This thread will be to update everyone on updates to the The Vast Empire Bridge Operation Guide and Technical Manual. This Guide will be a complete almanac to the Bridge. I haven't worked on it in awhile due to being on leave, but I will try to work on it more so the new batch of JBO's can use it as reference.

Currently I have:

• The Helms Staff
• The Sum of all of the other Staffs
• The Sum of every person's job on the Bridge

Its about 3,000 words at the moment, but it will get bigger.

The Vast Imperial Bridge Operation Guide and Technical Manual

Written by Petty Officer 2nd Class Finbar “Echelon” Bandoran

Bridge Staff

The Bridge Staff are the people that make the ship function. They are the people who control, command, and coordinate the ship. If the ship is the human body, the Bridge is the brain. The Bridge Staff are responsible for making decisions that will impact what happens on or around the ship. Without the Bridge Staff the ship is life less, and nothing happens. The Bridge is made up of 6 Crews/Staffs and 1 group of officers that fit in the “other” category.

Command Staff

The Command Staff are the bosses for the whole ship. Their job is to give orders, make plans, and lead the personnel of the ship. They coordinate all of the Bridge Staff so they can accomplish their goal. The Command Staff include the Ships Captain (SCAP), the Executive Officer (XO), and the Second Officer (SO).

Staff Members

The Ships Captain: The Ship’s Captain is the supreme boss of the ship. You do whatever he says. His job is to make decisions, plans, and to win battles.

The Executive Officer: The Executive Officer is second in command for the ship. He steps in when the Captain is disabled or when it is his watch. His job is the same as the Captain’s except he is a position lower.

The Second Officer: His job is the same as the Captain’s and the XO’s except he is 2 positions lower.

Communications Staff

The Communication Staff's (shortened to the Com Staff) job is to transmit, relay, recieve, decipher, intercept, and report transmissions and information both internal and external. In a battle they may try to decipher transmissions going from enemy ship to enemy ship, or they may relay messages to the Ship's Captain from another ship or even a different area on their own ship. The Com Staff is also in charge of personnaly talking and interacting with external (and internal) sources such as a rouge pirate ship's captain. Their ability to do so may decide the whether a battle starts or doesn't. They are the middleman when it comes to information exchanges which is why they are a very important section of the bridge staff. The Com Staff is made up of two Communication Coordinators (CC) both internal and external, and their two communications mates (CM).

Staff Members

The Communications Coordinator, External: His job is to send and recieve all transmissions outside of the ship, and to coordinate his Communications Mate. He usually is the one to crack coded transmissions and decipher them. What he says goes. He is also the one to directly talk to external sources. He usually reports any transmissions of interest directly to the Command Staff (or anyone else). He is usually very knowledgeable in signals, codes, and transmissions.

The Communications Coordinator, Internal: His job is to coordinate all transmissions and messages within the ship and to coordinate his Com Mate. He sends and receives messages to and from different parts of the ship. He is very knowledgeable on how things work in the ship, so he can send the right messages to the right people.

The Communications Mates: Their job is to listen and follow their Com Coordinators. They are the ones who usually do all of the button pressing, and their superiors are the thinkers. They usually help the Coordinators do their jobs by helping crack codes and send messages.

How Communications Works (Internal)

A colossal amount of messages are sent through the ship every minute. They are usually sent in an audio form, but some messages are sent in a hologram form. For optimum speed, they are sent via a series high-speed cables. The Internal Communications sub staff is in charge of relaying messages from other parts of the ship directly to the captain or the bridge crew. They also will relay messages to the External Communications sub staff, so they can be sent outside of the ship. Internal communications is important because without it parts of the ship can’t work with each other, and the ship is basically deaf to itself.

How Communications Works (External)

External communications are very important because they deal with enemies, friends, coded transmissions, and help. External communications are always wireless, and are sent in frequencies and waves. They can also take many different forms such as hologram, audio, video, etc. Ext. Communications doesn’t always have to actually be communicating. Sending files and information also counts. The External Communications sub staff receives and monitors transmissions through out the area. They also relay important information to the bridge, captain, or the internal communications sub staff to be relayed through out the ship. They also decode transmissions to read the transmission. Without External Communications the ship is deaf to the entire outside world.

