Command and Conquer: Alpha Centauri. (Crossover. GURPS Alpha Centauri. F/Any/GM)

[Lustful Bride]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP7VXpmotMk


“We are going to have to act, if we want to live in a different world. Our cradle can no longer support us as a species. For too long we have fought and killed each other, only further damaging the only home world we have ever known. Now, as our world breathes its final gasps, it is time to put aside old grudges. We can no longer sustain hatred, for it is as poisonous as the Tiberium fumes that choke our planet. Now is a time for peace, reconciliation, rebuilding, and reaching out. We have a duty to the generations that come after us, to give it our all and ensure that we can fly among the stars and sail the oceans of the universe around us. So it is, that we officially end hostilities with the Brotherhood of NOD, and officially enter into peace talks with Kane. ”
~GDI Colonel Frank Klepacki. Signing of the Jericho Accords.

“This morning was the most glorious morning in the history of the Earth. Peace is finally upon us. A gift to every man, woman and child from the Brotherhood of Nod…and from the Global Defense Initiative. Once hated enemies, now brothers and sisters in arms towards a better path! Be not mistaken. This is not appeasement, nor surrender. It is victory, not just for our people, but for our species. The time for questioning, for doubt, for violence is over. Rising from our trenches, our bunkers, our factories, we must all now partake in the technology of peace. All of you, take a breath, and realize you have seen something glorious now. It was the death of fear and the birth of hope! Rejoice, children of Nod! Rejoice citizens of GDI. 50 years of war and terror have finally come to an end!
Transformation is coming, a new day will dawn! The future, is ours.”
~Kane, leader and messiah to the Brotherhood of NOD. Signing of the Jericho Accords.

Earth, 2052, the world has been ravaged by war, civil unrest, ecological collapse, and the ever growing alien crystal known as Tiberium. Its tumors grow across nearly every part of the world, killing off the local life, creating horrible mutations, and furthering its own growth. Its power is unmatched, and its economic benefits were what kept mankind from uniting to exterminate it when they had the chance in 1995. Now it threatens to kill us all, and do what countless wars, mass extinctions, and even an alien invasion, could not accomplish.

The Global Defense Initiative and the Brotherhood of NOD fought three horrible wars over the cancerous green crystal. Each time GDI found victory and Kane was believed dead, only to once again rise from the ashes, along with his Brotherhood. Each time he rose he would accelerate the growth of Tiberium with another war, by striking again at GDI when it was most corrupt, stagnant, and bloated. Their fighting damaged the world and helped to speed up doomsday, until things finally came to a head, when another force entered the fray. The Scrin, biomechanical, insectoid, invaders that feed off of Tiberium to sustain themselves, and treated all other life as biomaterial to be converted into Tiberium, or dissected and studied to better improve their own forces into superior killers.

For a time GDI and NOD were co-belligerents against the Scrin invaders, just as they had once been during the Firestorm crisis. There was no true peace or ceasefire between the factions, but they both had bigger things to worry about than another human wearing a different uniform than them. It wasn't even uncommon to see GDI and NOD forces pushing forward together against a Scrin emplacement. For those few weeks of hellish fighting, all mankind was united with the purpose of kicking out the invaders. The Earth might be a hellhole that can barely support life now, but it is our hellhole.

By the skin of their teeth mankind managed to defeat the Scrin and send them running back to whatever hell world they came from, only to once again try to kill each other once the dust had settled. In the aftermath of the Scrin invasion, Kane made use of the chaos to assault GDI’s Rocky Mountain fortification, and steal back the Tacitus for his own ends. It was an ancient object of power. Some say it is as old as Kane is, others say that it came to Earth along with the original Tiberium meteor. Its origin doesn't truly matter. What matters is the power that the Tacitus contained. It is rumored to hold infinite knowledge, the secrets of the universe. But only Kane was able to easily access it, while GDI had to struggle to make use of the device for the knowledge they needed. Yet with what little knowledge they gleamed from it, their technology was jumped forward almost a hundred years!

Either way, it fell into the hands of Kane once more, who went about uniting it with a secret machine mind known as LEGION, that would decipher and stabilize the Tacitus. All of the secrets of creation belonged to Kane, the Blue Zones were in shambles, GDI was battered and bruised, and another strike might finally be the killing blow to all of GDI, once and for all.

With the Scrin defeated, and the Tacitus in the hands of Kane, it seemed as if the stage was set for mankind to fall under the sway of NOD and the Earth to be consumed by Tiberium. Yet NOD did not press its assaults. Forces were actually pulled back and a pseudo demilitarized zone was established between GDI and NOD territory. The borders were maintained, patrolled, built up, and left there. Aside from occasional border skirmishes, there was no more fighting between GDI or NOD. GDI was too busy trying to rebuild the blue zones, keep Tiberium at bay, and feed the populace to really stage engagements against NOD, and NOD likewise could not prevail against GDI’s defenses without some master plan from Kane. Yet he never gave an order to actively assault GDI in any way, and even punished those that tried to restart the conflict.

Many wondered if Kane had finally lost his nerve, if NOD had broken its own back against GDI, or if Kane was simply waiting to starve out the Global Defense Initiative, before finally crushing it under his boot. Some even whispered that Kane was allowing GDI to grow stronger again, so that they might both be able to better fight off a second Scrin invasion.

The truth was that Kane’s plans at this point required peace. He’d finally come to accept that fighting against GDI would only cause setbacks, and at this critical stage, he could not risk yet more fighting that could disrupt his Ascension. It was better to spend time in his new Temple Prime, studying the Tacitus, and learning all that he could, as he began to redraw his plans and prepare for the next stage.

By the year 2062, the damage done to Earth by Tiberium growth was too much, and only 10% of its surface could comfortably support human life. Fresh water was a scarcity, the Yellow zones were quickly turning into Red zones where the Tiberium storms, mutants, and more, were so horrible that people flocked to either GDI or NOD to seek any sort of shelter. Billions were being spent on space programs to get man off of Earth faster, yet it wasn’t panning out like they had hoped. More and more people were dying of Tiberium sickness, or mutating into monstrosities that might have to be put down before they slaughtered innocents. In some parts of the world it was even becoming difficult to breathe as the air was becoming thinner with the loss of large chunks of the Amazon Rain Forest to Tiberium.

