| “ | A perenially chilly climate has allowed short, colorful shrubs to flourish across this planet's surface. | „ |
| ~ Official Description |
Demiurg is one of the six planets that reside within the Tanis Sector. It's position at the border between the Tanis and Arturion Sectors makes it a very strategically valuable planet, as it effective is the only barrier between the 
Terminids and the 
Automatons ever encountering one another.
Topography[]
History[]
Second Galactic War[]
Operation Adamant Resolve[]
Demiurg was, for pretty much all of the Second Galactic War, just another planet colony of Super Earth without anything particularly worthy of note. Its scattered colonies undertook a myriad of activities, from logging to farming to mining, without much oddities occurring in their everyday lives. But if the Automatons hate something, it is the simple things such as the calm and comfort that abound in the galactic fringe.
When the Automatons first invaded the Valdis Sector in April, the Tanis Sector preventively cut all of its FTL Supply Lines in order to prevent the robots from spreading towards the Terminid Front, as many SEAF strategists feared the unpredictability of such an encounter. This outcome would put Demiurg through a hard time; as it also meant that, given its position of remoteness even in its own sector, Demiurg could not really fortify or stockpile supplies in case of an invasion.
These worries would become validated when, in September 2184, the Automatons managed to capture Clasa after the Tanis Sector's FTL Lines had been restored, which effectively left Demiurg completely isolated, caught between the metaphorical wall that was the now-disconnected Arturion Sector's planets and the very literal sword that was the Automaton Forward Base that was growing more and more fortified in Clasa, as the socialist menace prepared to continue its expansionist campaigns.
Shortly after Liberty Day, Demiurg would find itself even more isolated, as Zefia and now Yed Prior fell against attacks coming from Clasa. It was now only a matter of time before the Automatons turned their sights onto Demiurg, as it was the only remaining planet in the Tanis Sector that hadn't rebuked them, all while Claorell had grown too fortified for the Automatons to push for.
The Automatons initiated their invasion of the Gellert Sector on October 28th, with the twin invasions of Blistica and Mintoria. So far, it seemed like the Automatons would continue all the way to Zosma and conquer the Gellert Sector, which would buy Demiurg much needed time, but then the Helldivers managed to repel the Automatons at Matar Bay and Zzaniah Prime, which forced them to turn the concentrated remains of their forces towards the only planet that they hadn't yet attempted to invade so far.
On the early hours of October 31st, SEAF Colonial Defense Network channels began to flood with calls for aid coming from Demiurg's garrison. Having been under siege for a month and having been unable to prepare ever since they had been cut off the FTL Network on April, Demiurg was pretty much incapable of either evacuating nor repelling the invaders and, comprehensibly, called for immediate Helldiver support.
With the Helldivers having orders to prevent further Automaton expansion, Demiurg would see half of the Helldiver Corps, around 22,000 Super Destroyers, show up in droves to support the besieged planet.
Operation Equilibrium[]
Amidst a bloody war elsewhere, Demiurg stood as an isolated barrier against the sword of socialist tyranny. The planet went on quietly, trying to subsist on its own few resources with the Automaton menace still standing on its doorstep on Clasa. On the whole, the war largely avoided the Tanis Sector as the return of the 
Illuminate in December 2184 along with major offensives led by the Terminids and the new, mutated 
Predator Strain left the Automaton front largely abandoned.
Taking advantage of 
Super Earth's increased attention toward the Terminids and Illuminate, the largely forgotten Automatons came back to the galactic forefront in March 2185. Spearheaded by the newly built Automaton 
Incineration Corps, the bots led a major offensive across the worlds that were previously liberated during Operation Andromeda and Operation Liberty Crush. The 
Helldivers were ordered to stage a defense but ultimately failed as the Automatons swept through planet after planet, stomping all the way to Ingmar in the Xzar Sector. It took a brilliant defense at Vandalon IV and Pöpli IX to eventually stabilize the line, allowing the Helldivers to counterattack and flush the bots out of the Nanos and Xzar Sectors.
After their pathetic defeat, the Automatons paused their offensives and went into retreat. The Incineration Corps disappeared for the rest of April 2185, seeking to redress their obvious shortcomings.
In the meantime, the Automatons resorted back to their method of small, precise attacks rather than large-scale invasions. Turning back to the east, they were able to capture Lesath, Gaellivare, and most notably, Claorell. The Automatons were certainly aided in being able to capture the heavily fortified Claorell, as the Illuminate launched a raid on the planet that caused significant damage to its infrastructure. Thus, this allowed the bots to capitalize on the ransacked planet, as they launched an attack that collapsed Claorell's defenses in just 12 hours.
Following the disappearance of the Illuminate just hours after the fall of the 
Deep Mantle Forge Complex, the Helldivers were ordered to take back the planet along with the other critical centers that had fallen to both the Terminids and Automatons during the Illuminate's then-final moments.
Ultimately, the Operation was a failure. A rebuilt Automaton Incineration Corps had resurfaced on Penta, moving to Lesath shortly after. They then launched 3 attacks with the span of an hour, attacking Vernen Wells, Vog-Sojoth, and Imber, All 3 planets fell to the Automatons, closing off Claorell from the FTL Network and causing the Major Order to fail.
