“	A blazing-hot desert planet, its rocky mesas are the sole interruptions to the endless sea of dunes.	„
	~ Official Description

Mastia is one of the five planets that reside within the Marspira Sector. The planet is home to the Centre for Civilian Surveillance and Safety, established under the Freedom & Readiness to Enable Effective Defense & Obstruction of Mind-Influence Act of 2184 (FREEDOM Act). The Centre is Super Earth's commitment to protecting its citizens from external and internal threats made manifest.

Topography and Astrography

Similar to planet like Durgen, Choohe and Phact Bay, Mastia is a desert planet covered in sun-blasted dune seas all across its surface except for its two rocky poles. The dune sea is only ever interrupted by occasional ridges and cliffs, with an odd spring sometimes appearing between the rocks. The planet's low soil moisture and low air humidity makes the planet experience frequent sandstorms, which reduce mobility and greatly reduce visibility. Under these extreme conditions, long range engagements are almost impossible, as the storm makes it impossible to identify anything beyond a Helldiver's immediate vicinity. However, this visual obstruction also applies to the enemy, which may allow for stealth to flourish and allows for Helldivers to disengage more easily.

During the day, Mastia's twin suns raise the planet's temperature considerably, which increases stamina drain and increases the heat buildup rate of weapons reliant on heat sinks, while also making them cool down slower. Conversely, the night can be freezing cold, which reduces the firerate of weapons but also makes weapons reliant on heat sinks build up less heat over time and cool down faster.

Mastia is not home to any Mega Cities. However, it is home to the Centre for Civilian Surveillance and Safety, founded on January 8th, 2185 by the Ministry of Unity after the approval of the F.R.E.E.D.O.M Act. This crucial facility monitors and analyses every movement, word, thought and action of every citizen everywhere at all times in search of any and all traces of dissident activity. The Centre for Civilian Surveillance and Safety is an invaluable force against the Illuminate and their mind control powers, while also helping ensure society remains safe, stable and cohesive at all times. Following Operation Big Brother, this facility would be expanded. This expansion would help expose the massive dissidence crisis that led to the declaration of the War on Dissidence on November 29th, 2185.

The Mastia System is a binary star system. Besides its two central stars, the system is also comprised of planet Mastia itself, its 2 white, rocky moons and at least 3 other astronomical bodies, which are a gas giant, a volcanic planet and a yellow, rocky dwarf planet. Additionally, two nebulas can be observed from Mastia's orbit, an orange one and a blueish white one.

History

Second Galactic War

Operation Brute Force

Mastia was, for most of its recorded history, not much besides another one of many Super Earth planet colonies in the Northwestern Galactic Rim. Having been settled during the Great Democratization after the end of the First Galactic War, Mastia's colonists would lead relatively uneventful lives following the initial settlement of their new home planet.

During the first months of the War, Mastia enjoyed its far distance from Automaton advancements, as by then they were interested in gains in Ymir Sector. However, this false sense of safety was soon going to be shattered by the Automatons.

Shortly before the noon of August 27th, Mastia was attacked by a small, most likely vanguard force from neighboring Tarsh. Helldivers instantly threw themselves to the defense, as the Major Order active by then was already completed, and planet possessed weather patterns that Helldivers found more democratic than others (As voted in local election by landslide of 80% votes). The attack was repelled in 12 hours, shredding all ships found on orbit.

Operation Ecologic Immolation

However, the Automatons were not discouraged, and on the early morning hours of August 29th, they attacked one more time, by similarly sized force. The local governor proceeded to sent a transmission claiming full combat readiness of the planet, indicating it would take Automatons more than 10 days to overwhelm the defenses. This message proved to be false, as the local colonial officials had failed to properly fortify the planet and the planet was taking on far more mechanized fighters than it could handle.

With most of forces stuck on Vernen Wells, the desert planet fell the following day, giving the socialist forces a chance to entrench. With liberation of The Wells the following day, both Mastia and Tarsh were cut off from the main Automaton supply line.

