| “ | Rocky outcroppings punctuate fields of tall grass in a planet dominated by misty highland terrain. | „ |
| ~ Official description |
Matar Bay is one of the five planets that reside within the Andromeda Sector. On October 28th, 2184, it became the first planet to fall to the malevolent Jet Brigade assault brigade of the Automatons.
Topography[]
The landscape of Matar Bay shares some similarities with the pre-great war Scottish highlands, leading some Helldivers to call the planet Space Scotland. The planet is well suited to human habitation, with the misty highland terrain prepossessing lush grass-life, several large continent sized lakes and vast oceans. Rocky outcrops expose the skeleton of the mountain landscape with a vegetative skin of heath and grasses covering most of it. Swathes of flowering heather together with patches of moss and pasture form a visually diverse but integrated landscape.
Much like old-scotland back on Super Earth, Matar Bay does not have a dry season or a wet season, instead, rainfall is fairly consistent across the year, with some months wetter than others and thunderstorms being a common occurrence. The planet also possesses a unique native wildlife in the form of luminescent floating jellyfish which can be seen floating in the air, ranging in size from the size of a human palm to being larger than a Super Bowling Ball. Whilst appearing to be non-aggressive, field observations have noted that larger specimens also have the ability to shoot out their own bolts of electricity, seemingly at random. Investigations into whether this electric sting is lethal or not are ongoing.
History[]
Second Galactic War[]
Automaton Invasion of Cyberstan[]
Matar Bay had laid in harmonious peace with Super Earth since its colonization up until the month of April 2184. As the Automatons, their motherboards bitter with defeat after their complete eradication in Malevelon Creek, launched a sudden invasion of the Valdis Sector, taking over Cyberstan and igniting a second round of conflict in the Western Galactic Rim. As the Helldivers scrambled, Matar Bay's colonial defenses would be eventually overwhelmed and it would inevitably fall into the mechanical grip of the Automaton regime.
Ever since, it has been illegally and unjustly occupied by the tyrannical machines, who have made use of its as a pivot from which they can spread their socialist terror upon Martale, then the neighboring Ymir Sector and as a nexus from which they most likely attacked Varylia 5's Petafactory and pushed towards Meissa and Charbal-VII and, subsequently, attempted 2 takeovers of the Xzar Sector.
Operation Starslayer[]
Matar Bay would not see much action itself after its invasion. From May to June, it would endure unimaginable horrors under the iron fist of the Automatons. However, in July, a glimmer of hope would emerge from an unlikely source: Meissa.
While the Helldivers fought to defend X-45 in hopes of recovering lost blueprints from the First Galactic War, they would secure Vega Bay, Wasat and Meissa as a buffer zone, the first two having been previously recovered during Operation Valiant Resistance in June.
With Meissa secured, small sorties and raids would be sent towards Matar Bay, in order to weaken its defenses, as most of the Helldiver Corps focused on defending X-45.
After 6 days, the blueprints would be recovered in X-45, with Super Earth having gained new possibilities and reclaimed many of its lost colonies.
Operation Andromeda[]
After enduring 3 months of occupation, Super Earth High Command, having finally regrouped and regained ground after the disaster at Meridia and their victories at Vernen Wells and the Xzar Sector, the Helldivers would launch a new offensive with the ultimate goal of severing the Automaton Forces in half, which would strike a decisive blow to the robotic foes.
After successfully recovering Meissa during Operation Starslayer, Super Earth now stood a fighting chance against the Automatons. Despite the tragic loss of a SEAF Garrison on Aesir Pass, the order was given for the Helldivers to capture Matar Bay, alongside with Martale, Marfark and Aesir Pass. Matar Bay would be swiftly captured on July 13th, with the operation successfully concluding on July 15th
Operation Righteous Expunge[]
Shortly after Operation Andromeda, Matar Bay would remain in relative peace, although still having impending danger coming towards it from nearby Choohe, a fortified planet right at the triple border between the Andromeda, Lacaille and Valdis Sectors. On July 19th, the Automatons would try to punch through Matar Bay to rescue their encircled southern garrisons, but would be successfully repelled.
