Executive Officer

• Access: Everywhere except Captain's Quarters
• Additional Access: N/A
• Difficulty: Very Hard
• Supervisors: The Captain, Commander, Space Law and Corporate Officials
• Duties: Be responsible for the ship without the Captain's fancy toys, keep the Head of Security honest, manage the Military division and Overwatch Officer.
• Special Equipment: Executive Officer ID, Energy Gun, Command Door Remote.

You are the Executive Officer, technically third in the Chain of Command. Your job is basically to run the Bridge when the Captain and Commander aren't present, and to keep abreast of what's going on onboard the ship as well as with away teams. You are probably going to be on the Bridge, watching the Overwatch Officer, or checking up on the Security department.

You should have some experience with all Heads of Staff jobs, as you may need to command them from time to time. Just remember that the Heads of Staff are there for a reason; don't personally command every crewmember. You should be on good terms with the Head of Security, as you'll be expecting them to be handling the day to day security work, and the Overwatch Officer, as they'll be directing your Marines on away missions. When these two need to work together, you're the Command role that keeps them on point.

The Executive Officer has quarters equal to the Commander – not too fancy, just a private office, personal quarters, and lavatory, and a cabinet for personal possessions. He also has a command door remote and an energy gun for when he needs to handle problems more directly.

One of your jobs is to handle the responsibilities of Captain when the Captain and Commander aren't available. This isn't common, but you are mostly in charge of the people who carry the big guns around. When things turn violent, you'll be the one ordering in the Marines, and when things are calm, you'll be checking in to make sure Security isn't abusing their privileges. Some guidelines:

• Of the three Command officers, you're the most likely to be away from the bridge; because your role is most important when things are going to hell, you are the Command role most likely to join the charge when things are troubled. Just make sure the Bridge knows what you're up to, and remember you have an Overwatch Officer and Marines to handle the shooting.
• Ideally, at least one commanding officer is on the Bridge at all times - that means either the Captain, the Commander, or you. The Bridge Officers are in command of the ship when nobody in command is around, but Command is held liable for any incidents that occur.
• The Captain is your boss. If he is manning the Bridge, he is in his rights to order you to oversee things personally elsewhere on the ship. This doesn't mean you have to personally handle everything that goes wrong with the ship, but you may be asked to check up on the Heads of Staff, especially Research, if the public comms have been quiet for a while and the Heads aren't in sight, and give orders directly to get things back on track if necessary.
• While you can directly pop into a department and give orders, work through the Heads when possible; they should be responsible for what goes on in their departments.
• As a member of Command, you are a target for anyone seeking to disrupt the smooth flow of the ship's daily routine, and are one of the three people expected to be managing the ship at any given moment. So pay attention, especially on duty. You may have to replace incompetent or absent Heads of Staff, deal with traitors and criminals among your crew, fight off hostile lifeforms attempting to take your ship apart, and generally coordinate repairs and defenses in a crisis – and make sure the ship remains profitable above it all.

You are technically within your right to modify the AI computer system when necessary. However, as a general rule, the Captain should be the one taking responsibility for this, and only when it needs to be done. AIs are particularly sensitive to adjustment, not least because a well-placed law can make them a danger to the ship and the crew. It never hurts to ask the AI what its current lawset is – but if the AI has gone rogue or been made rogue by others, it may not tell you.

NovusCorp will be watching the activities of your research vessel as you travel throughout the cosmos - and may have specific requests to make of you, typically through the Bridge's Communications Console. As Executive Officer, you are one of the Command officers and as such are responsible for ensuring these requests are carried out. This may include heading to particular destinations, providing specific research data, or even direct military action against enemies of the corporation. You may even find yourself dealing with Inspectors or other Corporate Officials. Keep your higher-ups happy, as they can remove you from your position if they feel you aren't doing your job properly.

As a member of Command, you are responsible for maintaining the safety and functionality of your ship and its crew, regardless of the situation. This means that you may have to call for an evacuation if things have gone truly bad (the Captain is dead, the Bridge is missing, one of the FTL engines is floating off into space, and most of the rest of the ship is on fire, for example), or request assistance from NovusCorp to recover from massive damage. It will often fall to you to decide which is needed, and when to declare the ship irreparably damaged and focus on salvaging what you can.

• The XO has almost all of the responsibilities of regular Command, plus the unique responsibility of managing his troops; make sure that neither goes unattended for long.
• The XO is also within his rights to direct resistance to internal threats, by referring the matter to the Head of Security for normal problems or calling up the Marines for serious threats. Revolutionaries tend to fall under Security's purview unless martial law is declared, while Xenomorphs tend to fall under the Marines'.

Playing as a Traitor Executive Officer is fairly difficult as you're likely to be watched by the Captain and Commander most of the time. However, you have control of the ship's military, so you can be a devastating threat to NovusCorp's reputation just by indulging their inner desire for war crimes.

Keep an eye on your squads and an eye on everything else; you're most likely to be considered responsible for any major military fuck-ups, though at least the Captain is usually to blame for the loss of the ship.