View source for Comm-Link:Portfolio - Basilisk

In 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’s 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. “Why the hell did you name it Basilisk?”

“Because they’re extremely hard to kill,” 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’s reputation as the producer of high quality armor, a distinction that still sticks, even though some claim the company’s product quality has eroded over the years.

'''Birth of [[Basilisk]]'''

Simone Visconti was born on [[Asura]] in 2509. Her parents worked for one of the major mining conglomerates that fueled the planet’s 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]].

Whenever asked about it, Visconti simply said that “it wasn’t for me” — a phrase friends and colleagues grew accustomed to hearing when something didn’t interest her. However, biographers later learned from Visconti’s 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.

After 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 — 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’s parents who had made a fortune in local real estate, Pak offered to fund Visconti’s vision by upgrading facilities and hiring a small staff for a significant stake in the company.

As 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’t 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.

'''Market Force'''

Pak 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’s excellent durability. It wasn’t long before demand outpaced supply. Asura’s booming economy (filled with high-skilled, blue-collar workers) and Pak’s real estate prowess allowed them to rapidly expand operations.

Meanwhile, tensions between the UPE and the [[Xi’an 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’s primary mission. The UPE significantly increased military spending just as Basilisk’s new manufacturing facilities came on line. The timing couldn’t have been better. Riding high on their newfound reputation and the fact that their competitors hadn’t 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]].