Vespeterium Minor
26-06-2005, 22:55
The Family Vespeterium are one of the most powerful business families in the known Universe, possessing a personal fortune of around $47 billion and trading everything from pencils to planets. The Family have been defacto rulers of the state Cravordorian Minor (now named Vespeterium Minor) for the past 103 years when they funded the overthrow of the monarchy, and pratically bankrolled the Republic since then. The country was recently renamed when the Families personal armies overthrew the Republic in a civil war that lasted two years. The Chairman of the company then became the head of state as well as head of the powerful business outfit, having the ultimate say so in all state affairs. The most recent Chairman is Paulo Von Gerrit Alask Simone Roderill Vespeterium III, who took over from his Grandmother Seira Michga Alask Kimi Kerr Vespeterium VII three years ago, after she had overseen the company for 59 years.
The Family first became associated with business when 307 years ago, Paulo Von Gerrit Alsak Simone Roderill Vespeterium I and his sister Kimi Akhill Von Michga Revel Vespeterium I began a small trade of rock salt to the plains of the Northern Cravordorian Kingdom. Kimi gained favour with Prince Henri Cravordorian and became one of his 10 wives. When he became King he recognised the family Vespeterium as a legitimate business allowed to trade within the Kingdom and abroad.
However, the family remained a small company until 100 years later. The greatest business men in the land all formed together in the Fingallian pact (the name of the most powerful business family in the Kingdom) and the Family Vespeterium were included as one of 37 different companies. This pact was one of mutual friendship between the major companies. If the head of a company died, the heir wouldn't be hereditary. The company, and fortune, of the deceased would be split between all surviving members of the pact in an even distribution. At the same time, the exeedingly ruthless Walter Conrad Paulo Von Reggal Vespeterium II came to power as the companies chairman. While he was only chairman for five years, he had more affect on the families fortunes than anybody else. On 15th July, Walter invited all the business chairman to his mansion for a business meeting. What happened next is known as the 'Night of Long Knives', as the mansion exploded killing everybody indside, exept Walter, who had conviently gone outside for 'some air'. Under the pact, this placed every single company and its fortune under the control of the family Vespeterium making them, in one night, the most powerful business company in the land. The next day the Family Vespeterium withdrew from the Fingallian pact. It was an open secret that all the men had been eliminated by Walter, but Roderiv Fingallian, the eldest son of the headless family failed to prove this in court, partly because there was no proof that Walter had blown up his own mansion (three members of the Vespeterium family had died in the explosion, unfortunate victims of Walters plotting who had figured that if family members died, people wouldn't suspect him) and partly because Walter had bribed the judges. Fingallian got his revenge by assasinating Walter, but his subsequent execution ended Fingallian power forever.
The Family Vespeterium gradually built upon their power base over the next few years. 53 years after the 'Night of Long Knives' the Family took another contoversial turn when Paulo Von Gerrit Alsak Simone Roderill Vespeterium II refused to abolish slave labour within the company (slavery is entirley non-racial here) while the other companies did. This turned out to be positive for the company as, while all other companies suffered from strikes, unions and having to pay ever higher prices to their workers, the Family Vespeterium could provide a cheap and efficient workforce that would destroy all opposition.
At the turn of a new century, revolutionary fervour had overtaken the country and the a civil war began between the increasingly corrupt monarchy and Republicans led by Veera Michden Carla Belle. Both sides lobbied to the family to join there side, the Family Vespeterium had billions of dollars, as well as a personal army of 350,000 highly trained men (mostly foreign mercaneries) and a slave army of around 3 million. The family had been propping up the monarchy for the past 50 years, protecting it against revolutionary attacks, but the wind had changed now and the family saw the potential of supporting a Republic. The family threw their weight behind Veera Belle, and the monarchy collapsed. Part of the deal for aid to the Republic had been the abolition of all other companies within the newly established Republic of Cravordorian, and the Family Vespeterium were left as the only business family in the new Republic, and de facto rulers of the state.
In 50 years the company began to trade in planets with neighbouring states and sometimes systems. Seira Vespeterium perfected a cleansing process to eliminate all primative life on a planet by using the 'Death Virus' eliminating every lifeform. A later process was invented known as 'Vespeterium Fire' which would burn the virus away with a kind of aerial napalm, while not damaging the planet landscape. It cut the three month waiting time for the Virus to die. This became the families speciality and planets were sold far and wide.
