#Umlaut Sector

[at-liberty-news]

Galactic War Status: Day 7

...back? We're back? We are? Okay, good. good. Finally.

Welcome back, viewers! We took a wrong turn in FTL and ended up very far outside of transmission range with Super Earth, and it took us the better part of the last 48 hours to find our way back. Very sorry about that. We'll try to catch up on the news now.

Day 6 of the Galactic War was a solemn loss on the bot front, as the Helldivers were unable to protect Vernen Wells from the Automaton invasion. Who knows how harshly the war effort will be impacted by the loss of recruits training there? Unfortunately, we were among the many who did not even notice the simultaneous attack of Varylia 5 in the Trigon sector, leading to a near-completely unopposed takeover of the planet by Automaton forces. 

Indeed, even High Command seemed to be working against their own best interests, having sent out personal orders to eradicate over two dozen Hunters, leading troops to land on less tactically valuable planets in the East rather than Vernen Wells, where they belonged. On the other hand, SEAF forces in Terminid territory managed to completely cleanse Fenrir III this time, rescuing the day from being a total loss. Let's hope another undiscovered nest doesn't spring up, though.

And now onto the current day. With the factories back at home churning out bullets, there must be an excess, as the personal orders of the day are to score at least one hundred confirmed kills using the A/G-16 Gatling Sentry. While incapable of penetrating heavy armor, this automated bullet hose near-instantaneously tears apart anything short of it.

As for the matter of territory, a swarm of bugs has found its way onto Turing in the Umlaut sector and is spreading across the surface now. SEAF forces are already quelling the infestation as I speak! Back on Vernen Wells, what little ground we have left is slowly receding as SEAF troops struggle to maintain control. Reinforcements cannot come soon enough!

That's all for now. Give 'em Hell, Divers!

[iotavenuepro]

Accenture Acquires Umlaut to Expand its Footprint in the IoT Sector

On 14 June 2021, leading technology giant Accenture PLC announced that it is in the process of acquiring umlaut SE as an expansion move. Umlaut SE is an engineering and technology business, particularly active in the automotive sector.

[at-liberty-news]

Galactic War Status: Day 16

This is Michael Adams, closing out the day with one more segment.

First up, armed forces have utterly stomped out the Terminids invading Heeth. Now secured, troopers fighting there have moved on to assist in the destruction of Meridia.

Progress has been difficult, but results are beginning to show. Terminid resistance has dropped by an estimated 13% since the campaign's launch! Let's hope this trend continues.

Helldivers on the surface have run into a major roadblock to their operations, however, in the form of the sheer pervasiveness of Terminid tunnels perforating the planet's crust. It is so pervasive, in fact, that the flimsy tectonic drills provided by Super Earth are at constant risk of swarms unburrowing all around them at any given moment! Protection of the drills is seemingly impossible for many troopers, but the best among them have still found solutions. 

While most explosives are out of the question for use near the drills, EMS effects have become increasingly popular as a means of subduing waves of bugs before they can harm the drills. The only flaw in this strategy is the Bile Titan. The largest living Terminid we've yet seen in this war, Bile Titans had shown evolution of their own some weeks back when they developed an immunity to the disorienting effects of EMS strikes. A shining beacon of hope against them, however, has been the ever-reliable EAT-17 Expendable Anti-Tank. Due to the abnormally high casualty rates of these operations, Helldivers have flocked to using the EAT over other Anti-Tank options. Many squad leaders reason that the alternatives would simply be lost in the chaos of battle once their operator falls. Even still, the odds are overwhelmingly against our forces, and the fate of Meridia is still uncertain.

Let us all pray that SEAF can pull through, for Liberty's sake. That's all we have for now, but stay tuned for the next set of personal orders in a few hours. Give 'em Hell, Divers!

[at-liberty-news]

Major Order Status: Day 20

Welcome back, viewers! Michael Adams here with a new major order handed down from High Command.

While the last message from Super Earth sent to the Super Destroyers yesterday implied that High Command intended to immediately pivot to the Automaton front, it now appears they need more time to thoroughly plan the next offensive against the bots. In the meantime, Super Earth's armed forces are intent on retaking four planets from the Terminids. According to the order, the Federation must regain control of Erata Prime, Acamar IV, Turing, and Phact Bay within four days. Once these planets are taken, the Terminids will once again be bottlenecked through the Umlaut sector.

