| “ | The arid, rocky biome covering this world has driven the evolution of exceptionally efficient water usage in its various organisms. | „ |
| ~ Official description |
Vernen Wells is one of the three planets that reside within the Hydra Sector. The name of the planet is no doubt a reference to the actor Vernon Wells. Additionally the difference in spelling might be another nod to Jules Verne and H. G. Wells.
Following the establishment of the Menkent Line, the planet would play host to a 
S.E.A.F. Forward Command Base, which would provide fresh recruits and supplies to the frontlines on Menkent and Lesath. However this forward command base was severely destroyed following the Lesath breach and the fall of the planet, although this was thankfully temporary.
Due to it's already existing facilities, the planet would be one of the four chosen by 
Super Earth High Command to be the location of new training facilities, required to process the Billions of able-bodied citizens from across the Federation who volunteered for conscription following the official declaration of the Galactic War on Tyranny. Sadly these facilities were destroyed several days later, during Operation Freedom's Calling.
However, these facilities would pave the way for Vernen Wells' most salient chapter of the war, as the ruins of the Super Citizen Anne's Hospital For Very Sick Children would shelter refugees from the 
Automatons until the 
Helldivers heroically rescued all 4,311 children from their malicious siege, choosing to save lives over weapons.
Vernen Wells would fall once more but would be ultimately liberated months later, during Operation Ecological Immolation, before falling yet again to the Automatons during Operation Bulwark of Democracy.
Topography[]
Nicknamed "The Red Planet", Vernen Wells is an arid, rocky planet featuring great shallow basins, sunken deserts, picturesque buttes and mesas, and rare verdant sections of valley. By and large though the planet is dominated by a series of continent mesas and plateaus, some of which are the size of skyscrapers. This has created an unexpected challenge for Helldivers operating on the planet, as this geography has been reported to obstruct some stratagems.
Iron minerals, and particularly hematite, are responsible for coloring the planet's sedimentary rock layers, which when combined with the planet's seismic instability has created large quantities of dust due to soil surface disturbance. This combined with strong winds has resulting in a fine layer of red dust that covers most of the planet (thus it's charming nickname) which has also been known to clog up both unprotected machinery as well as lungs.
The majority of plant life on the planet consists of dry grasslands and shrub lands, with the arid nature of Vernen Wells also driving the evolution of exceptionally efficient water usage in its various organisms.
History[]
Special Military Operations prior to the Second Galactic War[]
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 thin, with Lesath being the breaking point. Following the breach of the Menkent line at Lesath, Vernen Wells itself would come under heavy assault by Automaton forces on the 21st of April. Whilst the Helldivers would contest their invasion of the planet, they lacked the numbers needed to a decisive win and could only slow down the invasion.
During the invasion, the Automaton horde were able to knock out the planet's long-range communication arrays which had been used to track our forces across the galaxy. This meant that, unfortunately, High Command were unable to provide updates to liberation percentage and ongoing galactic war progress for the foreseeable future. Super Earth High Command then dispatched expert S.E.A.F. engineering teams, under the protection of the Helldivers, to repair these arrays as soon as possible. In the meantime, some errors and incomplete data would be displayed on Destroyer systems and tracking software.
Communications would be nominally restored in the early hours of the 22nd of April, although by this point significant ground had been lost both on Vernen Wells and across the Galaxy. By the next day, Vernen Wells had been lost despite a valiant defense, and the Automatons were still refusing to let up as they pushed even deeper into Super Earth territory. Never the less, S.E.A.F. and the Helldivers would remain resolute, with the war for the survival of humanity and the Federation continuing.
[ALERT: ENCRYPTED TRANSMISSION RECEIVED: DECRYPTING...]
CLASSIFICATION: TOP SECRET
MINISTRY OF DEFENSE
DIRECTORATE OF MILITARY INTELLIGENCE
ORIGINATING STATION: Super Earth Armed Forces Forward Command Base, Vernen Wells
MEMORANDUM FOR: Super Earth High Command
SUBJECT: Analysis of Lesath Breach and Defense West
AUTHENTICATION BY THE 
Ministry of Truth
...
