Planet Malta, apart from Outcasts engaged in Cardamine growth and their eternal war against the Corsairs also housed regular people. Workers for the infrastructure of Maltese cities, barkeepers, scientists and many others. One of these people was Rico Agostino, a hard worker at one of the Maltese power plants. As he sometimes joked, the Maltese Nation needed power, and he was one of the people that provided it.

Rico married Fabiana Agostino early, for an Outcast, in his life and soon they had been blessed with a child - a daughter. Angelica Agostino, or Angel, as her father called her early in her life, still remembers the quiet, dangerous-faced men who stopped her father on the street. She could not make out what they were saying, but she could feel the hand of Rico tightened its grip on her own. Soon they started appearing at their home, and when they did, Angel’s mother locked herself and her daughter away and hugged her as if she were scared they would take her away.

One day, when Angel was eleven, Fabiana disappeared. She asked her father where she had gone, but he could not give a coherent answer. She also noticed that the regular orange powder - Cardamine - she and Rico were sometimes taking before changed colour to white. She took the doses from her father, but never actually used them. Angel lost all respect for him, he abandoned all the qualities that made him human.

She attended school at the time, as her father never forgot to provide her education. That was one last thing that redeemed him in her eyes, though she knew he did not really care for her anymore, overwhelmed with the dirty business with the strange men. During her time at school, she met a girl that would be her best friend for the entire life. She simply called herself “Rise”, and Angel had no idea who she actually was. Not that she would care, Rise was her best friend after all. The best friend and maybe something more.

A few days after her twenty-first birthday, when she came back home, she saw a couple of men dressed in black leave the apartment she lived in with her father. She noticed a small, red rose emblem on one of their uniforms. An emblem that would never exist her mind, though at the time she had no clue she one day would be wearing one of them too.

As she entered the apartment, she figured out instantly something was not right. She entered the lounge and screamed. Her father was kneeling down on the floor, with blood dripping from his nose and cut injuries all over his body. He was dying. Angel desperately tried to find something to help him but it was too late. She could only watch and listen him taking the last breath. With it, he whispered two words. Two words that Angel would remember for the rest of her life.

“Blood Roses.”

She escaped. She left away her home as it stood and ran to Rise. She told her everything that happened. Rise comforted her and Angel started feeling something more to her. She looked Rise in the eyes. They gazed upon each other, when suddenly Rise laid a kiss on her lips. Angel was surprised, but not shocked. It seemed as though Rise felt the same way.

Rise managed to anonymously get Angel’s father a proper funeral. She never asked where Rise got the money from, she was just grateful. Of course, she attended the ceremony. She met suspiciously many Blood Roses there, one of whom approached her and courteously asked who Rico was for her. She did not tell him the truth, obviously, but had the moment to look him in the eye.

She did not know the next time she’d see him, she’d hold a gun to the back of his head.

One thing Angel didn’t know was that Rise was one of her enemies. Even though she did not ever admit it, Angel eventually had to find out and she did. Her best friend’s name was actually Marisa Bloodrose and she was a daughter of the Bloodrose Syndicate’s leader Federico. The same she met at the funeral.

When she found out, she told Rise everything. She half-expected her lover to turn against her but to her surprise, Rise told her all as well. Like before, except reversed. Angel was the one listening now. Rise told her of her plans. Of how she wanted to take the Blood Roses for herself. How she hated her father. How she wanted him to die. And more.

They prepared. Young, determined and with nothing to lose. Heated with Rise’s spirit, guided by Angel’s wit, they were ready.

At the power plant her father worked for the Blood Roses took over everything and soon, Federico Bloodrose himself would come and visit it. It was their chance. Rise managed to squeeze all the information she could, while Angel examined the place of execution. Rise warned her that she would not be the only gunman at the scene, but everything should go according to plan. They both saw the future and knew that their destiny was to bring that future about.

On the memorable day, as Federico was giving his speech, Rise stood by him and observed the crowd. She knew that while her father was a well respected figure within the Maltese, he was not the most popular leader. She managed to replace most of Federico’s bodyguards with ones whose loyalty to the current Rose was questionable at best. Angel’s task would be easier.

