Corporate Liaison

COMMAND
Corporate Liaison	Difficulty: Medium Supervisors: Weyland-Yutani Rank: Not defined Duties: Further the interests of the corporation. Guides: This one Unlock Requirements: Not available. Detailed Description: |__________| Not defined |__________|

"I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an OK guy!" ―Burke, Aliens

Role

The USS Almayer, while part of the USCM, was built and provided by Weyland-Yutani. The company is also one of the major shareholders of the Corps and the Board has a big influence on the High Command of the USCM. Also, the mission asigned is at one of the company's colonies. Weyland-Yutani has a lot of power. To ensure that the crew of the Almayer stays on task and acts within corporate's interests, a special Liason has been designated to oversee all their activities.

As the Corporate Liaison, it is your job to represent Weyland-Yutani's interests in the mission that has been given to the United States Colonial Marine Corp. You have ZERO direct authority over the Marine Corp, you merely have influence, stretching this influence too far is likely to result in detainment or possibly abandonment on the planet. You may make requests to the Commander and Executive Officer, but there is no guarantee that they will give you what you want. If you need something, fax Weyland-Yutani for it. They are listening and may be happy to help. Have an issue with a Marine Corp Employee? Fax a complaint over to USCM High Command.

Try to remember that your job is one that is primarily to provide roleplay. You must remain in character at all times, and should not try to take to the planet to kill some aliens. You are a corporate bureaucrat. Not a commander, and not a marine. Roleplaying a lot leads to more FUN. If you're not the best at roleplay, you may wish to wait a bit before playing this role. Furthermore, undertaking antagonistic objectives without being explicitly told to by the Company will get you banned or job banned. This is known as "self antagging", and it's a big no-no. Remember that your goal shouldn't be to hinder the marines unless the company says otherwise, because they are serving your interests.

In-character things to remember

• You're a W-Y Corporate Liason: a bureaucrat. Not a marine, not a doctor, not an engineer, not a warfighter.
• W-Y gave the Almayer to the USCM.
• You will do what's necessary to ensure W-Y's interests are kept in mind by the USCM aboard the Almayer.
• You have the Company's interests in mind.
• You know you have no power over Marines but you do have influence. You can complain to W-Y if they are being unreasonable. Remember that the ATM is in your office and that bribery is always an option.
• You have access to a fax machine.

While you can't demand anything, saying "I'd appreciate X" or "I'm sure if I got X your relations with the company would be good", as well as stating that they aren't by any means required to give it to you, usually results in you getting what you're asking for.

Liasons are not above Marine law. If you commit a crime, don't expect special protection from the Company.

The Fax Machine

The main weapon of the Liason is not any pistol or rifle, but a humble fax machine. The difference between a good Liason and a regular Liason is that a regular Liason will go for a gun straight away while the good one will roleplay any situation out. Outside of visits to the colony which you may make at any time for any reason, it is best to stay away from extra gear and weaponry. Located in the Liason's office, the fax machine works by putting papers inside of it and sending it away. In the fax machine interface, you can choose to either send the paper to Weyland-Yutani, or to USCM High Command. The document will be received by an admin that will respond in an IC paper. This paper will spawn on the fax machine.

Make sure to have a powerful subject line, but you can always use "Situation Update" or "Requesting Aid". For the content, write things in character. You can pretend you don't know anything or could pretend that you have an idea whats going on down on Big Red. Make sure to sign your fax with [sign]. This creates your signature that can't be replicated. Always, always, always at the end of the message prompt W-Y for a response. It can be anything from "Requesting further orders" or "Is this report informative?". Something along those lines so that W-Y has something to send back. Remember that if you send a fax without a question, you'll most likely not get a reply. There is a human on the other reading and people usually respond better when asked a question. Remember that you can also dramatize, exaggerate, and blow everything out of proportion if the situation warrants, but keep in mind that your actions may have consequences.

