| “ | Ice and moss-covered rock can be found across most of the surface of this planet. | „ |
| ~ Official Descripton |
Lesath is one of the four planets that reside within the Lacaille Sector. Following unchecked Automaton advances into Federation space, Menkent and Lesath would be where SEAF Engineers would build orbital defences as part of the Menkent Line.
On November 13th, a platoon of SEAF soldiers hailing from this planet would depart for Mastia in order to aide in the battle against the Jet Brigade. Despite the loss of the battle, the sacrifice of this platoon dealt severe casualties to the Jet Brigade, paving the way for their eventual defeat at the Battle of Imber on November 20th. For their bravery, heroism and their courageous sacrifice, they have been nicknamed as the "Lesath Martyr Corps" in remembrance of their actions.
Topography[ | ]
Lesath is a cold tundra world, compatible to the Arctic Tundra of Super Earth prior to the last great war. Leasth's climate is characterized by extreme climatic conditions with year-round frozen grounds, long and cold winters, a very short growing season and low precipitation rates. SEAF forces deploying to the planet are advised to bring extra layers to insulate from the cold and take advantage of the climate to more effectively utilize laser based weaponry.
The planet possesses large oceans and several continent sized lakes filled with freezing arctic water. It's coastlines are rugged with long winding fjords and large areas of exposed bedrock. Inland are rocky mountains, ice fields and deeply cut valleys, with some lowland plains that are broken up by more rocky outcrops. Prolonged periods without sun light, frozen ground and strong winds also prevent substantial tree growth, with a very sparse number of grasses and a unique form of rock-covering moss making up the majority of the planet's flora.
History[ | ]
Special Military Operations[ | ]
First Battle of Lesath - Automaton Invasion of Cyberstan[ | ]
Despite valiant efforts by the Super Earth Armed Forces and colonial defenders, they failed to hold back the automaton onslaught during the opening phases of The Reclamation, with Lesath being one of the planets taken by the socialist menace. On the 12th of April, 2184, High Command issued the Helldivers an order to liberate the Menkent Line, which consisted of the namesake planet, alongside Lesath after they were both claimed by the Automaton Faction at the beginning of The Reclamation.
Menkent Line[ | ]
On the 14th of April, just 2 days later, Menkent had been liberated, and the Helldivers set their sights on Lesath, with an approximate 130 thousand Super Destroyers deploying onto the frozen wastes that same day. The planet would be swiftly liberated, with SEAF engineers immediately setting to work constructing the orbital defences, whilst the Helldivers redeployed to Menkent to counter an automaton counter attack.
With the Automaton advance arrested, rudimentary orbital defences were established Menkent and Lesath, which were then augmented by hardworking SEAF and civilian labourers. Meanwhile, a SEAF Forward Command Base was established on Vernen Wells, providing fresh recruits and supplies to the front.
Second battle of Lesath - Operation Enduring Bulwark[ | ]
In an act of sinister syncronicity, both the Terminids and Automatons launched large-scale assaults on the Federation at the same time. The Helldivers were forced to defend citizens on two fronts at once, stretching their numbers and resources to the breaking point. Despite it's considerable orbital defenses, Lesath lacked the manpower to fully utilize them and stop the follow up ground invasion, causing it to be one of the first planet's to fall to the Automaton's fresh offensive. This opened up the FTL lanes to Vernen Wells and caused some analysts (currently under investigation by the Ministry of Truth) to question the tactical viability of fixed fortifications.
Third Battle of Lesath - Operation Metallic Harvest[ | ]
Having fallen back into Automaton control after the failure of the Terminid Control System and the disaster of Meridia, Lesath and other planets in the Lacaille Sector would be put under great toil, as the Helldivers were diverted to contain the Terminid menace to the east. However, once the Supercolony Spore Outbreak was mostly contained, barring some missed quotas, new orders would be issued by Super Earth High Command: The dismantling of 2 billion automatons.
The Automatons did an ephemeral attempt to delay the incoming Helldivers by assaulting the forward base at Vernen Wells. However, their meager assault on the planet failed and the Helldivers pushed into Lesath.
