The Battle of Defiance was fought in what was once San Francisco between Humans and Votans. Members of the 9th division were known as the "Defiant Few". Fighting the battle in a fort which was burning down around them, soldiers of the "Defiant Few" refused to continue fighting. Human and Votan forces then defied the orders of their superior officers and laid down their arms. Instead, they banded together to help rescue civilians, both humans and Votans, alike, from the wreckage at hand. Word spread of this event and soldiers around the world stopped fighting until an official armistice was declared. Many things, such as the city built on what was once the site of St. Louis, have been named "Defiance" after the soldiers who refused to fight this war. A statue of a votan and human soldier standing with their backs to each other, holding children and helping people to rise was built in the city of Defiance to commemorate the 15th anniversay of the armistice that ended the war.
Joshua Nolan fought in the Iron Demons, the Earth Military Coalition's 9th Mechanized Division, and was one of the "Defiant Few;" however, he has continually side-stepped any questions asked about it and his role as a "hero."