What to write about? To make a list:

• Give status reports on the mission on Solaris Ridge.
• Send the Company research papers about any hostile lifeforms the marines may encounter.
• Write about the crew. Recommend that Doctor for a promotion because she took your bribe and made you space drugs for your flask. Don't explicitly say she took your bribe or you requested space drugs, of course, but just write about how wonderful of a Doctor she is and how loyal she is to the Company.
• Alternatively, write about how incompetent the Marines are or how incompetent the crew is.
• Write about the briefing. Make sure to always attend the briefing. Did the Commander give a good briefing or bad? Was he late? Who gave the briefing if it wasn't the Commander? Write about how bad you feel about this mission because a Staff Officer had to give the briefing and the Commander was not present.
• Write about the survivors and the story behind Solaris ridge. W-Y is curious to know what happened on their research facility.
• Write how terrible life on the Almayer is and how much you miss the enjoyments of life and the only reason why you're doing this is because your commitment to the Company.
• Write about how much you love the Company.

Remember that a real person has to respond to your faxes, and that their primary concern is that the server is being well moderated. Don't expect responses to every fax you send, and self-antagging or getting unnecessarily angry because your faxes haven't been responded to is a great way to get banned. Being a well known good player greatly increases your chances of getting a response, and well formatted faxes (found below) are a nice way to make your faxes more enjoyable to respond to. Going planetside or doing other outlandish things without faxing Weyland-Yutani first is a good way to get job banned.

Fax to Weyland-Yutani

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Format to use when faxing Weyland-Yutani, from doing anything to reporting the situation or requesting aid:

WEYLAND-YUTANI CORP. SPECIAL PROJECTS DIVISION

FORM 435

LIASON OPERATIONS REPORT FACILITY: USS Almayer

DATE:

TO: Weyland-Yutani Corporation, Special Projects Division Director

FROM:

SUBJECT:

text here

SIGNATURE:

Source: Weyland-Yutani Fax

High Command Fax

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Format to use when faxing Marine High Command, to be used for any non-complaint needs:

UNITED STATES COLONIAL MARINE CORPS

FORM X342

SITUATION REPORT

FACILITY: USS Almayer

DATE:

TO: USCMC High Command - Missions Director

FROM:

SUBJECT:

text here

SIGNATURE:

Source: USCMC High Command Fax

USCMC HR Complaint

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Format to use when faxing Marine High Command to complain about a specific person currently in the Corps' employment:

UNITED STATES COLONIAL MARINE CORPS

FORM X002

COMPLAINT FORM

FACILITY: USS Almayer

DATE:

TO: USCMC High Command - Missions Director

FROM:

SUBJECT:

AFFECTED PERSON(S):

OFFENDER(S):

TIME OF INCIDENT:

COMPLAINT OR INCIDENT:

REASON FOR COMPLAINT:

ACTION REQUESTED:

Mediation, Reprimand, Fine/Paycut, Demotion, Injunction

LIASON'S SIGNATURE:

COMMANDING OFFICER or EXECUTIVE OFFICER SIGNATURE:

Source: USCMC HR Complaint

Fax Tips

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• In your office is paper and an engraved fountain pen. Don't lose it. You need it to write faxes. Unfortunately, you can no longer fit the pen in your ear slot.
• Paper can go on your head slot if you have written something on it (so it doesn't show up as a paper boat). Extra slot baby.
• You can drag the paper to your office.
• There is a zippo near the fax machine. Use it with a paper in the other hand to burn the paper. Burn important papers or faxes that would otherwise incriminate the Company. Or, just outright burn all faxes that don't make you look good after sending them. Burn your safe codes after you memorize them.
• You can turn on squad comms from your headset to listen on whats going on and report it to W-Y.
• Request aid when the situation gets really dire. For example when Aliens board the Almayer, write about how you're in danger and need immediate evac.
• Keep in mind that W-Y is a Staff Member (Mod or Admin), just a person. But they have access to all sorts of information, so the things they're sending you or objectives they're giving you are because the game can allow it.
• It's very annoying to the admins if you request PMCs and weapons in every fax.

