{"data":{"id":17122,"title":"Portfolio: Basilisk","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/spectrum-dispatch\/17122-Portfolio-Basilisk","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/17122","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/17122","channel":"Undefined","category":"Undefined","series":"Portfolio","images":[{"id":26463,"name":"source.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/media.robertsspaceindustries.com\/weozjmuuh3hwh\/source.jpg","alt":"","size":843046,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2019-09-19T15:49:32+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/26463","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/26463\/similar"}],"images_count":7,"translations":{"en_EN":"This portfolio originally appeared in Jump Point 5.4.\nCompany History\nIn 2535, High-General Volder toured the facilities of an upstart hull plating manufacturer that, to the shock of many industry insiders, had recently landed a major UPE military contract. Simone Visconti, the company\u2019s chief engineer and CEO, nervously followed along, carrying her research data. She was ready and willing to answer any questions about how her revolutionary techniques had created some of the most damage-resistant hull plating in the Empire. Yet according to legend, High-General Volder had only one question for her. \u201cWhy the hell did you name it Basilisk?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause they\u2019re extremely hard to kill,\u201d responded Visconti. Before she could elaborate on the few ways this mythological creature could reputedly be killed, High-General Volder strode off, indifferent to the details. Historians agree that Volder was focused on the big picture. Simone Visconti, on the other hand, obsessed over every last little factor. This unwavering dedication to detail birthed Basilisk\u2019s reputation as the producer of high quality armor, a distinction that still sticks, even though some claim the company\u2019s product quality has eroded over the years.\n\nBirth of Basilisk\nSimone Visconti was born on Asura in 2509. Her parents worked for one of the major mining conglomerates that fueled the planet\u2019s economic boom. Constant curiosity and intellectual aptitude were apparent in Visconti from a young age, and they eventually earned her a full scholarship to the University of Persei Analytical Research and Quantification (UPARQ). Visconti spent a little over a year studying physics at the prestigious school before abruptly leaving to finish her education at the considerably less-esteemed University of Tram.\n\nWhenever asked about it, Visconti simply said that \u201cit wasn\u2019t for me\u201d \u2014 a phrase friends and colleagues grew accustomed to hearing when something didn\u2019t interest her. However, biographers later learned from Visconti\u2019s UPARQ classmates that by mid-semester of her second year she had become bored with studying physics and wished to switch disciplines to engineering. UPARQ officials denied her request and told her to wait until the following semester to make the adjustment. Instead, Visconti stopped attending classes and spent her time in the library devouring engineering texts. Suddenly, her scholarship was in jeopardy, as the prospect of her failing all her classes became a reality. But rather than return to classes she had no interest in, Visconti simply walked away.\n\nAfter completing her engineering studies at the University of Tram, Visconti borrowed money from her parents and rented a small research lab where she could lose herself in her work \u2014 trying to create photovoltaic hull plating that would simultaneously protect and power ships. Most believed it to be an impossible task, but some who saw her early work were encouraged. Bernard Pak was one of those people. A longtime friend of Visconti\u2019s parents who had made a fortune in local real estate, Pak offered to fund Visconti\u2019s vision by upgrading facilities and hiring a small staff for a significant stake in the company.