Operation Titanium Belt

Mastia would remain in Automaton hands, providing a staging ground for further invasions into Talus Sector during Operation Titanium Belt. Despite numerous sacrifices, robots stood firm on the dunes, routing and hunting down the remaining S.E.A.F. personnel stuck on surface. During that time FTL lines to Cyberstan were set up through neighboring Gaellivare, halting any liberation progress.

Operation Critical Mass

With the announcement of this new operation, and subsequent information that Automatons had placed massive manufactories of polystyrene, Mastia saw a rapid and massive arrival of divers eager to help arm their ships with Orbital Napalm Barrages. Due to fact that Bots had only recently brought forward the production, most of planet was in disarray, and many tactical assets were still being moved around.

Proper liberation began on September 13th, as massive in-channel campaigns were raised with hopes of additional divers for the cause. High Command suspected that bots would try to evacuate the machines in factories in 3 days of the operation, thus giving divers a tough choice between either permanently equipping themselves with powerful tool, or shooting bugs in hopes of completing the Major Order.

The planet returned into Liberty's embrace on evening of September 15th, and manufactories of polystyrene are being repurposed and inspected for future use, with the newly deployed Orbital Napalm Barrages managing to help Helldivers kill enough Terminid Warriors to at least meet 1 of the 2 target quotas for Terminid eradication.

Operation Spark of Liberty

Following Mastia's liberation on September 15th, the planet would see relative peace for nearly 2 months. However, this peace would soon be in peril once more. From November 8th to November 11th, the Automatons would begin amassing Jet Brigade forces on Vernen Wells in the Hydra Sector. The Marspira Sector would be threatened once more, and on the afternoon of November 11th, the Automatons, led by the Jet Brigade, would launch the single biggest invasion seen during the entirety of the second galactic war so far on neighboring Tarsh, with a force of 58 Automaton battalions. Despite significant resistance from the Helldivers, the Automatons would easily capture Tarsh by the next day, pinpointing the location of the Democracy Space Station at nearby Gaellivare.

Mastia would soon find itself once more under grave threat against the despotic robots. With Mastia standing as the sole obstacle to the Automatons' goal of reaching Gaellivare, it was only a matter of time before the sandy planet would face the deadly strike force. Roughly 9 hours after the capture of Tarsh by the Jet Brigade, the Automatons would invade Mastia at midnight on November 13th, with a still massive fleet of 43 Automaton Battalions.

The battle for Mastia was as gruesome as the one that preceded it, with the S.E.A.F. and the Helldivers combining all of their strength in order to protect as many citizens of all ratings as possible. But despite this, the situation became more and more untenable. Despite all the sacrifices, the battle began to look lost, while the Jet Brigade didn't seem to lose any strength at all from what they previously had at Tarsh.

But when Tyranny's shadow is at its darkest, it is when Liberty's flames shine the brightest. Hours before the collapse of Mastia's defense, a platoon of S.E.A.F. reinforcements would come in from the most unlikely of places: Lesath. As an act of gratitude for the liberation of their homes during Operation Crossroads, this heroic platoon would valiantly capture key Jet Brigade positions on the planet, inflicting massive casualties on the invading force. While it is still unknown exactly how much of the enemy force was felled by these courageous warriors, some S.E.A.F. analysts estimate that at least 10% of the invading force was successfully eliminated thanks to the sacrifice of these noble martyrs.

These heroes would have had no trouble breaking through a part of their numbers and escape, no matter how many tens of thousands of Automaton Troopers approached or how many fleets of Dropships encircled them. But they knew very well that this was not the way of Super Earth, as it would very much go against the very meaning of loyalty. Instead, they willingly chose to face the entire force of the enemies' war machine, regardless of how outnumbered they were or how supposedly formidable these foes were, and died a resplendent death, the likes of which only the heroes from the First Galactic War have ever surpassed.

A soldier's duty is to this truth. Beyond this, there is nothing to be said. To these courageous heroes, the Bureau of Galactic Wide Web Forums of the Ministry of Truth dedicates this small paragraph, so that their example leads all of our citizens, present and future.