...
...
AUTHENTICATION CONFIRMED: Accessing file
Analysis of Lesath Breach and Defense West
Ongoing analysis by the Directorate of Military Intelligence has confirmed that the Eastern Front is stabilizing, whilst the Western Front is nearing total collapse. This document seeks to understand why this is the case, beyond higher concentrations of Helldivers.
Discounting the disproportionate deployment of the Helldiver Corps (40 - 60% as of this analysis) as well as difficulties in coordinating such a chaotic defense, success in the galactic west vs the galactic east is largely thanks to the success of the Terminid Control System. The Terminids are unable to advance further into federation space, which has allowed the majority of fighting in the east to be contained to Estanu, Oshaune and Fori Prime (as well as provide a steady supply of much needed E-710).
On paper the Menkent line should have served a similar purpose as the TCS, containing the fighting to Matar Bay, Martale and Charon Prime. However the Lesath breach two days into the Automatons fresh offensive put an end to any plans of using it as a bulwark to contain the Automatons. Additionally the failure of the Martale Gambit has allowed the Automaton's to spread their forces over a much wider front than anticipated, which in turn has forced S.E.A.F. and the Helldivers to do the same. This has resulted in fighting spreading out over almost a dozen planets in five different sectors, including (as of the time of writing): Vernen Wells, Menkent, Choepessa IV, Meissa, Marfark, Charbal-VII, Charon Prime, Lesath, Chort Bay, Choohe and others.
This has only exasperated the already existing coordination and supply issues present within the Super Earth Armed Forces, with the Helldiver Corps spread too thin over too many fronts to put up any organized defense. Coincidentally the strategy employed by Automaton forces may be accidentally (or more worryingly, purposefully) bares some resemblance to Deep Operation Theory. This is a military theory developed by the Communist Soviet Union for its armed forces during the first half of the 20th century and emphasized destroying, suppressing or disorganizing enemy forces not only at the line of contact but also throughout the depth of the battlefield. (see attached historical document for more information)
Unfortunately the best way to counter at this time is to dig in and weather the storm. Deep Operation Theory will only works with superior numbers and although the situation on the Western Front is still unfolding, the Automatons are having to spread themselves over a larger and larger front by the day. Combine that with the millions of losses the Automatons are suffering and the offensive should (Liberty willing) run out of steam eventually. Even so, drastic measures may need to be taken in order to preserve the remaining military strength of the Federation and prevent the total collapse of S.E.A.F. West.
Recommendations for adaptations to strategy and tactics to follow within seven standard solar days.
END TRANSMISSION
Following the Lesath breach and the diversion of manpower to the Terminid front due to the failure of the Terminid Control System, the Automaton Front collapsed, and Vernen Wells would endure a long siege against the mechanized war machine of the socialist Automatons.
Second Galactic War[]
The loss of Choohe during Operation Legitimate Undertaking saw the loss of all working MD-17 Anti-tank Mines, alongside the tragic loss of many Super Earth Citizen Lives. As such, production had to be started in an alternate, undisclosed location. Unfortunately, said production could not commence due to a shortage of necessary metals. As a result, Super Earth High Command has issued the order to dismantle 2 billion Automatons, in order to harvest their wretched metallic carcasses to melt them and repurpose them into tools for the unrestrained spread of freedom and democracy of the highest caliber physically possible.
Despite falling short during this operation (as only 78% of the necessary scrap was collected), the Helldivers still managed to successfully defeat the Automaton siege of Vernen Wells and secure the planet. Moreover, following the official declaration of the Galactic War on Tyranny, the planet would be one of the lightly-populated planets where Super Earth High Command would choose to construct new training facilities in order to process the tens of millions of volunteer-conscripts who would soon reinforce the frontlines.
Operation Freedom's Calling[]
These facilities would be short-lived, as soon after the facilities were constructed, it would receive another assault, but now would count with less manpower than before, as most of it was diverted towards several different planets due to Operation Freedom's Calling, which called for the eradication of 3 billion enemies, regardless of whether it was bug, bot or dissident. The defenses were fierce, but would tragically fall to the unattended Automaton onslaught.
