Roles

Overview
Roles are a very simple concept to understand: each crew member on the ship has a role. Your role determines where you'll be spending most of your time and what you'll be doing overall. Your rank is also going to be determined by your role.

Below is a list of each role and a description of what they do.

Crew Roles

 * General Crew: General crew can refer to a wide range of different jobs, such as bartenders, janitors, cooks, etc.. The job that a general crew member will be fulfilling is typically low-skill and low-pay. General crew are managed by the first officer.
 * Weapons Specialists: Weapons specialists take care of the upkeep, supply, and arming of external weapons, such as phasers, torpedoes, and spacial distortion devices. Weapons specialists are managed by the tactical officer.
 * Medical: Medical staff keep crew in good health and tend to the injuries of wounded personnel. Medical staff are managed by the medical officer.
 * Scientific Department: Scientists conduct research on artifacts recovered during a ship's travels. They'll be spending most of their time in the ship's laboratory, running tests and going about other scientific activities. Scientists are under the management of the lab director.
 * Fighter Squadron: Trained fighter pilots that will hop into their fighter craft, take off, and help defend against external attack. These personnel are highly trained in the piloting and maintenance of their personal fighters. Fighter pilots are managed by the first officer, or captain directly.
 * Engineering/Maintenance: These trained engineers are responsible for overall maintenance and upkeep of the ship. They will commonly be found in the engineering bay, working on maintaining the power core, or somewhere else on the ship making repairs. Engineers are managed by the chief engineer.
 * Security: Made up of heavily trained security officers, this department is responsible for both internal security of the ship. They'll be found patrolling the halls ensuring safety and enforcing the law. Security personnel are managed by the tactical officer.

Galactic Officials and Officer Roles

 * Galactic Council: Head administrators that worked their way through the ranks and all the way up to the top. These personnel deal with only the most important of matters. There are only a small handful of Galactic Council members at any given time.
 * Navy High Command: These are high-ranking personnel that manage fleets of ships. They're very rare to see on a singular ship, spending most of their time in their luxury villas usually situated at the "highest" point of a starport.
 * Admirals: Admirals oversee ship affairs in general. They report to the Navy High Command and oversee ship captains. They're more common to see on an individual ship than a high command officer, but are still rare.
 * Captain: The captain of a ship exerts full control over said ship. Captain commands a variety of officers in order to complete the task at hand. Captain is the highest ranking individual that you'd commonly and consistently see on a starship.
 * First Officer: The second in command, the first officer takes care of everything the captain doesn't. The first officer can also be considered a sort of advisor, giving the captain their input on a given topic or situation.
 * Chief Engineer: This officer oversees the engineering department and manages all engineering and maintenance personnel. Third in command.
 * Tactical Officer: The tactical officer manages the ship's weapons and other things relating to internal and external security and combat. The tactical officer's main duty is to oversee the security department.
 * Medical Officer: Managing the medical department and its staff, the medical officer ensures that all doctors and other medical personnel are doing their job and keeping all crew members in good health.
 * Lab Director: This officer manages the laboratory and all research on the ship. They also oversee all scientists and research personnel.
 * Navigator: The pilot of the ship, the navigator can be found on the bridge 90% of the time. This officer is responsible for plotting and executing courses, engaging and disengaging the FTL drive, and maneuvering the ship in general.
 * Communications Officer: This officer manages communications on the ship. They might be intercepting enemy communications, setting up a comms jammer, or sending/receiving messages.