| “ | Submerged in eternal winter, this world's frosty peaks glimmer in the light of its too-distant star. | „ |
| ~ Official Description |
Marfark is one of the five planets that reside within the Andromeda Sector. The name is derived from an Arabic word مرفق marfaq, meaning "elbow". Theta Cassiopeiae -- a solitary star in the northern constellation of Cassiopeia also shares the traditional name Marfark.
Following it's establishment, the Automaton's would attempt to subvert the Menkent Line by attempting to punch through at Marfark. mustering the entirety of their strength for the endeavour. However, despite managing to flank the Menkent Line, the Automatons instead used Marfark to pivot westward and capture the Ymir, Andromeda and Trigon Sectors, holding them for months until Marfark and a series of other planets were recaptured during Operation Andromeda.
Topography and Astrography[]
Super Destroyer strike groups in orbit over Marfark.
Situated on the elbow of the Andromeda Sector, Marfark is a planet thrust in an eternal winter, rife with blizzards and extreme cold much like planets such as Vandalon IV. It's terrain is spread across large ice flows, causing the frigid waters to further disrupt traversal of the battlefield.
Marfark is not home to any Mega Cities or sites of significant value. However, it is home to numerous urban settlements, and outside their limits, various infrastructural, industrial, and agricultural facilities operate. Despite the extremely low temperatures, the planet's inhabitants grow hardy agricultural crops, which can occasionally be found in fields while exploring the vast expanses of Marfark's polar desert. Natural vegetation on the planet is largely absent or grows in extremely small quantities in the warmest regions.
However, in the polar deserts, there exists a strange, light-blue plant with unusual properties: upon contact, it explodes harmlessly, briefly and lightly stunning the irritant. After its destruction, the area continues to exert this effect for a certain period. Although, as noted, this is harmless, carelessness can stun you at the wrong moment, so it is recommended to take appropriate safety precautions.
The planet Marfark has a ring system, indicating that it is a giant planet with sufficient gravity for this. Besides planet Marfark itself and its rocky moon, the Marfark System contains at least 3 other astronomical bodies, which are a gas giant, another unknown nearby planet and its orbiting moon. Also, two nebulae can be seen from the orbit of Marfark: one is predominantly yellow, the second is predominantly blue.
History[]
Special Military Operations[]
Automaton Reclamation of Cyberstan[]
Marfark had remained a icy, desolate colony of Super Earth for almost 100 years, its colonists inhabiting its permafrost tundras and thriving amongst the endless frozen oceans and mountainous glaciers. It was of no particular remark, with many other icy moons like it spread across the galaxy. However, if there is anything that the enemies of Super Earth hate....is peace.
On April 3rd, 2184, shortly after their crushing, unapologetic defeat at Malevelon Creek and the righteous obliteration of their Expeditionary Forces; the Automatons, through some unknown and most likely tyrannical and undemocratic means, returned to fight Super Earth on force. They quickly overwhelmed and conquered Cyberstan and the Valdis Sector and began to rush for the neighboring sectors. As the Helldivers scrambled back into the fight against the mechanized menace, the colonists at Marfark saw in horror and despair how, one by one, its surrounding planets fell to the red tides of socialism.
Then, on April 16th, as the Helldivers managed to stop the Automaton advance at the Menkent-Lesath line, Marfark faced its first robotic assault, as the Automatons rushed to try and outflank the defenses.
War had been brought upon their doorstep.
Menkent Line and Operation Cassiopeia[]
Throughout the months of April and May, Marfark would see 2 assaults that displaced its surviving colonists and destroyed their icy dwellings, as the Helldivers fought tooth and nail to hold the line against the tyrannical machines.
On April 16th SEAF forces had managed to liberate half of the Automaton presence on Marfark when uptick in the bots resistance was noticed, including the re-appearance of Factory Striders in large numbers. Not long after the order came in from High Command to hold the planet, in order to secure the vulnerable flank of the Menkent Line. Thus the Helldivers would redouble their efforts against the bots before their main automaton fleet could be redirected to the system, even redirecting forces from the bloody fighting on Martale.
After heavy fighting throughout the remainder of the day and into early hours of the following morning, their efforts would pay off as the last of the Automaton holdouts would be crushed. Although S.E.A.F. forces braced for a possible follow up attack by the Automatons, no further offensives would materialize for the rest of the day (likely due to the toasters loosing their footholds and much of their heavy equipment on the arctic world), with High Command declaring the defense of the planet a resounding success.
