Chapter 3 - The plans start to take shape
After 30 minutes Leo and his family went back into the dinning room and sat back down at the table and looked at the group of people waiting for the first one to make a decision.
First one to speak turned out to be Dean Williams. "I don't really have anything that connects me to the colonies anymore and I want to see where you can lead us and I really wanna see this new generator and faster than light engine." He smiled at Leo "I'm in just tell me what you want me to do"
To Leo's shock and that of his Grandfather the next people to speak up were the Spencer's "After everything we lost during the War and the cost paid by so many the fact that nothing has really changed has made my choice for me. Leo, me and my wife are with you and if we can get our son to retire he will join us as well." Mrs Spencer just smiled and nodded. "But just know if we see you becoming a dictator we will be the first to take up arms against you. Yes we need just one person as the person in charge of this but that doesn't mean we will allow you to use us."
After that they all one by one agreed to sign on to the project and each had small requests which mainly involved having family join them and later getting their own dose of gene therapy which Leo agreed with. So it was worked out how to fake their deaths and create new identities so that people would ask questions as to why they are 40 or 50 years younger and at the same time be able to keep in touch with what family they had as not all of them had the same younger looks his grandparents had before the therapy so questions weren't asked to much after.
A few hours later after they had a meal and finished discussing what was required to join they sat down to start strategizing on how they were going to make it all happen.
"So now we've all agreed on your inclusion. I have a few ideas on what we should do to start, so I'd like you to listen for a bit then I will be open to your opinions." Stated Leo
Leo went on to describe how he wanted to start research on the generator to help power the new faster than light drive, once that was done the plan would be to install the drive on one of there ships with a limited but trusted crew and test it out in some of the system at the edge of colonial space so as not to raise any questions as to what they were doing. Lastly he wanted to start recruiting retired colonial military into a security company that would buy up any decommissioned ships they could get from the colonial navy and update them and set them up as escorts and the like for traders and his own companies as a cover to avoid awkward questions as to why he is recruiting so many people.
Dr Williams was again the first to comment "I would like to lead the project on the new fusion generators and if possible I would like to look over the specs and theories of the faster than light drive you have plans for. We will also need to set up labs to do this research and I think the safest and most secure way to do that would be to either build or buy a space station and do the research there away from prying eyes."
"Well if Dr Williams can handle the research part them i will step up and lead the security company and will use my contacts to get us the equipment and possible the men and officers needed to at least fill the marine side of things before i take the gene therapy as i will need to have some face to face meetings with some people." Mr Spencer said while making some notes in a notebook he fished out of his jacket pocket. "As far as fleet personnel goes i think your grandfather can handle officers and i think John can use his contact within the fighter pilot community to get you the pilots and Eco's we will need"
Leo looked at them both nodding while also making a mental note to find a space station up for sale or one that is being decommissioned that he can repurposed. He then turned to the rest of the group waiting on any of their opinions.
"I think I will help Dr Williams with his research as we will need to be able to build the generator as well as make it feasible for any ships we may want to build or upgrade." Commented Mr Adonis after he thought things through for a minute.
After that Leo looked at the women of the group and came up with and idea "Ladies i know it seems a lot of what we're doing at begin with don't use your skills but i think if you can start thinking up plans and making lists of what we will need to acquire to make a stable environment on whatever planet we build our colony. Also I'd like all of you to consider any other Elderly or unhappy people with skills we will need that could join our little coalition to help spread out tasks as I'm sure they will increase in the future. When you do find some possible candidates please send me the names so I can do a little research myself."
They then spent another few hours going over small details and future plans. Also they made a small list of people they believe they can approach to join them that won't be too attached to the colonies and would be willing to break all ties to start a new life.
After they had all left for the night Leo started to go over some of the plans he wanted to implement in the companies he has majority control over. They included increasing the size of the mining fleet by several times as well as finding out at what level the agro and colony ships are like at this point in the history of the colonies. It also involved going over what he knows about which companies are mentioned in the TV series and investing in them to keep his capital high as without money he can't implement a lot of what he has planned.