It seemed that this was mankind's twilight and soon all there would be left would be the ruins of our creations that would then one day be devoured by the poison crystal. Until Kane reached out with a proposition. To use the Tacitus, and its infinite knowledge to create better machines to push back the Tiberium infections, to buy the Blue Zones more time while establishing a presence for mankind in the solar system, and beyond it. While he did not have anything worthy of being declared as FTL (yet) he did have plans for engines that would help GDI’s ships go all the way to Pluto in two years. Maybe even farther than that.

The ruling council of the GDI did not want to hear it at first, but the more that Kane spoke, the more that they fell under his sway, and began to understand that Earth was dying. It had at most maybe another 50 years before even the best Blue zones would start to crumble under Tiberium. Not to mention the ever present threat of the return of the Scrin. If they kept repeating the same mistakes of the past, when they were already so weak, then it would surely lead to our extinction.

Thus an alliance was formed between Kane and the GDI council, heated negotiations lasted for months before the final terms of the 'Jericho Accords' were signed, and peace finally reigned over the Earth. It wasn't perfect, there were many on both sides who wanted to wipe out the other, but Kane's most loyal looked to him as a Messiah, and his word was law, while many in GDI were more than happy to abandon the Earth and keep the peace. Despite the best efforts of insurgents and malcontents from both factions, a tepid peace was maintained, with Kane even once being declared Man of the Year by Time Magazine, and Kane inviting some GDI officials to a sermon of his at Temple prime.

NOD and GDI both worked to slow and even reverse the growth of Tiberium in critical areas, further improve their technology, and reach out into space. tentative outposts were created on Luna, as well as on Mars and its small moons. But progress was still slow. Not helped by how inhospitable these territories were for humans. Thus Kane began to float about the idea of setting up an Extra-Solar colony. The Sol system couldn't support the current human population, and space was becoming critical. The threat of the Scrin was still out there as well. All the Scrin had to do was siege the Earth and let Tiberium do its work, or bomb it from orbit. But if a colony existed elsewhere, then not only would there be a place for more people to go, but it would be harder for the bugs to kill them all with one strike.

Thus was the 'UNITY' created. A massive colonization ship designed to take a sustainable population to their new world, and make it ready for back and forth trips between Sol and Alpha Centauri. Kane was insistent upon being taken to this new world, to the point of threatening to withdraw support for the project if it didn't happen. It was accepted, on the provision that a GDI peacekeeping force, with elements of ZOCOM and the Steel Talons, be brought along, and that the mission be led by General Jack Granger, who by now was getting too old to keep leading GDI's military, but not old enough for one last mission, to ensure Kane didn't get up to anything on mankind's newest hope.

Much as Kane would have liked to say no, he was pressed for time, and agreed. The Unity was then made with a combination of GDI and NOD technology, to be the best of both worlds and ensure a chance at survival for all mankind. Its technology would keep most of the passengers in stasis with some of the crew being periodically awoken every 6 months to perform maintenance and status checks. As time went on these elements began to interact with each other in secret, away from GDI or NOD eyes. It was a long way to Alpha Centauri, and little by little communication was lost with Earth, even with the best efforts of the crew to keep the Comm Buoys, leading many to wonder what they could get away with now. Idle hands are the devil's workshop after all.

As the Unity grew closer to Alpha Centauri, and their new home, the Unity began to wake up everyone. Six months before they entered orbit, to allow everyone to go over the colonization plans, set up satellites around the planet to watch the weather, and choose the best places to farm Tiberium for its energy purposes without it becoming a problem like on Earth.

Before arriving at the planet though, something went horribly wrong. Something neither Kane nor the GDI command staff could have predicted. A rebellion had been fermenting amongst various groups within the 'Unity' colony ship. For so long these other groups had been kept down by either GDI or NOD, forced to choose sides, pay the price of their violence, and always thinking that they could run things better than either of the two major factions. Well, now they had their chance to do just that, and they took it.

Traitors from within GDI and Kane's own forces struck hard and fast. Kane had thought that those who followed him were loyal only to him, but the traitors now went about calling themselves the 'Human Hive', while GDI had many of its loyal councilors suddenly staging their own coup. The fighting was short, brutal, and bloody.

In some of the modules on the ship it came down to brother vs brother, as some families tore themselves apart fighting over ideological differences that had been fostered by the leaders of each rebel faction. Until finally the damage to the Unity's Ion engines threatened to destroy the entire ship.

In the ensuing chaos and unrest that followed, the main colony ship is lost with Kane and Pravin Lal managing to maintain the truce between NOD and GDI, even as each evacuates as many of their followers as possible down to the planet. Much of the GDI command staff was killed off in the first few days of fighting, with Pravin as the only survivor to now take charge, and with a small advisory board of GDI scientists, naturalists, economists, and military advisors to help inform him of the path to lead GDI on.

Lal was only part of the mission as an ambassador to negotiate with NOD if it was needed, but now he must assume control of all GDI remnants as they touch down on the planet, and maintain peace with NOD even as the other enemy factions remain unseen on other sides of the planet. God only knows what they are up to, as GDI digs in and attempts to ensure a sustainable future for mankind.

That was three years ago. Those times were terrifying, chaotic, and it was only thanks to the Kane, as much as it was to Pravin Lal. On the Eastern Continent (known as Arcadia) the colonies of GDI and Nod have been settled, and people have begun to put down roots. Families have started, farms are grown, Tiberium is safely harvested and industries help spread mankind over this new world, while searching for ways to get back in contact with Earth.

The main GDI colony has been dubbed ‘New Hope’ and is making great use of renewable (non Tiberium) energy sources to limit their dependence upon the cancerous crystal that killed their mother world. The Sunny Mesa where they set up the colony has proven very useful in generating solar energy for thee, and helping to power the two smaller settlements that have sprung up. One on a small peninsula near the Sea of Chiron, and the other in the Upland Wastes. A railway has recently been established between the three GDI settlements, with a military base at junction points that allow GDI forces to respond quickly to anything that NOD or the local wildlife may be up to. Though since touching down on the planet, NOD has been behaving itself...almost too well...

