Rules of Engagement Notes {RE}
At any point in his career in the Imperial Directorate, an officer might be required to take part in engagements or crisis that require careful political consideration to stop a situation from erupting into violence. As you all know, the Imperial Directorate battle fleets main aim is to keep peace and defend the systems of the Imperial Directroate from hostile attacks. Although an officer is likely to meet combat in his career, most of the time the most prudent action is not to engage an enemy at all, even if you are in possession of superior firepower. Although in the short term violence might seem the best choice, in the long term a single conflict can lead to reprisal attacks or even full-scale invasion. This, of course, directly opposes the main aim of the Imperial Directorate, since the Imperial Directorate fleet is not properly equipped to stop large-scale invasions.

In other words, an officer has to know when it is wise to open fire or not. This course will help an officer decide this. These rules can't be entirely taken to the letter, since every situation in space or on the ground is unique, but they will help an officer understand the correct actions to take while facing an enemy force. After that, only experience will help an officer in these kinds of situations.

1.0 Rules of Engagement: Space
It's hard to describe space as a battlefield and almost entirely impossible to foresee what kind of situation can arise while an officer is conducting a patrol in deep space. This part will summarize the most likely encounters that an officer is likely to make.

The main idea of the following is that a Ship Captain should never attack another ship without a good reason. Even if the opposing ship seems hostile, it should always be warned before you can start firing on it. Even then, it is normally better that the enemy ship fires a shot before you open fire yourself. A "Shoot first and ask questions later" tactic shouldn't be a option in ANY encounter. The only exception to this is if you meet starfighters: they should be destroyed before they manage to get in range to fire their ordinance.

1.1 Contact with unidentified freighters

When on patrol, a ship will always carry a daily list of ships traveling through the sector. Each ship that exits hyperspace should be routinely checked and scanned before it is allowed to pass on to another sector or land on a planet or space station. If a ship has been scanned and identified and it's pass has proven to be valid, a captain should only fire upon it if it proves aggressive or opens fire. This is self-explanatory, but has been included for the sake of clarity.

In a routine patrol, it is likely that a Ship Captain meets ships that aren't in the list or have a different cargo from what is shown in the manifesto. It is advisable at this point to speak to the Ship Captain of said ship and try to tell him about the discrepancy. Many times they will be just simple errors.

If the Ship Captain of the freighter denies the presence of the cargo or is transporting obviously illegal cargo, the usual procedure is to ask the freighter to "stand down and prepare to be boarded". If the freighter refuses to surrender, then the Directorate Ship Captain is authorized to raise shields (this is advisable in case the freighter calls for backup) and arm all weapons. The Imperial Directorate Ship Captain may then initiate threats/warnings (see later) at his discretion.

1.2 Contact with unidentified warships

These types of contact will probably be the hardest challenge you will probably face. Warships, of course, will always have weapons and starfighters of their own, so dealing with these ships will always have an element of danger, both to your crew and the people you are trying to defend. There are two types of unidentified warships that you are likely to encounter (a third type does exist, but it will be focused on later on the course):
Neutral warships:

These include ships by an alien nation that hasn't directly expressed their allegiance. These kinds of encounters are tricky to handle because you can never be sure if the warship is hostile or not. It is always worth noting that in these encounters, combat should be always a last, desperate resort: you don't want to create an unnecessary political conflict that might make these aliens join the rebels (if they haven't already, of course).

As soon as you make contact with the warship, the first thing you should do is analyze the situation: does the enemy ship have shields up? Are its weapons powered up? Are the fighters deployed? Ideally, you should try to match the status of the opposing warship exactly: if its shields are up, so should yours, if it has fighters deployed, you should deploy your fighters and so on. Like this you don't appear too aggressive, while still being able to defend yourself.
You should contact the warship as soon as possible: it will probably supply a reason why it is present in the system.

From this point on, it all depends on what actions the aliens take. If they get too close or seem too aggressive, a Ship Captain may initiate the standard warning/threats procedure. If the alien ship fires back, then it may be disabled or destroyed, as deemed appropriate by the Ship Captain.

Hostile warships:
There is a single phrase that can describe these kind of encounters: Cold War. They usually end up with both sides waiting for the other to act, both not wanting to start the hostilities, but both too afraid to put down their defenses.

As soon as an enemy warship enters your sector, you should immediately deploy all available weaponry. The aim is to make the enemy think that you are willing and capable to take them to battle. Locking weapons on target, deploying fighters and raising shields are all good ways to show the enemy that you mean business.

Unfortunately, it's hard to know how the enemy will react, since their response is defined by a number of different factors, including ratio of firepower between the two fleets and also experience of the enemy captain. As said before, you should try to avoid a stalemate, since the only way to win such an encounter is to call for reinforcements. Of course, this could cause a domino effect when the enemy notices you have called reinforcements and calls some of his own. There aren't any straightforward answers to this type of encounters, so a ship captain should use his best judgment when an accident like this occurs.

