Governor Malaki Vess

Imperial Governor Malaki Vess oversees Zweihan’s World, a
minor hive world located in the Malfian sub-sector. As the Imperial ruler of the planet, Vess has overseen
Zweihan’s World’s development for most of the last century.
An intelligent, empathetic, and charismatic man and ruler,
he has ruled his planet well, and as a result his subjects are
prosperous and content. It is no wonder that Vess is respected,
even adored, by his subjects.
However, trouble looms for Vess. The Adeptus Administratum has recently determined that Zweihan’s World
is not properly exploiting the vast mineral deposits found in
its planetary rings. As a result, the planet’s Tithe is set to
increase to exploitive levels.
Vess knows what this means; Zweihan’s World will become
a blasted, strip-mined, and polluted wasteland where the
unlucky inhabitants scrabble for simple survival. He cannot
stand to see this happen, and thus, plots rebellion.
Governor Vess provides a GM with a unique adversary. Vess
is not a Chaos-worshipper or xenos, nor is he really a heretic.
In fact, many players may find his character and motives
sympathetic and even commendable. Thus, when they learn
of his plot, the choice over how to stop him (or even if they
should stop him) is likely that much more difficult. However,
if he isn’t stopped, his entire world will burn. The Imperium
must brutally stamp on rebellion, and this may be the only
way for the players to avert a sub-sector war.
Of course, there’s nothing simple about stopping him,
either. Vess’s plans are secret, but the scale of preparations for
any rebelling planet is impossible to hide. The first order of
business is to discover the plot. Arms shipments, mobilisations
of the Planetary Defence Forces, even the quiet elimination of
local Arbites, all are signs of the approaching storm. Once the
players have put the pieces together, they have to figure out
what to do about it.
As an individual, Vess is not incredibly dangerous. His
power comes from Zweihan’s World’s populace and PDF,
who are utterly devoted to him. Should the players attack
Vess directly, they find themselves up against an army. Vess
does not wish to confront them personally, instead allowing
hundreds (or thousands) of regular troops led by his elite
forces to deal with them.
Unless the players have a personal army, they have to use
their wits to get to Vess. Even then, he should always be
accompanied by a substantial bodyguard of his elite Defenders.
In battle, the Defenders push to get between their master and
danger, while he directs their actions from behind.