With Marfark secure, the Helldivers would redirect their efforts to other fronts such as Matar Bay and Penta
However, as the Terminid Control System failed in the East, the Helldivers would be forced to divert power in order to contain the now resurgent supercolony, which would ultimately doom Marfark to a fate worse than conquest by the Automatons, as it would be stuck on a deadlock.
Second Galactic War[]
Marfark had fallen out of Liberty's grace. As the Terminids and Automatons constantly forced the Helldivers to split and separate, more and more planets fell to the Automaton waves. Marfark would be lost in May, opening the gates for an assault on Aesir Pass that would be unsuccessful. But, such a fate was not to be the end for the icy bastion.
Operation Trolley Problem[]
By June, Marfark had been at least 4 weeks under the iron fist of the robots. But, it would be these barbarous occupation what would give it a glimpse of hope. The Automatons had brought to it a large repository of explosives, which would be determined by SEAF analysts to be necessary for the production of MD-17 Anti-tank mines. However, this discovery would occur at the same time that a distress signal came from the ruins of the Super Citizen Anne's Hospital For Very Sick Children at nearby Vernen Wells, leaving the Helldivers with a choice to make: Save the trapped civilians at Vernen Wells or secure the explosives at Marfark, since only the first planet to be liberated would have its civilians or material secured.
After the liberation of Aesir Pass in June 12th, the Helldivers began to dive towards both planets, with the majority picking Vernen Wells. While this may seem to be the end for the explosive caches, the icy bastion of Marfark may have one more chance at enjoying the sweet embrace of Managed Democracy again.
Unfortunately following the liberation of Super Citizen Anne's Hospital For Very Sick Children on Vernen Wells, the Automatons appear to have become aware of our efforts to liberate the Anti-Tank Mine materials on Marfark, and initiated operations to transport the material off-planet. Despite liberating 65% of the planet's surface, within 24 hours the bots were able to move the explosives cache deeper within their territory.
Marfark remained in Automaton hands, with the federation's MD-17 Anti-Tank Mine factories being shuttered for the time being, following multiple successive material shortfalls. The adult and pre-adult workers in those factories have been reassigned to other gainful and safe employment.
Operation Andromeda[]
With impossible victory achieved in Ymir Sector, Ministry of Defense decided to (after brief reprise in form of bug killing) reconnect with the stranded SEAF forces. A great liberation operation was called, with intend of both creating a supply line to besieged Ymir sector, as well as cutting the Bot territory in half. First hellpods landed on late afternoon of July 13th, while most of the SEAF was busy liberating Matar Bay. Proper liberation begun the next day, and after 2 days of fierce fighting, Marfark was liberated on morning of July 16th, fully opening the way to a planet that harbored a most shameful SEAF defeat - Martale.
Operation Jet Brigade and the Miracle at Marfark[]
On October 18th, 2184, Automaton warships have appeared in massive numbers in the atmosphere of Matar Bay. Multiple SEAF bases fell within hours and by the end of the day so too would the planet. Reports indicate the presence of an augmented Automaton detachment leading the invasion, equipped with jetpack technology. This detachment will be referred to as the Jet Brigade in all communications.
The size of this assault was unprecedented, with Super Earth High Command assessing that some loss of territory would be unavailable. Sure enough, Matar bay fell by the end of the day, with a subsequent invasion of neighboring Martale happening soon after, with that planet also falling to the mechanized socialists. However, every bot decommissioned weakened the strength of their advance, until the Jet Brigade launched an assault on Marfark on October 21st.
Although the automatons were severely weakened by previous engagements, SEAF and Helldiver forces on the previous two planets, it would take every drop of blood and oil that the unified forces of humanity had at their disposal to hold the planet.
Though the Department of Heroic Sacrifice Affairs would have much work to do in the following weeks, victory was achieved by the most narrowest of margins on October 22nd, with Marfark becoming the sight of another heroic victory for the Federation of Super Earth. However despite the Miracle at Marfark, the Jet Brigade remains a significant, albeit diminished, threat. We must remain ever-vigilant against future attacks. But for now, Liberty has won a great victory.
Operation Jetclipper[]
Following the miraculous and righteous defeat of the Jet Brigade at Marfark, the planet's icy and snowy peaks glimmered with the spark of liberty, a beacon in the Federation of Super Earth. However, this peace would soon come under grave threat once more. In the month after the Helldiver victory against the Jet Brigade, Marfark would begin to become encircled as the bots maintained control of Martale, and then went onto easily capture Aesir Pass once more in the Hydra Sector. Then, on the morning of November 28th, the Automaton occupiers at the problematic sandy planet of Choohe would send 12 battalions toward Matar Bay in an attempt to regain a foothold in the Andromeda Sector. The bots would easily take control of Matar Bay by the next day as the rest of the Helldiver corps was concerned with Operation Iron Fleet against the Terminids.