\n\nAs years wore on without a breakthrough, Pak became increasingly impatient. Eventually, he threatened to stop bankrolling Visconti unless he saw concrete progress. Though she hadn\u2019t solved the mystery of photovoltaic plating, the experimental manufacturing techniques Visconti developed along the way had other advantages. She organized a field test to show Pak how their hull plating withstood damage better than other manufacturers. When Pak saw the results, he immediately knew what to do.\n\nMarket Force\nPak insisted Visconti bring the current hull plating to market, pitching it as a way to ensure her research stayed funded while also allowing him to receive some return on his investment. Pak poured credits into establishing a manufacturing plant, and soon the first pieces of Basilisk ship armor rolled off a Tram production line. The company smartly targeted local mining consortiums and industrial operations by touting their product\u2019s excellent durability. It wasn\u2019t long before demand outpaced supply. Asura\u2019s booming economy (filled with high-skilled, blue-collar workers) and Pak\u2019s real estate prowess allowed them to rapidly expand operations.\n\nMeanwhile, tensions between the UPE and the Xi\u2019an Empire were on the rise. A few years earlier, in 2530, Humanity had stumbled upon the species for the first time in the Pallas System. After the initial diplomatic snafus, mistrust between the two was high. In the face of a possible alien threat, modernizing the military became High-General Volder\u2019s primary mission. The UPE significantly increased military spending just as Basilisk\u2019s new manufacturing facilities came on line. The timing couldn\u2019t have been better. Riding high on their newfound reputation and the fact that their competitors hadn\u2019t had the time to reverse engineer their plating, Basilisk landed a coveted government contract to supply hull armor for the latest line of destroyer-class capital ships.\n\nIn 2541, the UPE\u2019s fear of an alien war came to pass, though the enemy was the Tevarin rather than the Xi\u2019an. As military spending skyrocketed, Basilisk was one of the major beneficiaries. Soon, lucrative government contracts became the company\u2019s bread and butter, making it next to impossible for anyone in the private sector to get their hands on their armor, which in turn only strengthened their reputation in the public\u2019s eye. By the time the First Tevarin War came to an end, Basilisk had become one of the UPE\u2019s leading military suppliers, having expanded their operations to include personal armor and ship shield generators.\n\nBasilisk was the envy of the defense industry. Yet, over the ensuing decades, Visconti grew uncomfortable with her company\u2019s increasing ties to Ivar Messer\u2019s regime. Visconti let her objections be known to the board of directors, only to discover her research budget halved. She stormed into Pak\u2019s office and threatened to quit if the issue wasn\u2019t rectified. Pak claimed the cuts were because her research had failed to produce any further advancements. Supposedly, he said that if she couldn\u2019t live with the cuts then maybe Basilisk \u201cwasn\u2019t for you\u201d anymore.\n\nVisconti sold her stake in the company and used the credits to fund her research. Among her many pursuits, she returned to the one that continued to elude her: photovoltaic plating. Sadly, she never achieved the breakthrough that she envisioned.\n\nBeyond Visconti\nWhen Pak retired in 2586, Francis Kelting, a former advisor to Messer, stepped in and gained control of Basilisk. He signed numerous government contracts that included options and extensions which solidified the ties between the company and the despotic regime for decades to come. Any board member who opposed Kelting\u2019s decisions was quickly unseated or (in one shocking case) convicted of corruption and embezzlement on clearly trumped-up charges.\n\nKelting held onto the reins of power at Basilisk with an iron fist until he suffered a catastrophic heart attack during a particularly intense board meeting in 2673. Legend has it that one board member quipped, \u201cI take it this meeting\u2019s adjourned,\u201d then collected her files and left without offering any help to the man many had come to despise. Basilisk executives spent the following decades trying to undo their Gordian knot of connections to the Messer regime without facing retribution. Then once again, the tides of history intervened in their favor.