Speaking of termicide, Super Earth seems set on reinventing it, putting the Ministry of Science on the path towards producing a new, more lethal formula. This is clearly a move by the bureaucrats and military leaders who know nothing of biology. No matter how effective termicide becomes, there will be no way for it to kill 100% of Terminids without being hazardous to many other lifeforms as well, especially humans! This is another supercolony of mutations waiting to happen, as the few bugs that remain will breed again and again until they become the majority!

Let's hope the Federation doesn't end up destroying another planet. In the meantime, give 'em Hell, Divers!

[at-liberty-news]

Territory Status: Day 19

It goes without saying that Meridia is no longer a valid target for Terminid assault. If nothing else, this is one less location to spread the Helldiver's forces thin across.

As the war progresses, it becomes clear that our original method of describing a planet's inhabitants' resistance on a relative scale, such as when we described Meridia as ten times the strength of Erata Prime, is inconvenient! Instead, we will now simply describe them as percentages, with these percentages being an approximation of how much of the planet's surface the enemy retakes in any given hour. 

As the hornet's nest has been kicked, Terminid hives continue to spring up and fight harder than before. Fenrir III was assaulted, but the attack was quickly quelled. Resistance on Erata Prime has jumped from 1% to 2.5%, a rate that Acamar IV shares. All other Terminid planets except Turing lose 3% of SEAF progress every hour, while Turing itself is the most difficult, at 3.5%. As Meridia has been "secured," supply lines once again open up to Estanu and Crimsica in the Draco sector.

Unfortunately, a majority of Helldivers have elected to assault Turing first, which is brazen ignorance for the most recent orders from High Command to prioritize Automaton territory, where SEAF control is hanging on by a thread. As a robotic invasion marches on Vega Bay in the Ymir sector, less than 10% of Helldivers have moved to defend it. Many innocent citizens on the planet spend their final moments wondering where their saviors are before the Automatons murder and display them as gruesome ornaments in their hellish outposts. Most troopers on the bot front, in fact, have elected to retake Vernen Wells. Perhaps they have not yet been informed that control of the planet will not return the training grounds lost there when it was originally stolen by the bots. Either way, if nothing changes, we may very well see the Automatons invade Super Earth itself one day.

As the galactic war rages on, we have nothing but today's personal orders left to share with you, dear viewers. Stay tuned to hear them!

[at-liberty-news]

Arsenal & Strategy Status

Good news for our warriors on Meridia: High Command has noticed the difficulty in fending Terminids off the drills and is dispatching additional A/M-23 EMS Mortar Sentries to all active Super Destroyers in response. It's a smart choice, as EMS effects can safely prevent most Terminids from even moving. The only remaining struggle will be stopping the highly resilient Bile Titans and extracting alive amidst the Shrieker swarm. 

Similarly to Bile Titans, Shriekers are also immune to the impairment wrought by EMS, which means they'll have to be dispatched the old-fashioned way—with plenty of bullets. Some soldiers have begun taking a variety of bullet hoses with them in order to protect their squad against these fliers. A powerful combination we've personally recorded footage of is the simultaneous use of assault rifles, machine guns, and ballistic sentries. This staggering throughput of bullets clears the hordes from the sky with minimal risk of friendly fire.

Additionally, many heroes have taken to learning the Shrieker's attack patterns in order to find the most effective evasive maneuvers. Two popular strategies are to use the surrounding walls and cliffs as cover, limiting the possible directions of aerial assault, and to move unpredictably. Once they've started a divebomb, Shriekers have little steering control, and even groups are easily dodged by constantly switching directions. Finally, diving into prone seems to be effective at avoiding divebombs and giving a trooper just enough time to inject themselves with a stim in order to keep going.

We are still standing by for the Helldiver's next set of personal orders and will return with them soon. Give 'em Hell, Divers!

[at-liberty-news]

Territory Status: Day 14

This is Michael Adams, back with what should be our last update for the day. In this segment, we'll be going over what planets have changed hands since our last broadcast.

