Missions
Most of the USS Dauntless' activities happen online, but there are many occasions in which Dauntless crew-members get together in real life to get things done together.
Missions are important, because attending them earns members points towards their next rank promotion.
The list of Missions that are currently sanctioned can be found on the Dauntless Calendar.
How To Run an Away Mission
Are you an Away Team Leader, or have an idea for a Mission you'd like to see happen?
Here's a handy guide to help you with it.
Missions - Official Dauntless Events
In order to qualify as an official Mission, the event must be organised, run or hosted by a Dauntless crew-member. That crew-member must have authorisation from the Command Staff beforehand for the event to be considered an official Mission. The Command Staff may decide not to grant authorisation, in which case the event will not be regarded as officially recognised by, or affiliated with, the USS Dauntless.
In addition to this, at least two of the following criteria must apply:
All members of the Dauntless were welcome to attend.
The event was posted on the Dauntless Calendar at least two days before it took place.
At least three Dauntless crew-members were in attendance. (This should, whenever possible, be substantiated by taking photos at the event and posting them online)
If an authorised event fails to meet these other criteria, the Command Staff will evaluate whether or not it will be recognised for rank promotion and other purposes after the fact.
Kinds of Missions
There are three main kinds of events:
Ship-board Missions. Also simply known as "Missions", These are conducted from aboard the metaphorical ship. In the metaphor, each participant is sitting at his or her station somewhere on the ship, and taking part from that location.
In practical terms, that means these are online events, where each member participates from their respective Internet device (Workstation or PADD). These can include:Online watch-parties;
Online gaming sessions;
Meetings on Discord.
Away Missions. These events are generally held out in the world. If some or all of the participants are expected to leave their home in order to attend, then it should be considered an Away Mission. Members are strongly encouraged to wear uniforms when attending Away Missions, unless otherwise indicated. Away Missions can include:
Blood Donation meetups;
Games nights at a crew-member's home;
Hikes, picnics, 5k runs etc.
Multi-vector Away Missions are Away Missions where multiple Away Teams engage in the same activity in different locations simultaneously.
Off Duty Events. These are for events that have no particular agenda, and are intended entirely as social gatherings. They can take place online or in person, and are not logged as either Missions or Away Missions. Uniform requirements do not apply.
Event Chain of Command
Since it is relevant for rank promotion purposes, it is important to establish which member is "in command" of any given event.
By default the host/organiser of the event is in command, regardless of rank.
If the host and organiser are not the same person, the organiser has priority, and the host is second in command. Both members are considered to have commanded the event for rank promotion purposes.
If there is no host, and the organiser of the event is not present, the highest-ranking attendee is in command.
Civilians (non-crew-members), Passengers and Reserves cannot command a Dauntless event, although they may host one.
Third-party Public Events
An official Dauntless event may be considered an "event within an event". For example, a public airshow would likely not be organised or hosted by a Dauntless crew-member. But a group outing to that airshow might be, and therefore could potentially be considered a Dauntless event if it met with the criteria above.
These would typically be organised as Away Missions.
Personal Events
Events of a personal nature (birthday parties, weddings, baptisms etc) will generally be refused authorisation by the Command Staff, even if they meet with the other criteria.
Repeating Events
Some events are regular in nature (weekly, fortnightly, monthly etc). These events may be granted authorisation in advance for a given period (a year, for example) only after which will it be necessary for the organiser to seek authorisation again.
Marketing and Branding
When an event has been authorised, the organiser is welcome to use the USS Dauntless name, logo and other branding material in their marketing for the event. These can be obtained from the Command Staff if required.