Helms Staff

The Helms Staff's job is to pilot and control the movement of the ship. This includes both sublight travel and hyperspace travel. Their job is to also coordinate the tactics of the ship (unless one of the Command Staff specifically orders a tactic). The Helms Staff also coordinates with other capital ships and star fighters for formations and tactics. The Staff is in charge for navigation and plotting a course whether in realspace or hyperspace. The Helms Staff is made up of the chief pilot (CP), two pilots (P), the chief astrogator (CA), and an astrogator (A).

Staff Members

The Chief Pilot: His job is to coordinate all of the pilots and make sure they get their job right. He also coordinates with other members of the Bridge Crew and other ships for tactics, damage control, etc. He has the authorization for some flight modes that regular pilots don't. He also pilots the ship when they're in a dire emergency, or whenever he feels like it. What he says goes. He is usually more knowledgable then the regular pilot when it comes to tactics, engine systems, and piloting. He is also the navigator; plotting sublight courses through space.

The Pilots: They are the regular helmsmen that pilot the ship. They listen to the Chief Pilot and do what he says. Their job is to pilot the ship and listen to commands. Nothing else.

The Chief Astrogator: He doesn't really command since he is only in charge of one Astrogator, but he tells that one astrogator what to do. His job is to coordinate with the other pilot(s) to get the ship to a hyperlane. He is usually more knowledgable on how the hyperdrive works, and he has authorization to some modes that the astrogator doesn’t. He will step in and do the work when he has to or whenever he wants.

Astrogator: He is a regular astrogator that listens to his Chief. His job is to get the ship into hyperspace and plot a course. He must step aside when his Chief tells him to, but he usually does the work himself.

How Piloting a Capital Ship Works (Sublight)

Piloting a Capital Ship manually is almost impossible and is extremely difficult. There are so many different thrusters and ways the ship can move. It is impossible to manually coordinate all of those different variables. Where as in a star fighter, the pilot usually has two thrusters which can be coordinated manually via yoke. So you're probably asking how a Capital Ship is piloted by the Helms Staff. There are two ways: 1) The pilot(s) input coordinates on a map and an onboard computer autopilots the ship to those coordinates; 2) The pilot(s) sets the amount of thrust for each way the ship can move (pitch, foward/reverse, lateral movement, etc.) and the main rear engines (different than other thrusters). The latter is the hardest to master because once again there are many variables (but less than setting the thrust for each thruster), but it is the closest thing to manually piloting the ship which is good in space battles. The former however is more convinient because you set the coordinates once and your done. It is good if you are casually travelling, but not in space battles. Though you actually CAN set the thrust for each thruster (only Chief Pilots can authorize it), but this is only used in emergencies (ex. the Helms Computer is disabled), and it is extremely disrecommended because the ship is unstable and hard to control.

There is a difference between the main rear engines and other thrusters. Thrusters are anything that makes the ship move. There are many small side thrusters that affect the ship. These are the ones that are hard to control, but the main rear engines are not hard to control. Engines isn’t a right term because they’re actually thrusters too, but for the sake of this guide thrusters means all of the different side thrusters, and engines refers to the big rear thrusters.

How Piloting a Capital Ship Works (Hyperspace)

Piloting isn't really the right term when it comes to hyperspace. Hyperjumping is better (madeup) term. Though it is remarkable on how many people in the Navy don't know how Hyperpace/Hyperdrives work(s), but it is an very important topic which is why this guide will explain it. When activating a Hyperdrive it creates massive waves in the fabric of space and time that the ship rides on (or as I like to say, surfs on). When riding these waves, the ship goes into a different place that sits on the fabric of space and time. Its like another dimension within the space of our dimension. We call that place Hyperspace, and we call the world we live in now realspace. We then deactivate the Hyperdrive and we come back into realspace. We travel along Hyperlanes that are areas of space deemed safe for hyperpace travel such as the Corellian run. Those are the basics of Hyperspace travel.

