Tiberian Ascension

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It used to be in the days of old that the woman's place was at home, rearing children and waiting for her man to come home. They must have had it pretty nice, Nie mused to herself with only the slightest twitches of her eyes to indicate she was even awake.

From head to toe she was covered save those emerald orbs that a few soldiers had grown fond of quite rapidly. Even her nose and mouth were kept obscured by way of dirty cloth to keep the dust out. She regretted not wearing her goggles, as if covering her eyes made any difference when even covered by baggy clothes and gear her chest was unmistakeable a womans.

"We got a medic. That's something new." One soldier chimed. With his sand hair and fair complexion he seemed the youngest of the trio that sat around her against the side of a gutted house.

Beside him knelt another, busy with what was likely the last piece of white cloth in Turkey. "Quit babbling you'll scare her off." Dark skin and a cropped haircut made him look older than he really was as he gently and with more manners than expected took Nieve's arm to tie the cloth around it.

"Really? You're giving her that?" The third and likely oldest scoffed, a veteran, or at the least a survivor. His mockery didn't hold up since he understood its merit. "You'll be lucky, Miss. They'll see that and hesitate." Whether they planned to use it for distraction later or not was beyond her.

With fingers encased in her gloves she tugged at his knot about her arm, loosening it just so. There was no mistaking the smile behind her eyes at the gesture. Not above using her gender for its perks she would still feel guilt if her actions brought anyone's death like a freight train.

The Red Cross on white stood out against the fatigues and stained clothes she wore like a sore thumb. It marked her as neutral if it came to it, spared a bullet. A quick and desperate flash of her GDI badge nestled between her breasts would do the trick as well, getting it out from the layers of clothing would be the hardest.

"Don't worry about it. This'll go quick and easy." His smile was young, too young, she thought. He belonged in college with a book under his arm, not a rifle.

Then again so did she.

While the three chattered her attention was elsewhere, the words distant despite their proximity. She was looking at the man who commanded them all, tall and broad not too far away. Without him this failed. Not far from him the man from before, Janek, she recalled correctly this time. Would things go poorly he seemed her best bet to get help from.
 
There were cues; somehow it seemed so artificial. In retrospect, it all makes sense; that such a small force would be directly overseen by the biggest name in the Brotherhood was absurd. It was a farce — the biggest bluff GDI had so wrongly called up to that point — and Slavik intended to remind them of the way of Nod with a lesson they'd not soon forget.


His dark, icy gaze loomed over the volunteers with a blatant expression of warning — there were those who decided at this moment they'd turn and flee the second they got out of the room. He opened his mouth, paused, and smiled horrifically, turning to interact with the display panel behind him. A simple diagram appeared, showing a very familiar escort compliment scattered across a few blocks on the other side of town. "Striking here would be fruitless, you know," Anton's strikingly articulate voice began.

He turned again to level his eyes on the crowd which had started to grow thick with armored footsoldiers. "I won't bore you with our philosophy — I'll let the war speak for itself today." The man's posture arched forward, has hands bracing over his workstation in the center of the room. "But the Brotherhood is awake, my friends. And it is fueled with fury. There will be a reckoning this new dawn, and another every sunrise that follows. Stay and quiver in your holes or make something of yourselves tomorrow — frankly, I don't care." His hand leapt out and made a harsh gesture towards the exit. "But if you fight with us today, you may find yourselves out of favor with those whom we put down. They have a way of making collaborators disappear, no less brutal than ours."

His arms spread apart and he stood upright, denoting the entire room. "You should think long and hard about whether you will be our warriors, our leaders, or our speakers. Leave silently and you may just come away unscathed, but I doubt that would last very long." He turns, effectively ignoring the crowd. "They always come back," he muses with a morbid chuckle.

"Behold our stinking, swinish foes — not this helpful bunch of doctors ..." He directed the display to a new diagram, one depicting the nearby region with a strategic overlay. To the untrained eye, even, it was clear that the Brotherhood was out of position. This territory had been surrounded entirely, with little more than a few miles to itself. Out west, there were several distinct UN entities, presumably strike-forces or forward operations facilities. "We intend to cut down the sapling before it thickens." His back still to the crowd, he smiled that mischievous half-smile that those with foul intentions often do. "EVA, tell them our chances. Elaborately."

The familiar voice came clear as day over the intercom, its total lack of tension a silent, haunting shriek that told of the weeks the Brotherhood's technicians spent ripping the AI apart to force it into submission. "Allied forces are concentrated and numerous; military history suggests opposition forces require superior numbers; opposition forces are discontinuous and under-supported. Allied forces are most likely to succeed." It was a right blitzkrieg by the sound of it.

