House di Firro
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The di Firro family are an ancient and prosperous Rogue Trader Household, tracing their roots back to distant Imperial history. The current head of the Household is Lady-Captain Octavia di Firro. She holds the House’s Warrant of Trade, an ancient and obscenely well-guarded document reportedly signed by Saint Malcador the Hero himself. The di Firros hold the monopoly on the prestigious Sol-Prosperitas Passage, which they notoriously won from the weakened House Durovera in a bet.
According to legend, the founding di Firro Captain, Antonia, was an adventurer and explorer during the Great Crusade, leading the charge of one of the God-Emperor’s Expeditionary Fleets. After a series of highly successful offensive actions in the Segmentum Obscura in early M31, Antonia supposedly sent Expedition Fleet 611’s post-operational report back to Terra. The document was simultaneously so accurate in its victorious and heroic content, and so offensively worded, that Antonia and all her progeny were made fabulously wealthy, granted a Warrant of Trade, and ordered “never to darken the Segmentum Solar again”.
The House arrived in the sector sometime around 150.M41 and made much of its wealth in the push into Subsector Secundus by the Crusade forces, building a considerable number of trading outposts along the borders of the Rimward Marches. The House prides itself on a swashbuckling, daring reputation in the image of its Founder. Younger sons and daughters are encouraged to attach themselves to whatever risky endeavours are currently afoot in the Sector, and are often found serving with Battlefleet Prosperitas, as senior officers in Guard regiments, or as bravos-for-hire on the outer reaches of the Tenebris subsector.
In recent years, the House has accumulated considerable trade power and a further foothold in Subsector Secundus, under the current Head of the House, the feared Octavia di Firro. It is said that the Lady-Captain di Firro is as hard as a flint, having lost all her immediate progeny in a series of tragedies over the last few decades - most recently, the tragic death of her last remaining child, Servilia, during the retaking of Polarnus. In judgement of the ‘inability’ of any of her extended family to assume the role of heir, in 594, Lady-Captain di Firro unexpectedly announced that she had selected a new Scion-Heir: Charon Jensch, the husband of her late eldest son Lucius.
The House's history through the 590s was marked by turmoil during the House Wars. In mid 593 the House entered open conflict with House Majid, with House ships sparring directly over an unnamed vendetta. The conflict continued until the mysterious destruction of the Majid fleet over Midsummer in late 593.
Following the seizure of the Sector Governorship by Lady-Captain Autokrator Hermione Durovera in late 593, and the revolt of House Vilas-Lobo, the di Firros declined to declare for either side - preferring to cement their control over Subsector Secundus, including seizing the vital strategic agriworld of Kydos. When the Autokrator's rule was legitimised by missives from Terra, Lady-Captain Octavia avoided any open defiance, reinforcing di Firro control of vital space-lanes and building support throughout the Sector.
By 595, the House was in a state of uneasy peace with other factions throughout the Sector.
Notable Nobles of House di Firro
Lady-Captain Octavia di Firro is the holder of the di Firro Warrant of Trade. Octavia di Firro is one of the oldest Rogue Traders currently active within the Prosperitas Sector and is a savage foe to any who wrong her or her family. Highly respected and feared by the other Sector Nobility, she is notably vicious and pragmatic as a Captain, and has played a large part in securing the destiny and wealth of her House. During the House conflicts of 593, Lady-Captain Octavia cemented her House’s control over Subsector Secundus and the Prosperitas Trade Spine, including seizing control of Kydos from House Vilas-Lobo. She has declined to ally clearly with either House Durovera or House Vilas-Lobo in their contest for control of the Sector.
Lady-Captain di Firro has suffered a series of tragedies in recent years, losing all three of her adult children – Lucius, Servilia and Anoretta. This has led to her making an unusual decision, as she has no blood heirs. She has adopted Charon di Firro (né Jensch), her late son Lucius' husband, as her heir-designate. Her flagship, the Exile of the Void, is an unnecessarily fast Orion-class star clipper.
Scion-Heir Charon di Firro, unexpectedly nominated heir in 594.M41, is the widower of Octavia's son Lucius. The Scion-Heir is a member of a long-serving line of the Battlefleet’s void-aristocracy and is reported to have quite the history as a Naval Officer despite his apparent youth.
Lucius di Firro [deceased 582.M41] was Lady-Captain Octavia’s son. He attracted some scandal by eloping with a military officer in the early 550s and neglecting his duties as House heir. He wrote a renowned series of journals about his exploits across the Sector. These were collected and published as the Travel Diaries of Lucius di Firro, and they are still popular to this day with pilgrims and tourists. He died during the Caudican Exterminatus in 582.M41, leaving the Lady-Captain in mourning for over a decade.
Anoretta di Firro [deceased 564.M41] was Lady-Captain Octavia’s youngest daughter. She distinguished herself fighting as part of the House Fleet in engagements against pirates at the edge of Imperial territory, and was tragically killed during a boarding action in 564.M41.
Servilia di Firro [deceased 593.M41] was Lady-Captain Octavia’s eldest daughter. She was the most recent Heir to the House until her heroic death leading civilian volunteer forces defending Polarnus from Archenemy incursion in 593.M41.