Albrecht von Hesse

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Character History

Albrecht von Hesse (b. ???? - d. ????) was a successful businessman born in Europe who emigrated to the Tikonov Grand Union in the 2290s. Albrecht purchased a land grant consisting of small planet from the Union, a planet which he promptly named New Hessen after himself, on which he built an armaments factory and began a very unusual enterprise that would make him a very wealthy man by the time he died.[1]

Von Hesse's plan for his world was as foresighted as it was cynical; in addition to selling armaments to the Tikonov Grand Union, the Capellan Hegemony and as far afield as those worlds being settled by would become House Davion, he protected his constant stream of revenue for times of interstellar peace by setting establishing New Hessen as a battleground for governments that felt the only way to resolve a dispute was through conflict.[1]

The governments who were Von Hesse's clients paid to rent out land of a terrain and climate of their choice, for a small to medium sized engagement that would last for a specific period of time. Von Hesse offered more than just the land - he gave discounts to those wanting to engage in multiple-party, low-level combats, as well as package deals that included fact sheets on the various combat zones, discounts on volume sales of equipment, insurance, low-cost repair and recovery options, and the right for the highest bidder to choose the site of the battle. He also made it clear in his contracts that in the event of no clear victor by combat, he had the final right to arbitrate a final, humane solution by negotiation, limiting the destructiveness of the wars. Von Hesse gambled on the human propensity for animosity and warfare and the end result was a personal fortune valued at more than 3.5 billion Tikonov ingots at the time of his death.[1]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 House Liao (The Capellan Confederation), p. 11, "Off-The-Shelf War"

Bibliography