1.3 Contact with unidentified starfighters

Contacts with starfighters are normally the easiest to deal with. Deploying your own starfighters is a must. If the starfighters are neutral, then a similar procedure to the neutral warships should be taken. The neutral starfighters should be warned that they will be shot if they get too close. If they actually do get within warhead range, destroy them immediately. The political implications of destroying fighters aren't as high as the ones for warship, and since you warned them before firing at them, your government can't be blamed.

If the fighters are hostile, send your fighters to destroy them immediately. They might well be a squadron on a recon run, so it's better if you don't let them escape and contact their fleet.

1.4 Contact with unknown alien ships

This is the most rare type of contact you can have. The chances of such a contact are very slim, since so much of the galaxy has been mapped.
In these encounters, it is always wise to keep shields and weapons down. You have no idea what these ships are, so an aggressive stance is not advisable. If you are able to contact the alien ship and somehow you and the aliens are able to communicate, it is better if you allow them to speak to an experienced diplomat. If that diplomat happens to be you, then so much the better. These encounters are the most unpredictable. Once again, the Ship Captain’s judgment is needed to initiate a good contact with the aliens.

1.5 Regarding the use of Interdictors

The use of an INT inside a fleet can be both a gain and a loss. Many inexperienced fleet commanders have activated an INT as soon as an enemy ship enters the system. This will only cause one thing: the enemy will aggressively attack your INT to try to get rid of the gravitational field. Thus you put the INT in danger for little gain. The only time when a INT should be activated is when you already have engaged combat and are beating the enemy to prevent them from escaping. Otherwise, it is ill advised to start the gravity well projectors.

1.6 Threats and Warnings

What will follow is a list of warnings that a SHIP CAPTAIN can use to scare an enemy into submission. This list is not exclusive, since many experienced ship captains have come up with different tactics.

"Verbal Warnings": Each SHIP CAPTAIN has his own style when it comes to these. Some like to be overly aggressive, others more passive.

"Showing your teeth": This threat is best used against hostile enemy ships. To make this threat, you just need to deploy all available starfighters and power up and lock on any available guns.

"Warning shot": This tactic is mainly useful against freighters or warships with a lower firepower than you. You basically fire a single shot, or a small succession of shots which come close to the enemy ship but don't actually hit it. Usually this is followed by a verbal threat too.

"Bombing run": If the opposing enemy forces don't have a high complement of fighters, this is a good threat to use. Sending some of your bombers or fighters in warhead range of the enemy makes this threat. Once the enemy notices that he has several bombers locked on to him, he is much more likely to retreat.

"Ramming speed": This is a good threat if the enemy is traveling in a fixed direction. By boosting your speed to full and setting a course directly towards the enemy ship, you can make them change course. This threat can be useful in some occasions, but it should really be kept as a last resort, since the enemy could start firing on you if you get too close.

"Capture run": You can make this threat by powering the ion cannons on your ship and deploying as many ion-armed fighters and transports as possible. This might make the enemy think you are trying to disable them, and possibly make them retreat.

"Take out the fighters": This threat is a last chance threat, since it is very likely to spark a full-out attack by the enemy. Basically, you tell your fighters to approach the enemy ships. The enemy fighters will of course move to intercept. As soon as the fighters join combat, your fighters are ordered to retreat. The enemy fighters will follow your fighters. With the combined weight of your cap ships guns and fighters, you should be able to destroy the enemy fighters. With its fighter squadrons depleted, the enemy is forced to retreat. This doesn't always work, since a good enemy captain will order his fighters back before they get in range of your ships.

"Take out their cap ships": This is truly the last threat you should consider making. Basically, you attack the smallest cap ship that the enemy has and either disable it or destroy it, hopefully making the other ships in the enemy fleet retreat. This is unlikely to work in most scenarios, but you should try to use it as a last resort anyway.

If all these fail (especially the last two), an officer may attempt to disable/destroy an enemy ship.

1.7 Disabling or Destroying ships

If after all the warnings and threats an enemy ship is still in the area or if a ship fires at you, a Ship Captain may engage the enemy forces as he wishes. It is better if the enemy ship is disabled, but if that's impossible or if the ship doesn't surrender after being disabled (and taking it by force would require too many troops), a Ship Captain is allowed to destroy the enemy ship. If the enemy ship can be captured (even allowing the loss of a few stormtroopers), the Ship Captain is required to do so, so that the enemies can be questioned for information.


Conclusion

There is no substitute for experience! Although these rules will help you to avoid combat and minimize losses, after a period of time you will have to change these rules to your own personal style. Only by experience you will know how to act in situations not explained in these rules. It won't take long to think of new ways of defending the Imperial Directorate, but this course will help you to make a good start.