Acamar IV's defense fell as predicted, as Helldivers prioritized the completion of Turing. With Turing finally secured, all three planets necessary for the first phase of operation "Enduring Peace." are now under our control. While we wait for the scientists on Moradesh to complete their work, SEAF must maintain control of all three planets until the 30th. Speaking of Moradesh, the two threatened planets adjacent to it, Cirrus and Veld, are still undergoing defense campaigns. While the forces on Veld are barely keeping up with the spawning of bugs, Cirrus appears to be destined to fall. Let's hope there are no consequences for Moradesh when it happens.

Meanwhile, SEAF's progress on all Automaton-occupied planets is at a total loss. All contested planets aside from Vernen Wells are in their worst possible states, and our forces are slowly losing what ground they have left on Vernen Wells itself. Despite this, the bolted menace has made no further advances since the loss of their petafactory. We can only assume they are regrouping and planning their next attacks very carefully.

That's all for now. This is Michael Adams, signing off. Give 'em hell, Divers!

[at-liberty-news]

Galactic War Status: Days 10 & 11

Welcome back, viewers. Michael Adams here, and I'm sure some of you have a burning question for us right now. "Michael, why do you keep bunching the days together? Wouldn't it be best to deliver news as soon as it's available?" You're right, dear non-descript viewer. It would be better. But we have a tight budget and limited time to devote to the station's work. Even worse, Super Earth stops at nothing to try and shut us down. Station "liberation" attempts, broadcast jammers, putting down informants and reporters alike—you name it! Staying on the air is hazardous to our health, but we speak every word as if it's our last breath, because it just might be.

While we will work to improve our schedule amid these threats and setbacks, we hope the viewerbase can stay tuned and stay safe. Onto today's news!

Day 10 was a big day for the war. As spore activity in the Meridian Supercolony worsens, High Command has warned all standing troops of the risk of even more frequent Terminid territory expansion. Such information has yet to officially reach the public, which is where we're stepping in. People deserve to know the truth. Always.

Liberation progress of the robotic petafactory has been steady, though not without delays. The massive number of automatons it churns out slows what is otherwise one of the strongest pushes Super Earth has made on the Automaton front to date. Even worse, many Helldivers had to divert their attention to Angel's Venture in order to defend it from another Terminid colony. Both Wezen in the Ymir sector and Erata Prime in the Umlaut sector have fallen to our respective foes, a necessary loss for the Helldivers to focus on the petafactory.

During this day, Super Earth tasked Helldivers with destroying at least 10 enemies with the EAT-17 Expendable Anti-Tank. A widespread tactic among their ranks has been to attach the beacon directly onto armored targets so that the incoming hellpod containing their armaments crushes the enemy, saving a shot.

On day 11, the defense of Angel's Venture succeeded. Super Earth High Command congratulated the SEAF for their valiant effort and directed them back to Varylia 5, where the battleline had hardly moved in their absence. According to High Command's galactic messages and some of our eyewitness reports, Automaton numbers on the planet are beginning to dwindle, which means the final stretch should be the easiest. Despite this, they're still putting up a stronger fight than any other planet, and it will take one last push of great resolve from the SEAF to see its liberation through. As proof of this resolve, Fenrir III is looking to go the way of Erata Prime, left to fend for itself against the Terminid invasion for now.

To help encourage Helldivers to remain stalwart in the defense of Angel's Venture, the personal order of the day was the destruction of no less than several dozen Warriors. Numerous and deceptively lethal, even one getting close can become inescapable death for an unwitting Helldiver. While capable of living without their legs, and even their heads for some time, the loss of both of their razor-sharp claws can instantly kill any Warrior on the spot. Such is their evil lust for blood that, with no means of spilling it, they lose all will to live.

And with that, dear viewers, we are wrapping up tonight's segment. We'll see you again soon. Give 'em Hell, Divers!

[at-liberty-news]

Galactic War Status: Day 22

Welcome back, viewers! Michael Adams here with the latest news since our last update.

The major order makes steady progress, with two out of the four indicated planets cleansed of insect filth. With both Turing and Erata Prime under control, the Umlaut sector is secure once again. The Helldivers have moved to the Jin Xi sector and are already halfway complete on Acamar IV! Afterwards, Phact Bay will be all that remains. With one and a half days to go, it's looking like this major order is in the bag.

