Chain of Command

Command Department

Departmental Head
Captain

Command Roles

Captain •

Head of Personnel •

Head of Security •

Chief Engineer •

Research Director •

Chief Medical Officer •

Quartermaster

Command Guides

Guide to Command •

Paperwork •

Faxes •

AI Modules •

Station Goals •

Purchasable Shuttles •

High-Risk Items •

Space Law •

Chain of Command •

Standard SOP •

Command SOP

Return to Command Portal

Heads of Staff

AKA Command Staff. These are the people charged with the administration of the station. Each of them have access to the Bridge, the command radio channel (accessed with :c) and may call/recall the Escape Shuttle using a communications console. They are also the targets during a Revolution.

Job	Notes
Captain	Authority over entire station. Can overrule any decision made by any head. Is not above space law, however, and can still be arrested if found committing a crime. Can fire and assign at will.
Head of Personnel	Equal with all other non-captain Heads of Staff. Becomes acting Captain if the original Captain is dead or AWOL. The only non-captain who can alter jobs & access. If a Security member tries to "demote" you, they are griefing. The HoP can hire, fire and reassign crew, but typically requires permission from that crew member's head of staff. Direct authority over the Service department.
Head of Security	Equal with all other non-captain Heads of Staff. Becomes acting Captain only when the Captain and Head of Personnel are dead or missing. On green alert, may be denied access to the domains of other Heads. Below the Captain in command authority involving security matters. Expected to arrest anyone who is doing illegal things, even Heads of Staff or the Captain. Command of Security Officers, the Warden & Detective.
Chief Engineer	Equal with all other non-captain Heads of Staff. Authority over Station Engineers and Atmospheric Technicians.
Research Director	Equal with all other non-captain Heads of Staff. Authority over Scientists. Joint authority with CMO over Geneticists. Special responsibilities regarding the AI and changes to its laws.
Chief Medical Officer	Equal with all other non-captain Heads of Staff. If a Head of Staff is acting medically unstable, it is the job of the CMO to disable and treat them till they are once again fit for duty. Authority over Virologists and Medical Doctors. Joint authority with RD over Geneticists.
Quartermaster	Equal with all other non-captain Heads of Staff. Authority over the supply sector, including Cargo Technicians and Shaft Miners.

Emergency Procedures

Job	Notes
NanoTrasen Representative	Not equal with other Heads Of Staff, but can take over in the case ALL Heads Of Staff are absent, or if it is an extremely important situation. Has authority over no-one, but is expected to advise on matters of SOP. Not a target during a Revolution.

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.

Job	Notes
Warden	Subordinate to the Head of Security. Authority over the Brig, takes over in case the Head Of Security is absent.

Chain of Command

The following individuals are to be considered members of the Chain of Command: Captain, Head of Personnel, Head of Security, Chief Medical Officer, Chief Engineer, Research Director and Quartermaster. Barring exceptional circumstances (see below), the NanoTrasen Representative and the Magistrate are not to be considered part of Chain of Command, though their input should still be taken into consideration. Acting Heads of Staff should not be taken into consideration for Chain of Command until all other options are exhausted;

The Captain is to be considered the top authority in the Chain of Command;

In the absence of a Captain, the Head of Personnel is to be considered the Acting Captain. If there is a major station emergency, however, the Head of Security is to be considered the Acting Captain, until such a time as the emergency has passed, at which point the Head of Personnel is to be Acting Captain;

In the absence of a Captain, Head of Personnel and Head of Security, a vote is to be held among the available Heads of Staff in order to determine who should be considered the Acting Captain;

In the absence of any Heads of Staff, the NanoTrasen Representative is to be considered the Acting Captain;

The Acting Captain is to step down once an actual Captain is assigned to the station;

A Captain may choose to step down from Command. If they do so, Chain of Command is to be followed, and the former Captain is to be assigned to another job;

An Acting Captain may step down from Command. If they do so, Chain of Command is to be followed, and the former Acting Captain is to return to their original rank. If this process reaches the voting stage, any Head may opt out of being a candidate;

In the absence of a Head of Security, the Warden is to be considered the Acting Head of Security;

In the absence of an assigned Head of Staff, the Captain and/or Head of Personnel may promote a member of the Department to the position of Acting Head of Staff. This Acting Head of Staff is to step down when an official Head of Staff is assigned;

All Acting Captains/Heads are to secure all sensitive items associated with their rank. These items are to be returned to their respective office once an official Captain/Head of Staff is assigned

Demoting a Head of Staff

See Vote of No Confidence to learn more on the procedure.

Any Head of Staff can be demoted by the Captain, provided they have a legitimate reason to do so. Heads of Staff may also be fired if there is a majority vote from all the other non-SSD Heads of Staff.

Committing a Capital Crime immediately strips the Head of Staff of their rank.

A department can vote against their Head of Staff and must pass with a 2/3 majority in favor of the vote for it to take effect.

If there is no Captain, or you wish to demote the Captain themselves, an majority vote of all other non-SSD Heads of Staff is necessary. Central Command may be contacted to process demotions in special or exceptional instances. If there are two or less Heads of Staff, there is no official procedure for demoting either of them.

Heads of Staff and Criminal Offence

A Head of Staff proven to have committed a crime can be arrested, but not demoted without going through Demoting a Head of Staff. Arresting the captain based on suspicions is not legal, solid evidence is required. A Head of Staff cannot be arrested just because your character does not agree with their actions or orders.

Summary

The Captain has absolute authority. No other non-captain Head of Staff can overrule the other, except in extreme cases (e.g. criminal activity, mental instability). In the event of missing Captain, authority follows Chain of Command.