Leo also planned to buy a few long distance scout and survey ships to find some resource rich systems that have been untouched by the colonial companies so that he doesn't have to purchase any materials when he starts building his own ships.
A few hours going over some more of the paperwork from his companies he decides to call it a night and goes to his room to sleep. The next day he wakes up and after a shower heads downstairs for breakfast with his family. He enters the dining room and sees them all around the table discussing everything that happened yesterday and he smiles at the sight of his grandparents and mother with so much energy. If for nothing else he was grateful for the chance at this new life as in his previous life he was a orphan and didn't have the chance to meet his parents due to them dying in a house fire just after he was born and his grandparents had already passed by then as his parents had him later in there lives and they where both only children.
After enjoying breakfast with his family he asked his grandfather to join him in the study to get his opinion on some of his plans for the future.
"Grandad, can I speak to you in the study for a bit as I need your advice about something important." asked Leo.
"Sure Leo, let's go now then as I'm sure the ladies would like to have a day out shopping to help relieve some of the stress from the last few days." replied James with nods and smiles from the women in the room.
After a few minutes of good buys and joking about Leo and his grandfather enter the study and sit on either side of the desk. James waits for Leo to start with what he wanted to discuss.
"So Grandad i have decided after some thinking that to lead us in the conflict that will follow the attempted genocide by the cylons that i will need at least some leadership experience and military background. So i decided that i will be enrolling in the fleet academy as a viper pilot as given my history and my love of flying i see no better choice." Leo said after some hesitation. "Now what I want your help with is what to do after basic and if I should go on to officer school and join an admiral's staff with a little help from your connections or go into the main fleet as either a viper pilot or bridge crew. As at the end of the day I think that I need to at least get command of a Battlestar or even get to an admiral of a small task force to help add those forces to our rescue efforts after the initial attacks."
James looked at his grandson with a little more pride at what he was willing to do as in his own opinion everyone should be willing to serve to protect humanity from the dangers of the cylons and anything else out there. "I think it is a good idea to do the viper training then I will get you onto an admiral's staff and I will do what I can to speed up your promotions to get to the rank you need to save some of the ships as it will make our job a lot easier."
So with that they set out their plans for the next few months and called the lawyers to set up the proxy contracts that will be needed to keep the companies on track for what they had planned.
The next day after signing the proxy contracts he left the mansion for the nearest recruitment office of the colonial fleet. He was dressed in a modest pair of trousers and a cream polo-shirt with a leather jacket on to keep him warm in the winter breeze.
He went to the 4 door garage, opened the locker with the car keys and took the keys for the sports coupe in the second bay. He got in and clicked open the garage door and drove out of the garage and later the estate. He drove through street after street and noticed how apart from the spaceships taking off and landing at the spaceport that it pretty much looked like he was driving into New York from the Hamptons or something very similar. He drove for about 2 hours to the government district and parked the car in what he figured was a car storage similar to something from Japan he saw in a film once.
He then walked towards the recruitment centre which looked like a bank with large glass windows with the flags of the colonies and colonial fleet hanging in the window. He walked into the lobby and noticed signs directing him to the different branches such as navy, marines, army, reserve and a few of the smaller known forces that don't really get into space. So he followed the directions to the colonial navy offices and walked up to the desk where a woman in a lieutenant's uniform was typing away at a computer that looked too basic to be the computers of a space faring race..
"Hello, I'm here to sign up, who would I need to see?" Leo asked the lieutenant.
She looked up from her work and responded "Hello, you asked about signing up for service, correct?" After a nod from Leo she continued "Well you need to fill out these forms then take an aptitude test and then we will arrange for a physical to assess your fitness. After all that we will then arrange a meeting with a recruitment officer to discuss placement and training for whichever role you're best suited for."