The NOD colony on the other side of the continent (in what is known as the ‘Great Dunes’ region) is in a similar state and already attempting to foster the growth of Tiberium, yet following the directives set by the Jericho Accords, establishing Sonic barriers around and beneath the Tiberium deposits or within specialized containment facilities to ensure that their area does not have undue Tiberium pollution or spread.

The peace must last as long as possible. Mankind cannot afford another war, especially not on what might be the only other habitable planet within reach of Earth.

So far Kane has stuck to his word and followed the Jericho Accords to the letter. GDI inspectors are able to visit the NOD colonies, and scan for signs of illegal Tiberium deposits. Temple Prime has been rebuilt within NOD territory, and Kane on occasion tries to invite Pravin Lal to attend one of his sermons. So far Lal has politely declined. But all of this is just a ruse. A distraction, to hide Kane's true purposes.

Kane has to hurry if he is to make his time table. The planet will be awakening soon enough, and it needs to hear his voice. While it benefits him now to keep GDI as an ally, should they stand against him and his ultimate goal, then he will crush them just as surely as he plans to crush every other fool on this world who will try to stop him.


Ascension is coming.

And the Lord God said, “Behold, the man is become as
one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth
his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and
live forever, we must send him forth.” Therefore the
Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till
the ground from whence he was taken.

—The Conclave Bible,
Datalinks

And Kane said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. ... And Kane went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.~Genesis 4:16

So to make sure we are all on the same page. I'm looking to use GURPS Alpha Centauri and any other good GURPS books, to create this crazy little crossover of mine. GDI and NOD will both be on the planet in Alpha Centauri, and trying to establish a safe haven for humanity, while the plot of AC unfolds, and Kane's machinations begin to coincide with the strange events that seem to be happening. In this new world though, these two foes might find that they have more common cause with each other than they do with the other factions built around cults of personalities and seeming to set out to break countless human rights regulations.

I love the idea of these long time enemies becoming allies now and actually being better hopes for humanity than all the other factions on AC and GDI soldiers and NOD fanatics having to be united by necessity until they are doing it because they trust each other. Of course with Kane who knows, and with how things go perhaps their truce breaks down and it returns to business as usual.

I'm personally looking to play as a ZOCOM officer who is loyal to GDI, Pravin Lal, and the Commander from the Third Tiberium War. She is also secretly a mutant who has some surgical scars along the back of her neck from a procedure she had when she was much younger, to handle some Tiberium based mutations that may or may not have given her Psi abilities.

The fact that ZOCOM was dealt some nasty blows by NOD in the last war, and that she might have lost good friends to Kane's forces is just the perfect setup for some delicious drama. I even thought that perhaps she grew up in a Yellow zone, and saw both sides fighting, and while her family decided to join up with NOD, she chose a path to fighting for the Global Defense Initiative. Enlisting at a young age out of desparation and being one of the few who remember the war, the peace, and now this new transition.

But of course, what is C&C without alittle base building and management? ;)

I had some trouble figuring out how to get that into this game and kind of wanted to throw my hands up and go 'Lets just hack Houses of the Blooded and use that for base building/colony and settlement management'. But I have found a few good sources that might help to make this more of a reality. Though it might require some tinkering.

There was actually a good debate on colony building and management with GURPS on this forum below that may help in that regard.

http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=165277

As well as some other recommendations I've found for this, though I don't have any of these books.

GURPS Boardroom and Curia
GURPS Low-Tech Companions 1-3
GURPS Dungeon Fantasy: Taverns
GURPS Dungeon Fantasy: Guilds
GURPS City Stats

And a blog which tried a similar crossover (of C&C with GURPS) but with the first Tiberium war which is not what i am looking for since the technology was a lot less advanced back then, but it might help.

https://chainlinkandconcrete.blogspot.com/p/gurps-tiberian-dawn-quick-reference-hub.html

https://chainlinkandconcrete.blogspot.com/2016/08/gurps-tiberian-dawn-campaign-concepts.html

If you would like to see abit more of how I'd like this to go, I recommend reading theTiberium Wars Fanfic by Peptuck (Sadly unfinished). It gives you a good feel of the setting and expands on it more.


Some information on this crossover's version of characters.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Kane:....Honestly he is exactly the same. Though his plans have been altered. It'd be easier to link a video than to explain Kane.

General Jack Granger: Deceased. He was head of the GDI forces during the third Tiberium war, dictating orders to countless GDI forces and trusting the most essential missions to Commander Solomon. After the war he continued leading GDI, sometimes with an Iron Fist, other times with an open hand. When the Unity mission came, he was already too old to keep his current position, but he couldn't let his life end without knowing Kane wasn't up to any of his tricks. He was so focused on NOD, that he failed to see the signs of rebellion among some of his own soldiers, who killed him and several other GDI personnel during the decapitation attempt that led to the final downfall of the Unity.

Jackson Solomon:Commander Jackson 'Jackrabbit' Solmon is the grandson of the famous Three Star General James Solomon who led GDI during the second Tiberium War. For much of his military career he lived in the shadow of his Grandfather's achievements. Until the breakout of the Second Tiberium war, where he led his forces to victory against both NOD and the Scrin. While he could have become any rank that he wanted, he chose to remain close to his men. Hence why, with the loss of Granger and most of the other GDI top brass for the mission, he did not immediately assume command of the mission. Instead that honor went to Pravin Lal. Though Lal was no fool, and quickly promoted Jackson to the rank of General, and has kept him as his right hand man in all matters of a military nature.

Colonel Corazon Santiago.: Former GDI officer from South America: she cut her teeth fighting off NOD insurgents during Tib War 3 and lost many good friends in that fighting. South America fell heavily to NOD during that time, and it was only the sheer ferocity and quick tactical thinking of the South American GDI forces that kept them alive against the endless waves of NOD fanatics, and eventually against the Scrin. Santiago's experiences in the third Tiberium war changed her, and planted a seed of something that has left her cruel and brutal in all things. She now fully believes in an idea of the Survival of the Fittest. The weakest among mankind must be purged out. Martial strength is the most important thing, being the greatest soldier is the highest honor in life. Thus she has taken the name of the ancient Spartans for her faction, and emulated their society to the best of her ability. There is only room for one ideology to survive in this new world. And for as much as she hated NOD, Kane was right in only one thing. "Peace, Through, Power!"

