Vigilus

Vigilus is an Imperial Hive World located in Segmentum Obscurus. It is now the focal point of a massive free-for-all as the Imperial Forces there try to keep the planet from the hands of Orks and Eldar invaders from without, and an insidious Genestealer Cult trying to subvert the planetary defenses from within. And then the Herald of Abaddon the Despoiler decides to come a-knocking...

About the Planet Itself

Prior to the opening of the Great Rift, Vigilus' main claim to fame (and indeed its main planetary export) was force field technology, specifically bastion-class fields, which were powerful enough to protect entire hive cities. Its own cities are enveloped by these fields, increasing the world's defensive capabilities.

Both the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Ecclesiarchy have a significant presence on the planet, the former due to an ancient treaty signed with the ancestors of the current ruling dynasty, and the latter heavily influencing the local PDF (named the Vigilant) as well as the Imperial Guard garrison. Not surprisingly, there are a lot of Sisters of Battle around to enforce the Ecclesiarchy's will.

Not surprisingly, the nobility, the Mechanicum, and the Ecclesiarchy don't get along too well, but have stopped short of outright civil war thanks to the efforts of the Aquiliarian Council, which is made up of more reasonable members of the three factions.

Then, The Great Rift Happens

With the Fall of Cadia, Vigilus finds itself stuck on the north side of the Great Rift, in the Dark Imperium. What's more, the world's strategic significance rises exponentially when everyone realizes that it's located at the end of one of two known stable routes across the rift: the Nachmund Gauntlet.

It's hives still protected by the psychic charged bastion fields, the world had become a staging area for any Imperial expedition daring to brave a foray into Imperium Nihilus (indeed, the survivors of the Stygies Front were using it as a rallying point), and the final safe harbor for refugees trying get out of it.

The War of the Beasts

The Speed Freekz Cometh

The first major threat to hit the planet in the wake of the Great Rift opening was a massive Waaagh! of Orks. Bursting from the Rift seemingly at random, and led by powerful Speed Freeks, the Ork fleet easily broke through the naval cordon and landed its boyz in the deserts between the great hives.

While most of the fleet crashed and burned, the Orks soon used remains of the downed fleet to create ramshackle scrap-cities, and from there Speedboss Krooldakka roared out at the head of a massive force of bikes, trukks, and battlewagons. Still reeling from the birth of the Rift, the Imperial forces gathered could do nothing to stop it.

At first, the Orks met little success, as the force fields were too strong. Growing bored, they resorted to raiding caravans or battling and racing each other in the massive deserts outside of the hives. This state of affairs didn't last however; the Great Rift continued to grow, and with its expansion Warp Storms washed over Vigilus.

The bastion fields soon flickered, then failed outright, which was what the Orks were waiting for. The green tide rushed to each Hive, and despite the best efforts of the Imperial Guard, the Skitarii of the Adeptus Mechanicus, and the Sisters of Battle, it was all they could do to avoid being overwhelmed.

They Come From Underneath

Despite the threat of the Orks, there were threats to the defense of Vigilus much more closer to home. Centuries before, a Genestealer Cult called the Pauper Princes infiltrated the underbelly of many of the hives in Vigilus. Led by the Genestealer Patriarch called the Grandsire Wurm, it refused to let its years of preparation go to waste due to the unexpected greenskin arrivals. Uprisings that were supposed to be triggered decades down the road were forced to do so prematurely, and soon every Hivesprawl was in chaos due to the simultaneous insurrections. Imperial defenders fell to synchronized ambushes across the planet, as the Cult consolidated its hold on the Hives.

The response to the Genestealer Cult-led revolt was slow, as the Imperial Government initially thought it was the work of criminals and malcontents, and instead focused on shoring up its defenses. These uprisings, plus the constant ork raids, essentially forced the industry on the planet to grind to a halt. Things were, to put it mildly, looking grim.