Venture Co.

== Venture Co. ==
Venture Co. was first started by George Jackson, the long-time friend of Fredrick Wilhelm, in the 55th year of the third cycle. Venture Co. was first called Broadside Armaments, and was owned solely by Jackson. For the first two years of Broadside Armaments’ existence, it was fairly unproductive, due to firearms being a new and untested technology. The weapons were adapted from technology copied from the Fish Islands, due to guns being first developed there. The only thing which kept Jackson’s company afloat, was the interest the local pirates took in the technology. The Stone Island pirates were having a difficult time dealing with similar technology found on Fish Island Junks and other vessels, and sought a way to even the scales. Jackson gladly accepted these new customers, despite their shady nature. Firearms never became terribly popular until Wilhelm stepped in during the third year of the company’s advent. Wilhelm had become an extremely well renowned sportsman in the Stone islands, and Jackson intended to use his popularity to boost his profits. Interestingly, the intent was not entirely selfish, and Wilhelm at one point even suggested the idea, for he was happy to help a friend. Neither knew what heights their partnership would launch them to.
=== George and Wilhelm ===
With the involvement of Wilhelm, the company received a facelift, and a new name: Venture Co. The intent was to move the company’s public image, (what little it had), away from warfare, and to focus on the sportsman. This transitory phase lasted about 3 years into the 58th year of the third cycle, and changed the overall direction of the company. Wilhelm became co-owner of the corporation, and its figurehead. Although Wilhelm was interested in the profit the company generated, and his friendship with Jackson, Wilhelm had little knowledge of, nor interest in running a company, so Wilhelm handled all matters related to the public eye, and Jackson ran the logistics of the company. For all its recent successes, Jackson still dreamed of returning the company to the war-centric policies of the past.
 The original location of the company was also the home of both its owners, Oakney. Oakney is located on the South-Eastern peninsula of the Stone Islands, notable for very little before the advent of the Venture Co. Oakney started as a small fishing village, but was more notoriously known as a pirate haven, due to its prime location near Fish Islands and Hyuntai trade routes. In the 25 years since Venture Co.’s development, however, the town of Oakney has blossomed into a thriving port city, rivaled only by the Capital of the Stone Islands in its splendor. Oakney’s success is due to the very reasons why the pirates found its location appealing, namely, its proximity to trade routes. The advent of Venture Co. enticed trade of all sorts. Oakney’s most fondly remembered historical event is still the rise of Venture Co., despite the company only being a small part in its overall prosperity.
=== Phoenix Division ===
In the 65th year of the third cycle, Venture Co. was firmly established, and the town had just begun to grow. For these relaxing years, Wilhelm and Jackson found that they only had to sit back, and watch the company prosper, much to their delight. One of the only issues of this period being the pirates, who now raided trade bound for the town, and discouraged merchants from shipping their wares into the area. Wilhelm personally found this to be a small issue, for he was content with the prosperity of the company. Jackson, however was champing at the bit for some action, and began the construction of the Phoenix Division of Venture Co. The Phoenix Division’s only purpose at this stage in Venture Co.’s development, was to actively seek out and attack pirates in order to quell their numbers. In the short term, this plan worked, but in the long run Jackson simply decided to cut deals with the pirates in order to leave specified shipping alone, a deal which he twisted to his own advantage later. This was also where Jackson established many of his relationships with the pirate clans in the area. Such dealings with pirates were strict taboo to Wilhelm, so Jackson kept these agreements under the table. Jackson would later be able to use his influence with the pirates in order to choose what competition could freely move their wares through the trade routes.  
The recent 15 years of Venture Co. up to the 80th year of the third cycle have seen an explosive growth. Jackson, with the Phoenix Division, set his sights on spreading the company’s influences off of the Stone Islands. By this point, Venture Co. was common and accepted knowledge in the Stone islands, with every major city having at least one major establishment of the Phoenix Division, who started to become less of a private army, and more of an “Expeditionary Force”, who would be used in troubled areas in order to make way for Venture Co.’s inevitable encroachment. The Phoenix Division would be trained to find troubled towns, such as those plagued by bandits, and to solve their issues for them, in order to curry favor for Venture Co. Once the problem was solved, which would not only entice the locals, but also secure safe product shipment, an actual Venture Co. establishment would be constructed, which would serve as a springboard for all further operations.
=== To Ghillodahn and Beyond ===
During the past 4 years, at roughly the same time Wilhelm announced his plans for travel, Jackson decided that this would provide the perfect opportunity to spread Venture Co.’s influence to Ghillodahn, and before Wilhelm could leave, sent a large scale “Peacekeeping” force of Phoenix Division groups to the continent of Ghillodahn in the 75th year of the third cycle, headed by Gunsliger Flynt Mcdougal and Lucretia Davies.
Category:Thing