| “ | The lifeless grey of this planet is interrupted only by violet flowers that grow from strange, parasitting outcroppings | „ |
| ~ Official Description |
Alaraph is one of the five planets that reside within the Akira Sector.
Topography and Astrography[]
A squadron of Super Destroyers in orbit over Alaraph.
Similar to Penta, Nivel 43, and Troost, Its landscape generally consists of dead, coral-like flora with the occasional purple parasitic flower growing on top of it. Alarapah is a cold, grey and rocky world with a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere. Residual volcanic ash covers most of the surface except for its poles, which are covered in oceans[1]. The planet is volcanically active, as its mostly dead surface is dotted by multiple geysers and the mountains at the distance show columns of smoke indicative of volcanic activity.
The Ashen Moorland of Alaraph
The ash in the planet is dense enough to limit visibility to a considerable amount, creating periods of thick fog that will make it difficult to engage hostiles at large distances. Certain forms of xenoflora can be found; such as Cluster Bushes, which are small bushes consisting of a stem and bulb-like fruits growing out of it that, when shot or disturbed by explosions, violently release barbs in all directions and deal damage similar to grenade shrapnel.
At the start of the Second Galactic War, Alaraph did not possess any large big cities, although its surface was dotted by multiple smaller urban settlements that housed its many thousands of civilians. This, in turn, made them easy prey for the 
Illuminate during any unfortunate invasions. Since then, many of the smaller urban centers have coalesced into a pair of moderately sized Mega Cities which provide a vastly improved defense and greater economic opportunity. These twin cities are the illustrious new planetary capital City of Permacuris (brought to you by PermaCura; PermaCura: Put your life in our hands) and the less imaginatively named but still impressive City of Hangar 6.
The Alaraph System consists of planet Alaraph itself, its moon and at least 4 other astronomical bodies which are a red gas giant, a red dwarf planet, a volcanic planet and its white, rocky moon. Up until October 2185, The Alaraph System served as one of 2 entry ways into the Omega Sector and could be used to quickly flank Karlia and Hydrobius. It was also the only planet in its sector to have re-established its FTL lines to other planets, which left its greater strategic value a mystery. After the FTL Network Reconnection of the Southern Sectors on October 27th, Alaraph would see itself catapulted into a position of significantly higher strategic value. Serving as one of the only 2 Eastern access points into the Akira Sector, the other one being the Keid system, Alaraph now not only serves as a crucial chokepoint between the Rictus and Omega Sectors, but also has complete control over access to Alathfar XI and, by extension, the rest of the Akira Sector. With the addition of its 2 new Mega Cities, Alaraph is now a crucial chokepoint to be controlled in the struggle against the Illuminate Cult.
History[]
Second Galactic War[]
Illuminate Raid Campaign (Dec. 16, 2184-Apr. 29, 2185)[]
Located deep in the Southern Galactic fringe, Alaraph was a peaceful, bustling gem within the broader Federation of 
Super Earth. Small, prosperous cityscapes dotted the surface, with millions of colonists leading financially secure lives. Even as the Second Galactic War waged on against the 
Terminids in the East and the 
Automatons in the West, Alaraph's positioning in the South left it unscathed by the horrors erupting elsewhere, and so too did the Galactic South as a whole.
The peace of the South wasn't to last for long. In December 2184, the Illuminate, thought to be eradicated during the First Galactic War, would suddenly resurface and begin a series of raids across the Galactic South, beginning on Calypso, Genesis Prime, and Mog. Unlike the other enemies of Super Earth, the Illuminate opted not to capture the planets they invaded- instead choosing to conduct 12-hour raids to kidnap colonists and ransack planetary infrastructure. Some months later, their true plans for their Raid Campaign would be revealed, as they raided planets to harvest Dark Energy to maneuver the Meridian Singularity toward Super Earth, a plot of true carnage.
Amidst this campaign of terror, Alaraph still went on unscathed by the War. The Illuminate would seemingly ignore it altogether, even as it constantly targeted planets within close proximity to it, including Alathfar XI, Genesis Prime, and Alamak VII.
Unfortunately for Alaraph, their luck would eventually run out. Twice within April 2185, the Illuminate would launch 12-hour raids on Alaraph with the intent to siphon more Dark Energy and leave its colonies in ruins. In both cases, the 
Helldivers would be too spread between other fronts to stop the Squ'ith from ransacking the planet, and were unsuccessful as such in their attempts to halt the incursions.
Operation Squid Eviction[]
Following the raids it faced in April, Alaraph would watch on along with the rest of the galaxy with a held breath as the Illuminate would finally reveal the true extent of their forces before invading Super Earth herself. As usual, however, the Helldivers would triumph after 10 days of fighting on Super Earth, sending the Illuminate on the run to their supply caches and hideouts in the south.
