Volga

Volga is a massive and ancient Hive World in the Ultima Segmentum. It is possibly one the oldest Hive World known to the Imperium of Man.

History
It isn't clear exactly when mankind came to Volga, but it may have been one of the earliest worlds colonized by humans. Some underhive structures are believed to be around 36,000 years old.

If true, then it is possible that the early colonists of Volga were among the first humans to have left Terra during the Age of Terra, possibly taking thousands of years to actually complete their journey.

The world was brought into compliance during the Great Crusade with little fanfare or resistance. It was spared the worst of the fighting during the Horus Heresy.

The Volga Incident
During the late 41st Millennium, a large Genestealer Cult, the Cult of the Starfather, rose up in an attempt to seize power on Volga. PDF forces were torn apart from within and were woefully ineffective at combating the uprising. The Volgan Authorities signaled the Imperium of Man for assistance, and the Blood Angels Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes was dispatched to respond.

However, the astropathic distress call was intercepted by a bizarre and enigmatic Ork klan known as the Orkperium, which dispatched a fleet of ships to the hive world. Upon arrival, one of the Ork ships crashed into the planet--possibly intentionally--sending thousands of Ork Boyz into the planet's hives.

The Orkperium generally ignored Volga's civilian population and took the fight directly to the forces of the Genestealer Cult. The massive horde of Orks--all dressed in scraps of discarded Astartes armor--proved too much for the cultists to handle. Within hours, the Cult of the Starfather had been completely routed, and Volgan PDF forces, along with their unlikely Ork allies, had begun to restore order.

The Blood Angels eventually did arrive at Volga to find the Volgans and the Orks engaged in cleanup operations. Conflict was only avoided due to the direct intervention of Ordo Xenos Inquisitor and Xenologist Remillious Vought, who recommended that the Blood Angels encourage the Orks to leave peacefully by feigning Imperial sanction of the Ork's activities and "ordering" the Orks elsewhere.

Vought's gambit initially worked, with many of the Orks leaving the system--ostensibly to fight a fleet of Necrons in a nearby system. However, upon the arrival of the Orkperium warboss, "Da Boss Emprah", relations between the Blood Angels and the Orkperium rapidly disintegrated. Blood Angels 3rd Company Captain Machiavi resisted the violent demands of the Orks to join them in venerating "Da Boss Emprah" and providing him tribute. This provoked an all-out conflict between Astartes and "Orkstartes" that obliterated huge swaths of the planet below and led to large losses on both sides before the Ork forces ultimately pulled back.

Culture
Typical of Hive Worlds, Volga is a violent, chaotic mess. Planetary Governor Sawl Rulante manages to keep a steady hold on the upper and upper-middle levels of the hive world.

The Volgan PDF have been fighting a constant war with Hive Gangers in the lower levels for thousands of years. The fighting is so extreme that the PDF will often seal all known entrances to lower levels to mitigate further spillage. 30 Levels of Hive Vigilant have been quarantined in such a way. Those trapped below the bulkheads become even more frenzied and violent, and families caught below will often resort to desperate means to escape.

Locations and Geography
Hive World Volga is home to several hive cities, the largest of which is Hive Vigilant.

Its climate is typical of that of hive worlds--extremely poor.