Cocijo

Cocijo is a Desert World found within the Orpheus Salient of the Jericho Reach. Once an Agri-World, the now arid planet it has now become crucial to the salient's supply chain, in no small part due to the extensive aquifers and substantial reserves of metallic ore.

History
The desert planet of Cocijo was a surprise for the Achilus Crusade. Ancient charts identified the planet as a lush and verdant world. Administratum records showed it to be a populous system, with ample agricultural capabilities that provided for several of the sector's Hive Worlds. Instead, the crusade found an arid world, with only a sparse, primitive population that had diverged too far from the Human standard for the Inquisition's taste.

The Inquisition branded those few descendants of the ancient settlers as mutants. The crusade cleansed the planet of the majority of these reviled creatures. The remainder were designated for use as slaves or assigned duties with Penal Legions. A few of these loathsome beings may yet survive in Cocijo's extensive wastelands.

There was no obvious cause for the collapse, and the surviving descendants were in no condition to explain it. Background radiation was within normal limits. There were almost no ruins for the expected cities, with very few exceptions; the locations were nothing more than flat, barren plains. An apocalyptic event had clearly happened, but the Imperium has been completely unable to identify its cause.

Extensive cartographic analyses of the planet's surface were even performed to verify that it was the same planet. Once the mutants were eliminated, settlers were brought in from the overcrowded hive worlds of the Calixis Sector.

With the aid of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the settlers began water mining initiatives as an effort to improve the planet for colonisation and future agriculture. These initiatives met with early success, as extensive aquifers were discovered. Within a few months, the colonists established surface lakes, which were used as reservoirs for their small towns.

As construction began on the frontier towns, the troubles began. Equipment failures suddenly became endemic. Repeated scans of the planet's atmosphere showed changes in the ionic background, and astropaths began to complain about the instabilities in the Immaterium. Hundreds of water miners died in freak accidents, as earthquakes, sinkholes, and volcanoes suddenly appeared from places that were believed to be stable.

As Mechanicus experts analysed these changes, archaeologists came to examine the sparse records of the planet's lost civilisation. The few remains that could be found amount to records that are fragmentary at best. Worse yet, the colony used an archaic derivation of Low Gothic as their primary language.

Researchers' analysis hints that the planet's surface water abruptly vanished over a matter of days. After that, rioting and panic triggered the planet's collapse in a matter of weeks. A few of the fragmentary records seem to suggest that spirits took away the water and punished the natives for daring to dwell on this planet.

However, there has been no evidence to corroborate these stories, and even some of the stories are in dispute. Many simply dismiss them as legends, but others have begun to wonder if the water reserves and the new problems are signs of things to come.

It is certain that the crusade needs to make this planet habitable if they can. If the water mining can be stabilised, this would be a tremendous reserve for the Orpheus Salient. Preliminary scans also indicate that there may be substantial reserves of useful ores within the planet's crust. The combination of these metals and the water could make Cocijo a crucial factor in shortening the crusade's supply lines.

The disappearances and the accidents have substantially damaged morale among the planet's colonists. Many are demanding transit off world. Riots have already occurred, and some are even threatening rebellion as rabble-rousers openly speak heresy.

The Salient's resources are stretched thinly. Units have not been allocated to deal with this uprising, and it may be some time before anything can be reassigned. It is possible that patience might provide its own solution, but it is also possible that the colony could self-destruct if no actions are taken.