"We will be raiding the airbase today. Some wolves managed to wipe out their headquarters last week, so they'll be in disarray and without support. We intend to be through with the skirmish by high noon." Slavik looked over his shoulder at those behind him. "Do not fail me." His eyes narrowed and he turned, Nie's armband finally catching his eye. "Those who survive may enjoy a tender hand. Those who fall will be martyrs."

 
The man was to the point, Janek reflected as him and the other volunteers mingled in assembly before Slavic. The Nod soldiers stood apart, standing in rapt attention. The man was a powerful orator, a force of personality that was easy to feel emboldened and empowered by strength of will alone. Considering the numerous empty promises GDI offered for aid and relief, the Brotherhood offered people a chance to take fate into their own hands, to feel powerful. He’d heard the rhetoric dozens of times before with his regular dealings with Nod, only it was never addressed to him and he’d never worked directly for Nod. This was a decidedly different set of circumstances, and he found himself admitting that it was hard not to hang off Slavic’s every word. That was a very dangerous thing, indeed.

The mention of the Wolves shot through Janek like a surge of electricity, giving him a sense of pride and accomplishment. It was strange to actually be acknowledged by Nod that you did something useful, despite fighting and dying for their interests so they didn’t have to. Words wouldn’t bring back the dead, but it was nice to be noticed. The display showed the airbase that had sent the Orcas to mop up Guther’s Wolves as they retreated from their raid, too damn costly of an exercise. Grim determination gripped Janek as his fist closed around his rifle’s strap. This would be his opportunity to get revenge for his fallen friends and comrades. Today was turning out to be much better than an isolated GDI convoy. Despite Janek’s conviction for not getting too involved with Nod’s politics, this was invigorating. Hell, he needed this. He would be Nod’s puppet, and willingly, if they gave him this opportunity.

For a fleeting moment, he almost felt bad about giving the Nod troopers a hard time earlier in the day. Almost.

The group started to set up to stage for mobilization, and Janek caught sight of the woefully out of place and idealistic medic. He approached her, pulling the scarf down from his face. “Quite the speech. How are you feeling about this?” he asked sincerely. “Look, you’ve dedicated yourself to protecting lives, and there’s a real chance this can all go wrong. Try not to do anything brave or heroic, no matter how much somebody needs you, because there’s a chance you’ll get killed, too. There aren’t enough people with your skills and compassion in this part of the world, so be careful, yes?”
 
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How a man was capable of causing both dread and inspiration with a single look was wholly beyond the young woman's understanding. The words made her want to rise up with a rifle in hand one moment and simultaneously curl into a ball like an insect before something so vast it's basic understanding simply couldn't comprehend.

Despite the heat that seemed to have her body in a perpetually damp state there was a shiver as the last line was delivered, as if it was meant for her. How grateful they were for the goggles on her forehead to shadow the fear that stung at the corners of her eyes.

Had she always been ahead of this crowd? Close enough to see the tiny dots upon that overlay? Maybe, the three men so rapt with her stood nearby giving thumbs up.

Two of them anyway.

Duty called and many set about with purpose to answer. Nieves not one of them quite yet. Without the direction she didn't move much but to be out of the way of those who knew their way. Like a beacon she took the mercenary's face with such detail compared to the crowds that moved around.

"Honestly?" Hesitation. Some looked at her as they hustled by, a few waving, others nodding their assent. She would be needed dearly very soon. "I'm terrified.."

While he spoke so kindly words that would be burned into memory she pulled the mask off the lower part of her face to avoid being muffled. An entire army's worth of testosterone assailed her.

"I'll try.. Never been in this sort of.. Combat?" Was war a better word? Skirmish? Assault?

Nie didn't voice her backup plan if things did go awry. Already a sheep in the den of wolves she didn't need anymore weight upon slender shoulders. "Thank you." Sincerity was so rare it felt like using it here would be like pouring water over hot asphalt, quick to dry and be gone. "Do you know where I should be then?" To ask anyone else seemed foolish, admitting to her ignorance of the situation as things rapidly got underway.
 
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"You aren't alone. I suspect before today, most of the volunteers in this room have never picked up a gun before. The smart ones will try to emulate the soldiers, at least." Janek said, glancing around at the milled faces. Most people seemed to have expressions of reverent awe. Was this how Kane was able to amass such a massive and militant following? Janek suspected he was looking at the faces of many new acolytes, who would gladly die in service to the Brotherhood. The though occurred to him that something in the projection, or even some infrasonic frequency was messing with people's minds. It was easy to control people if they didn't realize it was happening.

