“	A rocky, lonely moon with extremely valuable mineral deposits underneath the surface.	„
	~ Official Description

Zosma is one of the five planets that reside within the Gellert Sector.

Topography and Astrography

Similar to planets like Maia, Curia, Claorell and Dolph, Zosma is a white, rocky planet with a high resemblance to Super Earth's own natural satellite. The marble wastes of Zosma are only ever interrupted by the occasional impact crater of a meteor or a tall, sharp, rocky ridge. Zosma's distance from its star makes it an extremely cold planet, which will help heat sink dependent weapons fire slower but also making it more difficult for these weapons to build-up and store heat, meaning that they heat up slower and cool down faster than in other planets.

Zosma's otherwise unamusing sights are only interrupted by one event of note: Regular meteor showers constantly hit Zosma's surface. These meteors will burn on entry with a bright lavender color, lighting up their projected impact site 20 seconds before landing. These meteors can impact with massive force, which can prove deadly to anything caught by it.

Zosma isn't home to any important facilities or urban centers. However, there is a number of scattered urban settlements all throughout its surface. These settlements are equipped with running water and sewage systems, a functioning power grid and S.E.A.F. SAM Batteries and Artillery emplacements that help in defending its many inhabitants from any would-be attackers.

The Zosma System consists of planet Zosma itself, its moon and atleast 3 other astronomical bodies, which are a green gas giant, a yellow dwarf planet and a volcanic planet. The Zosma System, by itself, doesn't represent any significant strategic advantage in the greater military campaign against the Automaton Legion. It's position at the northernmost reach of the galaxy and its relative isolation make it have little value by itself. However, its location right next to Merga IV and Vindemitarix Prime makes it a potential future flank from which to strike right at the heart of the socialist war machine.

History

Second Galactic War

Operation Steel Quarry (June 3rd - June 6th)

Despite being right next to the Valdis Sector, Zosma enjoyed peace, freedom, and democracy for the entirety of 2184 and most of 2185. However, the Automatons, led by the Incineration Corps, launched an assault on the planet in the early hours of June 2185. With most of the forces diverted away from the desolate planet, Zosma would be left to fend for itself. Luckily, after the successful defense of Varylia 5, the Helldivers would deploy to Zosma and, aided by the Democracy Space Station, would end the Automaton assault on the planet around 40 hours later.

Operation Pillar of Dawn (July 3rd - July 7th)

Since its successful defense, Zosma went on quietly, attempting to rebuild from the powerful Automaton incursion it had just experienced. This would be a difficult endeavor, as the planet was cut off from any outside support after the Automatons took control of its only neighbor, Zzaniah Prime, in May 2185. As such, the robots would continue to menace the planet, biding their time to strike at the lonely moon again in the near future.

By the end of Operation Jet Crusade, Zosma was luckily left untouched, watching on as the augmented Automaton Jet Brigade wreaked havoc across the Marspira, Nanos, and Sagan Sectors. Some days later, the Helldivers were issued new Orders to liberate Gar Haren and Gatria from the Terminids as part of the set-up for a new Helldiver training facility on Zegema Paradise. With the Helldivers now relocated away from the Automaton front, a certain robotic menace was waiting to take advantage of this newfound opportunity.

Late at night on July 3, with the Helldivers making a concerted push on Gar Haren, the Automatons of Zzaniah Prime would waste no time in assembling a strike force, and nine Automaton invasion fleets would appear in Zosma's atmosphere with the intent to take over the lonely, frigid world for good.

The few Helldivers present out West would try to divert whatever resources and manpower they had to try to stop the invading Automatons from taking over the isolated planet. From the very get-go, the planet looked to be in dire straits, with there simply not being enough Helldivers to halt the Automaton advances on the ground.

Eventually, by midnight on July 4, Zosma had fallen to the Automatons, and with its fall, the entirety of the Gellert Sector was closed off from the FTL Network, with every planet except the isolated Minchir (not connected to the FTL Network) left to rot under the mechanical grip of the Automatons. With Zosma and the rest of the Sector's position on the far northern galactic fringe, it is likely the bots will hold Zosma and the rest for some time.

Operation Reclaimed Fire (October 10th - October 20th)

On the 14th of October, 2185, large–scale preparations began for an equally large-scale celebration, the splendor and cult of which is recognized by all reasonable and democratically minded inhabitants - Liberty Day. The greatest holiday not only in the Milky Way, but also in the entire Universe is the most important memorable date of the Federation, and therefore preparations for relevant events should be extremely serious, responsible, effective and ideal. Unfortunately, the resources of the Ministry of Defense are limited due to the ongoing Second Galactic War, so the Patriotic Pyrotechny Display was in danger of disruption. But a way out was quickly found, because, as it became known, the Automatons violate the 2113 Act on Galactic Neighborhood Non-Volatility, which is categorically unacceptable, as is their ongoing aggression against Super Earth, accompanied by the inhumane occupation of the planets they have captured. In the area of the Navy's closest reach were two planets on which the Automatons recklessly placed the largest reserves of explosives: Zosma and Marfark. Helldivers and other branches of the Super Earth Armed Forces were ordered to seize these stocks as part of forcing violators to comply with the laws of Super Earth in order to use them more nobly and usefully in a Patriotic Pyrotechny Display. In addition, the liberation of these and other planets would be an excellent gift to both their populations and all other citizens, including those still suffering from the occupational oppression of the Automatons, Terminids, or Illuminate.

Zosma, which in itself does not have the same significance as, for example, Claorell, came back to the attention of the Command as a result of an inept attempt by Automatons to secretly place large warehouses of explosives on it in the hope that the vigilance of the Federation would weaken. However, they made a serious mistake by underestimating Super-Earth: with only one FTL link connecting this moon to the planet Zzaniah Prime, Zosma became a prison for Automaton units that make up the local occupation forces.

With the liberation of Zzaniah Prime on October 15, the first fleets appeared in the Zosma system at approximately 22:45 SEST and engaged in ensuring superiority in space and in the atmosphere of Zosma, after which the Helldivers and regular S.E.A.F. ground forces launched a large-scale offensive on the moon. The professionalism of the Helldivers, who destroyed AA systems, highly sensitive scanners, command centers, airfields, fuel and supply bases, fabricators, bulk fabricators and "problematic" outposts behind enemy frontlines, was, as usual, at the highest level. Effective sabotage provided significant support to the actions of regular units that successfully suppressed fleeing and disorganized enemy forces. Already on the 16th of October, at approximately 16:30 SEST, that is, in less than a day, Zosma was completely liberated from the illegal and ruthless socialist dictate of the Automatons, and the shipment of explosive materials for the celebration of Liberty Day began from its warehouses.

FTL Lines

• Zzaniah Prime
• Merga IV - Valdis Sector

FTL Timeline

• February 8th, 2184: Zosma is connected by FTL to Zzaniah Prime.
• June 13th, 2184: FTL line to Zzaniah Prime is destroyed.
• October 28th, 2184: FTL line to Zzaniah Prime is re-established.
• March 1st, 2186: FTL Line to Merga IV is established.

Trivia

• Zosma is named after star with same name, located in Leo constellation, which is also known as Delta Leonis
• Zosma comes from ancient Greek, and means "girdle", referring to the star's location in its constellation, on the hip of the lion.