PSG Operational Documentation

The following articles are pieces of internal-oriented operational documentation created by the Phoenix Service Group for their day-to-day operation. This includes staff schedules, procedures, emergency plans, security information, and occasionally gossip or interesting chat logs.

These documents are split by location on their base of operations, The Rigs off the coast of Sargasso. Each individual platform is its own operational branch. As such, valuable information can be culled by department.

• Alpha 'α' - Operation, Command, Quarters, Medical (Temporary?)
• Beta 'β' - Support, Vehicles, Hangar
• Gamma 'γ' - Research, Development, Manufacturing
• Delta 'δ' - Intelligence, Archives, Reconnaisance
• Radio Chatter & Miscellaneous - For other items

The Alpha Platform is the Group's nerve center, their centre of command and decision making, in addition to core clerical duties. More importantly, core members of the ISC Phoenix are most likely to be heard here. The most paperwork tends to go through here, in addition to station-wide briefings, alerts, or other activity.

All Soldiers are advised to keep their uniforms in good condition. We do make exceptions in our uniforms to accommodate for members with disabilities or cybernetic enhancements for the sake of comfort or preference, but this does not allow you to walk around without pants due to a cybernetic groin. Those who flaunt the uniform code will be punished.

As for meeting and greeting, be sure to look at the client in the eyes, handshake firmly, smile, and introduce yourself in your native language, or the client's if you are comfortable in speaking it, or a native speaker. Be sure to draw attention away from the actions of the ISC Phoenix, and talk to them about what the Service Group can do for them instead.

Upselling the client for things they may not need insults their intelligence. If they ask for more, give them more. We are not a magic company that makes problems go away, we are made of people who may be able to provide a solution, and at the end of the day, we provide what is reasonable, but we do our best to make our service the best possible. Underpromise, and overdeliver.

Don't forget to offer guests refreshments at the conclusion of business. It can go a long way.

The Beta Platform is where their vehicles are serviced, maintained, and usually launched. They have capabilities for launching rapid launches from surface to orbit, then going through space to where they need to be, and swooping right in without need for a formal landing. Their pilots are quite skilled. In addition, the platform's large size accommodates the group's logistics and storage branch.

The following document is recommended for pilots. A very sharp landing is recommended, our craft are capable of taking the stresses of orbital reentry better than the stock vehicles you may be accustomed to. As such, we can monitor the situation and provide fire support from high orbit. Be sure to keep an eye on your shields and friction though, you're not invincible.

Anyway, our moves are thus.

1. Receive Pickup Signal
2. Fly in arc according to gravity of planet/density of air to Locale, moving as fast as possible
3. Find appropriate landing zone, far away enough from enemies or surveilance. Be prepared to provide direct fire support for target and/or cargo when necessary
4. When target within 100m and situation clear, descend, opening cargo ramp
5. Have soldiers on standby to cover target. If target goes down en route, you will know whether to pick them up or leave without them according to mission parameters
6. When target is safely aboard, begin closing ramp, disperse radar-baffling smokes and prepare for takeoff
7. Take off with speed. Depending on severity, backup vehicle may be handy to provide further fire support

Important note regarding Phoenix-oriented missions and operations: Luca Pavone is capable of clinging to the side of the vehicle. He will find a way onboard if you take off while he is on the hull, so long as you keep the doors open. I don't know how he does it - must be the thing on his arm. He isn't supposed to be cybernetic…

This morning I found Dr. Aiesu Kalopsia attempting to sneak into the hangar and get a look at the strange mecha that landed in Sargasso a while ago. She's under strict orders not to be anywhere near the frame, on account of the Consortium wanting their hands on whatever the thing's made of.

When she was found trying to sneak across the hangar in a cardboard box, flash bang grenades were tossed along with warning shots. She was stunned out cold when one rolled under her box and detonated. Target was subdued and taken along without a fight. We know she's some sort of bioroid, but she sure has a soft exterior.