Deirdre Skye: Lady Deirdre Skye is the faction leader of the Gaians. She spent most of her life in the Yellow Zones, desperately trying to save countless species of plant and animal life, with little success. The failure to save the motherworld has hit her hard, and the violence on the Unity by her and her followers felt the most personal when it was done against NOD, though not even GDI loyalists were safe from her wrath.

Miriam Godwinson: Miriam is the faction leader of the Lord's Believers: A coalition of different religions within the Blue Zones on Earth that believed that Judgement Day was near, and that Kane was or even the Antichrist himself. She never liked how GDI sought peace with him, and saw the Unity mission as the perfect way to lead The Beast away from the Garden of Eden on Earth. 

Nwabudike Morgan: Morgan is the faction leader of the Morganites. He came from an elite family that managed to keep hjold of their wealth even after the many global catastrophes that occurred. He is a shrewd business man who nearly bought out several critical industries that GDI used to fund its defense and war with NOD. When he heard of a plan to evacuate the Earth, he helped to finance it all. Not out of any humanitarian reason, but for simple self preservation. If there was a new world out there, then he wanted to get there. And if this new world happened to need a large multi trillion dollar corporation there to provide the people with all they need? Well then....all the better.

Pravin Lal: GDI Loyalist, who came from the last remaining Blue Zone in India. While most who become part of the Global Defense Initiative do so in hopes of joining the military, engineering corp, or the science branch. But Pravin wanted to go into politics. He found success in negotiating with the local Tiberium mutated humans and getting them to scavenge for materials and help farm tiberium in exchange for humanitarian aid from the Blue Zone. After the third Tiberium war he had his work cut out for him but managed to rise through the ranks with his humanitarian work and being occasionally part of the high level talks with NOD. He wanted to be part of the mission to AC to ensure that it wasnt solely a military operation and to avoid the mistakes of the past. Its time for humanity to start anew...if only everyone else felt that way.

Prokhor Zakharov: A scientist working for whomever could pay him the most. Sometimes it was GDI, sometimes it was NOD. While most fell for the ruse that Kane had set up for using LEGION on Earth to pretend to be the Tacitus, Zakharov knew better. Kane would never abandon his most precious artifact, and joined along with the mission in hopes of getting some alone time with the Tacitus, and all the secrets that it held.

Sheng-Ji Yang: Former member of the Brotherhood of NOD and regional commander in what was once known as China. He has a way with manipulating others. He spent most of his young life surviving in the Red Zones of China, rising through the ranks of NOD and making sure he would never be as disposable as those he used to attain power. Yet no matter how far he rose, he always wanted more. He always dreamed of one day surpassing Kane, or building up his own loyal brotherhood, yet it wasn't until the Unity mission that he hade a chance. He ingratiated himself to Kane by 'eliminating insurgents that wanted to restart the wart with GDI'. When really he was eliminating units that were more loyal to Kane than they were to him. So that when the time came he could bring many of his own followers onto the Unity, and to the impossible...to kill Kane.

For all of Kane's bravado, knowledge, and seemingly endless backup plans. He was never able to handle or predict when those most loyal to him, would turn against him. So he caught totally unprepared when Sheng took advantage of the chaos with GDI, to stage a coup against Kane. He failed to eliminate that bald bastard, but he took much of the Brotherhood with him, and many converts to the new 'Human Hive'' with him to the planet. As well as most of NOD's Tiberium stores. While Kane may wish to follow the Jericho accords  Sheng has no such desire. He will use Tiberium to its fullest extent, and push himself and his Hive to limits even the 'messiah' never thought of.  The remnants of NOD are the only thing he believes can stand in his way, everyone else is inconsequential. Kane would very much like to show Sheng what he did to the last person that thought they could betray him and take over NOD.

Basic Character idea for this RP/Also doubles as an Example of the post I'd use to start off this roleplay :)

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

The winds were quiet today. The field was empty and for the first time in a week since she'd started her solo, long range recon patrol, Monica finally found a nice spot to lay back and put her feet up. To sit alone and think....to really put things together.

She'd done it many times now, it most started becoming how she set her own internal clock to know what time of the month it was. Despite how much things could hurt, or how much she'd push her body on patrols, she still couldn't believe how the dice had rolled and where destiny took her. Even before the Unity mission, before the Rio Insurrection, before all of that.

Shit, life had dealt her a bad hand before she'd even been born, and made sure she understood that her life wasn't going to be easy....not by a long shot.

Monica rolled the little, green, iridescent shard of crystal in between her gloved fingers. Flipping it around as if she were performing a coin trick for herself. It was fascinating how the light of Alpha Centauri's sun reflected in it, rays of green light seeming to cascade down upon her and through her visor. The crystal shards seemed to pick up on sunlight in Alpha Centauri better than it did for Sol. It was like it was a natural crystalline version of photosynthesis....

But then again, nothing was really natural about Tiberium. No more natural than the tumors she once had in her body. Even if it had benefited her now, the cost of it all was too high.

Even when she was a girl Monica knew that. Working in the slums of Brazil, shivering with her parents and siblings in the cold and stinking favelas and praying that the Ion storms wouldn't get too bad that night. Or that her own Tiberium sickness would stop making her cough so much.

'Just pray to Kane sweetie. All thing are made good and renewed with our Messiah. The pain you feel is only the weakness leaving your body. The ending of pain and the beginning of joy and faith." Her mother had told her, clasping their hands together as they implored her to pray. Each and every day it was the same. How the messiah had come, how the crystal was what would renew mankind and lead it to something even greater than salvation, Ascension. Even as it grew like the tumors on the back of her neck, that threatened to either give her a hunchback, or infect her spinal chord.

Everywhere she looked the Tiberium tumors grew....on people....on their hearts and souls...on the very Earth itself.  Yet so many were happy to embrace it, to accept it an everything that it had to offer, all the while it killed everything slowly.

'Its so useful!"

"It lets us have energy without oil!"

'It has improved the sciences!"

"It can be smelted down into anything we want!"

