The Space Navy Series - Control Room Watch Stations

C.O. (Commanding Officer.) Usually ranked Commander or Captain. Stands in the V.R. Conn, in the centre of the bridge or control room.

X.O. (Executive Officer.) Second in command to the C.O. Stands to the left aft of the C.O. and oversees Communications, Scanner control and Weapons Fire Control stations.

W.O. (Warfare Officer.) Stands to the right fore of the C.O. and oversees the Tactical and Navigation stations.

Helm. At the 12-noon position, directly behind the main view slit. The Throttle-man controls speed. The Planes-man controls positive and negative pitch control and port to starboard steering.

Tactical. Receives information from the Scanner control station, and maps that onto a tactical display of the nearby area.

Navigation. This station is at 3 O’clock to the C.O. The navigator is responsible for plotting course and speed solutions and navigating the vessel.

Technical (Engineering). Located behind the C.O. at 5 O’clock. The engineering officer of the watch oversees the control of the engines and systems of the vessel and relays orders to the Space Engineering Officer (S.E.O.) in engineering control.

Damage Control. Located at 7 O’clock behind the C.O. The damage control officer oversees the vessel’s emergency systems and assesses damage, dispatching fire teams, emergency repair teams and first aid medical teams.

Weapons Fire Control. The WEPS (Weapons Officer) controls launch of missiles and firing of plasma cannons and E.C.M. (Emergency Counter-Measures). They will interact closely with the Tactical station and the W.E.O. (Weapons Engineering Officer) in the bomb shop.

Radar and Scanner Control. Located at 9 O’clock to the left of the C.O. They track multiple contacts around the vessel and relay the data to Tactical. They are also responsible for determining whether unknown targets (Bogeys) are to be classified as Bandits; identified, hostile targets.

Communications (Bunting Tosser). Located at 11 O’clock from the C.O., the communications officer receives messages via N.A.C.I.N. or local radio or satellite transmission and relays them to the C.O.

00:00 to 04:00 (Mid-watch)

A graveyard shift from midnight or “four balls” until 4 am. “Balls to four”.

04:00 to 08:00 (Morning Watch)

08:00 to 12:00 (Forenoon Watch)

12:00 to 16:00 (Afternoon Watch)

16:00 to 18:00 (First Dogwatch)

Shorter watches to allow the watch-standers to eat an evening meal.

18:00 to 20:00 (Second Dogwatch)

20:00 to 24:00 (Evening or First Watch)

From Book One:

The control room was situated at the extreme of one of the four fins where the gravity would be highest in flight. As Trenchard climbed down the metal ladder into the control room, a wave of stifling air and body odour hit him from the multitude of electronic equipment and body heat which was produced in the cramped space. As he settled his mag-boots onto the floor with a clunk, he looked about the room. It was roughly oval shaped, set at the top of the opposite fin to the main hatch, the deck being space-side and accessed by the metal ladder through a hatch in the overhead that led into the rest of the ship. Every available surface was festooned with pipes and cables of multiple colours. The various control stations were crammed in around the curved walls and a small rectangular reinforced window slit gave the actual view of near space towards the front.

In the centre of the deck stood the virtual reality control station or “Conn”, where the officer on deck would stand to oversee operations. This one station could, if required, control every single function of the ship automatically with the aid of the on-board Guardian computer system.

The Conn was more like an upright body splint than a chair. It held the legs steady, enabling the torso and arms to move freely through virtual reality. Captain Bird had already been strapped into the leg braces with help from Warrant Officer Cochran. He then placed a black visor over his eyes from which small metal tubes extended and clamped around his forehead and temples. From Captain Bird’s point of view, the control room no longer existed. He could see everything around the ship, as if he were part of the ship itself. He could operate any control by merely waving his arms in the air in front of him or, with practice, by merely thinking about what he wanted the ship to do.

Trenchard gazed around the rest of the cramped control room as the watch-standers settled into their positions. He had been on the old Hunter class vessels before but the layout of the new Wolverine class was slightly different. There was more automation for a start and so therefore fewer crewmembers in the control room. At the front, underneath the view slit, sat two junior ranked helmsmen in charge of steering and thrust. To their right sat an officer who was staring deeply into a glowing green tactical hologram showing near space and another next to him at the navigation plotting station. Behind them and overseeing their actions stood Lieutenant Commander Pugh, the Might of Fortitude’s Warfare Officer.

To the left of the helm were the communications station, scanner control, and Warrant Officer Cochran who was settling into the weapons fire control station.

Trenchard assumed his place behind Cochran, just behind and to the left of the Captain. Glancing back, at the rear of the control room, he could just see the technical station and damage control, manned by two junior engineering officers. Finally, Trenchard eyes came to rest on a brass plaque that was bolted to the back of the Conn. It had a picture of a dolphin inscribed into the metal and underneath the words “We hide with pride!” This was the traditional motto of the Space Navy’s hunter killer spacecraft and reflected their skill at stealth tactics.

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