The Nucleus Project: Chapter One

Introduction - Humanity at War

The year is 2024 on the human calendar and humanity finds itself fighting a massive multi-dimensional war against the genocidal alien forces of the Combine Empire. However humanity is not a united force and is divided into two camps, the Alliance and the Ontario Pact that fight each other and as well as the Combine in the three major dimensions involved in the war; the Imperial Verse, the Mann Verse, and the Zombie Verse where these three factions fight for supremacy and to control their resources.

Enter the Alliance

The largest and most powerful of the human factions is the Alliance led by the Earth Empire, The Empire, and Reliable Excavation and Demolition(RED) whose militaries make up a majority of the Allied forces while holding the most stable governments and economies. The Alliance was formed early in the war, about a week after the first Combine attacks in the Imperial, Zombie, and Mann verses with the alliance between RED and the Imperials against the Combine, but quickly grew to include factions from the Zombie verse and eventually the Earth Empire, who quickly surpassed both RED and the Imperials as leaders of the Alliance. But the Earth Empire's admittance allowed the Alliance to launch a massive counter-attack against the Combine, pushing them back ending with the monumental and climatic Battle of City 15.

After the liberation of City 15, the Human-Combine Wars went into a complete stalemate with the rise of the Ontario Pact led by Builder's League United(BLU) and the Northern Rebels who took advantage of the distraction caused by the Battle of City 15 to take large amount of territory in the Mann and Imperial Verses. To combat the stalemate, the Allied leaders formed a new elite fighting force consisting of forces from the three leading powers and the Lambda Resistance from the "Black Mesa Verse" called the Trans-Dimensional Joint Task Force led by the now-legendary Major General Wallace Adrian Shephard who led the Allied attack on City 15's citadel and was responsible for capturing the city's administrator.

However in response, the Combine formed the Deathwatch while BLU's leader, the Ubermensch created legions of modified versions of the nine BLU mercenaries called Shocktroopers who served as his bodyguard and as elite assault troops. But despite these developments, the stalemate continued for a bloody two years. However the Earth Empire has decreed that the Alliance will focus it's efforts on the Combine, who it considers to be the biggest threat. However this decision leaves the actions of the Pact largely unchecked by the Alliance, creating large problems for the smaller members of the Alliance who often have to deal with threats from the members of the Pact.

One of these members is the country of South Africa in the Zombie verse, who neighbors Pact-occupied Namibia led by the infamous warlord and self proclaimed president Carl Wombossi also known as "Reaver" who often leads raids against Allied facilities inside South Africa, most recently a research facility involved in the development of a portable dark-fusion reactor that could power Allied warships and reduce the reliance of oil. During this raid, he captured several key Allied scientists and burnt the million dollar facility to the ground along with years of research. This raid has led to the deployment of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Unit(MEU) to the African Coast with the support of the Imperial and South African militaries and the TDJTF. Their mission; free the scientists, capture Carl Wombossi for questioning, and destroy the Pact presence in the country once and for all. Unknowingly about to start a series of events that will change the face of the war and set it's course forever...

***

Chapter One: Operation Black Knife

Off the Coast of Namibia, Africa; Zombie-Verse(L4D Universe) - USS Wasp

Trans-Dimensional Joint Task Force(TDJTF)

March 22nd, 2024(Earth Empire and Black Mesa Verse Calendar)

Shephard waited until his eyes had adjusted to the darkness of the briefing room where he and his officers, the RED Soldier from RED Team #405, Major General Krenzi from the 22nd Imperial Army, and Alyx Vance from the Lambda Resistance's TDJTF contingent were going to discuss their plan for the upcoming assault on Carl Wombossi's palace in Windhoek where Allied intelligence believed that the scientists were being held.

"Okay here is how it's going to go!" He said, "General Krenzi and I will land south of the city and stage a diversionary attack on the Namibian military bases in the outskirts of the capital with the help of the South African military, while RED Team #405 and the Resistance contingent will attack the palace directly using our new stealth air transports."

"Should be a cake walk." The RED Soldier said, "Are there any major Pact forces in this area?"

"There have been reports about there being a single BLU team based in the city, but those have been unconfirmed. But other than that, the nearest major Pact force is the N.R 4th Army in Walvis bay, but the USMC and the Imperials will be taking care of them." Shephard replied

"A single BLU team? Shephard, when there's one BLU team there's bound to be more nearby. I know that much from having to fight them." Alyx said to him

"But as I said those reports are unconfirmed, so there may not even be BLUs in there at all." He replied, "But be warned, there are civilians in the palace. Which means watch what you're shooting at in there! We don't want any collateral damage, because we want to liberate these people and not kill them!"

"We get the idea general." The RED Soldier said to him, "So do we want Wombossi alive?"

