Global Defense Initiative storyline
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In the fictional Command & Conquer universe, the storyline of the Global Defense Initiative can be traced back to the conclusion of the Great World War II featured in Command & Conquer: Red Alert. It is this series of events that are considered canonical throughout the Tiberian series.
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[edit] Operations Group Echo, Black Ops 9
In the aftermath of the Great World War II the United Nations took upon itself to review and analyse this great and worldwide conflict in all of its aspects. The UN reviewed captured Soviet intelligence, called upon Allied generals to testify about their battlefield experiences and their observations, and reviewed the numerous reports of the battles fought during the war. This information was used in the training and equipping of a UN-backed Peace Corps, and the organization grew and slowly evolved into the best-equipped military on Earth. The UN designated the unit Operations Group Echo, Black Ops 9 or simply, Black Ops 9. For nearly forty years, the existence of this group was successfully kept quiet. Rumors of the existence of a "black" special forces battle group under the aegis of the United Nations began circulating as the group was deployed in combat more and more often, however. Finally, when Black Ops 9 was deployed to Iraq in an effort to prevent the Gulf War, this task force's cover was officially blown and the existence of Black Ops 9 became public knowledge.
[edit] United Nations Global Defense Initiative
The botched Gulf War operations were a major blow to the United Nations, and the UN was forced to publicly admit to the existence of the group. While the UN was busy handling the Black Ops 9 disaster, a new organization emerged from the shadows: the Brotherhood of Nod. A quasi-religious military group, the Brotherhood was increasingly perceived as a threat to the world community. Seizing this opportunity, the United Nations called itself into session and passed the United Nations Global Defense Act (UNGDA), which called for the formation of a military organization aimed at upholding the GDA and the United Nations Charter. Operations Group Echo, Black Ops 9 was tasked with this mission, and along with the mission their name was officially changed to the United Nations Global Defense Initiative, or simply GDI. The unit was placed under the command of Brigadier General Mark Sheppard, a no-nonsense commander from the United States. This move was not without risk, as the general public had not forgotten GDI's roots or the disastrous attempt they made to assassinate Saddam Hussein. By taking Black Ops 9 public the UN had preserved its military muscle while allowing the public to see and feel those muscles for the first time.
[edit] Tiberian Dawn
As expected, it was not long before the Brotherhood of Nod became a threat to world society, but GDI leaders had seriously underestimated the genius of the Brotherhood's leader, Kane. Whenever GDI forces moved to intervene in the regions controlled by Nod, Kane lambasted the group, portraying the democracies of the world as man's greatest enemy while displaying himself as a prophet who had arrived to restore peace and justice. With every press release and news report the Brotherhood picked up steam while seemingly leaving GDI in the dust. GDI forces nonetheless fought Nod forces in the hope of stopping Kane’s organization. When Kane and his followers seized control of several nations and were rumored to be in alliance talks with China to overthrow the West, the UN officially declared war on the Brotherhood of Nod, directing all GDI forces to wipe the organization out.
A full scale war soon erupted between GDI forces and Nod forces in Europe and Africa, with Kane controlling the mass media in an attempt to undermine support for GDI. GDI and UN support slowly eroded as a result of these broadcasts, while Nod support continued to grow. Kane's control of the media finally caught up with the UN and GDI during the European Campaign. While engaging Nod forces in Poland, GDI commanders received word that Nod reinforcements were heading for a town called Byelistok. GDI commanders realised that the town’s location had tactical importance and dispatched troops of their own to evacuate the civilians in the region. Greg Burdette, a well known and internationally respected TV news reporter, accompanied the GDI forces dispatched to Byelistok to cover the GDI evacuation of the town. UN officials hoped that this would help improve public perception of GDI. But when the report aired several days later, UN officials were horrified to discover that Greg Burdette reported that GDI massacred the town's people on the suspicion that residents of the town were part of a Tiberium smuggling ring. This caused a massive public backlash against GDI, with nations and citizens demanding to know what the United Nations Security Council was up to and why these people had been slaughtered. In some cases, demonstrations against GDI escalated into street riots. Faced with a public relations nightmare the UN immediately and unilaterally cut funding for GDI forces. Nod commanders, acting on Kane's order, immediately moved in to capture GDI bases, assuming that GDI forces had lost the will to fight and that the GDI bases in the region would be easily captured and/or destroyed.
