Editing Malthus Confederation

{{InfoBoxOrganization
| image = 
| Type = Criminal Organization
| Founded = [[3151]]
| Dissolved = 
| Parent Organization = [[Free Guilds]] and [[Malthus Syndicate]]
| Headquarters = [[Dustball]]<ref name=TRp72>''Tamar Rising'', p. 72: "The Hinterlands June 3152" (Map)</ref>
}}

The '''Malthus Confederation''' was a criminal organization that became an informal power in [[The Hinterlands|the Hinterlands]] following [[Clan Jade Falcon|Clan Jade Falcon's]] defeat on [[Terra]] in [[3151]].

==Overview==
When Clan Jade Falcon conquered worlds hosting operations of the criminal Malthus Syndicate during Operation REVIVAL, it was determined that the [[House Malthus|crime family]] was distantly related to the founder of the Malthus Bloodhouse.  Unwilling to assimilate such ''[[dezgra]]'' bandits into their Clan, the Falcons provided them to the Free Guilds in partial payment for logistics support.  Rather than being worked to death, as the Falcons intended, the Malthus Syndicate members thrived in the Guilds, helping their new brethren establish lucrative smuggling routes between the Occupation Zones and the Inner Sphere, where the surviving elements of the Malthus Syndicate still operated.  By 3151, many of the most powerful Free Guilds were led by descendants of Malthus Syndicate members.

When the corporate headquarters of [[Malthus Gambling Unlimited]], a front for the Malthus Syndicate, on [[Dustball]] fell to the Jade Falcons in the [[thirty-second century]], captured Malthus employees were reunited with their brethren in the [[Free Guilds]], strengthening the Malthus family's position within the [[Clans]]' underworld.<ref name=TRp22&24>''Tamar Rising'', pp. 22, 24: "Nice Planet You've Got Here"</ref>

After the Jade Falcon warriors migrated ''en masse'' to Terra and were subsequently all but annihilated, several Malthus-controlled Free Guilds formed the Malthus Confederation and exploited the power vacuum in the Falcon Occupation Zone by offering protection to now-defenseless worlds in exchange for resources and labor. Despite losing control of [[Guatavita]] to the Lyran Commonwealth in May, by mid-[[3151]] the Malthus Confederation had carved out a sizeable (though unofficial) realm in the former Falcon OZ and ran intelligence networks throughout the region and into the [[Clan Hell's Horses|Hell's Horses']] OZ.<ref name=TRp22&24/><ref name=TRp82>''Tamar Rising'', p. 82: "Tamar Pact"</ref>

This information network led General [[Sarah Regis]] to make a deal with the Confederation - one carefully kept hidden from the general public - after she reestablished the [[Tamar Pact]] on [[Arcturus]]. In exchange for keeping the Pact government informed about its neighbors, the Confederation could discreetly continue its black market trade in illicit substances, humans and such.  The Malthus leadership cared more about the reality of who wielded power than the trappings and were agreeable to the partnership, sensing the possibility of controlling their own state. Contrariwise, Regis and her government remained open to alternative allies, considering the [[Alyina Mercantile League]] as a potential replacement for the Confederation.<ref name=TRp82/>

Vedet Brewer's [[Vesper Marches]] have also engaged the services of the Malthus Confederation.  The Hell's Horses and [[Jiyi Chistu]]'s Jade Falcons regard them as ''dezgra'' renegades, while the [[ARLC]] considers them pirates and slavers, and the worlds they "protect" to be candidates for liberation.  The Alyina Mercantile League is taking a wait-and-see approach to the organization.

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Tamar Rising]]''


[[Category:Criminal Organizations]]