Battle of Midway

This is a historical article, describing a past event or events that occurred on Shartak.

Background

The Battle of Midway's causes lie in the longstanding hostility between the WickSick Headhunters and the whole of outsider society. The WickSicks had repeatedly raided all three of the outsider settlements in their quest to collect "heads" (kill) from outsiders. The most notable examples of these raids were the First Annual WickSick Winter Games: the Durham Headhunt Contest, the Derby Derby, and the particularly bloody Dork Cup. These conflicts killed hundreds of outsiders; the Dork Cup and Derby Derby are two of the deadliest conflicts in Shartak history. As a result, the various outsider clans universally regard the WickSick Headhunters as implacable foes.

WickSick Island

The WickSick Headhunters, in addition to holding headhunts, also periodically hold secret rituals to reaffirm their dedication to their calling. For reasons known only to them, they decided to lay claim to the new island and hold their ritual there. Upon arriving, they began using the plentiful driftwood there to erect signs proclaiming their ownership, naming it WickSick Island. Eventually, the Eastern Federation scout Solid Snake happened onto the island. He immediately reported it to the EF. The Eastern Federation, eager for payback after the Derby Derby, quickly mobilized to attack the WickSicks. The Derby Rangers, on their way home from defending York from a rather overrated pirate invasion, diverted course to WickSick Island (Midway). They linked up with elements of the Derby Hospitallers and the 1st Derby Privateers north of the island.

The Battle Begins

The EF forces filtered south, braving shark-infested waters to launch amphibious assaults on the WickSicks occupying the island. Furious, the headhunters counterattacked, and the conflict became a deadly game of cat-and-mouse as headhunters and Federation members stalked one another in the shallows of Midway. As the conflict continued, both sides suffered losses. The WickSicks publicly denounced the violation of their ritual, but received little support.

York's Blitzkrieg

When the Eastern Federation learned of the WickSick occupation of Midway, they notified their allies in the York Coalition. The YC, along with their allies the Spartans and the 1st Colonial Militia, had suffered even more losses to the headhunters during the Dork Cup than Derby during the Derby Derby, thus they were equally eager to avenge themselves. The York forces made their way to the island from the west, arriving a day or two after the Derby forces. The YC and the Spartans then launched a simultaneous real-time assault on the headhunters, nearly wiping out the WickSick forces. One or two headhunters escaped, but most were sent to the roaming shaman.

The WickSicks Withdraw

The remaining headhunters, badly outnumbered, decided the island was not worth the effort; they pulled out to regroup with their fellow headhunters. In a display of good sportsmanship, the prominent WickSick headhunter Foo Fighter congratulated Hospitaller Tribune James Barnes on the effectiveness of the assault.

Aftermath

In the wake of the Battle of Midway, the WickSick Headhunters vowed revenge. During the battle, the headhunter Otago was captured and taken to Derby. While Otago was held in the Privateers' HQ, Hospitaller Norris R. Laos, the second-ranking doctor at the Derby Hospital, conducted experiments of an unknown nature on Otago. Several of the Privateers attempted unsuccessfully to help Otago escape, sympathizing with his plight. Outraged, the WickSick Headhunters launched an attack on Derby. The simultaneous attack killed over half a dozen Derbians and freed Otago (read the detailed summary with full attack log here)

Only after Otago was freed did the leadership of the Eastern Federation learn of Otago's captivity and Laos' experiments. Though Laos remains with the Hospitallers, he has not served at the Hospital since this incident; the Hospitallers have not commented on the reason for this.

In retribution for the attack on Derby, the The Octavius Popebury Memorial Expedition of 1886 launched an assault on Wiksik, though, at the request of the other EF members, the OPME limited its attacks to violent natives. The rest of the EF, feeling that collective punishment was inappropriate, decided to bide its time until it could again strike at the WickSicks themselves. The York Coalition expressed its support for the Derbians, offering their assistance in whatever the EF decided to do.

In the end, the Derby-York alliance abandoned the island, coming to the conclusion that it held no real intrinsic value. Additionally, no one else seemed interested in taking it.

Long-term effects

The EF, YC, Spartans, and 1CM enjoyed a boost in both prestige and confidence in the wake of the battle. The elusive headhunters had long raided outsider towns, only to melt back into the forest once their goals were accomplished. The allies managed a rare victory, however minor.

For their part, the WickSicks were unimpressed. Having lost only perhaps a dozen warriors, the WickSicks considered their losses to be minor, especially compared to the hundreds of casualties inflicted on the outsider towns in the WickSick Winter Games.