Honorary visitors bedchambers, Thalindor Castle.

Sitting at a finely crafted wooden table in the lodging provided by Lord Ealdred, Victor activated the portable holographic communication device that had been included with his gear. The holographic projection materialized above the table, and Victor saw the familiar faces of the inner circle members on the other end. Anton Slavik took a prominent place in the holographic display. General Marzaq stood next to him. Three other unnamed council members completed the assembly.

Victor saluted as he began, "General Slavik, General Marzaq, esteemed members of the inner circle, I've just concluded a meeting with Lord Ealdred and his council. They've offered us a trade agreement, primarily providing food to sustain our population in exchange for a military alliance, mainly the possibility of becoming our protectorate."

The holographic projection showed General Slavik nodding as he listened intently. "Interesting, Victor. The offer seems favourable, but how do you feel about this proposal? You are our mouthpiece there after all.”

Victor looked thoughtful for a moment before replying, "Personally, I believe it's a good starting point. Given our current situation, we desperately need a source of food, and Thalindor can provide that in return for our protection. I couldn't help but notice their desperation, but I can't blame them considering their recent conflict with this Veridian Empire they’ve been talking about."

One of the unnamed council members chimed in, "But we must tread carefully, Victor. Remember that we barely know anything about this world other than what we have seen through our feed here, and we must ensure the Brotherhood's safety and goals are to be put above all else."

Victor wondered how they had a feed of information, but then remembered that he had the cyborgs with them. They were most likely being used by CABAL as live cameras, relaying all information back to HQ in video and picture form.

“We also have our curiosity to satiate,” said a familiar deep robotic voice. CABAL’s avatar materialized on the holographic display, its blue face coming into view within the middle of the screen. “We have seen some of these beings and have taken great interest in them. Along with various examples of seemingly untouched and pure plant life. These could come in useful for… Future use…” CABAL’s avatar shrank to the bottom right corner as Victor shuddered at the cold and unemotional statement CABAL had just made.

“Now Lieutenant, I believe it is your duty as a high ranking member of our brotherhood to inform the Lord there that we approve of this deal. Into the future, it would be best for us to try and win over the hearts, minds, and loyalty of the people of this world to join our cause. Now there is no GDI, there shouldn’t be much to worry about.” Anton Slavik spoke, Victor looking at him and giving him a firm salute.

“Yes sir. I’ll make sure to let them know that the deal is sound and we will be open to lending some of our forces, but I’ll also make them aware that we will require land to build our bases.” Victor said in reply. The inner circle all nodding in unison as they agreed to Victor’s idea of gaining territory to build their bases.

Victor wrapped up the conversation with the inner circle, and the holographic projection dissolved, leaving him to his own thoughts again. He leaned back in his chair, stretching as he let out a big sigh. It was a good thing they cyborgs were streaming everything back HQ. Repeating everything that was said would've been a pain, along with having to remember everything.

His thoughts were soon interrupted by a curious noise from the hallway outside. It didn’t sound like any of his elite guard. Victor's sharp military instincts kicked in, placing his hand on the holstered sidearm at his side in anticipation of a threat. To his left, a slight draft rustled the curtains, followed by the soft click of the door closing. Victor couldn’t remember leaving the door open. Confused an on high alert, his attention snapped in that direction as a shadowy figure stepped into the room. His elite guard were further down the hall, dealing with an incident, leaving Victor alone with the unexpected visitor.

The intruder was a lithe, red anthro fox with a sleek fur coat, wearing a dark cloak, unmistakably a member of a faction that wasn’t related to Thalindor. The fox locked eyes with Victor as it scouted the room for any other people, having heard the meeting. Confused, she shook her head.

"Who are you? What's your business here?" Victor asked, his hand tightening around the grip of his sidearm, ready to draw.

The fox intruder shot a sly grin, "I couldn't help but overhear your little conversation. Quite interesting if I do say so myself." she said in a feminine voice.

As Victor questioned her presence once more, she continued to stare into Victor’s deep green eye. "Curiosity led me here, Lieutenant. The meeting you just had sounded mighty interesting."

Victor caught onto her reiteration of her first statement. He didn’t know if she was mocking his questions by saying it, but decided to press on anyway. He couldn't help but wonder how she had infiltrated the castle without alerting anyone, wondering if she had been there since the meeting.

"You haven't answered my question," he stated in a stern tone, his fingers close to the sidearm's trigger. We have ways of making people talk, so you better talk or things will end up being a lot worse for you.”