Leo nodded and she handed him a clipboard with several sheets of paper attached and a pen and directed him to seats for him to fill out the forms. After sitting down and giving the forms a once over he realized that it's pretty similar to what he filled out to sign up to the US Air force back in his old world. After about 20 min of writing and going through some tick box questionnaires he walked back up to the desk and handed the women the clipboard.
"What's next?" Leo asked.
At which she took the clipboard and scanned the forms to make sure that they were filled out right and then directed him to an examination room where he sat at a desk with a console on it that looked like it had basic touch screen tech. Looking at the wall there were directions to follow that directed him to answer the multi choice questions as fast as I can in the 1 hour 20 min time limit.
So he prepared himself by clearing his mind and focusing on the task at hand and started the test. Just before the buzzer went off he completed a question and then he leaned back in his chair and heard his back cracking after spending 90 min sitting hunched over a screen. As he straightened up in the seat Leo noticed that the results were in and he scored a 98% correct score and ranked in the top 1% to ever take the test for the amount of answers given within the time limit.
After 5 min a voice came over the tannoy telling him to leave the room and go back to reception which he did and was directed to another room to sit with a man who introduced himself as Dr Williams and that he was a psychiatrist and that Leo was to spend the next hour talking to him and answering his questions as truthfully as possible. Leo was a little surprised that he was going through a psych eval before he had even got through the physical part of the test but then Leo realized the colonial fleet was so big that not every role required someone to be physically fit. So after the hour of answering the questions and talking about why he wanted to serve and what his goal was in his time with the colonial fleet.
Leo answered that he was looking for a career not just to pick up some skills for his next job as he didn't really need them given that he was a multi billionaire.
So again he found himself back at the receptionist and told the date for his physical which he was told involved both a test and an examination. It turned out that Leo was due back to the recruitment centre in 2 days for the physical.
So it's now 6 days later and he was meeting with a recruitment officer to discuss his training and which part of the fleet he wanted to progress through. The room he was in was fairly spartan with no real comforts. But then this wasn't really a 9-5 office so much as a convenient place to hold meetings with people so all the decoration they had was a few potted plants and propaganda posters.
Sat across from him on the other side of the table was a man in his forties with Colonel rank pips on his collar and a scar on his left cheek. He looked rigid and by the book with none of his uniform out of place and his files tidy in neat piles in front of him.
"So your name is Leonidas Kosta aged 16, father KIA in a skirmish over caprica during the war and your mother who is the daughter of Admiral Adama who has since retired after 40 years of distinguished service. Test scores of the charts for both aptitude and physical, passed the psych test and fitness examination with flying colours. Now from all that I can say with certainty you could go into any department or branch of the fleet and do well." He commented after going over my results.
"Well what I'm hoping to do is go through basic then OTS and then flight school. If I'm good enough then I want to go through advanced flight training." Leo commented back.
The colonel looked at Leo and raised an eyebrow at what Leo had planned out. "So I take it you have spoken with your grandfather about your goals and have planned out the ideal way to get there then." After thinking for a moment he continues "Well everyone has to do basic and I can't see you being declined OTS but are you sure you want to do Flight school as though generally Pilots have faster promotion tracts with your scores and if you live up to your potential you could go from OTS and use a few of Admiral Adama's connections and you could be commanding your own ship in 10-15 years. Though it probably won't be a Battlestar until you have some command experience under your belt."
Leo stopped to think for a few minutes and respond "I understand that but i want to do it all on my own merit and yes i could use my grandfathers contacts to get ahead but what respect would i get from those id be commanding if the only reason I'm there is that i greased the wheels instead of getting there on my own steam."
At that the colonel looks at Leo with more respect and then nods and agrees with his plan and fills the paperwork in and lets him know that he will be contacted within the next 2 months for the next class at the academy for basic depending on how quickly it fills up which given the current number of recruits could be as early as 2 weeks from now.
So with that Leo thanks the colonel and walks out of the office and then building. On the way back to his car he decides that he wants to go for a drive and look around for a bit and take in the sites.