The loss of these facilities would permanently reduce the Helldivers' effectiveness in their liberation campaigns by an estimate of 5%, due to personnel shortages in the rest of the Super Earth Armed Forces.
Operation Trolley Problem[]
Aerial photograph of Super Citizen Anne's Hospital For Very Sick Children Fan Made
Following the success of Operation Valiant Resistance and the capture of Database One, High Command has received two urgent requests for aid on planets that recently fell to the Automaton occupation: An emergency distress call from Vernen Wells describes thousands of civilian survivors trapped in the remains of Super Citizen Anne's Hospital For Very Sick Children. Food and water supplies are dwindling. Their survival even this long, after the fall of the S.E.A.F. Recruitment Facility on Vernen Wells, is remarkable. Without imminent rescue, they will soon perish of starvation, thirst, or Automaton butchery.
However, intercepted Automaton communications have also identified a large explosives repository on Marfark. Intel assesses with high confidence that these explosives came from Choohe, stolen during the initial Automaton Invasion. These stores are very likely to contain the critical raw ingredients necessary to finally deploy MD-17 Anti-Tank Mines. Time is not on our side. Only the first planet liberated is likely to be saved. The Helldivers were trusted to determine which course of action—rescuing the children, or the AT Mines—will ultimately save the most Freedom.
"Dear Helldivers, Thank you so much for saving us. They told us you made a lot of sacrifices (mines/lives) to help us. We'll always be grateful. Now, we can grow up to become Helldivers too. With Liberty, The Very Sick Children of Super Citizen Anne's"
Ultimately, the vast majority of Helldivers would choose to liberate Vernen Wells and the children first. Following the liberation of the planet, SEAF forces would secure the Children's Hospital, and make contact with the civilians trapped underneath the rubble. The majority of the thousands of trapped civilians — including all 4,311 very sick children — were miraculously still alive. Rescue operations went underway immediately, however long-range imagery also showed heavy Automaton transport activity on Marfark.
Although not exactly a strategically sound move in the short term as the Anti-Tank Mine material has likely been moved far out of reach, it is the morally correct decision. In any case, the federation can take solace in the fact that the future of humanity is secure as the very sick children are en route to Super Citizen Mary's Hospital for Tragically Ill Youths, where they will receive the best care the Federation has to offer.
Their daring rescue has captured the spirits of all of Super Earth's citizens. A crowdsourced fund will pay for the remainder of their care and their military academy training and the children, in an inspiring act of patriotic gratitude, have all signed MOD Form 11 "Intent to Enlist."
Once grown, they will join the ranks of S.E.A.F. and carry the torch of heroic valor that saved their lives. One day, perhaps, some of the children may even become Helldivers themselves.
Operation Andromeda[]
Vernen Wells would not remain free for long. Shortly after Operation Trolley Problem, the Helldivers would be order back towards the Terminid front, then to the Xzar Sector. Vernen Wells remained free during the whole month of June before falling to an Automaton assault in July 8th, in the midst of Operation Starslayer, as the Automatons attempted to divert the Helldivers away from X-45 to try and prevent them from recovering the blueprints for the intergalactic battle station.
However, this would not be the end of things as, shortly after, Super Earth High Command issued a major order with the objective of severing the Automaton front in half right through the Andromeda Sector, with Aesir Pass as its starting point. After Aesir Pass was liberated on July 13th, a liberation force was immediately sent to Vernen Wells, however, it wouldn't accomplish much, as the Automatons would push back into Aesir Pass and cut Vernen Wells off once more.
Operation Ecological Immolation[]
Vernen Wells remained under Automaton occupation ever since, as the Helldivers would be occupied with the eradication of the Matar Bay Encirclement. During this time, the Automatons in Vernen Wells would make no attempts, seemingly amassing their forces for a new, more sinister offensive that the red menace had been planning.