"So what if it started a world war? Those old countries were useless anyway. Its so much easier now with only two political groups."

"What has Democracy ever done for us that NOD doesn't do better?"

"I hate those GDI imperialists, but at least they do more than talk, unlike the UN."

Everyone she knew seemed to find the crystal and its influence a useful convenience. The more convenient it was the more they wanted to use it and spread it around. The only ones that didn't want to see it spread were the ones everyone hated. The environmentalists, the scientists who screamed how it was a poison from beyond Sol, and of course the oh so reviled Global Defense Initiative.

The imperialist peacekeepers that everyone in the Yellow Zones hissed at, even when they brought in the Red Cross, or delivered food and medicine.

Her family tried not to judge her too much when she found her way to the GDI outreach programs, but the rest of the favela did. How dare she go to their schools? How dare she accept their MREs and care packages? How dare she even wave to the peacekeepers!? But she did it anyway. The worse her sickness got, the less he cared what others thought about her. If she wanted to go to GDI and get schooling then that was her choice!

But of course....nothing is for free. Much as she was hoping that maybe one of the humanitarians would give her medicine to clear up her sickness, that wasn't going to happen. Even if the tumors weren't near her spine, surgery to get them out was difficult and GDI wasn't willing to pony up the kinds of medical facilities that could pull them (and the Tiberium shard slowly growing inside of her and converting the calcium in her body to more Tiberium) out. Not when The Brotherhood of NOD could so easily blow them up. If she wanted a real chance at getting her tumors cut out (and that shard pulled) she'd need either a lot of money or to enlist for more than five years with GDI's military arm and they would be happy to fix her up.

Humanitarian efforts and winning hearts and minds were nice, but not when there was nothing to gain and the local populace would spit every good gesture back in their face. Or blow up their their buildings and kidnap staff for ransoms, or supplies to feed other NOD insurgents. It was a lost cause in the eyes of the GDI council to try winning people over, and so instead they took on a policy of containment for the Yellow Zones.

GDI had focused more on securing its holdings and placating the populace so that they wouldn't immediately join NOD or try to attack harvesting and cleanup efforts. Though by not pushing harder to win the hearts and minds of those that lived in the Yellow Zones of the Earth, they were only turning everyone against the Blue Zones and those privileged few that lived in luxury, drinking clean water and having uncontaminated food.

"So much for all of that." Monica smiled, currently surrounded by Tiberium crystals that were growing out of the ground of their new colony world like broken bones from human skin during a compound fracture. Despite GDI's best efforts, Earth was totally fucked. Even more fucked than her relationship with her family. Sure it had always been abit tense, especially as she got older, but it all came to a head when she'd gotten so angry at them for giving their money away to the church of NOD, even the money she had saved up from her own jobs to pay for a surgery or better medicines to keep her sickness at bay. In her fury Monica had kicked the table where they had a little shrine to Kane and knocked it over, leading her mother to slapping her across the face so hard it split her lip as she fell to the ground.

It wasn't the hit that hurt the most...it was the hate behind it.  Then her father had grabbed her hair and pulled her up to her knees.

"We are doing this for you! You need to learn to change your tone. I may not be able to provide much for you, but you will have faith in the Messiah, even if I have to beat it into you. When Ascension comes, you better have faith."

"Believe in what? A man? Lies from a church with blood on its hands?" She'd snapped, feeling so angry it was like the shard of Tiberium in her spine was glowing red hot.

"He is our Messiah! Or do you think he's just a double that GDI keeps killing? Or a clone? Or one of those other lies they feed you at those schools?"

"They feed me truth." She hissed as her hair was pulled harder.

"You're going to be sorry, girl." Her father said, grip loosening on her hair.

She'd be sorry, that much was inevitable, but not for what came next. As soon as they let her go, she scrambled to her feet, casting hateful looks to her brothers and sisters, as she went to her room, and took everything she could stuff into a single bag. She was 17, she was old enough to make her own decisions. The lower limit for GDI enlistment was 16 anyway.

Sure she could have swallowed her pride and tried harder to fit in. But Monica didn't want to end up like so many others in the favelas, either infirm and unable to move due to Tiberium growth, as a horribly disfigured mutant, or as some suicide bomber for some bald white bastard with a goatee, just because he had a messiah complex.

They never spoke to her after she marched her butt down to the GDI recruitment center and signed up for a 10 year term of enlistment, to begin immediately after she recovered from her surgery. But she didn't want to hear fucking thing from them then, or now.

The anger coursed through her as she squeezed a gloved hand down onto the crystal, and felt it give way beneath her. No ZOCOM raider should ever find anything good in Tiberium, only its usefulness and in how best to use it against Tiberium and those who spread it.

"And where are you all now?" She asked of the sky as she looked up to where Earth (and her family) might have been. They were still stuck on a dead world, while she was in a new star system, on a new planet, where mankind might have a fresh start...if they didn't ruin it all. They claimed that she'd end up signing her soul away with GDI. But really, GDI gave her a life. The surgeries worked, and even though she'd still get Tiberium sickness if she didn't keep up her meds, and was likely to get osteoporosis in her old age, she wouldn't even be alive now if she hadn't signed that contract. It was more than worth it.

"ZOCOM Central to ZOCOM-SLRRP 627. Please report in." Her helmet radio barked, snapping Monica out of her thoughts, and she pressed a single finger to the side of her helmet.

"ZOCOM-SLRRP 627, reading you ZOCOM Central. Situation is normal. No issues, though unregistered Tiberium deposits have been found. I've marked them on my tac-pad and will upload them to the EVA net once patrol is finished. Going to give it one last pass then head back to Tyche Station. ZOCOM-SLRRP 627, out."

Monica rose up from the field of Tiberium around her and started to dust off any shards that had fallen on her. At least being exposed to so much Tiberium and being sickened by it at a young age had an advantage to it. She wasn't going to just melt from being within a field of Tiberium. Being a mutant had its perks sometimes. At least....she wouldn't melt so long as she didn't spend more than four or five hours in a field.

