Editing Menkent (section)

==== Operation Split Synapse ====
In June of 2185 -- during the opening stages of the [[Second Galactic War]] -- a raid on [[Wasat]] by the {{Helldivers}} would liberate a top-secret {{Automatons|Automaton}} Data Center, codenamed '''Database One'''. From this data center, intrepid {{SEAF}} Cyberwarfare Specialists would uncover key intel, including massive terraforming project on Cyberstan itself. Other keywords are referenced numerous times throughout the data trove, without additional details: Vessel 00, Nucleus, The Final Collective, and others. Unfortunately efforts to decrypt this data over the following months would prove to be of limited success.

However on October 1st, 2185, intel discovered within the recently-freed {{Ultramafic Mine}} on [[Mintoria]] would identify an opportunity for a breakthrough in the code-breaking efforts for the captured data of Database One. Files from the former {{Automatons|Automaton}} facility indicated that data caches on [[Menkent]] and [[Aesir Pass]] may contain encryption keys that would unlock data concerning two enigmatic keywords from Database One. The key on [[Menkent]] would unlock intel regarding '''Vessel 00''', while the cache on [[Aesir Pass]] would unlock intel regarding the '''Nucleus'''. Either one of these pieces of intelligence could be war-winning information. However, there was a catch: the {{Automatons}} weren't going to sit back and let the {{Super Earth|Federation}} plunder all of their closely guarded secrets -- which they were more than willing to purge from their own databanks to protect.

This presented a dilemma, as the {{Automatons}} would no doubt purge all data from one site as soon as the other was compromised. As such, only one encryption key would be realistically recovered. The choice of which key to go after was ultimately left to the {{Helldivers}}. However the {{Helldivers|Helldiver Corps}} efforts to get there would be complicated by the single remaining active division of the {{Incineration Corps}}.

At first the majority of the {{Helldivers|Helldiver Corps}} would assault [[Tarsh]] in an attempt to open up the FTL lanes to [[Vernen Wells]], which in turn connected to both Menkent and [[Aesir Pass]] -- opening up the possibility of capturing both data caches. Unfortunately the {{Incineration Corps}} made the liberation of [[Tarsh]] too costly. On the 2nd of October, the {{Helldivers}} would regroup and prioritize the capture of the data cache on Menkent, by going through [[Lesath]] (which would also isolate the {{Automatons|Automaton}} garrison on [[Vog-Sojoth]]). However the {{Incineration Corps}} would again stymie these efforts by redeploying to Menkent itself, before the fall of [[Lesath]] on the 4th of October. One way or another, the {{Helldivers}} would have to fight through the wanton arsonists.

Immediately following the recapture of [[Lesath]], {{SEAF}} liberation forces would arrive at midday on the 4th of October. With no major urban centers to capture or defend, the battle with the {{Incineration Corps}} would be largely focused around the open plains, mountains and scattered colonies of Menkent. Though it was a long and hard fought battle, the {{Incineration Corps}} would finally be defeated at midnight on the 5th of October -- paving the way for planetary liberation and giving {{SEAF}} cyberwarfare specialists access to the {{Automatons|Automaton}} data cache.

The encryption key identified by the {{Ministry of Intelligence}} would be quickly secured, transmitted, and used to de-encrypt files from Database One concerning Vessel 00. Please note however the following information comes from {{Automatons|Automaton}} files, and {{Helldivers}} are advised that enemy information cannot be trusted. It is further advised that this enemy intel may be disturbingly un-Democratic.

Vessel 00 is indicated to be a spaceship that departed from the planet [[Cyberstan]] in 2180, approximately 4 years prior to the initial {{Automatons|Automaton}} attack. The cargo and destination of that voyage is unknown, but it is referred to as the final one the ship made. Vessel 00 is referred to in exultation -- evidence of {{Automatons|Automaton}} programming to express reverence towards it. It is additionally referred to as their seed or origin.

This intel raises many troubling questions. The origin of the {{Automatons}} has been a top intel priority since their initial barbaric assault. This information is the first to definitively connect the {{Automatons}} to [[Cyberstan]], the former homeworld of the {{Cyborgs}} turned into a rehabilitation planet and invaded by the {{Automatons}} in the early days of the [[Second Galactic War]]. In any case, Cyberstan is deep behind enemy lines, and highly defended, with its liberation remaining the top strategic objective on the {{Automatons|Automaton}} front. However current operational demands prevent its liberation in the short term. But in time, it will be liberated, and the secrets of the {{Automatons}} will be revealed.