Chain of Command

The chain of command represents how orders are distributed throughout the ship. It is part of a power structure: usually seen as the most vulnerable and also the most powerful part of it. Starting from the most authorized, the Captain, through the Head of Department, down to the lowliest subordinate to finally accomplish the task needed, in order to make the ship function as efficiently as possible.

The Heads should not start doing the simplest tasks themselves unless the ship's already beyond saving.

Notice: Heads can demote their department staff at any time. To do this, use the ID console with either the Executive Officer or Captain's access to demote the staff member to suspended or assistant. So if one of your subordinates isn't acting like an appropriate team player, don't hesitate to show them who's boss.

Note: The Merchant only holds authority on their own vessel. Outside of their vessel, they hold NO AUTHORITY.

Heads of Staff

A.K.A. the command staff. These are the peoples charged with the administration of the ship. Each of them have general access to each department and the Bridge, the keycard authentication devices, the command radio channel (accessed with :c), the ability to make ship-wide announcements, the ability to change alert level, and cool uniforms fax machines.

Captain

The Commanding Officer with authority over the entire ship. They are the ultimate decision maker.

Duties: The primary duty of the Captain is to keep the ship and her crew safe and functioning. Their actions are expected to be in the best interest of crew, ship, and SCC. The secondary duty is to achieve ship and SCC goals. The way in which a captain satisfies these duties are dependent on each individual captain, however the recommended and primary path is with delegation to other Command staff to leave external interactions (i.e. ship to ship communication) and higher level decisions with their role.

Executive Officer

The Executive Officer is the head of staff for the Bridge and Service department. They manage the ship finances alongside the captain, as well as handle any ID modifications. However, they are not Second in Command to the captain, nor immediate acting captain in an emergency.

Duties:The primary duties of the Executive Officer are to manage the Service Department and Bridge. This will usually require decisions in regard to ship destination, external communication, and managing vessel shuttles. During ship-based combat, the Executive Officer takes on primary role of coordinating the various Bridge stations, as well as communication with Operations and the Operations Manager to coordinate ammunition and weapons loading.

Secondary Duties include managing the ship's finances, the modification of IDs where necessary, and offering guidance to the Security Department in absence of the Head of Security.

Head of Security

The commander of the ship's security team. The master of Corporate Regulations and enforcer of justice peace. Arguably the second most stressful position behind the captain, the Head of Security handles all matters pertaining to the operation of the security department and the safety of the ship.

Duties: The primary duties of the Head of Security is to protect SCC assets aboard the ship, including the crew and the ship itself. To achieve this, the Head of Security organizes and commands the security department to address threats quickly and efficiently. The secondary duty of the Head of Security is to maintain order within the crew through the Corporate Regulations. This may include dealing with problematic staff including other command staff who break regulations.

Research Director

The Research Director is the head of the science department. While not expected to be intimate with every field of science within their department, the Director is often looked to for information and assistance on anything new, unknown, or scientific. Maintenance of the AI also falls under the oversight of the Research Director as they are the only command member, other than Captains who were previous in the position, who knows how to reset and change the AI core.

Duties: The primary duties of the Research Director is to give guidance to Scientists. This may include department wide projects, inter-departmental projects (such as with medical for medicine development), and planning out trips on the Intrepid to support the Xenoarcheologist. Secondary duties are focused on maintaining the AI. This may include resetting the AI's laws in the event they are tampered with, or changing the AI lawset to a new version if it is required.

Chief Engineer

The Chief Engineer is the highest position within the ship's Engineering Department. Usually, the Chief Engineer is the most experienced engineer on the ship and has good knowledge on every system within their vessel. They have access to additional equipment which can help the Engineering Department's efforts as well as the knowledge and experience to deal with structural, atmospheric, and electrical problems that may occur.

Duties:The primary duty of the Chief Engineer is to coordinate the various Engineers and Atmospheric Technicians of the ship to maintain and repair the ship's structure and systems. This does include maintaining oversight of the engine of the ship, whether that be the Supermatter Engine or the INDRA. A secondary duty of the Chief Engineer is to design and enact projects to improve the ship if desired.

Chief Medical Officer

The Chief Medical Officer is the head of the ship's Medical Department and Medical Bay. Due to the variety of positions and fields under their supervision, the Chief Medical Officer is not expected to know every field beyond a basic understanding that allows them to manage and discuss it, however they are expected to work with their specialized staff members to treat, cure, and advise the crew on any and all health issues. The Chief Medical Officer is the only command member, aside from the Captain, with the power to declare crew members physically or mentally unfit.

Duties:The primary duty of the Chief Medical Officer is to coordinate the Medical Department in responding to health issues. This may require communication with the Head of Security to coordinate Paramedic and Security Officer movements or managing the patients that are received in the Medical Bay. The secondary duty of the Chief Medical Officer is to monitor the health of crew and determine if they are physically and mentally fit for service.

Operations Manager

The Operations Manager is the head of the Operations department. Similarly to the Research Director and Chief Medical Officer, the Operations Manager is not expected to be an expert in every field under their authority, but rather expected to have a general understanding of those fields and the knowledge of how to coordinate them to meet departmental goals. To this extent, the Operations Manager is in charge of the Spark, the mining shuttle used by miners, Machinists, Shaft Miners, and Hangar Technicians. They are the primary point of contact for anything logistical.

Duties: The primary duty of the Operations Manager is to coordinate the Operations department to ensure the material needs of the other ship departments are met. Alongside this, they must coordinate with Medical and the Machinists to ensure all synthetic crew members and patients with non-organic parts are maintained and repaired. The secondary duty is to ensure that the warehouse is sorted and that bounties are being fulfilled.