What Else Should I Be Doing?

First of all, make sure to talk with survivors or colonists from the Planet as soon as they arrive. They might need medical attention, but after that. You can make a big fuss about talking to them before the Commander. The survivors typically don't have much to do after they arrive on the Almayer. The Liaison and survivors kind of rely on one another to be more fun.

Tell them to sit down on the chair in front of the desk and buckle yourself into the comfy chair. Close the shutters. Introduce yourself and learn the survivor's name. Remember, you don't typically know their name yet. You should usually call survivors by their first name while the rest of the crew by their last name or nickname. Next, make them comfortable. Ask them if they want food or drink, maybe a fresh golden apple from the garden or some of the two drinks (Uncle Git and Aspen Beer) that sit on the desk in your quarters.

Once the survivor is comfortable, all that's left is to ask them for their story. The survivor probably won't know much but they're responsible for writing the story while the Liaison keeps listening and asking questions and saying filler to keep the conversation going. Figure out these main points: When did the situation/outbreak start? What was the speed of the outbreak? Were there any other survivors? How do they feel about the Company? Will they stay quiet about this? The last 2 questions are for the end but remember you need to get the story from the survivor. Afterwards, you can let the survivor know that you'll arrange for an ID card (please actually do this if you do offer) and probably the Commander will want to speak with them so show them the way to the bridge. You can be present during this conversation too, or you could start writing the report to W-Y. Make sure to exaggerate and blow things out of proportion, of course. Did the survivor face one of those xenomorphs down below and kill it? Well, write how he did but he crapped his pants while running away frantically before finally turning around and pulling the trigger.

Don't worry if all the survivors have different stories. They all saw the world down there differently. You could interject in the conversation with survivor Y only to tell them that survivor X told you something differently. You could do this at times to gauge their loyalty to the Company.

Ask about their loyalty to W-Y or gauge their loyalty to W-Y, then write about that along with all the other information you gathered. If they were loyal then write he was loyal. If they are a risk to the Company, then write about that.

Later, roam the ship and look for roleplay encounters. The Combat Information Center is a good place to start. As Corporate Liaison, one of the Commander's staff should give you some roleplay attention. If they don't, then complain about how unloyal the Command staff is and how they should be replaced with someone of your choosing. Who knows? Maybe W-Y will send you orders to find a replacement. You can go to Medbay and see how the patients are doing or how the doctors are. Ask them about their work. You can wait in the Hanger and interview marines coming back, or sit and chat about a wide variety of topics. Sometimes, one of the Marines will want to roleplay. Bottom line: roam the ship and look for encounters.

Remember that the Liaison is a bureaucrat. A Liaison doesn't solve problems with brute force or cunning, but through paperwork. Find samples of legal forms online and write condensed versions of them. Examples: contracts, liability waivers, affidavits, official notices to sue etc. Contracts and affidavits can be used at the beginning of the game to ensure the silence of the Command staff. For example, an affidavit or contract "of intent to protect and preserve" the property on Solaris Ridge can be used at the beginning of the game for the Commander to sign. Afterwards, you can sue the Commander for the damages he caused on Solaris Ridge while fighting the Xenomorphs by his Marines. If he doesn't sign then you can report to W-Y that the Commander refused to sign. Ask survivors to sign liability waivers and silence waivers. Afterwards, if they breach the contract, let W-Y know. The Command staff will surely want information out of the survivor but you met them first and had them sign the waiver. You write to W-Y that you can use the liability waiver as an excuse to murder them too (ONLY if WY gives the order). Official Notices to sue are fun. Roleplay suing someone is hilarious. With paperwork, the Liaison is essentially creating fictional problems that are big in your role's position. It's easier for W-Y to give you orders to do something with a reason rather than without.

A key to having fun as Liaison is to always put pressure on people and create problems. Not major issues, but make everything your personal issue so you can fax to W-Y to complain and then ask for permission to do something about it. You don't want to divert too many Marines or the crew for your projects as they should be fighting or assisting the ground campaign.

