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Representative
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Access: The Representative's or Consular's Office(depending on faction), the Bridge.
Qualifications: At least 30 years of age, relevant education. Must represent a corporation or recognised nation-state.
Employers: Not defined
Supervisors: Ship Command and your Interest Group
Duties: Represent your faction's interest. Hold interviews. Offer deals with the devil.
Guides: Protectorate Regulations, Ship Directives, Guide to Paperwork, your relevant faction's page
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The representative is a position divided into two different yet broadly similar roles.
Corporate Liaisons act as the link between a megacorporation and their assigned facility. Their primary concerns are to ensure that the group of employees they're representing is treated more favourably or just ensuring they're treated equally within Protectorate Regulations, via interviews and reports to Command Staff about misconduct. Secondary responsibilities include increasing awareness of their corporation, and potentially increasing said corporation's influence on the ship. They are given a variety of alternative titles but none of these titles have any additional authority beyond what the others have.
A Consular Officer acts as a link between the United Nations Interstellar Protectorate and a nation-state with citizens who are involved in the UNPV Horizon; that is, pretty much every nation in the Orion Spur. A consular must represent an official interest group that has established diplomatic relations with the Protectorate; this excludes criminal factions, pirate factions, and so on.
Representatives can be played by characters of any species that can be a part of the represented faction, by players with the relevant whitelist, but they are not part of Ship Command.
Starting Out
You spawn in your office. After a few minutes, your fax machine will print out a list of randomised objectives that you can use as a jumping-off point for roleplay. You have a secure safe in their office, which you can enter a five-digit code to lock and unlock. Don't forget it! You also have a closet of clothing, paperwork supplies, and sundry to help fill out forms and make notes on the performance of the Horizon's crew.
You also spawn with an energy pistol. This pistol is not very powerful, and it does not give you license to jump into a firefight and start shooting. Remember, you're a bureaucrat.
You also get access to an external communications link in your fax machine, which enables you to contact your superiors. Any faxes you receive will be sent to the staff for an in-character response.
Roleplaying a Pencil Pusher
Before you sign on for that first shift, recognize a hard truth about Representatives; you are not, strictly speaking, a necessary component of the ship’s crew. By yourself, you cannot permit, prevent, or enforce just about anything. You are barely even a part of the ship's crew. However, this does not mean your roleplay cannot be an invaluable, enjoyable part of the round!
Typically, the broad duties of a Representative can be sorted into three major categories:
- Awareness: Doing activities to spread awareness of your interest group is a very good idea to keep everyone happy, and most importantly, informed. A good liaison might give seminars on the benefits and pay packages of their corporation, while a consular might keep an ear to the ground for what potential future citizens find intolerable about their homes. Get creative! Why might someone want employment with Idris Incorporated, or immigrate to the Union of Progressive Peoples?
- Oversight: Keep your the people in your group happy and out of trouble, or at least willing to fake it. If one of the employees of your company are unhappy, see if you can fix it by offering incentives, chatting with command, or ordering pizza for everyone! If a citizen is skirting the law, feeling out of place, or being mistreated, it might be time to pay someone a visit. A Representative needs to be keeping track of members of their interest group, in ways such as PDAing to check in, or calling them in to your office for a chat. Keep in mind that roleplayed effort, above all, is appreciated; hilariously ineffective responses to one's mistreatment help build a character as much as actually improving their situation.
- Protest: Stick up for your people. An example would be contacting the Captain, Executive Officer, or Security when you suspect someone from your interest group is in danger or has been wronged. Another would be vocally protesting in response to an employee being arrested, even going as far as to negotiate for their release, or lessening of their punishment. Be reasonable about this. Obviously your credibility is going to go down the toilet if you try and negotiate for the release of an employee who committed first-degree murder.
Your ability to effectively do your job therefore relies on your ability to communicate with the ship’s various departments, and ship Command. Having good working relationships with the crew also makes it more likely that they will come to you with their problems or report things to you, rather than leaving you to hunt for them or to sit at your desk contemplating your coffee all shift.