\n\nIn the late 28th century, mining conglomerates were fleeing the Ferron System in droves after depleting Asura of its resources. Basilisk followed suit, claiming the skyrocketing crime rate was not conducive to its employees\u2019 safety or to beneficial business conditions. The company moved their headquarters and main manufacturing hub to Castra. Internal documents show that board members, eager to disassociate themselves from the growing corruption of the Messer regime, timed the move so that their operations wouldn\u2019t be fully functional when the next round of government contracts became available. Citing a lack of manufacturing capacity, Basilisk extricated themselves from over half of the government contracts that they would have been expected, or more accurately pressured, to undertake.\n\nBasilisk also used the move to Castra to shift their business model back toward the private sector. The market was flooded with products of a similar quality, but few had both Basilisk\u2019s reputation and name recognition. Though they couldn\u2019t avoid their associations with the Messers, ex-military personnel attested to the brand and their initial sales in this new market were encouraging.\n\nAfter the Messer regime finally toppled, the UEE made sweeping changes to the military budget that reshaped the landscape of government contracts. Basilisk soon found themselves having to undercut competitors to retain the government contracts they had come to rely on while re-establishing their place in the civilian and industrial markets. As profit margins shrank on their government contracts, Basilisk was forced to institute cost-cutting measures.\n\nToday, items destined for the UEE military are produced at different facilities and using cheaper materials than their private sector counterparts. Amid accusations of inferior manufacturing, Basilisk insists that all items they produce meet exacting military standards. It is said that Navy pilots often joke that if Basilisk armor is strapped to their ship, then it better have been purchased from their public site.\n\nHowever, despite quality concerns, Basilisk remains a preeminent defense industry manufacturer, and one that has weathered centuries of turmoil thanks to a revolutionary product made possible only because of Simone Visconti\u2019s dedication to the details.","de_DE":"Dieses Portfolio erschien urspr\u00fcnglich in Jump Point 5.4.\nFirmengeschichte\nIm Jahr 2535 besichtigte High-General Volder die Einrichtungen eines aufstrebenden Rumpfveredelungsherstellers, der unter dem Schock vieler Brancheninsider k\u00fcrzlich einen gro\u00dfen milit\u00e4rischen Auftrag der UPE erhalten hatte. Simone Visconti, die Chefingenieurin und CEO des Unternehmens, folgte nerv\u00f6s und trug ihre Forschungsdaten mit sich. Sie war bereit und bereit, alle Fragen dar\u00fcber zu beantworten, wie ihre revolution\u00e4ren Techniken einige der schadensfestesten Rumpfverkleidungen des Imperiums geschaffen hatten. Doch der Legende nach hatte Generalmajor Volder nur eine Frage an sie. \"Warum zum Teufel hast du es Basilisk genannt?\"\n\n\"Weil sie extrem schwer zu t\u00f6ten sind\", antwortete Visconti. Bevor sie auf die wenigen M\u00f6glichkeiten eingehen konnte, wie dieses mythologische Wesen angeblich get\u00f6tet werden konnte, ging Generaloberst Volder los, ohne R\u00fccksicht auf die Details. Historiker sind sich einig, dass Volder sich auf das Gesamtbild konzentriert hat. Simone Visconti hingegen war besessen von jedem einzelnen kleinen Faktor. Diese unersch\u00fctterliche Liebe zum Detail hat Basilisks Ruf als Hersteller hochwertiger R\u00fcstungen wiederbelebt, eine Auszeichnung, die immer noch Bestand hat, obwohl einige behaupten, dass die Produktqualit\u00e4t des Unternehmens im Laufe der Jahre nachgelassen hat.