| Term | History |
| 1 | Entered Naval Academy at age 18 |
| 1 | Study Deception as a hobby. |
| 1 | Kicked out of military academy. |
| 2 | Became a Field Researcher at age 18 |
| 2 | Entangled in a bureaucratic or legal morass that distracts you from your work. |
| 2 | Promoted to rank 1 |
| 3 | Continued as Field Researcher at age 22 |
| 3 | Make a breakthrough in your field. |
| 3 | Promoted to rank 2 |
| 4 | Continued as Field Researcher at age 26 |
| 4 | Good fortune |
| 4 | Promoted to rank 3 |
| 5 | Continued as Field Researcher at age 30 |
| 5 | Advanced training in a specialist field. |
| 5 | Promoted to rank 4 |
| 6 | Continued as Field Researcher at age 34 |
| 6 | Entangled in a bureaucratic or legal morass that distracts you from your work. |
| 6 | Promoted to rank 5 |
| 7 | Continued as Field Researcher at age 38 |
| 7 | Cheated in some fashion, advancing your career and research by stealing another’s work, using an alien device, taking a shortcut and so forth. |
| 7 | Gain an Enemy |
| 7 | Promoted to rank 6 |
| 8 | Continued as Field Researcher at age 42 |
| 8 | Nearly killed. |
| 9 | Became a Surveyor at age 46 |
| 9 | Perform an exemplary service for the scouts. |
| 9 | Promoted to rank 1 |
| 9 | Is now a Scout |
| 10 | Continued as Surveyor at age 50 |
| 10 | You spend a great deal of time on the fringes of Charted Space. |
| 10 | Gain a contact in an alien race. |
| 10 | Promoted to rank 2 |
| 11 | Continued as Surveyor at age 54 |
| 11 | You have no idea what happened to you – they found your ship drifting on the fringes of friendly space. |
| 12 | Became a Broker at age 58 |
| 12 | A series of bad deals and decisions force you into bankruptcy. You salvage what you can. |
| 13 | Became a Wanderer at age 62 |
| 13 | Betrayed by a friend. One of your Contacts or Allies betrays you, ending your career. That Contact or Ally becomes a Rival or Enemy. |
| 14 | Became a Corporate at age 66 |
| 14 | Hard times caused by a lack of interstellar trade costs you your job. |
| 15 | Aging Crisis. Owe 40,000 for medical bills. |