication abilities above all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Adel smiled as Kira brushed up against him. She was truly a beauty. The most infatuating he'd ever seen. He'd come out to watch the executions...but one happened to be spared from the quick death. Most of the forces were heading back, but a few stayed to set up a forward base near this destroyed one. One of the staying forces was Adel. The base would be more of an outpost for the time being, until an MCV was deployed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile. Kane's echoed throughout all his statues, as he bore a message to all his followers. "Rejoice, children of Nod!" He broadcasted a video of the final structure in the base being destroyed. "GDI's so-call impregnable fortress, fell siege in just one hour. One hour...not only to our faithful sister Kira Loretta. But it fell to LEGION. It was LEGION who made this possible! His plan to plant an operative, turned out far better than anyone could have hoped." His tone of voiced change to that low serious tone. "But even so...GDI still chooses to call us terrorists. To them, we are the terrorists. but who is it that uses their brute force to oppress the weaker? Forces us to live in yellow zones, as they take the safe, precious blue zones for themselves? No no, it is not we who are the terrorists, my children. We have just angered the thunderbird. As we speak, they turn one of their ion cannons onto one of our sacred temples of Nod. But we must not let our losses hinder us. We will see victory...and it will be LEGION who guides us to it." He put his hands up in the air. "One vision! One purpose!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the GDI base in Washington DC, many of the officers were scrambling. General Granger was looking at the monitors. "What's going on, Sandra?" He asked one of his officers. "Authorization of the ion cannon...direct orders from Director Boyle."
"Which cannon?"
"Twenty-six and fourteen."
"He's using two?!"
"Yes sir. He saying for every eye Nod takes...we will take two from them. One is aiming at the Nod base in China...the other....Canada..."
"Boyle is tarnishing the reputation of GDI. We're not about vengeance or even destroying Nod. We're about protecting the world. How can we plan on doing that if we kill the people who live on it..."

They watched on screen, as the two cannons fired simultaneously. The bases were completely vaporized...every structure...every person. Boyle chose these specific bases, for they were two of the known ones to have a Temple of Nod constructed within them, to truly anger Kane. And to anger Kane, is to anger the brotherhood.

[B]

Astor made the bike skid to a halt by her. He listened to her questions and shook his head. "They must've had an operative on the inside, but who?" He thought a few and put up a finger. "I think it was Jamerson. That new rifleman, he was assigned to the same powerplant. On the report it said he did rather well in demolitions." It seemed that Kim had her own thoughts about the woman they had seen Jake with and Astor shook his head. "I don't think so. I don't know if you noticed but she didn't look nothing like a warrior. For one thing her muscle size is probably only half yours. I'd like to see that girl pick up a box of feather rather than mounds of explosives. I mean, whoever blew up the plant had to have something big. Maybe a vertigo found its way around?... I don't know... Maybe it was her but we can't prove it. We can't prove anything now... We've lost." He sighed and Kim decided to change the subject. "We need to figure out where to go." He nodded. "The GDI Outpost is about thirty or forty miles north of here. We may have to ride through a few Tib fields. The glass was broken, if they rode through it then they would likely catch the illness. Then Astor noticed a mask at right. "Seems Nod is cautious too." He strapped over the mask. "Kim.." He spoke in a deep voice then paused a few seconds. "I am your father." He said in a mock Darth Vader voice. Their base was destroyed and friends have died, but he still tried to lighten the circumstances with a joke or two to keep both of them calm. When it was time they rode off north.

~~~~~~~~~~

Nod had restored power to their new outpost and the guns that were once GDI's was now Nod's. Kira stood amongst the wreckage of buildings and glanced over to the batteries. This would make a good base in the future if Nod were to spend some time. Their impenetrable fortress would become theirs. Kira was happy to see that her siblings' bodies were all cleaned up and the next day a proper ceremony for them will occur. A Nod Flame Tank driver ran up to Kira. "Sister! You've got to see this!" He called to her with deep urgency. Kira followed into one of the ruined buildings. The rec room of the building was screwed up but the television worked. Satellite imagery showed a Nod base. A bright light, followed by more then an explosion. Kira turned her head, the Nod troops inside began to shout at the screen. "Does their blasphemy know no bounds!?" "Warmongering dogs!" Kira's eyes began to burn, how many brothers must she see lost in one day? And as if that wasn't enough it showed another base being cannoned. Kira had to keep calm. LEGION will make it all better, it'll tell her what to do, it'll make use of her skills and then she shall get her revenge.

[V]

Kim did her best to force a smile, but she was a bit too gloomy right now In the corner of the console was the filter mask, which she had strapped on. "Okay, let's get going." The two bikes sped forward. As they did their advance, the radio on the bike went off, with the voice of Kane. "Children, all though we mourn for our fallen brothers, we cannot do it for long. The ion cannon strike was a horrible loss...but it was foreseen. They died for the prophecy...and all though this tragedy did not shake the earth...I will make sure we will give GDI one that will."
Kim called over to Astor. "Ion cannon strikes? Two of them? No GDI general would resort to the ion cannon as retaliation to the loss of a base..." She gritted her teeth at the thought. "The people are going to see us as destructive war mongers...instead of what we really are. Who would have authorized those strikes?!" She thought about it a few more minutes...as they entered the first tiberium field. "GDI's reputation has been going downhill since Boyle took over....could it have been him?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kane approached the console in his sacred central command building. It was a well hidden building, which contained his intelligence center, and in the middle, was a floating sphere. This was the control module of LEGION. Kane would have been foolish to keep it in Temple Prime, as this bunker had kept him safe all this time, it will do the same for LEGION. "You my child." He spoke to the console. "You must do me this next task to establish the Brotherhood's unity once more." He brought up a small halogram to show what he needed. "While we hid, the Brotherhood feel into chaos. They split off into these...sub factions. It's just blasphemous heresy!. Let these heretics know that Kane has returned. I want you to be stealthy, do not kill anyone unnecessary. They are still our brothers and sisters after all. I've ordered a small task force, consisting of a Commando, and a stealth tank, and two shadow teams. They are getting into a transport now, and when they arrive to the south Serbian city...I'll instruct you from there."

[B]

Astor shook his head though she wouldn't be able to notice. "I don't know. I think so. At first I thought he was your casual politician who didn't know a damn thing about war and would let the experienced boys handle it... But now he's just a power hound looking for a presentable victory." He sighed, as much as he tried to think of happy things to lighten the situation he didn't feel any better. "Jake, man... We worked with that guy three missions. I'll never forget when he infiltrated that Nod command center and turned the enemy Obelisks against them." He sighed again. "Hey, maybe him and that girl.. Uh.. Kira found a nice private spot and had sex before the battle. Then they could've hidden. Maybe they're on their way to the base to!" A field of green sat ahead of them, tiberium. It wasn't long before they were riding in it, the wheels were strong enough to glide over the crystals. "C'mon Kim, tell me they're still alive; give us some hope!" He said with a cheerful voice despite his lack of hope on the inside.

