Port Wander - Guardian of the Maw: Port Wander was founded by the Imperial Navy in 917.M40 as a staging ground to investigate the loss of many vessels on the fringes of the Drusus Marches. Originating as a standard pattern Xerxes Mark IV naval void station, Port Wander was made from prefabricated and pre-blessed sectionals and transported into the Rubycon System by mammoth Greathold freighters over many solar months. Assembly took only 17 Terran years; the station was consecrated, declared operational, and thruster-anchored into position orbiting the world of Rubycon II far ahead of Thamos in a stable position a year later.Though smaller than many Imperial Naval void stations, it is large enough to handle Battlecruisers and other huge vessels. Organised upkeep tends to be spotty, though, given its distance both physical and political from the sector's subfleet headquarters, and much of the constant refurbishment was done as needed to better deal with the variety of vessels used by Rogue Traders.Over time, entire new modules and battlements were installed, and whole subsections became layered over with new construction such that little of the original voidfacing hull is visible. Deep inside the station whole decks were simply lost to poor planning, and only those well-versed in the ancient blueprints can find their ways through the mazelike passageways.As the area grew in importance due to successful voyages to the Koronus Expanse and back, the station grew as well, attracting the attention of many Imperial agencies throughout the sector. What was a standard Navy-operated void station became overrun with Rogue Traders, commerce shipping agents, merchant guilds, Administratum functionaries, Inquisitorial spies, Adeptus Mechanicus Tech-adepts and Adeptus Ministorum Preachers, and more, all vying for control.With more and more passages through the Maw and increased trade in exotic (and profitable) goods to be found on the other side, the original role of naval station began to wane and Port Wander began to become more of a transportation hub for Rogue Traders and others dedicated to transporting products into and out of the Koronus Expanse.With less military and more commercial functions occurring and constant years of pressure, the Imperial Navy was forced under Imperial Palace decree in the early 41st Millennium to cede authority over the station to a consortium of Administratum functionaries, heavily influenced by factions of Rogue Traders, merchants, and guilds.Imperial Commanders nominally led the station, but proved too easily swayed by outside interests or too inept to maintain their power. This, of course, was paradise to many, and with little or no oversight or regulation to counter them the merchant guilds and Rogue Traders became exceedingly wealthy. The lack of order spread wildly and the port quickly gained a reputation for lawless anarchy where Imperial law is merely an afterthought to the fortunes awaiting.Rival commercial guilds took to outright combat inside and outside the port, and the station possessed little functioning defences against external attacks. After a dozen solar decades including long stretches of disorder and zealous excesses, even the Rogue Traders realised only the Imperial Navy could stabilise the port at a level where profits could be dependably made. They petitioned the Lucid Palace on the sector capital world of Scintilla for a solution in the mid-41st Millennium, lest reliable access to the Koronus Expanse be squandered and lost.The so-called "Grand Alignment" imposed by the Sector Governor heralded the return of the Imperial Navy to operational control over Port Wander. While the void station returned to Imperial Navy control, the charter also granted some areas of authority to other agencies, and imposed limits on Naval authority. The Inquisition and Adeptus Ministorum were of course granted official status as agencies of interest and special spheres of control, and the Administratum given an unofficial but important oversight role.While still not recognising their rights over the Maw, the Adeptus Mechanicus gained rights to several areas of the void station for their own research. The merchant guilds kept much of their shops and trading halls, and continue to exert considerable political influence on the station's activities. The Adeptus Arbites were officially relegated to a lesser role than normal, but still required to police the "civilian" side of the Port's population. The Navy works closely with all of these organisations where possible, as they free its personnel to concentrate on matters of military operations and station defence, areas that went unforgivably lax while it was not in control.Port Wander has since re-established itself as a mostly lawful outpost, though its location on the edge of the Calixis Sector ensures it will never be at the levels of other naval installations or even established Imperial planets. It is at the demarcation from the Rule of the Imperium to the Rule of the Void and will always be a struggle between the two, making the port a site of constant pressure and tension.It is here where a Rogue Trader really begins his or her journey to riches and glory or ignominy and disgrace. Amidst the hustle of hundreds of explorers and merchants, officers and civilians, spirituals and heathen, Port Wander stands as the first step into the Koronus Expanse.