“	Submerged in eternal winter, this world's frosty peaks glimmer in the light of its too-distant star.	„
	~ Official Description

Heeth is one of the seven planets that reside within the Orion Sector. A frozen, desolate tundra, this planet was home to a now-mothballed Super Earth Armed Forces (SEAF) training facility that was constructed in the initial days of the Second Galactic War. It has been turned into a campground for the Democratic Youth Scouts after its shutdown.

Heeth is the planet with the longest recorded streak of operational victories against any faction. From the start of the war on February 8th, 2184, to January 13th, 2185, the Helldivers had never been defeated on its surface.

Topography and Astrography

Heeth is a frigid polar planet sitting right on the border between the Orion Sector and the Barrier Planets. Besides the 2 oceans that can be found on the respective poles of Heeth, most of the planet's surface consists of a massive permafrost landmass that is only occasionally interrupted by lakes, rivers, fjords and chasms, where the seas of snow dunes are only ever interrupted by the occasional glacier.

Because of its distance from its star, Heeth's surface temperature is extremely low, which in turn reduces the firerate of weapons while also making firearms and equipment reliant on heat sinks accumulate less heat over time and lose heat more rapidly. Additionally, the planet is swept by regular blizzards, which highly reduce visibility for both friendlies and enemies and also significantly hinder mobility. A notable form of xenoflora found on Heeth, though not exclusive to this planet, are plants that will be colloquially referred to as "space artichokes". Space artichokes are, as the name might imply, plants with a striking resemblance to terrestrial artichokes that glow with a bright cyan hue and, when touched or disturbed in any way, violently explode. This explosion only delivers a minor amount of damage (up to around 5% of a Helldiver's HP) but will apply a stun effect similar to that of an Orbital EMS Strike. Additionally, the explosion will leave behind a cloud of residue that will apply this stun effect onto any entity that comes into contact with it. This cloud of residue vanishes after approximately 15 seconds, though it may last longer if multiple space artichokes explode close to one another.

Heeth is not home to any Mega Cities or settlements worthy of much note. However, Heeth housed one of the first 4 SEAF Training Facilities built after the official declaration of the Second Galactic War by the Government of Super Earth. While it was operative, this facility provided a 5% campaign progression boost to all liberation campaigns alongside its now-destroyed counterparts on Aesir Pass, Vernen Wells and Angel's Venture.

After their shutdown on July 7th, 2184, the two surviving SEAF Training Facilities at Heeth and Angel's Venture would be decommissioned and turned into campgrounds for the Democratic Youth Scouts, with the facilities at Aesir Pass and Vernen Wells having been destroyed during Automaton offensives. Following the destruction of Angel's Venture by the Illuminate on February 13th, 2185, only the campgrounds at Heeth remain as the last surviving training ground of the first 4 built. Besides the Democratic Youth Scouts' campgrounds, Heeth is home to a sparse number of urbanized settlements and to small collection of remote ice villages and detached dwellings spread across the planet's glaciers.

The Heeth System is comprised of planet Heeth itself, its two orbiting white, rocky moons and at least 2 other astronomical bodies, which are a gas giant and its orbiting moon. Heeth itself has enough gravity for a ring system to exist around it, which appears red due to the light emitted by Heeth's star. This planetary ring system can be seen both while on orbit and from the surface. Additionally, an orange nebula can be seen from Heeth's surface.

Heeth was one of the last planets to fall during the Initial Terminid Outbreaks of February 2184. From the very beginning, Heeth has been the only Arctic planet in the entire Terminid front and one of the planets that has usually marked a hard frontline against the Terminid Horde. It's position right at the border between the Orion and Umlaut Sectors has always left it exposed to incoming Terminid outbursts, both prior and after the apparition of The Gloom. It's FTL Lines to Fenrir III and Erata Prime make Heeth an essential component in all matters regarding the security of both the Centre of Science and Gloom Base Alpha on Hellmire, as well as being an early stepping stone for Terminid Offensives headed for New Hope City on Fort Union alongside Terrek. Maintaining Super Earth's control over Heeth is essential to a significant majority of Helldiver efforts on the Terminid Front.

