Kaggeran (Agri World)

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Kaggeran is an Agri World in the Canis Salient. It was quarantined by Lord Ebongrave alongside Kaggeran and Argoth (it was deemed tainted by the Tau, but too valuable for Exterminatus).

When the quarantine hit, Kaggeran became a world without purpose. Without anyone to export to, Kaggeran's endless fields became desolate and weed-choked, and the massive grox herds dwindled and turned feral. Countless desperate agri-workers flocked to the planet's cities, swelling the endless slums, and providing a massive pool of recruits for the armies of countless petty warlords and kings.

When Barotta arrived to lift the quarantine, he found a world that, despite its agricultural resources, was starving, as its fields lay fallow and its workers had become warriors, fighting over scraps of food and dwindling technological resources. Barotta offered weapons and luxuries for the warlords that could provide him with agricultural produce. And death to those that did not.

Kaggeran is slowly but surely regaining its feet. In a generation or two, it could be back to where it was before Lord Commander Ebongrave consigned it to a slow, wasting death. Much of its exports go to Argoth, but grox meat reaches every part of Barotta's great domain. The world is one of the destinations for humans expelled from the Tau Sept.

Manuxet (Feral World)

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This large planet is an ocean world with thousands of islands that spread out to make up an endless archipelago. The world's population is composed of technologically inferior nomads scattered amongst these numerous islands. The small amount of land combined with the gravitational effects of its three moons causes severe storms that often accompany severe and unpredictable tidal cycles. The trade-off is that this world is teeming with sea life which provided a reliable source of food for the settlers during the long millennia of isolation. Crusade Command contemplated turning Manuxet into an Agri World but had yet to figure out how to manage its massive tides and stormy weather.

Quarantined Worlds: Argoth, Kaggeran, Rheelas (Canis Salient)

The Canis Salient is the oldest Imperial warzone within the Jericho Reach. Located to coreward, its first battles were fought in a Crusade to liberate dozens of human-inhabited worlds from Tau expansion.

Initial progress was good, and in many ways, the Crusade fell victim to its own success. The opening of the Acheros and Orpheus Salients drew manpower and ships away from the Canis salient, while the Tau received substantial reinforcements from beyond the Reach. In time, the Tau gained the upper hand, and Crusade Command was forced to make from hard decisions.

Worlds that could not be brought to compliance would instead be subject to "strategic measures," meaning population centers and industry would be subject to massive orbital bombardment, as to deny it to the enemy. This freed up soldiers and ship for service on the main Greyhell Front.

Three worlds within the Canis Salient were deemed so valuable (and not hopelessly tainted) that they were quarantined instead of depopulated. The intention was always to return them to Imperial control, but it never happened. As Lord Commander Ebongrave became increasingly more paranoid, seeing Tau plots everywhere, he refused to lift the blockade, leaving the Quarantined World to die slow deaths.

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Argoth (Hive World): Argoth was a Tau-infested Hive World placed in quarantine by Lord Commander Ebongrave. It later became the lynchpin of Barotta's reborn Jericho Sector.

Kaggeran (Agri World): Kaggeran was a well-functioning Agri World engaged in the Tau-trade when placed in quarantine by Lord Commander Ebongrave. It's slowly regaining its feet after decades of isolation.

Rheelas (Mining World): Rheelas was a well-functioning Mining World engaged in the Tau-trade when placed in quarantine by Lord Commander Ebongrave. It's slowly regaining its feet after decades of isolation.

Vespasia (Agri/War World, Acheros Salient)

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The world of Vespasia is a lush and verdant planet that could greatly assist the Sons in their quest for control of the Jericho Reach. For the same reason, it was a priority target for the Acheros Salient of the Crusade. Crusade Command wished to deprive the enemy of the planets' resources and turn it into an Imperial breadbasket which could be used to feed a larger offensive into the Anomaly.

Unfortunately, the assault on Vespasia was premature (in no small part thanks to constant nagging from the Ministorum, who dearly wished to free the planet's population from heresy), and the offensive quickly ground to a halt and turned into a massive trench slog.

Vespasia's proximity to the Hadex Anomaly for five millennia or so has had a substantial effect on the world's population. The planet's vast agricultural resources are managed by slaves descended from Imperial citizens, but these humans have long since forsaken the Imperial Creed. The vile Heretic forces of the Stigmartus provided the system's "defenses" in exchange for a generous tithe of the planet's harvests. Much of this tithe is passed on to worlds deep in the Anomaly (not all of the Hadex worlds are daemon worlds, quite the contrary).

Remnants of the Imperium's invasion force was still present on the surface when Barotta arrived, but they had not been reinforced or supplied for nearly five years, and were close to collapse. Barotta gave them supplies, then left then to rot. When he returned, years later, to lure the Black Legion into an ambush, he was very surprised to still find a few pockets of Imperial resistance. He was so impressed by their valor that he deployed his Astartes bodyguards and Daughter shock troops, broke the back of the Stigmartus forces assaulting them, and evacuated the remaining loyalists. Lifetime veterans, they have greatly improved the quality of the Sector's ground forces.

If the planet could be taken and the taint of Chaos cleansed, it could become an important addition to the Jericho Sector. It's either that, or leave it to the Stigmartus.