Balerno

Balerno was a large city in central Tyrus. Founded centuries ago during the late Silver Age, Balerno has always been a militaristic presence in the region, famed for the quality of its soldiers. During the Pendulum Wars, Balerno was home to numerous forts and other military installations and was intended to serve as a forward headquarters in the event the UIR managed to push the frontlines of the war into Tyrus itself. When the Locust emerged shortly after the end of the Pendulum Wars, the city saw some of the heaviest fighting on E-Day and was thoroughly trashed by the Locust, who stripped it of almost everything before moving on. In the aftermath of the global Hammer of Dawn Counterattack, Balerno became home to numerous groups of Stranded, who took shelter in the city's forts.
After the end of the Locust War, expeditionary units from the reformed COG entered the city and made contact with the Stranded. Unlike other cities where agreements had been reached, the Stranded in Balerno reacted violently, forcing the COG into a long, drawn out conflict with them, eventually ending in a COG victory. The surviving Stranded were given the choice of either rejoining with the COG and helping to rebuild the city or leave, many packing up what supplies they could and fleeing into the wilderness, eventually becoming part of the later Outsider movement. Over the course of several years, the city and its military installations were gradually restored to their pre-war conditions and once again became a military powerhouse for the new COG.
In 31 A.E., First Minister Jinn secretly revealed to her military commanders that she planned to replace their human military with one composed entirely of militarized DeeBee robots. Two of these commanders, General Donald Berkeley and Colonel Colin Davis, already dissatisfied with the way Jinn was running the government, finally made their move, abandoning their posts and announcing the immediate secession of Clayvale from the COG. Receiving word of Jinn's plans, the leaders of Balerno, fearing the loss of their prestige as a military city, immediately sent aid to Clayvale to help prepare it for an attack by the COG. In the aftermath of the battle, a large portion of Jinn's new army had either been destroyed or disabled and, seeing it as the opportune moment, followed Clayvale's lead and seceded with several other cities, forming the Confederation of Ordered Governments.
Category:Gears of War: Dark Horse
Category:War of Nightmares
Category:Rebuilt Dreams