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  • World: Malta
    Malta

    Malta

  • LocationSubsector Tyranus
  • Type: Fortress World
  • Tithe: [Milites] Technically Malta tithes large numbers of Imperial Guard regiments, but as all of them are assigned to defend Malta this planet's tithe is effectively Aptus Non.
  • Population: 700 Million [700 000 000] (native population only; population of Imperial Guard forces originating from off-world estimated to be at least 50 million and constantly fluctuating).
  • Government: Military Rule. Everything about Malta is militarised, every single citizen has a military rank, every citizen recieves military training, and every citizen is technically in the planet's PDF. Ruled by a parliament of the planet's Generals, these officers decide who among them shall be Lord General and planetary governor of Malta. The current Lord General of Malta is Baratheus Kal.

Description

The entirety of Subsector Tyranus was founded around Malta. When the giant warp storm known as The Grave was discovered, the Imperium recognised the need to keep chaotic forces as close to the storm as possible and not allow them to escape and spread out. For this purpose Malta is a massive military fortress, people live in bunkers rather than houses, pillboxes and defensive structures designed to bottleneck advancing enemies into giant killzones cover the land masses of the planet and the oceans are more explosives than water. Every single citizen is trained and armed to the quality of any PDF soldier and whilst most of them work in civilian positions (transportation, administration etc.), every single one of them can don their weapons and armour and be pressed into full military action in a heartbeat. The Inquisition maintains a large presence on Malta, particularly those of the Ordo Malleus, to combat the internal daemonic threats created by constant assaults from warp-borne horrors.

Given the nature of their purpose citizens of Malta do not undergo the typical mindwipe procedure following encounters with the daemonic. Of course such dangerous knowledge necessitates stringent security protocols regarding interplanetary travel. The quarantine zone encompasses Malta, its orbital stations and the Shield Array, and applies to all humans who cannot be trusted with knowledge of the daemonic (exemptions include Inquisition, Astartes etc.). To enforce this all the docks in orbit capable of handling warp-capable ships are heavily guarded by Inquisitorial personnel, and when warp-ships do dock to drop off incoming supplies they are offloaded by servitors. Of course there are no restrictions on who may enter, but Imperial Guard reinforcements are usually the only non-exempt humans who enter the quarantine zone. Therefore regiments sent to Malta never leave.

The only time Maltan soldiers use these docks to leave is when they're boarding one of their troop transports that exclusively travel between Malta and the Shield Stations.

  • Technology: [VI – Admirable] Malta has a massive abundance of every kind of Imperial military hardware, including super-heavy tanks.
  • Military: Colossal PDF and tens of millions of Imperial Guardsmen. Massive System Defense Fleet (including mothballed capital ships) and sizeable Imperial Navy Battlefleet on permanent assignment to the system and its surrounding area, including the Retribution-class Battleship Alexios Komnenos. Many Inquisitional forces of all kinds. Sisters of the Order of Bloody Tears guard the Church of His Eternal Will (like storm troopers they are not subject to the quarantine, so many veteran Sisters of Battle around Sector Deus have served terms of duty on Malta).
  • Strategic: [Maxima Magna] Malta controls the Shield systems that monitors and guard the outskirts of the Grave, and Malta itself lies within the Headstone, the most reliable exit of the warp storm. Malta and these defensive structures simply cannot be allowed to fall, or chaos forces will spread through the sector and beyond at an alarming rate.
  • Loyalty: [Imperium 74%] The constant chaos incursions against Malta leave festering cults in their wake, despite the best efforts of the local Inquisition. But the strict and highly militarised culture maintains general loyalty and discipline.

