Hangar Technician

The Cargo Technician is the crewmember that is in charge, generally, of handling all cargo-related requests.

Overview

The Cargo Technician has two to three responsibilities:

• Manage Cargo operations, defined as handling all transactions between Central Command and the Aurora
• Manage the Disposals Mailing System
• When needed (such as the lack of a quartermaster), ensure paperwork is properly filled out and filed away

Duties

Cargo Operations

The main use of Cargo. As a Cargo Technician, you are expected to handle the Cargo Console to bring materials.

People will come to you and use the external console to place orders. Get the Quartermaster to stamp it (or stamp it with a default stamp yourself), and review it.

Points

The Cargo department does not, obviously, have unlimited resources. The capability of Cargo is quantified in "points". All items have a point cost - from ten for basic civilian items to hundreds for the most expensive items. By default, Central attributes approximately eighty points per hour (or approximately 1 point per eighty seconds) - however it is not the only recourse, as it is a slow method of acquiring points. Central also rewards proper accountability and usage of resources - adding a generous amount of points for every stamped supply manifest shipped back, and for every crate sent (whether they have been returned from an order or made aboard the station - NanoTrasen can never use enough crates).

Of course, NanoTrasen also needs resources - and as such, any spare plasma or diamond sheets that are not used can be sent to Central for a bountiful points reward.

The number of points that Cargo has available is visible at the top of the requisitions console's interface when not in a menu.

Requests

All requests made - filed from the console outside or requested from within - are stored in the Requests section. They must be approved by Cargo staff (ergo you) before being ordered. If a request must be ordered, simply Approve it - and it will be placed in the order queue (provided that Cargo has enough points to order it in the first place). Should a request be pulled - either by lack of necessity, Command orders or other reasons - you are also provided with the option to cancel orders.

Orders

All approved requests are transferred to the Order queue. Accessible from the console - it contains all of the items that will be present in the shuttle. The point cost has already been deduced and as such none of the items are refundable. The menu also presents who approved what crate, and as such it is possible to see if something has been ordered without authorization.

Cargo transfer

The supplies have finally arrived. From there, your duty is to make sure it comes into the right hands. Generally, the following five options are recommended:

• Direct delivery by hand to specific department
• Hand-off by calling whomever made the requisition to Cargo
• Delivery by Mulebot (if available)
• Delivery by Cargo Tug
• Delivery by Mailing System

The latter three points are explained in the Equipment section.

Mailing System

The station is equipped with a very important piece of machinery: the Pneumatic Tube (referred to as Disposals) system. It plays two very important roles - the first one being actual disposals of trash, by sending all garbage for sorting and then transferring the materials to the sorting and processing center, where they are ground up for materials. The second is, simply, mailing - all gates are equipped with a sensor system (explained in Equipment).

As a Cargo Technician, it is one of your duties to triage the trash - to make sure nothing that shouldn't be there is, such as weapons, medication or organic materials (be sure to tell Command to reprimand the Geneticist if they actually dispose of their test subjects). And sometimes, people will come to you for secure delivery - where hand delivery is not possible or advisable due to time constraints, but while also requiring the safety of having something delivered in a restricted location.

Equipment

As a technician, you have a wide array of tools to help you help the station beyond the cargo console.

Autolathe

Sometimes, crewmembers will need simpler items that cannot be ordered - such as buckets, tools or beanbag shells for the bartender. The Autolathe covers these items - simply make sure they sign an equipment requisition form. A list of materials is available on the link provided.

Mulebot

Not available by default, they are orderable from Central. They function rather simply - simply drag a crate onto them, set up a destination and let it go and unload. By default, it should return once that's done - but you can activate a setting to let it stay there, for the recipients to unload the crate at their department and load it back - so that you don't have to hunt it down.

Of course, it IS electric - as such, once in a while, you will need to replace the power cell. To do so, unlock the controls, then simply open the maintenance panel with a screwdriver, remove the old power cell and insert a fresh one, before closing once more the panel with a screwdriver. Don't forget to put the depleted cell on the charger.

Cargo Tug

A relatively complex machine to use - the cargo tug is essentially a small train to manually transport multiple crates. To link it up, drag the chain link from the unhooked wagon to the hooked wagon (or tug). Make sure that the chain link is in the right direction, however - that can be ensured by pushing the cart into the tug/train.

To activate the tug's engine, locate the keys and turn them in the ignition (do not lose these keys as they will render the tug inoperable).

To load the tug's platforms, simply place yourself firmly in front of the wagon and lift the crate onto it.

The cargo tug is ALSO electric - and as such the power cell needs to be replaced, as well. This model of cargo tug features a panel and a latch - undo the panel with a screwdriver, extract the power cell from the latch using a crowbar, insert a new power cell then secure the panel back into place with a screwdriver.

Pneumatic System

The Pneumatic system - also called mailing or disposals system. It spans the entire station, and the main terminal is located in the Mailing room. While you do not directly interact with it, you do initiate it's two main features.

Trash Sorting

All of the station's trash, originating from the disposals terminal, will end up on a conveyor belt in Mailing. Sort through the items for unusual/illicit/useful items, then activate both levers present in the room to sent it on it's way. All items that are not marked in the Mailing process proceeds to the Processing and Recycling center, where they are either ground into base materials or passed through unprocessed.

Mailing

By far the most useful means of delivery, Mailing is a process that allows the various sensors of the system to send items to the various disposals outlets across the station. To mark an item for Mailing, the process is as follows:

• Using a roll of parcel paper, wrap your item/crate.
• Grab a Mail Tagging Tool (which looks like a red label maker) and set a destination.
• Mark the parcel with the destination.
• Put the item/crate on the terminal's conveyor belts, and activate levers to send the parcel through the system.
• (Optional)Request your crate back from the department

Beyond the Job

Of course, these are the basic duties - you can be as proactive as you like (most command crew consider a pizza and/or party crate to be points well spent when there is a large surplus of points during a calm shift). And should you be alone, you most likely will need to do most of the job of a Quartermaster as well.