The son of an itinerant spacecraft plumber and the rich-but-rebellious daughter of a famous feminine-hygiene products tycoon, Helmut realized at an early age that his destiny lay among the stars. With literally nothing but the shirt on his back and a pocket full of soggy baklava, Helmut departed his comfortable middle-class home at the age of 17 to seek his fortune in the yawning spaces between the jumpgates....

...the rest is history.