But how can you build working relationships?
- Do: Spread Awareness. The only way you're going to get ship crew on your side is if you get involved with the crewmembers aboard the Horizon, in whatever way you may choose to do so, or your interest group entails. Hang out at the bar, organise a tabletop game at the library, perform employee evaluations.
- Do: Play Favourites. It is the express purpose of your job to advocate for your interest Group, and thus, to play favourites. If you think that helping a crewmember who is close to someone in it will aid in that, you should definitely do it if it fits your character. Though, you don't want others to know, as it could land you in trouble with a Security Officer, and thus, Ship Command. It could also violate server rules in extreme cases. If in doubt, adminhelp.
- Don't: Cause Trouble. You are here with the express permission of Ship Command and the United Nations Interstellar Protectorate, a permission that can easily be revoked. Show the Protectorate and by extension, the ship's Command staff, that you are committing to no shady dealings whatsoever, and neither are those you are here to represent. You wouldn't want to cause a diplomatic incident, would you?
- Do: Cause Trouble. That being said, the Protectorate and you both know full well that every day is a game of balancing the different interest groups on this ship. The Horizon is the vanguard of the Spur's forays into the unknown, and everyone wants a piece of what's discovered, and the espionage between corporation and nation alike could rival even the likes of Eridani. It's also entirely likely that someone with your rank has more than a few skeletons in your closet, and with the potential for multiple other Representatives in a round in addition to the rest of the crew, you'll have plenty of potential allies and enemies. Drag your employees or citizens into your schemes, manipulate others into doing your bidding, gather every secret, escalate even further, and watch your efforts crumble to dust. The world is your chess board, and save for antag interactions, your actions and plans persist even beyond the round. Tread carefully, as the consequences might return to bite you one day...
"Command staff are expected to engage representatives through diplomacy and to consent to reasonable requests. The representative is not part of the ship chain of command. The representative is granted special status in relation to corporate regulations;"
- The representative does not serve brig time for low level infractions, the fine alternative can be used in those cases. The representative can serve brig time for medium and high level infractions, with command staff being able to contact Central Command requesting the revocation of the representative's privilege.
- The representative's office offers immunity to the representative. Security may not enter to conduct arrests under normal circumstances. Entering or refusing to exit the office is considered trespassing. The office's immunity may be revoked by the captain or a captain level decision.
Your Interest Group
Each megacorporation and nation expects different standards from its employees, and has different methods, differing goals, and a host of affiliates and rivals. While you're not obligated to play a character who follows these suggestions, they might help in building your roleplay or creating a character.
- NanoTrasen is a cutthroat, results-oriented corporation. Your company can be found just about anywhere, particularly in the Tau Ceti Free Trade Zone; it's likely you'll have a lot of people to talk to. Cut corners, encourage transfers, and promote Getmore Energy.
- Instead of a bureaucrat, your character might also have a science or medical degree, or be a service manager.
- You likely have not made the big change that all but the lowest-level employees aspire to. This might be your chance to really make a difference, no matter what it costs. It might also be easier to clip the wings of some other upstart in the company...
- Idris is a highly opulent, decentralised, and affable corporation. Many employees outside of the security branch have a very outgoing attitude; an Idris liaison has a smile on their face and a handshake(and possibly a drink) ready for everyone, regardless of how they actually feel.
- Your character might have a background in banking, economics, private security, or entertainment.
- It is likely that you are a Patron at this point. By coordinating out of character, you may even have players willing to make characters sponsored by you.
- Professional and upright through and through, though considerably less cheerful than an Idris employee. Nevertheless, a Zavodskoi representative is as polite as they are cutthroat, particularly if they are Dominian.
- Your character might have a background in research and development, private security or military, or engineering.
- Rivalries with Hephaestus are encouraged. Poach employees!
