He was Almost Absorbed by the System

Chapter Eighty Five - The Entrepreneur

There were many powerful families within the Empire, the Imperial Family with its many prince and princesses, political families such as the Welhaven's and Bodensteins, military families such as the Krauses and business orientated families such as the Bristol's and Sisulu's. But one should never underestimate the ability of the entrepreneur.

Jariden Thaulow was a self made trillionaire. Slice him in half and one would likely find the word businessman written in his core. He had fairly good psionic potential as well, it was this talent that helped him to soar through the heavens into the stars and beyond. He could sense who to trust and know instantly who had lied to his face. He had started out during his teens, walking pets, gardening and helping cash strapped inheritors sort out the nests of their deceased relatives. He came from a world, named Zaethea, which was could be considered on the poor side, where healthy young men and women often fled from in order to seek their fame and fortunes. Many people required a youth with a strong back and he was able to provide. He used his quick mind to invest in stocks, not always succeeding, but the number of times he hit it big time outweighed the misfortunes.

During one of the clearances, he came across a beautiful glass wares set and suddenly knew what he wished to invest in. Over time, and while he continually laboured physically, he found talented glass artisans and formed relationships with them. One was willing to experiment with different imported sands for him and they discovered a handful of worlds with sand that could produce variances in colour and even texture. Land was bought and a small factory, but his secrets were sold to another glasswares manufacture who were able to mass produce what he could not. His factory was taken, but he simply started again with his trusted artisans.

Eventually, their glassware was discovered by the elite who did not want mass produced products; who would show off something that everybody could purchase? Their unique products came to be in demand and they carefully tailored their wares to this niche market. Their earnings built quickly, but Jariden thought it wise to try to break into the general market for stability. They were first successful with their Nebula range, tumblers, pint glasses and wine glasses, each with a thumbnail bead placed in the base or stem that resembled a star cluster seen at a distance. They later extended this range to include plates and bowls when they discovered a type of glass that was almost as strong as metal and was resistant to extreme temperatures.

Jariden also acquired a few struggling glass manufactures by way of overtaking, including the one who had brought them to their knees on their first attempt to rise.

He was now nearing the age of forty and had decided it might be time to settle down. He had not expected that his parents, born of poverty and a little naive when it came to matters of the upper class, would fall head over heels for the first woman from an elite family to approach them and nearly force said woman onto him. Her name was Haellen Krause and she was the only daughter to an old military family, who happened to be very influential in certain circles. According to that woman, she had felt he was the most suitable match for her; he was handsome and innovative, intelligent and strong and she was beautiful to look at and with many contacts in both political and military circles as well as other old elite families. As he had no one else in mind, he agreed with her proposal and they became engaged with the intent to marry. She did, however, wish for her brother's blessing, but the man was always busy, so their meeting was frequently delayed.

His perceptions were sent askew, however, when he took a first class transport liner from Le Huxia, where he had just had just spoken to the governor about a potential new factory on one of its moons, towards the planet he currently lived on Danatus3.  The ship was accosted by Pirates.  In a certain way, it was all rather civil, although many of the passengers did not think so; how dare these uncouth vagabonds hold up their ship and take what is not theirs!  He was rather of the opinion that these people were stupid for having their wealth on display. He had kept his belongings simple, it had just been a business meeting after all. Unfortunately, he had been wearing a small gold stud in the shape of a Z, something he had commissioned when he had reached his first million. The Z was stylised, the shape of the Z in the logo of Zaethean Glass.