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Third Tiberium War

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Third Tiberium War
Nod nuclear missile fired at GDSS Philadelphia.
Nod nuclear missile fired at GDSS Philadelphia.
Chronology
Previous
Next
Details
Start Date

2047 - Destruction of the Philadelphia

End Date

2049 - Battle of Ground Zero

Location

Worldwide

Battles

List of Major Battles

Outcome
  • GDI military victory
  • Nod in control of Italian Threshold Tower
  • Scrin harvesting force routed
  • Some Blue Zones became Red Zones or Yellow Zones
  • Nod reclaims the Tacitus
Belligerents
Commanders
Casualties

Heavy

Very Heavy

Near total (all Scrin on earth died after Relay Node was destroyed while only the Foreman's mothership escaped)

The damage is too extensive!
Third Tiberium War has been marked for cleanup. Reason:
History needs to be summarized like the examples in Third World War (Red Alert 3): provide synopses here and link to the battle articles.
Please refer to the talk page for further discussion.

The dust has barely settled on the Third Tiberium War, the most recent conflict between GDI, the Brotherhood of Nod and for the first time an extraterrestrial race, the Scrin.

Contents

[edit] Background

Contrary to popular belief, Kane was not killed in the end of the Second Tiberium War, but merely incapacitated by Michael McNeil, with his body later retrieved by CABAL cyborgs and placed in a statis tube for regeneration. CABAL, lacking Kane's guidance, turned against humanity in what is known as the Firestorm Crisis. The AI core was destroyed by combined Nod and GDI forces, but his primary cluster remained untouched, where Kane was stored. CABAL attempted to merge with Kane's mind, but the Prophet resisted and defeated CABAL, reshaping him, giving birth to a completely new form of intelligence.

Kane would continue to remain in stasis until 2034, when his body was reconstructed to the point it could live without relying on external support. CABAL's machines also managed to reconstruct Kane's facial disfigurement, a wound from the First Tiberium War when the Temple of Nod was incinerated by an Ion Cannon blast. The Nod leader emerged into a world where the Brotherhood was in shambles, scattered and leaderless. His chosen heir, Anton Slavik, was killed by a fanatical Marcion follower and the latter went into self-imposed exile in Australia.

Seething with anger, Kane activated LEGION and ordered him to incite rebellion in Rio to rally Nod's followers. The ruse worked, as the disillusioned populace rose up against GDI forces and even the rogue Nod forces in the area were beaten into submission. With some basic support estabilished, Kane dispatched LEGION and a sizeable Nod force overseas to Australia, with two basic objectives: securing a complete copy of Brotherhood Archives captured by GDI in the end of the Second Tiberium War, undergoing research and bringing brother Marcion back into the fold. Both of these objectives were achieved, despite significant presence of the Steel Talons battalion and fanatical resistance from Marcion's Black Hand.

Brother Marcion's capture provided Kane with an important asset - a figurehead that would rally Nod's follower back under his banner and the Black Hands considerable arsenal and intelligence databanks, providing basis for further expansion of Nod's arsenal. At this point, the LEGION was shutdown, in order for Nod researchers to upgrade and expand it's processing capabilities.

The thirteen years that followed were bountiful for Nod, as they maintained a low profile in GDI's eyes all the while the latter grew weaker and weaker, overly dependent on their Orbital Defence Matrix. By 2047 60% of GDI military bases world wide were shut down worldwide in order to cut costs and enable greater focus on the effort to curb Tiberium infection.

While individual nation states still existed, they were essentially of no importance, GDI having consolidated its power. With Nod's power seemingly diminishing, GDI leaders became complacent, phasing out many of the organization's older and more experimental forms of military equipment during the decade following the Second Tiberium War (including most walkers, disruptors, most hovering vehicles, and the Firestorm shields). GDI now considered Tiberium to be a higher priority than the Brotherhood. However, this temporary period of peace was soon revealed to be an illusion.

