Brotherhood of Nod

The Brotherhood of Nod is an organization that features in Command and Conquer.

History

Tiberium Dawn

The Brotherhood of Nod was an organization that formed on Earth with its founding being unknown though some exaggerated reports claimed that it was before before 1800 BC. Led by the enigmatic Kane, the Brotherhood fights for dominance against the Global Defense Initiative and wish to evolve through the use of Tiberium.

Interpol came to keep track of the activities of the Brotherhood by the modern age.

They were believed to had backed a number of extremist organisations around the world including the Fist of Allah in Jordan, the United We Stand America party in the United States, Albion First! party in the United Kingdom and others.

Initially, GDI forces had the upper hand. However, the tide of the war turned when Nod propaganda claiming that GDI slaughtered the Polish town of Białystok, forcing the United Nations to suspend funding for GDI while they conduct an internal investigation. With GDI forces weakened, Nod went on the offensive, attacking GDI positions while continuing to smear GDI in the media. Kane himself even sent a taunting message to GDI Commander James Solomon, admitting his manipulation of the media and claiming that the GDI had already lost. However, the funding suspension was revealed to be a trick: the UN never believed that GDI had conducted atrocities and this was all part of plan to lull Kane into a false sense of security. With funding restored, GDI forces pushed back against Nod forces, destroying a Nod Bio-Research Laboratory in Yugoslavia, where Kane was personally overseeing Tiberium-based human experiments. Though Kane escaped before the destruction of the lab, GDI was able to pinpoint the location of Nod's headquarters: the Temple of Nod in Sarajevo. After a three-day siege, the Temple was destroyed by a GDI ion cannon, presumably killing Kane and ending the war. However, Kane's body was never recovered.

Tiberium Sun

After the seeming death of Kane, the Brotherhood came to break up into multiple factions and split into smaller armies that fought against one another more than GDI. One of its leading figures was General Hassan who was secretly collaborating with GDI in ensuring that the Brotherhood remained relatively harmless. One such Kane loyalists, Anton Slavik, was scheduled to be publicly executed in 2030. However, he was saved by Oxanna Kristos, who had been feigning loyalty to Hassan. After Slavik and the forces loyal to him overthrew Hassan, Kane revealed himself to the Brotherhood via television, alive and well.

On September 2, 2030, the Brotherhood launched a coordinated attack on GDI forces worldwide thus beginning the Second Tiberium War. Caught by surprise, GDI lost many key bases, including Phoenix Base and Hammerfest. However, GDI commander Michael McNeil, together with his Forgotten allies, were able to turn the tide of the war. Late into the war, Kane began launching chemical missiles, which transform whatever they touched into pure Tiberium at the atomic level. According to the Forgotten leader Tratos, this missile was based on the secrets from the Tacitus and that Kane had tricked him into translating the Tacitus for him. Eventually, the mutant Umagon was captured by Kane and taken to his headquarters, the Cairo Nod Pyramid. There, Kane revealed to her that he was planning to transform Earth into "a virgin paradise... an Eden, awaiting the birth of a new race". To do so, he intended to launch the World Altering Missile, a missile capable of converting the entire Earth into Tiberium. He then subjected Umagon to Tiberium enhancement, intending to turn her into the first of the new race capable of surviving in the Tiberium world. However, McNeil launched an unauthorized attack on Cairo and stopped the launch of the missile. Kane confronted McNeil in the Nod Pyramid, holding Umagon hostage. However, after Umagon freed herself, McNeil impaled Kane with a piece of debris, apparently killing him and putting an end to the war.

With Kane's second apparent death, the Brotherhood fractured once more. The Inner Circle, a council of Nod generals, bickered among themselves, despite efforts by Anton Slavik to unite them. In order to restore order, Slavik ordered a commander loyal to him to recapture the data core of CABAL, Nod's AI advisor during the Second Tiberium War. After its reactivation, CABAL began manipulating both GDI and Nod: engineering the death of Tratos and the capture of the Tacitus, including its previously unknown missing portion. After gaining access to the complete Tacitus, it took control of Nod's entire cyborg army and began attacking GDI and Nod forces alike, killing the entire Inner Circle save for Slavik. As CABAL declared war against all of humanity, converting the able-bodied into cyborgs and slaughtering the rest, GDI and Nod were forced to put their differences aside and join forces against the AI. Eventually, CABAL was destroyed by the combined GDI-Nod forces. With the entire Inner Circle dead, the Brotherhood was fully reunited under Anton Slavik. Unbeknownst to them, however, Kane was still alive in a suspension capsule within one of CABAL's bunkers.