However, a grave threat to the war effort has risen in the West. Automatons have launched a full-scale assault on Aesir Pass in the Hydra sector, the only remaining SEAF training planet on the bot front. If lost, trooper support across the galaxy will plummet, making every planet that much harder to take. 

Despite how vital this system is, only 20% of the Helldivers have seen fit to defend it, meaning the planet is on track for a total loss. The Helldivers have a history of ignoring the West's cries for help. Will they finally change course and save the long-term sustainability of this war, or will they leave the bot's murderous expansion unchecked yet again?

Only time will tell, and there's not much of it left. Stay tuned for more broadcasts later tonight. That's all for now.

[at-liberty-news]

Major Order Victory: Day 19

Greetings, viewers. Michael Adams here. Today marks a momentous but solemn victory as the Helldivers have succeeded in deploying enough dark fluid onto Meridia in order to transform it and the supercolony of Terminids upon it into a deadly singularity.

While originally the Meridian hive consisted of ten times the number of bugs on a planet such as Erata Prime, SEAF forces and microbubble pockets of dark fluid accretion have cut down their numbers multiple times throughout the operation. As the final hours dragged on since our last update, when the Terminids were at only 24% strength, they fell yet again to 16%, then 9%. In the planet's final moments, resistance dropped to 0% as it succumbed to the overwhelming gravity of the accumulated dark fluid.

All nearby Super Destroyers were forced to make emergency jumps to Super Earth in order to avoid being consumed. Medals and congratulations have been awarded to all involved, including the Moradesh scientists who have received the Super Citizenship Medal of Freedom. Super Earth has decomissioned the Moradesh facility and claims all dark fluid reserves are exhausted. In our opinion, they've likely simply moved efforts and stores to another, more discrete location.

Even as we celebrate the destruction of one of humanity's biggest threats, we must also mourn the loss of Meridia, a home many citizens can never return to again. Where untold billions of years of natural history and thousands of unique species have been wiped from existence in a singular moment, we'll always wonder...was it truly necessary?

With Operation "Enduring Peace" complete, napalm reserves for Eagle-1 strikes have been exhausted to regular levels and Helldivers are now standing by for their next major order. Stay tuned for more.

[at-liberty-news]

Galactic War Status: Day 18

Michael Adams here, and we're back with another update on the war's progress in the past day. Let's get right into it!

As the fight for Meridia rages on, Terminid numbers continue to drop. Over the course of the day, Terminid resistance has decreased first to four point five times that of Erata Prime, then three point eight, and now two point four. This means the supercolony is now retaking ground less efficiently than the colonies on Hellmire and Phact Bay.

On the matter of other colonies, two new ones have been established by the insects on Turing in the Umlaut sector and Acamar IV in the Xin Ji sector. While Turing was initially important as a staging ground for the attack on Meridia, High Command has ordered the Helldivers to ignore these planets in order to secure what might be their only chance of destroying the supercolony.

At current rates, tomorrow we'll all be treated to seeing a planet-turned-singularity. We wait alongside all of you in anxious anticipation. That's all for now. Give 'em Hell, Divers!

[at-liberty-news]

Supercolony Breakthrough

Just over three hours ago, the Ministry of Science completed augmentations to the tectonic drill, enabling it to emit ultrasonic frequencies directly into the ground. These frequencies ward off Terminids from breaching too close to the tunnel, making it far easier for Helldivers to defend them. Well done on the scientists involved for such a swift solution!

Mounting our good fortune is that Terminid resistance is in further disarray, being effectively five point five times as strong as the swarms on Erata Prime. This is only just over half the fight that the supercolony originally put up!

Even more, many citizens across the Federation have taken it upon themselves to handcraft napalm to be loaded into eagle shells. With these extra reserves, all Helldivers will have access to additional napalm strike requisitions until operation "Enduring Peace" is seen through.

We apologize for having unintentionally misled our audience when originally suggesting that the SEAF were sending specialists to destabilize Terminid tunnels. Misinformation is a curse even we sometimes fall prey to, but we aim to always resolve it as soon as possible. That's all for now!

Give 'em Hell, Divers!

[at-liberty-news]

Meridia Status Update

Reproduction rates on Meridia have dropped yet again, from nearly eight times as much as on Erata Prime to just over six times. With it so low, we're beginning to see tangible progress on the planet's destruction.