History

Special Military Operations

Operation Valiant Enclosure

Heeth, alongside with Angel's Venture, was the first planet to feel the devastation that would be brought on by the Special Military Operation preceding the Second Galactic War. The Terminids contained within Heeth's E-710 farms suddenly broke out of control, forcing the SEAF to deploy the Helldivers for the first time in 100 years. As the Terminid outbreak slowly began to worsen, orders were made for the Helldivers to establish a defensive line at the Umlaut Sector by first establishing a foothold in both Angel's Venture and Heeth.

Even after being liberated, Heeth and Angel's Venture saw another Terminid siege before the month of February 2184 came to an end, which the Helldivers successfully repelled.

Deployment of the Terminid Control System

Shortly after Heeth and the barrier planets in the Umlaut Sector were firmly secured in Freedom's hands, Ministry of Science engineered the Terminid Control System. This advanced network of towers was designed to deliver the newly-invented Termicide, a substance completely harmless to humans, but deadly to fascist, freedom-hating insectoids.

With the deployment of the TCS, Heeth and all systems up to the Barrier Planets saw a brief return to peace after long, grueling months of suffering. Between March and May 2184, the returning colonists of these planets happily worked their lands, settling planets and spreading the righteous rule of Managed Democracy just as Liberty intended.

Failure of the Terminid Control System

Unfortunately, during the first weeks of May 2184, the Termicide stopped working. Due to a novel process known as hormesis, the Terminids not only developed immunity to the Termicide, but also developed genetic mutations that allowed to reproduce up to an astonish 20 times faster than their usual rate. The Barrier Planets were overwhelmed, with Meridia having been transformed into a Terminid Supercolony.

Immediately after, chaos spread throughout all of the planets within the immediate vicinity of Meridia, with Heeth, Veld, and Angel's Venture being some of the few that, while still seeing regular onslaughts, still stood strong in the face of the Terminid scourge. The Galactic War on Tyranny had begun.

Second Galactic War

In the wake of the Second Galactic War, a training facility was established by the SEAF on Heeth's frigid surface. To save on construction time (and cost), the training facility was carved out of a glacier and connected through artificial corridors linked together with structural supports, while natural caverns were expanded to suit the Federation's needs.

Although the smallest of the four training facilities constructed, it is nonetheless still able to process millions of eager voluntary-conscripts, with the 72-hour SEAF basic training course being even more rigorous due to the harsh conditions of the planet's surface.

Prior to Operation Enduring Peace

As the war developed, the Terminids launched intermittent assaults on Heeth. The planet saw five separate assaults within the month of May, during Operations Metallic Harvest, Freedom's Calling, and Emancipator. Thankfully, the tactical genius and impeccable discipline of the Helldivers allowed it to stand strong against the bugs, even when other bases such as Vernen Wells had fallen.

Heeth continued to suffer from Terminid offensives while Ministry of Science devised a solution to the Meridia problem through experiments performed on nearby Moradesh.

Operation Enduring Peace

On May 28th, 2184, Super Earth High Command decided that Meridia was too far gone to be saved, with its destruction being the only way to safeguard the Eastern Galactic Rim. While the SEAF established defensive lines at Fenrir III, Angel's Venture, and Turing, Heeth withstood vicious attacks by the desperate Terminids, as they rushed towards Veld and Cirrus in an attempt to invade Moradesh before their experiments bore fruit.

Their vain attempts would prove futile, as during the morning of May 30th, the final remnants of the Terminid push towards Moradesh were crushed on Heeth. The Helldivers were soon able to deploy the newly-created Dark Fluid on Meridia, destroying the Supercolony once and for all through its collapse into a black hole.

Operation Starslayer

With emergency recruitment levels swelling ranks to targeted numbers, training throughput requirements have been reducing. In light of this change, the surviving emergency SEAF Training Facilities on Heeth and Angel's Venture were shut down and converted into recreational campgrounds for the Democratic Youth Scouts.

Operation Courageous Exodus

Following its final defense in May and the closure of its SEAF Training Facilities, Heeth hasn't seen much action since. It would be attacked on November 5th, amidst a defensive operation aimed with protecting Terrek, Cirrus and Angel's Venture. However, this attack was quickly repelled due to the Helldivers prioritizing Heeth due to its strategic location and its popularity given how rare its biome is on the Terminid front.

