Kaizen Corporation

Name of Organization: Kaizen Corporation

Base/Extent of Operations: Kaizen's headquarters is on Asphodel Meadows but their Hemelite production facility is located on the neighboring dead planet of Shuurg. 

Leadership: Jefferson Smock (majority shareholder) Ilya Volkov (shareholder) A board of directors.

Notable Members: Jefferson Smock, Cayden Smock

Connection to Current Cast: None

Activities: A fairly standard pharmaceutical company that first made its fortune by creating the original Hemelite formula. Since then, they've grown into one of the largest and most successful pharmaceutical companies in the universe.

History: Kaizen Corporation was established in 2235 by the Smock family of Asphodel Meadows. It started life as a fairly standard - if small - pharmaceutical company until the owner and head scientist, Benedict Smock, created the current formula for Hemelite in 2246.

This breakthrough thrust the tiny company into the limelight right along with its less-comfortable-in-the-limelight owner, whose face and name were suddenly on every news channel. Benedict may not have been comfortable there in the spotlight but it didn't stop him from sharing his rather unique view of the vampire mutation that he'd been born with in a now famous interview. Famous because of just how polarizing it was. 

Benedict, in his own words, admitted to feelings of guilt whenever he had to drink the blood of humans, despite their willingness to donate. He felt "barbaric and predatory" every time he needed blood, he claimed.

Those words made it far beyond Asphodel Meadows and were met with wildly varying opinions, many of which were stated loudly online, debated on news networks, fought over in bars... 

But while Benedict himself was facing controversy, he was still busy figuring out how to mass market his life changing creation. While some gladly embraced the synthetic blood, many called it an attempt to neuter the vampire population of Asphodel. And outside the home planet of the vampires, efforts to stock the product were met with resistance, as it was felt that it would encourage the population to spread. Sponsorship was nonexistent, and investors were few and far between.

In seeking ways to build his brand, Benedict struck a partnership with the Volkov family of Asphodel Meadows, who had the money and resources to mass produce and distribute Hemelite. And while the businesses merged, so did their families in an arranged marriage between Benedict's son, Jefferson, and the Volkov heiress, Yekaterina. 

Despite all of this, Hemelite wasn't flying off the shelves like Benedict had hoped. It became even worse when, eight years after he'd given up human blood in favor of a synthetic diet, he passed away. Again, news outlets blew up as rumors of his death circulated, with many running with the speculation that it was his giving up human blood for Hemelite that caused it. 

Jefferson and Katia were quick to step up and assure the public that Benedict's death had nothing at all to do with their product but was due to natural causes instead. They came armed with facts and science but it was the war that finally brought Hemelite into the mainstream. 

A rogue vampire whose bloodlust could have been curbed by their product? The marketing practically wrote itself, and Kaizen - with the Smocks playing significant roles - pushed the narrative tying Hemelite to independence, self-sufficiency. The CHL had set themselves up neatly in the role of 'bad guy' by failing to account for the health and welfare of their vampiric soldiers and citizens, and Hemelite flourished in their failure.

Ever since, the Smocks have been the darlings of Asphodel Meadows, and Kaizen Corporation has become a truly formidable name in the pharmaceutical industry.