Her smirk faltered, the weight of Victor’s voice coming down on her like a ton of bricks. The aura of authority and power he emanated was nothing that even the highest ranks of royalty could even imagine of giving.

“Ah, you’re a no nonsense kind of man. I like it. No need for violence. I’m merely a spectator in this situation. You can call me Lilith.” she said, bowing slightly. Removing the hood from over her head, it revealed the face of what seemed to be a fox, ears and all. Lilith’s whiskers twitched as the air rushed around her head, her ears springing free of the hood.

Victor kept his hand firmly clutched around his sidearm, in case the spy tried to do something she might regret. Still having no clue where she came from, he decided to treat her as any other foreign intruder. Even though she gave him her name, he had no reason to back down. Realising this, Lilith began to feel even more unease.

"Lilith, was it?" Victor repeated her name. "You seem to know quite a bit about our recent conversation. Too much. Why are you here? Who do you work for? It's obvious you're not Thalindorian."

"I work for a faction you're probably not familiar with—a faction known as the Veridian Empire," she admitted, her hazel eyes gleaming with a sense of pride. "We've been at odds with the people of Thalindor for some time now."

Victor thought back to what Luna and Lord Ealdred said about the Veridian Empire before. He wasn't very surprised by the connection. Given the recent attack on Thalindor that Luna and Lord Ealdred had mentioned, it made sense that there was a hostile faction involved.

"So, you're a spy for the Veridian Empire, then," Victor concluded. "What do you hope to gain by eavesdropping on our conversation?"

Lilith took a deep breath and sighed. "What wouldn’t I want? To answer your question directly; information, Lieutenant. Information is an invaluable currency in times of war. As such, I was sent here a while ago to gather intel on various things which I'm not at liberty to tell you about, but now with your appearance…"

“And what, you decided to listen in on the conversations of an outsider?” Victor said bluntly, slightly raising his voice. “You realise you’ve made a great mistake crossing me. The Brotherhood does not take kindly to spies.”

"I'm well aware," Lilith replied quite nonchalantly, though her wavering voice showed a hint of unease. "But I couldn't resist the opportunity to learn more about your organization after hearing murmurs around the castle of the visitors in the council, and it seems I've learned quite a bit."

“Too much.” Victor said, the sound of the door bursting open spooked Lilith, making her shoot her head toward the door and stumbling backwards. Victor stood upright, removing his hand from his sidearm and placing both behind his back.

“I believe due to this, it would be the best option for me to detain you for the time being. Or at least until we determine what to do with you.” he said, the authority in his voice once again making the fox girl shudder in fear. She had never felt this scared in her life. Even after all the situations she’d been in, this was the most dangerous one yet.

Victor’s elite cadre swarmed the room, the two cyborgs staying stationed outside of the room’s now broken and splintered door. All rifles were trained on Lilith, her not being very aware of what they are. Deciding to look around for a way out, she tried to slip through a gap between two of the soldiers.

A single ear-piercing shot rang out through the room and the subsequent hallways, one of the soldiers shooting Lilith in the leg. She screamed out in pain and put her hands over her ears. It was like no pain she’d ever felt before. Blood started to stream out of the bullet wound, the hot lead stuck within the shin of her fluffy leg.

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“Ah, my dear Lilith. I did say we were detaining you, didn’t I? Take this as a warning.” Victor said in a rather dull tone. “You see, we have zero tolerance anyone looking to take either secrets or information without our knowledge. And with us being quite new in this world, I would rather that knowledge be kept to ourselves.”

Lilith fell to the floor, not being able to stand because of the unbelievable pain in her leg. “Y-You BASTARD!” she yelled in agony, now laid on the floor writhing as she desperately tried to stop the bleeding. She began hyperventilating, her face filled with dread.

“I believe now we have made our acquaintance, I think we should be off. We have an alliance to make and bones to break.” Victor said, chuckling.

“J-Just you wait… Until… The king finds out about this” Lilith said, spitting toward Victor.

The soldiers restrained Lilith, dressing her wound just enough as to stop the bleeding, but made sure that she was in plenty enough pain to not make any stupid decisions. One of the soldiers picked her up and slung her over his shoulder.

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With Lilith still in pain and moaning over the soldier's shoulder, the group , once again led by Luna, returned to the council chambers. Lord Ealdred and his council members were already present, ready to hear the Brotherhood's decision regarding the alliance. Luna, who had led the way, looked a bit uneasy. She had not been with them when Victor held the meeting, but the sight of the injured woman carelessly slung over one of the soldier's shoulder, she couldn't help but feel slightly worried.