Operation Farsight Breach

Heeth would spend the rest of 2184 in peace, as the Terminids had been successfully pushed back to the opposite side of the Barrier Planets. However, this peace was not fated to last. With the unexpected return of the Illuminate on Calypso in December, the SEAF was thrown into disarray and the frontlines began to crumble amidst all the chaos. In January 12th, 2185, the Terminids would advanced from Erata Prime onto Heeth, following a surge of spore outbursts from within the Gloom. Normally, Heeth would have been a priority to defend, but given how Polaris Prime, a planet in the Farsight Sector that had been designated as a major order protection target at the time, was also under attack, the Helldivers would see themselves stretched thin.

By the time the Helldivers had finished defending Polaris, the battle at Heeth was too late to save, yet the Helldivers did not surrender, instead choosing to fight in order to save as much as they could from the icy stronghold. Heeth would fall on January 13th, 2185, marking the first time in the war that the Terminids had ever overwhelmed its defenses.

Operation Democracy Delivered

Although High Commands focus would once more shift towards the Southern Front, a force of around 10,000 Helldivers would remain behind on Heeth to support efforts by the local SEAF ground forces to retake the planet. These efforts would be bolstered by the reactivated Democracy Space Station, which took advantage of it's newly overhauled engines to periodically visit Heeth between major illuminate raids and provide sporadic air support for the SEAF.

Local forces would slowly but steadily retake ground on Heeth during the operation. Then on the 18th of January, 2185, a catastrophic weather event would be recorded on the planets surface. However whilst such planetary storms are often dangerous and "freaky", this particular storm would actually prove fortuitous as it primarily decimated Terminid forces (with resistance dropping from 2% to 1%). This allowed for significant friendly unit advances on Heeth and proved that even mother nature is on the side of managed democracy.

It would be this miracle that allowed the Helldivers to liberate Heeth a day later, even when they had no orders or incentives to really do so. It simply was the Helldivers' call to their true purpose, their calling to serve the will of Liberty even if it meant ignoring orders from Super Earth High Command. Even though they are the most formidable fighting force that the universe has ever seen, they are naught but humble servants of Managed Democracy.

Operation Kalium

Heeth would go undisturbed by the Terminids ever since its final liberation on January 20th. However, the lack of disturbances from the fascist pest did not mean that Heeth would get to enjoy its peace entirely. Mere weeks after its liberation, Heeth would witness the Meridian Singularity destroy its neighboring hero planet and Democratic Youth Scouts campground site of Angel's Venture, in a heinous act of terrorism by the Illuminate Cult, as the nefarious autocrats waged a planet-hopping campaign to steal Dark Energy to then funnel into the Singularity and propel it towards Super Earth itself.

This campaign of terror only came to an end on April 29th, with the desperate activation of the Repulsive Gravity Field Generator at Pilen V stopping the Singularity, at the terrible cost of Moradesh and Ivis being destroyed. Yet, the Illuminate xenophobia would know no end. Their plans to destroy the Heart of Democracy foiled, they then opted to use the Meridian Singularity to launch a surprise invasion on Super Earth on May 20th. Only with the final defeat of The Great Host on May 30th would the terror end across the Federation. However, that only marked but the beginning of the new phase of the Galactic War.

After the passing of the Freedom to Serve Act came the Tripartite Offensive, during which Heeth was surprisingly left undisturbed by the Terminids. However, where Heeth was left unscathed, the rest of the Terminid Front suffered, and it would not be until the start of the Great Expedition into The Gloom that things around Heeth would finally quiet down, as the Helldivers pushed the Terminids back and brought the war to their own homeworlds.

Heeth was able to spend most of the year in peace, an oddity during these trying times of war. But nothing good lasts forever. On December 14th, shortly after the discovery of Hive World Omicron, a sudden Rupture Strain Outbreak began to rapidly spread from Terrek to the rest of the Orion Sector at large. In the midst of this sudden infestation, Heeth would find itself attacked by the Rupture Strain on December 16th, mere hours after Erata Prime had been defended by the Helldivers in a heroic last minute stand against the invading scourge.