Second Galactic War[ | ]
Fall of Lesath - Declaration of the Galactic War on Tyranny[ | ]
Lesath would not remain free for long. With the failure of Operation Metallic Harvest, the Automatons would gain momentum and, as Super Earth began to mobilize its war machine, Lesath would be caught in the chaos, its defenders being overwhelmed and with Lesath being conquered by the robotic tyrants. Despite many sacrifices, Lesath would be unable to be saved and, shortly after the fall of Vernen Wells, Lesath would be permanently lost to the ways of Managed Democracy.
Operation Ecologic Immolation[ | ]
From May to September, Lesath would remain under the odious grip of the robot's iron fist, serving as a forward base from which they spread their socialist plight westward, towards the far reaches of the Trigon Sector, while the Helldivers bounced back and forth between the Terminid Supercolony and the ever growing robotic front. However, Freedom will always find a way to triumph over tyranny, as the Helldivers managed to sever the horrid fief of the Automatons in half, crushing their might and delivering a heavy, yet not crippling, strike at the tin man's heart.
As the Helldivers were diverted towards the newly spawned Gloom, a mysterious nebula comprised of immense amounts of interplanetary terminid spores, the Automaton Vanguard would attempt to advance towards Super Earth and invaded the Marspira Sector. This would prove to be a grave mistake, as the Helldivers managed to force the Automatons to withdraw back towards their once insulated garrison: Lesath.
Operation Titanium Belt[ | ]
With the liberation of Vernen Wells on September 1st, Lesath would find itself back on the frontlines. However, the Automatons would prove to be more than a mere nuisance, as they managed to successfully entrench themselves in Lesath. Then, from Lesath, they launched an assault onto Gaellivare on September 6th, while mounting a new supply line to Vog-Sojoth, all while their encircled vanguard at Mastia "coincidentally" launched an assault onto Shelt in an attempt to take over Imber and its titanium deposits in order to create a malevolent new, unknown force.
Operation Crossroads[ | ]
Lesath would remain as a frontline planet since the liberation of Vernen Wells. However, due to the months it had spent out of liberty's reach, the Helldivers found it to be a massively fortified Automaton position, one which connected to pretty much every other planet on the bot front with the exception of Choohe.
As such, throughout the month of September, Super Earth Tactical Command had been drafting plans for an eventual liberation of Lesath, as control over it would not only serve to reinforce the fragile position of the Democracy Space Station's construction site, but would also severely disrupt the Automaton network, not only by disconnecting the Tanis Sector but also by allowing for multiple incursions into many strategically valuable planets that connected into the Valdis Sector.
However, time and time again, new threats emerged that kept Lesath off the top of the list of targets, both at the Automaton front as well as back at the Terminid front. But, in Freedom's due time, an opportunity presented itself.
Following the defeat of the Jet Brigade at the defense of Marfark, the Automatons were now forced to retreat, which allowed for an opening to take Lesath and, in return, create a protective buffer around the Democracy Space Station's construction site. However, around the same time, SEAF Satellites detected a massive Terminid offensive building up around the Terminid Research Preserve.
With Liberty Day right around the corner, the Helldivers had to make a choice to either capture Lesath and secure the Democracy Space Station's vulnerable flank in case of a new Jet Brigade offensive or facing the Terminids in order to secure the Terminid Research Preserve.
Super Earth High Command would issue the order for either of the objectives to be completed before Liberty Day, leaving it up to the Helldiver Corps to choose where to send in the main fleet. After some hours of deliberation, the decision was reached that, while the Terminid Research Preserve was important and its loss would present a major setback, the risk of a Jet Brigade assault onto Gaellivare from Lesath put the entire DSS project at risk and, as such, the main fleet began to immediately deploy onto Lesath, hoping to liberate it in time to relief the rearguard force that had stayed behind to defend the Terminid Research Preserve.
Lesath would be liberated by the end of October 25th, shortly before Liberty Day, which allowed its displaced citizens to be safely resettled back into the planet and begin repairs and resettlement in time for their patriotic celebration duties.
