----- Streamline on a field operation on Ares. A Valerian marine recruited for Hope Invicta's ongoing operation to hold onto its Aretian colonies instead of allowing the Aretian separatists to take it. It's a lichen red soil world with iron-rich sands and vast rocky mountains everywhere you go. Water is scarce and deep underground. The planet was colonized by the nations of Great Mother to mine for rare earth elements and nuclear material such as uranium and thorium. The Aretian settlers were distraught by the neglect and exploitation of the nations that administrated them and Aretian separatist movements broke out in mass revolutions across the planet. Although sparsely populated compared to the lush continental Great Mother, it is far far away and possesses its own home field advantage. Many nations cut their losses and withdrew. However, the Empire of New Hope, governed by the Spet Altops culture, a historic desert horde, refused to back down. Given the relatively better care that Hope Invicta gave its colonies and much more strict vetting system for colonists, the separatist movement is the weakest in Invicta's territory.
With sufficient military and civilian investment, the region may be stabilized and Invicta may be able to maintain its own nation vassalized to the EoNH in the wake of the rise of all the Aretian nations. But even with waning support for the planet-wide revolutionary movement, agitators and foreign insurgents are not keen on letting any offworld nation hold territory on the planet.
![[By Nyyakikki] Crown Prince](https://sf.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/4748/4748545_Starfoth_nyyakikki_crown_prince_noncustom.jpg "[By Nyyakikki] Crown Prince")