Nod commanders were thus very surprised when the GDI installations that were supposed to be abandoned or easily captured turned out to be well fortified and heavily defended. Nod forces were beaten back, and in some cases outright decimated. For the first time since the start of the Tiberium War GDI forces had managed to outsmart Nod forces, and GDI quickly capitalized on this success by launching offensives at the scattered Nod forces and Nod's own installations. It was around this time that it was revealed that the UN had faked the Byelistok incident to achieve this exact end. With Nod now revealed to be manipulating the mass media, GDI forces and the UN were able to regain some of their lost prestige, and along with that came a boost in confidence and morale. For the next two years the Brotherhood slowly lost ground to the GDI forces.
Then GDI forces received a huge break: GDI satellites had located a Nod R&D facility outside Yugoslavia, and UN intelligence received information that Kane would be inspecting the facility personally. Acting on this intelligence American General James Solomon was ordered to destroy the facility. GDI forces successfully destroyed the facility, but many were deeply traumatized when they entered the actual R&D lab and discovered the experiments Nod was conducting. What was seen within the base was immediately and permanently classified, but rumors have suggested that it may have been the results of Nod’s human/tiberium experimentation. Sadly, Solomon and his team failed to kill Kane; the Nod leader had apparently either gotten lucky and escaped the facility, or had known about the oncoming GDI assault and left in advance.
It was about this time that reconnaissance satellites spotted what was later determined to be the Temple of Nod, the nerve center for all Brotherhood activities. Deducing this to be the location of Kane, General Shepphard was ordered to take what was left of his unit and annihilate the Sarajevo base. In the ensuing 72-hour battle GDI forces wiped out Nod resistance in the region. Then GDI forces called in an Ion Cannon satellite strike on the Temple and destroyed the entire structure, reportedly killing Kane and fracturing the entire Nod command structure. Details on the death of Kane are sketchy at best, with some saying that the chamber he was in had collapsed on top of him while others saying he was vaporized by the ion cannon strike. The second story seems to hold the most merit, as interior surveillance of the Temple showed Kane embracing the light from the Ion Cannon strike. Still, this image haunted GDI members who were involved in the siege of the Temple, and Solomon would play the footage over and over, wondering if Kane was truly gone forever.
[edit] The Interwar Years
Shortly after the destruction of the Temple of Nod and the apparent death of Kane, GDI forces moved in to secure the last remaining Nod installations. The shock of losing Kane and the disturbing truth behind the Brotherhood's manipulation and deceit slowly surfaced, and the world finally realised the full extent of the victory that GDI had fought so long and hard for. Nod commanders were brought before UN tribunals and charged with crimes against humanity, while GDI forces secured and removed several Nod units, artifacts, soldiers, blueprints, and other valuable intelligence for study and analysis. Kane's body was never found or recovered, a move which has since been regarded as the biggest mistake in modern military history.
Meanwhile, the scientific community began seriously studying the hazards of Tiberium and its growth and spread on earth. Increasingly, the scientific community began issuing warnings to the global community about the hazards of Tiberium. Eventually, this led to several GDI units being recalled from actively hunting out traces of the Brotherhood and reassigned to large scale civilian evacuations from areas affected by Tiberium. GDI itself relocated from its previous (and undisclosed) headquarters to a massive space station named Philadelphia. GDI research into tiberium continued unabated, while new battlefield weaponry was tested, certified, and introduced to GDI for use in combat. At some point during this time GDI General James Solomon succeeded General Mark Sheppard and General Jon Hilty as supreme general of the Global Defense Initiative.
[edit] The Second Tiberium War
On September 2, 2030, GDI bases and outpost around the world unexpectedly found themselves under siege by Nod forces. This was considered to be a strange occurrence, as the Brotherhood of Nod was supposed to have been nearly annihilated in the last war. While checking on the status of bases in regions across the globe, GDI's communication equipment was hacked into, and in a live broadcast to Solomon and the GDI officials aboard the Philadelphia, Kane revealed himself to be alive, and announced his return to the global scene. Alarmed by this development, General Solomon ordered GDI to take action against the Brotherhood, and placed GDI field commander Michael "Mack" McNeil in charge of the campaign. The war started with Solomon’s order to retake Phoenix Base, a GDI installation that had been hit hard by the Brotherhood in their initial assault. McNeil successfully eliminated the Nod base in the region, then left to oversee civilian evacuations. Shortly after that McNeil was ordered in to secure a crash site that Nod had been excavating. This turned out to be a massive Scrin ship, containing technology more advanced than that which currently existed. During McNeil's inspection of the ship he was attacked by Umagon, a member of The Forgotten.