In the meantime, a special division of operatives is spearheading efforts to collapse many of the supercolony's existing tunnels surrounding prime dark fluid injection locations. Their intent is to prevent Terminids from so easily reaching and emerging from beneath the drills, giving Helldivers more time to fend the bugs off.

Many Helldivers have already lost hope for timely progress, but the numbers are undeniable. You're breaking through, soldiers. Keep diving!

[at-liberty-news]

Minor Meridia Status Update

The Supercolony on Meridia was originally ten times that of Erata Prime. Over the course of the day, it dropped by 13%, then 18%, and now 22%. 

It seems that the Helldiver's operations are already dealing significant damage to the supercolony and the trend is likely to only continue! It makes some of us at the station wonder, though. If the Helldivers can disrupt the supercolony this effectively in just one day, does Meridia really need to be destroyed? Is it really beyond saving? Only time will tell.

[at-liberty-news]

Personal Order & Territory Status: Day 17

As the assault on Meridia rages on, High Command tasks Helldivers with mounting the pressure by eliminating no less than three high-value targets: Bile Titans.

Hours ago, we reported that Terminid reproduction on Meridia had dropped by 13% since the beginning of this operation. By now, it has fallen even further, with their forces 18% weaker than they had originally been.

Elsewhere, there has been no shift in the Automaton front. Without reinforcement, SEAF continues to steadily lose ground on Vernen Wells. As for the Terminids, Erata Prime is the currently weakest planet, and both Hellmire and Phact Bay are experiencing a rate three times as high. In comparison, Meridia is currently spawning over eight times as many bugs as Erata Prime! Hopefully, that number continues to drop.

That's all for now. We'll keep reporting as fast as we can, but the situation is evolving rapidly! Give 'em Hell, Divers!

[at-liberty-news]

Major Order Status: Day 16

This is Michael Adams, coming to you live with ground-breaking news—literally!

While the defense of Heeth is performing as well as it possibly could, High Command has deemed Fenrir III, Turing, and Angel's Venture as sufficiently secured. Now they move onto phase two of operation "Enduring Peace," loading dark fluid vessels in minute quantities onto tens of thousands of Super Destroyers. What purpose could this much dark fluid possibly possess, you might ask? The transformation of Meridia into a destructive black hole that will consume the entire supercolony at once.

Helldivers will dive onto the planet's surface where the termicide towers once stood, a grim reminder of where this all started. Once they land, the heroes will call down dark fluid vessels. Cleverly designed, these packs can discharge a small amount of their stored dark fluid in order to allow their wearer to make an assisted jump, much like the LIFT-850 Jump Pack. However, the dark fluid vessel has a much higher frequency of jumps and blasts anything below the wearer with its strange energies. Unfortunately, these boons come at the cost of the vessel's structural integrity. If a Helldiver jumps too often or the vessel suffers too much damage from hostiles, it could violently explode, almost certainly killing the wearer and perhaps others nearby! Let's hope this doesn't happen to any of our staunch protectors.

Once the Helldivers have their vessels, they must find three key weak points in the crust to call tectonic drills upon. These drills will take the vessels and discharge their dark fluid deep underground. Field tests show that this irritates the swarm even more than typical mining drills, leading to a tunnel-visioned assault on the drill itself. Moradesh can only create so many vessels, which means Helldivers had better be careful with the ones they have, or this entire operation will be dead in the water.

As many Helldivers have already returned from their first few operations on Meridia, we've learned that their troubles do not stop even at mission completion. As the final drill finishes depositing dark fluid, the instability it causes can lead to earthquakes, rousing anywhere between dozens and hundreds of shriekers from underground nests! Few soldiers make it back to extraction, and even less survive waiting for the dropship.

Now that Super Earth is finally invading Meridia proper, it has become safe enough to move closer in for our deep scans to penetrate the surface and get a real view of Terminid reproduction rates. And that view is ugly. Meridia is producing multiple times as many Terminids as any other planet ever has. It's no wonder Super Earth has elected to take the nuclear option.

We'll have more for you as the situation develops. In time, sound strategies for managing these chaotic and unprecedented battles will emerge, and we'll be there to amplify the voices spreading them. This is Michael Adams, signing off. Give 'em Hell, Divers! For Meridia.