| “ | Scorching temperatures, high winds, and low precipitation cause a near-constant cycle of fires to sweep this planet, punctuated by short bursts of lush rebirth between infernos. | „ |
| ~ Official Description |
Herthon Secundus is one of four planets that reside within the Ferris Sector.
Topography and Astrograpy[]
A Super Destroyer fireteam stationed in orbit over Herthon Secundus awaits a Pelican Shuttle.
Similar to planets like Grand Errant, Karlia and Adhara, Herthon Secundus is a hellish, fiery planet with minimal shrubbery across its surface. Scorched trees devoid of any greenery are abundant, and the environment contains many smaller hills and some mountains. Regular fire tornadoes scour the planet's surface and leave a trail of ash and fire behind that hinder visibility and can pose a deadly hazard to those who aren't careful. Despite the violent conditions, colonists have subsisted and built several developed colonies, its urbanized settlements a fascination amongst the otherwise brutal landscape.
The Coarse Badlands of Herthon Secundus
Herthon Secundus is home to 3 Mega Cities, which will be mentioned up next by tier. Mega City Tiers do not have any effect on level generation and only affect the city's health pool in the galactic war map. These cities are the Towns of Penscewt and Eagle's Likeness and the planetary capital City of Consensus. Combined together, these cities will boost campaign progress by up to 70% when liberated, making them strategically valuable locations to control. Besides these cities, Herthon Secundus is also home to a great number of scattered urban settlements all across its surface which house its rural population and contain a number of key 
S.E.A.F. appliances that can prove useful during missions.
It should also be noted that Herthon Secundus is also home to ruins which date back to well before the First Galactic War, which have been preserved for citizen education and enrichment. Even so, standard rules for encounters with such ruins apply for 
Helldivers stationed on the planet: Only a traitor is curious about alien artifacts!
Herthon Secundus is, as its latin namesake would imply, the second planet on the Herthon System. Besides Herthon Secundus and its volcanic moon, the Herthon System contains at least 2 other astronomical bodies, which are a volcanic planet with a ring system and its white, rocky moon.
The Herthon System, along with Zea Rugosia, forms part of the urban core of the Ferris Sector, which itself marks one of the southernmost limits of the Illuminate Front. It's cities represent a great deal of capital investment in the Southern Galactic Rim for the citizens of the Federation. As such, it is to be defended from the 
Illuminate by all means available.
History[]
A Helldiver watches the sunrise at Herthon Secundus. October 11th, 2185.
Second Galactic War[]
Illuminate Raid Campaign (Dec. 13, 2184-Apr. 29, 2184)[]
For much of its history, Herthon Secundus was one of many developed jewels of the Galactic South. In contrast to the violent wildlife, its cities went on peacefully, able to withstand the fire tornadoes that swept across the rest of the planet's surfaces unimpeded. Unfortunately, it is this sort of peace that has attracted the enemies of 
Super Earth, as they are seemingly opposed to such peaceful freedom.
A Helldiver gazes at the nearby giant planet in the evening. Before him lies a wild wasteland, a colonial settlement, and a local comms centre — a typical landscape of rural Herthon II. October 11th, 2185.
On December 13th, 2184, the Illuminate, an ancient race of Squ'ith foes that were defeated in the First Galactic War, launched a massive, unprovoked attack on planet Calypso amid the Second Galactic War. Though they were defeated after 3 days of grueling combat, they would make their return the next day on Genesis Prime and Mog, effectively forcing their entry into the War.
From there on, the Illuminate launched a raid campaign across the entire Galactic South. Every 12 hours, a different planet was attacked, including Haldus, Hesoe Prime, Alamak VII, and dozens more. By the end of each raid, colonies lay in ruins. Countless citizens were abducted and converted into more Voteless to be used as cannon fodder against the Helldivers. Worst of all, Dark Energy was being harvested to move the 
Meridian Black Hole toward Super Earth itself, with carnage clearly on the Illuminate's mind. Luckily, by April 29th, the Meridian Singularity ceased its movement after countless efforts to slow it down by the Federation, and the Illuminate had disappeared completely.
Amidst these 4 months, Herthon Secundus became the target of Illuminate raids at least twice as part of their hit-and-run campaign. During both attacks, the Helldivers had orders elsewhere to battle the ever-persistent tyranny of the 
Terminids and 
Automatons. As such, the Illuminate had free reign to decimate Herthon during both raids, causing severe damage to its infrastructure and leaving untold numbers of citizens kidnapped.
After these attacks, Herthon went on relatively quietly, watching on as the War came to Super Earth herself as the Illuminate Great Host returned without warning on May 13th, 2185.
Helldivers hold an Illuminate assault at bay as High Value Assets are evacuated off-world. October 11th, 2185.
Post-Battle for Super Earth & Operation Squid Eviction[]
By May 30th, the Illuminate Great Host was finally defeated by the Helldivers on Super Earth. The galaxy erupted in celebration as the Squ'ith retreated in fear, watching on as their plan 100 years in the making was curb-stomped with ease.
On June 6th, a week after the Battle for Super Earth ended, Super Earth intelligence agencies had discovered 4 planets which the Illuminate had retreated to after their defeat. The Helldivers were ordered to liberate their hideouts on Mog, Hydrobius, Bellatrix, and Haldus. 4 days later, Operation Deep Cleaning was officially declared a failure, with only Mog and Bellatrix fully liberated by the end of the Order's timer. The Helldivers were encouraged to continue their liberation efforts against the Squ'ith despite their defeat, but some hours later, High Command ordered all Illuminate operations to be postponed as the Terminids launched a massive attack on multiple highly-developed planets in the Korpus Sector. All Helldivers were ordered to stage a defense against the infestation, leaving efforts on Hydrobius and Haldus on pause.
