Commander Whitelist Application
Byond ID? colonelcorazon
Player Name You Use Most?
Make a list of links to all of your applications and (job)ban appeals, including whitelist and staff apps, within the last year. Also, provide "Ban reason; Verdict" beside each (job)ban link
Have you received any ban within the last month? How long was it and what for? None.
Do you understand that any player - even donors or staff members - can have their whitelist status revoked should they break our Server Rules or Roleplay Guidelines? Yes
How do you view the tool of Battlefield Execution to be used? What circumstances do you think it would be necessary to BE a member of the crew? Where do you think the Battlefield Execution Mechanic Differs from regular Execution and why? Permanently removing a player from the round is a drastic move. I'd always prefer to RP a situation out or let the MP's handle criminal activity. However, in situations where marines or CIC staff are directly in harm's way and a failure to act would reasonably result in casualties (on the Almayer or groundside), I think it's valid and IC for a CO to BE the immediate threat. A shooter in CIC or a mutiny where any peaceful resolution is off the table would be situations where I'd strongly consider using a BE to eliminate the threat to my staff and operation. A BE can be performed unilaterally on a marine as long as they're not under arrest, thus allowing the CO to end any RP involvement for that player, the MPs and shipside crew. That really doesn't sound fun for me or anyone else playing, so I'd prefer to keep that card in my deck as an absolute last resort.
How will your Commanding Officer run his/her ship? Provide a detailed explanation on how he would handle situations that might commonly occur such as, a insubordinate engineering staff, a Staff Officer who cannot do anything right, an Executive Officer wh I already RP Wanda as a character devoted to the well-being of others, so that would carry over to Wanda's role as CO. Protecting civilians would be my highest priority, followed closely by limiting marine casualties in pursuit of completing the operation. Pushing marines into a meat-grinder for no tangible benefit is not my style, since an effective responder can't do their job if they themselves are incapacitated in the process. If my troops are getting hammered, I'd rather move them back to regroup and reconsider our options. Wanda cares for her marines above herself, and that's reflected in her demeanor. I'd also like to give CIC staff plenty of opportunities to contribute to strategy and let other players like the CMO or CL chime in. CO is a good place to be to help support newer command players and help them learn the role. On an undermanned op, I'd make sure to stay directly engaged and overwatch as needed. In a full CIC, I'd be able to engage more with other players and RP it up. Finally, Wanda will also never understand youth culture, but with her rise in the ranks so will fall how much she cares about being cool and trendy.
As for insubordinate engineers, as long as they're maintaining power and loading OB's I wouldn't feel that they were much of a threat to the mission. If they're refusing to do their tasks, I'd give them another chance at doing their job before I'd send the MP's in to arrest them for insub. I'd assign the synth player or a CIC staff member to take over their job.
If an SO is coming up short, I'd support them as best I could (or ahelp for a mentor if they were very new and I was unable to give them enough guidance while minding the operation). If the CIC was well-manned, I'd be able to help them personally or assign my XO to guide them. Either way, I'd assign them to whatever squad is on FOB duty or is undertaking a pretty low maintenance task. If the CIC is undermanned, I'd try the same as above, or put them on a squad with a strong SL and monitor the situation so I could intervene if supply orders or OB's are needed in case the SO was still unable to perform. If the SO is ineffective to the detriment of their squad, I'd send them to the LZ to oversee the FOB or some other more out of the way task.
An XO who questions their CO isn't necessarily a bad thing. As a staff officer, I listen to my crew, and if they're questioning my orders I want to know why. I'm not always right, and if my XO is questioning me I'll ask them to elaborate and ask for their input. If they're questioning me over radio, I'd request to talk with them off the radio to avoid confusion or worry for the rest of the crew. CIC is a team, and any disputes are best handled talking it out in private without giving the marines any cause to believe they're not in good hands. If they're countermanding or undermining my orders, I'd demote them, deploy them, or if the situations warrants it, have them arrested for for insub.
What do you think is the job of a Commander? I view the CO role as a kind of DM, but one who's primary goal is to lead a competent operation with a secondary goal of contributing heavily to RP situations and the overall �story arc� of the round. As CO, I realistically may only be able to work towards that first goal on a low pop round or in a poorly staffed CIC, but achieving the second goal is important. I want rounds to be fun and memorable for as many players as possible, and the CO is able to greatly effect that.
As a player what do you think could be added for Commanding Officer to benefit the role? Being able to view marine POV cameras from the main command console would help the CO keep a handle on their operation. Though I think that a CO should be relying on their CIC staff for feedback, being able to easily access cams would be helpful during rounds where CIC was severely undermanned. I'd suggest limiting the POV's to just SL's or perhaps deployed command staff as to not undermine the teamwork needed to run a competent bridge.