Being an Antagonist

• Do NOT Self-Antag. If you are doing a good job with roleplay and reporting to Weyland with your fax machine, you MIGHT be given special goals. These goals MIGHT allow you to break some of the server rules, depending on the situation. If you are unsure, ahelp FIRST.
• Causing harm to marines or damage to the Almayer without first contacting W-Y through your fax WILL result in a job-ban and possibly a short server ban.
• You may *attempt* to bribe marines to work for you, however you do not outrank them (you are a civilian), and thus they don't have to listen to you. Usually 500-1000 thalers is enough to bribe someone to do your bidding, as long as its nothing severe. Never bribe someone to murder someone because they'll never accept if they're following the rules. Most Marines, by default, hate you because you're with Weyland, but some roleplay as liking the company and will help you out even without a bribe.
• Only use the name of the Company in your bribes when they specifically ordered you to do something that would otherwise break the rules. Remember, you don't want to shame or incriminate the Company. You're the most loyal person on the ship to the Company.
• From the beginning, you are authorized to carry a pistol. Weyland may issue you other weapons, depending on the situation.

Possible antagonist objectives:

• Eliminate the mercenaries.
• Eliminate a survivor because they don't have W-Y's interests in mind.
• See if there's a suitable replacement to the Command staff that would be more loyal to the Company. This usually involves implanting them and then a small mutiny at the bridge.
• Collect X amount of samples, like Alien lifeforms.
• Order the Command staff to launch an attack. Usually happens when the Marines are winning pretty hard but refuse to push out of the FOB. If you can't convince them, then W-Y might order you to implant the Commander or the highest ranking officer.
• Retrieve or destroy something on the planet, such as some documents in the science dome.

PMCs

Another resource that the Liason have is the command of the Weyland-Yutani PMCs. The PMCs can come randomly as one of the Mercenaries called in emergency. They must ensure the Liason's safety before doing anything else and have the primary mission of saving you. As such, they should obey all of your commands. If you are dead, they should then report to the acting commander of Almayer.

There is another Weyland-Yutani military group: the commandos, this guys don't report to the Weyland-Yutani PMC which makes them not respond to you, only to W-Y high command. Accordingly, you as a Liaison do not know of their existence. This can be a problem, since their mission will be the elimination of everyone they see and that may or may not include you.

Tips and Suggestions

To Begin the Round

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• Set W-Y relation status to LOYAL in your character profile.
• To have the best experience, use staffwho at the beginning to see if there's a moderator or higher rank online. If not, then don't expect faxes from W-Y. But don't fret, if a moderator comes online and sees all your faxes, you may be rewarded!

Equipment

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• You have a change of clothes in your quarters depending on what type of roleplay you'll be undertaking.
• Your office contains a box of food. Put that in your quarters before hungry marines eat it all.
• Your office has shutters. Always close the shutters when talking with someone so that you aren't disturbed.
• There are no cameras in your office and quarters. If some engineer has installed some then immediately complain to W-Y.
• The CIC's crew monitoring computer goes beyond the Almayer. You can locate Survivors on the Planet and relay that information to Command.
• You have a box of loyalty implants that can be used for roleplay purposes. Implanting someone marks them as someone who is loyal either to you or to Weyland-Yutani on the whole. These DO NOT FORCE LOYALTY. They are NOT mind-control implants.
• The ATM on the Almayer is in your office. See how much money you have and use that money to bribe people.
• Use the arcade machine in your office to win items to decorate.
• You have a door in the back of your personal quarters which leads to a small room. Included there is a throwing knife and a broken bottle which can be used as a last ditch weapon. From here there is also an exit to a maintenance tunnel.

Other

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• Be acquainted with Marine law. A good Liason has a serious chance of being arrested. A great Liason may be arrested multiple times. Make sure you're arrested for good reasons though. Know your rights to keep your radio and take your last words.
• Confiscate all survivor weapons.

Sources and Reading

• A Guide to WY Corporate Liason