I heard there was a new pirate out there, raiding the spacelanes. Turned out to be two; the Blackrend twins, Alain and Angela. Well... at least they're not as rude as some other pirates I've met.
—An Outer Rim merchant
Alain Blackrend was a male Human from Corellia, who, along with his twin sister Angela, became one of the early important captains of the Pirates' Republic of Calt. Besides founding what would eventually become House Blackrend with his sister, Alain was separately infamous for a number of misdeeds, including the theft of a number of Sith artifacts, the boarding and capture of a number of government, military, and privately-owned starships, and the successful raiding and blockade of a number of minor Outer Rim planets. Early on in his career, however, Alain worked primarily as a smuggler, operating as part of missions led by other, more experienced criminals, such as Leozav Varino. In the process of becoming a leader of these illegal missions himself, Alain was offered a letter of marque by the Diet of the Ethereal Demesnes, along with his sister, to become privateers based on Calt; seeing no desire to return to Corellia, they both accepted the offer. In the grand scheme of galactic affairs, the twins became most well-known for the largest operation they executed jointly; the Mission to Kelgaltis III.