On August 11th, the Automaton vanguard on Aesir Pass successfully managed to invade Curia, immediately prompting Super Earth High Command to order the Helldivers back to the Marspira Sector in order to aide its defense and push back the robotic offensive. The Helldivers fought back ferociously and managed to repel the offensive, however, they wouldn't be able to repel a last minute surprise attack from Vernen Wells into Tarsh, which would allow the robots to have one last holding. This development would, however, turn out to work against them, as now the Helldivers had a new order.
In order to allow for the production of Orbital Napalm Barrages to continue, the Helldivers needed to collect 500 million Automatons worth of scrap metal and a major supply of polystyrene. And as Liberty would have it, Vernen Wells had both in spades. As such the order was given for the Helldivers to liberate Vernen Wells and kill 500 million Automatons. Vernen wells itself would officially be liberated on the 1st of September, with the polystyrene repository firmly secured. S.E.A.F. remedial personnel would move in to take over remaining site operations whilst the Helldivers redeployed to other fronts. Collateral damage was thankfully minimal, with the transport of stored assets to begin once the polystyrene was found amongst the resulting flood of packing peanuts.
Operation Bulwark of Democracy[]
Vernen Wells would remain free for the month of September, without much happening to it that was worthy of note, even as it posed a dangerous flank to Gaellivare and, subsequently, to the Democracy Space Station once it began construction. The bots seemed to also be waiting for the right moment to strike at the red planet once more and, on October 8th, they found it. While the Helldivers were busy defending the newly acquired Claorell from a massive attack coming from Vog-Sojoth, the automaton forces in Menkent immediately launched a secondary assault onto Vernen Wells. Due to the unavailability of the Helldivers during the early hours of the attack, the Automatons managed to secure much of the planet during the early hours. Once the attack at Claorell was repelled, all Helldivers available immediately re-routed for Vernen Wells, but still proved unable to repel the already too advanced robotic attack.
Vernen Wells fell on October 9th, however, the robots there would get caught on a stalemate. The devious machines sent a binary SOS to their evil central computers and, hours later, the Automaton forward base at Clasa sent an attack towards Zefia to try and detach as many Helldivers as possible from the Red Planet so that the Automaton forces trapped there could undo enough liberation to launch another offensive.
Operation Spark of Liberty[]
Following its fall, Vernen Wells would be essentially left abandoned, as the Helldivers would be constantly pulled away from the Hydra Sector and towards other, more critical fronts. Despite this, Helldiver Tactical Command kept Vernen Wells as a high priority liberation target.
The suspicion was that, eventually, the Automatons would utilize Vernen Wells' highly strategic location to launch an assault on the Democracy Space Station when Super Earth least expected in. On November 11th, those suspicions came true, as S.E.A.F. Surveillance Satellites began to detect high concentrations of Automaton troops and material and, worst of all, Jet Brigade troops all across the surface of the planet. Super Earth was now in a race against time, as the Democracy Space Station was pretty much completed, with the fueling process requiring the Helldivers to kill 500,000,000 Terminids to procure the E-710 necessary to set the Democracy Space Station into motion. The Helldivers would somehow have to split between containing the most vicious invasion fleet of the bots while simultaneously killing enough Terminids to activate the Space Station.
Later on November 11th, the Automatons at Vernen Wells would send the single biggest onslaught seen in the entire galactic war to that point, dispatching 58 battalions toward the DSS Logistics Hub at Tarsh. While the Helldivers would fight valiantly and fiercely to slow the Automaton advance, the Jet Brigade was far too numerous, easily overwhelming the S.E.A.F. and taking control of the planet by the next day, with Gaellivare in the bots' cold, wicked red sights.
Interim (Nov. 12th, 2184 -- Feb. 3rd, 2185)[]
Luckily, while Gaellivare would eventually fall to the Automaton 
Jet Brigade, the Helldivers had procured enough fuel to move the DSS off the planet just hours before the bots would punch through the S.E.A.F.'s defense. While the Operation would be regarded as a technical success for ensuring the safety of the DSS, it would also be viewed as a S.E.A.F. failure, with huge swaths of territory now under Automaton control and the disastrous breach of the Terminid Research Preserve at Acamar IV causing 4 planets to fall to the tyrannical Terminids.