The Illuminate would eventually be discovered on multiple hideouts in the South following their retreat from Super Earth. These hideouts were located on former raid sites of theirs, namely Bellatrix, Haldus, Hydrobius, and Mog. The Helldivers would be ordered to liberate these hideouts, but fell 2 planets short as the Illuminate persisted on Hydrobius and Haldus. Even so, the Helldivers continued their liberation campaigns against them until a massive onslaught by the Terminids erupted in the Korpus Sector, forcing them to abandon their campaign against the Squ'ith.
On June 13th, whilst the Helldivers were still fending off the Terminids, a deep-space satellite observing numerous planets within the Galactic South had failed. High Command sent a swift notification to all personnel, stating that the Illuminate had sabotaged the device during the Battle for Super Earth. Now, numerous planets within the South were no longer observable, and all FTL travel and communication with these worlds had been cut off. Summarily, anti-Democratic activity was believed to be "Very High." On Helldiver galactic maps, 6 planets would appear with a red alert symbol over them. One of these 6 planets was Alaraph, now seemingly in grave danger.
On June 17th, after the Helldivers finished off the Terminids' offensive, the deep-space satellite had been restored, revealing that the Illuminate had waged a new, brazen act of war against Super Earth. All 6 planets that were affected by the satellite sabotage had immediately fallen under complete Illuminate control, with Alaraph now demarcated as being within Squ'ith tendrils. However, a more pressing issue had emerged: on Alamak VII and Alairt III, two planets affected by the satellite sabotage, the planets' Mega Cities had not only been occupied by the Squ'ith- they had been re-engineered into totalitarian strongholds. The Illuminate had seemingly replaced the once glorious cityscapes and turned them into bizarre beacons of xeno-structures, clearly for tyrannical purposes. The loss of the Mega Cities on these planets and their subsequent defacing were of the utmost priority, and with a heavy heart, High Command would have to abandon Alaraph and others while they issued a priority Major Order for the Helldivers to swiftly reclaim both Alamak and Alairt. Alaraph was doomed.
Operation Calamari Damacy[]
On the 23rd of September, the 
Super Earth High Command declared a new Major Order, ordering the Helldivers to the southern part of the Galaxy, in order to strike the Illuminate forces occupying Karlia, to make a series of upgrades to the DSS, for this, a "Safety perimeter" was needed around the Karlia System, and Alaraph was one of the planets need to do the perimeter together with the Hydrobius System.
Therefore, the order to liberate Alaraph was one of the tasks that the Helldivers had to complete in order to successfully carry out the order.
After the liberation of Alamak VII at 2 AM SEST on September 26, an allied FTL Line was opened to the Alaraph System, allowing the Helldivers to deploy. Together with Democracy Space Station, the planet was purged of Squid presence in less than 24 hours.
Operation Bigger Apple[]
A Helldiver and regular infantry advance through the streets of Permacuris. November 7th, 2185.
Alaraph would enjoy its newfound peace for the next month or so. After spending over 3 months under Illuminate occupation, the planet was in desperate need of rebuilding not only its urbanized settlements, but also gathering supplies that were ruined by the xenophobic aliens. Alaraphites would work their best to restore what was needed in swift order, knowing that the Illuminate could attack once more at any time.
On October 27th, Alaraph, along with the rest of the Galactic South, would re-establish its FTL line connections with the rest of the Akira Sector by reconnecting itself to Alathfar XI. The move came in tandem with the Illuminate seemingly establishing new lines of their own from their southeastern holdings to sectors further west, clearly an indication that their widespread offensive to capture the South was imminent. Luckily, with the re-establishment of Alaraph to Alathfar and the rest of the South, Alaraph would be able to further its reconstruction efforts, as its colonial overseer coordinated with their sector counterparts to stockpile supplies and finalize planetary re-districting and urbanization efforts. Eventually, by November 4th, the moves to bolster coordination had a massive secondary effect in which Alaraph had completed the building of two massive, sprawling cities akin to the Mega Cities of Super Earth. The cities would be named Permacuris and Hangar 6. This massive, momentous achievement wouldn't go unnoticed by anyone-- not even the enemies of Freedom.
A Helldiver uses his jump pack to get closer to the Illuminate patrol. November 7th, 2185.
On November 5th, the Illuminate would begin a massive westward offensive, as they launched a powerful incursion on Shete in the Xi Tauri Sector. Luckily, as Shete had also re-established its lines along with the rest of the Galactic South, they would be able to fend off the Illuminate invaders for 48 hours due to their decent preparations. With no major orders at the time, the Helldivers would dispatch roughly 20% of their Corps and the Democracy Space Station to aid the colonial defenses. Even so, with the rest of the Corps split up between liberating Fenmire and Terrek from the Automatons & Terminids, Shete would still be undermanned and would require more aid.
