Meridia

Meridia was one of the four planets that resided within the Umlaut Sector. Its general terrain consisted of vast ponds and heavily forested areas.
As one of the Barrier Planets, Meridia was subject to the mass dispensing of Termicide by the Terminid Control System. The massive TCS was designed to permanently prevent the spread of the fascist bugs to the Umlaut Sector. However, on the 29th of April, the unthinkable happened. A preliminary investigation by the Ministry of Science revealed that some terminids were exposed to non-lethal doses of Termicide, causing mutations that allowed them to resist the effects of the termicide. On Meridia specifically, the terminids also gained the ability to reproduce much more rapidly, with this effect only being exacerbated with continuous exposure to the Termicide. These mutations caused the planet to be overwhelmed in just mere hours, turning it into a Supercolony nearly comparable with the Terminid home planet. 
High Command had deemed the planet a lost cause until Operation Enduring Peace began, with the aim of destroying Meridia with Dark Fluid. On the 2nd of June, 2184, Meridia was successfully collapsed into a black hole.
==Topography==
Previously, Meridia was populated by dense jungle vegetation. Federation scientists were able to categorized a number of tropical tree and plant species native to the planet. Deep, warm oceans bordered the edges of Meridia's continental landmass, which was contiguous around the planet. Citizens were warned not to approach any of the multiple active volcanoes sighted near inhabited zones. 
But after the failure of the TCS towers, the ruthless bugs turned Meridia into a Supercolony, the likes of which had never been seen before...
===Topography after the TCS Failure===
The topography and ecology of Meridia was changed drastically after the loss of the planet on the April 29th, following the failure of the TCS Towers. Orbital observations by the Super Earth Navy confirmed that Meridia had been transformed from a lush, blue and green jungle world to a gigantic, undemocractic insect hive. The atmosphere and oceans became a sickly brown, filled with a mix of termicide and mutated terminid spores. The bugs bred like rats, choking the life out of most other fauna and flora on the surface.
The Ministry of Science concluded that Meridia had undergone a process of proto-terraforming (or Termaforming) that effectively turned the entire planet into one gargantuan nest, dubbed a "Terminid Super Colony". The terrain now consisted of dead indigenous plant life interspersed with vast terminid mound and hive structures, including 'forests' of spore spewers and shrieker nests. Meridia's numerous active volcanoes were the only remnants of the planet left untouched by the bugs.
The implications, as fascinating as they are, have been horrifying for the scientific community. Meridia stands as stark proof that the Terminids can essentially, and probably irreversibly, DESTROY the environments of planets. Prior to its destruction, Meridia stood as a monument to scientific hubris as the only Supercolony. We can only pray now that this once beautiful world will be the exception, rather than the rule going forward.
=== Topography after Operation Enduring Peace ===
Super Destroyers returning to where Meridia once was following Operation Enduring Peace have found that the only thing that remains of the planet is a beautiful, purple black hole. All celestial bodies that were once in the system are now gone, having been consumed by the massive void. Helldivers have also reported strange, disconcerting noises emanating from the black hole while in orbit, but Super Earth High Command has dismissed these reports, asking Helldivers to divert their attention to more productive purposes such as liberation campaigns, or major orders.
==History==
===Special Military Operations prior to the Second Galactic War===
====Installation of the TCS System====
During the months of February and March, the Helldivers valiantly dropped onto Meridia (along with its neighboring planets in the Umlaut Sector) to install the infrastructure necessary for the deployment of the Terminid Control System (TCS). These campaigns were quick and successful, allowing for subsequent pushes into the Draco and Mirin Sectors and establishing a definitive frontline against the Terminids.
====Failure of the TCS System====
Due to a completely unprecedented process known as hormesis, Terminids exposed to non-lethal doses of Termicide eventually developed genetic adaptations to the neurotoxin. The first sprouts of these mutations appeared in March, in the form of the Shriekers, facist flying abominations that preyed upon Super Earth's noble colonists. However, the existence of Shriekers themselves would not be enough of a concern, especially because they appeared around the time that the battles for Malevelon Creek and the rest of the Xzar and Severin Sectors were ongoing in the automaton front.
The real disaster occured in April 29th 2184, when continuous exposure to non-lethal doses of Termicide caused the Terminids on Meridia to develop a hyper-reproductive adapation to it. Before Helldivers could be scrambled, Meridia had been completely overwhelmed, becoming a Terminid Supercolony. With the rest of the planets in the Umlaut Sector at risk of suffering the same tragic fate, the Helldivers were quickly and successfully dispatched to deactivate the rest of the TCS System.
The Ministry of Truth would like to hereby request one minute of silence in commemoration to all the lost colonists of Meridia, as well as to inform the readers that the traitorous scientists responsible for the defect in the TCS System have been thoroughly and meticulously investigated, trialed and executed.
===Second Galactic War===
====Up until Operation Emancipator====
Both prior and after the declaration of the Galactic War on Tyranny, the Supercolony at Meridia had been causing immense trouble. Nearby systems suffered from regular Terminid outbreaks caused by abnormally high levels of spore production from the Supercolony, with Angel's Venture and Heeth both seeing three consecutive bug incursions prior to Operation Freedom's Calling. Within the Umlaut Sector, other planets such as Turing and Erata Prime frequently had to be re-liberated by the valiant Super Earth Armed Forces.
While the Helldivers were occupied liberating the Petafactory in Varylia 5, the Supercolony at Meridia would be responsible for causing yet another outbreak at Angel's Venture. While the Helldivers, in a display of their usually impeccable military prowess, managed to defend Angel's Venture and liberate Varylia 5, this siege was most likely the last straw for Super Earth High Command in regards to the question of the Terminid Supercolony's fate.