\n\nGeburt von Basilisk\nSimone Visconti wurde 2509 auf Asura geboren. Ihre Eltern arbeiteten f\u00fcr eines der gro\u00dfen Bergbaukonzerne, das den wirtschaftlichen Aufschwung der Welt befl\u00fcgelte. Eine st\u00e4ndige Neugierde und intellektuelle Begabung waren bei Visconti von klein auf zu erkennen, und sie erhielten schlie\u00dflich ein Vollstipendium an der University of Persei Analytical Research and Quantification (UPARQ). Visconti verbrachte etwas mehr als ein Jahr damit, Physik an der renommierten Schule zu studieren, bevor sie abrupt abreiste, um ihre Ausbildung an der wesentlich weniger angesehenen University of Tram abzuschlie\u00dfen.\n\nWenn Visconti danach fragte, sagte er einfach, dass \"es war nicht f\u00fcr mich\" - ein Satz, den Freunde und Kollegen gewohnt waren zu h\u00f6ren, wenn sie etwas nicht interessierte. Sp\u00e4ter erfuhren die Biographen jedoch von Visconti's UPARQ-Kollegen, dass sie es bis zur Mitte des zweiten Jahres gelangweilt hatte, Physik zu studieren und die Disziplin auf Ingenieurwissenschaften umstellen wollte. UPARQ-Beamte lehnten ihren Antrag ab und sagten ihr, sie solle bis zum folgenden Semester warten, um die Anpassung vorzunehmen. Stattdessen h\u00f6rte Visconti auf, an Kursen teilzunehmen und verbrachte ihre Zeit in der Bibliothek damit, technische Texte zu verschlingen. Pl\u00f6tzlich war ihr Stipendium in Gefahr, als die Aussicht auf ihr Scheitern in allen ihren Klassen Realit\u00e4t wurde. Aber anstatt in den Unterricht zur\u00fcckzukehren, an dem sie kein Interesse hatte, ging Visconti einfach weg.\n\nNach Abschluss ihres Ingenieurstudiums an der University of Tram lieh sich Visconti Geld von ihren Eltern und mietete ein kleines Forschungslabor, in dem sie sich in ihrer Arbeit verlieren konnte, um eine photovoltaische Rumpfverkleidung zu entwickeln, die gleichzeitig Schiffe sch\u00fctzen und antreiben sollte. Die meisten glaubten, dass es eine unm\u00f6gliche Aufgabe sei, aber einige, die ihr Fr\u00fchwerk sahen, wurden ermutigt. Bernard Pak war einer dieser Leute. Pak, ein langj\u00e4hriger Freund von Visconti's Eltern, der ein Verm\u00f6gen in lokalen Immobilien verdient hatte, bot an, die Vision von Visconti - die Modernisierung von Einrichtungen und die Einstellung eines kleinen Personals - f\u00fcr eine bedeutende Beteiligung am Unternehmen zu finanzieren.\n\nAls die Jahre ohne Durchbruch weitergingen, wurde Pak immer ungeduldiger. Schlie\u00dflich drohte er damit, die Bankgesch\u00e4fte mit Visconti einzustellen, es sei denn, er sah konkrete Fortschritte. Obwohl sie das Geheimnis der Photovoltaik nicht gel\u00f6st hatte, hatten die experimentellen Fertigungstechniken, die Visconti auf diesem Weg entwickelte, andere Vorteile. Sie organisierte einen Feldtest, um Pak zu zeigen, wie ihre Rumpfverkleidung Sch\u00e4den besser standh\u00e4lt als andere Hersteller. Als Pak die Ergebnisse sah, wusste er sofort, was zu tun war.\n\nMarktmacht\nPak bestand darauf, dass Visconti die aktuelle Rumpfverkleidung auf den Markt bringt und sie als eine M\u00f6glichkeit anbietet, um sicherzustellen, dass ihre Forschung finanziert bleibt, w\u00e4hrend er gleichzeitig eine gewisse Rendite auf seine Investition erzielen kann. Pak goss Kredite in die Errichtung einer Produktionsst\u00e4tte, und bald rollten die ersten St\u00fccke der Basilisk-Schiffspanzerung von einer Stra\u00dfenbahnproduktionslinie. Das Unternehmen richtete sich geschickt an lokale Bergbaukonsortien und Industriebetriebe, indem es die ausgezeichnete Haltbarkeit ihrer Produkte hervorhob. Es dauerte nicht lange, bis die Nachfrage das Angebot \u00fcbertraf. Asuras boomende Wirtschaft - gef\u00fcllt mit hochqualifizierten Arbeitern - und Paks Immobilienkompetenz erlaubten es ihnen, den Betrieb schnell auszuweiten.\n\nUnterdessen nahmen die Spannungen zwischen der UPE und dem Reich Xi'an zu. Einige Jahre zuvor, im Jahr 2530, war die Menschheit im Pallas-System zum ersten Mal auf diese Art gesto\u00dfen. Nach dem anf\u00e4nglichen diplomatischen Snafus war das Misstrauen zwischen den beiden hoch. Angesichts einer m\u00f6glichen au\u00dferirdischen Bedrohung wurde die Modernisierung des Milit\u00e4rs zur Hauptmission von General High-General Volder. Die UPE erh\u00f6hte die Milit\u00e4rausgaben deutlich, gerade als Basilisk's neue Produktionsanlagen in Betrieb gingen. Das Timing h\u00e4tte nicht perfekter sein k\u00f6nnen. Basilisk reitet hoch auf ihrem neu gewonnenen Ruf und der Tatsache, dass ihre Konkurrenten nicht die Zeit hatten, ihre Beschichtung r\u00fcckg\u00e4ngig zu machen, und erhielt einen begehrten Regierungsauftrag zur Lieferung von Schiffsr\u00fcstungen f\u00fcr die neueste Linie von Gro\u00dfschiffen der Zerst\u00f6rerklasse.