Meanwhile, the Brotherhood of Nod operated virtually unopposed in Yellow Zones, with propaganda and relief efforts constantly increasing popular support for the organization. Unnoticed, they constantly enlarged their arsenal and researched new technologies, becoming an underground, invisible superpower dwarfing their past achievements.

[edit] The War

[edit] The Brotherhood Strikes Back

Following the Second Tiberium War and ensuing Firestorm Crisis, GDI took the threat of Nod less seriously, assuming that the second defeat of Kane would lead to peace. As Nod recruitment fell and the Brotherhood began abandoning bases, GDI analysts predicted years of peace. GDI's leadership, ignoring the voices of a small but vocal minority, such as Jack Granger and Nick Parker, cut defense funding, shifting GDI's focus to the containment of Tiberium.

In 2047, while most of GDI's leadership was attending an energy summit aboard the space station Philadelphia, InOps detected renewed activity from the Brotherhood, with a suicide bombing leading the Commander of the Northeastern Blue Zone on a scouting mission in the North Carolina badlands. This turned out to be much more than a mere random attack, as GDI uncovered a large Nod base in the area. The commander was authorised to use an Ion Cannon to destroy the base, with Pentagon officials beginning to realise that Nod was planning something.

Kane has been planning the Third Tiberium War ever since he was staked by McNeil in his own pyramid in Cairo, but the plan to cripple GDI by destroying Philadelphia was the brainchild of General Kilian Qatar. Kane approved of that idea, and the preparations for the invasion of Blue Zones was underway. The first priority was disabling the ion cannon network, and for that, LEGION was reactivated and sent with an elite detachment to Johannesburg in South Africa, to acquire the orbital access codes and then to America, where it struck against the GDI Treasury, forcing Redmond Boyle, an incompetent politician, to remain planetside. Kane wanted him to lead GDI, as his incompetence and love for media attention was essential to Kane's plans.

At roughly the same time as the North Carolina battle was being fought, the Nod Commander assaulted Goddard Space Center, the command center of GDI's A-Sat defensive systems. With Fanatics, Militia, and elite Shadow Teams, the Commander quickly demolished the base, taking the Ion Cannon network and GDI's missile defenses offline. Kane was pleased in the Commander's masterful victory, and allowed him to launch a nuclear missile at the crux of GDI's leadership; the GDSS Philadelphia.

As stunned GDI officials in the Pentagon could only watch, the Philadelphia, holding GDI's most important civilian officials, was destroyed. Horrified newscasters, at a loss to explain the accident, were interrupted by Kane, revealing himself to the world yet again, and issuing a declaration that the Blue Zones would run red with GDI's blood. Right on cue, Nod forces worldwide launched assaults on every GDI controlled territory, meeting little to no resistance at first.

[edit] Initial Stages

During their assaults against the Blue Zones, Nod experienced tremendous successes. Reykjavik fell, and soon the only GDI base with Central Command capability was the Pentagon, in Blue Zone B-2. The Commander of the Goddard Raid was quickly sent to Washington, D.C., destroying Andrews Air Force Base, capturing Hampton Roads and the White House, and wiping out a GDI force holding out North of D.C. The Commander was recalled, and silently sent to Brazil, while GDI planned a counterattack.

The GDI's commander was first tasked with protecting the Pentagon, the last bastion of GDI military command. The GDI garrison in Washington was successful in securing the Pentagon, and then moved to push Nod out of the Washington Blue Zone. GDI managed to save Langley Air Force Base and recapture Hampton Roads, restoring GDI air power and cutting off additional Nod reinforcements. With the Nod forces crippled and confused, GDI quickly moved to retake the White House, successfully turning the battle back in favour of GDI.

Meanwhile, Michael McNeil and his 22nd Infantry Division spearheaded the rescue of Doctor Takeda and the recovery of GDI's San Diego Naval base.