"What you'll want to do is make sure you keep that red cross on your arm displayed at all time and try not to lose it. Despite how the GDI bastards lord over us, they still respect what that means so if they see it, they aren't likely to shoot. For that reason, don't take up arms and shoot back unless you absolutely have to protect yourself or a casualty. You'll want to keep back in the rear, let the fighters go up ahead. Keeps you out of the line of fire for the most part, and you'll be able to keep an eye on how the battle's unfolding and where you need to go to tend to the wounded." He nodded to the front where Slavic was standing moments earlier. "He seems pretty sure this raid will succeed, and he's apparently the top of Nod's hierarchy. Him being here means he has a personal investment, so I think that bodes well for us not being simple cannon fodder... not like the group I've been fighting with for years. I know I can come across as a right bastard with a death wish, but I think you'll understand where that comes from after today." Janek said, reaching in his pocket for another cigarette and frowning. Only three left. He decided now was an occasion that didn't call for rationing, so he decided to light up regardless. "And don't worry, it gets easier, fighting I mean. It doesn't mean it's never not terrifying before the shooting starts... then it all kind of makes sense, and it's almost as if there's no time for fear. I'll be with the shock troops, since I'm one of the few people here who knows how to set a charge without turning himself and everyone else into a pile of dogfood. Hopefully I can count on you to patch me up if I catch a few stray rounds. Smoke?" He asked, offering one of his few remaining cigarettes.
 
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Aust stood in awe watching the man who gave even him mixed feelings, he trusted while not, he would be proud to fight for him but not let him get behind him, though it was quite obvious he wasn't going to be fighting, that's his job. Aust wasn't one hundred present sure about him but he liked him as an leader of sorts. Aust looked around at the many faces around him, he saw some people who looked fresh out of boot camp and some who have seen many fights himself included in that list. He looked to see some people becoming friendly with one another he almost felt left out.

Aust was looking for the interesting people as not many of the ones near him seemed all that interesting before spotting a pair off in their own group, they seemed much more capable than the other mercenaries. He made his way through the crowd to get to them, "Hello, you two ready for the fight, sorry if I interrupted anything."
 
Slavik's presence dampened the energy in the room, forcing intensity into the shadows, but those in uniform seemed to revel in it. Nonetheless, he eventually moved off, presumably to prepare his officers for tactical overview.

There was a familiar face that seemed especially bright; maybe it was how often he glanced at the opportunists, or just the way he seemed greener than the rest. The young man shuffled up to Nie and Janek, quiet despite his proximity, and filed out with them. Eventually, he spoke up, about the time the other uniforms were guiding everybody into transports. In particular, he spoke to Janek. "You really gave Tivan a bite to chew, huh? He fitted about it for hours. I heard you guys going at it even from the back of the kitchen."

While everybody settled into their seats, there was a lot of chatter about Slavik's inclusion of the local population in the skirmish; he was infamous for his unorthodox strategies, but nobody could guess why except to build support for future manpower. There was rumor about the budding commander from the Firestorm crisis whispering into Slavik's ear, but nobody could think of an ulterior motive.
 
It was surprising to have the young Nod trooper approach, a fresh-faced boy who looked like he'd just gotten the uniform and was proudly showing it off without knowing which end of the rifle killed people. Still, Janek knew it was unwise to judge someone from their appearance; one of the deadliest infiltrators he'd known was a 14-year-old girl named Heidi who could make it past just about any checkpoint and fortification and kill its inhabitants without anyone knowing something was wrong until a blade traced their throat. It was a bittersweet memory; the girl died a month short of her 18th birthday when her luck ran out, and the knife Janek had intended to give her now sat mounted in his boot. Heidi couldn't fight any longer, but her spirit would never be quelled.

The Czech man smiled at the newcomer. "Tiven, hm? I'll have to remember that. Problem with most of you uniforms is you rely on them to intimidate people, and don't know how to react when the populace doesn't cower. It's a guilty pleasure, I admit, but take a look around; when your world looks like this, you take entertainment where you can. Come, have a seat. You seem to be a decent sort. Do you have a name, or do they give you interesting code names that remind me of those movies my father used to show me as a kid?"