To Hyperjump a capital ship, the astrogators use a Navigation Computer (Nav Computer for short). A Nav Computer has a giant map of all of the known planets, stars, asteroids, and hyperlanes. The astrogators pick a location along a hyperlane that they want to travel to, but the ship must first be on a hyperlane. Once on a hyperlane, the astrogators activate the hyperdrive(s) and the ship speeds off to the choice location.

Basic Procedure For Sublight Travel

1) Make sure all of the necessary engine systems are on (this usually isn't a problem if you are in the middle of space). The reactors, the engines, etc.

2) Choose which travel method you are using: Coordinates (go to 3a), set directional thrust/main engine thrust (go to 3b), or thrust for each thruster (not engine) (extremely disrecommended) (go to 3c).

3a) Select Coordinates. Turn the Coordinates Mode on for your console and type in the selected coordinates you see on the console map.

3b) Set directional thrust/main engine thrust. Turn the Directional Thrust Mode on for your console and turn the Roll dial, pitch dial, lateral movement dial, forward/reverse dial, engine 1 dial, endine 2 dial, etc. to the appropriate thrust.

3c) Set thruster thrust. Only the Chief Pilot or one of the Command Crew can turn this mode on. Have one of them type the authorization code in, and then turn the individual engine dials for the appropriate thrust.

Basic Procedure For Hyperjumping

1) Have one of the pilots fly the ship to a hyperlane. This will allow you to travel safely in hyperspace.

2) Select coordinates for hyperspace travel on Nav Computer. Usually you'll want to pick coordinates that are on your current hyperlane, but if not, the Nav Computer will select other hyperlanes to travel on (RL: Like a GPS). To do this activate the Coordinates Mode on your Nav Computer then type in the selected coordinates.

3) Initiate hyperdrive systems. This will warm up all of the components so the activation is smooth. You can select individual parts of the hyperdrive system to initiate or select none at all, but that is only used in certain situations (to conserve energy for example). To initiate switch the Power Hyperdrive Systems switches to ON (Note: ON is different then ON – HYPERSPACE)

4) Initiate countdown. Only one of the command crew or the Chief Astrogator can authorize a hyperjump (thus the countdown aswell). To initiate the count down, have one of the command crew or a Chief Astrogator type in the hyperjump authorization code. The countdown will began shortly afterwards starting at 10.

5) Activate hyperdrive. Either you can manually activate the hyperdrive or the Nav Computer can at the end of the countdown. To do so manually switch the master Power Hyperdrive Systems switch to ON - HYPERSPACE.

Helms Staff Consoles

The work stations of each of the Helms Staff members.

Chief Pilot/Pilot (Except a regular Pilot does not have the communications pannel and the Chief pilot has a bit more access to data and controls): A console screen showing a map of the system showing all detected objects, the reactor data, damaged parts of the engine system, waypoints, expected arrival time, and positional data (speed, altitude, etc.); a key pad for typing in coordinates; dials for setting the thrust; a small communications pannel for communications with other sections of the ship and for coordinating with other allies (Pilot does not have this); switches for different modes of travel (coordinates, directional/rear engine thrust setting, thruster thrust setting (only in emergencies)); buttons for the console screen map;

Chief Astrogator/Astrogator (Except a regular Astogator does not have the communications pannel):  A console screen showing the dislpay of a Navigation Computer showing a map of any selected part of the galaxy, a keypad to type in coordinates, position of the ship, the expected arrival time (hyperspace), hyperdrive data, and damaged parts of the hyperdrive system; a small communications pannel for communications with other parts of the ship; switches to initiate, activate, and deactivate the hyperdrive and hyperdrive components;

Weapons Staff

The Weapon Staff's job is to coordinate and control the ship's weapon systems. The Staff is comprised of three personnel: The Chief Gunner (CG), two regular Gunners (G), and the Special Weapons Operator (SWO). On the ship, the Gunners select the targets they want their turbolaser cannons to fire at, how many times, the power of the cannons, etc. That info is sent to the "real" gunners who operate individual cannons. They then fire the cannons at the Bridge Gunner's request. The Special Weapons Operator is in charge of all of the other weapons such as missiles, tractor beam, etc. He has the same job as the Bridge Gunners except with different weapons.`

Staff Members

The Chief Gunner: The Chief Gunner makes all of the decisions when it comes to gunnery. He is the one that mainly selects the targets and power of the guns. He tells his Gunners what he wants and they do his bidding. He is knowledgeable in the physics of weapons and weaponry.

