Commanding Officer Application - DeluxeJuice
What is your BYOND key?
DeluxeJuice
What is your Discord ID?
infeimus
What is your timezone in UTC?
UTC-06
Player Name You Use Most?
Marshall Coates
Ban Appeals, Whitelist and Staff Applications:
None
Have you been banned in the last 3 months?
No
If so, why?
N/A
Command Knowledge:
How familiar are you with command positions?
After deeply investing multiple hours dedicated to leadership roles, mainly XO, SO and SL, I have become highly comfortable leading the operation. I am very familiar with CIC command, doing my best to provide marines with a constant flux of information, which, for me, is one of the vital parts of the roles. Mechanically speaking, I can handle anything within the CIC without complications, including the recently added encoding. Although I have done this as XO and SO, as a SL, I confidently rally, coordinate and lead marines in combat. I believe I’m proficient at having marines listen to me (orders) and gather them for a common cause/objective
Hours in XO:
56.4
Hours in SL:
46.6
Character Information:
Why did your character decide to become the CO of a ship?
During the events that transcurred in the USS Sanctum, Coates had to face one of the most brutal and severe situations a leader can endure. Being a rookie, this was even more of a challenge. The incidents that happened that day forced Marshall to quickly mature into a full-blown leader, where the life of the men under his command depended on his focus, by the minute. After the events of the USS Sanctum, Coates had one thing clear. To stop incidents like this from happening ever again, he had to be prepared where others are not, and he needed the authority to make it possible.
How did your character attain the position of CO?
Marshall Coates was the name that popped up when secluded travel, anti-boarding tactics and boarding counteroffensive came into discussion. Countless successful operations in high risk environments brought a lot of truth to the statement. When tensions in the Neroid Sector began to brew, the obvious disadvantageous circumstances that surrounded the vast and isolated space of the outer-rim, where the Herculis fleet remained vigilant, although barely, proved enough to request for a rushed transfer into a Commanding Officer position. Coates answered the call.
Provide a short story of your CO.
Command Actions:
When do you believe it’s appropriate to pardon a prisoner?
Even though the outcome of a pardon isn’t as impactful as a Battlefield Execution, it is still an important responsibility a Commanding Officer has. To pardon means to absolve a person from rigorous guidelines that allow our ship and its personnel to remain safe.
Marshall Coates believes in following the process diligently. You will be arrested if you break the law. You will face the consequences of your actions, period.
When proper procedure and law is applied, there should be no pardon. If you committed a crime, you must be aware of what happened, and if you were arrested, then you most likely deserve to be. But what happens when this is not the case? What happens if the law or procedure isn’t followed by the book? What happens if the arresting MP description of the events wasn’t incorrect, but they weren’t as honest as I thought they were? What happens if the officer ordering the arrest didn’t catch that detail from the detained story, which maybe would have led to him not calling the arrest in the first place? What happens if the person committing the crime, was aware that they were doing bad, but maybe, they did not want to do it that way, or they didn’t believe that doing it like that would have consequences, to himself or others.
I would only issue pardons in situations where the prisoner was not acting under bad faith, where his actions, although irresponsible, did not generate severe effects to the extent of malice against the individuals, areas or circumstances affected. I would also, take in consideration, that the person being pardoned heavily understands, to the point of changing his stance and interpretation, that the actions that they committed were not right, and they must not do them again. Finally, taking in consideration the previous, I would pardon the arrested prisoner if bad faith comes from external factors which led to his arrest, for example, MPs acting in bad faith (not law breaking)
Give some examples of when you would or would not use pardon.
I would pardon
Example 1: A QM is facing an angry multitude of marines because one of their fellow squad mates didn’t get the HEDP box, with the GL spec getting it instead. The marines begin by banging on the windows, but shortly after they start attempting to climb over the desk, with intentions to harm him. The QM, closes the requisitions line shutter, and swiftly barricades the entrances to avoid any breaching attempts. Shortly after, they announce in general comms that they won’t be providing any more attachments until things calm down, and also call for MP assistance. One of the intelligence officers, part of the angry mob, orders the arrest of the QM for neglect of duty. Even though they refused to provide the attachments, they did so for good reason. They were in the way of harm, and with the radio on his disposal, he used it to call for assistance and try to appease the angry marines. They never refused to do their job, but instead, sought assistance to do it without getting hurt because of it. Upon speaking with the IO who ordered the arrest, he explicitly states he was not aware the QM was trying to seek for help, and that marines were trying to trespass into Requisitions and assault them. I would pardon the QM.
