Battle of Washboard Ridge

The Battle of Washboard Ridge was a significant battle that took place in the Barren-Lands.

Prelude
Tension in the Barren-Lands had been growing for a while. Marshal Wayne was dealing with the loss of Sydney, his mentor. There were also multiple related killings across the area that scared everyone. The killer turned out to be Lictor 3, revealed to be Tyne’s brother who he believed was dead. Lictor 3 managed to free his mind from Gaiden’s control, and he joined Wayne’s side.

Much of this grief stemmed from actions of the Gaiden Corporation’s chairman (Defarge), who deployed Lictor 3 out of desperation to recover taboo lost tech without the Alpha Clan finding out. Hauptmann Gafgen and Sergeant Bok were already suspicious and began tracking Gaiden and Defarge’s moves.

Defarge contacted Kudu and offered a generous reward if he was to capture and bring her an asset: A Barren-Lands citizen known as Magic. Kudu agreed. Simultaneously, Defarge ordered her orderly Eland to take Gaiden’s security forces and take the town of Running Fridge in hopes of finding Magic. During the assault on the town, many citizens and marshals (including Wayne, Tyne, and others) fled.

Gafgen intercepted the message to Kudu, and he sent Bok and Scorpion Squad to find Magic themselves. Kudu found Magic rather quickly. Before he could turn Magic over to Defarge, Scorpion Squad closed in on them. Bok looked Magic over: He was actually a Gaiden robotic recon unit, used to scout the Barren-Lands. Bok analyzed his hard drive, and discovered the lost tech Gaiden desperately wanted to recover. He reported back to Gafgen, and Gafgen ordered them to recover this lost tech themselves.

Defarge managed to intercept the transmission to Gafgen. She contacted Eland, and told him he needs to make sure they find the lost tech first. She found Wayne’s group via satellite, and told Eland to contact Wayne and put him to work. Eland did so, executing a citizen of Running Fridge as encouragement. Wayne reluctantly agreed. Rollo rallied a group of Barren-Lands citizens to also support Wayne and the marshals.

First Phase
The two sides converged on Washboard Ridge, the alleged site of this lost tech.

The two sides engaged each other, but not much life is lost for multiple reasons:
 * The Dragoons were more concerned about the lost tech than they were engaging locals.

While this large mock battle between the two sides of the Barren-Lands took place on the surface, a much more serious battle took place inside a buried ancient military compound.
 * Although they had plenty of previous problems, the people of the Barren-Lands (Marshals, Outlaws, and Citizens) were all fighting a battle that they would rather not fight. Although they had previous disagreements, these people were hesitant in delivering any fatal blows to each other.

There, a confrontation took place between Kudu, Wayne, Tyne, and the Dragoons.

Tyne sparred with the Dragoons, managing to go toe-to-toe with the Dragoons. Although the Dragoons were stronger, Tyne's quickness and resilience evened the odds.

Meanwhile, Wayne and Kudu engaged each other. Although Kudu brought Wayne within inches of his life, Lucie killed Kudu before he could finish Wayne off.

Tyne and the Dragoons come to a draw, mainly due to the fact that Tyne chose to save Wayne rather than continuing to engage them. This effectively ends Tyne and Scorpion Squad's roles in the battle.

Second Phase
Almost on cue, Eland arrived with several dozen of Gaiden's Private Security Forces. His intention was to ensure that Wayne's forces managed to recover the lost tech.

However, upon seeing the Gaiden troops approach, the outlaws and the marshals/citizens were overcome with their harbored animosity against the corporation. Rollo, a respected figure in the Barren-Lands, rallied both sides against Gaiden's troops.

This portion of the battle proved to be more deadly, due to said animosity for the Gaiden Corporation. Not expecting such a turn of events, the corporate troops are overwhelmed by the enraged group of people. All the corporate troops are either killed or surrender.

Seeing how his troops are being slaughtered, Eland attempts to flee the battle. Rollo manages to catch him before he can, beating him into submission and taking him into captivity.

Aftermath
They all discovered the lost tech: An ancient nuclear weapon. Bok insisted the Dragoons take it and destroy it. Wayne and his group protested, insisting they be allowed to take the energy core of the weapon so they can power their towns.

Eland was brought to them by Rollo, and Eland insisted the weapon was already claimed by the Gaiden Corporation. Bok, furious with the corporation and Eland's entitlement, executed Eland by crushing Eland’s skull.

Rollo and Wayne successfully negotiated with Bok: The Dragoons would secure the weaponized portion of the nuke, while the locals would take the energy core to power their towns.

Despite the fact that no one saw him killed, Colt Bryant disappeared during the battle. His armor was later found nearby in good condition. The Alpha Clan officially listed him as KIA, although Bok and Liao both heavily suspect that Bryant deserted.

Although it was not publicly confirmed, Chairman Defarge's failure to recover the lost tech successfully served as the cherry on top of her failures as chairman. The board secretly had her assassinated behind closed doors to replace her with someone new.

Significant Casualties
Barren-Lands Gaiden Corporation Alpha Clan
 * Kudu
 * Sydney (prelude)
 * Eland
 * Defarge
 * Colt Bryant (MIA)

Effects
The events leading up to the battle and the battle itself cemented the distrust the people of the Barren-Lands felt towards the Gaiden Corporation and corporations in general. With the nuclear power core to help power their towns almost indefinitely, a sense of unity began spreading throughout the Barren-Lands.

Due to the outcome of the battle, the people of the Barren-Lands also had a renewed sense of trust in the marshals that had previously been lost. After hearing about his actions, a small council made up of village leaders unanimously chose Wayne to become the new leader of the marshals.

The Gaiden Corporation lost its asset in Lictor 3 and their profits continued in a downward spiral. Once Hauptmann Gafgen and Sergeant Bok wrote their report, the Alpha Clan pulled all of its support from the Gaiden Corporation. The corporation managed to keep above water, but they were never as prosperous as they once were.