These are the standard equipment loadouts for personnel on missions or while simply on duty. Commanding officers may give special exceptions for personal weapon/equipment choices, as long as they are comparable to the standard issue. While a standard duty officer does not wear a utility vest (as shown to the right), they do wear a version of the utility belt (also shown to the right).
Examples of Standard Equipment
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Utility Vest
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Utility Belt
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Tactical Flashlight
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Multi-Tool
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Survival Knife
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Collapsible Baton
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Wrist Restraints
Standard for All Personnel
Certain specific missions may require deviations from this equipment set, such as a stealth mission or other covert operation. Some instances may also require that an energy weapon cannot be used, and thus the Mark II-PX Railgun can be used instead. The S&W 500 pistol is an often used alternative with variable ammunition, though this is not a suggested weapon as it has a limited carrying capacity before it requires reloading. This is, of course, not an exhaustive list.
- MultiTac A1 Hand Phaser
- Backup Weapon (Standard is a Type I Phaser)
- Standard Issue Survival Knife
- Solas Tempus Communicator
- Vertex Scanner
- Multi-Tool
- Tactical Flashlight
- Collapsible Baton
- Extra Power Packs / Ammunition
- Sputnik Support Robot
Effectiveness of Energy vs Projectile
It should be noted that the utility of the standard energy weapon-based Phaser (or other cohesive particle beam weapon) is unparalleled. While personnel are welcome to choose their own sidearms, they are required to maintain at least one particle energy weapon - be it their backup weapon (suggested Type I Phaser) or their primary sidearm (suggested Type II Phaser). This is because the phaser is useful not only as a weapon but also as a tool. The nadion particle beam is able to heat objects to provide heat in cold climates, melt obstructions, and the wide-beam stun setting can incapacitate small to medium-sized crowds without causing physical harm. It is also effective against shielded objects. Conventional propellant-based weapons, such as the explosive-propelled projectiles common in firearms, are not effective in the same way.
A particle beam can also be used as a cutting torch, power cells can be extracted to power most emergency transmitters, and to power door locking/unlocking mechanisms during missions. This is why it is standard equipment. Under General Order 3A, Solas Tempus personnel are free to choose their own sidearms and other equipment with comparable capabilities. The popularity of propellant-based firearms or the more advanced railgun cousins has been on the rise since. General Order 79 specifies that all personnel must have a particle beam weapon on hand, even if their primary choice is a projectile weapon unless deemed unsafe or impossible by specific mission parameters. Extended preference toward projectile-based weapons should also be investigated as a potential opportunity for additional training.
Causes for General Order 79
This is due to an increasing number of incidents where security or other officers chose to carry less useful projectile firearms and were unequipped to handle situations as they unfolded. In one particular case, the entire security team of 6 was killed when an unruly mob on Gamma Kappa VII could not be incapacitated in time and beat the security team to death. Another less tragic incident involved 5 members of an away team who were lost due to hypothermia on an arctic world when they were trapped in an ice cave by a cave-in. No member at the time had a particle weapon on hand to heat the stone within the cave or melt the ice walls sufficiently to escape. Both would have been possible with a particle energy weapon.
Lethal vs. Nonlethal
Under General Order 7D, all personnel are required to use non-lethal force whenever it does not risk endangering others. Thus, phasers should be set to stun whenever possible, hand-to-hand combat should focus on disabling an attacker, and when firearms are used, the preference should be on non-lethal shots to disable an attacker. This allows for a higher probability of peaceful resolutions to many situations and attackers to be secured and questioned by security officials or military intelligence.
On-Duty Loadouts
Designed for deployment within or near a Solas Tempus facility.
Security/Guard Duty
- Ocular Heads Up Display
- Class 1D Body Armor
- Wrist Restraints
Heavy Guard Duty
- MultiTac A1R Phaser Rifle
- Class 3M Integrated Nano-Composite Armor
- Wrist Restraints
Mission Loadouts
Missions away from a Solas Tempus facility or vessel require more equipment. The standard equipment listed above is also present, but the addition of a high-capacity backpack. The standard away-mission loadout is the Standard Mission, which can be entirely deployed within the confines of the backpack, including all standard equipment. In addition to the gear listed below, all away missions also include TKL Energy Bars (6) as well as 3 days of standard rations (9 Solas Tempus IMPs). A standard loadout of water consists of 2 1-liter water bottles, assuming one can easily find potable water and a canvas hat. For environments with limited or difficult-to-find potable water, 6 1-liter water bottles is the standard for 3 days of provisions. Room in the packs is also reserved for mission-variable requirements.
The backpack also has a variety of attachment methods designed to be used with the various kinds of armor. Full-body armors such as the Class 1M, 1K, etc., are also fitted to be able to attach the standard vest, backpack, and belt equipment to.
Each person should deploy with a standard 1-Person Combat Shelter available. Each of these can be used singly or can also be reconfigured to create a larger structure for a group of people.