On June 13th, amidst ongoing invasions by the Terminids, a deep-space satellite near Super Earth had been sabotaged. The Illuminate seemingly placed interference devices during the Battle for Super Earth, causing the failure of the station. As such, numerous planets in close proximity to Hydrobius and Haldus were no longer observable, and all communication and travel to these worlds was impossible. t was summarily assessed that anti-Democratic activity on these worlds was Very High. On Helldiver galactic maps, the 6 planets in question had a red alert symbol over them. One of the 6 planets was Herthon Secundus.
On June 17th, with Operation Pest Control a success, those same 6 planets had officially fallen under Illuminate control, including Herthon Secundus. Immediately, a new Order was issued by High Command, demanding that the Helldivers liberate the highly-populated Alamak VII and Alairt III, with Herthon out of the operation for now.
A squad of S.E.A.F. Infantry Troopers, aided by a Helldiver, fights against a horde of Voteless on the streets of Penscewt. October 10th, 2185.
Operation This Belongs in a Museum[]
On the morning of the 7th October 2185, the 
Ministry of Science would identify anomalous phenomena in the vicinity of ancient Illuminate structures found on many planets within the southern galactic rim. It should be noted that these ruins date to well before the First Galactic War, and were previously being preserved for citizen education and enrichment -- at least before many of the planets where they were found came under Illuminate occupation.
These anomalous phenomena are, unsurprisingly, a new and surprising development. The anomalous phenomena include spacetime disruptions similar to those recorded near the Meridian Singularity. Ground-Penetrating Radar scans indicate that these ruins may extend several meters into the ground. Access to the sites is now restricted, as Ministry of Science archaeology teams begin careful excavations of the sites.
However, there are similar structures on Alairt III, Herthon Secundus, and Zea Rugosia, planets which the Illuminate occupied. Analysts within Super Earth High Command would theorize that the enemy may intend to somehow use these ruins to perpetuate disinformation campaigns, or to create and propagate their own twisted version of history. This could not be allowed to happen.
Furthermore the seizure of these sites would allow further excavation, hastening the investigation conducted by the Ministry of Science. The Helldivers were thus ordered to liberate these planets from the Illuminate which would be no easy feat, especially with Zea Rugosia being deep behind enemy lines -- requiring the liberation of Herthon Secundus before an assault could even be attempted.
The stakes on Herthon's liberation would only heighten as the operation progressed. Seeing their forces disintegrate at Alairt III, the Illuminate began retreating into the Rigel Sector in hopes of continuing the fight against Super Earth. They invaded Rirga Bay on October 8th from Heze Bay, then attacked Hort on October 9th. However, all the Illuminate would achieve with their attack on Hort would be to give the Helldivers a reason to expedite their efforts on the Herthon System.
A Helldiver scout sniper fires at a Voteless patrol defending the Illuminate Warp Ship. October 10th, 2185.
Once Alairt III was secured after the liberation of Free Trade on October 10th, the Helldivers immediately redeployed onto Herthon's orbit. As the Democracy Space Station joined them, the Helldivers would immediately begin deployments on the towns of Penscewt and Eagle's Likeness, hoping to establish a beachhead for S.E.A.F. operations planetwide. The Illuminate concentrated a significant portion of their garrison on these 2 towns in hopes of holding back against the tide of freedom, while scattering the rest of their forces across the many abandoned settlements across the planet.
Through October 10th, the Helldivers and Illuminate battled fiercely across the streets of Penscewt and Eagle's Likeness, but the squids were outmatched in every regard and, by 16:00 SEST, both towns had been liberated and the Illuminate forces had been cut practically in half. However, the remaining autocrats would concentrate on defending their stronghold at Consensus, which forced the Helldivers to encircle the Illuminate and eliminate whatever scattered enclaves they could find in the many urban settlements that dotted Herthon's surface.
A Helldiver battles Illuminate occupation forces in rural terrain on the outskirts of Consensus City. October 11th, 2185.
This scorched earth campaign would prove brutal but effective, as the Helldivers swept the planet and cleansed any and all Illuminate enclaves they could find. By the morning of October 11th, the Illuminate stronghold at Consensus was beginning to falter. The S.E.A.F. would manage to put the city under siege as the Illuminate defenses started to crack. All that was left was one final push and Consensus would be liberated, with Herthon likely following right after. However, time was running short, as the planetary defenses at Hort were projected to fall within 12 hours. The Helldivers had to act quickly if they wanted to relief the defense at Hort and prevent more territorial losses to the xenophobic scum.
The Helldivers would move with haste, knowing the weight of the battle that was now upon them. They engaged the Illuminate both in an out of Consensus, in one last desperate push to completely free Herthon Secundus from any and all alien xenophobia. With just an hour and ten minutes left before Hort's defenses collapsed, Consensus was liberated. With the victory at Consensus, the Illuminate forces in the Herthon System were effectively eradicated, and with them so too was the attacking fleet at Hort. A masterclass gambit resulting in a glorious triumph over the Illuminate autocracy.
FTL Lines[]
- Ain-5 - Hanzo Sector (Established on June 17, 2185)
- Alairt III - Hanzo Sector (Established on June 17, 2185)
- Zea Rugosia (Re-established on June 17, 2185)
- Hort (Established on October 7th, 2185)
FTL Timeline[]
- February 8th, 2184: Herthon Secundus is connected by FTL to Zea Rugosia.
- June 13th, 2184: FTL line to Zea Rugosia is destroyed.
- June 17th, 2185: FTL Line to Zea Rugosia is re-established, plus new lines to Ain-5, Alairt III, and New Stockholm.
- October 7th, 2185: FTL line to New Stockholm is destroyed. New FTL line to Hort is established.