Now back on her feet Monica stretched out and had her jump jets warm up, and reared up to leap into the air. The servos in the hips and knees of her suit helped her jump up like a basketball player, before the flash of energy from her jets carried her forward and across the field of Tiberium. She loved being ZOCOM. Loved the feeling of flying in the air, the strength her armor gave her, and knowing she was really making a difference when she called in a Tiberium deposit that had to be destroyed, or took out NOD or Human Hive insurgents. Sure. Maybe there was a cease fire now, but it was only a matter of time till the shooting started up again. Till then Monica felt like an angel.

Sometimes she let her jets carry her, other times she jumped from one clear spot in the deposit to another. Flying just felt so good. It was a far cry to her first real combat experience after her surgery. She'd recovered and finished her training for a GDI rifle squad, just in time for the Rio Insurrection to begin.

NOD had been quiet since the Second Tiberium War, but when they were quiet it was just to gather strength, and when they struck, it was fast and fierce. They were like hornets, hitting from everywhere at once, until the Brazilian Yellow Zone and anything remotely friendly to GDI was under threat.

Monica didn't have her wings then. She was just a ground pounder and had to beat feet with the rest of em, fighting block by block, street by street, and room by room, to retake Rio from NOD. The first six weeks actually went well (contrary to what the talking heads on GNN news and what history books said). They were even able to set up a few Green Zones and keep the loyalists to GDI safe and sound. Sometimes she even snitched on those in her old favela she knew were loyal to NOD. If only it had stayed like that.

Six weeks was what it took for the insurrection to turn into a real battle. Six Months was what it took for GDI to realize it was a lost cost, and begin pulling out. Rio, and Brazil in general belonged to NOD. With the last GDI base closed there was no one left to fight the Brotherhood of NOD, and the scorpion tail flag flew over Monica's birth place.

Monica was sure her parents were praising their false Messiah even as the last GDI ships and planes took off, and cursing her name. But fuck the Yellow Zones. The loss of her old home and lodgings meant that GDI had to find new lodgings for her. Monica ended up hitting the jackpot as they gave her a new posting in an actual blue zone. Sure it was in Argentina, but it was still a blue zone, and that meant she could enjoy pleasures that no one else in her family got to have. There was nothing like taking a nap in a public park, on actual living grass!

Of course she still had 9 years left of service to GDI, and she was more determined than ever to defend the territories of GDI from NOD incursions. She worked harder every day, foolishly thinking she could one day apply for Ranger School. Oh how naïve she was. Mutants like her don't go to Ranger School. They go to ZOCOM Recruitment.

That was how she earned her wings. By a quirk of the genetic lottery, and by showing she was willing to push herself to the limit, till they made her one of the Girls in Gray. By the time she left ZOCOM training, she found a place with the 145th ZOCOM Reclamation Brigade. The Bug Stompers.

With a hard landing Monica hissed as she felt an ache in her ankles and fell to one knee, the Tiberium field obscuring her body as she rubbed her joints. Shit...maybe her bones were getting ready to fail her now? She had to spend a good fifteen minutes rubbing herself to get the proper feeing back in her joints, when she spotted the sight of three black and red vehicles just outside of the Tiberium field. They were traveling along a faded dirt path, kicking up clouds of dirt in their wake. They were heavy personnel carriers, bearing official NOD markings, and Monica didn't fancy being seen by them. Cease-Fire or not, if she was killed out here no one would be around to claim her till NOD had plausible deniability. 

She hunched low, and dimmed the power output to her jets, looking in between the big clumps of crystal, as she let her eyes adjust to the reflections of the three vehicles through the tiberium. Just as she'd learned to do with ZOCOM, for operations behind the line into Brazil, or even into the Red Zones, and later on when she was reassigned to New Eden in Germany.....New Eden...Michael.

Shaking her head slowly Monica refocused her attention on the small convoy, unslinging her rifle from her back and pondering how long she should wait before reporting the convoy in. This was far from NOD and the DMZ. What were they doing here? Or was it more of NOD's rebellious children in the Human Hive? An insurrection within the insurgents, the irony would be sweet if the Hive wasn't more ruthless than NOD, and far more deranged.

She studied the convoy as it started to pass by, and did her best not to let her mind wander back to Germany. She asked God to please let her just focus on mission, and her prayer was answered when a NOD pattern RPG soared above her head, and struck the lead armored vehicles in the side, making its driver lose control as it turned left, then right, then flipped over onto its side when another shot came out from the other side of the dirt road. There would be no survivors in the front vehicle, while the central one slammed into it. The rear armored vehicle stopped and NOD soldiers dropped out. Two of them wearing the dark and crimson armor of the Black Hand. Kane's chosen elite.

The fighting was quick, dirty, and the attackers on the other side of the field rushed out, a dozen riflemen and RPG men strong. While from down the Road came tow Attack bikes, loaded to bare.

It wasn't Monica's fight and she was ready to lie still and enjoy the show, when she heard the rustling of gear from behind her.

Four sets of footprints came from behind Monica, yet the Tiberium gave her cover and concealment as four Human Hive members came out. Two carrying RPGs, two more carrying rifles, and began to open up on the NOD Survivors. With the lead vehicle totalled, the center one stuck, and the rearguard being engaged, that left the four next to Monica more free to take their time and pick off targets.

Monica didn't have to do a single thing. They hadn't noticed her. Tiberium Freaks always thought the crystal favored them. She could just...sit back... But already she was flicking the safety off her rifle. Michael had almost been lost in an attack a lot like this when they first met.

No point in bullshitting herself. Decisive action was what got her through her raids in Germany, were what kept the New Eden Blue Zone safe. She struck like an angry valkyrie back then, making sure insurgents had nowhere safe to rest their head. And she did the same here.

"Let's Shut this party down!" She broadcast on open comms, as she popped out of from behind the Four Hivers. One of them actually turned to look at her, and received five rounds rapid of 10mm rifle rounds. If Monica had known she'd be the only GDI in  heavy firefight, she would have loaded up with the explosive tipped caseless rounds. But no ZOCOM trooper would ever be caught dead without grenades, and some sonic disks.