At the same time, Angel stood in the crowd. Dressed in black, with her face covered, she stood in one of the front rows, waiting for the balloon to go up. And there it was, the alarm sounded. She squeezed her gun in her hand.

And then everything started happening very rapidly.

The swayed bodyguards fired the first shots at those who had firearms. Rise took out a knife and stabbed one of the two that were on podium with her father. Angel with one good shot took out the other and climbed the platform, while Rise kicked Federico. He fell on his knees and the two girls looked down at him.

The time seemed to have stopped. Rise looked at Federico contemptuously and with a smile on her face she took out a small, red rose and showed it to her father. Angel looked at their victim without any emotions and pointed the gun to his head. She was not a weak girl whose family Blood Roses could force do to their dirty deeds. First Fabiana, then Rico. She would not allow for another loss. Not again.

She pulled the trigger.

Meanwhile Rise observed what was happening below. Nobody seemed to care what was going on at the podium and only as Angel fired the shot they realised that their leader had been killed. The bribed guards were taking over. Some loyal Roses still fought, others dropped their weapons and started running away.

Even though they killed a few men that day, they felt like heroes. It was the beginning of a new era and they would lead the Blood Roses to greatness again.

The Outcasts, an group of organisations based on family history, lineage, blood, and respect. Feared by many, respected by few, they make their way in the universe by profiting on the lives of others, be it through Cardamine trade, slaves, extortion or death. In this vast group, one smaller familia slowly began rising through the ranks of wealth and power known as the Blood Roses. Federico Antonio Bloodrose, a ruthless man known to have only one true love in his life, his beautiful and elegant wife, Rosetta Bloodrose.

Many a man sought after this beautiful and rare woman, though none we ever able to capture her as Federico did. The day of their wedding, Federico swore to keep her safe, that no one would ever harm or threaten his “Little Rose” and that she would live a long and happy life. Federico began a campaign to spread the Blood Roses dominion throughout Sirius, a renewed effort fueled by the fire of the woman he loved more than life itself. He would have never thought, that only 11 months later, his promise would be so easily broken, his beloved lifeless in her birthing bed as the nurse held his newborn daughter.

The next 5 years would turn out to be hard, long, and full of failures, defeat, and disgrace. The loss of Rosetta shook Federico to his very core, his drive to spread the Blood Roses influence through Sirius now gone, the flame extinguished that very night his daughter was born. Federico rarely met with his now 5 year old daughter, leaving the nurses and maids to take care of her.

The five year old girl, Marissa Bloodrose, name chosen by mother a week before giving birth, was as common a child as they come. She spent much of the time on Federico’s ship, enjoyed playing in the hydroponics bay which doubled as a garden. She would frequently play hide and seek from her caretakers for hours, draw pictures of stars and planets, and slowly fall asleep as her nanny's read her books. As was her father's custom, he would give Marissa a present on her birthday, a day which many in the Blood Roses mourned the loss of Rosetta, though there would always be a small party given to the young girl. Her father never did much with her, visiting her once a or twice a week to keep up appearances, though on her 6th birthday, all of that would change.

Marissa was happily sitting at the long table, Federico's council and their wives seated, eating quietly as the young girl happily sang a song she loved from old italy. Once the meal was completed, gifts were passed down the table to the joy filled girl. as she unwrapped them, she grew more and more excited until her last gift, given to her by Federico was set before her. Looking at it, a small frown appeared on her lips. “Papa, why does Mama never give me a gift?” The question was simple, the girl simply wondering what any young child would in such a situation, yet her words cut deep into Federico. Standing, Federico turned and left the large dining room, shoving one of his indentured butlers into a wall as he passed through the door. That day would mark the end of the girls happy life, and the beginning of a hell she would not escape for 21 more years.

