Greetings citizens of Super Earth, the war in Helldivers 2 has taken on a new front and it’s high time more citizens of our galaxy spanning federation joined up. The war has been raging for longer than many can remember but we do know this, democracy requires sacrifice.
If you’re new to the warzone and need some pointers on how Super Earth’s ongoing galactic crusade for freedom and democracy got started, then I have all you need. However, due to the fluid nature of the ongoing conflict, certain canon may change going forward. But here’s all you need to know about the story of Helldivers 2 so far.
What Happened In Helldivers 1?
Now that we’ve gotten past all that Ministry of Truth red tape, here’s what you need to know about how we got to where we are. Back in 2084, the Earth was engaged in a massive galaxy spanning conflict with three factions, the Bugs, Cyborgs and Illuminates.
But how did that happen?
Well, each conflict was begun through distinct events caused by Super Earth. For example, the Bugs were discovered to produce Element 710, a useful oil-like black substance used now by Super Earth in all sorts of industries.
Element 710 is “OIL” flipped upside down, and it’s a fuel material used for FTL drives. There’s also missions in Helldivers 2 where you activate and extract it through pumps.
The Cyborg kerfuffle started after a Cyborg group rebelled in District 48, setting off an explosive that killed thousands. Though there were those that tried to defend their actions, pointing out how marginalized Cyborgs had become in Super Earth society, they eventually tried to secede and another war was born.
Then there’s the Illuminate. They are said to have watched humanity’s development for hundreds of years, eventually reaching out with the prospect of peace and jolly galactic cooperation. Unfortunately, Super Earth thought otherwise.
According to the Earth Government, the Illuminate were a threat because they were extreme Xenophobes with advanced technology. They were an invading force that were going to tear down the solid walls of democracy and replace it with alien rule.
In reality, Super Earth’s government just wanted the alien tech for themselves and decided to genocide the Illuminate into oblivion. And they were mostly successful as the Iluminate seemed to disappear from the galaxy for many years after the first Galactic War.
Mentioning any of these facts to your fellow Helldivers will incur a rapid visit from a heavily armed representative from the Ministry of Truth. So keep the “truth” to yourself.
The war ended after 40 years, and with mountains of dead Helldivers left behind on worlds scattered throughout Super Earth’s influence, Humanity began to rebuild. What followed was a time of prosperity for the denizens of this mighty human imperium, but it wasn’t to last. Old enemies were returning, and they were stronger than ever.
Helldivers 2: The Story So Far
After around 100 years of relative calm on the entire known galactic front, suddenly things started to go very wrong, very quickly. Multiple invasions seemed to spawn all at once. Despite rallying millions to the cause of maintaining democracy, Super Earth has been on the backfoot ever since with occasional moderate to minor gains against the tide.
Since the conflict is constantly changing and evolving over time it’s a little tricky to keep it all succinct in one big paragraph. So we’ll be splitting things up per faction to track their introduction to the war, their reason for fighting, and how things have played out since.
Here’s what we know of the war so far, and remember to burn any information you receive to prevent discovery by [REDACTED], or a Ministry of Truth Enforcement Unit.
Terminids
Originally discovered on Keplar Prime, after the end of the first Bug War it was thought the Terminids were wiped out as they seemed to disappear. In reality, the Terminids were locked on special farms by Super Earth and harvested for Element 710. Over time their genetics were tinkered with to make them bigger, produce more “Oil”, and tolerate more extreme environments for future settlements.
This worked well for a while, most people were unaware and the bounty of FTL fuel was used egregiously by the populace. Then one day a bunch of farms throughout the federation went dark. The settlers either completely disappeared along with the bugs, or were murdered to a man. Super Earth sent out scouts to figure out what happened and they were met with the massive monster menace we’re still fighting and dying against today.
Some Super Earth dissident researchers surmise the appearance of the Bile Titan and other spraying Terminid types is an offshoot of a genus that was bred to produce excess amounts of Element 710.
The insects spread fast, overturning world after world until they had around 21 planets under their screeching mandible control. They reside primarily in the eastern end of the galaxy, and have been in a constant back and forth territory claiming war with the Helldivers ever since.