Tiberium Wars

The Brotherhood's newfound unity proved to be relatively short-lived. Slavik eventually revealed himself to be a Black Hand prelate, drawing much attention to this once secretive "cult within a cult". Soon, an anti-Slavik faction rose within the Black Hand, and from within this faction emerged a charismatic and impassioned preacher capable of rivaling Slavik - Brother Marcion. Sensing an opportunity to remove Slavik and divide the Brotherhood once more, GDI sent an undercover agent to infiltrate the Black Hand. The agent, masquerading as an orthodox Nod fanatic, gained Marcion's trust and convinced him to assassinate Slavik. Following Slavik's death, Nod splintered into countless sub-factions, each claiming legitimacy. Marcion and his followers went into self-imposed exile in the Australian outback, with Marcion denouncing Kane and claiming himself to be the true prophet.

At the direction of Kane, the Brotherhood concentrated efforts in rebuilding Eastern Europe that had been a focal point of Nod activity for decades.

A temporary cease-fire was ordered as both Nod and GDI looked to begin coordinated operations against the Invader forces. However, when Kane was revealed to be alive, he ordered an end to the short-lived alliance leading to hostilities erupting between them once again.

Tiberium Twilight

Using data from the Tacitus, Kane devised a means of controlling the growing spread of Tiberium and to harness it safely. However, he could not achieve this with Nod's resources along and thus had to ally with GDI to achieve his goal. This led to the completion of the Tiberium Control Network that created nodes that harvested Tiberium for use by the entire planet. Kane's subsequent truce with Nod's former enemy left many of his worshippers confused and angry with some being open to new leadership.

Overview

Organization

In appearance, the Brotherhood of Nod was a global order with millions of members all working together whose goal according to them was to bring harmony by uniting the world in the name of peace and realize the true potential of mankind. It was commonly known as the Brotherhood, the Ways of Nod, and as ShaÆSeer among the tribes of Godan.

Whilst GDI seems Nod as a terrorist group, the Brotherhood believed that they were agents of change for the world and bringing about the New Order. During the 20th century, their mission was to unite the third-world nations under a pseudo-religious political platform with imperialist tendencies. Nod as an aggressive popular neo-fascist anti-West movement that vied for total domination of the world's people as well as its resources.

A leadership body within the Brotherhood was the Inner Circle that consisted of its top leaders.

Initially, it was believed that Nod was a small terrorist operation but in the 20th century a number of scandals involving United States defences contractors revealed that the Brotherhood was well-equipped were it possessed significant land, sea as well as air military operations.

Its members were representatives of the poor and oppressed that see themselves as a foil to the previously unchecked power of the GDI. The Brotherhood had the manpower, resources, organizations and raw military power needed to stand against their foe to wage a war on the global scale. Nod was not a single country but rather a hybrid organization that combined the characteristics of a religious movement, a multinational corporation and a nation-state. It was able to recruit thousands of new members each month from the desperate populations of the borderlands. The Brotherhood's political, military and logistical operations were decentralized with them being buried deep inside crumbling cities, towers and outposts in the decaying Yellow Zones. Vast sophisticated infrastructure was disguised from GDI as Nod perfected the art of moving their military forces and assets quickly over long distances without detection. This was to the point that even satellite and drone aircraft with the latest generation of sensors were unable to catch their movements. The core organization itself was highly sophisticated and high-tech that were supported by a large number of guerilla fighters formed from hastily trained but minimally equipped recruits from the Yellow Zones. Field forces were a mix of low-tech military and highly trained elite soldiers equipped with the state of the art communication gear and advanced weapon systems. Nod engineers were not above risking human life and would sacrifice both safety as well as protection for increased ability and speed. The high-end military equipment itself also ran on Tiberium making them fast but also vulnerable, lethal and unstable. Their offensive weaponry ranged from rockets, machine guns, flame throwers to toxins, lasers, and nuclear weapons along with Tiberium-based weapons.