As the makeshift auditorium seats were filled, largely with volunteers and Nod soldiers sitting apart, but in a few instances there was intermingling. The mood of the room shifted considerably after Slavik had departed, like a heavy and ominous cloud had lifted and the general mood seemed to be much lighter. Janek sat with Nieves and the young trooper when another man approached, another one of the volunteers. Janek hadn't seen him before. Far too polite for his own good. Where has he lived these past few years? he thought, gesturing for the man to have a seat. Familiarity built bonds in the line of fire, and Janek fully intended to live through the upcoming assault on the airbase. He needed people to trust him to make that happen. "You didn't interrupt anything. I haven't seen you before, ever fought GDI or are you one of the really desperate ones, like that guy over there?" Janek gestured a few rows ahead to an overweight man, how such a thing was still possible with such scarce food was a wonder in of itself, who looked utterly out of place amongst the more grizzled faces in the crowd. Best put that one on a support weapon, there's no way he's keeping up with the assault troops. he thought.
 
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The cigarette was declined. She didn't need to inhale anything else into already likely damaged lungs.

There was a sort of comfort that came from tagging along with, or was it being tagged along with, a man like Janek. He seemed as much a veteran of war and conflict as she was one to sickness and pain. During the quiet lulls in activity when someone wasn't barking orders or she wasn't required to pay full attention her mind had drifted around, musing on the poetic virtues of the relationship, if one could call it that.

One of them was skilled at handing out death from a range. The other at stemming it's ever encroaching presence from up close. How she ended up comparing herself and the soldier to eggs wasn't exactly clear to herself, but somehow a whimsical rendition of a hard boiled egg with a rifle and cracked shell forced a smile to her covered face. I'm just over easy.

A definitive perk of the makeshift symbiosis was that Nieves didn't have to bother doing much talking, giving away obvious inexperience with dealing directly with war. Just for him she had kept a vial of muscle relaxant and nerve blockers, a mercy if things went south. It was grim to imagine, but it made her feel better than the stereotypical 'put them out of their misery with a bullet' ordeal. For a moment her eyes glistened with comparing a man to a dog, which one would she feel more compassion for showing mercy?

Green eyes followed the man's gesture while he conversed with someone who seemed newer to this than herself. Where ever that man had been living she wondered if he'd run out of food. It felt good to not be the softest thing in the whole auditorium. There were other women though, she had seen them here and there. Their eyes no different than the men they likely survived alongside. Suddenly that white arm band with its meticulously painted on Red Cross seemed more like a target for judging eyes.
 
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"Thanks," Aust said taking the seat next to the trooper, taking note of the now three people he'd be fighting along side, a tall and muscular man, a medic and a newbie, "Yeah I fought a few GDI before and not too surprising you've never seen me that's what I do best, recon so it doesn't matter about what's on the other side of my scope just that it ends up dead." Aust took one look at the guy the man pointed at and had to stop himself from laughing as he was just picturing the large man a few rows ahead of them running , but because of the group he joined he had to keep his composure, "So what's your role in all this?"

As he was closer to the group he had noticed that the medic seemed a bit newer than most but not like the trooper, she also seemed a bit on edge about the upcoming battle, "Hey medic, you'll be fine I keep them off your tail, if you ever get into trouble you have ab entire group backing you up, they know how valuable you are to our survival," Aust said trying to get her a bit more mentally prepared for the fight before returning the the fight guy.
 
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The world seemed to fly by too quickly when the transports started rolling. The firing ports showed a landscape that in a mere hour went from urban armageddon to flattened wasteland with little but the occasional bloom tree to break the horizon. Even the fauna was sparse, with the odd fiend and floater playing chicken with the convoy as often as a blue moon rises.

The air was clear, though, a testament to the UN's success in cleaning up the regions it had under control. Some scoffed at the observation, arguing scraps for dogs, but it was clear the silent disagreed. Shades of grey run the world, they say, and even the self-serving UN had at least some light in it. "Fresh air at last," the youth announced, inspiring a hesitant few to remove their helmets and take a deep breath. "Behold! The valiant efforts of the glorious Global Defense Initiative here, for all to see!"

His gesturing was clearly melodramatic, and the reception was light-hearted, but the commentary was made clear when his eyes turned to the loudest laughers with an impressive intensity. "Oh, no, it's no farce," he went on. "The air's clear, the beasts sparse, and best of all I can live three days without my neighbors' pets trying to eat me." He sat and put his arms behind his head. "Makes you wonder, doesn't it, who the real nemesis is?" Looking over at Janek, Nie, and Aust, he cracked a smile. "They make you ask the wrong questions. Kane lives in death; how long will Kinsburg be remembered when she's gone? That's the real question."
 