In the time since the Operation, Vernen Wells would see very little action with the Helldivers having to contain the Terminid plague while simultaneously continuing their hunt for the vile Jet Brigade production site. Then, on December 12th, all Helldiver attention would be focused on the galactic south after the unthinkable, unfathomable, unreasonable return of the wretched and wicked 
Illuminate--who were thought to be eradicated-- at Calypso. This shocking return would cause the activation of LIBCON 1 and divert absolutely all resources to the unfolding situation, leaving the Automaton and Terminid fronts relatively undermanned. Since then, the Illuminate would conduct more and more raids throughout the underdefended galactic south, forcing the Helldivers to try to repel each and every threat.
Unfortunately, this shocking and unforeseen development would grant the most valuable of resources to the enemies of Super Earth: time. The Automatons, recognizing the overall lack of S.E.A.F. forces on the Western Front, used this window of time to destructive effect. On December 26th, the Automatons at Chort Bay, Menkent, and Penta would send a combined 12 battalions toward the icey neighbor of Vernen Wells, Lesath. As the Helldivers were forced to contain the squid threat at Julheim, few would come to the defense of the strategic planet. Lesath would fall by the next day- and in the process, Vernen Wells would be cut off from any Super Earth supply lines, as Lesath was the only planet connected to the red planet that was under S.E.A.F. control. Thus, the red planet was left to rot under the violent and brutal mechanical fist of the Automaton Legion, its justice awaiting a day that will surely bring it back under Liberty's grace.
As the first month of 2185 came to a close, S.E.A.F. forces would return to Vernen Wells in force, making landfall in the evening of January 29th. Fresh off the success of Operation Impending Gloom and awaiting the next major order, over 24,000 Helldivers would arrive to liberate the planet, with around 74% of Vernen Wells surface retaken at the height of the campaign on the 31st. Unfortunate the full liberation of Vernen Wells would be delayed just a little bit longer by the discovery of the Jet Brigade Factories on Chort Bay, the destruction of which immediately took top priority.
Fortunately the Helldivers had done enough damage to the Automatons forces on the planet (resistance dropping from 1% to 0.5%) that the S.E.A.F. would be able to maintain their foothold over the majority of the planet for the duration of Operation Keough Push until it's (overall) success on February 2nd. After that, the Helldiver Corps would return to the planet in force, with over 23,000 divers active on the planet until the discovery of a very much still active Jet Brigade over Menkent. After this most of the corps switched their attention to Menkent, however a force of about 10,000 divers would remain on Vernen Wells to ensure it's final liberation, which would be completed on the evening of February 3rd. Finally, after almost three months of autocratic occupation, Vernen Wells would return to the Federation's benevolent protection.
Operation Damage Control[]
Vernen Wells, so often a planet mired in constant conflict, finally saw extended peace for the next 3 months. The war passed it by, as the planet was constantly surrounded by the Automaton-controlled Menkent and Aesir Pass. Even so, the bots never made any attempts at capturing the Red Planet, opting to leave the planet in SEAF hands for some time while they plotted how to illegally re-capture it.
The Wells went on safely, watching on in horror as planet after planet fell to the Automatons further to the west thanks to the 
Incineration Corps. What was once heavily defended territory in the Andromeda, Ymir, and Trigon Sectors was now almost fully under the mechanical thumb of the bots as the Helldivers could not stop the Automaton advance. As the bots stomped through system after system, they had even made it back to the Xzar Sector before the Helldivers finally stabilized the line at the legendary defense of Pöpli IX.
Following the major Automaton offensive into early April, SEAF West went quiet for a brief period, with all attention turning to the East as the 
Predator Strain launched their own massive assault on the Federation. On the whole, the Helldivers were far more successful against the Terminid strain than the Incineration Corps, containing the bug infestation relatively handily.
The stage was set for Operation Damage Control late in April following the disappearance of the Illuminate. In their last moments, they dealt significant damage to critical infrastructure, causing the Terminids and Automatons to take over the 
Factory Hub on Achernar Secundus, the 
Centre for Civilian Surveillance and Safety on Mastia, and perhaps most crucially, the Deep Mantle Forge Complex on Claorell. As such, High Command ordered the Helldivers to take back the Federation's critical planets before the bugs and the bots could capitalize further on their gains.