Operation Liberty Shield

“	The Ministry of Truth analyzes citizens' activity, speech data, DNA, RNA, and neural topology here.	„
	~ Centre for Civilian Surveillance and Safety Description

Following the return of the Illuminate, the xenophobic aliens launched a campaign against the federation's southern front, the greatest casualty of which was our citizens' sense of safety. They fear their colony will be next to be attacked, or that their loved ones will be twisted into the Voteless. They trust the Helldivers to protect them, but against this enemy, firepower is not enough on its own.

To restore our citizens' sense of safety, the Super Earth Government unanimously voted to enact the Freedom & Readiness to Enable Effective Defense & Obstruction of Mind-Influence Act of 2184, or FREEDOM Act. The FREEDOM Act gave the Ministry of Unity the tools it needs to keep our citizens safe from external and internal threats. It will create a new security force dedicated to loyalty enforcement, and empower them to find and interdict Illuminate mind-influence, dissidence, and other serious crimes.

To ensure these tools are use to maximal effect, the Act additionally authorizes construction of the Center for Citizen Surveillance & Safety on Mastia, which at the time was occupied by the Automaton Legion, making it certain to be free of traitors. In addition to giving the Federation's citizens a new sense of security, it would also allow the containment of Automaton influence, which had spread unabated in the weeks following the Illuminate return. That changed with the success of Operation Liberty Shield, with Mastia as well as nearby Gaellivare and Tarsh all liberated.

Operation Sushi Bar

Since its final liberation in January, Mastia and the rest of the Marspira Sector went untouched by the horrors of the first few months of 2185. As a whole, the Automaton front was relatively neglected for some time, and the bots seemed content to remain quiet in this time and rebuild their forces for later, future offensives. More S.E.A.F. attention would be given to the East and the South, with the Terminids and the Illuminate both launching offensives into Federation space. Further, the Helldivers finally made their first foray into The Gloom, a key scientific and military achievement in the fight against the Terminid plague.

In March, the Automatons finally spurred into action as they launched a massive offensive across the Galactic Northwest. Starting with their captures of Meissa, Chort Bay and Blistica, the bots went on to take vast swaths of territory from the S.E.A.F., stomping through the Ymir, Andromeda, and Trigon Sectors with ease. The Automatons even made it back to the Xzar Sector and made incursions into the previously untouched Nanos Sector. All told, S.E.A.F. West efforts were in disarray. Despite some counterattacks by the Helldivers to push back the bots, the Automatons were allowed significant gains relatively unchecked. Luckily for Mastia, these advances didn't go on to target its noble citizens, with the bots instead leaving all their gains to be made in their previous holdings out west.

In April 2185, the Helldivers largely put most of their efforts toward the Terminids, making their second Gloom expedition on Nivel 43 while also having to defend against a brazen offensive launched by the Predator Strain across numerous worlds. The defense against the massive Terminid outbreak was largely successful, with the Helldivers daringly stemming 9 attempted assaults- a much more successful defensive hold compared to the Helldivers' first run-in with the Incineration Corps.

Into mid-April, the Helldivers turned their attention back to the largely neglected squid front. The Illuminate launched multiple attacks on the Federation's critical infrastructure, seeking to stop Super Earth's scientific efforts to quell the Meridian Singularity from reaching Nublaria I and beyond. The Illuminate launched a brazen, unjust attack on Pilen V, the site of the soon-to-be-built Repulsive Gravity Field Generator which would theoretically stop the movement of the Singularity in its tracks. Using Dark Energy, which is derived from Illuminate technology, the generator would feasibly create enough repulsive gravity to resist the already slower Singularity.

With Pilen V and Fenrir III both under attack by the Illuminate, High Command immediately issued an Order for the Helldivers to defend against the squid attacks targeting the Federation's crucial research infrastructure. Most Helldivers deployed to Pilen V, particularly as it was the first attack from any enemy in the Altus Sector- far too close for comfort to Super Earth.