Operation Brute Force[]
Since its liberation, Matar Bay would once again breathe the air of freedom, as the weakened and defeated machines were expunged out of the encirclement. However, the Automatons would begin amassing their forces in order to attempt an even worse offensive. On August 11th, the Automatons punched through Curia for the first time in the war, initiating an invasion of the Marspira Sector. As such, the Helldivers were ordered to defend the Marspira Sector by all means necessary and, by August 18th, they would mostly succeed, repelling the Automaton offensive and sending them back into their occupied fief. However, the Helldivers would once again be ordered away towards the Terminid front in order to contain the new threat presented by the mysterious Gloom.
Seeing an opportunity, the Automaton garrison in Choohe launched an assault towards Matar Bay in conjunction with the Tarsh's Automaton Vanguard, which launched an assault onto Mastia. This happened while the Helldivers were occupied defending Estanu and Socorro III from the incoming Terminid onslaughts that were now bolstered by the odious nebula.
However, the Automatons did not count with the indomitable spirit of Liberty that resides within the heart of every man, woman and child over 7 that is enlisted into the Helldiver Corps as, shortly after the defense of Esker and the liberations of Crimsica and Acamar IV, the Helldivers would successfully repel both Terminid offensives on Estanu and Socorro then quickly turn towards Matar Bay, repelling the Automaton offensive at the last minute, then quickly turning back towards Mastia and Erata Prime.
Operation Jet Brigade[]
Matar Bay would remain free ever since its final defense on August 18th. It's colonists, having endured the worst of the Automaton Occupation, were doing the best they could to try and recover all of what had been lost during those tragic months. However, the Automatons were looking to recover their lost claims, as their expansionist thirst remained ever unquenchable. As such, on October 18th, they deployed a new horrid foe in the form of The Jet Brigade, a special force of Automatons equipped with jetpacks and heavy armor, all of it based on stolen SEAF technology
Super Earth High Command would receive the emergency alert and immediately issued the order for all Helldivers to deploy onto Matar Bay immediately, as the Jet Brigade showed signs indicating that the Automatons knew about the Democracy Space Station's existence but were now doing a brute force attempt at finding out its location.
Matar Bay would fall on October 19th, but not after its defenders gave their lives while taking out as many Jet Brigade bots as they could with them, their heroic sacrifice causing heavy losses to the horrid Automaton strike force. The loss of these brave defenders was not in vain.
The enemy was ruthless, efficient, but they weren't nearly fast enough, for these heroes had already clipped their wings. And thanks to them, we defeated the Jet Brigade at Marfark, safeguarded the Democracy Space Station and sent the Automatons home packing.
Our victory was so close, many in the Helldiver corps wish that they could have lived to see it. But they belong to Matar Bay now.
Their bodies and guns. Everything...except their courage.
That they have given to Super Earth.
And with it, we can rebuild.
Operation Adamant Resolve[]
And surely enough, Matar Bay would rebuild. After Liberty Day, Super Earth High Command would designate a series of high priority objectives that would all need urgent Helldiver intervention. Among those were the recovery of Gacrux and Pandion-XXIV and the defense against further Automaton territorial conquests, but most importantly, the Helldivers were tasked with liberating Matar Bay and capturing certain databases established by the Automatons on the planet, which High Command discovered to contain information regarding the foundries where Jet Brigade platoons are assembled.
As such, the Helldivers, seeking to prevent another massacre like that of Matar Bay, decided to immediately dive onto the planet, halting all other efforts towards other planet's liberation and even having to draw away all defenders from the Gellert Sector in order to expedite the liberation of the grassy martyr planet.
For the entirety of the first day, the Helldivers faced down the machines with all the might of Super Earth's taxpayer Super Credits, raining orbital hellfire onto the entrenched robots. However, their progress was slow and few gains were being achieved. Some in the corps began to falter, seeing how Matar Bay was taking so long to liberate and how much other objectives still needed to be done. However, fortune would smile at Liberty as usual and a massive, planetwide storm would sweep its surface, as if the planet itself was repulsed at the socialist filth polluting its pristine grasslands.
This strike could not have been more fortunately timed, as the Automatons at Matar Bay had also sent away a strike force to attempt another assault at Marfark, which meant that the Automaton garrison at Matar Bay was pretty much completely defenseless
With the Automaton forces on the planet decimated, the Helldivers would redouble their efforts; as the colonists and remaining colonial defenders of Matar Bay, spared of any suffering by the storm and still resisting against their mechanized occupiers, would join forces with the Helldivers in order to reclaim their planet home back into the righteous control of Freedom.
