December 24th 2030
Near Sarajevo
“Good welcome, citizens. It is with great interest that General Slavik has allowed us to spread news of a shift in power within the Brotherhood. After the disappearance of our Prophet once again, the upper echelons of leadership have been shuffling around, following the lead of General Slavik himself. One Vision, One Purpose, Mikael”.
The TV transitioned away from the reporter sat at the desk before the cameras, to the view of a reporter dressed in red and black, standing atop a large hill overlooking the mysterious phenomena.
“One Vision, One Purpose, Ivan. Here I stand before you in the remains of Temple Prime after the recent GDI attack. The building is still operational from what we’ve been told, as evident by the amount of foot traffic entering and leaving the building. The General and those under him have been hard at work since yesterday, seemingly out of the blue. It is likely due to the sudden appearance of foreign Brotherhood bases suddenly appearing out of nowhere. Until we have more information on the mater, I’ve been Mikael. Back to you, Ivan.”
Before turning off the TV, Lieutenant Victor Thorn scratched his head in confusion. He had heard rumours floating around about a strange storm of sorts appearing out of nowhere in Eastern Europe the day before, but having seen the TV, he was left even more puzzled. Why were there so many bases nearby Temple Prime now?
“Well, the Prophet never could’ve seen this coming. Even with all his knowledge and wisdom… I guess even he can be flawe-” A single gunshot rang out through the rec room, leading to complete silence.
“Traitor.” Victor barked before holstering his pistol. “The prophet must never be questioned. His will is the Will of the Brotherhood, and anyone who challenges this will be executed.”
The other lazing soldiers in the room momentarily stared at the now lifeless corpse before returning to their previous activities. The sound of chatter began once more as Victor began walking to the room’s exit.
“Lieutenant Victor Thorn. Your presence is required at the briefing room ASAP. I repeat. Lieutenant Victor Thorn. Your presence is required at the briefing room ASAP.” the intercom blared, catching him off guard. The voice over the intercom was stern and serious, sowing a seed of urgency in Victor’s mind.
Victor Thorn was the only Lieutenant stationed within the local base, having been through many battles against those who would wish harm upon the Brotherhood and their goals of divination. Hurriedly, he grabbed his uniform jacket and beret and hastily made his way to the briefing room. The corridors were lit with red accents, broken by industrial grey metal panelling. The hard metal floor clanged and twanged as he made his way past armed guard after armed guard posted outside every doorway.
Reaching the double doors of the briefing room, Victor steadied himself, fixing his beret and patting down his jacket before passing the two guards which opened the doors for him.
“Peace through Power, Lieutenant.”
“Peace through Power, General.”
The two thumped their chests with their left hands in a fist before seating themselves.
In the room sat 8 people, all of which were high ranking soldiers and military figures. At the far end of the table sat beside a large projector was General Antonov, general of the forces within Eastern Europe.
“As you may have heard, as of yesterday, a strange phenomena appeared to have happened. Storms across all controlled territories seemingly manifested out of nowhere. Contact with spies within GDI has seemingly ceased, all spies mysteriously appearing within our bases. The same goes for troops, technology, and other things have also appeared within close proximity to each other. Even our bases seem to have somehow relocated within close proximity of each other. Though what is most odd is that neither our commanders nor CABAL seemingly have any idea as to what is going on. We seem to have been blinded somewhat, satellites having disconnected and gradually coming back online. No reconnaissance personnel or satellites have been able to send information back to command, nor have they been able to contact sympathisers and allies within GDI’s ranks.
It’s like the entire brotherhood has been completely cut off from the rest of the world.”
The general’s words hung heavy in the air, everyone in the room taken aback by the sudden announcement.
“What do you mea- how cou-” One person spoke, not being able to complete a single sentence out of shock.
“This is quite the strange turn of events. It seems that we have also mysteriously relocated to the Brotherhood’s main country of operation of Bosnia. The citizenry are mostly unaware of the current happenings, but from what I have been told, we are now surrounded by nothing but water.” the General said once more.
Victor stood up and cleared his throat.
“What do you mean, ‘Surrounded by water’? You mean to tell us that we’ve both mysteriously relocated to our sacred homeland, and it is now surrounded by water, making us an island country!? This is preposterous. Would I be correct in thinking that General Slavik has spoken of this mystery?”
“You would be correct. Before this meeting, I had personally convened with General Slavik himself about our current situation, and he confirmed that a strange event had happened which seemingly engulfed the entire country of Bosnia, as well as all Brotherhood troops and assets, including satellites.” the General replied, his arms crossed.
A phone sat beside the General began to ring, grabbing everyone’s attention. All eyes fixed on the phone, General Antonov picked up and almost immediately recoiled in shock.