\n\nIm Jahr 2541 kam die Angst der UPE vor einem au\u00dferirdischen Krieg auf, aber der neue Feind war der Tevarin und nicht der Xi'an. Als die Milit\u00e4rausgaben in die H\u00f6he schossen, war Basilisk einer der gr\u00f6\u00dften Nutznie\u00dfer. Bald wurden lukrative Regierungsauftr\u00e4ge zum Broterwerb des Unternehmens, so dass es f\u00fcr jeden in der Privatwirtschaft fast unm\u00f6glich war, seine R\u00fcstung in die H\u00e4nde zu bekommen, was wiederum seinen Ruf in der \u00d6ffentlichkeit nur noch verst\u00e4rkte. Als der Erste Tevarin-Krieg zu Ende ging, war Basilisk einer der f\u00fchrenden Milit\u00e4rlieferanten der UPE geworden, nachdem sie ihre Aktivit\u00e4ten auf pers\u00f6nliche R\u00fcstungs- und Schiffsschildgeneratoren ausgeweitet hatte.\n\nBasilisk war der Neid der Verteidigungsindustrie. Doch in den folgenden Jahrzehnten f\u00fchlte sich Visconti unwohl mit der zunehmenden Bindung ihres Unternehmens an das Regime von Ivar Messer. Visconti lie\u00df ihre Einw\u00e4nde dem Vorstand bekannt werden, nur um festzustellen, dass sich ihr Forschungsbudget halbiert hat. Sie st\u00fcrmte in Paks B\u00fcro und drohte, aufzuh\u00f6ren, wenn das Problem nicht behoben wurde. Pak behauptete, dass die K\u00fcrzungen darauf zur\u00fcckzuf\u00fchren seien, dass ihre Forschung es vers\u00e4umt habe, weitere Fortschritte zu erzielen. Angeblich sagte er, wenn sie nicht mit den Schnitten leben k\u00f6nnte, dann w\u00e4re Basilisk vielleicht \"nicht mehr f\u00fcr dich\".\n\nVisconti verkaufte ihren Anteil an der Firma und ging weg. Sie nutzte diese Kredite, um ihre Forschung zu finanzieren; unter ihren vielen Bestrebungen kehrte sie zu dem zur\u00fcck, das ihr weiterhin entging: die Photovoltaikbeschichtung. Leider gelang ihr nie der Durchbruch, den sie sich vorgestellt hatte.\n\nJenseits von Visconti\nAls Pak 2586 in den Ruhestand ging, trat Francis Kelting, ein ehemaliger Berater von Messer, ein und \u00fcbernahm die Kontrolle \u00fcber Basilisk. Er unterzeichnete zahlreiche Regierungsvertr\u00e4ge, die Optionen und Erweiterungen beinhalteten, die die Beziehungen zwischen dem Unternehmen und dem despotischen Regime f\u00fcr die n\u00e4chsten Jahrzehnte festigten. Jedes Vorstandsmitglied, das sich den Entscheidungen von Kelting widersetzte, wurde schnell aus dem Verkehr gezogen oder (in einem schockierenden Fall) wegen Korruption und Unterschlagung wegen klar erfundener Anschuldigungen verurteilt.\n\nKelting hielt mit eiserner Faust die Z\u00fcgel der Macht in Basilisk fest, bis er w\u00e4hrend einer besonders intensiven Vorstandssitzung 2673 einen katastrophalen Herzinfarkt erlitt. Die Legende besagt, dass ein Vorstandsmitglied scherzte: \"Ich nehme an, diese Sitzung ist vertagt\", dann sammelte sie ihre Akten und ging, ohne dem Mann, den viele verachtet hatten, Hilfe anzubieten. Basilisk-F\u00fchrungskr\u00e4fte verbrachten die folgenden Jahrzehnte damit, ihren gordischen Knoten der Verbindungen zum Messer-Regime zu l\u00f6sen, ohne mit Vergeltung zu rechnen. Dann noch einmal, die Gezeiten der Geschichte griffen zu ihren Gunsten ein.\n\nEnde des 28. Jahrhunderts flohen Bergbaukonzerne scharenweise aus dem Ferronensystem, nachdem sie Asura ihre Ressourcen entzogen hatten. Basilisk folgte diesem Beispiel und behauptete, dass die explodierende Kriminalit\u00e4tsrate weder der Sicherheit seiner Mitarbeiter noch den g\u00fcnstigen Gesch\u00e4ftsbedingungen f\u00f6rderlich sei. Das Unternehmen verlegte seinen Hauptsitz und seine Hauptfertigungsst\u00e4tte nach Castra. Interne Dokumente zeigen, dass Vorstandsmitglieder, die sich von der zunehmenden Korruption des Messer-Regimes distanzieren wollten, den Schritt so rechtzeitig vollzogen haben, dass ihr Betrieb nicht voll funktionsf\u00e4hig war, wenn die n\u00e4chste Runde von Regierungsvertr\u00e4gen verf\u00fcgbar wurde. Basilisk verwies auf fehlende Produktionskapazit\u00e4ten und befreite sich von mehr als der H\u00e4lfte der Regierungsauftr\u00e4ge, zu deren Durchf\u00fchrung sie erwartet oder genauer gesagt unter Druck gesetzt worden w\u00e4ren.