Background

The various incarnations of the Nod Stealth Tank, from Ezekiel's Wheel onwards, have been key elements of Kane's war machine since the first skirmishes between Nod and GDI at the turn of the century. While the development of the previous three generations is now well document, there are scant details regarding the origin of the vehicle's highly advanced 4th generation Stealth Tank. Rumors abound however, nearly all of them centering on a series of events in the remote Siberian Wastelands.

The barren tundra that was to become TCN Node #51 was the site of several mysterious occurrences long before construction formally began in 2072. In 2071, a GDI convoy carrying construction materials disappeared en route, and the Orca recon patrol dispatched to find it was lost in a heavy snowstorm. Fearing that the violent weather had jeopardized the construction effort, a GDI ground team was hastily assembled and sent to the convoy's last known position. On approach, the team reported no sign of the vehicles, but the transmission was abruptly cut off. The team was never heard from again. Another rescue was attempted, this time with a Mammoth Tank at the forefront, but eerily, this group also disappeared.

The disappearances unnerved the nearby GDI garrison, with many troops refusing to accept patrol duties that would bring them within the vicinity of TCN Node #51. Those that did sometimes reported seeing the outline of a woman in the distance, walking calmly in the raging snowstorm, leading to stories of a "White Lady" which haunted the surround area. The GDI base commander, needing to begin construction but unwilling to risk losing more troops, requested a Nod recon detachment to ascertain the fate of the missing personnel.

Several days after the recon team was dispatched, three of the team's fifteen members returned to base, accompanied by an unidentified young woman. At this point, all official records are sealed by direct order of Kane himself, leaving only a handful of witnesses to detail what happened next. The witnesses agree that the woman identified herself to the base commander as Alyssa, and stated that she had a gift for Kane. Immediately thereafter, the witnesses reported that a vehicle un-stealthed behind her, revealing a completely new, highly-advanced, Stealth Tank.

This Stealth Tank was sleeker than the 3rd generation model, painted snowstorm white and heavily armed and armored. One witness claims to have heard the vehicle's creator take sole responsibility for the destruction of the GDI convoys and patrols with this single vehicle. After an initial inspection, the vehicle was immediately transported to an undisclosed location, presumably to join Project Omega as the prototype for the next-generation of Stealth Tanks. Although unconfirmed, some reports indicate that the Stealth Tank was returned to its original owner several years later after extensive study.

Details regarding the enigmatic Alyssa remain scarce, leading to rampant speculation amongst the world's conspiracy theorists. One believes that she was in command of a Nod installation at TCN Site #51, one of the "Vaults" of Kane that housed Nod's secret projects. Another proposes she is a Human-Scrin hybrid, born from Nod's twisted experiments in the frozen wastes of Siberia, and incorporated advanced Scrin technology into her vehicle. The most popular theory suggests she is a descendant of Anton Slavik, raised in the shadows to one day become Kane's most brilliant general. Theories abound, but the White Lady remains a mystery, one to which only Kane himself holds the key.

Battlefield Specifications

Agile, Mobile, Hostile

The White Lady's custom vehicle is the template for Nod's recently introduced 4th generation Stealth Tank, and for good reason; it is an improvement in every regard over the previous generation. Whereas the loss of a single wheel would have disabled a 3rd generation Stealth Tank, this new incarnation returns to the four tread design to focus on reliability and maneuverability, especially in harsh climates like snow and desert. The fourth tread also allows for more weight to be carried, allowing the use of the heavier, reinforced sloped armor for superior protection. In the weapons department, the Stealth Tank is configured to fire all loaded rockets in rapid succession for a very powerful volley against either air or ground targets. The system can take several seconds to fully reload, but the pilot can fire the rockets individually as they are loaded if immediate firepower is required.

Can't Hit What You Can't See

The new stealth generator is a vast improvement over its predecessor, capable of making the Stealth Tank completely invisible to the naked eye. Although the vehicle is still revealed when firing, the optical camouflage remains partially active, confusing enemy targeting equipment and causing most return fire to miss the Stealth Tank completely. Combined with reinforced armor, this feature improves the vehicle's survivability and allows it to participate in heavier engagements. As the cloaked vehicle is currently detectable only by experimental sensor suites, the Stealth Tank continues to be a vital, flexible component in the Brotherhood's war machine.

An Army of Ghosts

Despite the extensive time spent analyzing Alyssa's Stealth Tank, Nod scientists are still unable to fully reproduce the rumored stealth bubble technology it possesses. Though stealth bubbles have been utilized in the past, namely for Disruption Towers and Cloaking Fields, each had their drawbacks - Disruption Towers were stationary and could not stealth themselves, while the Cloaking Field was highly inefficient and had adverse effects on infantry. Alyssa's stealth generator overcomes all of these drawbacks: it can stealth others in addition to itself, can cloak infantry without harming them, imparts the same targeting scrambler effect to all friendly units under the bubble, and most importantly, it is mobile. Once Nod unlocks the technology behind this marvel of engineering, Stealth Tanks can theoretically render the entire Nod army invisible on the move - a chilling thought for any that dare risk Kane's wrath.