Umagon explained her situation to McNeil, asking for his help in rescuing Tratos, who was the leader of the Forgotten and had been captured by Nod and taken to a heavily defended Nod medical installation for experimentation. In exchange for his help Umagon would give McNeil the location of the drug lord Vega, a Nod general that McNeil and his men were searching for and in pursuit of. McNeil agreed to her request, and sent a small task force to free the Mutant leader. Shortly after his arrival aboard the GDI command ship Kodiak Tratos admitted to translating the Tacitus for Kane, a move that Tratos feared would result in Kane's ability to better use tiberium as a weapon. This news did not sit well with GDI commanders, who feared that Kane would welcome the chance to create newer tiberium based weapons.
McNeil, having received the location of Vega from Umagon, ordered the Kodiak to the region, where GDI forces overwhelmed Vega's troops and captured the drug kingpin, but Vega had anticipated the arrival of GDI forces and intentionally took an overdose of his "eye candy" drug. Shortly thereafter his pyramid headquarters was destroyed in a nuclear blast, a parting gift from Kane.
McNeil's next mission was the recapture of the strategically important Hammerfest Base, which had been overrun by Nod forces operating in the region. Due to the nature of the base defense at Hammerfest, GDI was forced to conduct an amphibious assault against the facility. McNeil successfully recaptured Hammerfest Base, but had to chase down a Nod bullet train that was moving specially designed Disruptor Crystals to a Nod base for analysis.
After recapturing the disruptor cystals, GDI forces under McNeil's command were ordered to locate and destroy a Nod missile base outside Hamburg, Germany, which was producing a new type of chemical missile. After destroying the base GDI forces encountered a new and previously unseen Nod fighter: the Banshee. These fighters were operating out of a large Nod R&D base using the data translated from the Tacitus to create new and more powerful units for the Brotherhood. Members of The Forgotten volunteered to enter the combat zone first to locate the production facility for GDI, a proposal that McNeil agreed to. Shortly after the discovery of the facility GDI forces arrived and, with the help of the prototype Mammoth Mk II, laid waste to it.
McNeil was next ordered to the European area of operations, but he refused these orders after receiving a transmission from a mutant commando. The commando revealed that Nod was planning to launch a massive "world altering missile" in an attempt to terraform the entire planet into Tiberium. McNeil responded by ordering all GDI forces in the area into combat. His first task was the elimination of small Nod support base northwestern of Nods primary base. Once this base was destroyed GDI forces established their own base and began hunting for Nod units, but quickly altered their search to locating and eliminating three intercontinental ballistic missile launchers deployed by the Brotherhood to destroy the Philadelphia. This was necessary because the Philadelphia had the ability to track and destoy any missile launched by Nod. When these launchers were destroyed GDI forces shifted their attention to Kane’s rebuilt Temple of Nod and the Pyramid of Nod, which contained the World Altering Missile. In the end, Kane was stabbed through the chest with a jagged piece of metal wielded by McNeil, who rescued Umagon and retrieved the Tacitus. Aboard the Kodiak Tratos gave Umagon a cure for tiberium poisoning he had made from the Tacitus, which appeared to have worked on her. With Nod once more fractured GDI forces began excavation of Nod’s temple and pyramid.
[edit] Firestorm
Shortly after the defeat of Nod in Tiberian Sun, Tratos contacted Dr. Boudreau, a scientist employed by GDI, with terrible news. His original serum for reversing the effects of Tiberium was ineffective at stopping the genetic alterations. Umagon had been restrained in his facility, and the images transmitted by Tratos to Dr. Boudreau confirmed his story. Tratos asked that GDI forces retrieve the Tacitus and ship it to him immediately, a move that Dr. Boudreau complied with. GDI personnel managed to retrieve and load the Tacitus aboard the Kodiak despite the fact that the Daedalus team responsible for the excavation was under heavy enemy sniper fire.