Then came the most recent history. Carl Michaelson, the latest President of the Republic, resented the influence the family had over state affairs. He announced that the Republic was breaking its connections with the Family Vespeterium and establishing a Free Market. Both sides geared up for a war that would last two years, and end the Republic. On the 5th February 2005, the forces of the Family Vespeterium marched into the capital of the defeated Republic. To avoid conflict again, the Chairman of the Company is also named President, and the country is now run completley by the family. The name of the state was changed to 'The Republic of Vespeterium Minor', on the 7th of February, and then to 'The Family Business of Vespeterium Minor' on the 25th of June. The Family Vespeterium own a personal army of around 450,000 men and 2.5 million slaves. They can also call upon a conscripted force of 3 million men from the state, but this is usually avoided through fear of revolt.
The Family first became associated with business when 307 years ago, Paulo Von Gerrit Alsak Simone Roderill Vespeterium I and his sister Kimi Akhill Von Michga Revel Vespeterium I began a small trade of rock salt to the plains of the Northern Cravordorian Kingdom. Kimi gained favour with Prince Henri Cravordorian and became one of his 10 wives. When he became King he recognised the family Vespeterium as a legitimate business allowed to trade within the Kingdom and abroad.
However, the family remained a small company until 100 years later. The greatest business men in the land all formed together in the Fingallian pact (the name of the most powerful business family in the Kingdom) and the Family Vespeterium were included as one of 37 different companies. This pact was one of mutual friendship between the major companies. If the head of a company died, the heir wouldn't be hereditary. The company, and fortune, of the deceased would be split between all surviving members of the pact in an even distribution. At the same time, the exeedingly ruthless Walter Conrad Paulo Von Reggal Vespeterium II came to power as the companies chairman. While he was only chairman for five years, he had more affect on the families fortunes than anybody else. On 15th July, Walter invited all the business chairman to his mansion for a business meeting. What happened next is known as the 'Night of Long Knives', as the mansion exploded killing everybody indside, exept Walter, who had conviently gone outside for 'some air'. Under the pact, this placed every single company and its fortune under the control of the family Vespeterium making them, in one night, the most powerful business company in the land. The next day the Family Vespeterium withdrew from the Fingallian pact. It was an open secret that all the men had been eliminated by Walter, but Roderiv Fingallian, the eldest son of the headless family failed to prove this in court, partly because there was no proof that Walter had blown up his own mansion (three members of the Vespeterium family had died in the explosion, unfortunate victims of Walters plotting who had figured that if family members died, people wouldn't suspect him) and partly because Walter had bribed the judges. Fingallian got his revenge by assasinating Walter, but his subsequent execution ended Fingallian power forever.
The Family Vespeterium gradually built upon their power base over the next few years. 53 years after the 'Night of Long Knives' the Family took another contoversial turn when Paulo Von Gerrit Alsak Simone Roderill Vespeterium II refused to abolish slave labour within the company (slavery is entirley non-racial here) while the other companies did. This turned out to be positive for the company as, while all other companies suffered from strikes, unions and having to pay ever higher prices to their workers, the Family Vespeterium could provide a cheap and efficient workforce that would destroy all opposition.
At the turn of a new century, revolutionary fervour had overtaken the country and the a civil war began between the increasingly corrupt monarchy and Republicans led by Veera Michden Carla Belle. Both sides lobbied to the family to join there side, the Family Vespeterium had billions of dollars, as well as a personal army of 350,000 highly trained men (mostly foreign mercaneries) and a slave army of around 3 million. The family had been propping up the monarchy for the past 50 years, protecting it against revolutionary attacks, but the wind had changed now and the family saw the potential of supporting a Republic. The family threw their weight behind Veera Belle, and the monarchy collapsed. Part of the deal for aid to the Republic had been the abolition of all other companies within the newly established Republic of Cravordorian, and the Family Vespeterium were left as the only business family in the new Republic, and de facto rulers of the state.
In 50 years the company began to trade in planets with neighbouring states and sometimes systems. Seira Vespeterium perfected a cleansing process to eliminate all primative life on a planet by using the 'Death Virus' eliminating every lifeform. A later process was invented known as 'Vespeterium Fire' which would burn the virus away with a kind of aerial napalm, while not damaging the planet landscape. It cut the three month waiting time for the Virus to die. This became the families speciality and planets were sold far and wide.
Then came the most recent history. Carl Michaelson, the latest President of the Republic, resented the influence the family had over state affairs. He announced that the Republic was breaking its connections with the Family Vespeterium and establishing a Free Market. Both sides geared up for a war that would last two years, and end the Republic. On the 5th February 2005, the forces of the Family Vespeterium marched into the capital of the defeated Republic. To avoid conflict again, the Chairman of the Company is also named President, and the country is now run completley by the family. The name of the state was changed to 'The Republic of Vespeterium Minor', on the 7th of February, and then to 'The Family Business of Vespeterium Minor' on the 25th of June. The Family Vespeterium own a personal army of around 450,000 men and 2.5 million slaves. They can also call upon a conscripted force of 3 million men from the state, but this is usually avoided through fear of revolt.