Unfortunately, the same miracle could not be repeated on Heeth. The Helldivers had been unable to turn up in force in time for the invading Terminids to be repelled and the planet's defenses fell on December 17th. A counteroffensive was attempted shortly after the planet's fall but would quickly be abandoned as the Helldivers had to turn their attention towards an attack by the Incineration Corps on Julheim.

Festival of Reckoning 2185

Minor Order: Experimental Stratagem Testing

Heeth would be made to suffer in bondage under Terminid occupation ever since its fall. Or so it would have seemed. Despite its tragic fall, the Federation of Super Earth would not allow the snowy planet to spend the Festival of Reckoning that year without at least feeling first hand the explosive festive cheers and joy of the Helldivers.

Due to an extraordinary surplus of funds for the Reckoning Fund, partially because of the sheer amount of righteous vengeance that needed to be dispensed for all of the tragedy endured during the year, High Command would allocate a portion of the Super Credits for Experimental Stratagem Testing. Heeth, Marfark and New Stockholm would be designated as targets for Recon Campaigns, which meant that the planets would not see progress towards their liberation but Helldivers could nonetheless deploy into the planets and dispense Democracy as much as they pleased.

The task was simple: The Helldivers had to either kill 200,000,000 bots on Marfark, 300,000,000 squids on New Stockholm or 400,000,000 bugs on Heeth, with High Command providing experimental upgrades for the Orbital 120MM HE Barrage which tightened the impact radius and implemented additional EMS 120mm Rounds into the barrage. The Helldivers would not miss the chance to go back to their roots in every sense of the word, and so most Helldivers decided to deploy onto Heeth to deliver festive democracy of the best caliber available.

By the 20th of December, 2185 the Helldivers had supported the advancement of science and the entertainment of citizens young and old, by killing the target of 400,000,000 Terminids on Heeth.  Fun and merriment was had by all viewing the joyous dismemberment and electrocution of Freedom’s enemies, delivered by the experimental Orbital 120MM HE/EMS Barrage. Not only that, but with the liberation of neighboring Cirrus, Heeth was officially surrounded on all sides. Even so, S.E.A.F. would have to wait to launch their siege liberation of the world, as the recon campaign on the planet was still ongoing. Plus it would be inopportune to unwrap this particular reckoning gift early.

With the official conclusion of the Festival of Reckoning on the 1st of January, 2186, the S.E.A.F. would finally be authorized to begin their siege campaign to liberate the planet. Within the next 24 hours, the Helldivers would make short work of the remaining Terminids on the planet and, by January 2nd, 2186, Heeth had been liberated and the Terminids had been fully purged from the Orion Sector for good.

Operation Beach Bash

During the set of operations sanctioned by Ministry of Expansion between April and May of 2816, Heeth would come under Terminid infestations directly as result of combat actions on Brilliance and newly charted Zygos. Other systems in Orion sector, such as Cirrus or Azterra fell week earlier during the previous Major Order - Operation Spore Cleaning.

Operation Ad Memoriam

MINOR ORDER: BRILLIANCE PERIMETER

Heeth picked as Minor Order liberation objective, alongside Bore Rock. Since it had been put under siege due to Cirrus liberation on May 20th. By the time the Minor Order was issued on May 22nd, Heeth was already 73% liberated. Heeth sent out an attack onto Erata Prime, which meant that Heeth Liberation would also complete Erata Defense. Heeth liberated on May 23rd at 01:16 SEST, tackling 2 out of the 3 requirements of the Minor Order in one strike.

Someone please type this out fancily

FTL Lines

• Cirrus
• Erata Prime - Umlaut Sector
• Fenrir III - Umlaut Sector

FTL Timeline

• February 8th, 2184: Heeth is connected by FTL to Cirrus, Erata Prime and Fenrir III.
• November 4th, 2184: FTL line to Angel's Venture is established.
• February 13th, 2185: FTL line to Angel's Venture is destroyed.

Trivia

• The planet of Heeth is a reference to Hoth, an ice planet in the Star Wars fictional universe. It first appeared in the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back and has also been a setting in Star Wars books, and video games.