Standard Mission
- Ocular Heads Up Display
- Class 3M Integrated Nano-Composite Armor
- Dual-Strike Plasma Munition XG9 (Total of 2)
- Thermolyte Explosive Clay (Total of 2, half-kilo bricks)
- 4-Pack of Sputnik Service Robots (2, Total of 8 Drones)
At a commanding officer's discretion, the standard equipment may not include many of the provisions, tent, and high-capacity backpack, but rather use the utility vest to allow for better mobility or for short-term excursions and quicker prep time. Standard procedure outlines that in the event a team is deployed without the additional equipment, a partial tactical pack be made ready to supplement the team's equipment if necessary. In this case, the equipment is considered "Light" and only contains 2 liters of drinkable water and 3 TLK bars, roughly enough for one day.
Combat Mission
- MultiTac A1R Phaser Rifle
- Class 3M Integrated Nano-Composite Armor
- Dual-Strike Plasma Munition XG9 (Total of 4)
- Thermolyte Explosive Clay (Total of 4, half-kilo bricks)
- 4-Pack of Sputnik Service Robots (2, Total of 8 Drones)
Assault Mission
Heavy assault missions may require more weapons power, thus the standard pistol can be swapped out for a heavier-duty weapon.
- DRX-23 Compressed Positron Beam Rifle or Mark 9 Railgun
- Type II Assault Phaser Pistol, DPX-09 Compressed Positron Beam Pistol, or Mark 2PX Railgun
- Class 3M Integrated Nano-Composite Armor or Class 1K Advanced Cybernetic Exoskeleton
- Dual-Strike Plasma Munition XG9 (Total of 4)
- High Explosive Ultritium Grenades (Total of 2)
- Thermolyte Explosive Clay (Total of 6, 1 Pound Bricks)
- 4-Pack of Sputnik Service Robots (4, Total of 16 Drones)
Tactical Pack Payload
A standard tactical pack consists of necessities for a squad in a survival or other dangerous situation. The pack is designed for a full squad to survive in the field for 7 days. The pack is modular, each module contains supplies for 1 person, and the standard payload is supplies for 10. This allows the pack to be automatically adjusted for unit size prior to deployment.
Drop methods vary, with the most used being a simple crate-beam-in. Packs can be deployed via automation, beamed directly into position in a protective (and locked if required) crate. Each per-person loadout will be packed in its own backpack alongside other supplies to be distributed at the time of deployment. Other drop methods used are sub-orbital or high-altitude drops, though these methods cannot be as easily targeted, thus they are equipped with a locator beacon.
Per-Person Payload
- Standard Equipment
- MultiTac A1 Hand Phaser
- Type I Phaser
- Survival Knife
- Solas Tempus Communicator
- Vertex Combat Scanner
- Multi-Tool
- Tactical Flashlight
- Collapsible Baton
- Sputnik Support Robots (1, 4 Pack)
- Standard Mission Gear
- Ocular Heads Up Display
- Class 3M Integrated Nano-Composite Armor
- Dual-Strike Plasma Munition XG9 (Total of 2)
- Thermolyte Explosive Clay (Total of 2, half-kilo bricks)
- Rations for 7 Days
- Solas Tempus IMP (21)
- TKL Bars (14)
- All-Weather Sleeping Bag
- 1-Person Combat Shelter
- 6 1-Liter Water Bottles
Per-Pack Payload
- MultiTac A1R Phaser Rifles (2)
- Medical Kits (2)
- Subspace Transceiver /w Mobile Array
- Designed to be deployed in a fixed location to provide a stable uplink to a subspace network. Can also be used as a mobile power source and for lightweight communications relay.
- SVR Generator
- Low-load Spatial Variance Reactor using a quartet of SVRs to generate stable and continuous low-load power. The generator also has a high-capacity battery that it charges continuously for high-load activities.
- Molecular Resequencer
- Low-energy replicator which uses existing matter and resequences the matter into simple constructs. This includes simple molecular patterns such as water, diatomic elements, simple metal alloys, or similar materials. Unfortunately, this cannot produce complex objects and is limited to providing base materials from existing matter. There is also a 10-20% mass-energy conversion during resequencing, which is energy lost or consumed in the process.
Rescue Pack
In some situations, an extraction team may be required to prepare (or a vessel in orbit may be required to prepare and deploy via automation) a rescue pack. This pack is designed for the express purpose of setting up an area for assets to be extracted from an extremely hazardous area in the event transporters are not available. The rescue pack is specifically designed to be deployed from either high altitude or even low orbit using a torpedo casing. The rescue pack provides 5 transport enhancers, a high-output fusion reactor, as well as a locator beacon and instructions for use. The beacon, reactor, and transport enhancers can be used to provide a stable window for a transporter to function in most situations where transporters do not otherwise function.