~~~~~~~~

"That's when we moved in. Torched three of those bastards." A flame tank driver gloated with cheer. "Yay!" Kira said in good cheer as some of the other brothers around her just laughed. They found it odd yet refreshing how she could be saddest person in the world at one point then cheeriest in less than a half an hour. They suppose she feels she has to to keep people calm, it worked. "Markus!" Kira said to one of the Avatar drivers; they were also amazed she could remember most their names even if mentioned only once. "I saw you bust in and rip a predator apart with your claw, that was amazing!" He reddened up. "Pshaw, it was nothing..." The war stories stopped when a radio call in for Kira to meet at the front gate. She stood up and held out her arms, a few of the brothers went and embraced her. "I love you all. I must go now." She flashed them a smile and left. Kira was a strange exception amongst the commandos, the other four were rather krabby and chose to speak to higher sanctioned troops whereas Kira would talk freely to a fanatic. She was a fairly new commando but she was fairly new to being a Brotherhood soldier, though she had been raised under a father who fought in the first Tiberium War under Nod he taught her the views of the brotherhood and it brought her to fierce love. She would never accept anyone saying that Nod are the antagonists.

She found herself striding towards the transport ship. A stealth tank stood inside the cargo hold of the ship and the driver was there waiting. She entered it and smiled at him. "Hello, dear brother. It seems LEGION has a new assignment. Aren't you excited?" She flashed a brilliant smile then sat on one of the side benches. "Sit with me." She patted the leather beside her and crossed her legs.

[V]