\n\nBasilisk nutzte den Umzug nach Castra auch, um ihr Gesch\u00e4ftsmodell wieder auf den Privatsektor zu verlagern. Der Markt wurde mit Produkten \u00e4hnlicher Qualit\u00e4t \u00fcberflutet, aber nur wenige hatten sowohl den Ruf von Basilisk als auch den Bekanntheitsgrad. Obwohl sie sich ihrer Assoziation mit den Messers nicht entziehen konnten, waren die ehemaligen Milit\u00e4rangeh\u00f6rigen, die die Marke bescheinigten, und ihre ersten Verk\u00e4ufe in diesem neuen Markt ermutigend.\n\nNachdem das Messer-Regime schlie\u00dflich gest\u00fcrzt war, nahm die UEE weitreichende \u00c4nderungen am Milit\u00e4rbudget vor, die die Landschaft der Staatsauftr\u00e4ge ver\u00e4nderten. Basilisk sah sich bald gezwungen, Wettbewerber zu unterbieten, um die Regierungsauftr\u00e4ge, auf die sie sich verlassen hatten, zu erhalten und gleichzeitig ihren Platz auf dem zivilen und industriellen Markt wiederherzustellen. Da die Gewinnmargen bei ihren Regierungsauftr\u00e4gen zur\u00fcckgingen, war Basilisk gezwungen, Kostensenkungsma\u00dfnahmen zu ergreifen.\n\nHeute werden Artikel, die f\u00fcr das UEE-Milit\u00e4r bestimmt sind, an verschiedenen Standorten und mit billigeren Materialien als in der Privatwirtschaft hergestellt. Unter dem Vorwurf der minderwertigen Fertigung besteht Basilisk darauf, dass alle von ihnen hergestellten Artikel hohen milit\u00e4rischen Standards entsprechen. Es wird gesagt, dass Marinepiloten oft scherzen, dass, wenn die Basilisk-R\u00fcstung an ihrem Schiff befestigt ist, sie besser von ihrem \u00f6ffentlichen Standort gekauft wurde.\n\nTrotz aller Qualit\u00e4tsprobleme bleibt Basilisk jedoch ein herausragender Hersteller der Verteidigungsindustrie, der dank eines revolution\u00e4ren Produkts, das nur dank der Liebe von Simone Visconti zu den Details m\u00f6glich wurde, jahrhundertelange Turbulenzen \u00fcberstanden hat.","zh_CN":"This portfolio originally appeared in Jump Point 5.4.\nCompany History\nIn 2535, High-General Volder toured the facilities of an upstart hull plating manufacturer that, to the shock of many industry insiders, had recently landed a major UPE military contract. Simone Visconti, the company\u2019s chief engineer and CEO, nervously followed along, carrying her research data. She was ready and willing to answer any questions about how her revolutionary techniques had created some of the most damage-resistant hull plating in the Empire. Yet according to legend, High-General Volder had only one question for her. \u201cWhy the hell did you name it Basilisk?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause they\u2019re extremely hard to kill,\u201d responded Visconti. Before she could elaborate on the few ways this mythological creature could reputedly be killed, High-General Volder strode off, indifferent to the details. Historians agree that Volder was focused on the big picture. Simone Visconti, on the other hand, obsessed over every last little factor. This unwavering dedication to detail birthed Basilisk\u2019s reputation as the producer of high quality armor, a distinction that still sticks, even though some claim the company\u2019s product quality has eroded over the years.\n\nBirth of Basilisk\nSimone Visconti was born on Asura in 2509. Her parents worked for one of the major mining conglomerates that fueled the planet\u2019s economic boom. Constant curiosity and intellectual aptitude were apparent in Visconti from a young age, and they eventually earned her a full scholarship to the University of Persei Analytical Research and Quantification (UPARQ). Visconti spent a little over a year studying physics at the prestigious school before abruptly leaving to finish her education at the considerably less-esteemed University of Tram.