Welcome back, Commander

Coldrage Clan will be conducting Zeus ops based on two games from the Command and Conquer RTS series: Tiberium Dawn and Tiberian Sun, which take place during the First and Second Tiberium wars, respectively. The First War will be fairly "low tech" by the series standards, i.e. mainly late 90s and 2000s equipment during an ever-escalating global conflict, while the Second War will feature more sci-fi elements such as Mech walkers and hi-tech armor, taking place in the year 2030.

This is to be a quick reference guide for reoccurring mechanics/systems we'll be using, as well as an overall lore primer for those interested.

To mimic the style of the RTS games and keep combat ops evenly matched, a reoccurring mechanic happening in the background will be Support Resources. Similar to a "ticket system" in a lot of team based shooter games, each side will slowly use up these resources to deploy things like Infantry squads, Vehicle units, Fire Support, etc. Unlike tickets, which usually track each individual casualty/respawn, these are a more high level, strategic resource that affect and are affected by large movements on the battlefield.

The total amount will vary each mission and the enemy's resources will not be revealed without obtaining the appropriate intel, which will occasionally come up as a side objective. Your Team Lead can call in these resources in a variety of ways including, but not limited to:

- CAS
- Arty
- Supply Drop
- AI Infantry Reinforcements
- Vehicle Deployments
- Air Transport

Your requests can be as creative as you want to be, but it will be up to the GM to decide the cost of each request based on the situation and type of request - if the request is too expensive, it may be denied by command. Keep in mind, this system will be used to spawn in enemy reinforcements/support as well. Existing vehicles at your FOB do not count towards your resource count, you will just be required to field them yourselves or with AI support.

If both sides run out of resources and have expended the majority of the forces, the battle will end in a draw. The subsequent op will be a "sudden death" version of the op where both sides are given extremely risky missions in a smaller AO. The side that completes their objective first wins.

Tiberium Harvesters will gradually replenish lost resources each trip they make from a Tiberium field and back to their base, so it is beneficial to destroy enemy harvesters and refineries. Destroying a harvester will delay the accumulation of resources, but after some time, a new one will take its place if the side has resources to spare.

Destroying a refinery, on the other hand, will permanently cut off new support resources from being generated in that area. Tiberium Silos tend to accommodate Refineries - destroying these will also subtract support resources from the enemy.

MCVs (Mobile Construction Vehicle) act as a mobile Rally Point for infantry to deploy to. For the players, this will mean an ACE rally point will be attached to the vehicle. For the AI, this will mean infantry can be rapidly deployed on the field from one.

Alternatively, an MCV can deploy into a Construction Yard - these structures give leaders the ability to spend resources to build additional structures/emplacements in the area.

Until "War Factories" are available from the next Tiberium Genesis update, these will also be a requirement for Vehicle support.

Both the GDI and Nod have access to barracks structures. These are required to provide Infantry reinforcement support.

Nod and GDI Tiberium based power plants create an enormous amount of energy and are required for the more advanced, autonomous systems deployed by both sides. This includes, but is not limited to:

- Automated SAM Site Turrets
- Automated Anti-Infantry Turrets
- Nod Laser fence and turret technology
- Nod Obelisk of Lights
- GDI Advanced Component Towers

By destroying a power plant, you will disable an amount of enemy automated defenses in the region, based on the total number of plants and defenses.

To also mimic the RTS games, each mission will have a rough "Tech Level" to demonstrate the type of vehicles available for that mission. Below are examples of what each level is like, but not a hard rule.

Tech Level 1: Unarmored-Armed Jeeps/humvees, Utility Trucks, LIttle birds, Landing Craft Boats, Mortars

Tech Level 2: MRAPs, Light Tanks (Nod), Attack Cycles (Nod), Small attack helicopters, transport helicopters, armed boats, arty emplacements,

Tech Level 3: APCs, MBTs, multi-role attack helicopters, jets, mobile artillery, mobile AA, IFVs

Tech Level 4: Tank Destroyers/AFVs, MLRS/HIMARS, Mammoth MkI (GDI), Stealth Tank (Nod), VTOLs

Tech Level 5: Sci Fi "Prototypes" i.e. a sneak peak at Second War tech and some OPTRE Vehicles

For those unaware of what "Tiberium" is, here is a summary from the C&C wiki:

Tiberium is a mysterious, crystalline material that arrived on Earth in 1995 [...] Using its underground "roots", it leeched ground minerals and soil nutrients from the earth, forming Tiberium crystals on the surface. The Tiberium crystals were rich in precious metals and available for collection for a minimum of mining expense. Because of this, Tiberium was initially thought to be relatively harmless, and in fact, beneficial. [...]

However, Tiberium soon revealed itself to be an extremely dangerous and infectious substance. It was shown to have a mutagenic effect on trees, mutating them into bizarre plants that take the form of fleshy stalks with a large bulb at the top. These "blossom trees" continually release Tiberium spores into the air, spreading Tiberium to the surrounding area. [...]

To make matters worse, Tiberium not only leeched precious metals from the earth, but also leeched vital nutrients from other plant life. It was also extremely toxic to humans, causing those who come into contact with it to suffer Tiberium poisoning.
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Throughout the Tiberium universe, it continues to mutate and adapt - while also mutating all life it touches, often into mutants and creatures that become dependent on the crystal's presence. Eventually, it even begins to affect the very atmosphere of Earth itself as it spreads in new ways.

How does that affect you in these ops? Well, Tiberium is needed for support resources to fund each side's army - but also is extremely dangerous to infantry. Those caught in the fields risk of dying and transforming in mutants. And yes... we will be using Webknight creatures for this module. As time goes on, the severity of these mutations will increase, adding to the likelihood of stronger/more complex mutants to develop. You can walk near some of the dormant crystals and be ok for short periods of time, but if you wander into a field - you better plan a short stay there.

Remember: There is no cure for Tiberium poisoning... although the Brotherhood of Nod see it as a blessing and object of worship. They claim that Tiberium will lead to humanity's "Diviniation".

Below is about 90% info from the Command & Conquer games (pre-westwood shutdown) and about 10% my own bits of lore to fill in the gaps as it pertains to our setting. It's worth noting that I'm primarily taking into account Westwood lore and not EA lore after the original game studio was dissolved. While Tib Wars 3 was still pretty neat, it deviated from Westwood's original ideas for the universe. And let's not talk about the fourth game...

After the Westwood shut down, one of their original "Story Bibles[files.cncnz.com]" surfaced to the internet so I've used a lot of the extra info in there that never made it to the games. Also, until Tiberian Sun a lot of loose timestamps are given, usually just a given decade - so I've extrapolated from that and given my own dates, or changed a few that made no sense to me. Anyways, onto the story:

Ultimately, our timeline begins in Red Alert 1, when Adolf Hitler is killed by a time travelling Albert Einstein in 1924 (yeah... it only gets more wild from here). Afterwards, due to a bizarre case of the butterfly effect, The Soviet Union grows enormously powerful under Joseph Stalin and holds influence in almost every "Eastern" state. Meanwhile, the "Allied Forces" of this world also grow much larger than our own, as more and more states fear Soviet encroachment. It ultimately culminates in an alternative Second World War in 1949.

Much like our own WWII, incredible leaps in technology are made in an arms race between both sides, however the war is even more destructive and the stakes higher as the entire globe becomes a battlefield. Satellites and satellite based weaponry are developed much earlier, laser based technology comes about much earlier, and modern weapon systems from our world are seen in this one at much earlier dates.

Eventually, after four grueling years of war, the Soviet Union begins to crumble and Stalin is killed in 1953 by one of his own advisors. A provisional government quickly surrenders to the Allies. In areas where the real life Soviet Union exited, many eastern European states are formed in a similar manner.

After WWII, the world was incredibly destabilized. A major problem came with the occupation of all former Soviet states across the world and a insurmountable level of civil unrest in both former Soviet and Allied countries. To rectify this, an alternative United Nations was formed in 1954 with a very strong, neutral peacekeeping force that whose goal was to help police and rebuild countries from both sides after the war.

This version of the organization was given much more power and funding by its member states - so much to the point that the few non-member states accused them of attempting to create a one-world government under the guise of peacekeeping. Many of these non-member states were in the Balkans, Northern Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America. While many Eastern European populations spoke out on the occupations, their governments were replaced with western puppets to maintain order in the wake of WWII.

In the subsequent years, unrest in these regions spill over into larger and larger conflicts. Whispers of a mysterious, quasi-terrorist organization known only as the Brotherhood of Nod begin to surface - though they remain firmly to the shadows, simply supplying small guerrilla forces throughout the world. Eventually, in 1972, the UN passes the Global Defense Act and forms the Global Defense Initiative (GDI) - a global, and unified military branch of the UN that would slowly replace and absorb the militaries of all member states as the threat terrorist attacks throughout the world grows more dangerous every year. With this act, the UN and GDI essentially declares the entire planet their domain to protect, not just member states.

By the fateful year of 1995, GDI occupies all member states, and continues to come into regular conflict with non-member states, which they declare "ran by illegitimate terrorist organizations."

The Brotherhood of Nod is an extremely powerful military and religious organization that does not publicly reveal itself until 1995, though the organization claims to have existed since 1800 B.C. It is led by the charismatic and enigmatic leader known only as Kane. Coincidentally, classified GDI intelligence reveals that Kane too, may have been sighted multiple times throughout history, often as advisors to many nations and a mysterious benefactor to various organizations. In fact, evidence points that he may in fact be the Advisor who poisoned Stalin. Whether Kane's lifespan is extended via unknown means, or this is simply a bizarre series of look-alikes throughout history, is also unknown.

Regardless of its origin, the Brotherhood of Nod publicly announces itself in 1995 and lends its support to all non-member states - accusing the UN and GDI of forming a fascist regime. Propaganda outlets suddenly explode with anti-GDI sentiment, a handful of states withdraw membership, and non-member militaries and paramilitary groups are replaced and absorbed by the Brotherhood of Nod's forces that emerge from hidden military complexes throughout the world. With the combined resources of these groups, the Brotherhood of Nod quickly becomes a global superpower capable of rivaling GDI.

In 1995, a meteorite hit earth near the Tiber River, Italy. From the impact site, strange Green crystals began to grow and replicate along the river bank. GDI claims they discovered it, dubbing it Tiberium after the Tiber River, while Kane refutes the fact - stating the Brotherhood of Nod not only discovered the site first, but Kane himself prophesied the event, stating that this new substance would be humanity's salvation. He claimed to have named it after Tiberius Drusus Caesar.

Regardless of either claim, other regions throughout the planet began to mysteriously grow small patches of Tiberium as well. How this occurred is unknown, though it is later hypothesized that Nod did in fact reach the crash site first, and obtained some of the crystals and propagated them in all continents.

Scientists from various countries discover that Tiberium "roots" have a tendency to absorb valuable minerals from the soil, concentrating them into the crystals they see growing above ground. The Brotherhood of Nod also revealed effective harvesting and refining techniques of said crystals, sharing them with Nod-allied state governments. This also very quickly catapults anti-GDI state economies, increasing Nod sentiment as they begin to not only help rebuild third world economies, but empower them with a strong military force that can finally stop GDI forces in their tracks. UN-GDI forces cease operations in Nod-aligned countries, and focus on building defenses and strengthening garrisons throughout allied states.

In the early months of 1997, a series of 17 viscous terrorist attacks occur throughout GDI aligned states, including the infamous bombing of the Grain Trade Center in Vienna on February 27th, 1997. GDI announced that the Brotherhood of Nod was behind the attack, and considered this an act of war and quickly mobilized. Kane would claim it was simply a GDI trick to consolidate their power, calling for all Nod-affiliated states to rise up and join the Brotherhood in their crusade against GDI.

While Kane's power base lied firmly in the Balkan states (quickly turning Sarajevo, Bosnia in to an administrative HQ), various generals and commanders would rise up in other regions, creating their own terrorist cells and private armies under the banner of Nod. As the war goes on, these isolated cells would become more centralized as Kane rose to power.

This is where our story begins.