Standard Operating Procedure (Command)

Councilors

All Faction Heads and the Premier are Councilors, tasked not only with managing their individual departments but also working together to make the executive decisions that impact the whole colony. Each Councilor has their area of authority and a responsibility to inform the Council of significant happenings within that area of authority.

Rights and Responsibilities of Councilors

• Councilors have the right to run their department and its personnel in the manner they choose, so long as it does not violate SOP or the law.
• Councilors have the right and responsibility to vote in all Low Council decisions.
• Councilors have the responsibility to have at least basic proficiency in the Laws, Command SOP, and Legal SOP, as well as a high level proficiency in their Department SOP.
• Councilors have the right and responsibility to ensure members of their faction are represented in legal matters, per legal SOP. The Premier has the general duty of providing legal representation, but a Faction Head may choose to represent their own employee if they wish, and they are obligated to do so if there is no Premier.
• In the absence of both Premier and Faction Head, any other Councilor has the right to represent an unrepresented party with the consent of that individual, but they have no responsibility to do so.
• Councilors have the responsibility to maintain professional decorum when conducting any official business with the Council, including speaking on the Command channel, or acting in their role as Head of their faction.
• Councilors have the responsibility to inform the Council of anything their faction encounters that may endanger the colony as a whole.
• Councilors have the responsibility to have at least a basic level of proficiency in all matters of their Faction’s responsibility.
• Councilors have the responsibility to prioritize their duties to their faction and the colony over personal interests and other religious, cultural, or familial loyalties.

Dedicated Council Staff

Premier

The Premier is a Councilor, but they are not a department head. Instead, they are a mediator, expected to be impartial and work for the good of the colony as a whole. Their job is to facilitate interdepartmental cooperation, call for meetings, aid heads of staff in ensuring they and their subordinates are following colony law and SOP, and act as an arbitrator in cases of emergency or importance. They are not given a vote in most Council situations, but are tasked with ensuring that the negotiations proceed smoothly. They are, however, given the tie-breaking vote if the Council comes to a deadlock, as well as the power to veto any decision the Council makes, resulting in an automatic “no” result to the whole vote. Such vetoes can only be overridden by a unanimous decision of at least three other Councilors. Additionally, the Premier is the primary point of contact between the High and Low Councils collectively, and may be instructed by the High Council to call votes on matters normally outside the jurisdiction of the Low Council. Finally, the Premier is expected to act as a legal representative for those accused of crimes, as detailed in Legal SOP. The Premier does not have any direct authority over members of any faction, Head or otherwise, and may only lawfully give orders to the Steward. They are given access to the entirety of the upper colony, but may not take items that belong to factions without permission and may be told by a Head to stay out if they are interfering with any faction business. Failure to comply with such an order in the absence of an emergency that necessitates the Premier’s presence is cause for Trespassing charges and a vote on demotion.

Job Competency Requirements

• High level proficiency in General, Command, and Legal SOP
• Moderate level proficiency in the colony’s Laws
• Ability to be professional and mediate disputes in a fair-minded way
• Ability to speak, read, and write fluently in English Common. Assistance devices are permitted, e.g. a mute individual may use a TTS to communicate

Steward

The Steward is not a Councilor, holds no vote, and does not count for any quorum, however they are listed here because they work for the Premier and the Council. They fill the dual roles of bodyguard and secretary for the Council. During the normal operation of the colony, they are expected to be familiar with SOP and the law and ensure the Council is aware of the limits to its powers, offering expert legal advice. In times of threat, they are expected to do what they can to ensure the physical security of Councilors, starting with the Premier, followed by the Heads who are not as capable of directly protecting themselves. They are required to follow orders by the Premier, but in lieu of such orders are expected to fulfill requests in line with their duties from other Councilors. Like the Premier, they are given access to the entirety of the upper colony, but may not take items that belong to factions without permission and may be told by a Head to stay out if they are interfering with any faction business. A Head who issues such an order forfeits the right to the Steward’s protection within their department. Failure to comply with such an order is cause for Trespassing charges unless they are escorting a Premier who has necessary business and a specific need for personal security.

Job Competency Requirements

• Moderate proficiency in General, Command, and Legal SOP
• Moderate proficiency in the colony’s Laws
• Ability to be professional in dealings with fellow colonists, especially Councilors
• Ability to speak, read, and write fluently in English Common. Assistance devices are permitted, e.g. a mute individual may use a TTS to communicate
• Ability to combat threats to Councilors with lethal force

The Low Council

The Low Council is made up of all present Councilors. A decision from the Council has absolute authority and precedence over all other decisions, regulations, and rules except during a code red scenario. Members of the council are given only a small set of rules that apply during any council vote or decision.

