Malvina Genovese is the second cousin of Vincenzo Garibaldi, thrice removed. The relation may seem distant, but she grew up on her “uncle’s” knee and he taught her how to handle a battlemech when he was a gladiator on Solaris VII, where she lived with her family. Although she adored her uncle, she had no expectation of fighting in the ring herself. Instead, she assumed she would inherit the pizzeria her parents ran in the International Zone.

When the wobbies came to Solaris VII, all that changed. Even with her meager skills, Genovese was recruited into the SHDL and found herself behind the controls of a mech when its former occupant died. She served well, particularly in defense of her beloved International Zone, but when a dispute broke out between a band of gladiators and the Monkeys over access to repair bays, she sided against the Monkeys, not realizing that her uncle was among their number. Geneovese was badly injured in that fight and when Garibaldi discovered what had happened, he stayed at her bedside 24 hours a day, praying for forgiveness, until she recovered. He then vowed that she would never leave his sight again.