His mouth agape, he could barely mutter more than an exhale.
“W-WHAT!?” he bellowed, everyone in the room shooting out of their chairs and standing to attention.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN!? No… No no no no-ha ha ha. You can’t be serious… Yes, of-fucking-course I want to see aerial imagery. It’s about time our satellites came back online. If you are lying, you will be considered a traitor to the Brotherhood.”
General Antonov slammed down the phone and sunk his head into his hands as everyone stood and stared at him.
“Sit… All of you.” the General commanded, proceeding to connect the projector to a bulky laptop computer.
“As you may have just heard, I just got word of our satellites coming back online, giving us somewhat of an idea of what’s going on. From what I was told, the theories ring true. We have all mysteriously ended up in our sacred homeland. The method as to how is unknown, but is suspected to be a possible new weapon developed by GDI. Again, this is only a theory but it’s all we have to go off right now.” He shuffled around on the laptop, trying to open the mail he was sent containing the satellite feed.
“Excuse me General, but don’t you think that it would be impossible that GDI could have developed a weapon so powerful? I mean, they are leagues behind us on technological progress.” a female officer said, tapping her fingers on the conference table.
“You may be right, but after discovering the remains of an old World War 2 Allied Chronosphere, it would make sense that GDI may have been able to find and perfect the technology with the aid of their limited records.” the General replied, still looking for the mail.
A bead of sweat formed on his forehead as he found the mail. The title simply read ‘Satellite recon report. This is unbelievable’.
The projector was already running as he pulled up the mail, expecting to find nothing more than images of the same old desolate wastes and destruction wrought by the spread of the crystal.
As he opened the mail and the feed within, the room fell silent in anticipation. To begin, the feed was zoomed right into Temple Prime, surrounded by the wasteland that was the once beautiful forests of Bosnia. All was seemingly normal. Tiberium was strewn all over the place, giving the feed a greenish tint.
December 24th 2030
Near SarajevoZooming out began to show more of the same, though an array of Brotherhood bases around half a mile from Temple Prime, all seemingly arranged neatly in a grid pattern. The zooming stopped as the General froze, along with the rest of the people in the room, including the guards.
“H-How is this possible?” one of the members uttered in a hushed tone. “We need to-”
“Silence! I know this is shocking, but we have only just begun zooming out. We’ll all have time to ask questions later, but for now please remain seated while I continue.”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Once again, the room fell silent. Everyone still in a state of shock, General Antonov began zooming out more, revealing a grand total of over a hundred bases, all varying in size and manpower. Zooming out further showed nothing out of the ordinary other than what had already been seen. It was only when reaching the borders of the country when the weight of situation set in.
Vast, clear, blue ocean.
The entire room erupted in an awe-induced gasp, leaving everyone in a state of bewilderment. Never had anyone seen such beautiful bodies of water. It was then one of the members within the meeting spoke up.
“Can we really keep lying to ourselves? It is clear that we are no longer on earth. If we were, where is all the algae and corruption in the waters? Why is the sky outside of our land so clear and free of contamination?”
“This is something that not even the prophet himself would have been able to predict. If it is to truly be believed, we may just not be on earth. Just what could this mean for the brotherhood?” another of the members said.
…
Approximately 5 hours had passed since the end of the meeting. Victor was still in a state of shock. The whole base having been notified of what had been learned, everyone was begun theory-crafting as to where exactly we are and how we ended up here.
Having thought about the revelation of the fact the whole country was now surrounded by clear blue waters, he remembered that the Brotherhood essentially had no navy to speak of. Should they really be in a different world, they would likely be outmatched by any other country’s navy. Though he did remember that some prototype battleships that were in R&D, one promising prototype battleship was built in the years leading up to, and after Tib War 2 however.
This prototype battleship was, up to the current day, the largest naval vessel constructed by man. The main armament consisting of two batteries of three, three barrelled 508mm cannons, supported by twenty 6 inch dual barrelled cannons, ten at each side of the ship, capable of targeting both naval and aerial units. Also included are five large VLS launchers, allowing for large munitions deployment, such as nuclear and tiberium missiles. The ship is of a multihull, catamaran design, allowing it to reach speeds greater than any monohull ships along with better manoeuvrability.
The Brotherhood also saw fit to include many other technologies on the experimental ship, such as stealth generators, Obelisk of Light defences, and Banshee hangars.
Having little to no navy for the longest time had led the Brotherhood to come up with different solutions for traversing large bodies of water. Things such as Subterranean vehicles that make use of large drill-like attachments to allow them to bury deep beneath even the seabed with ease. Another is co-opting reverse engineered technology from GDI, giving them a reliable means of aerial transport in the form of carryalls, fitted with engines similar to GDI’s turbofan engines, allowing them VTOL capabilities.