With the Illuminate attacks raging on, Mastia's peace would soon end. The Illuminate, wanting to target Super Earth's efforts to protect its citizens from squid mind control, dispatched 6 battalions toward the sandy world, hoping to collapse its defenses in just 12 hours.

The Helldivers immediately dispatched to Mastia en masse, knowing a victory would grant them the 5th necessary defense to complete that portion of the Order. After only ~6 hours of fighting, the attack was easily repelled, driving back the Illuminate with ease and protecting freedom on the sandy world for now.

Unfortunately, that wouldn't be the only action Mastia saw during the Order. With the Helldivers still needing to meet the quota of killed voteless, the Illuminate launched yet another assault on Mastia with a more powerful invasion fleet of 10 battalions.

The Helldivers immediately deployed en masse to the world once again, leaving the attacks on Turing and Veld by the Terminids to their own devices.

After around 11 hours of combat, the Helldivers sent the Illuminate on the run once again, completing the Order as the main Helldiver fleet immediately rerouted to Veld.

Operation Omens Undone

Mastia's successful defense granted it some brief respite. Having previously been out of the action for 3 months, Mastia's re-introduction to the war front mostly went without issue- albeit briefly.

Following the Helldiver victory on Mastia, the Illuminate disappeared for the next 10 hours, seemingly re-gathering their forces for their next offensive. Sure enough, the Illuminate returned in force on Nublaria I, apparently increasingly desperate and brazen in their attempt to foil Super Earth's plan to stop the Singularity.

Noting the fresh Illuminate offensive alongside the ongoing Predator Strain outbreaks on Turing and Veld, High Command issued an Order, demaning the Helldivers complete thousands of operations versus the squids while also liberating the Xenoentomology Centre on Turing. Addtionally, Pilen V was to be protected at all costs as the Generator to finally end Meridia's advance was nearly complete. As such, the Helldivers deployed to both fronts with victory in this Order imperative.

Mastia wouldn't be spared in the Illuminate's vile offensive. On April 26, roughly 30 hours after its last attack, the squids once again raided the planet with 7 battle forces. While a significant portion of Helldivers joined the fight, it was just not enough to repel the attack in under 12 hours. Mastia's defense failed, and while the Illuminate once again reverted to their usual hit-and-run antics, the planet was severely damaged. Its surveillance center was ravaged, its supplies were depleted, and the Illuminate damaged both rural and urban areas alike. Of course, lurking in the background, a familiar robotic menace was waiting to capitalize.

A few hours before the aforementioned Major Order, the Automatons had launched an assault on Mastia's northern neighbor, Gaellivare. With Helldiver forces directed elsewhere, the bots easily captured the planet and began to take full control of the world. Just moments after the fall of the jungle world, Mastia was attacked in the aforementioned assault by the Illuminate.

Something sinister was clearly at play. Based on these events, it can be concluded that the Automatons likely became aware of the Illuminate attacks on Mastia and were simply waiting on the squids to finish ransacking the planet before they made their next move. As opportunistic as ever, the bots intentionally let the Illuminate ravage the planet to make their next attack on Mastia easier.

Sure enough, with Mastia reeling following the Illuminate attacks, the robot menace on Gaellivare was ready to wreak havoc. On April 27, the Automatons launched an attack to take control of Mastia that would only take 12 hours to collapse its defense.

With the main Helldiver fleet battling the Terminids and the Illuminate, there was little hope for Mastia to hold up against the rapidly moving Automaton fleet. As such, the planet fell just 12 hours later, culminating a brutal 4-day stretch for the sandy world.

Operation Damage Control and Operation Equilibrium

With the Meridian Singularity successfully forced to a halt and the Illuminate disappeared completely; the SEAF turned it's attention towards other fronts. Though one enemy is all but annihilated, the Terminids and Automatons remain significant threats. In the Illuminate's final hours, they dealt significant damage to the defenses of multiple strategic sites across both battlefronts, granting the opportunity for our foes to capture formerly well-defended territory -- as had happened to Mastia.