Over the course of the next 3 years, Federico visited his daughter often, he forced her to become highly addicted to the lethal drug Cardamine, beat her constantly, and left her with nothing but pain and sadness. Her injuries were kept secret from the other Blood Roses as a father doing such a thing to child in the familia was a death sentence, a law set forth by Federico himself many years before. As Marissa grew older, and school became a necessity, Federico decided that his daughter did not deserve such lavish accommodations as most high ranking members of the familia would be given for their children's educational needs. He sent Marissa off to a public school on Malta, left to live in a small apartment with one of his maids, only to return to the Bloodrose Mansion for 2 days a week. It is in this setting that Marissa first me Angelica.

Angelica was as common as they come, a young child, going to familia run school, her father a power plant worker, and mother, a beautiful and caring woman named Fabiana Agostino, who Marissa would soon begin referring to as “Mama August”. Marissa never told Angelica, or Angel as she called her, who she really was and angel never truly asked. One day, when Angelica was 11, two men visited her house while the two girls were in school. They dressed in black suits, wearing fresh roses in the lapels. They took Fabiana from her house, never to be seen or heard from again.

Marissa, or Rise as her friends soon began calling her never knew that her father orchestrated the kidnapping of her best friend Angelica’s mother, to be taken to the slave fields of Malta, simply because Federico did not like Marissa calling another woman “Mama”. Rise would come to comfort Angel as best she can for the next few years, the two girls growing closer and closer, more so than two friends would normally be.

On Angelica's 21st birthday, Rise would find her standing on the doorstep of the small apartment belonging in secret to the Bloodrose familia. Angels eyes were covered in tears, her body drenched from the downpour as she stood in the dim light cast by the streetlamp just next to the small building. Rise took her into her apartment, helped remove her clothes giving her a fresh pair of her own so that she would not catch cold. Marissa listened to Angelica's story, hearing of the men in black, the blood on the ground, soaking her father's clothes, and of the last words her father spoke to her.

Marissa feared the worst, thinking that her father would come for Angelica next. She had done everything in her power over the last 12 years since Angelica’s mother was taken from her, to keep her father, and the girl she secretly loved safe. Sadly, it had not been enough. Rise held Angelica in her arms as she cried, screaming out at times, going quiet at others. She listened to her tell of her mother's disappearance, of the hardships she and her father went through ever since, and of the fear she lived with on a daily basis. Finally, as she seemed to be calming down, Marissa softly spoke to her, telling her that everything would alright, and that she would not let anything more happen to “Her Angel”.

Hearing Rise call her this, Angelica looked into the girls eyes, finding for the first time, a feeling she never knew was there. After a long silence, Rise leaned forwards, gently pressing her lips to that of Angelica's, her feelings for her best friend of 14 years finally revealing themselves. Angelica didn’t seem to fight the embrace, as she actually, slowly returned the Love she never knew she had for Marissa .

Over the next week, Rise managed to anonymously set up a proper funeral for Angelicas Father, though unfortunately, federico discovered what his daughter had done At the last minute, 40 Bloodrose enforcers including Federico arrived, standing at the back of the gathered friends and families as the priest spoke. Marissa did not attend the funeral, something she had told Angelica she would do, though the reasons were do to her father having beaten her into a temporary coma.

Once the ceremony was concluded, many friends of Angelica’s father approached her, giving their condolences and love. At one point, Federico approached the young woman, his stature standing easily half a meter higher than her own. He took her hand in his own, bowing low, giving the back a gentle kiss. He asked who she was in regard to the deceased, Angelica obviously lied as she didn’t trust anyone by then. They looked into each others eyes for a few, tense moments before, with a kind smile, Federico took his leave.

A few days later, one of her Angelica’s father's co workers came by to give her the last paycheck from the factory of which he worked. The man knew she was living with a friend, though Marissa was currently away, as she had shopping that needed to be done. Looking around the apartment as Angelica poured him a drink, he caught sight of a single picture on the mantle, one of Marissa at the age of 14, standing in front of a dock, a sarissa in the background with the Bloodrose emblem emblazoned on its hull. Taking the picture in his hands, the gentleman ran to the kitchen, asking the startled girl where she’d found such a picture. Angelica told him that the girl in the picture was Marissa, her best friend from school, who now worked at the flower shop down the street. shocked that the information he’d just heard, the older gentleman informed Angelica that Marissa was in fact, Marissa Bloodrose, daughter to Federico Bloodrose, the same man she met at the funeral, and her fathers murderer by proxy.

