Leaders

Hired leaders can be assigned to colonies or ships (depending on their role) to boost systems or fleets. Rejected leaders stay around for a while before leaving. Each leader has a specific salary associated with them that increases as they gain experience.

Leaders earn experience only while assigned. Ship Leaders earn additional experience by exploring anomalies, discovering planets, engaging in battles, contacting races, killing space monsters, and killing the Orion Guardian. Colony leaders accumulate experience as they work, with no additional bonuses. Upon leveling up, you can choose to improve one of the leader's bonuses (which also increases their salary).

There are five ranks a leader can attain:


 * Ship: Commander → Captain → Commodore → Rear Admiral → Admiral


 * Colony: Administrator → Commissioner → Director → Magistrate → Governor

Unimplemented
The leaders from the independent civilizations were never finished. There are several inconsistencies between their depiction and the depiction of the independent races in the finished game, so it is likely that they would have been changed had they been implemented. Notably:
 * Ash's portrait does not match any of the existing independent races. It corresponds to the portrait of an unimplemented, unnamed tenth race.
 * Kei's portrait and description matches that of the Glis, not of the Akirians. It is also the only portrait not to have a transparent background.
 * Laurelos' portrait matches that of the Akirians, not of the Thersonians.
 * Trevor's portrait matches the Thersonians, not the Glis. His description as being limbless does not fit the portrait.