Unfortunately, while transporting the Tacitus through an Ion Storm the Kodiak was struck by lightning and crashlanded somewhere between its destination and its start point. GDI dispatched a recovery team to find Kodiak and repair her, and sent trucks to allow the team to ship the Tacitus out. With the aid of the local population, who reported seeing the ship, GDI forces managed to find the Kodiak, but the engineers dispatched with the recovery team were unable to repair her; as a result, the Tacitus was secured and shipped out by truck, but, along with the Kodiak, GDI also lost communication with the Philadelphia, the Kodiak being the communication relay with the station. Unable to receive orders from general Solomon, General Cortez became GDI's commander as long as communication link wasn't reestablished with the Philadelphia.
While this was happening Nod forces under CABAL's control arrived at the GDI base that contained Tratos, and assassinated him. This resulted in widespread riots between mutants, civilians, and GDI forces who were forced to intervene and protect both sides. The loss of Tratos also had a profound effect on the research into Tiberium because Tratos was the only person who could translate the device. General Cortez had ordered EVA to look into other possibilities of translating the Tacitus when Dr. Boudreau proposed a radical solution to the problem: CABAL. Since Kane's notes were taken by CABAL it was assumed CABAL would be able to translate the Tacitus for GDI. GDI forces reactivated CABAL and instructed him to translate the Tacitus, but CABAL was unable to comply with the request. It seemed that a second section of the Tacitus was needed in order for the device to be complete and allow for translation.
GDI decided to recover the last piece, and dispatched Ghost Stalker, a medic, an archeologist, and a juggernaut to find the last piece. After searching several pyramids in Central America the team successfully recovered the last piece and returned it to CABAL's core. Armed with this second piece, CABAL seized control of several cyborg units and began attacking the daedalus team members within his core. GDI light infantry returned fire, and managed to buy enough time for Dr. Boudreau and her team to escape from the facility. Boudreau and her team managed to locate a GDI base in the region, and were promptly evacuated while reinforcements were flown in to find and destoy CABAL's core.
This core turned out to be fake, leaving CABAL in charge of a vastly powerful cyborg army. As CABAL’s army increased in size GDI received help from a most unlikely source: the Brotherhood of Nod. Outnumbered and under siege by CABAL as well, Nod general Anton Slavik contacted GDI General Cortez in an attempt to secure a temporary cease fire. GDI forces agreed, and an unholy alliance between both sides was forged. Both factions began attacking CABAL's auxiliary bases, in GDI's case this involved an assault against a cyborg processing and production plant. GDI then turned its attention to the main CABAL core, laying siege to the bases under CABAL's control and ultimately annihilating it's core.
Shortly after the defeat of CABAL GDI forces recovered the Tacitus, whose two pieces had somehow fused into one. While under examination the Tacitus suddenly lit up, displaying the many secrets it contained and giving new hope to the GDI scientists who continue to seek a cure for tiberium poisoning.
[edit] The Third Tiberium War
In 2047, the Brotherhood of Nod launched a vicious assault on the GDI's base of operations, the giant space station Philadelphia. Since the end of the Second Tiberium war, Nod had developed its military into a massive global superpower and it quickly destroyed Philadephia, killing most of GDI's commanders. This might be the beginning of a Third Tiberium War where one of the 2 factions will finally get rid of the other one and decide the fate of what remains of the world.
Since the Second Tiberium War, GDI has shifted its efforts from defense to ecology, believing that containing Tiberium is a higher priority than the Brotherhood of Nod, which is believed to be fracturing. But when a recon mission in the North Carolina Badlands reveals a large Nod base, it becomes apparent that the Brotherhood of Nod is up to something.
GDI Lieutenant General Jack Granger is informed by Lt. Sandra Telfair that Nod forces have attacked Goddard Space Center in Maryland, taking out GDI's anti-missile system on the Eastern seaboard. Shortly afterward, Nod destroys the Philadelphia with a nuclear missile, and launches a full-scale surprise attack on the Blue Zones. GDI commanders begin to rally their demoralized forces to fight against the Brotherhood of Nod and the returned Kane.
GDI's first priority is to defend and repair the Pentagon, which is the only facility on Earth that can coordinate and communicate with the rest of the GDI forces around the globe. The GDI garrison in Washington successfully defends the Pentagon, and move to push Nod out of the Washington Blue Zone. They quickly retake the Langley Air Force Base and Hampton Roads, restoring GDI air power and cutting off additional Nod reinforcements. With the Nod forces crippled and confused, the GDI garrison strikes and pushes Nod out of Washington, retaking the White House in the process.
