Planet Malta

DIAMETER: 13,534 km.

MASS: 6.02 x 10e24 kg.

TERRAIN: Terrestrial

TEMPERATURE: -23°C to 31°C

ESCAPE VELOCITY: 12.69 km/sec

The fifth sleeper ship, the Hispania, launched at the same time as its sister ships and broke through the Coalition blockade in the Sol system. Unfortunately, sabotage by Coalition agents that had secreted themselves onboard crippled the engines just as the vessel arrived in the Sirius sector. The passengers awakened from their cryogenic sleep to discover the ship was drifting towards an unknown star system. When the Hispania drifted within range of a red dwarf system, conflict aboard the ship escalated, and about half of the surviving colonists decided to take escape pods, chancing their survival on the promise of a habitable world. The remaining half coaxed the damaged vessel onwards to its eventual destination in the Omicron Alpha system, arriving some time in the year 41 AS Upon their arrival, the crew discovered a planet capable of supporting human life in orbit of the primary star. The Hispania's passengers named the planet Malta -- a harsh place of acidic oceans, gray skies, and vast plains covered in a species of tall, thin, orange grass. Taking whatever equipment they could salvage from the crippled Hispania, they left the hulk in orbit of Malta and began to make a home for themselves on Malta.

Eventually the Outcasts -- as they came to think of themselves -- began a limited exploration of their home system. As pilots wandered farther and farther afield in search of resources, many became seriously ill. Upon returning to Malta, the crews recovered quickly. After making a number of genetic scans of critically ill pilots, the doctors made a startling and disturbing discovery. Their genetic code had been altered considerably. The Outcast human DNA was found to contain strands identical to that of the orange grasses that covered the planet -- from which the drug Cardamine was derived. Trace amounts were present in everything on the planet, in their food, their water, even the very air. Once pilots made lengthier journeys away from Malta, their bodies went into shock, followed by death.

The Outcasts were now truly separated from the rest of humanity -- changed so that they could never expand beyond the planet on which they had landed. They needed Cardamine now, like air, food, or water. But with the origin of the sickness solved, they could at least compensate by carrying supplies of Cardamine with them and resume their exploration of their surrounding systems. Over time, their knowledge of Cardamine improved, and the Outcasts learned that distributing it in a highly concentrated dose causes extreme euphoria. When they finally encountered the rest of the Houses in the seventh century, a new strategy emerged. The Outcasts would deliver the poison that would rot the other Houses from the inside out and grow rich from the profits of their trade.

The planet's crust is largely devoid of usable metallic elements, with a few notable exceptions, namely at the heart of her largest continent, and highly unusual deposits of metallic Copper on the ocean floor. Most of its landmass is covered in prairies with natural, low-grade Cardamine grass; large plantations with heavily bred and modified strains have been built on the most fertile sites. Malta's architecture is a largely low-hung and flat, one-story affair in the rural areas; cities are an expression of extremes, built almost entirely in the rare hilly regions of the planet. There is little at ground-level, except starports; most structures are built both deep into the ground and into massive towers that reach towards the sky, constructed yet again as to mimic the textures of the ground. Malta's oceans are strongly acidic and home to algae that tolerate its high acidity. They appear to hold a slightly green tint from the surface.

These days the Outcasts conduct a lucrative drug-smuggling operation using the network of Jump Holes to escape detection and transport their product into the heart of the House systems through various proxies. They remain relatively few in number; a crash in the birth rate seems to have been another side effect of their genetic modification, although the modifications have lengthened the Outcast's lifespan and physical resilience considerably. There have been no known cases of cancer on Malta since the Outcasts made planetfall.

A new development has been Cryer's continued efforts to create a synthetic version of Cardamine that would be approved as a legal medication within Liberty. This poses a direct threat to the Outcasts' source of income. The Atka Research Station, with nearby access to Edge Nebula clouds, is the most immediate threat to the Outcasts. The location of the base within Corsair territory has brought the Outcasts into conflict with their ancient brethren. The Atka Research Station has come under repeated attacks by Outcast raiding parties in recent years, and the Outcasts always destroy any Cryer transports encountered throughout Sirius without mercy.

