General Regulations

Brief Glossary of Important Terms

Enlisted: A non-commissioned member of the Defence Forces or Expeditionary Corps.

Non-Commissioned Officer: An enlisted individual with a rank of E-4 and above, so the majority of crew. Senior NCOs are E-7 and above, and there are fewer of those.

Officer: A commissioned member of the Defense Force or Expeditionary Corps. Not all department heads are Officers, not all Officers are department heads.

Line Officer: An Officer in a general or ship command position. These are mostly the more senior Officers that handle major departments, and are first in line for command. They have specific training and qualifications for command. On the Torch, this is: The Commanding Officer (CO), Executive Officer (XO), Chief of Security (CoS), Chief Engineer (CE), Chief Science Officer (CSO) and Chief Medical Officer (CMO). Notably, Bridge Officers are also Line Officers – although extremely junior and not to be trusted.

Staff Officer: Officers not in a direct or team command position, acting either as a Junior Officer subordinate to a department head, or as a lesser head of staff. Staff Officers tend to be Officers due to qualifications, such as Medical Doctors, or junior officers. They do not have the special training to be in a command position. This includes the Pathfinder, Physicians, and commissioned Scientists.

Flag Officer: Admirals and Generals. Outrank anyone aboard.

Crew: The “government” portion of the manifest, staffed by Defence Forces and the EC. Has general foyer access to each department, crew areas, and maintenance access. Includes Engineering, Medical, Security, Supply, and all command.

Passengers: Corporate civilians on the manifest, with a few oddball listed passengers thrown in with no set background. Access to passenger areas.

Visitors: People who aren’t on the manifest but who have been granted permission to be aboard.

General Regulations

Due to the complex nature of the SEV Torch’s complement and mission, a special set of regulations have been devised specifically for this expedition.

Crew

• Commanding Officer: The Commanding Officer, as the leader of the expedition, has the ultimate authority aboard ship. While the CO delegates authority to their subordinates, the Officers and Enlisted, they cannot delegate their responsibility for the well-being of the Torch and all aboard her. All the following regulations, standard operating procedures, and rules may be altered or suspended by the CO at any time, with the obvious exceptions of SCG Law and the Sol Code of Uniform Justice (SCUJ). Being legal codes and not regulations, SCG Law and the SCUJ cannot be altered or suspended.
• Chain of Command: As is the norm for military vessels, rank determines seniority aboard the SEV Torch regardless of service branch or government agency. While a crewman’s direct chain of command extends from their department head, then to the Executive Officer, and ultimately the Commanding Officer, positional authority supersedes rank in a practical sense, but every Officer should be given the respect and obedience their rank is owed. The chain of command and line of succession can be found under Alert Procedure.
• Passengers: The SEV Torch is carrying a complement of corporate researchers, prospectors, and support personnel, as well as a number of other civilian passengers. While these individuals hold no rank, they should be treated with respect, and accommodated if possible. During normal operating conditions, passengers are only required to obey the commands of heads of staff and should not be treated as subordinates by the crew. In the event of an emergency, denoted by Code Red or above, crew officers and security personnel have authority over any and all passengers. Passengers should obey all lawful orders given by crew officers and security, and crew should make every effort to aid and protect passengers.
• Contractors: A variety of professionals of various skill levels and fields have been hired to supplement the crew in a few areas. These contractors hold no rank but are expected to obey the commands of all crew in their department, regardless of rank. While they are employees of a variety of corporations, their superior aboard ship is the head of whichever department they are part of. They are represented by the Workplace Liaison, and they may (or may not) be part of the union on board.
• Discipline: All crew are expected to know and obey abbreviated Sol Central Government Law for use aboard government vessels. Additionally, as members of the Defence Forces, or a uniformed service, all crew must also know and obey the Sol Code of Uniform Justice.
• Sol Central Government Representative: In the interests of oversight, diplomacy, and coordination, a SolGov Representative will be assigned to the SEV Torch to fill a variety of administrative roles. Primarily, the SCGR will act as an advisor to the CO on matters of SCG policy and diplomatic and humanitarian issues. They will also periodically report back to the SCG on the progress of the mission. In the event of contact with an advanced species, the SCGR is to act as a diplomatic representative of the SCG. The Representative should greet and negotiate with visitors and docking spacecraft, as well as any governments or entities that the Torch comes into contact with. Additionally, the SCGR will act as an Inspector General on board, and will be able to report on issues with the vessel back to Expeditionary Command. As the highest ranking member of the Sol Central Government aboard, the SCGR should mediate between the crew and EXO, as well as between the SEV Torch and any other organisations it comes in contact with. However, their authority stems entirely from the Secretary General, they have no rank, and are not a part of the chain of command.

