Ino cont...

"When Ino first laid eyes on the envelope, there was no doubt what it was for. He didn't even open it. He didn't have to. His life was now devoted to his country."

To any citizen, it was a blessing to be chosen to serve. The army had millions of coveted positions, and it's members were paid well. Not only all this; but hundreds of soldiers were able to work from home, commuting to a local base and do their work from there.

It was obvious why Ino was chosen. The military had millions of uses for radio technology and Ino was one of the best. The offer was for more than double what he made, and he was able to choose his own hours. The work was good, but very demanding.

"What are the specs on our 32D transceiver?" quiz time on the first day!

"Well first off it has user-selected scan, duplex mode across several 400+ frequencies, the ability to switch into duplex mode, and my personal favorite; the ability to transmit both analog and digital data lines." Ino paused, "the units were de-commissioned three years ago, but still see a lot of action due to the data versatility."

"Well I won't say I'm not impressed", his supervisor knew long ago that Ino would be the perfect fit, and a huge resource, "but they were de-commissioned five years ago, we just didn't tell anyone until three!" They erupted in laughter, a great bonding moment even though both of them felt slightly self-conscious in new company.

"You'll be doing basically the same thing here Ino, as your last job..." Ino's heart sank. "But here, you'll be given a team of 10 engineers underneath you to actually put your ideas into practice and develop prototypes." His heart leaped, his mouth dropped, and his brain took mental note of dozens and dozens of projects he knew worked already and could be applied here.

"They'll report to you, and you'll report to me. If you need more of anything, you ask, and if you're running on low on time, let me know." He stopped for breath, "your team is anxious to meet you and get to work, we've got two catalogs on your desk. A list of available materials and a list of materials only we have access to. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that the second doesn't exist, now get to work damnit!" he said with a smile and a wave to the door.

Screw the team, I need to see some examples in the catalog! Ino basically ran to his desk and flipped open to a random page. One of the lowest power silicon transistors was something he didn't even knew existed, specifically for an N-channel!

"Couldn't wait to get your hands on the toys I see..." Ino spun around and was met with the stare of his best engineer; Aine. "I guess that's a huge perk of getting hired here, the equipment is top-notch, nothing you've ever seen in a civ-shop." They shook hands and exchanged niceties before Ino started showing him an idea for a modular radio setup.

(switch to another storyline, then more of this; eventually a great thing comes up and he's uniquely qualified because he has no wife nor children)