Outcasts

The Outcasts, also referred to as the Nation of Malta (Nación Maltesa), are an unlawful house operating from the remote edge worlds of Sirius. Having access to their own shipyards and resources, the Outcasts have since spread their piracy, drug empire and influence all across Sirius. The Outcast nation is ruled by a plutocracy of the wealthiest and most powerful families on Malta, collectively forming a Council of Dons.

Outcast controlled territories border the systems of Omicron Theta, Tau-37 and Sigma-19. Several bases are in operation in systems distant from their core worlds, sometimes connected only through hostile territory, such as Cali Base in Tau-23. The Outcasts are currently involved in a long standing, large scale war with the Corsairs over the domination of the Omicron edge worlds.

History
The crippled sleeper ship Hispania arrived in Omicron Alpha almost 800 years ago. Its 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. They later learned that the grass could be rendered into a narcotic substance, that they called Cardamine.

Eventually the Outcasts -- as they came to think of themselves -- began limited exploration of their system. As pilots wandered farther and farther afield in search of resources, many became seriously ill. Upon planetfall, the crews mysteriously recovered.

Doctors were baffled. By chance, they made a genetic scan of a critically ill pilot and made a startling discovery. His genetic codes had been altered. Outcast DNA contained strands identical to that of the orange grasses that covered the planet -- from which Cardamine was derived. Trace amounts were present in everything on the planet, from the air they breathed to the water they drank. 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 the Cardamine now, like air or 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.

When they 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.

Today 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. The Outcasts remain relatively few in number; a crash in the birth rate seems to have been another side effect of their genetic modification.

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.

Controlled and contested space
The Outcasts are known to preside over at least two star systems (Omicron Alpha, Omicron Beta), while maintaining their own bases in several others (Omicron Eta, Tau-23, Newcastle). They control only a single planet: Planet Malta within the Omicron Alpha system.

Territorial claims
Outcast units can be found more or less all across Sirius, with the notable exception of Rheinland and the Omega systems. Their bloody war with the Corsairs spans across several systems, although most notably in Omicron Eta, where the majority of the war is being fought. The Outcasts are also engaged in a conflict against the IMG in Tau-23 and Tau-37 as well as the encroaching GMG in Sigma-19 and Omicron Beta.

The Plutocracy Era
Until recently Malta itself had no official government or political bodies or leaders, and no economic regulation or a set of written laws as a result. It's society was ruled by an anarchic plutocracy of Dons, where each Don was in control of his own portion of land and his family, hired guns and any slaves he may have bought.

The only real semblance of a government were the periodic meetings of the most powerful Dons of Malta, universally referred to as the Council of Dons. This Council was in control of the general diplomacy of Malta towards other willing factions in Sirius, as well as setting production and military goals for the only unified structure within the Outcast nation: the Maltese Navy.

All of the Outcasts are centralized around their home world: the planet Malta, with any other bases they control being used either as a military staging point or a supply station for smugglers.

Economy
The economy of Malta is an uncontrolled and unregulated free market, largely in part due to a long history of an official governmental body. It revolves almost entirely around the production of the euphoria inducing drug Cardamine, and it's spread across Sirius. Each of the plantation controlling Dons is responsible for the propagation of his own produce, frequently leading to rivalries between families should they become too competitive with each other.

Aside from the export of drugs, Malta also relies on a steady inflow of slaves (mostly from Liberty) and general military and material supplies, using primarily the Junkers to smuggle these goods through territory otherwise hostile to them, then take their Cardamine back to the houses. Most of the light arms and alloys used in the construction of Outcast ships are provided to them via their allies, while MOX smuggled from Bretonia serves as a source of fuel. Other supplies are frequently obtained via both smuggling and piracy operations, which extend from the Tau and Sigma border worlds all the way to Kusari and Liberty.

Foreign relations
The Maltese nation has gone out of it's way in recent years to establish friendly relations with as many of the organised unlawful groups as possible, mostly using their drug profits or distribution of arms as leverage for creating alliances. It is especially known for it's cooperation with the Liberty Rogues, Lane Hackers and Golden Chrysanthemums in smuggling of Cardamine into Liberty and Kusari, as well as a temporary alliance with the Red Hessians and Mollys against the Corsairs in the Omega systems. This alliance is known by some as the Outcast Alliance.

Their long standing war against their former Corsair brethren as well as the many alliances formed sparked off several other factions to become increasingly hostile to Outcast presence, with the most significant opposition encountered in Kusari with factions such as the Hogosha and the Farmers Alliance bent on pushing out the Outcast influence out of their territories. The Gaians in Bretonia are also considered hostile.

The Tau systems
Unconfirmed rumors state that the Outcast Nation may have worked with Bretonia to halt Kusari expansion in the Tau systems. These unconfirmed rumors also state that they may have continued to work with Bretonia to halt the new Gallic expansion into the Taus and Sirius. The validity of these claims is unknown, as both parties deny any sort of agreement vehemently. All that is known for certain is the way the Outcasts reacted to the Gallic splinter revolutionary faction, The Council, when they first broke through the mine fields. The two factions have been openly hostile to each other since their first meeting.

New events in the Tau systems have not improved relations between the Outcasts and the Independent Miners Guild either. The IMG still work to get as much as they can out of the Tau systems and the Outcasts still see them as intruders pushing on their borders.

The only relations in the Taus that seem to have changed is between the Outcasts and the Malaysian Colonial Republic. While neither side has any affection toward the other, they both seem to be more concerned with the Gallic invasion than with each other at this time. Skirmishes are still reported between the two factions but not nearly as frequently as in the past.

Crime and dissent
As a house which for a very long time lacked a legitimate government and police force, as well as one founded on the basis of crime and piracy amongst other houses, the Outcasts are not opposed by any organized group from within their nation.

Diplomacy
For full Outcast reputation sheet, according to FLStat, see Outcast Reputation Sheet.

Known Outcast Ships
Notes:
 * All fighters, Freighters and Transports are considered to be Border Worlds ships utilized by Outcasts. To see the full list of all Border World ships, visit this page.
 * Any non-Border Worlds ships listed here are sold on at least one Outcasts base.

Unofficial factions

 * Outcast Militia