With Mastia and Achernar overall weakly fortified, the liberation of both planets was initially prioritized by the Helldivers. The campaigns went on without a hitch, and the Helldivers then turned to the heavily fortified Automaton Vanguard on Claorell shortly after.
As in many cases in the Galactic War, our enemies wouldn't let us succeed so easily. On May 1, amidst an ongoing Terminid Predator Strain attack on Terrek, a rebuilt Automaton Incineration Corps was spotted on Penta, deep within Automaton-controlled territory. The Corps then moved to Lesath, ready to use the frigid planet as a pivot to stage an attack.
Vernen Wells, having been free for quite some time, began to fear the worst as the incendiary Automaton fleet was right on its doorstep. Sure enough, about an hour later, the Incineration Corps made landfall on The Wells with a force of 12 battalions in tandem with a larger, more powerful attack on Claorell's neighbor, Vog-Sojoth. The damage wasn't over just yet, as a third division of the bot fleet moved from Lesath to Gaellivare, now seeking to use the jungle world as another pivot. As such, the bots began another assault an hour after the initial attacks, making planetfall on Imber.
The Red Planet, much farther away from the main fighting further east, had very little Helldiver support on the planet. As such, the bots rampaged through the planet relatively unchecked, and by the next day the planet had easily fallen to the Incineration Corps. Despite the highly important positioning of the planet, the Helldivers were forced to let it fall.
While The Wells barely held up against the invading Automaton fleet, disaster struck further east as the Helldivers let both Vog-Sojoth and Imber fall to the Incineration Corps. As a result, the SEAF blunder caused the end of the liberation campaign on Claorell as it was now locked away fully under Automaton control. The Helldivers were forced to retreat to Imber, and it took over 50 hours for Imber to be re-liberated. The last-ditch effort to liberate Claorell with under 13 hours left in the Order duration, was, as expected, too little too late. As such, Operation Damage Control was a massive failure as the Deep Mantle Forge Complex was now fully under bot control, with no telling what the Automatons may do with access to such resources.
Operation PLACEHOLDER (awaiting name)[]
After the fall of The Wells, the Incineration Corps remained on the planet to help the bots take full control of the planet. With Vernen Wells having an extremely high enemy resistance index of 3%, it took less than a day for the bots to take 100% control of the planet. Then, the Incineration Corps would stay stationed on the world for about the next 2-3 days, opting to re-gather their forces for their next offensive.
As Operation Damage Control officially failed by the afternoon of May 5th, the Automatons revealed their next devious plan just moments after. A rebuilt Automaton Jet Brigade had amassed on Aurora Bay and began to move to Choohe. The bots at Aurora Bay then sent out an alert to the Automatons on Vernen Wells that they intended to use The Red Planet as their attack point onto Tarsh. As such, the Incineration Corps stationed on the planet decided to move to Aesir Pass, now likely intending to station there to launch an attack on Curia.
The Jet Brigade eventually made it to Menkent, and then to Vernen Wells. Then, by nightfall on Super Earth, the Jet Brigade made planetfall on Tarsh with a massive force of 40 Automaton battalions.
FTL Lines[]
- Aesir Pass
- Lesath - Lacaille Sector
- Menkent
- Tarsh (Established on August 20, 2184)
FTL Timeline[]
- February 8th, 2184: Vernen Wells is connected by FTL to Aesir Pass, Lesath and Menkent.
- August 20th, 2184: New FTL line to Tarsh is established.
Trivia[]
- After the Helldiver Community chose to save the children trapped on Vernen Wells, Pilestedt (the former CEO of Arrowhead) announced that arrowhead would do the same in real life, by making a donation of $4311 to the charity, save the children.
- Thank you from the Children of St. Anne's: https://x.com/helldivers2/status/1801634193941618808
- Vernen Wells surpassed Menkent on April 10th as the farthest point into
Super Earth space that Automaton forces have ever reached in the Second Galactic War but was surpassed by Aesir Pass on May 16th.