Operation Spark of Liberty[ | ]
Lesath would remain free ever since its liberation, with its colonists rejoicing at the liberation of their sufficiently-sized dwellings just in time for Liberty Day.
However, where they enjoyed freedom, other planets soon weren't. Shortly after Liberty Day, the Automatons would unleash their most nefarious weapon once more: The Jet Brigade. After having been rebuked at Marfark some weeks prior, they had now managed to pinpoint the location of the Democracy Space Station at Gaellivare and had begun their slow march towards it, seeking its destruction.
The colonists at Lesath watched in horror as the news came from the brutal fall of Tarsh and decided to take direct action to remediate it. As an act of gratitude towards the Helldivers for liberating their homes, an entire platoon of SEAF soldiers departed from Lesath and towards Mastia, where the Helldivers were fighting against the Jet Brigade in hopes on inflicting enough damage to later defeat this nefarious foe. The brigade would only arrive 22 hours after the battle had started, but even then, they would quickly make their presence felt, as they launched themselves at key Jet Brigade positions, giving their lives while dealing considerable casualties to the invading Automatons.
These heroes would have had no trouble breaking through a part of their numbers and escape, no matter how many tens of thousands of Automaton Troopers approached or how many fleets of Dropships encircled them. But they knew very well that this was not the way of Super Earth, as it would very much go against the very meaning of loyalty. Instead, they willingly chose to face the entire force of the enemies' war machine, regardless of how outnumbered they were or how supposedly formidable these foes were, and died a resplendent death, the likes of which only the heroes from the First Galactic War have ever surpassed.
A soldier's duty is to this truth. Beyond this, there is nothing to be said.
To these courageous heroes, the Bureau of Galactic Wide Web Forums of the Ministry of Truth dedicates this small paragraph, so that their example leads all of our citizens, present and future.
Operation Balance of Liberty[ | ]
Following the heroic efforts of SEAF forces from Lesath, coupled with Helldiver victories at Gaellivare and Imber, Liberty shone brightly on the Western Front. However, the Automatons, in their mechanic evil, would make moves to take revenge over their necessarily and righteously defeated Jet Brigade.
On the morning of November 21st, roughly 24 hours after the Jet Brigade's defeat at Imber, the Automatons would unleash a sizable assault of 15 battalions towards Lesath. The robots combined the strength of 5 planets to this attack: Menkent, Vernen Wells, Penta, Chort Bay, and Vog-Sojoth all sending smaller groups of forces to Lesath in an act of devious synchronicity.
Liberty was not to shine on Lesath this time. With the majority of the Helldiver Corps and the Democratic Space Station posted at Crimsica and Gar Haren on the Terminid Front, only around 25% of the Helldivers would join the defense of Lesath at the height of the campaign. As such, the Automatons would capture Lesath by the next morning, and cut off 4 of Super Earth's supply lines to the invading planets, excluding Vog-Sojoth.
While Lesath would not be liberated within the timeframe of the Operation, its liberation would come a mere 2 days after its failed defense, as the Helldivers persisted on its liberation with the aid of the DSS' Planetary Bombardment.
FTL Lines[ | ]
- Chort Bay
- Menkent - Hydra Sector
- Penta
- Vernen Wells - Hydra Sector
- Vog-Sojoth - Tanis Sector (Established on September 6, 2184)
- Gaellivare - Talus Sector (Established on September 6, 2184)
FTL Timeline[ | ]
- February 8th, 2184: Lesath is connected by FTL to Chort Bay, Menkent, Penta and Vernen Wells.
- September 6th, 2184: New FTL lines to Gaellivare and Vog-Sojoth are established.
Trivia[ | ]
- During Lesath's liberation (technically the 3rd battle of Lesath) in the first phase of Operation: Legitimate Undertaking, some players noticed what appeared to be Terminid corpses on some maps. This is in all likelihood due to reused tilesets.
- As of September 7th, 2184, this planet is the planet with the most FTL Supply Lines in the Galactic Map, with a total of 6.
- Lesath is most likely named after Upsilon Scorpii, or orbits it. Upsilon was originally named Lesath before a name change, and is in the constellation of Scorpius.