After the formation of the Meridia Super Colony, the Terminids expanded their control all the way out to Phact Bay, deep into Super Earth territory. Operation Enduring Peace seemed to reset those battle lines with the destruction of the Super Colony. But after an attack on Gatria by the bugs, despite there being no direct FTL supply lines, it showed that the Terminids could touch anywhere.
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Gatria would be recaptured by Super Earth along with a few other worlds during the Escalation of Freedom initiative. But with the introduction of The Gloom from the Terminid front, things became much more complicated.
The Gloom was discovered to be a cloud of toxic spores that emanate from Terminid controlled worlds, spreading across nearby space and contaminating others. This miasma spread far throughout a dozen Terminid controlled zones at first, but currently it seems to have ceased and the front has since stagnated. Neither side is gaining ground despite The Gloom being around.
According to Super Earth, the Terminids are Fascists. Despite no individual insect ever displaying signs of comprehending complex ideologies.
The Terminids ongoing ability to evolve, adapt and overcome Super Earth’s many deterrents are proving problematic. If it weren’t for the preoccupation of dealing with the other two factions, the Bugs and their little rebellion would have been swept back under the rug a long time ago.
Automatons
During the previous conflict, the distant world of Cyberstan was where the clanking Cyborg bot boys called home over 100 years ago. According to scrap data pulled from damaged Ministry of Truth records, the original settlers of Cyberstan were human. But due to the harsh frozen climate, they began to modify their bodies by replacing parts with cybernetics.
Over time these citizens would be abused and marginalized by the wider Super Earth citizens before eventually rebelling. By the time of Helldivers 2, Cyberstan was still a frozen wasteland and the Cyborgs were driven underground and sealed in mines, or rehabilitated as peace reigned once more. Then a large army of Automatons invaded one day 100 years after the first war, liberating the Cyborgs, and spreading out to all the nearby FTL connected planets.
The Automatons, known in certain ellicit circles as “The Children of the Cyborgs”, conducted a swift, efficient and brutal campaign that culled or captured countless citizens throughout the galaxy. It’s thought by many now silenced tactical advisors within the Super Earth government that, the distractions of the Terminid campaign were at the forefront of why the Automatons were so successful.
According to the Ministry of Truth, the Automatons are Communists.
They’ve since held an iron grip on the western hemisphere of the Galactic Front, with notable conflicts held at Malevelon Creek, the Severin Sector and Vadalon IV. At the height of their power they were overextended in the galaxy, and thanks to the efforts of the Helldivers during Operation Andromeda they were able to push the Automatons back.
Millions of Helldivers were sacrificed in the coming conflict, but eventually the war was over with the reclamation of Durgen. Two months of conflict had come to an end, or so it seemed.
That same day, S.E.A.F. High Command sent out a High Priority Broadcast that demanded all units to enter LIBCON 1, the Automatons were back. The Valdis sector was under attack and within hours the entire sector fell to Automaton control as the S.E.A.F. fell into chaos.
After four days of constant conflict that reached all the way to the Parsipira Sector, eventually battle lines were stabilized. That is until a massive Automaton offensive broke through S.E.A.F. defenses and headed deep into the Trigon Sector. With the Meridia Super Colony offensive still underway elsewhere, the Bots were able to push pretty deep.
After the liberation of Wasat by S.E.A.F. and Helldiver combined forces, a Data Centre called Database One was discovered. This revealed Automaton plans to terraform Cyberstan along with other keywords referring to sinister events such as the “Nucleus” and “Final Collective”.
The battle lines would ebb and flow for a short time before Operation Xzar Lockdown kicked in and the Helldivers began defending Automaton incursions at all costs, eventually driving them back. The war would continue to ebb and flow, with S.E.A.F. forces unable to destabilize Automaton supply lines time and time again. Fortunately there were small victories for Super Earth, new technology was discovered for stronger weapons, and an interplanetary Battle Station blueprint was found.