- Whether Dominian or not, you hold close to the Tribunalist values. Despite this, you know better than to show overt prejudice towards synthetics and augmented individuals. In public, at least.
- Your character has likely risen to where they are from sheer merit alone, considering the standards imposed on them by the company. One thing's for sure; even if your character isn't nice, they're smart, and they know how to conduct themselves in a corporate environment better than just about anyone.
- There is quite a difference between those who simply found employment at Zeng-Hu, and those that have been raised within it from birth.
- Your character definitely has a background in some sort of STEM or medical field, and definitely has a doctorate.
- High-ranking Zeng-Hu employees are likely heavily augmented, and almost always have a Zeng-Hu veterancy faceplate implanted. Play this for all the discomfort it's worth.
- To betray the company is not in one's best interest, to an even more extreme extent than most other corporations. Perhaps a reminder of who owns an employee's augmentations will keep them in line.
- Hephaestus corporate culture in the modern day is divided into primary groups:
- Old Guard: You're a HARDWORKING, BLUE-COLLAR (even if you make more than the entire operations department combined), DOWN-TO-EARTH WORKER who PULLED THEMSELVES UP BY THEIR BOOTSTRAPS and GOT TO WHERE THEY ARE TODAY.
- Herasts: The vulgarity that prior generations have enabled ends with you. They may call you stuffy and joke about having a steel rod up your ass, but you know that your way is the future. You play everything by the book, and when someone walks into your meticulously organised office, they will feel that.
- Uniquely, you might not have much of a degree; while it's likely you have a diploma, Hephaestus representatives and foremen can indeed work their way up to the company ladder by personal merit and leadership ability alone.
- Bust unions and sneer at Himeans.
- If you know anything about the No. 5 hull, your rivals can do nothing but pry it out of your cold, dead hands.
- One of the most variable groups, the OSS encompasses both employees of the Office itself, as well as select foreign contractors. That being said, you are here to represent the Office specifically.
- Contractors working on the Horizon through the OSS are under your supervision. Treat them as you would any employee of the Office.
- The Office is shrouded in mystery on every level, conducting experiments not even the other corporations have even dreamed of devising. The crew expects everyone like you to be enigmatic, expect to hear the most outlandish conspiracies.
- It is entirely likely that you are a Talent, a new psionically active variant of humanity.
- Though employees beneath you might be as uncouth as one can get, you are the opposite. You carry yourself with a professional attitude befitting of a higher-level position in the Serene Republic's pride.
- You likely have a background in logistics or the service industry. It is also absolutely certain that you are a citizen of Elyra, with all that implies.
- Charon may not be on the best terms with the Protectorate, but its logistical infrastructure is second to none. The command staff may be more wary than usual, it would be wise to be discreet with your dealings.
- Though it's not official policy, it is well known that Elyran debauchery laws are acknowledged on some level. It would be wise to keep an eye on Charon employees, to ensure that they are complying with the values your company is built upon.
Dispatched by the Department of Justice and Diplomatic Affairs, they are here to ensure the regulations are being followed by the crew. You are probably the best equipped to ensure the different interest groups on the Horizon are cooperating. After all, you have the power of a whole nation behind you.
Consulars from the Tau Ceti and Eridani Autonomous Zones are also playable. It is widely known that they are little more than barely disguised corporate puppets.
Frontier Pact Consular Officer
- Due to bureaucratic complications(translation: not coded in as separate citizenships yet), consulars from the Union of Progressive Peoples and the Coalition of Independent Systems are brought aboard the Horizon under one unified title.
- As a UPP officer, you have been made well aware of the consequences of causing trouble. The crew will likely be more easily persuaded to become a citizen by listing the benefits of living on places like Xanu or Himeo than by your long, impassioned speeches about the evils of capitalism.