\n\nWhenever asked about it, Visconti simply said that \u201cit wasn\u2019t for me\u201d \u2014 a phrase friends and colleagues grew accustomed to hearing when something didn\u2019t interest her. However, biographers later learned from Visconti\u2019s UPARQ classmates that by mid-semester of her second year she had become bored with studying physics and wished to switch disciplines to engineering. UPARQ officials denied her request and told her to wait until the following semester to make the adjustment. Instead, Visconti stopped attending classes and spent her time in the library devouring engineering texts. Suddenly, her scholarship was in jeopardy, as the prospect of her failing all her classes became a reality. But rather than return to classes she had no interest in, Visconti simply walked away.\n\nAfter completing her engineering studies at the University of Tram, Visconti borrowed money from her parents and rented a small research lab where she could lose herself in her work \u2014 trying to create photovoltaic hull plating that would simultaneously protect and power ships. Most believed it to be an impossible task, but some who saw her early work were encouraged. Bernard Pak was one of those people. A longtime friend of Visconti\u2019s parents who had made a fortune in local real estate, Pak offered to fund Visconti\u2019s vision by upgrading facilities and hiring a small staff for a significant stake in the company.\n\nAs years wore on without a breakthrough, Pak became increasingly impatient. Eventually, he threatened to stop bankrolling Visconti unless he saw concrete progress. Though she hadn\u2019t solved the mystery of photovoltaic plating, the experimental manufacturing techniques Visconti developed along the way had other advantages. She organized a field test to show Pak how their hull plating withstood damage better than other manufacturers. When Pak saw the results, he immediately knew what to do.\n\nMarket Force\nPak insisted Visconti bring the current hull plating to market, pitching it as a way to ensure her research stayed funded while also allowing him to receive some return on his investment. Pak poured credits into establishing a manufacturing plant, and soon the first pieces of Basilisk ship armor rolled off a Tram production line. The company smartly targeted local mining consortiums and industrial operations by touting their product\u2019s excellent durability. It wasn\u2019t long before demand outpaced supply. Asura\u2019s booming economy (filled with high-skilled, blue-collar workers) and Pak\u2019s real estate prowess allowed them to rapidly expand operations.\n\nMeanwhile, tensions between the UPE and the Xi\u2019an Empire were on the rise. A few years earlier, in 2530, Humanity had stumbled upon the species for the first time in the Pallas System. After the initial diplomatic snafus, mistrust between the two was high. In the face of a possible alien threat, modernizing the military became High-General Volder\u2019s primary mission. The UPE significantly increased military spending just as Basilisk\u2019s new manufacturing facilities came on line. The timing couldn\u2019t have been better. Riding high on their newfound reputation and the fact that their competitors hadn\u2019t had the time to reverse engineer their plating, Basilisk landed a coveted government contract to supply hull armor for the latest line of destroyer-class capital ships.\n\nIn 2541, the UPE\u2019s fear of an alien war came to pass, though the enemy was the Tevarin rather than the Xi\u2019an. As military spending skyrocketed, Basilisk was one of the major beneficiaries. Soon, lucrative government contracts became the company\u2019s bread and butter, making it next to impossible for anyone in the private sector to get their hands on their armor, which in turn only strengthened their reputation in the public\u2019s eye. By the time the First Tevarin War came to an end, Basilisk had become one of the UPE\u2019s leading military suppliers, having expanded their operations to include personal armor and ship shield generators.\n\nBasilisk was the envy of the defense industry. Yet, over the ensuing decades, Visconti grew uncomfortable with her company\u2019s increasing ties to Ivar Messer\u2019s regime. Visconti let her objections be known to the board of directors, only to discover her research budget halved. She stormed into Pak\u2019s office and threatened to quit if the issue wasn\u2019t rectified. Pak claimed the cuts were because her research had failed to produce any further advancements. Supposedly, he said that if she couldn\u2019t live with the cuts then maybe Basilisk \u201cwasn\u2019t for you\u201d anymore.