Example 2: Mass casualties just happened, multiple incoming from one of the dropships as evacuation has just happened. A nurse that just woke up rushes into the Alamo, and grabs one of the fallen marines, who has about 1 minute and a half to be revived. They grab the marine and bring them into the Medical lobby, however, all of the Wey Med vendors were shipped to the planet, and all the other corpsmen are busy attempting to revive multiple wounded at once. The nurse, in a panic, heads to the CIC, breaks in and somehow manages to access the armory, stealing medical supplies and a defibrillator. Due to this travel, the marine is about to be permanently deceased. The nurse, in desperation, begins to defibrillate the marine in hopes they are able to revive them, but ultimately fails. An MP who happened to pass by, sees the nurse and arrests them for trespassing, later adding a neglect of duty charge after understanding how the marine died. Even though the marine ultimately died, the nurse did their best to revive them, even when underequipped. Although they had different opportunities to better handle the situation, and could have avoided breaking in the CIC to take the necessary supplies to heal the marine, without medical assistance, the marine would have most likely died. Incompetence or subpar handling of situations isn’t necessarily tied to being blatantly guilty if specific circumstances happen, hence, in this specific one, I would pardon the nurse and advise on how to better handle future scenarios.
I would NOT pardon
Example 1: A researcher has been arrested. Stims were delivered to the FOB, and marines began to use them, however, after frequent testing, it is discovered that the stim provided was nothing but water and sugar, despite them being labelled as providing anti-stuns, bonemend and others, causing the death of countless marines on the AO, with more than the half of our force wiped as they were confident the stim would have their back. Upon questioning, the researcher states that they did send the stims knowing that there were no actual chemicals inside, and that all the labelled properties were fake, however, the researcher states they did not intend to harm the marines or negatively affect the operation, but rather, use its placebo effect to bolster their morale and have them to push, which, otherwise, they would never have. The researcher also states, it would have been impossible to foresee that marines would just throw their lives away thinking that the stims would have made them survive, and that it is not his fault that marines just kill themselves just because they have a potent drug in their system. Despite the researcher not acting in bad faith, we cannot foresee that a trained marine force would just incoherently charge a superior enemy because they had stimulants, but anybody can foresee what will happen if you give a marine an unloaded shotgun who is about to charge into the hell of battle. The researcher was completely aware that the stims were of no use, and could potentially cause harm should the marines depend on its traits to survive. Since these actions had effects on a dangerous extent, I would not pardon the researcher.
Example 2: A mess technician is arrested. The MT was searching for metal in maints for his future groundside kitchen. While walking around the catwalks above Requisitions, they see a man jump to the ASRS pit. The mess technician, fearing for the life of the man, rushes to Requisitions. He approaches the line, pressing the bell. The QM approaches, seemingly unaware of what just happened. The MT urges the QM to be let in and save the man, but the QM refuses, stating they do not want the MT near the supply crate since it has a lot of metal on it, fearing the MT will steal it for personal use. The MT, desperate, vaults over the table, shoves the QM and begins punching their head, killing him in the process. The MT, steals his ID and calls the ASRS pit up, dragging the dead man over to Medical for revival. The MT states they did not intend to kill the QM, but since they refused to open the door, and the man was dying in the ASRS pit, they had to incapacitate them. Even though the man needed help, and the QM was uncooperative, the man was most likely still revivable by the time they arrived at Requisitions. Even if the QM did not trust them, they could have taken the time to announce and alert the MPs or any other personnel over the radio about the incident that was going on, and even though they did not have any malice in their actions, they did attack the QM until the point of killing them. Due to having multiple tools at his disposal, this would not be considered a last resort option, hence, I would not pardon them.
When do you believe it’s appropriate to use a Battlefield Execution?
The BE is one of, if not, the highest responsibility a CO has. In a game where you 90% of the time will only get a single opportunity to have fun, being permanently removed from the round is the complete opposite of what you want to achieve when you want to engage with the environment and roleplay.
As a Commander, you have so many ways of dealing with problems that arise in an operation, even outside of Marine Law. You have an entire military police department, who have a duty of upholding ML, and even if no MPs are awake, you can deputize to deal with trouble. Not only physical enforcement of Marine Law should stop you, you can dialogue, interact, and discuss. Interacting and creating a rich environment, leading to multiple outcomes, is fun for both parties, without ignoring obvious consequences and adhering to the rules established.
Marshall Coates, striving to be a strict, straight-forward officer, values the opinion and the lives of his men and others that surround him as well as the sake of the operations he leads.. Following strict process and procedures, and adhering to what is correct is a core value for him. Fair punishment where it’s due, no bullshit.
Taking all of this in account, I would only perform a Battlefield Execution should my life and others around me be in imminent danger, and there is no opportunity to handle it any other way, with no involvement from other parties or actions that would stop this from happening. Should the act of harming or even attempting to eliminate me or those who surround me cause disastrous consequences, to the operation or not, with no visible good outcome from it.
Give some examples of when you would or would not use Battlefield Execution.
