Everything had taken place in a whirlwind of activity after Leonard had gotten his funding. There were multiple meetings about the application of funds, and about how the Project was to be run. Allison being put on the payroll as the military consultant and commander was something that was carried out without much questioning—there were a few objections based on nepotism, but Leonard and Allison presented their reasoning well and the action was approved.

And so it was time to interview and test recruits. Leonard had a battery of questions to ask each of the potential agents, while Allison had set up an obstacle course on the grounds of the facility for each one to run through. They'd been granted the use of an entire planet for their training facilities—there was one populated city in the temperate zone, but since the planet was tidally-locked it wasn't much use as a colony planet. So once things got going, they would be able to train in snow, in desert, and in every environment in between.

And of course, after the interviews and physical testing would come the open mingle. The social event was a bit of an unusual choice for the evening of such testing, but Allison arranged it regardless because the recruits needed to become friendly with one another, and this would give them a chance to get to know one another.

But right now, the ships carrying all the potential recruits were just arriving, at 0530 local time. Allison ushered everyone off the ships individually, explaining that they would have time to shower, change, and eat, before testing was to begin.