The four Emergent soldiers had all come from the West Coast where the rule of government was the most lax. After the collapse of the New American Empire in 2190 (a collapse that the government insisted was not the case), insurgency was all but the norm on the West Coast. It was a tribal lifestyle with many local governments taking the place of central leadership. Over time, due to difference of opinion, these local governments became smaller and smaller. It was not uncommon for a formerly large city in the former state of California to be split into hundreds of small tribes.

The campaign into the town of Hillston was an attempt to create a forward operating base to combat the government (Endurance) after credible intel was gleaned that Endurance would bomb Hillston. They would take over in the chaos and before Endurance could get soldiers on the ground.

Deacon Bai was born in May of 2230. He grew up despising the government because of their abandonment of the West Coast. He was sixteen when he joined with the group that would grow to call themselves Emergent. He defined himself as a hardened soldier willing to do anything for his cause. He had a girlfriend who was a pilot for Emergent – one of the pilots that would bomb large swathes of the East coast. He was 21 years old when his small company was dropped off near the middle of what was formerly Colorado and trekked three days until they found their target – Hillston. Deacon died of frostbite that same winter while staying in the home of Alder Kemp.

Surgette Beal was born in August of 2234. She joined up at sixteen after the death of her parents from starvation and was immediately assigned to the Hillston campaign. She had been a soldier for three weeks when she killed her first person, a girl slightly younger than her who attacked during their initial breach. Surgette had no family and no friends and hoped to become a leader for Emergent. She died when Endurance and Emergent soldiers clashed in Hillston in March of 2257.

Minka Yorn was born in January of 2228. His father was a founding member of the group that would become Emergent and he was not presented with a choice but to join when he was fourteen years old. He made every effort not to advance and did not want to go into battle. It was not until the government bombed the West Coast for the first time that he considered being a part of a campaign. Of the twenty-seven members of the Hillston Campaign, he was one of twenty that survived the winter, one of fourteen that survived the March 2257 clash with Endurance, and one of six that left Hillston before they died. Minka became a commander with Emergent following his successful holding of Hillston and died in combat during formal battle when the War of Justice formally began in 2270.