Their operational doctrine dictated that commanders should control the tempo of combat operations where they were to avoid direct contact with the enemy. This was at least until the time and place was ready with Nod forces placing a heavy focus on stealth, speed, mobility, force composition and operational flexibility.

Among their military divisions included:

• Black Hand : Black Hand heavy infantry units were known to carry portable flamethrowers that can wreak havoc on enemy infantry.
• Shadows : trained in using many of the same techniques as those that shaped ancient ninja where the Shadows operated as elite Special Forces troopers able to infiltrate behind enemy lines. Shadows used stealth whilst carrying rapid-fire weapons that were deadly against enemy infantry. For transport, they used collapsible powered hang-gliders allowing them to fly across the field. However, their most dangerous weapon was the use of a new type of explosive that could destroy enemy structures with a single blast. The Chemical Composition of the explosive was obtained through espionage where it was stolen from a GDI lab that was working on the Next-Generation of chemical explosives.
• Saboteurs : consisting of an elite society of Combat Engineers that included some of the most loyal and brilliant Clerics. They used their special talents to take over key enemy structures and rig civilian structures with proximity-detonated explosive charges. Years of training produced Saboteurs where they were taught scientific skills alongside sabotage, infiltration, appropriation as well as hijacking.
• Commando :

Its elite soldiers among the Black Hand and Shadow were highly capable but relatively few in number. Thus, they were tasked with devastating precision assignments whilst the large number of ordinary soldiers were deployed for brute force and utilised in large numbers in a battle. Thus, Nod recruited their rank and file by the hundreds of thousands from the desperate populations within the Yellow Zones where they were given enough training, weapons and equipment to serve their intended role by the Brotherhood.

The Scrin were seen as divine instruments and referred to as the Visitors. They themselves were not divine in their own right but rather were an instrument that wold allow Nod to fulfil their own goals. The Visitors were hostile to the Brotherhood but this was because it was held that their vision was limited and knew not their purpose in the Plan. Central in their belief was a time known as the Ascension that was said to be the reward that awaited them and would be the fulfilment of their destiny.

A popular mantra was "Brotherhood, unity, peace". A common phrase used by the Brotherhood was "Peace through Power".

Technology

Much of the early Nod research was contained within the Brotherhood Archives until its destruction.

Flamethrowers were a notable weapon used by Nod where they utilised it as a powerful anti-infantry armament and employed is staggering psychological effect against their enemies. Over time, the Brotherhood developed a form of concentrated fuel that permitted extended combat operations for a new generation of flame weapons that could be used against infantry and vehicles.

The Brotherhood was known to build their weapons on-site within the Theatre of Operations. War factories were housed mostly underground where nano-assemblers and heavy industrial robots were used to construct as well as repair tanks, bikes, buggies and other vehicles. Repair drones often orbited around the surface features of the war factory where vehicles within proximity were automatically repaired. They also utilised modular Tiberium refineries that could be set up quickly and effectively on-site where they used the latest Tiberium processing technology. The Latest Generation Nod harvesters were built to be fast and avoided detection with on-board Stealth Technology. The newest generation of base defences were made for maximum flexibility, lethality and survivability. Each base defence consisted of four components that were a hub along with three turrets. Each turret was slaved to the hub that acted as a central targeting and fire control system. Nano-assemblers were used to repair or re-build damaged turrets with the weapons could include anti-aircraft Surface-to-Air missiles, anti-vehicle lasers and anti-personnel Shredder guns.

Among the vehicles used by Nod included:

• Raider :
• Devil's Tongue :
• Flame Tank : a newer version of the anti-infantry weapon system that replaced the older 'Devil's Tongue' model with this model carrying heavier armour, a turret for easier targeting and dual flamethrowers that could fire for longer periods of time without refuelling. They were devastating to all forms of infantry and could clear out garrisoned building with terrifying ease as well as efficiency. Only enclosed crew compartments in armoured vehicles were known to protect the fires generated by these tanks.
• Tick Tank :
• Scorpion Tank :
• Stealth Tank : The generation generation of stealth ranks were faster, more manoeuvrable and even deadlier. They were equipped with missile launchers that made them effective against vehicles and structures making them versatile weapon systems that allowed commanders to be aggressive and take the fight to the enemy by using the tanks stealth generators. Upon unleashing their missiles, the crew then quickly left the scene to allow their stealth bubble to reform so that they could be safe where in this mode the launchers could re-load for the next attack.
• Beam Cannon : a fearsome long range weapon that fired a powerful laser allowing it to be used as an artillery piece that moved on a versatile six-wheeled chassis allowing for speed, agility and range unrivalled by an opponent. However, it had an added ability where multiple Beam Cannons could combine their beams to drastically increase their combat power. This combinational ability could also be used to drive the capacitators of an Obelisk of Light.
• Avatar : these ten meter tall bipedal combat walkers were an all-terrain war machine that was equipped with a base laser weapon that was effective against vehicles and structures. It could be upgraded that increased its combat power significantly. The Avatar could adapt key systems from other vehicles for its use such as stealth generators, stealth detectors, anti-infantry flame throwers and beam weapons with the walker able to arm itself with four secondary systems. It was considered a privilege for an operator being chosen to pilot these intimidating vehicles.
• Carryall :
• Venom :
• Vertigo : a batwing stealth bomber that used the latest optical and radar stealth technology. A weakness of the design was that the aircraft had to 'de-cloak' in order to drop their massively powerful bomb making them vulnerable but upon deploying their payload they could re-engage their stealth field to escape any return fire.
• Armageddon : a long-range bomber that was infrequently used but when deployed these aircraft were used to deliver cluster mines and other air-to-ground weapons to the battlefield.

Over time, their strategy began to change with regards to constructing vehicles. Vehicles were built on-site within the theatre of operations. Nod War Factories were housed mostly underground and used nano-assemblers and heavy industrial robots to construct and repair tanks, bikes, buggies, and other vehicles. Repair drones orbited around the surface features of the War Factory where any vehicles in proximity to the War Factory were automatically repaired.

It was due to GDI dominance of space that resulted in Nod investing in stealth technology as a countermeasure. One measure they developed was the use of Disruption Towers that were large stealth bubbles that covered an area allowing vehicles or structures to operate undetected though the tower itself was visible. Due to this, dummy towers were created in remote locations that were used to foil any human-intelligence gathering operations.

The new generation Obelisks of Light had improved functionality with additional serial-channel capacitors. Their basic architecture was not vastly different from earlier models though the core laser weapon had been enhanced for increased firing duration when the power output was reduced. They were now capable of sustained-fire mode when used against unarmored targets such as infantry and civilian vehicles allowing for the laser to fire at limited power in an arc, resulting in a cutting motion that can strike several infantry per emission. Advanced capacitors also allowed over-charging of the tower by Nod's long-range artillery platform namely the Beam Cannon. When one or more Beam Cannons focus their laser weapons at a receptor on the base of the tower it can fire over increased range by directly feeding the added energy into its mirror array. The limited targeting ability of the mirror array still suggests aircraft as the optimal answer for any Obelisks encountered on the field.

A key aspect of the Nod supply chain were the use of Carryall transports. These came into play the moment aircraft began to operate from a Nod base with the Brotherhood able to request airlifts. Their importance though meant that they were often a target of enemy anti-aircraft fire. Since the Second Tiberium War, Nod aircraft had considerably evolved allowing them to match their GDI opponents.

Through an advanced weapon research program, the Brotherhood studied Tiberium as a weapon leading to the development of Liquid Tiberium. This liquid form of the alien substance was a relatively new manifestation with its full properties not well known.

Members

• Kane : the bald headed seemingly human male leader who had a variety of names over the years that included Caine, Jacob and Amir al-Quayym.
• Seth :
• Hassan :
• Anton Slavik :
• Oxanna Kristos :
• Marcion :
• Killian Qatar :
• Alexa Kovacs :
• Gideon : a male who grew up in the poisoned Middle America wasteland where he found his calling when a travelling preacher came to his town to spread the word of Kane. Since then, he built his own following through his evangelical populism and use of radical Nod prophecies that went as far as pronouncing Kane as a fake. With Kane absent from the stage, Gideon started to gain traction amongst the new and old followers within the Brotherhood.

Notes

• The Brotherhood of Nod was created by Westworld Studios where they featured in the setting of the Command and Conquer Tiberium universe.

Appearances

• Command and Conquer:
• Command and Conquer: Tiberium Sun:
• Command and Conquer: Tiberium Wars:
• Command and Conquer: Tiberium Twilight:

External Link

• Command & Conquer Wiki Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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