Other Management Roles

While the following jobs have management roles, they are not Heads of Staff and get none of the perks associated with being a Head of Staff.

Warden

The Warden is a subordinate of the Head of Security and is on equal footing with Security Officers and Investigators in terms of power. The exception to this, however, is the brig. The Warden holds authority over the brig and its prisoners. All Security Officers must obey commands by the Warden if said commands are in relation to the brig or the prisoners within it. This power can only be overruled by a command member.

Duties: Keep the brig safe, ensure prisoners do not escape and are treated fairly, issue weapons to Officers when necessary, and process incoming detainees.

Human Resources Assistant

The Human Resources Assistant is the on-ship assistant for the SCC Human Resources department. While they do not hold any power over the ship or crew directly, they can be seen on occasion conducting interviews with crew members that are involved in Incident Reports.

Note: The Human Resources Assistant role is restricted to staff members (primarily CCIA) and should not, in any way, be impeded or affected by the round unless given permission by staff. Doing so is considered an OOC offense and can be addressed by Admins.

Duties: Conduct investigations regarding Incident Reports.

Command Voting

All Heads of Staff can initiate a Command Vote. This vote is considered a captain-level decision and thus carries the authority of the Captain. A command vote begins with one or more Heads of Staff declaring what the vote intends to do over the command radio. All Heads of Staff are expected to participate and vote yes, no, or verbally abstain (abstaining through inaction is not permitted). All command votes are majority-rules unless stated otherwise. In the event the command vote ends in a tie, the vote automatically fails.

Vote of No Confidence

During non-standard operation, it is expected that Command staff follow all Captain's orders, regardless of legality or whether they break Regulations. However, in the event that a Captain is acting in such a manner that it threatens the safety of the Ship or acts against SCC interests, a Vote of No Confidence may be started to overturn a decision and remove the Captain from their position. This should be a last resort in cases where failure to overturn an order would result in grave consequences. Otherwise, contact Central Command or CCIA after the situation has resolved.

The Vote of No Confidence may be started by any non-interim Command staff by clearly stating their intention over the Command radio, as well as the order they wish to contest. All non-interim Command staff must vote either yes or no; abstaining is not permitted during a Vote of No Confidence. To pass the vote, the Command staff must unanimously vote yes. Any vote against automatically fails the action.

To ensure the safety of the voting Command staff, the Captain may not vote on the action, and is barred from demoting any Command staff until a decision has been reached.

A Vote of No Confidence does NOT count as mutiny, sedition, or any related charge unless otherwise stated. Command Staff may not be arrested for a failed vote.

If a Vote of No Confidence passes, the following must happen immediately:

• The Captain is removed from power
• An Acting Captain must be chosen
• Central Command MUST be informed of the decision
  • In the event Central Command chooses to revert the action, the Acting Captain must give up Captainship, and the previous Captain is re-instated
  • Failure to inform Central Command as soon as possible, situation permitting, will be considered Mutiny

Emergency Situations

Captainship Emergencies

Captain Missing in Action

In this situation, the Captain has gone missing in action but their death has not been confirmed nor denied. In this case, an acting captain can be appointed via command vote. Actions should be taken as soon as possible to locate and confirm the status of the Captain. If the Captain is found to be alive and fit for duty, acting captainship should be relieved and the Captain returned to their position.

Captain is Killed

In this situation, the Captain has been killed on-duty. The first actions should always be to secure the situation. When the situation is stable enough for a command vote, an acting captain should be appointed and shall serve until the situation is over when acting captainship should be relieved. Alongside this, a situation report regarding the death of the captain should be written and sent to Central Command when possible.

Captain Declared Mentally Unfit

In this situation, the Chief Medical Officer has determined the Captain to be mentally unfit for command. This ruling is made when the Captain acts in such a way that it risks the well-being of themselves, the crew, or the ship to an unreasonable degree. In this situation, the Captain should be removed from their position and submitted into proper medical care. Should the situation require an acting captain, one must be appointed when possible.

Captain Declared Physically Unfit

In this situation, the Chief Medical Officer has determined the Captain to be incapacitated in such a way that they are unfit for command. Following the Chief Medical Officer's ruling, the Captain should be submitted to medical care and relieved of duty until they are declared physically fit, or a replacement is activated. Should the situation require an acting captain, one must be appointed when possible.

Appointing an Acting Captain

An Acting Captain can be appointed by majority of command. Usually, appointing an Acting Captain is done in Code Red, however one can be appointed on lower alert levels should the situation require it. The Acting Captain inherits all powers of the Captain, including ultimate authority and the power to appoint interim Heads of Staff. Acting Captainship should be relieved after any present emergencies are concluded.

Within the Captain's office, a spare Captain's ID can be found for the use of the acting captain. This ID should be used to access the Acting Captain briefcase within the Captain's locker, which contains equipment to better identify the individual taking captainship.

Interim Heads of Staff

In the event that a department is lacking a Head of Staff, someone with enough training can be assigned as a Interim Head of Staff by the Captain, Acting Captain, or the Executive Officer. They assume all responsibilities and powers of said Head of Staff until their services are no longer needed, such as when said Head of Staff is made available or they are demoted. Interim Heads of Staff hold an equal power in command votes as any other Head of Staff and are treated as another member of command until their services end.

Missing Head of Staff

In the event a Head of Staff is not present on-shift, or has gone missing for whatever reason, it is expected that the rest of command does whatever is necessary to fill in the gap within the power structure. This may include Heads of Staff from another department stepping in to give direction, leadership, and help where possible, or the appointment of an interim Head of Staff.