Through use of these new Battle Stations Super Earth was able to attempt to split the Automaton Empire in half by focusing on Aesir Pass then Matar Bay. Cutting off entire sectors from Cyberstan. By the end of the operation multiple worlds were liberated by Super Earth and the Androids were mostly contained. Albeit with a few breaking back through to reclaim Aesir Pass again.
Though in the long run this wouldn’t matter as Super Earth would reclaim almost all of the Automatons gained ground in a matter of weeks after wiping up another Terminid incursion. The Automatons fell back to their home world on Cyberstan to regroup, repair and reinvent themselves.
During the Automaton regroup we saw the deployment of specialized Automatons known as the Iron Fleet. Automatons made from a new, stronger Titanium alloy. But these wouldn’t last long though and have since been all wiped out. We also saw the formation of the Automatons new Jet Brigade, an airborne infantry squadron developed from scavenged dead Helldivers Jump Packs.
With these new units the Automatons would push out once again, taking Mastia by November. But as the month wore on, the Jet Brigades would be smacked back as the main sortie of S.E.A.F. Battle Stations arrived. But just like before, despite being pushed back again, the Automatons have begun their slow creep back toward Super Earth. Truly they are relentless.
Illuminate
During the events of the first Galactic War, the Illuminate were thought to have been all wiped out. Or at least left our galaxy entirely. 101 years later though, it seems like they’re back and this time peace is the furthest thing from their minds.
According to Ministry of Truth data records that have since been deleted or burned, the Illuminate may have met something or someone, after they left 100 years ago. Thanks to their usage of Dark Fluid, the Illuminate are able to transport themselves across vast distances through blackhole manipulation.Through this it’s thought they may have encountered something inter-dimensional and very powerful.
If one were to compare previous engagements with the Illuminate with current ones nearly a century later, it’s obvious that some form of corruptive substance has taken hold of these interstellar aliens. Some sources hypothesis this dark force either manipulated the Illuminate into taking revenge through the promise of new power, or took control through cultic and corruptive indontrication. Though discussion of such topics results in swift transport to a Super Earth Re-education Camp.
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Nevertheless, out of the blue all Helldivers received another LIBCON 1 order to rally at Calypso. The Illuminate had returned with 96 invasion ships that met over 30 million unprepared Helldivers. What followed was a slaughter that isn’t the deadliest engagement of the Galactic War, but it’s certainly in the top three next to Malevelon Creek.
The invasion was repelled, but vast swathes of the planet’s populace were either kidnapped, killed, or turned into The Voteless. These were seemingly undead zombie-like humans that swarmed Helldivers en masse. After a massive amount of human life was sacrificed, it seems the Illuminate were turned back after three gruelling days of war.
Unfortunately nice things don’t last for long and the Illuminate returned in force as the original fight was with just the tip of the vanguard. The main battle fleet hadn’t even arrived yet. A foothold was then quickly assembled on Genesis Prime and Mog with the rest of the galaxy now at risk from a quickly rising third faction.
Super Earth
Now that we’ve covered how the Galactic War is going for the other factions, it’s worth briefly swinging by Super Earth to see how things are doing 100 years on from the last Galactic War. Far from the Earth of our day, the climate in the future Super Earth has a lot more control. Or as they put it, managed democracy.
Information is strictly censored or redacted. The Ministry of Truth are used as an enforcement arm to ensure compliance across the Galactic Federation, and dissidents are stamped down on harshly. Everything is propagandized, and it’s implied that unless someone serves and survives military service, they have no democratic rights.
Super Earth advertises democratic privileges for families and spouses of Helldivers lost in battle. Further encouraging service amongst the stars and ensuring Super Earth always has fresh troops.
There are also some very sinister implications that Super Earth may be controlled by a vast and super intelligent AI algorithm that started the wars in the first place. The current theory goes, humanity was becoming too powerful and thus they needed an eternal conflict to slow them down. Though this is merely fan theory and subject to change as the current Galactic War is extremely fluid in nature.
This is mostly a parody piece, please do not inform your local Ministry of Truth representative. There are no Super Earth dissidents here, contact [REDACTED] for further information.
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