Science

• Chief Science Officer: All Science & Research employees aboard answer directly or indirectly to the Chief Science Officer, who is responsible for the oversight and management of both the Exploration Team and the ship based Science team.
• Senior Researcher: For the sake of organisation, the Science attachment has a position for a Senior Researcher, in order to act as a second-in-command for the Chief Science Officer to oversee large research programs or handle day-to-day administration and oversight of the research facilities. Their authority is second only to the Chief Science Officer in all matters pertaining to ship-bound research.
• Pathfinder: Additionally, the Pathfinder falls under the authority of the Chief Science Officer, and is responsible for away mission related matters, organising the exploration team, and advising the CSO on away mission concerns.
• Chain of Command: While the Chief Science Officer is the head of staff responsible for Research staff assigned to the Research Team, all Science employees and other passengers are also required to obey the commands of SCG Heads of Staff (Line officers), especially the Commanding Officer and Executive Officer.
• Discipline: As guests aboard an SCG vessel, EXO employees will be under exceptional scrutiny regarding Sol Central Government Law, and are expected to know and follow it.

Passengers, Visitors and Off-Duty Personnel

• Chain of Command: Any passengers that are not a part of the research team report to the Executive Officer. In the event of an emergency, as indicated by a Code Red or above, passengers are to obey the lawful orders of all crew officers or security personnel.
• Workplace Liaison/Union Rep: To ensure the interests and needs of EXO are properly addressed while underway, the Torch has been assigned a liaison directly to the Board of Directors. In addition to processing complaints, the Liaison is responsible for advising the Commanding Officer and Chief Science Officer in matters of corporate policy, health and safety, union concerns and opportunities for profit. This Liaison is normally outside of the research hierarchy aboard the vessel, and reports on the mission’s progress directly to the Board. Additionally, this person functions as the Union Representative aboard for all contracted employees who are unionised. They are responsible for ensuring the rights of contractors are protected and respect, and that their issues, concerns and grievances are understood and addressed by vessel command. While not able to order around Contractors, they are there to represent their interests.
• General Passengers, Off-Duty Personnel, and Visitors: The SEV Torch has space on the manifest for several unassigned passengers, with no set position. These empty berths are to accommodate any additional corporate, SolGov, or unaffiliated personnel in a variety of fields. Passengers and off-duty personnel with corporate affiliation answer to the CL. SolGov/general passengers and off-duty personnel answer to the XO and SCGR. Unaffiliated passengers, or those employed by another corporation or government report directly to the XO, as do any visitors. Off-Duty personnel are required to obey crew orders regardless of what rank they have when on-duty. In the event of an emergency, off-duty personnel may not be utilised and are to be treated as any other passenger. They should not be armed or recruited to do tasks.
• Media Presence Aboard: While the presence of civilian media personnel aboard may be somewhat unusual for some personnel, it is vital to note that the freedom of the press applies at all times. Unless media coverage breaks the law, i.e. endangerment, espionage, etc, journalists are not to be interfered with. However, the freedom to report on happenings on the ship does not override the authority of command personnel, and the access restrictions on secure areas. Trespassing is still trespassing regardless of journalistic intention.

Synthetics

• Ship-bound synthetics and maintenance drones will all be maintained, modified, and repaired by the Chief Engineer.
• Laws may be modified as needed by authorized personnel, namely the CO, XO, and CE.
• Ship-bound synthetics will be given a modified version of the SCG default lawset.