Thanks to GDI's success in Washington, GDI forces around the world begin 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, inherits the post of Director of GDI. He promises the public a swift and absolute victory over Nod, though Granger is more skeptical of his claims. Acting on intelligence gained from Nod prisoners, Granger sends a strike force to Casabad, Africa to investigate the possiblity of Nod developing weapons of mass destruction. After capturing the Nod facility there, it is revealed that Kane is in fact developing a Liquid Tiberium Bomb, which can react with normal Tiberium to create a massive explosion of unrivaled scale. To prevent the weapon from leaving Africa, GDI forces swiftly destroy Nod's port facilities at Alexandria. Also, in an act of vengeance, the GDI forces attack a Nod nuclear missile silo in Cairo, as it was responsible for the destruction of the Philadelphia.
With Nod on the run and deprived of their superweapons, Boyle orders an attack on the heavily defended Temple Prime in Sarajevo, much to Granger's protests. Using a small, beseiged foward base in Croatia, GDI forces manage to secure a foothold in their impending assault on Sarajevo. In preparation for the attack, a small GDI task force is sent to Albania, where they destroy a major Nod supply depot. Deprived of reinforcements, Sarajevo is left vulnerable to attack. After vicious fighting, GDI forces manage to penetrate Temple Prime's defenses and surround the Temple itself, forcing Kane and his followers into hiding. Too impatient for a seige, Boyle forces Granger to fire the Ion Cannon on Temple Prime. Unfortunately, the blast ignites a massive resevoir of liqiud Tiberium under the Temple, causing a massive explosion that sends lethal Tiberium fallout all over Eastern Europe. Kane and his followers are presumed dead, but at the cost of millions of innocent lives.
However, GDI does not enjoy their victory for long. Shortly after the explosion, several unidentified alien ships begin to approach Earth. Without consulting Granger, Boyle hastily activates the Ion Cannon and uses it to fire on the invaders. Instead of being destroyed, the ships merely split into smaller pieces and begin to make landfall. Much like the beginning of the war, Blue Zones all over the world are simultaneously attacked by the alien invaders who quickly overrun the surprised GDI forces. Granger realizes that these aliens are the Scrin, which were prophesized in the Tacitus to invade Earth. He sends an elite GDI task force to Germany to escort a group of scientists out of Munich. These scientists have been studying the Scrin and their survival is vital. The scientists are safely escorted out of the devastated city. Meanwhile, scattered GDI forces in other parts of Germany begin to regroup and counterattack, forcing the Scrin out of Stuttgart and later all of Germany.
After the initial invasion, Granger realizes that the attack on the Blue Zones was merely a diversion to lead GDI away from the Scrin's true objective, the construction of numerous vast, mysterious towers. Granger sends a GDI strike force to Rome, the original source of Tiberium, to destroy one such tower. The GDI forces succeed in destroying the tower's defenses, allowing GDI to destroy the tower via Ion Cannon. As GDI forces begin destroying the rest of the towers worldwide, the GDI force in Rome is sent to destroy the Scrin's command node, which is transmitting Tiberium radiation to every other Scrin on the globe. Unfortunately, Nod forces are also present and must be dealt with also. During the battle, Boyle authorizes the use of a Liquid Tiberium Bomb he had built using technology siezed from Nod. Granger however discourages its use as it contradicts GDI's goal of destroying Tiberium.
It is at this point where the story diverges into two possible endings. It has not yet been stated yet which is canonical.
If the Liquid Tiberium Bomb is used, both Nod and the Scrin command node are destroyed. Without the command node, all Scrin on the planet are rendered defenseless. However, there is massive collateral damage, as the Liquid Tiberium Bomb set off a chain reaction with the Tiberium in the Italian Red Zone. Over 25 million innocent civilians worldwide are killed, along with the entire attacking GDI force. Disgusted and disappointed with GDI's use of the Liquid Tiberium Bomb, Granger retires from his post. He has no wish to work for an army willing to compromise its own ideals. A jubilant and now popular Boyle appoints his own candidate to take Granger's post and promises a brave new future for GDI.
If the Liquid Tiberium Bomb is not used, both Nod and the Scrin command node are destroyed with minimal collateral damage. Without the command node, all Scrin on the planet are rendered defenseless. Granger is proud of the fact that GDI had managed to defeat both Nod and the Scrin and restore world peace without having to resort to Liquid Tiberium. Meanwhile, Boyle is forced to resign as Director of GDI, as his authorization to use the Liquid Tiberium Bomb allows him to be tried for war crimes.
