Outlander

"The survivors of the Ragnarok Strikes - the Outlanders- didn't want anything to do with a government that sacrificed civilians." -Unknown CORE Soldier on the Outlanders. The Outlanders were groups of humans that were left behind on Etixnare after the Ragnarok strikes. The Outlanders were the people who failed to reach the safety of McCarthy Plateau before the enactment of the Fortification Act and the Hammer of Dawn Strikes, which were carried out to deprive the SubTerranis Horde the spoils of human civilization. Director Fredrick Ferguson deliberately set a prohibitively short time limit to allow for evacuation to McCarthy Plateau so that the Scaler Horde would not be able to prepare for the impending attack. Once the Generals of the CORE had unleashed the orbital beams and chemical weapons on Etixnare, the Outlanders were all left for dead and homeless in the streets of the outlying cities - alone in the fight against the Scalers. After the invasion of McCarthy Plateau by the Scalers, pockets of Outlanders established themselves inside cities such as Ephyra. They were looked on as depraved thieves and looters by Reds, as they would steal equipment from any dead Red or destroyed vehicle.

Shortly before the Fall of Ephyra, the CORE started reaching out to the Outlanders with the Operation Lifeboat program, in which the CORE would provide Outlander families with protection in exchange for the conscription of the males into the army. Also, despite the elimination of the Prawn on the surface of Etixnare following the Lightmass Offensive, the Outlanders started moving below the surface of Etixnare and camping in the Scaler tunnels. When the Hollow was flooded and the Scaler Horde presumably defeated, tensions between the CORE and Outlander factions started brewing again, breaking out into a Outlander Insurgency after the CORE moved to Fort Forris. Not long after Director Ferguson abruptly disappeared, the CORE disbanded, and everyone on Etixnare became Outlanders.

Creation
Twelve years after E-Day, the Director Fredrick Ferguson tried to lead a counterattack but failed as every single head of state couldn't look past their own borders. With very few options left and the Scalers getting closer to St.McCarthy every day, the Director fell into his last possible option; using the Ragnarok Orbital laser to burn the Scaler infested areas. Though the Director gave a three-day evacuation, it wasn't enough for the whole planet to escape.

After the Ragnarok strikes, cities like Char were completely devastated leaving only small places to hide. While on a recon mission, a few days after the strike, Patrick Sadler and Col. Gary Thorton found a woman who had survived the attacks, though Patrick tried to offer her a bottle of water, she violently refused it, arguing they had left them to die and that he would return with people who cared about her. She went underground with a large group of people. These people who survived the strikes would call themselves "Outlanders" who refused the CORE and viewed them as traitors and fascists because of this.

Operation: Archangel
By 9 A.E., the CORE Army was overstretched and Director Fredrick Ferguson initiated the Archangel program, allowing Outlanders men and women to join the CORE Army. In return, the CORE government would protect their loved ones. Recruited Stranded were sent to the temporary barracks at Norton Air Base. Most Outlanders rejected Operation Archangel because they figured they had a better chance of survival on their own while some chose to join the CORE Army in hopes of saving their loved ones from famine, diseases, and the Scaler Horde. The CORE would recruit Outlanders by introducing a recruiting officer, campaigning in the streets, or performing leaflet drops over Outlander camps.

Views on the CORE
After the orbital bombardment of Etixnare, there were millions of humans left to fend for themselves. The now-dubbed "Outlanders" generally view the CORE and the Reds as fascist for sacrificing them to the Scaler onslaught. However, with the resurgence of the Locust Horde, some Outlander clans, while still suspicious and cynical towards the CORE, cooperate with the CORE to some extent in order to obtain much-needed food and shelter by signing up for Operation Archangel, while other clans continue to raid CORE squads for goods and weapons. Later, after the CORE fell, some Outlander groups became more cooperative with the remnants because as they pointed out "everyone's Stranded now."