Captain

The Captain is in charge of the ship and everyone on it. They make sure the crew is working and productive and any potential threats are seen to. They are expected to be able to command their Heads of Staff effectively, and have ultimate authority on the ship, second only to the SCC. As such, your almightly stamp can pave way to great projects or great disasters. Stamp the wrong thing too many times, and you may be targeted by superiors for investigation.

Being a Captain
The Captain is the top of the power chain. They command the Heads of Staff and have the final say in ship decisions. The hold an all access ID, a large amount of unique equipment, and a luxurious cabin. The only one with potentially more power is the AI. This is a very important role and should only be played by experienced players.

'''Per admin policy, any Captain character is only allowed to join the round as a Captain, a Head of Staff role as defined by that character's experience and backstory, or as an off-duty crewmember. Make sure you know the Off-Duty Policy if you plan to join as a visitor.

Commanding Command
The Captains main job is to lead and direct the ship. The Captain therefore has direct authority over the Heads of Staff, changing the alert level, going to red alert, contacting CentComm, calling the evacuation shuttle, and coordinating ship-wide emergency evacuation and defence.

In the absence or lack of a head for a specific department, effort should be made by you, or the Executive Officer to appoint one to each department. You should always have a fully functioning command staff. If no valid staff for promotion are found (to your own discretion), you may be called or chose to handle the affairs of those departments as a stand-in Head of Staff. But, know your limits. Focus on the functioning, not doing actual work.

It is the Captain's job to make sure that all the Heads of Staff are communicating and leading their departments properly, or making sure the Executive Officer is doing it for him. They should not involve themselves directly in departmental matters unless asked by the Head of Staff responsible, however the Captain may step in if they feel that the matter is being handled poorly.

For example, the Captain should not have to tell the Chief Engineer to start the engine, a competent chief should be able to do this themselves. If they can't, it falls to the Captain to make the decision as to whether to demote the current head, promote someone to a head, or consult with that department as to the best course of action. The Captains job isn't to do others' work for them, but make sure that everything is being done correctly.

Ship Finances And You
Finally, you are the only one along with the Executive Officer that has access to the Account Uplink Terminal. It lists the personal account of every crew member and the department accounts.

Each crew member’s individual account belongs to that crew member, and your access to these accounts is for oversight. There are sometimes accusations of fraud, embezzlement, or theft and your ability to go over transaction histories of every crew member gives you the power to hunt down nefarious accounting. You should never take money out of a crew member’s personal account without permission or proof that they got that money nefariously.

As Captain your authority is sovereign, absolute, and unquestionable, but during standard operations you should leave the ship accounts to the Executive Officer. Even so, you do not need a warrant to access the details of any account and you can check them at any time, but every personal account is protected under Privacy Laws unless you find direct evidence of a crime. That means on green alert Security needs a warrant to get a copy of a crew member’s bank statement.

The Department accounts are the primary focus for you and the other heads of staff. It is part of your and the Executive Officer’s job to make those numbers in the department accounts go up, up, and up!

The Operations and Vendor accounts automatically make money, but for service some ways to do that could be asking the Chef to sell his food rather than giving it out for free, and finding other methods of moneymaking.

Controlling the Crew
As Captain, you are in charge. There really is no way to tell you exactly how to run things, many people have different leadership styles. However, as Captain, there are some things you should be aware of:


 * 1) Only involve yourself when there is nobody else available to do the job. If you get involved in every security matter when there's already a Head of Security, it is suggested you get a job change. If there isn't a head for a specific department, get your Executive Officer to assign a new one. The only exception to this rule is when your Executive Officer is "absent" as you are the only other Head who can assign people.
 * 2) Delegate whenever you can. If someone says 'Captain, there's a phoron leak!' then you order your Chief Engineer to go fix it. Do NOT attempt to fix it yourself. You will put yourself unnecessarily at risk.
 * 3) Follow the Chain of Command. You command the Heads. The Heads command their departments. Try not to skip them in the decision making process. They are the ones who should know their own departments best.
 * 4) Keep calm and carry on. As Captain, every shift should be a normal and productive working day. However, be prepared to deal with any or all of the following: Incompetent or absent Heads, subversive elements, angry crew members banging down the bridge door trying to get in, corrupted AI's on a war path, killer meteor strikes, plagues, faulty electrical gear and the occasional aftermath of an armageddon against the ship, thanks to a range of the above. And it's your job to manage it all. Good luck.

