Captain

Access: All

Difficulty: Very Hard

Supervisors: Space Law, CentCom, and ARC Officials

Duties: Ensure the station remains “afloat”. Keep the crew alive, delegate effectively, and keep the research going.

Guides: Guide to Command, Space Law

As the Captain, you're in charge of the station and everyone on it. Make sure the crew is working and productive and any potential threats are seen to.

The Captain has the Captains Quarters, complete with an Arcade Machine, ID computer and Communications console, a Jetpack, a Hand teleporter, the Nuclear Authentication Disk, a locker with some less stylish armor as well as some much more stylish threads, your spare jumpsuit, the Chain of Command, an energy gun, and a pressurized and humidity controlled display case with your pride and joy, an Captain's Antique Laser Gun.

At the start of the shift, take your spare ID and nuclear authentication disk and put them in your backpack. Put the latter in a place that nobody will think of looking, preferably in some far-off end of maintenance or in the clown's chest. The safe can be emagged, so don't bother with it.

When you’re not fighting Revolutionaries, Traitors, Syndicates and Wizards, you are monitoring the crew. You are on the top of the food chain, and have authority over everyone, except CentCom.

You are the Judge, the final word, the Big Guy. You have the ultimate veto power over all matters and is the only person who can authorize an execution without a trial. Anyone who questions your authority can technically be tried for mutiny. There really is no way to tell you exactly how to run things as many people have different leadership styles. However, as Captain, here are some guidelines you should keep in mind:

• Do not involve yourself when there is somebody else available to do the job. Why have a Head of Security if you're going to involve yourself in every security matter? If there isn't a head for a specific department, promote a new one.
• Delegate whenever you can. If someone says 'Captain, there's a plasma leak!' then you should order your Chief Engineer to go fix it. Do not attempt to fix it yourself, as you will put yourself unnecessarily at risk.
• Follow the Chain of Command. You command the Heads. The Heads command their departments. Try not to skip them in the decision making process as they are the ones who should know their own departments best.
• Stay alert. You have a big target on your back. It is likely you'll be a prime Traitor target just for your all-access ID. With this in mind, you may want to spend a fair bit of time lounging in the security of the Bridge.
• Keep calm and carry on. As Captain, be prepared to deal with any or all of the following: Incompetent or absent Heads, traitors and angry crew members banging down the bridge door trying to get in, corrupted AI's on a war path and the occasional aftermath of an Armageddon against the station, thanks to a range of the above. And it's your job to manage it all. Good luck.

Uploading Laws to the AI isn’t something you should be doing lightly… unless you’re a traitor. Then go crazy.

Do not get angry with the AI if it does not want you uploading a new law.

But remember the Hierarchy. Law 1 overrides Laws 2, 3, 4, etc. A Law 4 telling the AI to kill all Revolutionaries isn’t going to work. A Law 4 classifying Revolutionaries as Nonhuman and that they must be eliminated works much better. Law priority is enforced by the order they are listed. A law is invalid if it causes a conflict with either: Previous laws in the form of conflicting orders, or it challenges the procession of law priority.

Keep in mind that if the AI announces you are in their upload, uploading laws, people will likely form a lynch mob.

With your fancy title, medals, and luxurious excesses it's easy to forget that there is an outside, higher power scrutinizing your every move.

Contact with Central Command may be few and far between, but you're expected to follow any directives issued by them. Centcom will usually issue directives and updates on activities in your sector through the Communications Console located on the Bridge and your office. These directives and updates can be rather peculiar or even outright dangerous to you, the station, and/or the crew, but it's still your job to follow them unless you want to be on the receiving end of a barrage of bluespace artillery fire.

If you're unlucky, you might have to deal with a visit from a Centcom Official or Commander. Official visits vary from standard performance reviews, internal investigations, or some other kind of corporate meddling. Whatever the case may be, it is important that you try and keep the Official happy throughout their visit. If all else fails, just make sure you can't be blamed for anything that goes wrong.

Contacting Centcom on your own is possible through the use of Communications Consoles, but unless the transmission is urgent it will likely get caught up for weeks in Centcom's notorious bureaucracy. Even then, it'll be a crapshoot.

Antagonist Captain is less about completing your objectives and more about turning the entire station into your own private playroom. With your access and authority you can pretty much take anything you want, and dispatching a lowly subordinate shouldn't take much effort at all. Chances are you won't even need to open your syndicate uplink. You have more freedom than any traitor could dream of. Liberally hand out execution orders, release and pardon criminals, give the clown all-access, release the singularity, reprogram the AI to fuel your ego, or just generally act like a comdom and demote anyone who gets in your way. Just make sure that you're at least trying to be subtle.

The only person with more potential to fuck things up than you is the AI, and they’re probably not going to do that. So watch your step, your back and your crew, or you may just end up floating through space wondering why your Oxygen tank is filled with plasma.