The Star Army of Yamatai Readiness Conditions comprise a tiered system of alerts to Star Army personnel and local governments. They are utilised to give general notices for Star Army forces to help with their readiness in case of escalation of local incidents or war, as well as effectively and quickly give pre-written instructions to local governments and civilians.
While the starship-level 'conditions' system seen below has existed for a long time in the Star Army, until YE 43 there was no formalised system of readiness levels for the Star Army as a whole beyond declarations of war. After the formation of Star Army Special Operations they began using such systems internally and the benefits of such being extended to all of the Star Army of Yamatai were proposed to Star Army Operations. Between the staff officers that registered their interest, a system of levels to apply empire-wide were proposed to the Commander of the Star Army and adopted.
The Readiness Conditions exist to provide a centralised warning and notice system for any incidents that may cause a crew, or the Star Army as a whole, to be on greater readiness than normal. The benefits of such a system are to allow authorised officers to issue general notices which have preset steps in the event they are given. This cuts down on the need to issue countless individual orders.
There are two levels of Readiness Condition - Local and Alert. Local readiness conditions are issued by the Captain of a ship or base, and only affect personnel inside that base. They are not relayed outside of the posting. Alert readiness conditions are a higher level of warning that are issued by Captains or superior officers. They are usually sent through the Yamataian Emergency Aid Line and have far-reaching affects beyond the starship from which they were issued.
All alerts issued below are usually reported via usage of the Yamataian Emergency Aid Line.
The Readiness Conditions below are utilised by the Star Army for standing orders and general notices. Change of Condition notices from Alerts are considered priority traffic and are expected to be observed above any regular duties. The change of condition notice is sent with a detailed description of the incident in question and why the condition is being changed.
To use the below table, it depends who you are. A Local Alert can be declared by any Star Army Starship Captain, Star Army Rikugun Commander or Base Commander. This is done by declaring which system the alert is occurring within, as well as all details and the reason for declaration. To escalate to a Regional Alert, this is done by a Star Army Fleet Admiral who follows the same steps but declares a number of systems or a whole sector. Only the Commander of the Star Army can declare an Empire Alert, by declaring that a Regional Alert has affected or will affect multiple regions. They can also declare a Failover Notice, if required.
Examples:
| Condition | Description | Personnel Policy | Assets Policy | Declared By |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FINAL V (Failover Notice) | Multiple fallen systems | General conscription begins, everyone is subject to martial law, civilian government is suspended, contingency protocols are activated, valuables and military govenment begin moving to other nations in readiness for government-in-exile. | All reserve equipment is deployed, civilian industry is converted to military, foreign equipment is commandeered. Neko production is at 100%. | Commander of the Star Army |
| WAR IV (National Alert) | Something will affect the whole Empire | The country is considered 'at war' or close to it. Star Army fleets everywhere are ordered to combat stances. Reserves are called. The AMJ wartime provisions are activated. | All Star Army of Yamatai bases and ships are fully armed, manned and considered to be on high alert. Armouries are expected to be empty. The below measures are extended from Region to Empire. | Star Army Command Staff |
| ATTACK III (Regional Alert) | Something will affect multiple systems | Star Army forces in a region are at combat readiness and liaise with the regional government to contain the issue. Forces outside of the region should expect to be sent to the region, or for the readiness to go up. | Star Army assets inside a region are put to combat readiness, adjacent regions are expected to be mobilising. The below measures are extended from System to Region. | Star Army Fleet Admiral |
| GUARD II (Local Alert) | Something will affect one system | Star Army forces are alerted to a localised issue that may escalate. Star Army forces in the locale are put to combat readiness and expected to assist above normal duties. Star Army forces in the region are expected to be ready to mobilise and mitigate. | Local assets are mobilised. Strategically valuable assets may be moved and civilians evacuated. | Star Army Starship Captain |
| STEADY I (Relaxed Stance) | No current incidents exist | Star Army forces are only to engage in combat when provoked or when on a mission. Any incidents that are occurring are expected to not escalate. | Stockpiles are maintained, armories are full except when released for purposes of a mission or assigned duty. | Star Army Command Staff |
Below are the specific readiness conditions for ship or base level alerts. These are usually unilaterally declared by a Starship Captain or Base Commander.
Examples:
| Condition | Readiness | Crew | Ship |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 (IMPACT) | Impact Alarm | All hands prepare for crash, collision or crippling damage; damage control officer has extra authority | Ship rigged for impact, survivability prioritised, power/CFS may be wholly on shielding, otherwise as below |
| 1 (FIGHT) | Combat Imminent | All hands on duty and at stations in protective suits, non-essential personnel on damage control readiness | All weapons active; Blast shutters deployed; CFS focused mostly on shields |
| 2 (READY) | Combat Expected | Main shift on duty and at stations in protective suits, crew armed, away team mobilised | All weapons active, CFS shields and speed balanced |
| 3 (DUTY) | Wartime | Duty shift; protective suits within easy reach; all items secured | CFS shields up |
| 4 (STEADY) | Peacetime | Duty shift (bridge and engineering must be manned) | CFS totally focused on speed |
| 5 (STANDBY) | Docked | Sentries only (bridge can be locked down and unmanned) | Engines and generators offline |
Below are the emissions control levels of Star Army of Yamatai vessels and stations.
| Condition | Readiness | Crew | Ship |
|---|---|---|---|
| A (SILENT) | Evasion above Combat | Every crewmember must stay entirely still | All possible emissions are blocked, at the cost of many functions and combat readiness |
| B (ULTRAQUIET) | Combat Chatter | All crew are at combat stations, no unauthorised movement | No emissions beyond tactical comms |
| C (QUIET) | Foreign Space | No unregulated or unlogged external traffic allowed | All non-urgent external communications are collected and sent in bursts together |
| D (TRANSCEIVE) | Yamatai Space | No standard protocols | No standard protocols |
| E (LOCALISE) | Docked | No communications to be sent from the ship unless urgent | All traffic to be sent via docked station |
The ALERT Readiness Conditions and Yamataian Emergency Aid Line were inspired by the uselessness of SOS calls in the film Captain Phillips and how this could happen to Yamataian ships that are attacked too quickly to alert their Fleet. I imagine that ALERTs going to ships would look like this.
Some further inspiration for the LOCAL Readiness Conditions was taken from Crimson Tide, a great film.
ethereal created this article on 2022/05/24 02:34. It was approved here.