| “ | Squelching mud, twisting roots; the odor of rot and anarchy. A teeming, endless morass. | „ |
| ~ Official Description |
Socorro III is one of the four planets that reside within the Falstaff Sector. It is the last planet to have been made available in its sector, having been made first unveiled through Operation Benevolent Sanitation, as well as being the first planet to have ever taken on a Terminid Superonslaught, as well as having taken the biggest recorded Terminid Superonslaught so far with a Super Defense Condition of 40.
Topography[ | ]
Socorro III is a "Foggy Swamp", a variant of the Swamp biome seen in planets like Gacrux and Bore Rock that features Thick Fog instead of Rainstorms. The terrain is similar to mentioned planets, as its mostly flat land with treacherous water basins. The constant darkness of this planet is sometimes broken up by lighting in upper atmosphere.
The swampy nature of the planet renders it a most perilous land. The planet consists of one supercontinent spanning the whole world, with endless stretches of mud-soaked rotting plants and mangrove trees twisted among each other by their roots. The spores produced by the terminids, as well as the height and amount of trees, makes visibility extremely low. The high treetops also reduce the effectiveness of Eagle stratagems.
History[ | ]
Second Galactic War[ | ]
Operation Benevolent Sanitation[ | ]
The haunting landscape of Socorro III
Socorro III had avoided much of the Second Galactic War's calamity despite its neighbor, Esker, managing to hastily spread the Terminid infestation it caught from Nivel 43 back in June 2184, partially thanks to the Colonial Overseer's careful move of cutting their FTL Supply Lines the moment that the outbreak from Nivel made planetfall on Esker on June 13th. However, the colonists of Socorro knew for certain that this was not going to perpetually shield them from the horrors of the war.
As the months of June and July passed, Socorro III would remain isolated, its colonists fortifying their settlements and stockpiling weapons, awaiting an eventual restoration of Socorro's connection to the Federation's FTL Network, even when the sector was recovered during the lockdown of the Falstaff and Jin Xi sectors and the First battle of Esker. However, as the Helldivers were diverted away, the Terminids also began to encroach back into the Falstaff sector, retaking Esker and Bore Rock before amassing their numbers on Esker.
On August 6th, the planet would face a massive Terminid superonslaught, at least 40 million broods strong, something only seen prior in Meridia during Operation Enduring Peace. Socorro III's colonial defenders sent out a call for aid, citing new Terminid variants as the local SEAF Outer Reconaissance posts were overrun. Despite the skepticism in some members of the Super Earth High Command, a major order was issued, requesting immediate eradication operations in Socorro III, as well as for the liberation of Esker and Bore Rock in order to establish a quarantine zone.
With the subsequent liberations of Esker and Bore Rock in the days following Socorro's defense, its colonists would rejoice in their continued survival. However, far in the horizon, a new threat loomed over their home planet colony. Originating from Enuliale amidst their courageous defense, a massive nebula of intergalactic Terminid spores was able to be seen. This nebula would from hereon become known as "The Gloom".
As Socorro's defense hardened, the odious cloud of spores helped send a second assault onto Erson Sands, in an attempt to draw Helldivers away from Socorro. However, in an act of bravery, Erson's Garrison would mount its own defense with what little forces they had, allowing the Helldivers to concentrate solely on Socorro's defense. Erson Sands fell, but their sacrifice bought Socorro valuable time to defend itself.
After 2 days of long, hellish fighting, the defense of Socorro would succeed, however, the target threshold for Terminid kills in Socorro would not be met. Regardless, Socorro's garrison would be told to standby for a potential assault from Erson Sands.
By the time the operation was over, Socorro's colonists now breathed a new air. Not the air of freedom they had once known. Instead now breathing a thick miasma of fear, as a new intergalactic threat loomed at their doorstep, as Erson Sands fell and the Gloom continued to expand its fascistic mist onto other planets, shrouding them in lies and blocking the light of Freedom from reaching them.
Operation Brute Force[ | ]
During Operation Brute Force, Socorro III would see itself taken by surprise by a Terminid attack coming from the now Gloom-covered Erson Sands. However, the Helldivers, being on a streak of defensive victories after the liberations of Crimsica and Acamar IV, would manage to rescue Socorro shortly after successfully defending Estanu.
Operation Courageous Exodus[ | ]
Socorro III would remain free ever since its last defense back in August. However, they weren't destined to remain free. Despite having escaped the horrors of the Gloom, partially thanks to the sacrifice of Erson Sands, Socorro III still presented a light volume of Gloom spores in its atmosphere, an augur of misfortune even with how seemingly impotent those spores were.
Shortly after the start of the Democracy Space Station project, a spore surge would kickstart a new Terminid offensive just as the space station was approaching its completion. Right as Super Earth was beginning to transfer the millions of citizens necessary towards the DSS station and away from their Gloom-adjacent homeplanets, the Terminids began a new offensive towards the westernmost planets of the front, with Socorro being one of the first targeted on November 4th, alongside Esker.
With a heavy heart, Esker was picked as a priority target, in order to prevent the Terminids from reaching Bore Rock or Erata Prime and further jeopardizing the evacuations. Despite this, the people of Socorro III would stay and fight the invading insects, their homeworld being overrun by November 5th.
FTL Lines[ | ]
- Esker (Re-established on August 6, 2184)
- Erson Sands (Re-established on August 6, 2184)
FTL Timeline[ | ]
- February 8th, 2184: Socorro III is connected by FTL to Esker and Erson Sands.
- June 13th, 2184: FTL lines to Esker and Erson Sands are destroyed.
- August 6th, 2184: FTL lines to Esker and Erson Sands are re-established.
Environmental Change History[ | ]
| Patch | Changes |
|---|---|
| 1.001.002 | Socorro III is change to a Foggy Swamp Biome. |
| 1.000.000 | Socorro III is a Ethereal Jungle Biome. |
Trivia[ | ]
- Socorro's name hails from Spanish, meaning "Help". Given its situation of initial voluntary isolation and the subsequent Terminid onslaught, this name would be oddly fitting.