Setting the scene

Early reports are troubling. Not only has Paradise XXII suffered a sudden and catastrophic disaster from within, it seems also that outside influences are converging on the beleaguered world. Moreover, the remaining bastions of safety grow fewer every day and the calls for help become increasingly desperate.

At the heart of the continent of Lyserra, temperate and pleasant, sits Karvix Apollonine, the governor's palace. City-sized and magnificent, it is also the best-provisioned of all the human inhabitations and consequently the most heavily-guarded. Refugees who manage to reach the palace would appear to have a better chance of survival than most others.

To the south, the tropical island of Murmur serves as the planet's largest and busiest spaceport. While the planet has never previously had need of the Imperial Navy, it is at least capable of docking a moderately-sized cruiser. The port itself could host a battalion of Guardsmen; however, recent comms suggest that the defenders' strength is waning. Reinforcements are badly needed in order to keep the planet accessible to larger spacecraft.

Far north, the hunting grounds of Glar have seen the local feral Orks - kept illegally as quarry for wealthy hunters - explode in numbers. To date they appear to have remained in situ, fighting among themselves and just as threatened by the raging wildlife as the humans who brought them there in the first place. It does, of course, only take one Ork to have a good idea and a green tide of violence will be unleashed.

Of the admin-cities, Vexed Ridge has stood out as being unusually quiet. Visitors to the world see only small settlements but, in truth, most of the population is forced to live underground in conditions not dissimilar to those on the great hive-worlds. Resentment among the natives has always simmered - after all, their homeworld's natural bounty is reserved for wealthy foreigners while plenty of the locals rarely get to even see the sun - and other cities such as Baridhi Prime and Dachoi saw brief uprisings in the early days of the disaster before the need for survival focussed minds. There are rumours that a charismatic preacher of unknown denomination has appeared at Vexed Ridge, but these remain unproven.

The vast, dark forest of Indrill should be most inhospitable at this time but, quite unexpectedly, is dotted with small human holdouts. Perhaps the lack of sunlight has stunted the emergent flora and fauna in the region.

In the extreme polar south sits the small starport of Trader's Passage. While Paradise XXII deals with limited amounts of freight, what does arrive comes here. With huge catacombs and storage tunnels dug into the bedrock, and surrounded by ice, this appears to have been the least-affected by recent events. However, a number of unknown vessels managed to dock in the initial confusion and no records can be found which detail their cargo.

Off-world, first responders have been alarmed to encounter what is believed to be a Kroot Sphere hurtling towards the planet. Such aliens were not known to be present in the sector and their sudden, obvious appearance is something of a mystery.

More distressingly, alien lifeforms tentatively identified as being tendrils of Splinterfleet Cerberus  have been sighted on the outer reaches of the system. Moving at speed, their current trajectory puts them on a direct course for Paradise XXII.

Still more reports emerge of other, unknown factions converging on the planet. While the Imperial response may seem disproportionately swift and strong for a world of so little importance, some are already beginning to question whether it is swift and strong enough...