Command Hierarchy

Basics

The Captain is the legally appointed officer by Nanotrasen in charge of the station.

The Captain (CO) has the legal authority to modify Space Law, Alert Procedure, and SOP at will, with an announcement broadcasting the changes to be made beforehand; this power is referred to as the Captain's Authority. However, the crew may be able to seek legal punishment or mutiny a Captain who abuses their authority.

However, when they are not present, several steps exist to rectify this until one is assigned to the station or elected.

Here are some definitions, followed by the steps to enable a Chain of Command to follow and obey to ensure that the station runs smoothly from the top down.

Captain is the formal title, while the legal title is Commanding Officer or CO. The captain's title does not transfer to anyone who has taken the ID unless otherwise stated by Central Command or through other means without Central Command's involvement; i.e., the Captain was removed from their position due to No Confidence or the Captain has died and cannot be revived, or a CO was appointed among the remaining Departmental Heads.

Executive Officer, or XO, is a title appointed by the Captain, to act as a successor in the event that they perish and cannot be revived or are missing in action and cannot be recovered through any and all exhaustible means.

Magistrate's Authority

The Magistrate has the following authority in the command hierarchy:

1. The ability to sentence someone without a trial.
2. The ability to veto any Captain's Authority as necessary.
3. The ability to demote any member of command.

For the third point, the following conditions apply:

1. Demoting a Captain requires Central Command approval.
2. Demoting a Department Head requires Captain approval.
3. A captain may demote a Department Head without a vote with Magistrate approval.

Abuse or wrongful usage of this power may result in a removal of your role whitelist.

Situations

An XO was appointed when the Captain was present:

Fax Central Command and inform them of the Captain's untimely demise, and the XO will become the CO.

There is no CO to lead the Station, and no XO was appointed when a Captain was present

Among the departmental heads present, conduct a vote, and whoever gains a majority vote shall become the Executive Officer. The results of this vote must be documented, stamped, and signed by a majority of department heads to be legal, and must then be faxed to Central Command.

After sending appropriate and legal documentation to Central Command, the elected XO will immediately become the station's Acting Commanding Officer, with the access and authority appropriate to the position. A response from Central Command is not required for this to take place, though they will usually acknowledge the transfer of power and send an access token to unlock the station's emergency spare ID cabinet.

If you are becoming ACO, need access to the locked spare ID cabinet, and Central Command is not responding to the fax in a timely manner, it is encouraged to send an ahelp to ensure the issue is noticed. If necessary, the ACO is authorized to break the cabinet open to get the ID.

When and if a Nanotrasen appointed Captain arrives, the ACO must turn over all effects befitting the legal title and rescind their accesses.

Mutiny and Other Pressing Circumstances

Conditionally, it will transfer to whoever is elected via a majority vote by the remaining Departmental Heads.

Demotion of Departmental Heads or Executive Officer(s) or Commanding Officer. (Shift-Start Contractor)

There shall be a majority vote to demote someone for a shift-start Command Member, it should follow similarly to how a Commanding Officer can be removed through No Confidence. Refer to Mutiny Guideline.

Hiring of Departmental Heads

If there is no Departmental Head at Shift Start, the Commanding Officer or Captain may hire for the Departments that lack a Command member. The new Command hire must be mindshielded in order to ensure their loyalty to NanoTrasen. If there is no CO or Captain, wait unless there's an issue, then go directly to faxing Central Command.

Transfer of Powers and Responsibilities

If a contracted Departmental Head arrives on the station hired by NanoTrasen, the current On-Shift Hire shall be demoted and all effects shall be turned over to that contracted individual. If the contracted Departmental Head chooses to retain the On-Shift Hire Departmental Head, they can do so and share the responsibilities.

A dummy guide to Command Hierarchy

Written by Quirin Inanis - regional grumpy CMO

What is a CO?

CO (Commanding Officer) is a title that means you are the one in Command; you're at the top! By default the role of Captain has this title! But in some circumstances this can change. Being the CO means you need to lead, so make sure you're comfortable being under pressure! (CO also often comes with nice perks like AA and getting to tell the Heads what to do)

What is the XO?

XO (Executive Officer) is a title appointed by the Captain. It does nothing on it's own, until the Command Hierarchy changes in some way!

How is the title of CO moved?

In the case that there is no Captain (completely out-of-commission, no one playing the role, missing, etc.) the title of CO will be handed down. Note: Any change in the CO title needs to be Faxed to CC. If the Captain appointed an XO, they are now the new CO! Otherwise the Department heads vote among themselves which one becomes the new CO. This is often referred to as being the "Acting CO". Note that this is temporary! If a Captain shows up again, they take back the title of CO and everything that comes with it! The Captain can also loose the title of CO in some ways, either if a higher-up from Nanotrasen shows up, or if there was a No Confidence vote. (Go look at the rules for Mutiny for more on that)

What if a Head is missing?

If a Department doesn't have a Head (completely out-of-commission, dead, no one playing, missing, etc.) a new temporary Head is appointed by the CO from among that Departments staff. Same as with the CO title, if a Head does end up showing up all the power, items, etc. are transferred back to them. (If the Department Head wants someone to share the load, they can choose to not demote the replacement Head to work together)

What if there is absolutely no command staff? (Meaning no one can take the title of CO)

Nothing! Just wait! If there is some issue: Fax Central Command!