Steel Talons
Original name: Steel Talons*Affiliation:* GDI*Type:* Experimental combat division*Founder and Commander:* General Joshua ‘Mitch’ Mitchell*Established:* After the Second Tiberium War*Speciality:* Combat walkers, heavy armour and firepower*Iconic units:* Titan Mk. II, Wolverine, Behemoth*Conflicts:* Second Nod Unification War, Incursion War*Status:* Active, though largely forgotten
The Steel Talons are an experimental division of the GDI specialising in heavy combat technologies and walking vehicles. They were founded by General Joshua ‘Mitch’ Mitchell, a decorated veteran of the Second Tiberium War known for his aggressiveness and tactical innovations.
Following Nod’s defeat, the GDI deemed that the Brotherhood no longer posed a major threat and redirected a large portion of its research budget towards combating the spread of Tiberium.
Mitchell openly opposes this decision. In his view, the apparent demise of Nod in no way guarantees peace, and a new power could exploit the chaos caused by Tiberium to threaten the GDI.
Following a particularly heated debate, Mitchell secures a compromise: the GDI refuses to make a massive reallocation of its budget, but agrees to fund an experimental division dedicated to new military technologies.
This unit is nicknamed the Steel Talons by Mitchell’s supporters, among whom is the famous veteran Nick "Havoc" Parker.
The division quickly gains a solid reputation during clashes with the various factions that emerged following the collapse of Nod, both for its effectiveness and for the secrecy surrounding its activities.
Unlike the modern GDI, the Steel Talons continue to use combat walkers inherited from the Second Tiberium War, despite these having been withdrawn from general service due to their high costs and significant maintenance requirements.
Their engineers refined these machines, developing in particular a new generation of the Titan as well as a modernised version of the Wolverine. The Juggernaut also gave rise to the Behemoth, a reinforced variant tailored to their doctrine.
The Steel Talons thus favour a philosophy radically different from that of Nod: heavy armour, massive firepower and head-on confrontation, with machines robust enough to take the fight directly to the enemy.
In 2034, the division had a strong presence in Australia, where it protected several secret GDI facilities.
One of these was researching Nod’s optical camouflage technologies. LEGION launched an operation against the complex to recover the data stolen from the Brotherhood of Nod. Despite the intervention of the Steel Talons, the artificial intelligence manages to seize the research.
The division also monitors the activities of Marcion and the Black Hand in Australia via a network of pulse radars. Marcion’s forces, however, manage to bypass these systems.
The most disastrous clash takes place around the Tiberium Research Institute, a GDI experimental complex dedicated in particular to liquid Tiberium.
When LEGION attacks the facility alongside the reunited forces of Nod, the Steel Talons attempt to defend the complex but are defeated. The destruction of the facility triggers a catastrophic explosion of liquid Tiberium, transforming much of central Australia into a Red Zone.
This series of failures dealt a considerable blow to the division’s reputation. The Steel Talons gradually faded from the scene and do not appear to have played a major role during the Third Tibérium War.
However, they are not entirely disbanded: in 2052, walkers belonging to the Steel Talons are still guarding the GDI facility in the Rocky Mountains where the Tacitus is kept.
The archives also indicate that the division later took part in the Incursion War, confirming that it continued to exist despite its gradual disappearance from official military history.
The Steel Talons thus represent a conservative yet experimental branch of the GDI: they maintain the powerful walkers abandoned by the regular army whilst continuing to develop new military technologies.