Ratat-tattat. Ratat-tattat Ratat-tattat. She cut down each Hiver with control, rapid fire bursts. Each round punched right through the armor of the Hiver and shredded their vital organs. It felt good, and she was firing and relocating between the crystals, avoiding the weaker deposits for the ones that could take a few rounds and give her cover while she opened the metal tube on the bottom of her rifle to launch a grenade arching up into the air, or to toss a sonic disc that could burst the eardrums of the Hivers, or shatter their cover. Even on Alpha Centauri Tiberium couldn't handle high pitched, high powered, sonic blasts. If only Earth knew of that in the first years of Tiberium.

The Hivers were focusing more on killing the guards around the convoy, firing RPG after RPG at it, and only occasionally turning their attention to Monica. Whoever or whatever was in it was worth risking their own lives for, and Monica was going to punch their tickets. ZOCOM fought in Tiberium like no one else, not even NOD, and for the past 10 years Monica had made it her passion. Ever since New Eden.

Germany, New Eden. The Blue Zoners had accepted her as one of their own. Didn't matter her skin color was different, or that she spoke more English and Portuguese than she did German, or that she'd been a mutant or from a Yellow Zone. She was GDI now and that meant she deserved respect and welcome. Those open arms made her proud of something for the first time in her life. Proud to be GDI, proud to be ZOCOM. It wasn't just about personal payback against NOD anymore, now she had something to fight for. And in time she'd have someone to fight for.

ZOCOM wasn't the only one operating in New Eden. The Steel Talons, the premier Mech unit of GDI was there as well. New Eden was too precious to lose, and too tempting a target for NOD to pass up. Which meant both units had to deploy outside of New Eden. They had to journey into the Yellow and Red Zones in order to hunt NOD. It was hard fighting even before the Third Tiberium War broke out, and plenty of both units were lost. Michael Wagner had been ambushed from all around with two other Wolverine Mechs from his unit being taken out before they could fire a single shot. He'd called out for help, and gotten an Angel named Monica dropping down to help him.

Thoughts of Michael burned in her heart, as she mowed down two more Hivers, just as the last remaining NOD guards opened up as well, but they were providing covering fire for someone else. Someone wearing a hood of one of the senior NOD clergy slipped out the back of the last remaining vehicle, and took off running towards the Tiberium field. Their head was covered and their features were obscured by the hood, but Monica could tell that it was a man, thin, tall, and they were running for her like their life depended on it....was that?....No that couldn't be. Life wasn't like that, life wasn't that kind, especially not to her.

She loaded another grenade in and began to fire at the remaining Hivers as they cut down the last NOD guard. Even if this was a NOD clergyman, she couldn't leave them to die. She stuck to her guns no matter what....that was why Michael loved her so much. She refused to leave him behind even when NOD militiamen were swarming all over his damaged mech, like ants on a dying bird.

Monica never left anyone behind, not even bodies of comrades if she could help it. That led to her becoming quite famous for a few news segments on GNN, to which Michael liked to tease her as being ZOCOM's Poster Girl. She hated it, but she knew he did it out of love.

That love kept her going all through the Third Tiberium War, and even the Scrin invasion....she could still remember her first social, civilian, dinner party. Michael had helped her find a dress for it (That wasn't her dress blues or something illfitting), so she could fit in with the other Blue Zoners. And after dinner Michael asked her to speak with him on a balcony, overlooking New Eden, with the stars above them. The week before NOD Triggered TIB War 3 was one of the happiest weeks of her life. That was the last time they were truly together without their armor, and when Michael had asked Monica if she would like to stay with him in Stuttgart for the rest of their lives. She smiled when he'd asked it of her, shedding tears of joy. But now she only remembers the tears.

Every year it got worse, because whenever she thinks of that memory, she can't help but think of how the next time she saw him, was their last. Operation Resolute Shield.....a broken shield. Holding back NOD from the Rocky Mountain Research Facility. Something classified was held there, and Kane wanted it.


'This is MARV-025 We're going down. The fuel cells are bursting and we can't hold on. We're gonna try to take that monster with us. The Earth Will be Ours Again!" The MARV pilot shouted as their vehicle gunned it towards their NOD's newest MECH. The Redeemer. It was bigger than anything NOD or GDI had ever fielded before. The MARV was no slouch, all of NOD had used to fear it and its sonic weapons. But they practically bounced off the redeemer, and even when it exploded right next to the demon, it marched right on through. It was scorched, smoking and with dented armor, but now GDI had nothing which could stand against it. Save for a few brave idiots from the Steel Talons who tried to slow it down.

"Steel Talons Never Retreat!" Michael had said, the autocanons on his Wolverine Mech firing endlessly, to the point that the barrels were glowing red hot. Monica had been painted onto the side of his mech by this point. A sultry woman in red with her wings visible as she lay on her side, with the words 'Miss Fortune' written beneath her in flowing red script. It was how Monica knew it was him, when the Redeemer swatted his mech aside like an unwanted toy and sent it tumbling away with such a hard crash that Monica's mind knew he was dead, yet she still abandoned her position to get to him.

She didn't want to accept reality, and fought her way into the NOD lines, killing anything that got in her way, even as s a few shots got through her armor.  She had to know he was okay. She couldn't leave him behind!

Michael had been there, his canopy glass completely shattered, as he hung limp in his seat, the straps keeping him from falling to the ground.

Monica had cut him down, and laid him on the ground while she worked to take his helmet off. But he didn't move, didn't speak, and his head wasn't at the right angle.

"Baby! No...No nononon. Michael! Don't do this to me! I need you to wake up...no." She held his head in her hands thumbs running across his lips, looking into empty eyes that would never see again, feeling how she trembled as she looked at how his neck was broken. It was at a nearly full 90 degree turn, his spine had been crushed like glass and his neck was already turning a horrible bruised color, as the cells in his body had yet to realize he was dead. At such an angle that his death must have been instantaneous, seen from a distance, Michael almost looked surprised to be dead. 

Monica refused to leave him, there. He deserved a burial, and some part of her still refused to believe he was dead. Dozens and dozens of NOD militia had come for her, firing their guns, trying to get in close and maybe take her alive. She'd emptied every last round of her rifle, tossed every grenade, launched her last micromissile, and sonic weapon. She was down to her pistol and a knife, and she refused to give even an inch of ground. But it wasn't up to her. The rest of her Zone Raider squad came to get her, one trooper grabbing each arm as others provided cover fire. They snatched her away and too her up into the sky, away from her fallen man, as the NOD cultists swarmed over him and his mech, ready to pick everything clean like the carrion eaters that they were.