- More than most other nations, UPP citizens working on the Horizon tend to be very overwhelmed by how differently things work here. Be sure to watch over them, guide them through life here. Their loyalty will pay off when you're putting your own plans into motion.
- Consulars from the Coalition are just as varied as the planets they come from. You are not here to solely represent the citizens of your own home planet, but all citizens of the Coalition.
- You represent the Republic of Elyra, and are a link between the Protectorate and Elyra despite the shaky relationship between the two nations. You advocate for Elyran citizens, and Elyran citizens only.
- You are likely convinced that you are one of the few people on this ship that has a functioning moral compass. How would this impact how you interact with the mostly non-Elyran crew?
- Dispatched from the Free Tajara Republic to ensure the well being and interests of Republican citizens who are living in this far away Tajaran enclave. They are to ensure that Republic citizens are not mistreated by the rest of the crew, and more frequently, each other.
- Dispatched from the Nozhata Khazsanii to ensure the well being of members of the Khazsanii who are living in this far away Tajaran enclave. They are also here in the hope that they can secure the aid of one of the other powers in their struggle for survival.
- More than any other consular, diplomatic missteps cannot be tolerated, for it could mean all the difference back home. Despite this, there may be situations where you must take a great risk for even greater reward.
- Dispatched from the Sacred Azunal Kingdom to ensure the well being and interests of Royalists citizens who are living in this far away Tajaran enclave. They are to encourage traditional Tajaran values and ensure cooperation between the Kingdom and the Protectorate.
- Consulars are under the supervision of the Crown and should be model citizens. They are given a set of tools and access to the fax machine to make sure that any subject of the Kingdom is acting in an upstanding manner. Cooperation with the Protectorate is necessary, as the Kingdom is doing its best to acquire allies.
- Consulars can be either commoners or petty nobility.
- Hailing from Unathi owned space, these diplomats are here to reach the Unathi working on Protectorate vessels and keep the relations between the United Nations Interstellar Protectorate and the Hegemony in top shape. As a representative for all Unathi, you will need to carefully balance the interests of your own faction in the Hegemony and your diplomatic responsibilities.
- Consulars are possible from any of the factions.
- Zakkeran and Aut'akh consulars rarely view themselves in a superior position over other crew members. They are more likely to be mediators rather than give any authoritative directions.
- Moghean and Yzali consulars are at the top of the world and they know it. Make other Unathi remember their position compared to you, and never forget to show off your prosperity!
- Having come all the way from Nralakk these officers are very well versed in local customs and culture. Being the natural diplomats, Skrell Consular Officers are very diplomatically savvy and knowledgeable and are on the ship to remind other Skrell how far the Federation reaches. Thus a Skrell Consular Officer should strive to be the last person on the ship to offend their host, while not being a complete pushover.
- Federation Consular Officers also have standing instructions to report back to the Federation on the actions of any federation citizens that they observe for review. This should be done via fax or other long-range communications.
- Sent by the Dominian Empire, the job of Dominian Consular Officer is to dispel all perceived inaccuracies about Dominians first and ensure the loyalty of its subjects second. Dominia has had an understanding with the Protectorate ever since its rediscovery by the other factions and its officers ensure that this relationship lasts, despite the ideological differences.
- Representing one of the hives, Vaurca Consular Officers are always a special type of Vaurca, a Ta also known as a Breeder. As the emotional centerpiece of Vaurca society, a Vaurca Consular officer is the ideal type capable of communicating and understanding all the other species in the system.
Traitor
Should you find yourself selected as a traitor, congratulations! You were likely already engaging in dubious actions, but now you can take things much further.
Wield your bureaucracy against the ship you've signed up to act within! The morphic clerical kit may be of use to a traitorous Representative, as the stamps it provides allow you to forge command staff approval of just about anything. Through this, you can stamp approval papers to your fellows, have them lie to Command Staff about who they got them from, and then procure anything they'd like, thanks to you. If anyone questions what you're doing, remind them that you have the best interests of your people at heart.