Alerts and SOP
Main Article: Corporate Regulations

You have control of the Ship's alert level. The following is a summary of what they are and when they should be used:

Default operating level. No immediate or clear threat to the ship. All departments may carry out work as normal.
 * Code Green - All Clear.

This is how the round starts, and you should do everything in your power to keep it that way. It can be changed to this from the Communications Console on the bridge.

Raised alert level. Suspected threat to the ship. Issued by SCC Command, the Captain, or a Head of Staff vote. Security personnel are authorized to wear armor vests, helmets and display weaponry at all times. Random searches of crew are permitted within reason. Locational searches are also permitted with probable cause, however Command Staff may shut down a locational search of an area under their authority. This includes but is not limited to: their own department, the bridge, vault or any other shared command-restricted location. In both cases, it is the right of the department head, or the individual receiving the search to know the reason of said search.
 * Code Blue - Suspected Threat.

If you feel that there is a threat to the ship either from the environment (large atmospheric breaches, meteors, etc.) or people (organised attacks against crew, theft of high value property, unknown invaders, etc). Code Blue can be raised from the Communications Console on the bridge.

Maximum alert level. Confirmed threat to the ship and/or severe damage. Issued by Central Command, the Captain, or a Head of Staff vote. Martial law. Suit sensors are mandatory and everyone is required to stay in their workplace unless needed elsewhere. Security may detain suspects without a warrant. Tau Ceti Basic is required on public channels.
 * Code Red - Confirmed Threat.

Code Red should only be called when there is a confirmed and active threat to the ship that places crew at a severe disadvantage to resolving said threat, and/or inhibits normal ship operations (confirmed also meaning to the best of your knowledge). This can only be raised by swiping two Head of Staff ID cards at the same time in the Keycard Authentication Devices in each Head of Staff's office. In emergencies, your spare ID can be used as well. You may also request an Emergency Response Team or emergency evacuation from these devices, however these options should be considered a last resort. Heads of Staff are to instruct personnel to do everything in their power to reduce the impact of the incident that incited the Code Red in order to drop to a lesser status.

'''Warning: a round end vote cannot be called during Code Red. Leaving it up when it's not required may annoy people.'''

The ship has been compromised, and is beyond saving. This alert level can only be issued by the captain and admins, by following the protocol outlined here. Regulations are sidelined, security and command may do whatever is necessary to guide people to the escape pods and contain the threat long enough for the ship to be destroyed. Pray you might survive.
 * Code Delta - Self-Destruct Initiated.

The ship is now under an elevated alert status due to a confirmed biological hazard. All crew are to follow command instruction in order to ensure a safe return to standard operations.
 * Code Yellow - Biological Hazard

Code Yellow should be used for biological hazards such as carp, spiders, bears, drones, blobs or any other biological hazard on the ship. It will give Command and any relevant departments the required flexibility (for example allowing officers to carry weaponry during a spider outbreak) to deal with any biological hazard threats, without sacrificing privacy rights or giving the Security Department the means to arrest/search crew without a warrant.

Equipment
There are many items in your cabin, but not all of them should be used all the time. Captains are not supposed to involve themselves directly in most ship matters (like security issues), and you should not expect things to go wrong, so wearing your special armor and carrying a lethal energy on green alert is not expected or encouraged. You are allowed to carry a weapon for self-defense, though it should not be lethal. The 'chain of command' item is a novelty, and should really not leave your office. The telescopic baton relies on brute damage to topple the target, and does not stun in any way, so use it sparingly. Don't carry your spare ID on you constantly, you should only go for it if you have a good reason and it's red alert. Outside of that, everything that can be done, can be done with your base ID.

Your armour and helmet function as a space suit, but this does not mean you should be wearing it all the time. The antique laser gun in the glass case is an antique and should be treated as such, it shouldn't leave its case, and is highly valuable.

Paperwork
You are the chief paperwork stamper on the ship and as said earlier, your stamp is a very powerful tool. It can be used as a substitute for every other, lesser stamp on the ship, the same way your orders stamp everyone else's. Use it responsibly, because written authorization is a powerful tool.

Authority
The Captain has the final say on almost every matter on the ship. If the Captain tells someone to do something they better do it, or have an exceptionally good reason to not do so. Captains should follow Corporate Regulations and Security has the power to arrest the Captain for serious violations if they do not (after Heads of Staff unanimously agree). The only time Corporate Regulations may be overridden is if there is an imminent and overwhelming threat to the ship.