"Yes, he may hold some important information about the Pact's operations in the region or may even help reveal the location of BLU's leader." He replied, "But none of the less, if he proves too hard to capture, shoot to kill. But also keep in mind that the INTERPOL in this dimension has placed a pretty huge price on this guy's head and whoever captures him gets to keep the award for themselves, but he has to be alive."

"Roger that!" The Soldier shouted while Alyx rolled her eyes

"Well we have two hours until the USMC and the Brenodi start their amphibious assault on Walvis Bay, so we better start getting ready." Shephard said to them, "Meet me on the flight deck at 1945 hours. Dismissed"

***

Windhoek, Khomas; Namibia - Palace of Carl Wombossi

African Warlord Carl Wombossi was sitting on his self-proclaimed "throne" when a member of the Ubermensch's reclusive inner circle entered the room with his two bodyguards

"You seem to be a wanted man Mr. Wombossi." The BLU Spy said to the Warlord as he took a cigarette out from the little metal case he was carrying before he placed it in his mouth and lit it with a light that also came from the case before putting it away in his pocket

"They've came for me before and failed, what makes tonight so different?" He replied, "So I guess you're here for those scientists?", The BLU Spy nodded; "Very well then!"; Wombossi turned to look at one of the soldiers of elite honor guard and yelled at him to bring out the captured scientists, who were brought out in chains less than two minutes later, "Here they all are!"

"And in perfect shape...which will suit well for the Herr Ubermensch." The Spy said, "He will be most pleased with them."

"He'll get them as long as I get my payment, my operations here aren't cheap you know." Wombossi said to him, "So where is it?"

"Of course, how can I forgot?" He replied as he looked back and motioned for another BLU spy who was carrying a metal blue case to come forward

"Let me see it." Wombossi said to him, the Spy nodded and opened the metal case revealing numerous small bars of gold all neatly placed inside the case

"You'll get the rest after the scientists are in our care." The Other BLU Spy said to him as he closed the case and gave it to Wombossi, who more than happily took it

"You have my word." He replied with a smile as held the case tightly in his hands

"Good." The BLU Spy said to him, "In fact I'll go ahead and save you the trouble and just take them now."

"Go ahead, the quicker I get paid, the better." Wombossi replied as the BLU Spy motioned for his bodyguards to escort the scientists to the truck outside, "So what does the Ubermensch want with them anyway?"

"It's better that you don't ask questions about our leader's intentions." He said to him, "But I ensure you that'll it be good for both us and you."

Wombossi nodded

"I understand. So when do I receive the rest of my payment?" He asked him

"The rest of it will be diverted into your bank account digitally." He replied

"Ahhhh...I've always been a fan of the physical thing, but that will do." Wombossi said, "No excuse me I'm going to go count my reward."

The BLU Spy nodded

"Very well it was nice dealing with you Mr. Wombossi, BLU looks forward to dealing with you again." He said to him

***

USS Wasp

Trans-Dimensional Joint Task Force(TDJTF)

Later that Night

The TDJTF was gathered together on the flight desk of the USS Wasp while they embarked onto the TDJTF's stealth transports that would take them deep into Namibia

"Remember we want Wombossi alive!" Shephard shouted to the RED Soldier and Alyx who were getting onto the same transport while he boarded a conventional transport

"Don't worry about us! Just worry about keeping the Namibian military off of our backs!" The RED Soldier replied, "See you at the victory party Shephard!"

The Stealth transports carrying the resistance contingent and RED team #405 were the first to take off while the conventional transports carrying Shephard's and Krenzi's men took off shortly afterwards while the USMC and Imperial Strike Force boarded their amphibious transports as they initiated their own assault on Walvis Bay

"I just hope the South African military has penetrated the border defenses because this will be anything but a cake walk without their support." Krenzi said to Shephard over the radio

"They will!" He replied, "At least it's not the Combine!"

"Well I'll give you that." Krenzi said

***

Alyx reloaded his automatic pistol while Gordon Freeman, who was sitting next to her checked the battery charge level on his trusty zero-point gravity gun that was more than useful against BLU Demomen and the Jarate-throwing BLU snipers

"You ready Gordon?" She asked him

Freeman nodded as he slung the gravity gun over his shoulder with the rest of his rather large arsenal including his also trusty and symbolic crowbar that was now slightly beginning to rust after years of killing aliens and hostile humans while sitting next to him, the RED Engineer finished calibrating his wrangler

"Demoman! Once we're on the ground, I want you to use your sticky bomb launcher to breach the wall so our friends who can't jump over it can get inside!" The RED Soldier shouted to the Demoman

"I hear ya!" The RED Demoman replied before pulling out his sticky bomb launcher and pumping it

"How far are we from the LZ?" Barney Calhoun asked the Stealth transport's pilot

"About 30 minutes!" She replied

"Heavy! Get ready!" The RED Soldier shouted to the RED Heavy who was carrying the Tomislav for the mission because it was quieter than this normal minigun