At roughly 13:45 SEST on November 6th, Alaraph's colonial overseer would raise an emergency SOS beacon. A reported 40 Illuminate invasion fleets appeared within Alaraph's atmosphere before beginning their super-onslaught upon the gray planet. SEAF defenses were being overwhelmed at the seams, and the Helldivers were called for aid. Luckily, with the liberation campaign of Fenmire complete, far more Helldivers were available in service and began to flock to the defense of Alaraph- though in heavily limited numbers as the majority would deploy to the ongoing battle of Shete.
A Helldiver destroys several Voteless among the buildings in Permacuris. November 7th, 2185.
An hour after Alaraph's defense began, a new Major Order would be issued by High Command. York Supreme, the Megacity on Super Earth which was ravaged by the Illuminate during the Battle for Super Earth in May, was now in line to be rebuilt months after the first rebuild of Gun (formerly Remembrance). Resources for such a large rebuilding project would be hefty, demanding massive amounts of construction materiel. Luckily, within the Akira Sector, Alaraph's near neighbors of Andar and Asperoth Prime were adjudged to have the best material to rebuild York Supreme, including an overabundance of untapped resources of limestone, iron, and gravel. As such, these two planets would be used to extract these materials to aid in the reconstruction of the Megacity.
However, as tyranny has it, the Illuminate had begun their offensive- seemingly targeting both Andar and Asperoth Prime to take control of the key resource pipelines while also gaining their advantageous positioning on the borders of other southwestern sectors. High Command, recognizing these ongoing Illuminate attacks, ordered the Helldivers to hold Andar and Asperoth Prime at any cost so that resources could be extracted, and York Supreme could begin its renovations. With the new Order issued, the Helldivers would flock in droves to defend Shete as its fall would give the Illuminate direct access to Keid- Asperoth Prime's southern flank. A smaller contingent of Helldivers deployed to Alaraph, holding the line while trying to halt the Illuminate from gaining direct access to Alathfar XI- Andar's eastern flank.
A Helldiver shoots Illuminate in the colony. November 7th, 2185.
After successfully repelling the attack on Shete, most of the Helldivers who took part in this battle were sent along with the DSS to help the defense of Alaraph where the situation was not the best. Throughout the 7th of November, fighting raged throughout Permacuris, which is a key city on Alaraph, and at approximately 15:58 SEST, S.E.A.F. units ensured the complete security of this population centre, repelling all attacks and expelling the Illuminate from the outskirts of the city. After that, large-scale hostilities shifted to the Angar 6 City and the remaining uninhabited and suburban territories of the planet, which were still subjected to the inhuman aggression of squids. The evening and night continued to be hectic due to constant clashes, but silence finally returned to the residents of Alaraph on the 8th of November at 02:45 SEST with the good news: the entire Illuminate attack group was defeated and destroyed in full force. Thus, by holding this important planet, the Super Earth Armed Forces were able not only to repel the attack on Asperoth Prime and Andar from this direction, but also to prevent the enemy from gaining a foothold in the Akira Sector and connecting its large enclave with the main forces.
Helldiver and infantry squad on the streets of Hangar 6. November 12th, 2185.
Illuminate forces would once again harass Alaraph on November 11th. With invasion strength rated on Level 32, Overships appeared in the orbit around 13:00. By then, Helldivers were still busy on Shete, finishing the defense with help of Democracy Space Station. Once the station warped onto Alaraph's orbit, Heavy Orbital Bombardment was activated shortly after, allowing for the defense to be swift and efficient. The battle in Hangar 6 City flared up again, with S.E.A.F. units quickly defeating the attacking Illuminate forces and securing both the city and its suburbs by 05:15 SEST on the 12th of November. Maintaining control over Hangar 6 not only provided significant support for the defence of the entire planet (control of the city provides complete control over approximately 36% of the planet's area), but also put an end to the Illuminate's further plans to invade the city of Permacuris, as well as the entire offensive as a whole. Within 6 hours, all enemy forces on the planet were destroyed, bringing Humanity another victory over the chauvinistic Illuminate war criminals.
FTL Lines[]
- Genesis Prime - Rictus Sector (Established on June 17, 2185)
- Hydrobius - Omega Sector (Established on June 17, 2185)
- Oasis - Hanzo Sector (Established on June 17, 2185)
- Alathfar XI (Re-established on October 27th, 2185)
FTL Timeline[]
- February 8th, 2184: Alaraph is connected by FTL to Alathfar XI.
- June 13th, 2184: FTL line to Alathfar XI is destroyed.
- June 17th, 2185: New FTL lines to Alamak VII, Genesis Prime, Hydrobius, Karlia, and Oasis are established.
- October 27th, 2185: FTL line to Alathfar XI is recreated. FTL Lines to Karlia and Alamak VII are destroyed.
- ↑ Based on observations from mission select screen.
Trivia[]
- The name of the Permacuris City has a direct connection with the name of PermaCura Biopharma corporation. It is not known for what reason this particular name was chosen. Perhaps there are significant production facilities located there, around which this city was formed.