"No! No Let me go! Michael! Michael!"

His body had been mutilated by NOD. And she wasn't even able to get vengeance, as this was the last true conflict between GDI and NOD. Kane had what he wanted from the facility. The Tacitus, some kind of device with infinite processing power, and he called for a cease fire that would eventually lead to the Unity mission to Alpha Centauri. To Monica following in hopes of getting combat again....to Monica being at the right place at the wrong time.

Her blood ran so hot in her veins she saw only red near the corners of her eyes. The Remaining Hivers gave Monica their full attention. They wanted her and the clergyman dead. Good thing...because she wanted them dead even more.

"Die, die goddamn you!" Monica screamed as she held the trigger down. The rifle chattered with prolonged burst as she mowed down another of the Hivers and jumped up into the air, the height advantage letting her get a good angle to fire another grenade off right into their formation.

The last grenade wiped them all out, and Monica let her jets cool and bring her down slowly, within ten meters of the panting hooded man, who quickly recovered and rose to his full height, hands out to his side palms out to show he wasn't armed.

They were alone now, in a field of bodies, smoking vehicles, and Tiberium. A soldier of GDI and a clergyman of NOD. Neither one spoke and the silence was heavier than the gunfire had been mere moments ago.

The hooded clergyman looked to Monica, head tilting ever so slightly as they took in the appearance of her, studying her and gauging their chances of survival, especially as she turned to face him, weapon held in his direction. She stepped close enough for him to hear her without the need to shout.

"Hood. Drop the Hood. I need to see your face." She ordered, her rifle still held on him, and pointed to his guts.

She knew full well who he was, but she still needed to see, she needed proof. A part of her had actually hoped it when she saw their face covered by the hood. You can't always have what you want, but sometimes the universe is fickle, not kind, but fickle. Especially when it takes so much from you.

Some part in her heart, that refused to ever heal or just die, had hoped that maybe Michael would be miraculously under that hood and she'd learn that he faked his death to infiltrate NOD, or some other inane justification out of a movie. No...thats not who this man was.....he was the longest lived bastard the human race had ever seen. A man who had been killed more times than Rasputin. The monster that had been beaten, shot, stabbed, blown up, burnt up, sniped through the head, killed by carbombs and even once hit by an orbital strike. This was the one whom carried the same name as the First Murderer.

The soothsayer of Tiberium.

The father of NOD.

The so called Messiah.

"I am Kane."

The bald man said as he lowered his black hood. He moved with all the honor, purpose, and importance of the Pope. With eyes as gentle as a psychiatrist, a smile like that of a car salesman, and an aura around him that weighed down on Monica as if she'd suddenly been in the deepest part of the ocean, being crushed by all the pressure of an entire planet.

"Thank you for helping me, miss Traca." Kane said, reading her last name on her armor. God how she wished it read Wagner. Kane stepped forward, hands open as if he were about to begin a sermon of some sort. His words were honeyed and his charisma warred with the feelings inside of Monica.

"I was on my way to speak with your leader, Pravin Lal. High level talks, I thought that the Human Hive had no idea about our meeting but I was mistaken. I will be sure to mention your bravery to GDI, as well as to my people in NOD territory. They will know GDI has done us a good turn today. You have my word." He said with a seriousness that he rarely used with anyone from GDI. Kane had not gotten this far, and lived this long by antagonizing those who might be in a position to end him, at least not when he didn't have an escape plan...which he did not today.

Monica took a single step towards Kane, eyes locked with his, and Kane could see hatred rarely ever seen in humans. A fury hotter than the sun, but as controlled and directed as a blowtorch.

"And Kane said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.... And Kane went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the East of Eden." Monica said, fire burning in her eyes hotter than liquid Tiberium when set on fire. Her thumb flicked a switch upon her gun, turning it to Full-Auto while her arms raised it level with Kane's chest. He was immortal. So what was the harm in emptying a magazine or two into him?....fuck the cease fire. She'd come to kill NOD and what greater NOD target was there than their 'messiah' himself?

Kane and his followers ruined the Earth...he ruined her family. She lost Michael thanks to his orders. If he really was the biblical Kane, the first murderer, then what was the harm in dispensing justice? He more than had it coming! She could be judge, jury, and executioner right now and no one would ever doubt her. Only God could judge her!

Kane seemed to look at her for a moment, his expression halfway between anger, and understanding. He held his arms out and turned his head up, as if looking at the sun.

"I am but a fugitive and a vagabond on the Earth. And it will happen that anyone who finds me shall kill me." Kane finished the biblical quote that so many of GDI associated with him, and never once flinched or made a move as he waited to see what Monica would do, and mentally braced himself to be shot....again....how many times was it now?

Monica pulled the trigger, and held it down. The gun rattled and shook in her grip the muzzle flash left stars in her eyes, and the spent brass clattered to the ground around her, bouncing off her armor and off of the green crystals around her.

The Tiberium shards around Kane were all shattering under the hail of gunfire, some of it landing on his robes and bouncing off to land back on the ground. Yet not a single round hit him, and while Kane did tense up, he did not flinch.

The sound of a magazine hitting the ground told Kane that she was done with her tantrum. She slapped a fresh one in, let out a breath and let the rifle hang at a half ready stance as she used her left hand to indicate for Kane to turn around.

"Hands behind your head, NOD." She said the word as if it were an insult.

"I'm taking you in. You're Pravin Lal's problem. Not mine. You can call your people to pick you up when you get there, but I'm not taking you in without some zipties on your wrists." She said as she moved in and began opening up one of her many pouches. Sure bringing Kane to a GDI outpost trussed up like a prisoner would look bad and make some of the politicians mad, but the alternative would make 'Political Shitstorm' look like an understatement. At least ZOCOM would have quite the story about her now. Recruitment might even get a boost.

"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly father will also forgive you." Kane smiled and said under his breath, obeying and giving no struggle as his hands were secured and zip tied behind his back. Traca...he'd have to remember that name.

Almost ten thousand years and mankind still surprised him.