"Da!" The RED Heavy replied as he moved to the back of the VTOL while the RED Medic stood behind him, healing him with his medic gun that had been improved to be less cumbersome, heal non-RED personnel, and to build up a ubercharge more quickly

"Good to go!" The RED Medic shouted as his backpack and medic gun reached a full ubercharge

"Shit they spotted us! Get ready back there, it's going to get a bit bumpy!" The Pilot shouted as flak shells started to burst all around the stealth transports

"Where are we?" The RED Soldier asked her

"About 25 minutes away!" She replied

***

South of Windhoek

Shephard led his men out of their VTOL as he and his men started their attack on a Namibian military outpost while General Krenzi set up a FOB further south near the town of Valhala

"Sir, they're already surrendering!" One of Shephard's men said to him while the Namibian soldiers threw down their arms and surrendered at the sight of the TDJTF

"I can see that..." He replied, "Get them out of here!"

"Yes Sir! Okay boys, let get these guys out of here!" The TDJTF Soldier shouted as he motioned to the Namibian soldiers to come along with his rifle while Shephard pulled out his rangefinder and used it to observe the larger Namibian military base further up the highway from him and his men that had already been put on full alert and it's garrison mobilizing

"Welp, there goes the element of surprise..." Shephard said to himself

"Shephard! I just linked up with the forward advance units of the South African military!" Krenzi said over the radio

"Good, because they know defiantly know we're here now!" Shephard replied, "Hold your positions, we're going to bring them to you."

"Understood, I'll have my engineers start building walls and turrets." Krenzi said to him while Shephard turned to look at his men

"Okay guys! We're falling back to Valhala, where we're going to show these guys what we're made of!" Shephard shouted to them, "Move out!"

***

Presidential Palace

Wombossi was standing on the balcony of his palace as he watched the skies over the Namibian capital light up with anti-air tracers and exploding flak shells while two of his bodyguards tried to convince him to leave the city

"I'm not leaving, they've came for me before, but they've always failed." He said to them, "Now leave!"

"But sir, we're getting reports that's it the TDJTF this time and the South Africans have blasted through our defenses on the southern border and are pushing north up the highway!" One of them replied

"The TDJTF eh? Let em' come I say!" Wombossi said to them, "Even they won't be able to capture the great Carl Wombossi! Now leave me be!"

The Guards nodded and reluctantly left Wombossi alone on the balcony, unaware of the approaching danger

***

"We're here!" The Pilot of the stealth transport shouted to RED Team #405 and the rebel soldiers aboard it while she pulled the lever opening up the back doors, allowing the RED Heavy to fire his Tomislav while the Medic activated his ubercharge, making him and the Heavy temporarily invulnerable as the Namibian Presidential guardsmen fired their weapons at them only to watch their rounds bounce off

"RUN COWARDS!" The Heavy shouted while the Namibian Guards ran away while the RED Demoman ran past him and the Medic before using his sticky launcher to place eight sticky bombs onto a section of the wall surrounding the presidential palace

"Fire in the hole!" He shouted before he ran to a safe distance before detonating the bombs, creating a hole in the wall allowing the TDJTF strike force to enter the palace while the RED Soldier rocket jumped over the wall while the RED Scout used his Force of Nature to propel himself over it while Alyx Vance and Gordon Freeman led their rebel soldiers into the palace with the rest of RED Team #405 through the breach in the wall created by the Demoman while elite soldiers of the Namibian presidential guard ran out of their barracks inside the compound to defend it against the TDTJF

"Crocket!" The RED Soldier shouted as he fired a critical rocket at a mob of guardsmen, blowing them up while the RED engineer set up a mini sentry just outside the exit of the barracks along with a dispenser that healed any nearby friendlies while also resupplying their ammo

"For the UBERMENSCH!" A BLU Shock Demoman shouted as he charged out of the Presidential palace with his pipe bomb launcher in hand before firing a single pipe bomb at Gordon Freeman, who whipped out his gravity gun and grabbed the bomb before throwing it back at the Demoman who cursed before he exploded into gibs after the grenade hit him

"Good one Gordon!" Barney shouted to him while he gunned down a BLU Shock Scout who came at him with a metal bat with his captured Combine Pulse Rifle while the leader of the BLU Team, a elite BLU Spy armed with dual revolvers wearing a fedora with his suit unbuttoned dove out of one of the windows of the presidential palace firing his revolvers, killing four rebel soldiers before landing on the ground and then pulling out his butterfly knife that he threw at another rebel soldier, hitting her in the shoulder with it before finishing her off with a shot from one of his revolvers

"Die you worthless French wretch!" Alyx shouted as she fired her automatic pistol at the BLU Spy, who dodged the attacks