The Gunners: The Gunners listen to the Chief Gunner and send the targeting information to the “real” gunners. They sometimes to select targets, but they more often listen to the Chief Gunner.

The Special Weapons Officer: The Special Weapons Officer does the same job as the Gunners/Chief Gunner except he does it with other weapons such as a tractor beam or missiles.

How the Weapons System Works

The weapons system works by the gunners relayin

Defense Staff

The Defense Staff's job is to control and operate the shields of the ship, and report and control damage going on in the ship. They try and protect the ship as much as possible. If they mess up, lives could be lost. The Staff is made up of three personnel: the Chief Defense Coordinator (CDC), the Shield Technician (ST) and the Damage Control Coordinator (DCC).

Staff Members

The Chief Defense Coordinator: His job is to coordinate with the rest of the Bridge Staff to try and maximize the protection of the ship. For example, the CDC might coordinate with the Helms Staff to try and move the ship into a position that will protect it. He also commands the rest of the Defense Staff.

The Shield Technician: He controls the output power of the shielding, where the shielding power goes, and the shield generator. He knows all things shielding.

The Damage Control Coordinator: He is in charge of giving the Bridge Crew a damage report, coordinating in-battle repair crews (and fire crews), giving evacuation orders, and trying to minimize the damage on the ship.

How Deflector Shielding Works

How Damage Control Works

Sensors Staff

The Sensors Staff's job is to operate the sensors around the ship. Sensors are important because without them the ship has no eyes or ears. Sensors detect everything from radiation to heat readings to atmosphere to literal visual readings. The Sensor Staff is also responsible for using the ship's sensor jamming equipment. Since there are so many different sensors on a ship the Sensors Staff in made up of 5 induviduals: The Chief Sensors Technician (CST) and 4 other Sensors Technicians (ST).

Staff Members

The Chief Sensor Technician: His job is to coordinate all of the Sensors Staff, and operate and make sense of sensor readings that the rest of the crew cannot. He is knowledgeable on how the sensors work and the technical aspects of them. He also reports findings from the sensors to the Bridge.

The Sensors Technicians: The Sensor Technicians operate the sensors of the ship. They give the information to the Chief Sensors Technician, and he tells them what to do.

How Sensors Work

Operations Staff

The Operations Staff's job is to coordinate all operations. These include but are not limited to Star Fighter Operations, Shuttle Operations, Boarding Party Operations, and Ground Operations. The members of the staff aren't pernamentally set. Usually the Star Fighter (SFC) and Shuttle Controllers (SC) (as they are called) are on the bridge, but Ground Controllers (GC) and Boarding Party Controllers (BPC) usually aren't on the Bridge unless they are called for. The Operations Staff isn't a real staff. It is an overall term used to describe all of the Controllers.

Staff Members

The Star Fighter Controller: The Star Fighter Controller listens to the Bridge Crew and tries to commands and suggest tactics and formations to the ship’s Star Fighters.

The Shuttle Controller: The Shuttle Controller is controls the space traffic for any ships that aren’t star fighters (RL: An Air Traffic Controller). He gives clearances and flight paths to shuttles.

The Ground Controller: The Ground Controller controls Ground Operations on planets. He doesn’t command the whole thing, but he is the middleman between Ground and Space Operations. If the Ground forces need reinforcements or a bombardment, he will be the one to order it.

The Boarding Party Controller: The Boarding Party Controller controls boarding party missions to other ships. He is usually a Marine commanded who has experience the subject.

How Star Fighter/Shuttle Operations Work

OOC:

This is what I have so far. It is far from complete and its needs a lot of editing. Anyone can contribute to this and edit what I have so far.