Horror struck at such a revelation, Angelica waited for Marissa to return home, and when she walked through the door, Marissa was met with eyes, so full of hate, and murderous intent, she knew her secret had finally been revealed. Angel began shouting insults, screaming threats and released all her built up anger she'd felt about her father's murder for an hour straight. Finally as she had worked herself into an unsteady, shaky, and weak state, Marissa helped Angelica back to their bedroom. Holding Angelica as she weakly struggled against Rise’s grasp to no avail, She moves her lips to Angels ear, whispering into it, “I am a Bloodrose.”

The next few moments would determine the course that the two girls would take, leading to the most unthinkable acts of bravery and daring ever to bee seen in a familia in over 100 years. Angel, sat there, her eyes wide, heart pounding, and mind racing. Fear, dread, sorrow, hate, anger, and disgust all ran through her very being as Marissa held her tight, not letting her go for fear of angel doing something drastic as she had confirmed what Angel had been told. Once Marissa knew it was safe to continue, feeling Angelica grow even weaker in her arms; she gently pushed Angel down on the bed, the girl lying on her back with Marissa atop her. With her knees straddling Angels left leg, her hands firmly yet gently holding the girls shoulders to the bed, Marissa began telling her story, one that no one had ever heard in its entirety.

“Angel, I was born into the Bloodrose familia, my father is Federico Bloodrose, my mother, Rosetta Bloodrose. I never met her due to her dying as she gave birth to me. My father never forgot who it was that killed his beloved, the only thing that mattered to him in the universe, and he never let me forget it… He forced me to start taking Cardamine at the age of 6, he beat me, strangled me, broke my bones and pulled out my hair every chance he got...... You… you know I hate men…. My father is the reason… He has plenty of other women, slaves, maids, even women in other familia that would jump at the chance to be with him… even his personal slave, Serena, isn’t enough for him to take out his frustrations.”

Tears were now filling Rise’s eyes, her body trembling from her emotions as they began to build inside her, the culmination of 15 years of abuse, hate, fear, and madness all coming to a head.

“I hate my father, Angelica… HATE him!! I would do anything if it meant his death… but I am not capable of doing such a thing, as the familia would take my head, the moment the knife went into his heart… I’ve done everything I can over the past 10 years to keep my father from ruining your life… I… I did everything… even.. with other men.. I.. I’ve done things I’m not proud of… but.. I wanted to protect you… to.. to protect my friend… to… protect.. the girl I… I love.”

Seeing the shocked look in Angelica's eyes, unable to think of what to say next, as was the same for Angelica, Rise did the one thing she knew they enjoied. Slowly leaning forward, The two girls lips met. Soft, warm, and passionate, the two girls lips continued to meet over and over again for an unknown length of time. When next the two girls spoke, it was when Angelica awoke, as they had both fallen asleep, Rise atop Angel, their kiss and emotions helping the two girls sleep peacefully for the first time in as long as they could remember.

Over the next day, Marissa told Angelica of her ideas, her plans, and what she would need for them to come to fruition. She told of how she holds a proper rite to lead the Bloodroses as she was Federico's only living heir. She told of the men she knew that were loyal to federico, and of the ones that weren’t, of the members that would call for his blood should they find out what he’d been doing to his own daughter for years, and of what it would take to succeed in taking over the familia.

Listening to all of this, Angel told of what she thought would work, revealing to Marissa that her best friend and love had a mind for strategy and cunning. With Rise’s leadership ability, connections, and money, along with Angels wit, the two girls devised a plan to rid the universe of Federico Bloodrose, and take the seat as “Head of the Bloodrose Familia”.

