Bridge Crewman

COMMAND SUPPORT STAFF
Bridge Crewman	Access: The Bridge Qualifications: At least 25 years of age, a current pilots license. Employers: The Stellar Corporate Conglomerate Supervisors: Executive Officer Duties: The completion and maintenance of bridge operations. Guides: Guide to Piloting, Guide to Away Missions, Guide to Gunnery

The Bridge Crewman is a job whose duties revolve around the bridge, which means you fly and work sensors, among a few other things. They are the only non-command SCC members, and do not require a whitelist. To clarify, you have no intrinsic authority over anyone. You can have authority delegated to you by command, and you have a small amount of authority over non-Research and non-Operations personnel on board the Intrepid.

Your Main Job

As a bridge crewman, you have a variety of duties. First and foremost, however, you and your fellows sit in the bridge cockpit and are directly responsible for all piloting related tasks for the Horizon. While the Guide to Piloting is your personal piloting compendium, there are a few things to remember as a bridge crewman specifically.

A Destination

The first thing you have to do is decide where to go. If there are any command staff available, ask them if they have a preferred destination - even better, scan the objects you can pick up on the sensors and give them a little rundown for them to choose from. If there aren't, then go ahead and see if there are any miners or researchers who would benefit from the Horizon being close to their destination of choice. If there really is no one else to consult, go ahead and move the Horizon to wherever you want.

Getting Ready to Go

Now that you've got a destination in mind, it's time to see if you can move at all, and if so, to get everyone on the same page. The engineers (if there are any) should be bringing the thrusters online, but it will take them a minute. Feel free to ask them over the general radio how progress is going and ask them to inform you when they're ready to use. Once they are, there's only one step before you can get going. As a bridge crewman, you have access to the command and communications program, from which you can issue announcements. Make an announcement detailing where you plan to go, that the Horizon will be moving soon, and that E.V.A is advised against. Preferably, leave a little bit of time between the announcement and actually starting to move in case anyone is outside the Horizon and needs a moment to get back inside.

Now What?

Well, your main job is over. While there are some other things you can do detailed below, there is one little bit left. As a bridge crewman, you are also capable of piloting the Intrepid, the Horizon's general purpose shuttle, which you can use to land on away sites. If the ship is quiet and there aren't any command staff, you may wish to organize a little expedition to somewhere interesting if you have enough skilled crewmembers, though you should defer to Research if they wish to use the Intrepid. Be careful, though! Some away sites are dangerous. Additionally, you can serve as a pilot for the shuttles even if you aren't organizing the expedition. Feel free to offer your services if someone's taking the Intrepid out.

Your Secondary Job

Sometimes, there really is nothing to do regarding piloting, or it just doesn't make sense to do so. In that event, don't worry - you're not completely useless! Your first purpose in this instance is acting as an additional hand for Command staff. Ask if they would like you to handle anything on their behalf, or perhaps if they would like you to survey a situation in-person that they don't have quite the time to deal with. You shouldn't be interfering with matters that are too department specialized, but there are plenty of situations where a set of Command eyes are needed that you could be substituted for. For example, perhaps a third-party ship is docking and requesting to buy fuel or sell wares? Volunteer to handle negotiations! It'll keep you busy, and can be quite fun. Of course, you should know which ships you are communicating with. Thankfully, you can find a list of ship designations here.

No Command, No Problem

Sometimes, there just aren't any command staff for you to help out. This still doesn't render you useless - in fact, you're pretty important still! While you're not a member of the chain of command and don't have any authority over matters, you do still have access to the command and communications program. This gives you an excuse to stick your nose in to any interesting business, within reason; perhaps security would like to keep you informed so that you can raise to blue alert if a wily criminal is on the loose, or perhaps you can make an announcement that the chef is holding a little feast on deck three. The command and communications program gives you a lot of reason to get involved with the crew when there aren't any command available, as you've got the only access to the alert and announcement system.