\n\nVisconti sold her stake in the company and used the credits to fund her research. Among her many pursuits, she returned to the one that continued to elude her: photovoltaic plating. Sadly, she never achieved the breakthrough that she envisioned.\n\nBeyond Visconti\nWhen Pak retired in 2586, Francis Kelting, a former advisor to Messer, stepped in and gained control of Basilisk. He signed numerous government contracts that included options and extensions which solidified the ties between the company and the despotic regime for decades to come. Any board member who opposed Kelting\u2019s decisions was quickly unseated or (in one shocking case) convicted of corruption and embezzlement on clearly trumped-up charges.\n\nKelting held onto the reins of power at Basilisk with an iron fist until he suffered a catastrophic heart attack during a particularly intense board meeting in 2673. Legend has it that one board member quipped, \u201cI take it this meeting\u2019s adjourned,\u201d then collected her files and left without offering any help to the man many had come to despise. Basilisk executives spent the following decades trying to undo their Gordian knot of connections to the Messer regime without facing retribution. Then once again, the tides of history intervened in their favor.\n\nIn the late 28th century, mining conglomerates were fleeing the Ferron System in droves after depleting Asura of its resources. Basilisk followed suit, claiming the skyrocketing crime rate was not conducive to its employees\u2019 safety or to beneficial business conditions. The company moved their headquarters and main manufacturing hub to Castra. Internal documents show that board members, eager to disassociate themselves from the growing corruption of the Messer regime, timed the move so that their operations wouldn\u2019t be fully functional when the next round of government contracts became available. Citing a lack of manufacturing capacity, Basilisk extricated themselves from over half of the government contracts that they would have been expected, or more accurately pressured, to undertake.\n\nBasilisk also used the move to Castra to shift their business model back toward the private sector. The market was flooded with products of a similar quality, but few had both Basilisk\u2019s reputation and name recognition. Though they couldn\u2019t avoid their associations with the Messers, ex-military personnel attested to the brand and their initial sales in this new market were encouraging.\n\nAfter the Messer regime finally toppled, the UEE made sweeping changes to the military budget that reshaped the landscape of government contracts. Basilisk soon found themselves having to undercut competitors to retain the government contracts they had come to rely on while re-establishing their place in the civilian and industrial markets. As profit margins shrank on their government contracts, Basilisk was forced to institute cost-cutting measures.\n\nToday, items destined for the UEE military are produced at different facilities and using cheaper materials than their private sector counterparts. Amid accusations of inferior manufacturing, Basilisk insists that all items they produce meet exacting military standards. It is said that Navy pilots often joke that if Basilisk armor is strapped to their ship, then it better have been purchased from their public site.\n\nHowever, despite quality concerns, Basilisk remains a preeminent defense industry manufacturer, and one that has weathered centuries of turmoil thanks to a revolutionary product made possible only because of Simone Visconti\u2019s dedication to the details."},"links_count":0,"comment_count":22,"created_at":"2019-06-19T00:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"6 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-05-07 22:09:16","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":17121,"next_id":17125}}