Sub Rosa

The Sub Rosa is the Head of the Department of Intelligence and a member of the Board of Department Heads. She is one of the Firstborn among the Flowers, and is a rosebush with large pinkish flowers. As is the case with some other Flowers, the Sub Rosa is usually referred to as "she." This may or may not be purely an honorific.

History[]

Origins[]

The Sub Rosa first sprouted as an ordinary plant on the world later known as Origin. When the black hole at the centre of Origin's star system emitted several bursts of radiation, the Sub Rosa was awoken by the second pulse.^[1] She engaged in a mind-altering communion with the other Firstborn,^[1] and after the third and final pulse, acted as a mediator between the Firstborn and the younger Flowers.^[1]

The Sub Rosa worked with the other Firstborn in the complex that would become known as Headquarters. When the Sunflower Official founded the Organisation, she was placed in the Admin Department under the Marquis de Sod, with responsibility for intelligence gathering.^[2]

During the Civil War over Origin, the Department of Intelligence was split off from the Admin Department, with the Sub Rosa as its head.^[3] She remained in an active role; when a plothole opened from Origin, she was one of the first Flowers to pass through it, and took a pivotal role in defending the evacuation of the planet.^[4]

The Reorganisation[]

Following the Reorganisation, the Sub Rosa became part of the newly formed Board of Department Heads, and thus one of the leaders of the PPC.

Board of Flowers[]

The Sub Rosa and her department played a key role in defending HQ during the attacks on the building in 2006. She remained on the Board of Department Heads following its restructuring at that time, and after the Swan's Egg event was a member of the third incarnation of the Board.^[5]

Name[]

Sub rosa does not actually refer to a type of rose, but rather is a (very apt) Latin phrase meaning "beneath the rose," a reference to secrecy. The Sub Rosa's actual species is purely a guess; there are hundreds of types of rose.