Lord Ealdred spoke first, "Lieutenant Victor Thorn, I trust you have discussed our proposal with your superiors. Did you come to a decision?"

Victor nodded and cleared his throat. “You would be correct. I’ve spoken to the inner circle and they are open to being a part of such an agreement.” The eyes of the councillors and Lord Ealdred lit up with joy. “We will be able to provide military support in exchange for the discussed supply of food. However, we have another request.”

Lord Ealdred’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Another request? What might that be?”

Victor continued, “We will require some land in order to establish bases of operation. These will have to be both close and somewhat distant from the city, but we intend to stay out of the way of the public, so will operate discreetly. We have certain technologies to facilitate the… Discretion…”

Lord Ealdred and his council members exchanged glances, their expressions wavering as they considered Victor's request. While the prospect of granting land to an unknown entity was less than ideal, it would have to do as they were stretched thin on manpower and the Veridian Empire seemed to keep throwing everything they have at them with no signs of backing down.

After a moment of deliberation, Lord Ealdred let out a heavy sigh and finally spoke, "Very well, Lieutenant Thorn. Given the circumstances and your assistance against the threat of the Veridian Empire, we agree to your request. We will allocate some land for your bases, away from the public eye."

As the council members nodded in agreement, Luna couldn't help but glance at the injured and moaning Lilith. Curiosity and worry got the better of her, and she spoke up, "Lieutenant Victor, I’ve been wondering. Who is this woman? Why is she bleeding and being carried like that?"

The council members turned their attention to Lilith, and Lord Ealdred inquired, "Yes, who is this woman, and why is she injured?"

Victor cast a glance at Lilith. "This woman," he began, "is Lilith. A spy from the Veridian Empire. I caught her eavesdropping on my meeting with the inner circle. We detained her for the time being. As for her condition, well, we have plans for her."

The mention of "plans" sent a chill through the room. Luna, who had been quietly observing the situation, felt something gnawing at her mind, worrying her.. She asked Victor, "Shouldn't we call for a healer to tend to her? There's so much blood coming from her leg."

As the Brotherhood's terms were accepted by the Thalindor council, Lord Ealdred motioned for the council members to leave the chambers, hoping to discuss the situation privately.

The council members left, leaving Lord Ealdred, Victor, Luna, and the elite soldiers alone with the injured Lilith. Victor contemplated their next course of action.

"Let's call for a healer," Luna suggested, the concern in her voice showing. "She's in pain, and I don't want her to die. Even if she is a spy."

Victor nodded in agreement, seeing as this would be a good opportunity to examine the type of medical care this place can render. Lord Ealdred called through an Aetherlink device, requesting a healer to attend to Lilith's injuries. At victor’s command, the soldier carrying Lilith placed her down on a hard wooden bench, holding her leg in the air to help stem the increasing bleeding due to the deterioration of the temporary dressing.

Lilith kept moaning in pain. Here eyes welled with tears as she began sobbing, the pain and current situation becoming too much for her to handle. She thought this would be a simple in-and-out operation, not whatever this was. She’d never been in pain like this before, not even arrows inflicted this much pain. There must’ve been something on that thing that the strange device that soldier was holding spat at her. Something tingly and horrible.

In a short while, a Thalindorian healer arrived at the council chambers and immediately set to work on treating Lilith's leg wound. The bleeding was stopped, and a temporary bandage was applied.

“Quite primitive.” Victor mused. “We have much more advanced ways of taking care of wounds like that. Many of which either include full amputation and replacement with cybernetic components, or simple extraction of the bullet, cauterization, and nano-gel application. Quick, effective, and relatively painless.”

Victor’s explanation caught the attention of Lilith, Luna, and Lord Ealdred, both confusing and shocking them. They had never heard of ‘nano-gel’ or ‘cybernetic components’, all of these adding to their ever growing curiosity of the Brotherhood.

“Now, that won’t really do much, considering the type of ammunition my soldiers’ weapons use.” Victor said. The Thalindorians furrowed their brows in unison, Lilith’s heart sank. She knew it wasn’t just some regular thing. It must’ve been poisoned.

“What my soldiers and I use are things called guns. They’re weapons made primarily of either steel or aluminium.”

Confused, Lord Ealdred inquired, “Guns? What are they? Some kind of magical weapon? How do they work?”

