Memini

In addition to the sparsely-manned Iron Spirit and desolate Barren Spirit, the Memini system (known in the Tau language as Vash'Ya Doran) has two theoretically habitable planets, Mourning Spirit and Restless Spirit. Together with a fifth, now-absent world, these four form the Spirit Worlds, holy to the Dark Angels legion. Indeed, the names are drawn from five of their Chief Librarians: Mourning Stag, Hand-in-Iron, Restless Bear, Three-Wolf-Moon and Coyote-Whose-Mother-Was-Barren.

Both Mourning Spirit and Restless Spirit were formerly inhabited, and supported a mediaeval tech-base, but are now home only to the insane or abandoned. Both are said to be cursed.

Mourning Spirit:
This planet is by far the most beautiful of the four, containing a variety of scenery as well as abundant foodstuffs. Mourning Spirit would have been colonised many years previously, had any of the colonists survived. 

Iron Spirit:
This planet is a resource-rich world that orbits the star so closely that it is only possible to mine this planet using mining crawlers that move continously, so as to stay on the dark side of the planet, (the crust is melted on the light side and highly volcanic).

Restless Spirit/Doran:
Until recently, this world was judged to have little strategic value, although it was deemed to have some value as an agriworld or mining system. Frequent riots, unrest and cult incursions led to Inquistorial investigation by the Ordo Malleus. The investigation concluded the planet was too risky to colonise due to the thinning of the warp nearby, and so was scoured of Imperial personnel, who were led into isolated work-camps on Mourning Spirit.

Inquisitorial sweep teams, headed by the late Inquisitor Ironbrow, judged the fabric of space strong enough to prevent anything but the smallest of Chaotic raiding parties out of the system and so the risk was thought minimised. Recently however, the Brightsword Protectorate have taken a keen interest in the planet, which they call Doran. They have gone so far as to establish a number of colonies, which has reignited Inquisitorial interest.

Barren Spirit:
A plainsworld, Barren Spirit has continent-spanning areas of grassland, grazed by nuffalo and porcuswine herds. The plainsdwellers form primitive tribes. They are believed to be the debased descendants of the original colonists left by the Dark Angels legion.

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Current system status:
Rumour has it that Inquisitor Maltheus, posing as a Tau double-agent, may have found a way to contain the spillover of the warp into reality through the use of forbidden xenotech and is manipulating the Tau to let him establish a base on Restless Spirit to complete this mission.

Other rumours say that the Tau command are not so credulous as to be led so openly by the Inquisitor, and have found something of great value on Vash'ya beyond colonisation and resources). This item is said to be of great value, and to be some kind of portal or corridor which – if established – could lead to a route to elsewhere in the sector or possibly even another way out of the sector. Other rumours say the Tau are aware of some advanced xenotechnology of unknown use or origin. It is said that the Inquisition is showing the sometimes naive Tau how to deal with and contain the creatures of the warp.

Finally, some talk in hushed whispers that the Lord of Change himself has made a pact with the other powers – if enough lives are sacrificed on the planet then the fabric of reality may be irreversibly opened turning the planet into a Daemonworld. Should this occur, more denizens of the warp could use this system as a staging platform for raids and even possibly invasions. 

Perhaps the Lord of Change has caused this interest in the planet in the first place? No-one is sure who exactly is manipulating who, but one thing is certain – the Tau colony has been overwhelmed and the Fire Caste now come to the system in great numbers. What will happen when they arrive?