Matar Bay would be swiftly recaptured, with the assault at Marfark being halted in its tracks and the martyrs buried beneath the grass having been adequately avenged.
Operation Iron Rain[]
Since the victory in late October at Matar Bay, the often beleaguered planet would finally see some semblance of peace for the next month. It would finally begin to recover from the atrocities committed by the vile and wicked Jet Brigade.
However, the Automatons revolted at the terms of peace and rebuilding. On November 28, 2184, roughly a month after the planet's liberation, the robots at neighboring Choohe would send 12 battalions toward the planet to regain a foothold in the Andromeda Sector. The attack would be very sickeningly timed with Bore Rock being attacked a few hours earlier by the Terminids. Due to the Major Order tasking the Helldivers with exterminating Terminids, the Automatons faced relatively little resistance at Matar Bay and regained control of the planet by the next morning.
Operation Jetclipper[]
However, Matar's chance for freedom would arrive just as quickly as said freedom had been unjustly taken from them. Following a quick reorganization of the corps in the face of an assault at Marfark, the Helldivers would capitalize on the momentum of this assault, repelling it after 40 hours of defense. Then, on December 1st, the Helldivers would turn up on Matar Bay, racing to capture it as quickly as they could in order to open a pathway back into Choohe, with the purpose of liberating Choohe and securing intel regarding the factories where the Jet Brigade was being assembled.
After some 16 hours of fighting, on December 2nd, the Helldivers managed to liberate Matar Bay once more, enabling the progression of the operation into Choohe.
Interim (Jan. 8 - 9, 2185)[]
Since its last battle of 2184, Matar Bay would finally attempt to recover from what was a gruesome year for its settlers. The grassy planet had been left in tatters. Its months spent under robot occupation stripped it of many a resource; its position as a gateway to much of the galactic west would cause the bots to be even more avaricious in their pursuit of spreading tyranny. Lastly, its violent fall at the hands of the repulsive Automaton Jet Brigade left the planet ravaged. Searching for consolation and hope amongst the grassy ruins,the colonists of Matar Bay would spend this next month of peace thoroughly attemping to rebuild, hoping the new year of 2185 would come to bring times of peace and prosperity.
Alas, the bots would revolt at such peaceful rebuilding. On January 8, 2185, hours after the Helldivers narrowly lost the similarly grassy Acamar IV to the 
Terminids, the Automatons at the recently fallen Choohe sent 10 battalions toward Matar Bay in an attempt to regain ground in the Andromeda Sector and to reconnect the besieged bots of Martale to the rest of the Automaton stronghold network.
The battle for Matar Bay looked manageable, with only about 25 to 30% of the Corps required to repel the relatively small, yet still impactful strike force. However, with no Major Orders being issued, a strong contingency of divers re-liberating Acamar IV against the Terminids, and others in the Corps that were forced to repel the continuous raids in the galactic south by the 
Illuminate, the battle for the planet began to look increasingly grim with the bots already making significant progress toward breaking the Bay's defenses while the Helldivers were too scattered to make a concerted effort. Then, in the early afternoon on January 9, 2185, 7 hours before Matar Bay's defense would break, the fascist Terminids at Bore Rock sent their own invasion swarm toward Terrek at the exact moment Acamar IV had been liberated. With this latest development, the SEAF forces at Matar Bay would be left even more undermanned, and the robot offensive neared a vile victory.
By around 8 PM SEST, Matar Bay had fallen to the vicious mechanical grip of the Automatons. The SEAF defeat would have the added detriment of reinforcing the Automatons of Martale by connecting them to the Automaton network, causing liberation progress to fall on the planet.
FTL Lines[]
- Choohe - Lacaille Sector (Established on April 9, 2184)
- Marfark
- Martale (Established on April 9, 2184)
- Meissa - Ymir Sector (Established on April 18, 2184)
FTL Timeline[]
- February 8th, 2184: Matar Bay is connected by FTL to Marfark.
- April 9th, 2184: New FTL lines to Choohe and Martale are established.
- April 18th, 2184: New FTL line to Meissa is established.
Trivia[]
- The name of the planet is a play on the setting of 2 naval-dominated missions in the Supreme Commander (2007) campaign taking place in a bay on the planet: Matar