Thanks to GDI's success in Washington, GDI forces around the world began to simultaneously push Nod out of the Blue Zones, giving them time to reorganize and lick their wounds. Treasurer Redmond Boyle, now the highest ranking GDI official, was now promoted to Director-General. He promised the public a swift and absolute victory over Nod, though GDI General Jack Granger was more sceptical.

[edit] Nod Operations in Brazil

Following the GDI route in Washington, Nod forces in South America braced for GDI retaliation. GDI attacked a suspicious Nod Lab in Brazil, leading Kane to send the Commander to defend it. The Commander quickly turned the tide and destroyed a nearby GDI base, allowing the scientists in the lab to complete components of a secret Tiberium weapon Kane was developing; a Liquid Tiberium Bomb. Kilian Qatar expressed doubt as to why Kane hid that part of the plan from her.

The Commander then secured transportation out of South America, and destroyed a group of GDI artillery sites keeping Nod from evacuating the Liquid Tiberium components to Sarajevo.

[edit] The Campaign for Egypt

This is payback for all those who died aboard the Philadelphia!
- GDI Soldiers, swearing vengeance for GDSS Philadelphia's destrucion
Predator Tank, photographed near Cairo.

Acting on intelligence gained from Nod prisoners, Granger secretly sent a strike force to a Nod biochem plant in Casabad, in Nod-controlled Africa. The commander quickly met up with a squad of Zone Troopers investigating the plant, which was utterly destroyed by GDI. Intelligence gleaned from the rubble revealed the Liquid Tiberium project to GDI, and the Commander was quickly sent to destroy the port of Alexandria, in an attempt to stop the export of the bomb to Sarajevo. Though stopping the export of components for the Liquid Tiberium Bomb failed, the port was destroyed and the Commander remained in Egypt for one more mission; the destruction of the nuclear missile facility in Cairo, where the strike that destroyed the Philadelphia was launched. GDI secured a victory, and confiscated or destroyed almost all of Nod's nuclear arsenal.

[edit] The Liquid Tiberium Question

With the successful export of the Liquid Tiberium components, the Nod commander was recalled to Eastern Europe. Meanwhile, GDI gained intelligence that Nod had constructed a new Temple Prime atop the ruins of their old temple, destroyed in the First Tiberium War. Most of GDI's resources were sent to combat this, at the behest of Boyle and to much protest from Granger, who considered Temple Prime a waste of time and manpower.

This mobilization allowed GDI to intercept an Armageddon bomber carrying the Brazilian weapons components, which the Nod commander was quickly sent to retrieve. Despite heavy resistance (including Mammoth tanks), the Commander managed to secure the components with Avatar Warmechs and delivered them to Temple Prime, which was besieged by a GDI force. Despite Kilian Qatar's pleas for reinforcements to Ayers Rock, Kane redirected all of Nod's assets including LEGION to defend Temple Prime. While the Commander held GDI forces at bay, these reinforcements showed up with LEGION, and quickly eradicated the GDI presence in the area. However, Temple Prime's defenders were stunned when the 'reinforcements' ordered that Kane stand down. The Commander was quickly ordered to save the base from attack, and defeated the renegade Nod troops. Kane quickly sent the Commander to Australia, to salvage what he could from Kilian's forces. LEGION's plan also included to steal Nod's plans for the Ion disruption towers to deliver the designs to GDI High Command and to add insult to Qatar..

Satellite view of the Ion Cannon blast that caused the Liquid Tiberium Explosion.

After establishing a foothold in Eastern Europe and destroying a large portion of Nod's vehicles in Albania, the GDI Commander had reached Temple Prime several days after the battle with the renegades. Though the temple had been greatly reinforced by this time, GDI forces slowly managed to topple the massive walls of Temple Prime, destroying special Ion disruption towers that were built to defend the base from space attack.