Other suggestion would be to add a radioman marine class like some people have discussed previously or some kinda resource-intensive structure marines can deploy to establish comms planetside. Not all LZs are really viable right now since the marines are overly reliant on T-Comms location. This impacts how creative a CO can be when deploying marines. Having alternatives to comm setup would really change up the rounds.
What do you think you could contribute by being whitelisted? I want to bring my creativity and roleplay to the CO role. While both are effected by the maps or players in-game, I want to focus on making the rounds enjoyable and hopefully memorable. Additionally, I consider myself to be flexible enough to adapt and improvise along with any scenarios staff or other players might be interested in using.
Choose one of the following story topics to write about �Hey Captain. Did you, uh, remember to pack your medkit?�
It was an innocent question. Captain Wanda Fisher glanced at Corporal Heller and scoffed.
�'Course I did,� Fisher replied, tapping her belt. �I literally got one with my name on it. HQ put it in my locker. It's a weird gift, but I'll take it.�
�Cap'n, it's probably 'cuz they knew you'd be needing one,� Lt. Martinez offered. Fisher grumbled, but couldn't exactly counter her lieutenant's theory. She knew a few of those doctors back at HQ had some kinda betting pool going on how many times she'd be injured this year. Worse, she wasn't even cut in on the damn deal.
�Yeah yeah,� Fisher replied with a wave. The dropship suddenly shuddered as it decelerated, signaling it's approach to their landing zone. �Brace, marines. We're movin' out immediately when the doors open!�
A chorus of cheers and 'oorahs' followed and within seconds the dropship landed. Each squad filed out in a disorderly fashion and began regrouping away from the dusty field they now found themselves in.
�Lights off til we get in the building. Now, comms check.�
�Alpha here.�
�Bravo, check.�
�Charlie's ready, Cap!�
�Delta's more ready, ma'am.�
�Real cute, Bailey. Anywho, Alpha, check in with me when yer in position on the north road. Bravo, Charlie, to the eastern wall. Follow the ditch to your position where it ends at the creek. Remember to keep yer heads down and use the fence as cover. Delta, circle 'round to the southwest bridge and radio when ready. Either me or Lt. Martinez will clear ya to move in.� Looking over her troops one more time, Fisher nodded. �Move out!�
---
�And that was it?�
�Sure was. Pretty simple. Alpha was to open fire on the front end of the buildin' while Delta went 'round south through the forest and west to the bridge. Bravo and Charlie were to assault the eastern wall after Alpha raised the first alarm. That'd keep those bastards plenty distracted. Once we all opened up on 'em, Delta'd have a shot at movin' in to extract the hostages. Bridge across the creek to the loadin' docks had plenty of brush for cover and-�
�That still doesn't explain the shrapnel wounds. And the-�
�Colonel. Lemme get to that part.�
�And I really want to know how you almost got your face shot off again, Wanda.�
�Fine, I'll get to it now. Why do ya even have me write these debriefs if yer gonna just ignore 'em.�
�Please continue.�
---
The operation continued smoothly, with the combined forces of three squads diverting attention away from Delta's infiltration. Despite the heavy exchange of bullets, the enemies relied on small arms and outdated rifles and were unable to pin down the incoming marines.
�Is this all they got?� Lt. Martinez shouted to her captain as they made their way to the creek bed.
�Intel said they were probably just callin' themselves CLF. This shitshow of a defense shows it. We just gotta keep 'em distracted now til Delta's ready. Speakin' of,� Fisher stopped, pressing her hand over her ear so she could better understand exactly what Sergeant Bailey was shouting.
Her answer came in the form of a loud explosion to the southwest and a violent flash of light illuminating the predawn sky. Fisher struggled to make sense of the sudden wave of yells and questions when she made out the problem.
�Mines. They got goddamn mines.� Fisher looked to Martinez. �Stay in position. We're goin' with plan B. Lead Alpha and Bravo in once I make it to Delta. I'm takin' Charlie. Inform the rest of the kids while I get Charlie in order.�
Within a minute, Captain Fisher and fourteen marines rushed down through the creek and back up into the forest on the other side. Unable to hear Sgt. Bailey over the radio, Fisher shouted orders to Delta, hoping for a response. As they made their way through the woods and closer to the southwestern bridge, a voice finally broke through. Corporal Heller.
�F-Fisher? Ya there? We got your orders, we fell back. Not able to get far. Just-� The radio crackled and swearing followed. �Just south at the treeline. About fifty yards back from the goddamn crater-�
�We're nearly there!� Fisher responded. �We got medics on the way!�
---
�Mines?�
�Yes. Mines. Somehow.�
�That depot only serves the local farming community.�
�Yer probably gonna have to ask those questions to those colonists we rescued. Maybe they got some unconventional pest control solutions, I dunno. What I do know is that suddenly I had seven casualties and two dead marines.�
�And after you arrived-�
---
After Charlie arrived, their medics began attending to the wounded. Deciding against approaching the southwestern bridge again, Fisher ordered Charlie to move west before following the creek to a shallow point further north.