Another is the use of old hovercraft from the first war. Both used by GDI and the Brotherhood, there were plenty left over in abandoned warehouses. A more recent development was the reverse engineering of captured GDI hover technology. This allowed for great manoeuvrability no matter the terrain.
Not having been able to properly test these new vehicles developed using this technology, command was eager to give it a shot. With the clear seas now surrounding Bosnia, it would be the perfect time to test these new vehicles, along with seeing the combat readiness of the prototype ship.
Suddenly, to the surprise of everyone in the base, sirens sounded all around. Their shrill screeching alerting even the deepest sleeping soldiers to alertness. Following the first few seconds of the sirens blaring, a voice came over the intercom.
“Attention all units. Please report outside for briefing. I repeat. Everyone report outside for emergency briefing. Should somebody not want to heed this message, you will be executed for disobedience”. It was the voice of General Antonov.
Having left the meeting not long ago, Victor had an idea of what the briefing would be about, but wondered why he needed everyone present, which confused him greatly. Is it likely that more information has surfaced since the meeting?
Alarms still blaring after the General’s announcement, soldiers and officers alike began to run outside, through the tight dimly lit corridors, to the main common area. There, a hastily erected podium stood, over a hundred soldiers and officers filtering into formation before the podium. All vehicles came to a standstill, all occupants stepping out to join the rest in formation.
General Antonov, flanked by his elite guard, approached the podium as all spectators stood silent. Victor was at the front of the crowd, along with other high ranking officers and soldiers. Settling behind the podium, the General tapped the microphone to make sure it was on and working.
“Brothers and Sisters, I come before you today with the utmost urgency and seriousness. As you may have heard circulating in rumours throughout the battlenet and word of mouth, there has been a sudden and jarring shift in our situation. As of this morning, a meeting was held between I and a group of other high ranking officials within our base regarding said situation.” Everyone stood still, patiently listening to the General’s speech. A sense of unease began to wash over the crowd as he continued on.
“It is with great seriousness that I bear the news that we have been left stranded in our holy country of Bosnia, nearby to Temple Prime. Not only that, but we have also confirmed with satellite imagery that the whole country is now surrounded by water.” A quiet discussion began to arise from the crowd, before the General continued his speech.
“I understand that this may be a shock, but wherever we are now, it is clear that we are no longer on Earth. We intend to follow the plans laid out by the Inner Circle to try to understand where exactly we are, and how to approach things going forward.” The crowd once again began to erupt into fervent discussion, shocked by the information laid out by the General.
“I should make it clear that all operations are to continue as normal, harvesting operations shall continue as we search this world for possible sites of Tiberium deposits. If there should be none, we plan to seed areas with the holy crystal to help spread the Brotherhood’s goals and ensure we have plenty of Tiberium reserves for research and development.
One Vision, One Purpose.” The General concluded, being met with the entire crowd chanting “The technology of peace!”
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Enarion, 6th Solara, 2834 AE
The bustling city of Thalindor
The early morning sun shone down on the city, the people going about their daily activities. The early morning streets were filled with vendors setting up their stalls for the weekly market, mages and their disciples made their ways to their schools and labs, common folk bumbled around, visiting shops and various other places. Just a regular Enarion morning like no other.
Currently in a state of rebuild after an attack by The Veridian Empire, the city is in a constant state of work, everyone chipping in their fair share of effort to bring back their home to its former glory.
It had only been a week since the attack, the attack taking them by surprise. A naval fleet of Veridian warships laid waste to the city, destroying or damaging buildings, infrastructure, and defences. The fleet laid siege to the city for a whole day before being repelled by the most skilled mages the city could muster. Erecting magical barriers that managed to stop the arrow and ballista fire of the many ships, the fleet retreated, vowing to return.
Ever since that attack, the entire city has been on constant high alert, wyvern scouts constantly prowling the skies for any sign of enemy movements, naval intrusions, or aerial foes.
As captain of the 9th Wyvern scout corps, Aric Vaelen was in charge of overseeing the scouting efforts for the day. Having recently fought against the Veridians, he knew exactly what to look for with their enemy. Riding aback his wyvern, he constantly scanned his surroundings for anything unusual. High above the city, he looked down to see all the people going their business as usual, along with the rebuilding efforts taking place.
“Good to see everyone is still in high spirits isn’t it, Ellowen” he spoke over the Aetherlink.
“It certainly is. After that attack, I feared that everyone would pack up and take off. Nice to see the community has stuck together to repair and rebuild” she replied, taking a look herself.
From above, the damage was most apparent. Many buildings had been left without roofs, most burned to cinders by fire arrows.
“It’s quite the sight seeing the damage the fire did to some buildings. Glad we weren’t hit, we might have ended up like those poor souls” said Kaelen, his voice as bright as ever.
All three scouts flew in formation above the city before being taken off guard by a small speck in the distance, north of the port.
“Uh, guys? Anyone got an eyeglass? There’s something in the distance north of the harbour. Possible enemy wyvern.” said Aric to the other riders.
“I have one. I’ll have a look and see if I can make out a rider or something…” Kaelen replied, his previously happy demeanour now having given way to a more serious one.
“Aric, let FlightCom know we will be intercepting an unknown entity headed for our airspace.”
“Will do. You get a good look at that incoming rider.”
The group fell uneasy, having noticed that the entity had seemingly no intention of slowing down, and was seemingly speeding up.
“Uh, it’s coming closer. And it’s FAST! What should we do?” Ellowen shouted over the Aetherlink, the bulky headphone-looking recievers rattled with her voice billowing through. Hurriedly, Aric finished his report to FlightCom and took to the front of the now arrow formation. Circling around the port, he felt a bead of sweat drip down his forehead, nervously issuing the group to take up defensive positions should it be hostile.
The entity began to come into view, clearer now. As it approached, it slowed its speed and began to climb. Seeing the strange entity come into view shocked all three riders.
“W-What is that!?” Ellowen said, rubbing her eyes and trying to grasp what she was seeing.
“By the ancients… That’s the strangest thing I’ve ever seen!” Kaelen remarked, looking toward the entity.
The aircraft, now having finished its climb, slowed down to begin doing something. The slow speed had everyone nervous. The sleek shiny body of the craft took them by surprise, having never seen anything like it.
Its red and black body was adorned by a central carapace, seemingly opaque from the outside. The body, adorned by an insignia on each side of it, both on top and below. Two lights shone out from the front, below the black carapace.
Along with being a wyvern scout, he was currently in a mage’s school, being taught many things about the ways of magic. One of the most useful tricks he had learned that helps him excel in his work as a scout is being able to check for lifesigns. This has come in handy many times during his time as a scout, being able to find lost people in woods which would have no chance of being found if it weren’t for the life sensing magic.
Having seen that there was seemingly no rider atop the strange craft, he thought it appropriate to use his ability to make sure that the craft wasn’t acting by itself.
Having detected the signs of a living human, he decided to begin trying to communicate with it over Aetherlink, the craft now well within Thalindor’s airspace.
“Unknown entity, you are in breach of Thalindor’s airspace. Make your intentions known or we will be forced to take drastic actions.” Aric spoke over the Aetherlink.
The craft neither replied, nor seemingly acknowledged the attempt at communication.
Having seemingly ignored him, Aric ordered the other two to scouts to take positions both above and below the craft. The deafening growl of the dual engines of the craft made the wyverns falter in their ascent and enclosure of the craft. Now in an effective pincer, Aric repeated his message.
“Unknown entity, you are in breach of Thalindor’s airspace. Make your intentions known or we will be forced to take drastic actions. This is your final warning”
Having taken notice of the wyvern above him, the Banshee’s pilot disengaged the cockpit windscreen’s tint, revealing the pilot sat in the cockpit, lit with a red hue. The pilot gave a slight wave to Kaelen, who was on his wyvern above the Banshee.
Shocked to see that there was someone seemingly inside the craft, he hesitantly waved back before the banshee re-enabled the tint and began to increase it’s speed.
“Uh, Aric… There’s someone inside that thing, and they just waved at me?” Kaelen said, both confused and nervous. The Banshee now picking up speed decided to begin climbing again, the pincer formation no longer being much of a pincer. Seeing the Banshee begin to speed up and climb, the riders regrouped and tried to match the Banshee’s speed.
“I’ve never seen such a strange creature… No, this appears artificial. I didn’t sense any life within the thing. It’s just like something out of legend…” Aric trailed off. “By the ancients, this thing is too fast. It’s going faster than even a Starwind Wyvern!”
Unable to keep up with the speed of the Banshee, the scouts slowed down, deciding it would be best to keep an eye on it. The Banshee seemed to somersault before beginning a path back the way it came, this time its engines roaring with a deafening sound, bringing the attention of the entire city to it.
“That noise! That awful noise! How can such a strange thing make such a racket!?” yelled Ellowen over the Aetherlink. “Look at it. It’s going back the way it came!”
Aric replied to Ellowen, sighing a little. “This situation we need to report back to FlightCom, nay we should report it directly to the city council itself. Should this be a sign of an attack, they need to know. Everyone, maintain course to the aerie nearest the council chambers”