When the Dons instituted new disciplinary and security measures for Malta's plantations following Albegna's mining colony slave revolt in 831 AS, fear spread among Malta-bound slaves of mass executions and worsened living conditions. On plantations whose owners took a more lax approach to the new protocols, many slaves began to steal and cache weapons and materiel from their Outcast masters, culminating in a slave revolt that captured a starport and seized control of Malta's defenses.

Though many slaves died or were recaptured by Outcasts during the struggle, many others escaped off-world, either in stolen ships moored at the starport, or in ships flown by IMG, Crayter Republic, or abolitionist group pilots. Ultimately, the revolt was quelled, leaving the Outcasts without enough cardamine to meet market demand, and raising the problem of seeking a newer, more obedient source of labor.

## News

Fortunately for the Outcasts, the Dons had prepared for this eventuality from the rebellion's outset, and so, our distribution networks were immediately put into "maintenance mode", where maximum emphasis is placed on supplying existing customers, and the existing Cardamine stocks are distributed on a key-by-key basis in order to prevent the network's collapse.
Despite these measures, panic reigned, and demand for Cardamine skyrocketed, triggering armed conflicts between the various network participants and driving the prices to dizzying heights. Although Cardamine has now fallen from its record prices thanks to the lobbying of the Outcasts themselves, this price shock is sure to leave markets uncertain.
The Dons expect production to return to pre-rebellion levels over the next four years as they rebuild the rebel-destroyed on Malta.

We of course speak of the Corsairs, who exploited our people's moment of tragedy to seize Freeport 9 as a forward base. The Corsair occupation of the Freeport represents an existential threat to the Maltese people, and their raids upon our very home cannot and will not be tolerated. The Battlecruiser Augusta has led a force into Omicron Theta with orders to destroy the station and its biodomes, disrupt the Corsairs, and annihilate the Artifact trade that funds them.
Already we have won a great victory by striking down the Battleship Fes, with the Battleship Delos surely soon to join it in the grave. The Dons have promised a handsome payment to the cartel of each pilot that kills a Corsair in Omicron Theta.

Ibiza Station has been reinforced with additional guard squadrons and placed on high alert, in case this is the precursor to a larger Corsair fleet movement. Once the current disarray on Malta is resolved, the Cartels will turn their attention to matters of security, and the fleets will be free to strike terror into the hearts of our foes once more.
The Corsairs may feel they have won themselves a great prize in Omicron Theta, but the Freeport is no fortress and a biodome is a fragile thing. The Corsairs say they were forced to act to secure their territory. Soon enough they shall learn that men in glass houses should not cast stones.

Professor Nagel and her team are certain the Pulse originated from outside Sirius, but are otherwise no closer to identifying its source or mitigating a future Blackout event. "Following the Blackout, we began to see immediate signs of jump hole destabilization in multiple different regions, with many ultimately falling out of phase alignment altogether", she commented. The dramatic upending of Sirius' jump hole network has already prompted many groups to abandon stations and withdraw from systems that appear to risk being cut off.
While months-long trips between the stars are possible thanks to the Liberty Engine and many centuries of innovation, few ships are designed or provisioned to make such arduous journeys. Those who were displaced by Sirius' redrawn map hope that system connections will return, while adventurers and explorers rush to discover new routes.

While it remains unclear how the rebels learned of the orbital installation locations, it is possible that some of the more benevolent masters did not consider their slaves to be a serious security threat and allowed them access to portions of critical infrastructure. The Dons do not know how they will approach this pressing fact, but it is clear that the laxity of their brothers and sisters has allowed the rebellion to put up unexpectedly strong resistance.
Despite this, the slaves themselves seem to realize the futility of their struggle as Outcast forces in Omicron Alpha have managed to disable most of the IMG and CR ships that attempted to smuggle aid and reinforcements to the besieged rebels. As the Outcasts succeed in gaining tactical and strategic superiority and their forces regain lost territory, the end of this rebellion is only a matter of time, blood and sweat.
As a final act of revenge, the slaves aimed their weapons not only against the Outcasts themselves, but also against the reason they were brought here: Cardamine. As such, plantation fires stretch from horizon to horizon across the rural regions of planet Malta.