====Operation Enduring Peace====
Eventually agreeing that simply nuking the planet from orbit wasn't thorough enough (as by now the Terminids had burrowed deep into Meridia's crust), Super Earth High Command authorized the weaponization of the exotic Dark Fluid, liberated from the tentacles of the Illuminate during the First Galactic War. The Dark Fluid was designed to destroy the Meridia Supercolony by injecting massive amounts of the fluid into the planet's crust, which would eventually cause the planet to collapse in on itself. However, in order to use this newly developed weapon on Meridia, a path had to be cleared there first.
Thus High Command authorized Operation Enduring Peace, the first phase of which was to secure a route to Meridia and to hold the staging ground until sufficient quantities of Dark Fluid could be weaponized and deployed. Such was the priority of this operation that all other territorial losses were considered acceptable to ensure its success.
On the morning of May 30, 2184, with Phase 1 of the operation completed, Super Earth High Command gave the final order: Helldivers were to initiate the deployment of the Dark Fluid, which was to be delivered in backpacks that would be then loaded and drilled into the planet's surface. Once a critical mass was reached, the Dark Fluid would accrete into a superdense mass, triggering total planetary implosion of the Supercolony and utterly annihilating its hyper-reproductive Terminids.
However progress would be slow during the first two days of the operation, with Helldivers reporting a level of resistance that had never been witnessed before. The Terminids had managed to reach a 10% level of planet-wide resistance to liberation, which meant that any and all progress was almost immediately undone by the unyielding plague. The assault on the Supercolony also appeared to have spurred an increase in Terminid outbreaks on other planets, with scientists likening this response to a kicked hornet's nest, from the beloved childhood pastime.
Not only that, but many Helldivers also reported bug breaches directly beneath the Tectonic Drill used to deploy the Dark Fluid on Meridia, hindering operations significantly. Fortunately, on the second day of the operation, the Ministry of Science was able to engineer upgrades to the drill so that they now propagated anti-fascist ultrasonic frequencies through the ground, preventing Terminid breaches in its immediate vicinity. Determination and bravery allowed the Helldivers to make a dent in the Terminids' numbers, reducing the level of planet-wide resistance from 10% down to ~5.5%, creating much needed breathing room to deploy the Dark Fluid into the planet's crust. 
To make matters worse, Helldivers also reported a seemingly infinite number of shriekers rising out of the ground on Meridia after deploying the Dark Fluid, even after dealing with all visible shrieker nests. Reports detailed swarms big enough to block out portions of the sky, making extraction significantly more difficult for unprepared squads who were unable to deal with the facist "cloud" of shriekers bearing down on them.
== Destruction of Meridia ==
As the sun rose for the last time on Meridia, sensors on the orbiting fleet detected a decrease in Terminid spawning on the Supercolony. Moradesh's scientists identified this as evidence of early Dark Fluid accretion stages: micro-bubbles had began to form beneath the planet's crust, disrupting Terminid hives. With tectonic integrity beginning to decrease in the final hours of the operation, the future of the Liberty teetered on the abyss. One final push was all that remained...
Then, at 15:25 SEST, on June 2nd, 2184, Meridia became the first planet to be destroyed by use of Dark Fluid. All Super Destroyers in orbit received the order to make an emergency FTL jump to Super Earth. Returning Helldivers were also sent to the orbit of the nearby Turing system. A gravitational disturbance was confirmed in the Meridia system, with the planet, its sun, and every other celestial body in its solar system soon disappearing from the face of the galaxy.
Super Destroyers returning to where Meridia once was found that the only thing that remained of the planet was a beautiful, purple black hole. Disturbing, strange noises fill the space surrounding Meridia. The destruction of the system marked the end of Operation Enduring Peace, which was an overwhelming success for Super Earth.
The destruction of Meridia did come not a moment too soon. The Meridia black hole continues to draw in every Terminid spore within several billion kilometers, causing interstellar spore levels to sharply decrease in every nearby system. Though the Terminids continue their rampant spread across the galaxy, without the accelerating effect of the Supercolony, containment is now once again possible.
The destruction of an entire planet is a tragedy, but the tyrannical Terminids left Super Earth without any other choice. Only the honorable sacrifices of countless Helldivers prevented the bug menace from spreading even further. A Victory Fund has been initiated to support the few remaining Meridian-born Helldivers during their future battles.
==FTL Lines==
*Fenrir III (Re-established on June 2, 2184)
*Turing (Re-established on June 2, 2184)
*Angel's Venture - Orion Sector (Re-established on June 2, 2184)
*Estanu - Draco Sector (Re-established on June 2, 2184)
*Crimsica - Draco Sector (Re-established on June 2, 2184)
== Trivia ==
* Meridia is the only planet to have changed its pre-assigned biome. It is also the only planet to have ever been converted into a Terminid Supercolony.
* The strange sounds of Meridia in its Black Hole state are a slowed-down and pitched down version of the Illuminate Combat Music in the game files.
File:Meridia-super-colony-3.jpg|The Meridia Super Colony, as seen from orbit
File:Meridia-super-colony-4.png
File:Meridia-super-colony-1.jpg|Images taken by the first helldiver to return to Meridia
File:Meridia-super-colony-2.jpg
File:Meridia sunrise.png| The Sun Rises One Last Time on Meridia 
Category:Umlaut Sector
Category:Operation Enduring Peace