Relationships!
CANON
General Angilo, Earth Forces
Angilo is probably the most important person in Derek Rayne's life. They first met via radio signal; Rayne was defending the last standing Martian base in a war that had lasted five years, and Angilo had orders to bring it down. The conversations between them were private, leader-to-leader, and consisted of Angilo asking Rayne, repeatedly, to surrender. When Rayne refused, Angilo attacked the base with lethal gas, killing almost everyone inside - but reviving all senior staff, including Rayne.
Months later, Rayne, a prisoner of war, was released on a sort of parole in the Earth government's new program. It was illegal for Martian soldiers to leave Earth, illegal for them to be unemployed, and illegal for them to be employed by anyone but the Earth government. Martian officers were left in the custody of Earth officers, often in groups. Abuse was rampant, as was mistreatment.
Rayne wasn't in a group. Rayne was in Angilo's custody.
Cut off from everything that he knew, everything that he believed in, and forced to work for his former enemy government, Rayne was disoriented, alone, and darkly depressed. He attempted suicide, though Angilo managed to save his life, but felt too trapped to try any more blatant acts of defiance.
Finally, he and Angilo fell into a twisted love-hate relationship. And that love-hate relationship, as it went on, became the only right thing in the world, for either of them.
Rayne escaped, after a year of captivity, and went on to take over his entire planet and use it to declare war back on Earth, with a new plan for victory. However, he once again turned himself in, upon hearing news of an unauthorized attack plan, in order to save Angilo's life. Angilo was saved, but the war was already too far gone to stop, and Rayne kidnapped Angilo in order to take his smartest enemy out of commission.
After a few fierce battles, Rayne himself was captured, again, but this time by a group of rogue Earth soldiers led by a former lieutenant of Angilo's. He was brainwashed, and set against Martian forces. Angilo volunteered to fight against him, and the two were once again on opposite sides, only this time Angilo did everything he could to stop Rayne without killing him.
Senator Maurina d'Jorian
Maurina d'Jorian has been a companion of Rayne's for a very long time. The two of them are from the same Haven, namely Whitefall, a Haven renowned for militant views. The two of them first met at a fundraiser for Rayne's university. He was an undergraduate, she a potential donor. Despite the age gap between them, there was some sort of fascination there.
He ended up sleeping with her, but it never turned into anything more, and the two parted on amicable terms.
They met again years later, after Rayne became a Martian officer. They were both trapped in the Battle of Toridia, and then captured, which gave them an even deeper bond of fellowship. However, when Rayne was declared dead, d'Jorian was shipped back to Mars. She took the reins of the war-torn and occupied planet, only briefly mourning the loss of her friend.
Then, a year later, Rayne showed up again. She was overjoyed to see him and, due to his overwhelming popularity, got the Senate to authorize giving him command of all remaining Martian forces.
A few weeks later, Rayne used those forces to take over Mars. D'Jorian was shocked, and she tried to stop him, but her attempts were overruled by force. In desperation, she tried to disable or assassinate him, but he caught her in time and threw her in prison. The once-close pair are now very much opposed to one another, especially since Rayne has started fighting for the Earth side.
Vivian Dominic
Rayne and Vivian, an extremely clever spy in the service of Mars, bonded when Rayne was a supply officer working as attache to the commander of all Martian forces, General Masalle. They worked extremely closely together and formed an immediate bond of trust, often sharing information with one another that wasn't strictly necessary, but, in some cases, ended up saving lives.
The respect she held for him led her to keep searching for him, even after Earth declared him dead. She found him, on Earth, and managed to rescue him from their custody, bringing him back to Mars. She was one of the few who respected his choice to step up and lead, though she didn't say as much outright, preferring instead to keep to the shadows.
They still have their professional, respectful relationship.
Major James Whitman
James Whitman idolized Derek Rayne. At first it was just the respect one junior officer had for a senior officer; then, Whitman became Rayne's lieutenant, and his most trusted subordinate, and Whitman enjoyed the attention immensely.
Whitman wasn't high-ranking enough to be kept prisoner on Earth, so he was returned to Mars when Rayne was declared dead. He was devastated at the loss of his mentor, but did what he thought Rayne would do in his place, which was keep together as much of the scattered Martian military as he could. Rayne returned to take command, and put Whitman in as his second, but Whitman was appalled at the change in the man who was once his hero, especially when he found out about Rayne's feelings for Angilo.
Whitman persuaded d'Jorian that Rayne had to be taken out, still smarting from what he felt was Rayne's betrayal. He was thrown in jail along with d'Jorian, after their plot.
THE WAKE
Lieutenant Rip Van Winkle
When Rayne awakened, to the city of Nautilus, one of the first sights that greeted him over the network was a Nazi woman named Rip Van Winkle showing off her swastika-themed opera house and threatening to shoot anyone who got close. Needless to say, he didn't have any excessive fondness for anyone that completely insane, and he told her so, at the first chance he got. Surprisingly, she didn't react with hostility, and Rayne's frustrated sarcasm turned rapidly into a back-and-forth sort of banter. Almost friendly.
Rayne, just removed from being a prisoner of war, was deeply vulnerable, scarred, and in pain; Rip's company was no threat to any of those conditions, and it relaxed him to be around someone that he couldn't hurt, and that he didn't find sexually threatening. He taught her hand-to-hand combat; she taught him how to shoot, and he found that earning her respect was more important to him than staying alone.
Eventually, the friendship between them progressed to the point where Rayne was forced to admit that he had feelings for her - that somehow, this incredibly violent, unrepentantly evil vampire had resonated with a part of him that he couldn't deny. They fell into a strange sort of relationship, marred by the occasional attack or act of torture. He trusts her the most of anyone in Nautilus, and, honestly, more than most of the people back home.