"I think not." He said to her as she stopped to reload before aiming before revolvers at her, but one of them was shot out of his hand by the RED Sniper

"Go to hell!" The RED Sniper shouted before he pulled out a jar of his own piss and threw it at the BLU Spy, covering him with it's content after it shattered on his chest

"Jarate!? NOOOOO!!!" The BLU Spy shouted while Alyx finished reloading and emptied the entire clip into his chest

"Thanks!" She shouted to the sniper, who gave her a thumbs up while she, Gordon Freeman, the RED Soldier, and the RED Demoman entered the palace to look for Wombossi while Barney led the RED Heavy, Medic, and Spy to look for the scientists in another building while the others stayed outside

***

Valhala, Namibia

Shephard and his men reached the Namibian village that Krenzi's Imperial soldiers had fortified with the pursuing Namibian military hot on their trail, forcing them to enter the range of the Empire's Medium and Heavy tanks as South African attack helicopters started to strafed them

"Come on!" A Imperial Officer shouted to Shephard as he waved him forward before the general vaulted over the wall with some of his men, and slouched against it, out of breath while the Imperial and South African militaries concentrated their firepower on the now shattered Namibian attack force

"You guys sure know how to build a good defensive line!" One of Shephard's Men said to the Imperial officer

"Thanks, this works just as well against the Northerners as it does these people!" He replied while several volleys of shells from batteries of Imperial artillery tanks finished off the Namibian attack force

"Where's Krenzi?" Shephard asked him

"He's in the command vehicle." He replied

"Then it's better that I don't bother him." Shephard said to him while Louis climbed over the wall

"I've...never...ran...like...that...in...my entire...life." Louis said between breaths while the other survivors joined them behind the wall

"Where were you guys?" Shephard asked them

"Doing recon...as you asked." Bill replied as he lit a fresh cigarette, "I'm really getting too old for this shit."

"Then retire." Shephard said to him

"Retire? Who knows where these guys would be right now without me!" He replied while Shephard's radio crackled

"Shephard here." Shephard said

"This is RED Team #405, we've got Wombossi, but the scientists aren't here." The RED Soldier said to him, "But there were plenty of BLU Shocktroopers here and hear this, we also found a sealed intelligence suitcase in the office of the BLU Spy that was leading them."

"Shocktroopers? Our intel said nothing about those guys being here." He replied, "Get Wombossi and that suitcase back to the LHD, we'll help the South Africans finish up here."

"Roger that!" The RED Soldier said to him before cutting the transmission

"Dammit." He said as he put back against the Brenodi wall

"What is it?" Nick asked him

"The scientists weren't there anymore, Wombossi must've given them to the BLUs before we got here." He replied, "But good news is that we got Wombossi and a BLU intelligence suitcase."

"What the hell does the Ubermensch want with a bunch of scientists?" A Brenodi Rifleman asked him

"No idea, but whatever it is. It can't be good for us at all." He replied

***

Somewhere in Siberia; Mann Verse(Team Fortress 2 Universe)

October 8th, 1971(Local Calendar)

The Ubermensch was standing on the observation deck overlooking his new and soon to be completed war-winning weapon, a dark energy signal emitter capable of closing and opening new portals at will, powering this weapon was modified version of the Nucleus dark-fusion reactor that had been built by the late Mann brothers and the Announcer in the Badlands of New Mexico four years before the war began, which was why the project was called the "Nucleus Project"

"Herr Ubermensch!" A BLU Shock Soldier wearing a Team Capitan, aviators, leather jacket, and the fancy dress uniform shouted as he saluted the Ubermensch

"What is it?" The Ubermensch asked him without even looking away from the window

"Sir, the scientists that Wombossi have given us have arrived." He replied

"Guten, put them to work on the project immediately and be sure to greatly award our Namibian friend." The Ubermensch said

"Yes Herr Ubermensch! But I regret to inform that Wombossi has been captured by the TDJTF!" The BLU Shock Soldier said to him

"Another necessary sacrifice for BLU to be victorious in this war, he will be remembered as a patriot." He replied

"Yes Herr Ubermensch!" The BLU Shocktrooper said to him, "But the TDJTF also captured the briefcase that was with the Shocktrooper team that we had in the presidential pa-"

"THEY WHAT?!" The Ubermensch yelled as he rapidly turned to face them, "With that briefcase! They will know EVERYTHING about Nucleus! Strengthen the defenses around the entire facility and tell our Soviet allies that we're going to need reinforcements!"

"Yes sir!" He replied before running out of the observation deck

"DUMMKOPFS!" The Ubermensch screamed loud enough that he could be hard across the facility, "But it matters not, once this weapon operational, we will win this war easily! Not even the TDJTF will be able to stop me!"

Previously Posted on FanFiction.net