Events 240.M42

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Increase in system level (Spite): Human refugees from Tau-held worlds have been directed to Spite for the past five years to reduce the influx of settlers on Kaggeran. Abandoned manufactorum towns are slowly filling up, and city-scapes devastated by civil war are being restored to working order.

Spite +1 to level 3.

Old wounds (Spite): The influx of "Tau-lovers" threatens to upset the fragile equilibrium on Spite. The "Loyalists" fear for their continued survival. The "Tau-lovers" are feeling oppressed by the smaller "Loyalist" ruling elite. Steps should be taken, or there will be strife.

Crystal clear (Castobel): The seeded genesis crystals are responding faster and differently on Castobel. Some areas devastated by the retreating human defenders are now giving off a faint golden glow, reminiscent of Aurum. But the truly unique part can be found at the old site of Hive Talzis (destroyed by Cyclonic torpedo), where massive crystal formations are now sprouting from the ground.

Events 239.M42

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Increase in system level (Kaggeran): Human refugees from Tau-held worlds have been arriving here in ever-growing numbers for the past 10 years or so. They have settled vast swathes of land that have lain fallow since the Quarantine.

Kaggeran +1 to level 4.

Gorx wars (Kaggeran): Refugees and old-timers do not always mesh well, and there is a good deal of violent conflict between the two. It's not too bad, but could grow worse.

Spite (Fortress World)

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Spite was a Fortress World from which Lord Commander Sebiascor Ebongrave marshaled the forces under his command against the Tau. This world was a heavily settled and industrialized but was left in ruins following a Tau counteroffensive that involved a massive uprising of human malcontents (widely believed to have been supported by the Tau). The Tau did not, however, stay to claim the world, but moved on to other targets.

The system was still being fought over by the remnants of Imperial loyalists and Tau-sympathetic rebels when Barotta arrived. The civil war between "Imperials" and "Tau-lovers" has died down, largely thanks to Barotta. An uneasy truce is in effect, but bloodshed could resume at the drop of a feather.

The planet itself is a fairly nice affair, where humans can comfortably walk around without protective gear, and even live off the land. In terms of resources, it's meager fare indeed. With enough settlers, it could become a prosperous world. Some human refugees from Tau-held worlds have arrived over the past few years, but the planet could take many more.

Calisi (Fortress World)

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The cities and garrisons of Calisi were abandoned prior to the Battle of Hethgard. The citizens were moved to other, more defensible locations, while the soldiers and their arms were used to reinforce Hethgard. Only the poor and the useless were left behind. Servants too old to be useful, former soldiers too injured to fight, women and children.

Fortunately, the Tyranids never arrived, and the planet was spared. The system was claimed by Barotta, but the inhabitants couldn't care less. They know how to fend for themselves, and have little use for an overlord who will only take their meager earnings, and abandon them in their hour of need.

The people remaining here either live in shanty towns around the old industrial-military complexes or wander the empty countryside, looking for salvage. The planet could easily house a few hundred million settlers and several armies.

Karlack (Fortress/Dead World)

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Karlack was a human-inhabited world that had retained a semblance of civilization despite 5 millennia alone in the dark. It's peoples initially rejoiced when reunited with the Imperium, but their happiness was soon crushed by the demands of the crusade. The world's population swelled tenfold, its industries multiplied a hundred times, and its fields were farmed beyond exhaustion. At some point, the planet's ecosphere collapsed, and people became resentful, rebellious even. Harsh measures were taken.

Karlack was the principal seat of the Achilus Crusade High Command, home to the single most powerful concentration of the Imperium's military might within the Reach. After Hethgard, no one heard from the system, and none of the patrols sent there returned.

It was eventually revealed that Karlack had turned to Chaos, specifically Khorne. Every ship that had gone there had been seized by cultists, and incorporated into the "Great Star Ark" that would carry the faithful back to their loved ones on Carmyn. It's a given that there would be bloodshed when they arrived to find their promised paradise a cesspool of Saaneshi corruption.

Barotta put an end to this dream, seizing the hulk, and reclaiming the ships that could still be repaired. He then virus-bombed the surface of Karlack, wiping away all life.

Pyrathas (Fortress World)

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Pyrathas: Pyrathas was an Imperial Fortress World found within the Pyrathas Majorus System of the Jericho Reach. The system's primary star is a fierce, blue-white supergiant. This star is orbited by a second brown dwarf in a tidally locked orbit. Inside this brown dwarf's penumbra, Pyrathas also hangs in a tidally locked orbit, shielded from the fury of the supergiant. Its strategic location made it the second-largest (after Karlack) anchorage for the Imperial Navy in the Iron Collar.

