This is a fairly major project for my current game and incomplete at the moment.
Malfi
Location:
Malfian Sub-Sector, 180 day trip from Scintilla (subject to dilation)
Class:
Sub-sector capital, Hive
Population:
32 Billion
Local Time:
350 Terran day orbital cycle around its sun, 26hr standard Terran day
Climate:
Mean temperature of 20degrees Celsius, average annual rainfall of 1500ml
Troposphere:
Nitrogen 68% Oxygen 27% Ozone 1% Carbon Dioxide 4%
Pollution Index:
Moderate
Hydrosphere:
55% coverage of ocean, two poles
Landmass:
5 large continents,
Native Flora/Fauna:
50% hive coverage, some jungle regions at the equatorial regions, isolated islands, industrialisation and extensive strip mining have decimated or made extinct 90% of local species
Hive Capital
: D'aosta
Major Hives:
Veneto, Lobardia, Marche & Calbria
Gravity:
1.08G
Principle Imports:
Food, chemicals, luxury goods
Principle Exports:
Industrial & Military, Administrative sub-sector
Military:
1 Billion Reserve Grade 3 PDF troops 0.5 Billion Full Time Grade 1 Imperial Guard, Grade 1 Orbital defence
Tithe:
Exactis Prima
Governor:
The Eminence Glydus Matriarch
Malfi has a long and successful ancient history of being something of a foundation of civilisation in the now namesake Malfian sub-sector where its armies of conquest subjugated the feral and frontier worlds in the region. Bringing law, Imperial rule, civilisation and in most cases, savage oppression. While her dominance of the sub-sector is still absolute and her armies some of the largest, well equipped and trained in the entire sector, after crushing all before it and found more sport in picking on each other. All the five main hives of Malfi seem to spend more time bickering and backstabbing amongst themselves, if they can't do that, then the large extended family groups, power brokers and stand off against one another.
Anywhere else to outsiders, it would be the sign of a dystopian social experiment about to collapse in on itself, but for various cultural reasons, never seems to quite tip over the brink and go to the proverbial hell in a hand-basket that everyone expects it to. Admittedly, even the Malfian's would agree, it makes getting anything next to impossible done honestly or quickly, graft, bribery and who you know to get something as simple as a building extension may even come down to paying someone to shoot a local member of the Administratum, then blackmailing the rest as being the cause of their colleagues death with evidence ready to be 'found' next to the nearest, corrupt Arbites station house (along with a massive bribe)
About the only real unity to be found is getting people to beat on a Scintillan, which is something of about as nationalistic and idealistic as it gets. Sure, its crooked, wrong and about as bad as humanity can get, but seems to work in its own way. For all the warts, heresy and homicide on Malfi, it still churns out massive amounts of industrial production to the entire sub-sector, so even if the rest of them don't like Malfi, they can't live without them. Likewise, Malfi with her huge population and stripped resources can't survive without them.
Technically all of Malfi's five large continents are covered in hives, but about half of that is abandoned ancient ruins and what's left of the ecosystem and introduced species of plants and animals are doing their best to grind thousands's of years old ruins back to something resembling a natural state of being. Large swathes of areas around the temperate, equatorial region are overgrown suburbs as the population has receded back into more favourable/fashionable areas to live and work, others are being reclaimed by hives wishing to expand and expeditions sent out to the wilderness with bulldozers and chainsaws. Exploring the ruins can often be a profitable business on Malfi, many small settlements popping up seemingly in the middle of nowhere on former slag heaps or large amounts of minerals and setting up a refinery to extract what they can from former generations leavings. It is a dangerous business as the abandoned areas are home to dangerous plants and animals, unstable structures, criminals gangs, armed squatters, religious isolationists and even the odd feral mutant clan. However dangerous and horrible it may be in the lost zones, it still doesn't stop groups of treasure seekers delving into the depths in search of archaeotech, artwork or heirlooms from a forgotten age that might, however remotely improbable, still be out there.
This is a stark contrast to the highly refined, sophisticated and fashionable living areas dotted through the hive complexes in their owned walled off estates, palatial villas, enviro-domes growing rare plants protected from pollution and full of well dressed, hot tempered individuals. Somewhere in the middle is the masses of closely packed terraces of suburban housing in tight streets barely wide enough to fit a full sized car down and about the only easier thing to do than get lost, is wander into the more lawless ones where you'll get knifed for the thrones in your pocket or anything shiny about your person. Down the bottom is the vast industrial zones which are as ubiquitously awful as they are in any other hive, but just spread over vast areas, getting about is best done via the underground train network, which at least while you're on it is heavily policed by the Magistratum. Bikes or small cars are the next best option depending on how far you have to go or more likely, how well you cope with dealing with Malfi's free-for-all traffic rules.
Malfi's only other infamous claim to fame is the massive criminal syndicates which always seem to have their heritage on the planet and then spread like a virus to the rest of the sub-sector, about the only reason they've managed to be semi-contained is the massive 8T's cartel outside the sub-sector which is almost the antithesis to the 'civilised corruption' of the Malfian syndicates with their savagery and brutality. Its not to say the Malfian's aren't capable of doing it either, they just culturally do it out of sight of any witnesses or X the witnesses as well. Much ado amongst inquisitional circles is the source of cults coming out of the sector which are considered quite dangerous and next to impossible, just like the syndicates to wipe out.
Ironically enough though, the average Malfi resident is a god-emperor fearing person that goes to one of the many ancient churches on the planet very regularly and many are highly devout, it just doesn't stop them from being backstabbing thieves and scoundrels if they can get away with it.