The annoying youth rambled on, acting the role of jester and charlatan. Janek did his best to ignore him while keeping an eye on the passing countryside. Not that he expected hostile contacts along the way, but because he really didn’t want to make eye contact with anybody and entertain assholes like the jester. Eventually, he spoke when Kinsburg was mentioned. “Kinsburg will die, and be replaced by someone equally impotent. The only question is how hard they’ll press the boot to our throat to make it seem like their policies aren’t a complete farce.” He said, deciding to avoid commenting about Kane.

Kane was an enigma he tried not to think about very much. The spiritual and political leader of NOD, the man was allegedly immortal and had been leading from the shadows as far back as anyone could remember; hell, some claimed he might have been the Cain from bible fables or somehow less plausibly been the man who assassinated Josef Stalin and guided the Soviet Union, once again from the Shadows. The man was timeless and was shrouded in so many tall tales and myths that it was impossible to ignore how powerful of a symbol he was. Janek believed he was just a series of actors, meticulously molded and groomed to look, act, talk, and BE Kane. There was no way a man could live forever, but every video he’d seen, even really old ones, showed a man who was identical to the one that was on the propaganda videos today. It was deeply unsettling.

He decided to take his mind off of Kane for a while and turned to Aust. “So, you mentioned you fought GDI before. What exactly did you do? You should tell the others how it’s done.”
 
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Words of encouragement with genuine kindness followed the would-be Doctor into a kind of fitful rest. Though they did little to diminish the situations quickly oncoming violence.

All around her fields of green grass stretched out further than the eye could behold. Distant hills dotted with still living trees visible just beyond the grassy gnoll's horizon. Idyllic was a word that came to mind. Chattering voices drew eyes up. Men were gathered to laugh together like an ancient tribe before a long hunt. Beneath the rubber and plastic mask dry lips formed a smile before eyes cracked, pervading heaven with its damning tendrils of reality.

The green of the grass was actually the glow of a far off field, giving off enough light that one might beeline it for a strange settlement only to face some kind of abomination. Men who once smiled with clean shaven faces looked sour, Janek a prominent figure among a youth and the standing apparition of Slavek.

The words fighting pulled her out of the slumber, having slid into the person next to her without receiving complaint. Quickly they had her attention right out of pleasant dreamscapes to the cramped carrier hauling some men to their grave like a preemptive coffin.

Janek's question came first, but it didn't stall her from asking one of her own. "Are we almost there? How long was I out?"

"Not long." A soldier clad in a black helmet grunted with a nod towards the sad excuse for a window her head covered.
 
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Aust had been mostly following Janek mostly as it had been his first real battle outside of mercenary work, he had drifted off slightly listening to the men about telling their stories. It was hard to tell the real from the fake as they all had a boast full tone as they tried to boost their ego, Aust couldn't wait to see how they acted on the battle field. Who told the truth and who lied is always fun in the moments before combat as everyone was about to be tested even Aust himself and he knew that.

Aust eventually was snapped back to reality by Janek as he asked him something, "What? Oh right last time I fought them it was during my earlier run as a mercenary, I was still figuring out everything. They had ambushed us from out of no where they attacked the first scout group a head of us, I was told to hold back and attack them from afar as every sniper should I believe I took one of two of them down once I saw the gap in their armour. It's different for a sniper but from what I saw most of us mercenaries were killed only me and four others lived through it. We were lucky that there was few of them they were stronger than anything I've fought before."
 
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Exhaustion set in when excitement died down. Every mile was a chore, and it started to show in the rank and file. There were those, of course, who knew better than to slip up now, but for the rest, there was rest.

At last, the firing ports lit up with golden light, the darkness of twilight having dulled the colors in the cabin. A testament to the UN's capacity for monument, in the few short months that Kane had been out of the picture, they'd punched deep and planted the foundations for their architecture. Here, what once was a desolate, crumbling suburban zone was now a fortified airbase, clearly responsible for servicing air missions for hundreds of miles around.

While the approach was unhindered, likely a result of the cover of night, and though chatter picked up while lights shone around, no firefight began. The first blockade hadn't double-checked the contents of the carriers; though there was still skirmishing in the region, the UN was growing complacent, and they had no fear of Nod insurgency.

At the coming checkpoint, however, likely wouldn't be so casual, and going off-road would draw unwanted attention. "Contact in fifteen minutes," the driver announced. During the drive, the plan was explained a thousand times over by the know-it-alls and veterans onboard. Here, the civilians' role became clear; they were to be a red herring.

The soldiers would gear up while the officers inspected the vehicle with civilians and driver at attention; by the time they got around to checking the inside, they'd be overwhelmed by the whole of the party, with the hope that there wouldn't even be time to raise an alarm.

Hopefully.
 
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