The planet is marginally habitable and resource-poor and was ignored by the Imperium until Hive Fleet Dagon seemed like it might devour everything. It was believed that the glare of the system's primary would be enough to deter any Tyranid invasion. Thus, a colony was established on the surface, a place of retreat in case things went south.

A tendril of the Hive was indeed utterly devastated at Pyrathas. But rather than make the Tyranids stay away, it made them evolve. The next, larger tendril returned around the time of the Battle of Hethgard, fully adapted to the harsh stellar radiation.

The two Navy escorts protecting the place were quickly overwhelmed, as were orbital and plane-based defenses. Tyranids landed en mass on the surface, and all seemed lost. Then the God-Emperor interceded, the Tyranid Overmind was destroyed, and the Tyranids at Pyrathas lost cohesion, and the absorption of the planet's resources was halted.

Numerous feral Tyranid creatures continued to roam the planet for years. They were dangerous if provoked, but rarely worked in groups anymore, and could even be scared away with high noise and bright lights. By the 230s they had largely been eliminated by Marine Scouts proving their worth to the chapter.

Alphos (Fortress World)

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Alphos: Alphos was a human-inhabited world that was conquered during the first expansion phase of the Crusade. It was subsequently turned in to part of the Iron Collar, the ring of Fortress World protecting the Well of Night.

Alphos was only lightly defended during the Battle of Hethgard, but still managed to gain the upper hand against the Tyranid splinter fleet sent there. Something about Alphos made it very hostile to the invading Xenoforms, and more Tyranids died to the environment than to the guns of men. The invaders eventually adapted, and from a crashed hive ship a Tyranid synapse creature directed the remaining Xenos against the increasingly weak human garrison. The synapse creature was eventually eliminated by Barotta's new breed of Aurum marines, greatly reducing the Tyranid threat on Alphos. 

The searing hot sulfurous atmosphere makes Alphos a hell-hole, requiring heavy protective garments and breathers if you want to go outside, but it's vast mineral fields are too rich to be left idle, so the workers toil now, as they always have, stripping away one layer of rock to expose the next. The Adeptus Mechanicus did some preliminary terraforming studies, but the results were not promising, and the project was ended. Instead, a large number of Squat abhumans were moved here, as they are better suited to Alphos' harsh environment. 

Rheelas (Mining World)

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Rheelas is a Mining 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).

Unable to support its population without food imports, this mining world suffered greatly from the decades-long blockade of the Quarantined Worlds. Most of the mines and refineries fell into disrepair, as workers slowly died off due to starvation. Despite the blockade, a few Rogue Traders traded food and weapons to the world, in return for whatever minerals the warlike miners could provide.

When Barotta arrived to break the quarantine, each mine complex had become an isolated feudal state, warring endlessly with its neighbors over dwindling resources. Rather than use force, Barotta proposed the food for resources program, which the warlords all accepted with a minimum of violent persuasion.

Rheelas has resumed exports to Argoth and is quickly becoming that planet's main supplier of everything from common ores to exotic materials. Old enmities die slow, however, and the local mine-lords are not above engaging in a little internecine strife over particularly rich ore deposits. The world is one of the destinations for humans expelled from the Tau Sept.

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.

Argoth (Hive World)

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At the time of the Achilus Crusade, Argoth was a minor hive world found to be trafficking with the Tau. The Greater Good was worming its way into the hearts and minds of the people - even some of the nobles. When Lord Commander Ebongrave was forced to focus on the Greyhell Front, he declared the system off-limits and deployed a vast array of automated defenses to keep out any Tau infiltrators. 

By the time Barotta arrived, the system had suffered horribly for decades, as the Imperium's blockade had starved the planet of food and resources. Cannibalism was as common as unemployment, several hives had collapsed completely, leaving only a handful in working order. Ironically it turned out that one hive city, where the Tau still held sway, had managed not only to survive but prosper to some degree.

Argoth is now the industrial and technological heart of the Jericho Sector. Its hives are filling up, in no small part by humans expelled from Tau-held worlds, it's industries are gearing up, and in orbit, great battlefleets are being constructed. The Adeptus Mechanicus has a great deal of influence here, with one entire hive given over to the Archmagos of Jericho, Hextrix of the Lathes.

The Tau are gone* from the world now, but curiously, the people of Argoth are among the most united and easily governed citizens of the Jericho Sector. They do not talk openly about the Greater Good, but something they call the Common Cause.

* The are not completely gone but are still present in Hive Decimus, where they help to keep the wheels of industry and trade going. Their leader is the female Etheral Aun'La Velk'Han Tai'la Mont'yr (which could be translated as the Bloody-handed Human-loving Princess of the Kingdom of the Broken Star-paths), or Lady Tai'la for short.