The slave rebellion itself began in the mines of the planet Albegna when the Benitez Cartel executed 200 slaves for sabotaging a mining facility. This cruelty resonated throughout the mining colony, even among the usually trouble-free slaves, and they quickly gained control of the mining facility, including Don Juan Benitez himself, who was to oversee the execution. When the Benitez Cartel learned that their Don had been executed by the slaves instead, they ordered the liquidation of the mining colony.
Although the Albegna mining colony revolt was resolved in less than two weeks, promises by other Dons of 'precautionary measures' across the board, which most slaves interpreted as more mass executions, sparked a widespread slave uprising across Malta. Although the slaves themselves would hardly have been able to resist the well-armed Outcasts, the rebels had the element of surprise in the form of caches of smuggled weapons and other military equipment.
As war rages on planet Malta between desperate slaves and their surprised masters, all Outcast forces from Sirius are recalled to planet Malta to quell the rebellion as quickly as possible. With the IMG and CR taking advantage of weakened Outcast influence in the Tau Region, the question arises as to whether this was all planned by their neighboring foes.

Our smuggling routes have come under increased scrutiny from law enforcement throughout the Sirius Sector, causing an increase rate of failure for our smugglers. The independent smuggling contacts are also increasingly reluctant to continue their work as the risks begin to outweigh the rewards. That in turn, has a secondary effect of making people turn to the filthy Cryer for their Stabiline, a fake remedy for Cardamine withdrawal that we can only describe as snake oil, filling up pockets with false promises.
Dissenting voices painfully point out that this is the first time in a century where we have seen three consecutive quarters of falling profits, with several minor Cartels allegedly facing bankruptcy amid the disaster. The Dons have quickly silenced such assertions, reassuring the public that the Orange Dream will continue to grow.
To address the situation, the Dons demand ever-greater Cardamine yields, launching unprecedented expansion efforts. Steps will be taken to secure the product's shipping. In addition, they plan to import a large labor force from the colonies to bolster the Maltese plantations. This undertaking will require a coordinated effort from Maltese Navy captains, independent smugglers and subverted Sirian assets to acquire and ship slaves en masse to Malta.

## Rumors

* Why have we flourished? Why are our ships so well crafted and designed? We operate on a higher order of being. Many wonder why we take life so easily. It is because this life is just a dream of what truly is. What human beings cherish is an illusion; there is no such thing as death, only change.

* The Cardamine cartels ship the drug from this planet to our two distribution centers: Ruiz and Cali. From there it travels throughout Sirius, infecting the populace with the hunger for more of what we have to sell.

* Malta imports most of its vital Commodities from Yanagi and Ruiz. The Junkers have made our lives on this planet much easier. We have used the riches that Cardamine has made us to build a paradise in place of what was once a prison.

* The orange grasses that cover Malta are the source of Cardamine. Several years after our arrival, one of our scientists discovered how to process the drug into its current form. The grasses are one of a few plants that will grow in such acidic soil.

* We are the ones who were left behind. We were not meant to survive, but we did, and in doing so we have become much more. The Cardamine has tied us to this planet, but it has changed us into something greater than you can understand. We are destined to rule Sirius one day. It will be our revenge upon those who wished to destroy us.

* When we arrived on this planet there was nothing but sprawling fields of tall orange grasses. Our first foraging parties often didn't return. When we sent others after them, we found out why. One becomes severely lacerated after just a few minutes walking through the razor-sharp grasses. If you continue much longer, you eventually bleed to death.

* Entire plantations have been burned, family lines ended, and for what? Some misguided notion of freedom? It's naive, but perhaps I shouldn't expect better from slaves with more ambition than sense. They might not be able to bring themselves to admit it, but even now they need us, they need what only we can provide.

* The first several years after we arrived were touch and go. Many people starved; others simply gave up and died strung out on Cardamine. They would stare out into the distance -- all hope gone from their faces, and purple juice dribbling from their mouths.