With GDI's A-SAT system back online, Director Boyle ordered Temple Prime to be wiped out in the same fashion it was in the First Tiberium War. General Granger argued against this, reminding Boyle that Liquid Tiberium was being kept in Temple Prime. Boyle overruled him, and the Ion Cannon quickly destroyed the temple. However, as Granger had feared, the Liquid Tiberium Bomb detonated spectacularly, showering most of Eastern Europe with deadly fallout. Despite millions of GDI, Nod, and civilian dead, Director Boyle quickly noted that Kane's reign of terror had finally ended.

[edit] The Scrin

I thought we are alone in universe?!
- GDI

[edit] Arrival

Scrin Shock Troopers.

After Temple Prime's destruction, and the Liquid Tiberium disaster, GDI deep-space satellites picked up motion on the edge of the solar system. This turned out to be a fleet of non-terrestrial ships, headed for Earth at "near-relativistic" speeds. Director Boyle ordered an Ion Cannon strike with the entire network of cannons, however, the craft merely dispersed into multiple smaller craft, landing in Red Zones across the world.

LEGION dealt with the local Traveler, who arrived and started to (with the help of their Prodigies) mind control the Nod supporting population in the Africa Red Zone. When LEGION start to destroy their Drone Ships, they brought in an Eradicator Hexapod as reinforcements. LEGION countered it by deploying a Redeemer. With the Eradicator and the Drone Ships destroyed, LEGION freed the population from mind control.

[edit] Nod's Last Stand

Although Kilian Qatar had been suspected of instigating the rebellion at Temple Prime, she became the de facto leader of Nod following the destruction of Temple Prime, Kane apparently having died. Despite misgivings, she recalled all Nod personnel to Australia, an act which Ajay called "our last stand". Determined to retake Earth one continent at a time, she sent the Commander and an elite detachment of Nod forces to hijack GDI's nuclear weapons, in transit from a base in the Outback to Sydney. Despite handily accomplishing his goal, the Commander could not rest, for as soon as the weapons were hijacked, the Scrin made planetfall in Australia. Despite heavy opposition by this strange new enemy, the weapons were secured.

Kilian Qatar had quickly joined forces with the commander of GDI's A-NZ forces against the invaders, agreeing to help them defend Sydney. This was met with anger by Ajay. Qatar revealed that she also planned to have the Commander steal the launch codes for the nuclear warheads Nod had stolen. The Commander did so, and sufficiently weakened the aliens to allow GDI to strike back. However, in the ensuing evacuation of Sydney, Nod forces covering the GDI retreat received messages from Kane. The eradication of GDI was ordered, and the Nod Commander used the nuclear weapons he had obtained to wipe out Sydney.

Kane quickly ordered Qatar's capture, and the Commander, granted access to only a single Avatar and a team of Saboteurs, successfully established a foothold south of Ayers Rock. Destroying Qatar's headquarters convinced her followers to repent; and the reunified Nod quickly destroyed a GDI force sent in retaliation for Sydney.

[edit] The Destruction of Eden

The Mothership was quite possibly the deadliest weapon fielded by the Scrin.

At the same time, New Eden, the crowning achievement of GDI's Tiberium eradication plan, and a vital research hub, fell to the invaders. Though Munich was destroyed, the GDI Commander managed to guide the researchers to safety, while discovering that Sonic emitters, designed for the destruction of Tiberium, had a powerful effect on the Scrin, damaging them severely. GDI set to work retaking the destroyed region, with a GDI commando, Fullerton rallying his outnumbered troops to victory at Stuttgart.

The momentum continued, with GDI striking back at Cologne, then moving to Bern. The city had been nearly wiped out, a giant crater full of blue Tiberium having apparently drawn the invaders to the city. GDI managed to defeat several alien bases, finally retaking New Eden.

[edit] The Italian Job

GDI intelligence confirmed that unbelievably, alien attacks on major cities were merely a diversion, while the aliens' true work, the construction of giant Thresholds had gone unnoticed.

A mammoth tank.