�Yang, O'Neil, Redding, move out with Charlie. Nelson, let me and Martinez know when yer at the alternative entry point. All squads will move in together. The rest of us are movin' the wounded back to the bird.�
Finally able to identify the wounded herself, Fisher was stunned to see Corporal Heller fallen next to a frantic Delta engineer.
�What happened?!� Fisher knelt next to them. �He was just on the radio-�
�They gotta sniper, Captain! Just before you got here.�
�Move! Move the wounded now, marines!� Fisher helped the engineer to his feet and together they pulled Heller up. He gasped, head rolling to the side. A crack in his chestplate and a steady stream of blood pouring out. A deadly wound. The captain and engineer both slung Heller's arms over their shoulders and began dragging him away with the rest of the group.
Another explosion rang out, or at least it seemed that way to her. Fisher staggered forward, dropping Heller's arm. One knee slammed into the dirt as she barely caught herself from collapsing. She felt it then, the warmth of wet blood soaking her collar, the wound, somewhere, right side, maybe her shoulder, the pain suddenly seized her senses.
�S-son of a bitch,� she hissed. She vaguely heard a marine cry out to her as her left hand scrambled for the damn medkit. Fisher pushed herself back to her feet and leaned against a tree. The engineer was clinging to Heller, eyes wide. Fisher looked back down at the autoinjector now in her hand. Extreme painkiller. �Friggin' doctors,� she muttered gratefully before plunging it into her right forearm. She winced, but the sudden flood of relief allowed her to step back towards Heller and the engineer. She fumbled with her medkit. Another injector slipped from her hands. She cursed and reached back again. No time left.
�Oh shit, Captain!�
�I know. I know-�
�That's a lot of blood Fisher!�
As she struggled to bring Heller's arm back around her shoulder, Fisher glanced at her last autoinjector. Quickclot.
�Goddammit! You're both hit now. How can I-�
The rest of the engineer's words blurred together. Wanda's eyes were drawn to the blood on Heller's chestplate. His armor was now soaked in it. Shots rang out around her. The crack of splintered wood. Screaming. They had to move. Without a second thought, Wanda pressed the autoinjector into Heller's arm. Fueled only by oxycodone and adrenaline, Wanda pulled herself forward with the engineer, urging them both to stay alive.
---
�Well that was nice of you.�
�Oh shut up, Charles.�
�And your remaining forces were able to carry out the mission.�
�Yes. Martinez had everyone advance together. The enemy couldn't hold us off on three sides. Before they could even move the hostages Alpha went on and busted through the front door. Plan B worked just fine I reckon."
�Enemies neutralized. Two dead marines. One dead civilian. Fourteen wounded, altogether. And sixteen colonists rescued.�
The colonel paused. Captain Fisher stared back at him.
�Captain, all things considered...� He stopped as she shook her head.
�Spare me the pep talk, please.�
�...it made for good press, Wanda,� he offered. Fisher shrugged. Feeling the need to move on quickly, the colonel slid a folder across the table to her. �And that's part of the reason you're getting this.�
Curiosity overcame her. Fisher flipped open the folder with her left hand.
�Arikara-class ship...� She traced the photo of ship clipped to the document.
�Back to Herculis. Where that ship awaits your command.�
Wanda's eyes snapped back up to the colonel. �Pardon, sir?�
�Some may see it as a demotion, since you'll be commanding a smaller force. But I recommended you for this myself. The 4th brigade's forces are spread thin in that sector and the CLF are gaining strength in the outer-rim.�
�Wait just a damn second here. I'm bein' transferred?�
�We need more officers out there who put their men first. Others may not care for your leadership, but your results speak for themselves. And so do your medical records, I suppose.� The colonel smiled as Wanda rolled her eyes. �Listen. We can't afford to keep losing marines at the rate we have out there. Recruitment is down and...� He sighed. �We need good press.�
�There it is, huh.�
�Yes, there it is. Wanda, you'll be transferred in two weeks. When you're at Chinook you'll oversee a routine inspection of the USS Almayer before moving her out on patrol.�
Wanda took a moment to flip through the folder before settling her gaze back on the photo of the ship.
�You'll see the current crew manifest attached. Some familiar names I hope. A rowdy bunch, Fisher.� The colonel leaned back in his chair. Wanda nodded, a determined look forming.
�Thank you, Charles. Won't let ya down.�
�Well, I'm just thinking that if we put you in a glass box on a bridge somewhere you'll finally stop getting shot.�
Wanda let out a laugh. �I guess we'll have to see about that.�
