Aliprandi Clan

Donatella is the oldest of the Marquise Della Scala, a cadet branch of Aliprandi clan. Although her family is too distantly related to figure into the succession line, they are held in high consideration from their Aliprandi cousins for their higher rank of Marquises, their possessions and their flawless manners.

To her fellow nobles, Donatella is a pleasing woman. She's friendly, resourceful, even generous and doting, with a plethora of adoring "ladies in waiting" who constanty put her on a pedestal. But for all her aristocratic airs and graces, she's still a snob who will ignore the very existence of anyone from gentry or even lower class as if they're simply unfit to be in her presence.

Donatella works in fashion department and is an investor to the Aliprandi Fashion run by Laudomia. Unmarried, she's wooed by a great number of suitors, but has yet to find one that matches her expectations in terms of title and rank.

She is a beautiful lady in her forties, with luxuriant dark hair that she wears in bouffant hairdos and deep ocean blue eyes. She likes to show off her wealth by wearing exclusive, fur accented outfits embroidere with diamonds and pearls, as well as a lot of expensive jewelry. Donatella is the sister of Tullio.

He is Donatella's brother, of almost ten years her junior. Their parents died when he was still in his teens, and his sister took charge of the family and of raising him. Tullio considers Donatella a formidable woman for this and the two siblings are very close.

The younger Marquise Della Scala works as a real estate agent and manager. He keeps tabs on most of the Clan's estates and is very often busy with his work. But no less than his cousin Roberto Aliprandi, it doesn't keep him from leading a somewhat active social life.

Although he is generally friendly and easy going, he won't stick out his neck for someone without an express sign of Donatella (or failing that, Count Anastasio's) agreement. For example, when his wayward cousin Cristina came back to the Clan with her assassin lover and children in tow, Tullio waited for Count Aliprandi's green light before welcoming them back, but afterwards he treated them kindly and even helped them find a new place where to live among the many available villas and mansions that belong to the Clan.

Tullio is openly gay, and has dated some boys in the past, but those were just casual flings; he has yet to find a "Mr Right" with whom he can think of a long term commitment.

He is tall, somewhat lanky, with shoulder-length dark brown hair, a goatee and the same blue eyes of his sister.

Blanche is the daughter of a female cousin of Anastasio and Cornelius who married the late Count De Corallia, a noble of spanish heritage. She is distantly related to the Clan, but as the fruit of the union between two ancient noble families, she's very dear to her great-uncle Anastasio.

Living on a space station in a different quadrant of the galaxy, Blanche keeps in contact with the Clan mostly via e-mail, even if there are occasions like great party or social events when she'll travel to meet them. She is a fervent believer in the St Aloysisus faith and was baptized with Aloysian cult; Count Anastasio was her godfather.

Blanche has been married once, to a cousin of Count Von Friedmann. Her husband Heinrich was a war hero in the war, but after he returned from it, the relationship between them grew strained and they ultimatey divorced, thus managing to preserve at least some degree of friendship. Nonetheless, when Heinrich was killed on the battlefiled during a mission, Blanche attended his funeral and has been in friendly terms with the Friedmanns since then.

She is a beautiful woman in her mid-forties, with flowing dark blonde hair and blue eyes.

He is the heir of another cadet branch of Aliprandi as well as of a noble German family; their connection dates back in centuries, the first Aliprandi to marry a Count Von Friedmann was a great-aunt of Anastasio and Cornelius. Years later, the two families would rekindle their ties when a cousin of Wolf, Cavalier Heinrich Von Friedmann, married the daughter of one of Count Anastasio's relatives, Marquise Blanche De Corallia. Even if the wedding went under some years later, it's not tarnished in any way the closeness between Friedmanns and Aliprandi.

Wolf is the last male heir of his family, he had two little girls (Diamante and Iradessa) which he hopes will marry noblemen of good standing when they get older, but that's still a long time ahead into the future as they are only eight years old. His wife died recently, leaving him to run his estate on his own.

He is an imposing man, tall and strong, with flowing silver hair, a moustache and flint grey eyes.

Manfredi is a distant nephew of Countess Isabella and her sister Vittoria. Centuries before, a branch of the Della Rocca family split when the heir heritage chose to go dowager leaving title, estate and the bulk of their fortune to his half-brother; to reflect the surrender of their heritage, the last name was changed into Della Rocchetta. Nonetheless, the two branches stayed in friendly terms and mutually respected each other for having the same blood.