Situations where the captain's orders are overridden are rare, but may include orders that would cause unnecessary and large amounts of damage to people or property, or are simply outrageously stupid. For example, ordering the Chief Engineer to vent the bar of atmosphere as people are getting slightly tipsy. This is not the norm however, and generally people should follow whatever the captain says.

Code Delta And Self-Destruct
The highest echelons of the SCC are fully aware that a number of its research ships are dabbling into extra-dimensional or even anomalous materials and artifacts which pose significant risks to humanity, the galaxy, and the corporation's bottom line. As such, all deep space research ships (including the Aurora, Exodus and Horizon) have installed in them a 50 kiloton nuclear bomb to act as a self-destruct. The existence of the nuke is public knowledge, but few no where it is or how to activate it. The Captain is the only one aside from the stationbound AI who knows where the nuke is and the Delta Protocol. The Head of Security is aware that there is a mysterious authentication disk on ship that needs to be protected at all costs, but not that it's used to activate self-destruct.

In an instance where the ship is beyond hope, the Captain can send an emergency message to Central Command detailing the situation and requesting the nuclear code. With a fax or emergency transmission you must end your message with the code [CPE-1704-TKS] to verify it is legitimate.

Only Captains know this code, which is used to ensure only Captains that spawned as a Captain can request the code. Making a bogus request is fine, but if you are not a Captain (or an antag with a good reason) and use this code then you will be bwoinked.

If the message is deemed valid by Central Command (the admins) a confirmation message is sent to the Captain. If the Captain confirms the code is transmitted directly to the Captain, who then simply has to make it to the nuke with the code and the disk to begin the sequence.

Requesting the code should only be done if the ship has expended all of its resources in containing a threat and failed. Because the Captain is the only one with this power, it is in their interest to ensure they can live long enough to carry it out.

Dangers
Stellar Corporate vessels are often under threat from various criminal organisations and natural space disasters. As Captain, is it your job to manage these threats and make sure that they do not interfere with normal activity aboard the ship.

Most of the time, your on-board Security, Medical, and Engineering forces should be sufficient to deal with the threat. Therefore, you are not expected to have to deal with such matters by yourself, save for when you have not been supplied with them, or you feel they are incompetent.

As far as running into danger goes, there is a thin line between stupidity and heroism. The rule of thumb is that you should only face suicidal odds when there is no other valid option. Your life's importance is second only to the ship's existence.

Links to Other Departments
As a captain, you have direct authority only over the other heads of staff. This means that, if your captain is the snooty type, they can get away with never having to talk to the miners, the cook, or the toxins researcher. On the other hand, there's nothing wrong with playing a captain who'll happily shoot the breeze with the janitor. That's up to you and your character.

When it comes to other departments, your primary job is to coordinate everyone's actions. Your captain's headset lets you talk to all heads of staff and hear any department's radio channel. If a department has a head of staff, your primary interactions will be with them, because they (should) know how to run their department. Without a head of staff, you may have to step in. With or without a Head to work with, make sure each department has the information and supplies it needs to work well.

Roleplaying Tips

 * In terms of roleplaying, you have a lot of freedom. You should really have some basic knowledge of how each department runs, and who the heads of them are, but outside that you could really have as much (or as little) knowledge as you want. You can play with a background in a certain field, but you should NOT be able to do everything (i.e. Being able to set-up the Engine single-handedly AND knowing how to make bombs is probably going too far). Just remember though, a very incompetent Captain doesn't make too many friends.
 * Leave Security matters to security, you don't (and shouldn't) need to step in on every criminal situation. You are above the Head of Security in terms of command, but you should defer security matters to him. Only step in if you think that a decision could endanger the ship or crew.
 * Don't think that just because you're the Captain, that you can do anything you want. That's the absolute worst thing to do. You're there to make sure everyone else is doing their job, not to do it for them.
 * Your armour is heavy protective armour that is space capable. It is not for walking around in all the time, and would be anywhere from extremely uncomfortable to debilitating exhausting depending on your captain's physical strength and stamina to do so. There is an armoured vest in your locker if you absolutely feel the need to wear armour when the full set isn't appropriate, but keep in mind you're on a research ship, and you shouldn't be expecting to really need the armour under the majority of situations.