* There were more than four sleeper ships that left for Sirius. Eight ships launched from the Federation dockyards on Pluto those many centuries ago. The Coalition fleet intercepted them before they could activate their jump drives, and three of the sleeper ships were destroyed in Sol. Five ships escaped, four of them might sound familiar: the *Liberty*, the *Rheinland*, the *Bretonia*, and the *Kusari*. The fifth was the *Hispania*.

* The Outcasts consider the Siniestre Nube a sacred place for several reasons. Early explorers discovered a Jump Hole within the depths of the cloud that led to a strange world of ringed stars and strange craft. All ships in the burial ground are placed facing that Hole to honor the alien spirits.

* In the heart of the Siniestre Cloud is an intense radiation pocket of unknown origins. Over the centuries, this area -- located midway between the Omicron Beta Hole and the planet Carinea -- became the traditional burial grounds of great Outcast pilots. When a warrior dies, they are put in their ship with their most treasured weapons and set adrift in the zone, always facing towards the source of the spirits. But be careful, strange alien beings are said to guard this most sacred of Outcast places.

* The new ruling families have proclaimed that slavery will never return to Malta, that this destruction must serve as a reminder that our birthright is ours alone, not something to be shared with the dregs of the sector.

* My master, Don Lucio is dead, his kin joined him. The other families now circle what remains of his holdings like vultures, posturing and litigating against one another for sole right over his possessions. I suspect many other families have suffered this fate, and that the old order of things has also been a casualty in this war.

* An ancient race of beings developed the orange grasses on our planet. The codes within the genetic structure of the grass transform the user slowly. We are not human because we have been given a gift and can see further into truth than any man. Human beings are infants dabbling in the loam of an expansive ocean that stretches beyond the horizon. The Cardamine has let us see this.

* I was in Liberty overseeing the cardamine trade there when the revolt began. The distance meant that it took time before I received my summons to return as urgently as I could. Malta's orbit was locked down by then, and I spent several more months trying but failing to make landfall. When I began to fall ill, I was sure that would be the end. Our victory in retaking the missile defense grid cleared me a path to the surface, and while I was too ill to fight, I now find myself the sole inheritor of vast swaths of land. These ruined holdings could together make a city if restored properly, and I will see it done.

* Many of the components we require to manufacture our ships come from Freeport 10, including Ship Hull Panels, Polymers, and Construction Machinery. More is always needed.

* When the Outcasts discovered the other inhabitants of Sirius we wanted to destroy them. We believe that the sabotage of the *Hispania* was the work of another colony trying to lessen competition for resources. Instead of throwing our lives away in an attack, the Dons decided to seek revenge with the Cardamine. If we can get enough of Sirius hooked, we will rule this space.

* The *Hispania*, our sleeper ship that launched from Sol, escaped the Coalition forces undamaged, but there was a saboteur aboard. We had almost made it to Sirius when an explosion woke the crew and her passengers from their stasis sleep. The ship was crippled, adrift in the vastness of interstellar space.

* When the *Hispania* was badly damaged while traveling to the Sirius Sector, the crew had to determine the best way to survive. Half of the crew wanted to abandon ship and make the rest of the journey using *Hispania*'s shuttles; the other half believed they could reach Sirius in the *Hispania*. Those who chose to stay behind held the ship together until planetfall here on Malta.

* After several centuries when we began to venture back out into space, some of our ships did not return. Eventually we realized the cause: the Cardamine we were exposed to on Malta had slowly altered our genetic code and made us dependent on the drug. The breather masks give us enough Cardamine to survive outside of Malta.

* There are other survivors of the *Hispania*: the Corsairs. Once long ago we were brethren, the scourge of southern Sirius. The Cardamine and time have changed us. We share very little in common with Corsairs now; they have become more our competitors than anything else.

* Cardamine is shipped directly to Buffalo in New York. New York and Liberty offer us the greatest opportunity to exploit the benefits of a Cardamine addicted people.

*NOTE: Page generated on the 28/10/2023 at 17:59:45 UTC*