Victor laughed, “Well, you see… These weapons aren’t magical at all. In fact, they’re quite simple, though I’m not at liberty to disclose how they work. Just know that a single shot from one of these is enough to either cripple or kill.”

A great silence befell the room, Lilith now crying out more than when she was in excruciating pain. She couldn’t make sense of anything, and she didn’t want to die.

"Please," Lilith pleaded between sobbed, "I don't want to die. I don't understand what's happening. I... I feel so strange. Help me."

Victor stood, stoic as ever, just staring at her in curiosity. The bullet that had penetrated her leg contained Tiberium. Usually, the exposure to the minuscule amount of Tiberium would’ve killed someone by now, but she was still alive…

“It… It burns. My leg… No, it feels like… Everything burns… What did you do to me?” Lilith grunted in pain. She locked eyes with Victor, the once hazel had turned to an almost iridescent glowing green.

“Hmm… Well, you’re quite the curious one, aren’t you” Victor said, now quite amused at the turn of events. “Usually the toxaemia would've killed you by now, but it seems you’re one of the lucky ones.”

Everyone in the room watched on in horror. They couldn’t understand how anyone could watch and be somewhat amused at what they were seeing. Lord Ealdred winced. He had just agreed to an alliance with these people.

“What have I done?” he thought to himself. Making an alliance with a completely unknown force, that unknown now rearing its ugly head. He had no idea what the goals of the Brotherhood was, but out of desperation agreed to something he didn’t know the repercussions of.

Lilith continued to writhe in pain, nobody knowing what to do. Luna couldn’t continue watching and decided to excuse herself, running out of the door. Lord Ealdred decided to stay and watch, feeling as if this was his fault for allowing this to happen.

“P-Please… I don’t want to die…” Lilith cried, her leg now crystallizing around the gunshot wound, though only in that area. Other parts of her body seemed to be normal, beside her now glowing green eyes. “I… I…” she said grabbing Victor’s leg before falling unconscious.

Victor checked her pulse. “She’s still there. I suspect she just passed out from shock. Most of them seem to do that.” he said nonchalantly. Lord Ealdred looked at Victor’s eye. It was a bright green, almost seemed as if it was glowing.

With Lilith unconscious, Victor turned to Lord Ealdred, who couldn't hide his distress. "What you see here is a consequence of Tiberium toxaemia. It's a byproduct of ammunition I selected to use on this mission." Victor explained, his one green eye showing no signs of empathy.

Victor signalled to one of the soldiers to pick Lilith up from the bench. This time, she was treated a lot more gently. Lord Ealdred caught onto this change in demeanour and decided to ask, “What exactly happened to her?”

“Something you wouldn’t be able to comprehend…” Victor replied. The group began to walk toward the doors of the council chambers before being stopped by Lord Ealdred.

“Wait! I must ask you this. Please, for the love of the gods, keep this from the public. The mere mention of a spy from the Veridian Empire could cause a mass panic. Let alone what you and your men have done to that spy could horrify them.”

“Oh, don’t worry, we won’t tell if you won’t.” Victor smirked as he walked out of the room meeting, with the cyborgs, heading toward the exit of the building with Lilith.

Luna shot into the council chambers, noticing Lord Ealdred’s head resting in his hands, his body shaking profusely. “My lord, are you alright?” Luna asked, also visibly shaken.

“I… I don’t know exactly what I just agreed to, but we must never fall on the bad side of the Brotherhood…” he replied, trying to find his breath. He looked visibly ill from the sight he just saw. He had seen many gory scenes on the battlefield before, but something about Victor seemingly revelling in the suffering of the spy, which was seemingly transforming before him, unsettled him.

“That I think we can both agree on. Though they seem to be quite disturbing, the people I saw up to this point were ones of compassion and understanding. I just think that maybe it was a wrong place at the wrong time kind of thing” Luna said, trying to ease the Lord’s discomfort.

“Maybe you’re right. It was an enemy spy after all. I would’ve probably had her executed, but if it’s something out of our control now, so be it. That is now up to the Brotherhood. Though I do worry if this might spur on an attack against us if they realise their spy has been missing for too long.” Lord Ealdred said, defeated.

“I suppose that if that would be the case, the Brotherhood would be there for us, as you agreed, so there shouldn’t be anything to worry about.” Luna replied, somewhat cheery at that realisation.

Lord Ealdred sat up, now feeling a little better.“Let’s hope you’re right. I just wonder when they will begin construction of their outposts?”