The Helldivers were therefore called upon to the defense and liberation of these lost planets as our enemies surge to invade them, with Mastia and it's Centre for Civilian Surveillance and Safety being one such designated target and also the first planet to see major efforts on April 29th, being swiftly liberated by the following day. Indeed, nearly all key strategic sites were held, save for the Deep Mantle Forge Complex on Claorell which was stolen by the Automatons in what has been referred to as a "reverse gambit", despite the Helldivers' error-free tactical execution.

Fortunately enemy intel indicated that both the unthinking Automatons and animalistic Terminids alike were likely to fall victim to overconfidence in the wake of this short-term triumph, overextend themselves and creating strategic opportunity. Thus Super Earth High Command launched Operation Equilibrium, with the goal of liberating at least one more planet than is lost... which was also unfortunately a failure. Through insidious tactics and the unwittingly synchronized deployment of elite units, enemies of Freedom have unlawfully prevented the expansion of Super Earth territory.

However, our citizens’ spirits remain undimmed, with anticipation building for the Federation-wide celebrations of Super Earth’s victory over the Illuminate and Meridian Singularity. Further, recovered Automaton components -- particularly neural processors and optical lenses -- have been allocated by the Centre for Civilian Surveillance and Safety for use in its innovative Pre-Dissidence Program. Launching alongside the festivities on Widow's Harbor, this exciting new initiative will safeguard citizens by analyzing a suite of “Dissidence Metrics,” such as CCS test responses, patriotic expressiveness rate, purchasing habits, and unconventional fashion choices. With the upcoming mass gatherings serving as the ideal inaugural operation.

With galactic equilibrium poised to favor Super Earth once more, citizens may rest assured: Justice will be delivered, until all voters can celebrate free from tyranny’s gaze.

Operation Big Brother

Mastia and its bustling Centre for Civilian Surveillance and Safety would go on quietly for months after Operation Damage Control. Despite the Automaton menace remaining a constant threat to the planet, particularly as they managed to hold Gaellivare throughout May and eventually July briefly, Mastia managed to survive the worst of their despotic actions. Mastia's streak of good luck would further continue during the Tripartite Invasion of August 2185, in which a joint Automaton- Illuminate- Terminid offensive devastated the Federation of Super Earth. Planet after planet was lost to the offensive, including the entirety of the Marspira Sector- save for Mastia.

Eventually, in November 2185, the Marspira Sector finally began to be freed as Fenmire and Barabos were liberated by November 9th. Then, on November 13th, new orders would be issued by High Command. High dissident activity had been reported on Super Earth Controlled planets Gaellivare, Diluvia, and Alta V. A State of Patriotic Emergency had been declared on each planet until the crisis could be resolved. To aid in this resolution, new expansion and development plans had been approved for the Centre for Civilian Surveillance and Safety, including the creation of new surveillance technologies. To actualize these plans, High Command ordered the Helldivers to collect millions of common samples from Illuminate and Automaton worlds so that new technologies could be developed. Further, the Helldivers were instructed to hold Mastia and its Centre for Civilian Surveillance and Safety for the next week as the Automatons lurked on neighboring Tarsh.

Sure enough, on November 14th, whilst the Helldivers were battling a massive Automaton incursion on Lesath, the bots of Tarsh took advantage of this distraction and sent 17 invasion fleets toward Mastia and its Centre for Civilian Surveillance and Safety. The Helldivers began to deploy to the planet to aid, but many seem content still defending Lesath thus far. Holding Mastia was the most important task, as the destruction of the CCSS would have been a serious political blow and a source of inspiration for various rebel groups and their supporters. The Automatons' offensive was swift, but the S.E.A.F.'s defence was very strong due to the planet's long-standing location on the front line and its importance. Thus, for almost a day, fierce battles were fought for every street in every colony across the planet. This was complicated by the need to maintain order in the Centre for Civilian Surveillance and Safety to prevent riots. Nevertheless, at approximately 14:45 SEST on the 15th of November, the attack on Mastia was repelled.

