Tactical Analysis

Maintaining full awareness of the Tactical Operating Environment (TOE) is critical to the vessel’s safety. Before you can make peaceful contact or defend against hostile intentions, you need know something is even there.

Detection

Tactically Significant and Maneuverable Objects (TSMO’s or sumos) - usually other vessels - can be detected from their emissions across an EM spectrum range or from propulsion exhaust. Passive detection techniques like these don’t require any detectable emissions from your own vessel which might give away your position, but can make it harder to spot anything, especially if it is trying to hide.

Detecting another vessel before they detect you provides a major tactical advantage, so being the first among your crewmates to report a contact can earn you a lot of credit. Missing a contact and potentially exposing the vessel to surprise attack certainly won’t help your career. If you even survive.

Firing Solutions

If a contact is designated as a TSMO then you need to continue to track it. If the TSMO is designated hostile, then the tactical team needs to develop a firing solution in case combat breaks out. A firing solution requires not only constant awareness of the range and bearing of the contact, but an accurate emissions profile that can be used by torpedo guidance systems to track and hit their target.

This is usually a team effort and so long as at least one of you maintains contact, there’s no problem. But lose the contact and not only does your team look bad, but another team gets the chance to claim credit if they reacquire it first.

Tactical Operating Environment

Not all tactically significant objects are other vessels. It is important to maintain an awareness of nearby planets, asteroids and other astronomical phenomena as well as their characteristics. If the captain needs somewhere to hide or a plan to confuse and outwit an opponent, it could be your solution – based on your local knowledge – that saves the ship (and earns you credit).

Countermeasures

The vessel can automatically defend herself from hostile fire with a number of systems. Tactical crew can spot gaps in countermeasures and weaknesses in hostile ordnance or tactics that computers can’t. Proposing solutions that close gaps or exploit weaknesses can save the ship and earn you a whole lot of credit.

Join the Action

This is just one way you can take part in Endeavour’s mission as part of the virtual crew.

Not only can you watch the action live as it’s happening, as virtual crew you’ll have full access to actual vessel consoles so that you can monitor systems and adjust control settings to test your solution ideas.

What you discover or develop will be delivered directly into the action so your crewmates can assess and recommend your contribution. If you spotted something first or solved a problem better then you’ll see it unfold onscreen and career-advancing credit will be coming your way.

Enjoy enough success like that and you’ll be soon be stepping onto the bridge to join the onscreen crew.