At the same time, Kane had Kilian executed, and revealed that he had intended for Temple Prime to be destroyed by an Ion Cannon. The resulting Liquid Tiberium explosion would draw the invaders to Earth, and the towers they were building were Kane's true objective.

Both GDI and Nod forces congregated in the Red Zones. Nod revealed that it had a special weapon to use against the Scrin; an altered Catalyst Missile, severely damaging to the invaders. Nod then captured a Nerve Center, gaining the codes necessary to enter the Scrin Thresholds. Then, in a well-coordinated strike with a minimum amount of forces, the Nod Commander used vastly larger GDI and Scrin armies against each other, eradicating a significant presence on what used to be the banks of the Tiber River.

However, the opportunity to seize a tower was beginning to run out for Nod, as the GDI Commander successfully destroyed one, rallying GDI forces throughout the Red Zones. As the towers fell, Nod's Commander was sent to what used to be Mediterranean Coast. He successfully managed to stop GDI's attempts to destroy the last tower, while the Scrin hastily completed it.

Meanwhile, at Ground Zero, The GDI Commander was sent on his most important mission; the destruction of the Scrin Relay Node, a structure that provided Alien forces worldwide with vitally needed radiation. Director Boyle, in hiding in Reykjavik, authorised the Commander to use a Liquid Tiberium weapon, built from confiscated Nod parts, to destroy the node, however, Granger disapproved, as it would both eradicate most of Europe and set a dangerous precedent. The Commander accomplished his mission. Alien units worldwide literally began to fall apart upon the destruction of the Relay Node.

[edit] The Alien Agenda?

Following the destruction of the relay node, Futuretech Labs scientists began sifting through the remnants of the aliens, in order to understand what exactly was being planned. During the investigation, the scientists began to piece together the seeming mission of the Scrin forces. While this is primarily speculation, many scientists concur.

The invasion was apparently being led by Foremen, roughly equivalent to human military commanders. These Foremen were caught off guard by Boyle's Ion Cannon strike, and were unprepared for hostile resistance. Upon landing, the Foremen were ordered by a Supervisor to set about lashing out at civilian targets, such as London. This was to divert human forces away from the construction of the Relay Node. The intensity of these attacks increased as the Scrin were met by human resistance that they were unprepared to face. The destruction of New Eden seems to be a result of this.

Scientists speculate that along with diversionary tactics, a Foreman was also tasked with investigating the Liquid Tiberium Explosion. For instance, after Temple Prime's destruction, an alien army pillaged what remained of Croatia, apparently scouring the remaining Nod forces in Eastern Europe for information about the deliberate detonation.

Finally, with GDI and Nod forces pushing deep into the Red Zones, the Scrin Foremen were in mortal danger. Apparently needing regular Tiberium infusions to stay alive, the Foreman abandoned his investigation regarding the Tiberium explosion to protect the last tower. Holding off a GDI assault, the Foreman's mothership was seen departing the only completed tower shortly before Nod forces seized it.

[edit] The Aftermath

With the Scrin attack halted and Kane having disappeared yet again, a lull settles over the world. However, following past events GDI InOps are wary to pronounce Kane dead. Kane's last movements were linked with the last remaining Scrin tower in Italy, which still stands, impervious to human attack. The Scrin, too, should perhaps not be presumed utterly defeated, as the Foreman (Scrin Commander) managed to facilitate a retreat before one of the Scrin towers were destroyed. Recent work by GDI operatives has revealed that the Scrin's devastating attack on Earth may not have even been an invasion attempt, but rather a mistaken effort to 'harvest' a deserted planet. If this is true, mankind may not have seen the last of the Scrin. GDI leaders can only assure the public that Earth will not fall in the face of an alien onslaught.

The war left Nod a shadow of its former self, as Nod was all but destroyed by GDI after the Battle for Ground Zero.

[edit] Resurrection

By the year 2052, Nod has retreated underground. Kane and the surviving members of the Brotherhood, armed with the knowledge of the Scrin, secretly plot the next phase of their plan, but they are missing one crucial element: the Tacitus.