The writing was on the wall now for Marfark, as it was now surrounded completely by Automaton-controlled planets in a complete encirclement. The colonists' worst fears would come true as Marfark was once again invaded by the Automatons on the morning of November 29th, with the Automatons sending forces from all of Matar Bay, Martale, and Aesir Pass.
Yet hope was not lost.
On morning of November 30th, besieged world was graced by the reinforcements of Helldivers, which managed to agree on course of action after fight for Chort Bay proved inefficient. While the initial predictions remained grim, the brave elite slowly managed to dislodge the sudden toaster occupation, and strike back at invading forces.
Thus, a second Miracle at Marfark has happened, and by early morning of December 1st, last of invading's forces were decommissioned. Yet despite this positive outlook, Marfark remains encircled, and it will be only a matter of time before its icy ramparts will be tested yet again, while the rest of Helldivers on Western Front remain purposefully spread out.
Operation Farsight Breach[]
The snowy Marfark remained a peaceful world throughout the rest of 2184. The planet was ravaged, for it had spent significant time under Automaton occupation in 2184, in addition to its gruesome victory that left the planet in ruins against the Jet Brigade. Its colonists' would attempt to rebuild what was left of their small livings, hoping that the worst of the war was beyond the frosty peaks of the planet.
While not immediately invaded, the planet would once again be threatened as the Automatons looked to encircle the planet once more. Aesir Pass would remain under Automaton control, untouched after its capture in October 2184. Then, with the Automatons of Martale besieged for weeks and the Helldivers at 81% liberation progress, the Automatons at Choohe would successfully invade and capture neighboring Matar Bay, ending the siege of Martale and increasing its resistance rate to 1%. As the Helldivers were then forced to contain a massive onslaught in the previously untouched Farsight Sector by the 
Terminids, Martale would slowly and inevitably fall to 0% liberation progress by the day. Marfark was now under greater threat than before, with 3 Automaton-controlled planets now surrounding the world.
Operation Shattered Skies[]
Through the opening month of 2185, Marfark would remain encircled yet unscathed with the robots not yet attempting any assaults at the snowy world. In this time, the Automaton front would see relatively little action with most SEAF efforts concentrated on both massive Terminid outbreaks in the East while the shocking return of the 
Illuminate forced much Helldiver attention to the galactic south to contain their constant, incessant, and cowardly hit-and-run raids. Meanwhile, the Automatons themselves would remain deviously and strangely quiet as they only attacked 2 planets in January-- Choohe and Matar Bay. While the bots were likely mustering their forces for their vile future ambitions, the Helldivers faced nearly no Orders on the bot front, leaving it in a standstill for the majority of the month.
Just at the end of January, the Helldivers finally turned their attention to the West as the location of the violent Jet Brigade Factories was found on Chort Bay. Following a swift yet bloody 3 day operation, the Helldivers would be successful at liberating the heavily fortified bot planet, striking a big blow to the robots' ambitions.
However, just hours after liberating Chort Bay, the same malevolent Automaton Jet Brigade had resurfaced on the planet of Menkent, once again forcing all Helldiver attention to contain this vile strike force. A day after being spotted and being held by the Orbital Blockade of the DSS, the Jet Brigade would finally make its move to the recently liberated Lesath. High Command would spot this as an attempt by the Automatons to cut off the SEAF forces at Chort Bay and leave them encircled, and immediately issued an Order for all Helldivers to hold Chort Bay and deal as much damage as possible to the Jet Brigade at Lesath.
While the battle raged on at the Lacaille Sector, the bots at Matar Bay wouldn't waste the opportunity to cause further issues for Super Earth. With Aesir Pass encircled in the Hydra Sector following the liberation of Vernen Wells just a few days prior, the bots trapped at the Pass would pathetically plea to be reconnected to the rest of the Automaton network. The Automatons at Matar Bay would deviously heed the call in their wicked mechanized brutality, sending 7 invasion fleets to the snowy Marfark to gain more ground out west while the main Helldiver fleet attempted to contain the bots at Lesath.