The hurt wouldn't stop there for the Helldivers, as the rebuilt Automaton 
Jet Brigade was spotted on Aurora Bay and began to station on Vernen Wells to launch an attack on Tarsh. With all 3 of the Predator Strain, Incineration Corps, and Jet Brigade encroaching on the Federation, Operation Equilibrium was issued, ordering the Helldivers to liberate one more planet than was lost for the next week.
Much of the focus of the initial parts of the Operation centered around thinning the ranks of the likely unwinnable Jet Brigade invasion of Tarsh alongside the defense of Fort Union from the Terminid Predator Strain. Fort Union's defense was eventually successful, but Tarsh easily fell to the Automatons with little Helldiver resistance. The Incineration Corps went on quietly, launching no attacks as of yet as they stationed themselves on both Aesir Pass and Clasa.
Demiurg was now under serious threat. Having had to sustain itself after being cut off from the FTL Network for so long, the most dangerous of Automaton divisions was now right on its doorstep. With time running out to prepare, the planet was now in grave danger.
On May 6th, a day after the Incineration Corps stationed itself on Clasa, an odd set of events began to occur. Strangely, after the Automatons captured Tarsh, the Automatons left the planet with relatively low on resistance, and the Jet Brigade ended up leaving the planet to travel back to Automaton-controlled Claorell. Then, on May 8th, the Automaton Jet Brigade sent a message to the Incineration Corps that they were going to leave Claorell and intended to use Clasa as their next attack point. Thus, the Brigade arrived on Clasa with enemy resistance on the planet rising to 3%. Simultaneously, the Incineration Corps left Clasa to the Brigade, moving to Yed Prior and then to Blistica further north in the Gellert Sector.
Demiurg's threat was now essentially replaced. In the blink of an eye, their danger was now not from the incendiary Automaton fleet, but from the aerially bolstered Jet Brigade which had caused so much death and destruction to Super Earth throughout October-November 2184. Fearing the worst, whatever few supplies were stockpiled were immediately gathered in the face of such grave circumstances.
Sure enough, on May 9th, the Automaton Jet Brigade launched a massive, brazen assault on Demiurg with 30 Automaton warships appearing in the planet's atmosphere.
The first 12 hours of the campaign were largely forgettable. The Automatons built a massive lead early on with the main Helldiver fleet trying to complete the defense of Curia further south. Then, after the bots were repelled from Curia, the main Helldiver fleet, along with the Democracy Space Station's Eagle Storm arrived to Demiurg's surface, immediately halting Automaton progress for the next 13 hours of the campaign.
With the bots paralyzed for a short time, the Helldivers fought tooth and nail to try to recover the situation on the planet. Sadly, the Automatons were just too numerous in their attack, as even with the Eagle Storm halting their offensive they still had the lead in the campaign. Further, by the time Eagle Storm had run out, the Terminid Predator Strain led their own brazen attack on Sulfura, further draining Helldiver support for Demiurg. Even with the DSS and a strong Helldiver contingent, the Automatons were simply too well equipped in the campaign. With Eagle Storm over and the Automatons back to making massive gains on the ground, Demiurg was doomed.
By the morning of May 11th, Demiurg had fallen to the Automaton Jet Brigade. With the planet cut off from the FTL network and no real priority to liberate Clasa, Demiurg remains trapped for the forseeable future.
Operation Capitalized Industry[]
On the 16th of September, 2185, Decrypted Automaton communications would reveal the existence of a secretive mining operations underway on Mintoria. Although the 
Super Earth Armed Forces had been occupied with other fronts -- particularly against the Illuminate and Terminids -- for the past several months, however attacks by Terminids and their Gloom spores would deal severe damage to Outpost Alpha, necessitating both resources and technology for repair and improvement of the vital facility.
In light of this, the technologies utilized in these mines were of high interest to the 
Ministry of Expansion as reclaiming and implementing them may help expand the Outpost into nothing less than a spore-proof subterranean haven. As such at 15:40 SEST, Super Earth High Command declared a new Major Order, calling the Helldivers to liberate the Ultramafic Mine on Mintoria, however before this could be accomplished a path too the world would need to be created by liberating various planets, including Zefia and Clasa. Demiurg however was not a target of the major order, though would benefit from it none the less.
Following the liberation of Clasa on the 18th of September, the Automaton occupation forces on Demiurg off from the rest of the evil socialist empire. An major tactical error which ambitious commanders of the Super Earth Armed Forces would quickly exploit. Although the vast majority of the Helldiver Corps would be occupied with the push towards Mintoria (with less than 1,500 Super Destroyers coming to aid in the planet's liberation), the ground forces of the S.E.A.F. would step in to take center stage during this secondary offensive.
Progress would be slow but steady, with a little under half (48%) of Demiurg being liberated by the S.E.A.F. by the time serious Helldiver reinforcements appeared on the 21st of September, though would quickly withdraw by the start of Calamari Damacy. Still, the battle for Demiurg would carry on for several more days, until the S.E.A.F. achieved it's final decisive victory on the 25th of September.
FTL Lines[]
FTL Timeline[]
- February 8th, 2184: Demiurg is connected by FTL to Clasa and Zefia.
- June 13th, 2184: FTL lines to Clasa and Zefia are destroyed.
- September 18th, 2184: FTL line to Clasa is re-established.
Trivia[]
- This system name seems to derive from old greek word Demiurge, which in Platonic philosophy is an artisan-like figure responsible for fashioning and maintaining the physical universe.