• All colonists must respect a decision made by the council and follow said decision. This includes Councilors who dissented in the vote. Issues with a vote can be taken to the High Council via faxes for an appeal. All low council votes are to be followed, even if contested, unless overruled by the High Council or another Low Council vote. Failure to comply with a Council decision is a crime: §403 - Exceeding Official Powers in the case of a Councilor or the relevant Failure to Execute an Order statute (§102 or §302, depending on the consequences) for other colonists.
• Heads of staff, with the exception of the Foreman, should stay within comms range of the colony to oversee their department unless circumstances warrant travel outside of it. Examples for when this is acceptable is if departmental employees cannot handle an ongoing situation deeper in the forest, if the colony itself or its inhabitants are in danger, or other issues arise warranting a head of staff leaving the colony. Any departure other than the Foreman must be announced to their department radio and over command channels.
• All Councilors (including the Foreman) who leave comms range must return for a Council vote as soon as practical if summoned via psionic message, Sending litany, messenger, or other means of long-distance communication.
• The Blackshield Commander, as well as other Heads who have need to do so, may leave comms range to lead training exercises but must ensure all staff are properly informed and ample notice given. The council may suspend any training operations at their discretion.
• All heads of staff can use the medivac shuttle in times of crisis if there are no Blackshield or Marshals. When using the shuttle, bring at least two other individuals with you, one to be left behind at least to guard the shuttle. If any Councilor is found to be using the medivac shuttle for personal reasons or reasons that do not qualify the usage of the shuttle, e.g. a Foreman using it to get to locations that they scavenge from, then they should be charged with Exceeding Official Powers.

Power of a Vote

The Low Council is entrusted with the governance of the Upper Colony. Each Faction Head has power within their own department, and the Low Council collectively can pass a wide variety of edicts through votes.A voted decision by the Low Council can permit or prohibit any action within a shift with the following exceptions:

• A faction may not be forbidden from performing their primary roles (excepting where their departmental SOP explicitly permits a Council intervention)
• The guilt or innocence of a colonist can only be determined by the Council through a Tribunal, detailed in Legal SOP
• Section 400 and 500 laws cannot be changed, nor can new offenses be added to those sections.
• Section 400 and lower laws can be suspended by vote of the Council during times of Red Alert. Such a suspension is automatically lifted upon conclusion of the Red Alert.
• General, Command, and Legal SOP cannot be changed.
• Departmental SOP cannot be changed without the assent of the relevant Faction Head. This means that if that Head is absent, the department SOP may not be changed.
• If the Low Council believes that a long-term change to policy or the law is necessary, they may vote to petition the High Council on the matter. The High Council may decide to change the policy temporarily or permanently, or may send a representative to get more information about whether the change is truly necessary and beneficial.

Voting Procedures

During a Low Council meeting, the councilors are to place their votes on the discussed topic. Every vote is valued, as multiple organizations and corporations are the lifeblood of the colony.

• All heads of staff are required to vote yes or no during a decision, excluding those absent per the above policy on leaving the colony (though if possible, a vote should be delayed until all Councilors are available). Any head of staff that refuses to make a decision or abstains is to be demoted on the spot. This is not negotiable, you are a leader and expected to make choices, especially hard choices. Any head of staff attempting to abstain or not vote is to be demoted on the spot.
• The Soteria Overseers may only have a collective vote of one and only if both agree on the decision. This means that when the votes are tallied both overseers count as a singular vote and only if they both arrived at the same vote. If the CRO and CBO cannot come to an agreement on where they vote, they instead lose their vote entirely. The inability for them to agree is not a valid grounds for demotion of either overseer. If there is only one overseer active, they have a single vote. Whenever a quorum is needed for any kind of vote, the two Overseers count as one Councilor.
• For a vote to be considered valid, a quorum of least three Councilors must be present. In the event there are fewer than three Councilors, including the Premier, a vote will automatically fail.
• If there isn’t sufficient quorum for a vote, the Councilors who are active may send a requesting fax to the High Council for permission to conduct a vote on their own. In this case, the Councilors should state what the vote is, why they want this vote, what this vote would change, and the votes of all active Councilors.
  • This vote must be approved by the High Council. This means it must be sent to the High Council offices. This method may not be used in any circumstance where there is a valid quorum.
  • An example of a situation that this style of vote may be used for is the allowance of a Foreigner (Outsider) into the colony. This vote MUST be done before allowing the Foreigner entry. In this case, they may be allowed inside without waiting for a reply of approval, so long as this is sent first.
  • In the event of the Foreigner causing issues before a return fax is received, the counselor should be charged with any crimes the Foreigner committed, in addition to 301, 'Negligence.' If a reply is received to deny this Foreigner entry into the colony, they should be expelled without consequence to the councilor unless the Foreigner caused problems.

Faxes

As a head of staff and Council member, you are the most responsible person within your department and as such are expected to handle most situations without having to ask the High Council for instructions. Faxes should be sent to the High Council for one of four reasons. Firstly, to inform them of a significant occurrence in the upper colony, such as an attack by outside forces, or to request information previously gathered. These faxes merit a Low priority level, as they are merely informative. Secondly, to have a job request put on the Personnel Request System for expertise the upper colony needs. These faxes usually merit Medium or High priority, depending on how significant and urgent the issue is. Thirdly, if a matter would normally be determined by a Councilor who is not present, the relevant Faction Owner may be faxed instead if a decision is absolutely necessary. And finally, there may still come issues that are beyond a Faction Head’s hands, experience, or capabilities, and a fax may be sent if truly necessary. The High Council may not always respond to a fax sent to them, especially when the fax sent does not warrant a response from the High Council. The High Council will send a response only when it's truly needed, and faxes that do nothing but waste the High Council’s time may merit a charge of §111 - Sending a Time Wasting Fax.