This latest battle of Marfark would unfortunately be less dramatic than its previous successful fights in October and November of 2184. As the majority of the Helldivers focused on repelling the mammoth Jet Brigade assault at Lesath, Marfark would only see around 2,000 Helldivers at the peak of its defense. Despite the relatively small invasion level sent by the robots, Marfark was easily overwhelmed by the socialist invaders as its defense proved to be too meager and fell by nightfall the next day. The light of liberty remains closed off from the frosty world, with all FTL lines through Marfark leading to Automaton-controlled territory at Matar Bay, Aesir Pass, and Martale. The snowy world demands justice someday soon.
Operation Reclaimed Fire[]
A Helldiver fires at a convoy of factory striders in the polar desert. October 19th, 2185.
In connection with the beginning of mass preparations for the celebration of Liberty Day – a holiday that evokes the warmest and brightest feelings among all patriotic citizens of 
Super Earth – the High Command, due to the need for a Patriotic Pyrotechny Display, ordered the seizure of illegally equipped explosives depots located on the planets Marfark and Zosma, occupied by the socialist aggressors. Apart from the most unacceptable fact of occupation, the deployment of such a quantity of explosive materials is a treacherous and unfriendly step that violates the 2113 Act on Galactic Neighborhood Non-Volatility. Accordingly, the 
Automatons had to answer for disrespect for galactic law, and their explosives had to serve much better and more democratic purposes by being used during festive events.
A Helldiver shoots down one of the gunships flying out of his production facility. October 19th, 2185.
The Helldivers and other 
S.E.A.F. forces were quickly able to free Zosma, however, during the offensive on Marfark, difficulties arose caused, firstly, by the attack of the 
Jet Brigade on Lesath, successfully repelled by the courageous heroes of the Federation, and secondly, by the attack on Julheim from the Duma Tyr system, the purpose of which was to disrupt the SEAF offensive on the planet Bekvam III, which opens access to liberation Marfark. But even this terrible provocation did not prevent the release of Bekvam III and the return of the valiant soldiers of the Federation of Super Earth to Marfark. Unfortunately, the chauvinistic steps of the Automatons as a whole slowed down the SEAF's progress to the planet, which left about 19 hours before the end of the Major Order at the time of the start of the liberation campaign. However, due to the recent major defeats described above, the positions of the Automatons on Marfark were weakened by a quarter, as shown by a reassessment of intelligence data before the start of hostilities, which had a positive impact on the development of the initial pace of the offensive, which began on the 19th of October at 21:00 SEST.
The Pelican shuttle evacuates the Helldiver squad after they successfully complete the mission. October 19th, 2185.
Extremely low temperatures, snowstorms, rugged coastline and a large number of bodies of water have complicated the conduct of hostilities, but they have not had a significant negative impact on the course of the campaign, at least so far. By 23:45 SEST, more than 9% of the territory had already been returned to Super Earth control, and the pace of such a rapid offensive is only increasing.
However, the campaign at Marfark was on a race against time. Only 18 hours remained before the end of the operation and enemy resistance, despite going down from a 2% projection to a 1.5% projection due to an Automaton retreat from the planet, was still strong enough to potentially hold back the Helldivers.
As the fighting continued into the morning of October 20th, the brutal fighting would begin to take its toll on the Automaton occupiers and soon, the enemy resistance projections further fell from 1.5% down to 1%, which would allowed for a narrow margin of success if the Helldivers maintained their momentum and continued the offensive.
Fortunately, their efforts were soon bolstered by the Democracy Space Station arriving into orbit, the DSS Orbital Blockade still active and able to provide much needed extra ammunition to Helldivers on the ground.
A Helldiver guards the civilian evacuation zone before the final destruction of enemy forces in the region. October 20th, 2185.
By the afternoon of October 20th, at 15:35 SEST, Marfark would be liberated with only 40 minutes left before the Operation time frame closed.
The victories at Marfark and Zosma, along with the successful defenses at Lesath and Julheim, delivered a massive blow to the Automaton forces at the Nanos, Hydra, Marspira and Sagan sectors, as well as leaving the Automaton Garrisons at Blistica and Yed Prior completely surrounded and awaiting righteous liberation. Restoration work is already underway on the planet, and explosives from the Automaton warehouses have begun to be exported for further use in a bright and joyful holiday, which will be especially sincerely celebrated by the inhabitants of the liberated from October 14th to 20th planets.
FTL Lines[]
FTL Timeline[]
- February 8th, 2184: Marfark is connected by FTL to Martale and Matar Bay.
- April 9th, 2184: New FTL line to Aesir Pass is established.
- February 25th, 2185: New FTL line to Bekvam III is established.