Pioneer

Elite scientists of the Hyperion Federation. Pioneers are some of the most prestigious positions available to scientists (Already a prestigious position in the federation), but they also get the hardest and most dangerous work. Their task is to find new alien civilizations, map the stars and find out as much as possible about them.
As some alien factions are hostile to outsiders, they must be able to fight off any attackers. Pioneers are given weapons and weapon techprint clearance, as well as combat training akin to some special forces units.
However, it usually doesn't come to that. Their job is to make every attempt securing a good relationship with their newly discovered race. As such, they are also taught to figure out and mesh into alien cultures. These predictions are made based off those of known races.
To meet these goals, they are often part of a crew of a dedicated exploration, or pioneering starship, outfitted mainly to operate for a long time without refuel or resupply. These are also armed, but not dedicated military vessels, so they wont stand up to a proper military. They are supposed to retreat using a form of emergency short range FTL drive

Career

Qualifications

Anyone can sign up to be a pioneer, however, just after initially signing up to become a pioneer, the newly hired person is sent to a huge training ground. They must carry a 10 kg load over 30 km in 1 day. Those that don't make it are immediately rejected and recommended other positions in scientific and militiary fields. Those that make it are then educated and tested in scientific topics. The education can be skipped, but the test must be passed at 100%. As long as they score better than 70%, they can redo it. If they score equal to or lower than 70% they redo the subject. If the person choses to go through the education process, the education and military training constantly alternate. Most military training is done in Virtual Universes under intense conditions.

Career Progression

After passing all the tests and training, apprentice pioneers are sent along with skilled pioneers into their first missions. One must be an apprentice for at least 6 years before they can attempt a final capstone test with all the topics they have learned in the previous years. After passing this, they can finally ask for a promotion and being able to do their own tasks. A single pioneer can have multiple apprentices with them.

Alternative Names

Hell Jumpers

Type

Research / Scientific

Demand

High Demand; the federation is constantly exploring new galaxies. Regular scientists are usually sent to contact alien civilizations because of the low supply of pioneers.