She was escorted back to Alpha Platform and put in the brig for 72 hours. The guards on duty have requested earmuffs, as they will not shut up about incarceration, or the fact that Luca put a large water bottle with a nozzle on the cell bars.

I find it pretty amusing - but why does he keep her around? We're not friends of the Consortium. Echelon put out the orders though, so she probably has things under control.

We need to put these things through a battery to see they're worth a shit on the field. We drive cars for a living. We're petrolheads. Fire in our heads and nerves like lightning. Our worlds granted to us by our sweet lady of Combustion and Thrust! Let's amuse her by making ourselves compete against this dreary world's stiffest resistance!

The Gamma Platform is where the manufacturing and production, as well as independent research and development into weapons, armour, logistics, and other equipment come together. The operation of the research and development team seems to be on a loose meritocracy, with whoever has thought the problem through the most and shown their work having the most sway in a given project.

The Absence in Problems and Presence of Solutions Method -By Jake Stewart and Tori Juunkou

1. Research Trends
2. Find Weakness/Deficiency in Market
3. Get Firsthand Accounts if possible
4. Identify Absence/Problem
5. Hypothesise Presence/Solution
6. Brainstorm
7. Preliminary Design
8. Reality Check
9. Reassess Problem and viability with Solution in Mind
10. Make Prototypes
11. Do Small Scale Tests with briefed subjects
12. Do Large Scale Tests with target group at large
13. Evaluate, Reiterate, Retest
14. Create Production Model
15. Do final Mass Scale tests
16. Mass Produce Initial Run
17. Release and continue producing!
18. Provide ongoing support, and possible next iteration to design after field use

Thus, we build, carving stone, metal, lasers, cordite, or paper for holes in a wall that's growing bigger by the moment and being built by many, many people who aren't us.

This appears to be where their data and intel is housed, along with internal libraries and reading libraries. It almost acts as a school for soldiers, and in Sargasso, it is mistaken for a university at times, but it is understood that a majority of PSG's intelligence is housed here. No confidential files have been leaked due to very tight security processes, but the open library and network is where a majority of these items come from.

As a former soldier, you know the benefits of concealment and cover. If you are not a soldier, there's no reason not to learn now. Here are some handy tips for staying concealed in a hectic situation. There are five things to watch out for as you sneak:

• Watch your breathing. You may be tempted to hold your breath, but this will lead to loud exhales. Breathe slowly and calmly through the nose.
• Watch where you're going. A misstep on something or a surface which is crunchy, slippery, or otherwise inconveniencing or noisy can spell disaster.
• Watch your balance. When you assume a low stance, keep your legs shoulder width apart. Do not move your waist, only your legs.
• Watch your body. Its easy to forget where you are in relation to the rest of your body when you aren't thinking straight. Be especially mindful of your head, the position of your hands, and your buttocks if you are laying down.
• Watch your gear. The rattle of items moving against your body in a quiet place can give you away. Securely tape or tie down any gear, and tarnish any shiny surfaces with mud or dust to prevent them from standing out.
• Watch for people. Take advantage of cover and concealment, in addition to ambient sound or battlefield chaos to mask your approach. Enemy combatants will be focussing on the largest available threat, which will be provided by the relevant staff as you flank.

Once you know what look out for, you can focus on your silent movement:

• Start by balancing your weight on your right foot, then placing your left foot in front of you with the toes, then lower the heel against the ground.
• As you put your left heel down, slowly shift your body weight towards the ball of your left foot. Bend your knee and and lean forward.
• With all your body weight on the ball of your left foot, repeat the process with the right foot and beyond until you reach the desired location.

The following is a catch-all category for other pieces of information discovered on the Phoenix Service Group's area of operations.

This is intended for humour or insight. Particularly in relation to the average people in the Phoenix Service Group being exasperated by the extraordinary people of the ISC Phoenix