Notable Locations

  • Aressar Plateau - A colossal plateau (~25 million square kilometres) made primarily of metamorphic rock interlaced with high-density minerals. Building true fortifications on this surface is nigh-impossible due to the difficulty of boring into the foundation, so it is primarily used as a landing zone for the massive number of landers and dropships ferrying supplies between Malta and the voidcraft in orbit. Massive, heavily defended starports and semi-mobile anti-orbital & air defences are stitched throughout the region, and the edges of the plateau are lined with high mountain ranges that are insurmountable to any conventional army.
  • Karrus - Capital city & centre of all planetary control, located to the east of the Aressar Plateau. Defended by impenetrable orbital defences and the best the Maltan Guard has to offer. Population ~65 million. Notable locations in Karrus:
    • Planetary Palace - A fortress and government building both. The planetary palace houses the high command of Malta. Notable inhabitants:
      • Lord General Baratheus Kal - The Lord General of Malta and an incredibly experienced strategist.
    • Church of His Eternal Will - The largest cathedral on Malta. The Church of His Eternal Will is an important symbol of faith for the people of Malta, and its garrison of Sororitas can face down daemonic horrors that the Imperial Guard are not equipped to face - both in equipment and spirit.
      • Cardinal Sakkad Merovin - The most senior member of the Ecclesiarchy on Malta.
      • Canoness Commander Grace Kendell - The current leader of the Sororitas convent attached to the Church of His Eternal Will. Canoness Kendell has hundreds of Battle Sisters under her command, and thousands of Sisters Hospitaller serve all over Malta.
  • Standat - Fortress-city located within a colossal valley that runs between Karrus and the Aressar Plateau. The first line of Standat's defence consists of a large military force from Adamant Prime. Population ~30 million. Notable inhabitants:
    • General Ceberus Falkonan - The commander of Standat. General Falkonan is a tactically skilled, headstrong man who originally served as an officer in a Mechanised regiment.
    • Lieutenant General Marius Xerant - A member of the Xerant Dynasty who commands the Adamantian troops here.
  • Lycea - A fortress-city located to the south of the Aressar Plateau, within a large gap between two mountain ranges. Located near the equator, Lycea is a warm, sunbaked city surrounded by scrubland and dusty desert. Population ~25 million. Notable inhabitants:
    • General Jesrit Lowe - The commander of Lycea, General Lowe served as an Armoured regiment officer for decades before he was promoted to the General Staff.
  • Circe - A fortress-city located to the north of the Aressar Pleateau, in a large valley between mountain ranges. Circe is a frosty, snowswept fortress-city that stands firm against blizzards and invaders both. Population ~20 million.
    • General Lars Von Chernov - The commander of Circe. General Von Chernov hails from a family of minor nobility and spent much of his career as an Infantry regiment officer.
  • Ocean of Souls - Malta's largest sea covers almost an entire hemisphere (~40% of the world's surface). This expanse of water is filled with enormous minefields and constantly patrolled by the sizeable Maltan terrestrial navy. It's name comes from the fact that almost all Maltan dead are buried-at-sea here.
  • Karrus Station - Massive space station joined directly to Karrus by an orbital elavator used for bulk supply transfer from orbit to the surface. Also serves as the primary orbital defence platform of Malta, with obscene firepower eclipsed only by the shield stations. Karrus station is heavily guarded by Inquisitorial forces to ensure only those permitted to leave do.
  • Grid of Steel - Term used to refer to the massive network of stations, docks and defence platforms that orbit above every single quadrant of Malta. This network plays host to a large Imperial Navy presence, most notably the Alexios Komnenos. Notable inhabitants:
    • Admiral Amos Hefin - Admiral Hefin never strays far from his flagship, and coordinates the efforts of Battlegroup Tyranus from here.

Other notable planets in the system

Grestor's End

  • World: Grestor's End
  • Type: Burning Death World
  • Tithe: [Nix]
  • Population: N/A
  • Government: N/A
  • Description: Located in the inner cauldron and first explored eons ago by the Rogue Trader Artemis Grestor. Landing with a large force of his finest house troops and advanced machinery, he nonethless met his end on the nightmarish world of sulphurous smog, blisteringly hot winds and utterly lethal predators along with the entire landing force. In the millennia since it has been explored only a scant few more times and whilst some of the parties return with precious relics of Grestor's original exploration, others are never heard from again. The rare native creatures are also considered valuable, and some of the most daring beasthunters risk everything trying to capture a razor sharp Sulphur Glider or an acid-spewing Ghostfang. Many of the native creatures exhibit warp-influenced traits, no doubt due to the close proximity to The Grave.
  • Technology: N/A
  • Military: N/A
  • Strategic importance: [Nix]
  • Loyalty: [Nix]

Varramax

  • World: Varramax
  • Type: Gas Giant
  • Tithe: [Nix]
  • Population: N/A
  • Government: N/A
  • Description: A vast gas giant, next in line from the system's star after Malta. Varramax's orbit is only slightly outside Malta's and the powerful gravitational pull of the gas giant exerts a strong pull on any debris in the void. As such a large amount of ship wreckage and debris that were made near Malta inevitably end up drawn around Varramax when it passes, and so the gas giant and its many moons plays host to uncountable hulks of twisted metal. Imperial system ships scour the planet and its moons extensively looking for anything to salvage, as do private interests (though they are expected to pay a tax on anything found).
  • Technology: N/A
  • Military: N/A
  • Strategic importance: [Minima] Varramax is a useful source of recycled starship components, and very occasionally a recoverable hulk may be found.
  • Loyalty: [Nix]
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