The two girls plans would come to play out only 2 weeks later, as federico visited the very factory Angelicas father worked most of his life. The coup was quick, clean, and calculated. Before anyone knew it, Federico was on his knees, looking up at Angelica as she pulled the trigger, ending the reign of Federico Bloodrose, signaling the new beginning for the Bloodrose Familia.

The first few months of Rise and Angelicas reign as the heads of the Bloodrose Familia were rocky to say the least, though, against the urging of the council, the two girl married before an audience of 1000 bloodrose members. To some, the Bloodrose familia is nothing but a bunch of upstarts, lead by two girls who have their heads in the clouds, without any clue as to what it takes to lead. To most however, when the name “Bloodrose” comes up in conversation, the thought of such a dysfunctional, yet well organised, cold, and calculating familia sends cold chills through the veins. As the saying goes, Every Rose has it’s thorn, and for Rise Bloodrose, such a thorn is more deadly than ten thousand naval vessels.

Marissa “Rise” Bloodrose, took over her familia from her father, Federico Antony Bloodrose, including all his possessions, wealth, and power. She took His personal Slave, Serena, and gave her something more than servitude. she gave her the ability to command men, and fight for the girl’s that saved her from such a hellish life. Angelica leads alongside Marissa, commonly leading from aboard their Ranseur Dreadnought, the MNS Scarlet Dawn, and it is said that if you ever catch scent of a Rose, then death isn’t far behind.

Nathan Carter was a self-made man. Nobody could scratch that from his resumé. He made his money as a dock rat on Houston, with various smuggling types that converged around the planet. They needed people who could unload and pawn off their cargo, and he was all about that.

He was brought up in an orphanage. Nothing lasted than a few moments there. If he made friends, they’d get older, they’d get taken away to new homes. It was the feeling of helplessness that created his dreams. With the lack of a compelling present, he started inventing futures for himself. Futures with fame, power and money. It was just the matter to make them come true.

On his seventeenth birthday, he was released from the orphanage and slingshotted into the world. He had no money and no place to go. His first ship was a stolen CSV, which he got from one of the smugglers he worked for at the docks. With a load of Cardamine, he had a kickstart. First stop was Buffalo. There were always some Rogues who’d want the drug, and he understood why. After all, the orange powder was something he liked to sometimes use as well. Rogues would use them for themselves or just pass it on to Lane Hackers, civilians, Junkers, whoever. Once it left Nathan’s hands, he did not care anymore.

Some of the Rogues liked what he was doing. He was an entrepreneur, with a clear sight into the future, yet he knew that business did not make any friends. Despite his involvement in the black markets of Liberty, he had ins to the corporations. After all, they needed things as well. Some things could not be acquired without proper reputation, and Nathan was a person with reputation, which he used to his full extent. Ageira needed Hacker stuff, USI and DSE wanted protection from pirates. He and his men could deliver, most of the time.

What outraged him was the ruthlessness of Liberty. He worked hard not to ever be discovered with his deliveries, always having in the back of the head that he had a position to hold. When an occasion showed up, he was able to break into and skim through the corporate records. It turned out there were many like him, he discovered he was treated like a lower-class worker. Politely, sure, but with little respect and trust.

He hated these corporations. He hated these men, walking around Detroit, Newark or Trenton corridors, he hated their arrogance and their sense of entitlement. The antipathy started being mutual. He’d already made his pile, but they cut him out. The novelty was gone and his connections, one by one, cooled, dried up and blew away.

The corporations were setting themselves up as states within states, beyond the rule of law. They hired their own special forces. The old order did not apply anymore. They tried to be the new rulers of Sirius.

One night, in a bar at Alcatraz, he had a conversation that changed the course of his life. He met a woman, tall, black-haired, with a noticeable Maltese accent and most importantly, with a vision. She was talking wild, about the imbalance of wealth and power, capitalism and corporate powershifts. Of how he’d be in charge of her operations in Liberty. He was intrigued, it hit hard on his instincts.

Nathan was seduced with the strange woman's words. He liked that map of the future, he had money, he had the power, why not? Sure, keep talking, ma’am. Sorry, what was your name again? Oh, yeah. Carry on, Rise Bloodrose.