Belt Alliance: Jacob Neihart
Jacob Neihart was one of those rarities, an older 'Dane who went Up. He'd gotten his start as a rancher in Argentine cattle, owning several thousand acres of land and a large herd of cattle. Financial difficulties - caused by a 'perfect storm' of infection in the herd with water-rights conflicts - forced him to sell off a large portion of the land in order to retain the rest. He was looking for alternative income sources when one of his sons pointed out the new opportunities to be found among spacers.
Even after selling off large portions of his land, Neihart had a significantly large farm. Prices for his crops had never been the best, but now there was access to a large market that had very little ability to supply itself. Jacob and his extended family found it easy to obtain a supply of handwavium and a pair of older semi-trailer trucks. The vehicles responded well to the 'wave treatment and Jacob himself took the wheel for his first shipment of produce and fresh beef, to be delivered to Stellvia for a very good price.
Over the next few years, the Neihart clan kept up the business, moving out into the system from their Earthside ranch. By the height of the Boskone conflict, the clan was deeply intertwined with the affairs of the Belter alliance, having undertaken numerous supply contracts with the independant miners who made up most of that faction. Jacob Neihart himself was becoming more and more influential within the faction, and some were saying he was the perfect man to "really face down that monopolist tyrant, Marsden". Needless to say, this growing fame brought him to Largo's attention...
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Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.
Jacob Neihart was one of those rarities, an older 'Dane who went Up. He'd gotten his start as a rancher in Argentine cattle, owning several thousand acres of land and a large herd of cattle. Financial difficulties - caused by a 'perfect storm' of infection in the herd with water-rights conflicts - forced him to sell off a large portion of the land in order to retain the rest. He was looking for alternative income sources when one of his sons pointed out the new opportunities to be found among spacers.
Even after selling off large portions of his land, Neihart had a significantly large farm. Prices for his crops had never been the best, but now there was access to a large market that had very little ability to supply itself. Jacob and his extended family found it easy to obtain a supply of handwavium and a pair of older semi-trailer trucks. The vehicles responded well to the 'wave treatment and Jacob himself took the wheel for his first shipment of produce and fresh beef, to be delivered to Stellvia for a very good price.
Over the next few years, the Neihart clan kept up the business, moving out into the system from their Earthside ranch. By the height of the Boskone conflict, the clan was deeply intertwined with the affairs of the Belter alliance, having undertaken numerous supply contracts with the independant miners who made up most of that faction. Jacob Neihart himself was becoming more and more influential within the faction, and some were saying he was the perfect man to "really face down that monopolist tyrant, Marsden". Needless to say, this growing fame brought him to Largo's attention...
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.