"You want us to what?!"
"You heard me, Lieutenant."
"Three ion cannon strikes in one day?! Sir, may I remind you that this target was formerly our base. We don't know if they are holding any of our men captive. And three strikes with that weapon, will make us look more like the terrorists. Nod will use this to have people rise against us."
Sandra was doing her best to sway the inept director from his choice. "And need I remind you of where you stand, Lieutenant? I believe General Granger instructed you to follow my command."
"But sir...GDI is not about destroying Nod. The target we'll be hitting is not even worth--"
"Yes Sandra, I know. But Nod is a threat to the good people of our country. But, the people in Serbia are ones I don't care about. Only the people of our community. And that base holds technology Nod must not know about."
"Director Boyle, the "G" in GDI stand for Global, which means everyone on the planet is--"
"Sandra I want those lasers fired within ten minutes...or you'll be court marshaled."
She bit her lip, and gritted her teeth, shaking her head at the departing politician. "Of all the generals...why did they make the Treasurer the leader of this...he's abusing our technology. The ion cannon...if it could feel, even it would be despising the choices Boyle made. "
Minutes later, a third ion cannon directed itself to strike earth...their target, the very base that Kira took so long to stake out. The beam of light feel from the sky...accompanied by others, and started to circle. Seconds later, the massive flash...and everything was gone. The GDI and Nod structures...the joyous Nod forces...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A shockwave from behind, and Kim slammed on the breaks. She quickly turned around to see what had happened. "...the ion cannon. Did Boyle..." She hit the speed gauge on the handle bar. "NO NO!Why woul-...he couldn't...God damn him!" She saw Astor come up behind her, and she threw herself around him. "DAMN HIM DAMN HIM!!" She buried her face into his arm. "It'll be worth getting back alive to see that bastard go behind bars...he has to be committing war crimes! He...he's like a child, thinking the ion cannon is a toy!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kane watched in horror, and for the first time in a while, his face showed nearly unrelenting anger. He contacted LEGION as fast as he could. "LEGION, you must NOT fail. GDI just fired their ion cannon at the base we just captured. All the men there were nearly all my battle ready fighters who were loyal to me. Boyle does not realize he has done more damage...but he will not get the benefit of knowing that. We must re-unite the Brotherhood, as this is a sign to me we cannot be divided. Of my loyal fighters, I have left a Commando, a stealth tank, and two shadow teams. They will be enough to turn all the heretics back to me..so that the Brotherhood focuses on fighting the true threat...rather than squabble amongst it's brothers. Use the Stealth team to slip into the city. It is completely Nod controlled, and thus has armed men watching it nearly all the time. All of which our militants, our brothers. So loyal to use they are, there is always an armed man looking out every window, on every street. The capital building of this city, is where the heretic, Brother Baird lies. He has turned nearly the entirety of the brotherhood on me. Saying I am not the true Messiah, for he believes I have perished. Bring him into me alive, I want as few casualties as possible."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Adel smiled and took a seat next to her. "So you're the one who destroyed the power plant. It was a wonderful plan to infiltrate. GDI are full of vain fools. You should know as well as I now, that they rely far too much on their firepower, not realizing that the human mind is more powerful than any weapon." The ship took off, and they began their trip south. "I guess the Shadows will meet us there. So...how has---"
He was cut off, as a blinding flash went up behind them. Adel stared in horror, and turned away, bowing his head. He was practically speechless...until.. "I can't believe that GDI fires that damned thing again."
A transmission came on a screen before them...it was the eyes of LEGION. "Kira, Adel. Kane has instructed me to tell you that our target is one of our own. We must bring in Brother Baird alive...with killing as few of the Nod forces as possible. Kane has decreed, you two the shadows we meet and a few militants...are the only ones who are loyal to him. We must turn the heretics back on the path of truth. We MUST NOT fail this mission."
Adel did his best to not shed a tear, and nodded. "I will not fail you. I will not fail Kane." He looked over to Kira and simply said to her. "One vision...one purpose."

[B]

The ground gave a quick shake and Astor almost lost control of the bike as he looked behind him. He looked back forward and stopped by Kim then looked again, the blue beams were enough to know what was happening. Kim threw herself into his arms and he held her. "Shh... It's okay. We'll throw him behind bars. It's okay... Me and you will throw tomatoes at him... Shh..." He hated how he always cracked jokes in sad times, a while back he realized he did it not to make others feel better but himself. "Come on. We're almost to the outpost. We'll report there and act as witnesses. There were still a lot of GDI forces there. It's almost certain Nod had POWs and Boyle will stand on a podium for his crimes. We'll speak to General Granger personally, okay?"

~~~~~~~~~~

She smiled and listened. "I agree. The mind is awesome!" His train of thought changed and he changed the subject. "I guess the Shadows will meet us there. So...how has---" a flash at the side of her eye and she turned. The beams were falling. "No.." She pleaded. "No..." Suddenly she winced at the final flash. For a moment she was tempted to throw herself into Adel but she didn't, she just stared, her blue eyes blank until they watered up but no tears fell. "Those... Monsters.. Don't they have any honor? I don't even believe we're fighting humans anymore." She said shakily. The screen came on behind her and Adel turned. She didn't until LEGION began to speak. She nodded, understanding her mission. 'I just hope this doesn't turn Cain and Abel.' She thought mentally. Adel looked at her and spoke. "One vision...one purpose." "One love." She added and caressed a finger on his cheek. Hopefully this flight wouldn't last too long. She needed to get her mind off of all the siblings she had lost today. Her eyes were fierce but her mind was fighting for focus.