However, the Automatons were clearly not content with their defeats at both Mastia and Lesath. On November 17th at 09:15 SEST, amidst a powerful ongoing Automaton assault upon Menkent, the bots at Tarsh would make another attempt at capturing Mastia, this time with a somewhat more powerful invading force of 19 invasion fleets. Now split between holding off the Automatons from re-connecting their encircled forces and needing to save the Centre for Civilian Surveillance and Safety, the Helldivers would be forced to make an immediate decision on where to defend.

A surprisingly low amount of Helldivers deployed to Mastia early on, with many remaining on Menkent. As such, the invading Automatons would gain significant ground, taking a massive advantage in their rapid captures of rural and urban settlements. Eventually, by 15:52 SEST, the Democracy Space Station would finally make it to Mastia's atmosphere, greatly aiding Helldiver actions on the ground. However, even with the DSS and a mass influx of Helldivers with it, the Automatons would still gain ground at a rapid rate. Something drastic would have to happen to stop their advances.

The situation was so critical that by 02:30 SEST on the 18th of November, the Automatons had consolidated their position on the battlefield in 72% of the planet's territory, while S.E.A.F. units had only 60%. But at that moment, the crew of the Democracy Space Station completed preparations for the activation of the Eagle Storm tactical action, and the pilots of the air group assigned to it began to deliver massive strikes against the advancing and defending Automatons, turning them into piles of scrap metal after using their rapid-firing rotary cannons. The advance of the robots was stopped, which the ground forces of Super Earth (and the Helldivers) took advantage of, launching a large-scale counter-offensive throughout the planet, from where the socialist invaders had not yet been driven out. Thus, just 7 hours later, at approximately 9:30 SEST on the same day, the entire Automaton contingent dispatched by the 19 invasion fleets to re-attempt to seize Mastia and strike at the political stability of the Federation was completely destroyed.

However, this assault on Mastia would be successfully repelled and, some days later, the operation would conclude with success by a narrow margin. The Centre for Civilian Surveillance and Safety would be upgraded thanks to the samples collected by the Helldivers, which soon allowed it to identify the true extent of the dissident crisis that had been building up.

FTL Lines

• Fenmire
• Gaellivare - Talus Sector
• Shallus - Talus Sector
• Shelt - Talus Sector
• Tarsh

FTL Timeline

• February 8th, 2184: Mastia is connected by FTL to Tarsh.
• June 4th, 2184: FTL line to Tarsh is destroyed, new FTL lines to Shallus and Shelt are established.
• June 13th, 2184: FTL lines to Shallus and Shelt are destroyed, new FTL line to Fenmire is established.
• August 17th, 2184: FTL line to Tarsh is re-established.
• September 6th, 2184: FTL lines to Shelt and Shallus are re-established, plus a new line to Gaellivare.

Trivia

• On August 29th, a most likely mistake on Game Master part has happened, as the defense of planet was set to 240, instead of standard 24 hours. This mistake was fixed 40 minutes later by GM manually winning the defense, and instantly creating new one with correct time.
• Mastia became the second planet to be attacked by both the Automatons and the Illuminate, after Julheim.

Galaxy POI
Current	Xenoentomology Centre – Deep Mantle Forge Complex - Factory Hub - Centre of Science - Centre for Civilian Surveillance and Safety - Jet Brigade Factories
Moving POI's	Democracy Space Station - Exostorm
Enemy Subfactions	Predator Strain - Rupture Strain - Spore Burst Strain - Jet Brigade - Incineration Corps - Cyborgs - Mindless Masses - Appropriators
Destroyed Worlds	Meridian Black Hole - Fractured Planet (Angel's Venture) - Fractured Planet (Moradesh) - Fractured Planet (Ivis) - Conventional Black Hole (Penta)
Former	DSS Logistics Hub - Terminid Research Preserve - Gloom Research Expedition