I would BE
Example 1: A PFC deploys a M2C behind marines skirmishing outside against Xenomorphs, during a FOB siege. The PFC begins to shoot, hitting multiple marines in front. The PFC is told by multiple marines to stop and be careful, but the PFC maintains their position and continues to fire. A marine approaches the PFC, supported by a deploying MP HG, and tries to shove them off the M2C, to which the PFC responds "You should not be in my line of fire” and attempts to shove the approaching marine back. After a brief hustle, the PFC unmans the M2C, draws a revolver and begins firing at the marine, making them drop to the ground unconscious. The MP HG attempts to neutralize them, but they get shot down as well. Despite both men being unconscious on the ground, the PFC continues firing to the point of killing them.
I would BE the PFC for the following reasons:
A. We are in the middle of a critical moment. A FOB siege. We are fighting back against an enemy force, who, most likely, due to the severity of the situation, has surpassed our combat capability and is now at the doorstep of our only way into the planet, with the fall of it most likely causing our entire force to wipe or leave, catastrophically ending the operation.
B. The PFC is actively endangering marines’ lives. After being told to stop, they kept doing it, and when approached about it, the marine continues to perform said action, negligently taking a defensive posture on his point of view, with no care about other marines lives, which could have many disastrous consequences like unrecoverable permanent marines, diminishing of combat effective marines, etc.
C. The PFC not only shot multiple marines, but shot and killed one of them, as well as a deployed MP HG in charge of protecting my life. The marine shows no care or concern for his surroundings or other marines lives, and most likely doesn’t care for the outcome of the scenario either. With no other hands to deal with the matter in an appropriate way, it would leave me with no option.
Example 2: We have evacuated the planet, and a Xenomorph hive has hijacked one of the dropships, on its way to the ship. Prior to the evacuation, the remaining 6 members of one of the squads, including their SL, decided to stop fighting back the attackers, as they claim we never gave them proper orders or sufficient communication. They are now at CIC doorstep demanding access and a change of Command, effectively . The ship’s personnel are notified of this through an ARES announcement, and when the Charlie squad is approached, they begin to exchange fire with Marines and Military Police attempting to respond to the situation.
Since we are on Delta Alert, a Xenomorph hive who has crushed our opposition groundside, has now taken our own equipment and are about to hit our ship, causing high amounts of damage, potentially bringing the ship down with them. The marines need cohesion and guidance to attempt to respond to the threat and be able to hold long enough to flee or neutralize it if possible. In a critical moment like this, the marines need guidance and cohesion. It is my duty as the Commanding Officer of the ship to ensure not only the operation and the ship stay effective, but that my men live. If any attempts of deposing my current leadership would be successful, it would leave the marines in a void awaiting for instructions that would never come, as before another person takes commands by following procedure, the hijackers would have boarded, making it nearly impossible to organize a proper defense against the incoming threat. Taking in consideration this, and that any attempts of arrest are futile, since they have already open fired to our Military Policy department, and the necessity of swift action to fend the boarders, I would BE the entire squad.
I would NOT BE
Example 1: A Maintenance Technician is heard stuttering in the general comms, seemingly asking for help. With no MPs active, I tell the Synthetic still shipside to assist in locating the MT. After a few minutes of search, the Synthetic is able to hear strange sounds within the Corporate Liaisons office. After accessing the area, they are greeted by the CL itself, behind them their personal cell, where the corpse of the MT can be seen, a huge hole in his chest, and a mature Xenomorph Drone inside the chamber. Upon questioning, the CL states it was all in the name of research, and that he desperately needed a live Xenomorph sample after receiving an urgent fax from Weyland Yutani requesting so.
I would not BE the CL, since, despite this being a horrendous crime to humanity, as well as the crimes included by kidnapping the MT, I have tools at my disposal. I am able to deputize the Synthetic to arrest the CL, that, even if they had any hostile intents, would show barely any effectiveness to take down the Synthetic or myself. Not only that, but, there is an actual crime and process regarding this type of situation, which we can safely follow and adhere to without any risks by detaining and arresting the CL on the spot.
Example 2: On the squad comms, we can constantly hear multiple marines complaining about the FOB doctor. The marines say that the FOB doctor is constantly taking them against their will, and performing surgery, even when unwanted. Upon questioning, the Doctor states that the marines are being irresponsible and do not want to have surgery done, as they have more troubling matters to attend to, like fighting crippled at the front. I would not BE the Doctor, even though what they have done is obviously a crime, I would attempt to discuss the situation with them, and make them understand why this is wrong. If the discussion proves successful, and the Doctor is willing to cooperate and genuinely understands this is wrong, I would dismiss the situation and apply an arrest cancellation if necessary. Otherwise, I would still dialogue with them, but instead, order an arrest through a field deployment from the MP department.