LEGION was "resurrected" in 2052. Led by LEGION, the Marked of Kane cyborg army was activated in Operation Will Made Flesh. Nod forces including the Black Hand and the Marked of Kane conducted a joint operation against the GDI Tacitus Containment Facility in the Cheyenne Mountains, to retrieve the Tacitus before GDI destroys it. The Tacitus was regained, and Kane link the alien device up with LEGION. What happened afterward is still not yet understood, but LEGION seemed to be have been conveyed to the mysterious Scrin "Ichor Hub"

For now, the future remains uncertain...

Time will tell, sooner or later, time will tell...

[edit] Major Battles

Note: Missions from the game Tiberium Wars listed in rough chronological order. Missions marked (KW) are from the expansion Kane's Wrath.

[edit] Nod Reunification

See main article: Second Nod Reunification War

[edit] Prologue

Nod set in motion the last phase of the plan. GDI discovered Nod's objectives too late.

GDI

Nod

[edit] ACT I

Nod attacks GDI Blue Zones. The North Eastern Blue Zone on the eastern seaboard of North America was a primary target. Despite initial success, Nod was forced to retreat in the face of a GDI counter-offensive.

Nod

GDI

[edit] ACT II

Following the retaking of the NE Blue Zone, GDI went on an offensive in Egypt. Nod responded with a campaign in Brazil.

GDI

Nod

[edit] ACT III

GDI and Nod forces converged in Eastern Europe for a final battle around the Nod stronghold of Temple Prime, Sarajevo.

GDI

  • Battle of Croatia: GDI reclaims a base as a staging point to attack Temple Prime.
  • Mission to Albania: GDI raids a large Nod vehicle depot in preparation for the Siege of Temple Prime.

Nod

[edit] ACT IV

Drawn by the Liquid Tiberium explosion, Scrin forces landed on Earth, beginning the Invasion of Earth. GDI managed to liberate its Blue Zones from the Scrin, with some of the most brutal fighting taking place in Germany. Meanwhile, Kilian Qatar forged a brief alliance with GDI in order to save Australia from the Scrin invasion. The fallout between Kilian Qatar and Kane culminated in the former's capture and execution in the Battle of Ayers Rock.

Nod

  • Mission to the Outback: Nod take GDI's nuclear stockpile while fleeing rampaging Scrin invaders.
  • Battle of Sydney: Two-missions battle. GDI and Nod fight together against the aliens, trying to prevent them from entering Sydney. When this fails, both sides aid each other to evacuate the city before Kane resurfaces and orders a nuclear attack on the GDI base.
  • Hearts and Minds (KW): Meanwhile, LEGION saves a Yellow Zone city by killing Traveler-59 mind controllers and destroyed an Eradicator Hexapod that the Traveler 59 summoned
  • Battle of Ayers Rock: Kane's forces battles Kilian Qatar and the GDI at Nod's Australian HQ.
  • Tacitus Interruptus (KW): LEGION retrieved the Tacitus from China, but was deactivated before it can link up with it.

Scrin

GDI

[edit] ACT V

The Italian Campaign was the last campaign of the War. Nod, GDI, and Scrin forces converged on the Italian Red Zone, where Tiberium was first discovered.

Nod

Scrin

  • Battle for Kane's Tower: The battle to stop a formidable GDI army from destroying the Phase Generators. This is where Foreman 371 and the Nod Commander dueled with GDI on separate sides.

GDI

  • Battle of Rome: Destruction to one of the Scrin's Threshold towers by a famed commander.
  • Battle for Ground Zero: The final battle where a GDI assault team became heroes of the GDI and the World by terminating the Relay Node - and bringing the Scrin harvesting force crashing to the ground.

[edit] Post TWIII

After the end of the Third Tiberium War, Nod retreated underground to plot the next stage of their Ascension. Three years later, they struck.

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