Manfredi is the current living head of the Della Rocchetta family. He continues to lead a separate life from his more noble cousins, but reunites with them for special events. He is married with a soprano singer from the Harmonya, a starship dedicated to the patronage of arts; despite not being an artist himself, Manfredi has moved there to be close to his wife.

He is a pleasant looking, tanned man in his mid-thirties, with dark honey hair and dark brown eyes.

General Goffredo Maria Viendalmare is the uncle of the Marquises Della Scala. This makes him only peripherally related to the "main" branch of the Aliprandi Clan, which does not mean he is not held into highest respect. Due to his brilliant Military career he is on goo terms with both Achille and his boys Andrew and Arthur.

A decorated war hero by no means past his prime, he took part to several campaigns and battles in his lifetime. He mostly served on the SuperNova, but occasionally was assigned to different crew from the height of his experience as a tactician.

Goffredo is a decorated veteran who lost a hand while trying to uheart a mine; he has since got a prostethic robot replacement, but he really only uses it when he is on duty, bravely parading his mutilation in public events as a proof of his honor on the battlefield. A prostethic he does wear for everyday activities is instead his left cybernetic eye, which he needed to have replaced after a genetic condition caused him to develop catharact and could have made him lose his sight.

He is a somber looking man, with olive skin and prematurely graying hair that he keeps cropped in a no-nonsense military fuzz, olive green eyes and a heavy stubble. He's of average height with a lean built, but manages to look intimidating when in full uniform. Often formal, he's not as harsh as some soldier types, and can be an understanding and even sympathetic listener,.

From his wedding with the charitable Baroness Justine Whitehall, founder of the St Aloysius Hospital on the SuperNova, he had two children, Lucrezia and Raniero whom he hopes will get far in life both in terms of success and rank.

Lucrezia is the young heiress of the Viendalmare and Whitehall lineages, a distant Aliprandi cousin who is nonetheless praised for her many talents and inheriting her mother's charitable dispositions.

After Justine's tragical passing for a blotched surgery, Lucrezia took over her mother's place as head of the SuperNova's St. Aloysius Hospital as well as in many other charity organizations which she supervises.

Despite her title and rank, her family isn't as wealth as their other cousins (and nowhere near the Clan's fortune), so Lucrezia's hopes are all for securing herself (or her brother) a respectable wedding sometimes in the near future. Nonetheless she considers herself of blue blood and can be quite arrogant; even her charitable deeds, while undoubtedly good-hearted, stem from a desire to reflect her grandeur onto the poor and needy.

She does, however, harbor a secret betrayal in her heart. When she was a teenager, she fell in love with Arthur Aliprandi and desperately tried to catch his eye at social parties, but Arthur was too set on his military career to pay her attention and Lucrezia was too shy to approach the Count Aliprandis or her own father about a possible betrothal. So she followed his accomplishment from afar and would often write him e-mails, hoping he will eventually notice her interest. But when years later he announced his wedding to a jewelry designed, Lucrezia was heartbroken and spurned. She's never forgiven Vanita for "stealing" Arthur's heart, thus condemning her to a loveless marriage.

Though in public she is good enough at hiding her resentment, she has since stopped purchasing any jewelry from Sterling Co and will generally try to avoid social events to which Arthur and Vanita have been also invited. Also, in the few occasions where she could not avoid meeting them, she's treated the couple (especially Vanita) with icy politeness. While her hatred of Vanita burns fierce still, she also resents Arthur and feels betrayed by him for never paying her attention.

She has long wavy auburn hair and pale jade-green eyes that give her a somewhat feline appearance. Lucrezia is 34.

Raniero is the son of General Goffredo and the late Baroness Justine Whitehall. A brilliant young man of good manners, he grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth and often acts (and considers himself) like nothing short of a prince, albeit aware of his low rank.

Studious and clever, he's easy to get along and can engage in conversation on a range of topics from politics to showbiz to finances to idle chit-chat. He shares his sister's elitist views, considering poors as something of a pity case that must be helped but only because it falls upon the nobles to provide for those in disgrace, and not out of genuine interest.

Raniero is also a bit of a ladies man; he loves flirting and has had a number of dates in his lifetime. He is conscious that he need to marry someone with rank and title and has come to terms with the fact that his wedding probably won't be one of love, but that does not keep him from wooing a large number of ladies - even those who might not be "suitable" as wives - since he intends to keep his relationship "open" even after wedding. He is polyamorous, but not a "playa" and in general tends to treat his girlfriends like goddessess and remain in friendly terms with them even after their eventual breakup.

Raniero is a handsome man of average height with brown hair and blue-green eyes, a thin goatee and very impeccable looks. He is in his early 30s.