FD 100 · Crew induction and communications

Publication and delivery

This course is published for study. Publication does not confirm an available class, appointed instructor or completed practical validation. Before booking, obtain a session brief naming the organiser, instructor and assessor, equipment access and any independent review arrangements.

Before live assessment, the organiser must record the current LIVE build, validation date, ship and equipment used, tasks checked and any known limitations. If a required mechanic is unavailable, defer the affected assessment rather than certify an unobserved outcome. A material game update calls for a check of affected tasks, not cancellation of earlier academic achievements.

Your brief

For new crew joining a ship’s watch.

Your crew is moving to a pickup point. One pilot has missed the change of location. Use callsigns and a readback to correct the movement before the ships separate.

The crew member with yesterday’s destination

Practice case · FD 100 · 2956 teaching edition

You are Aster, the transport pilot. Relay leads the flight. Both use the briefed working channel.
Your route still points to Pickup A. Relay has moved the pickup to B; the crew brief identifies both locations.
Another crew member is reporting when you rejoin the channel. Wait for that transmission to finish unless you have an immediate emergency.

Before you begin: entry and equipment

No earlier Academy course is required. Arrange a check-in with the session organizer.

Bring or arrange

A voice or text channel, three crew roles and a shared brief.

The organizer must confirm equipment access before booking. No ship purchase, pledge tier or donation is required.

Technical knowledge and game skills

Practical instruction revision 1 · 9 October 2026

Working communications in the game

Establish the party and channel

Invite the intended players, confirm the correct server and rendezvous, then test the agreed voice channel with a reply from each member. Party membership, voice reception and a shared contract are separate checks. A player can hear you while lacking the mission that grants access. Share the relevant contract where supported and ask each member to read its destination before departure.

Make reports spatially useful

Report a contact using a named reference: “At the bunker lift, upper level, left of the doorway.” Ship-relative left changes when the ship turns; compass bearings need the same reference frame. Include your own location when it matters. If a party marker disagrees with the player’s report, compare a visible landmark rather than walking towards the marker blindly.

Use action and completion calls

Practise “moving,” “set,” “reloading” and “hold fire” in a quiet training area. “Moving” tells the partner coverage is changing; “set” confirms arrival and readiness, not merely that movement stopped. Give urgent safety calls priority over routine chatter. On voice failure use the pre-agreed text channel and rally point; do not continue a task that requires a reply you cannot receive.

Practical drill

Two players traverse a station to a hangar while a third redirects them by voice. Share a practice contract, verify both journals, deliberately obscure one direction, and require a clarification before movement. Repeat the return using the fallback channel.

Observed-skill checks

Both players confirm the same destination and mission access.
The receiver reaches the correct landmark without guessing an ambiguous direction.
A lost-channel event produces the agreed fallback and a current-plan readback.

Use these checks to document the technical evidence supporting the course outcomes in your agreed role. Record what you personally performed, what assistance you needed and what remains unobserved. A discussion or simulated action does not certify live equipment handling; Crew Support evidence does not confer Pilot qualification.

Game references and build-sensitive details

The linked pages were read for this revision. Community references mix release eras; each source note identifies what is used and what is excluded. Technical explanations below are an Academy synthesis, and drills and performance checks are Academy-designed. Before practice, compare the named actions with the installed LIVE build and actual equipment. Bind actions by name rather than copying old default keys. Research is not an in-game validation.

Star Citizen Wiki — Defend Occupants
A specific lawful bunker mission, shared access, allied NPCs and friendly-fire consequences. Other contracts have different conditions. Squad drills below are Academy teaching methods, not claimed game rules.
Star Citizen Wiki — Controls
Control categories, movement axes and targeting concepts. The page contains legacy bindings and flight-system descriptions; use the installed game’s bindings, not its key table.

Check the official LIVE release notes and record the session build, equipment and observed limitations before practical sign-off.

Learn the method

1. Call the right station

Listen before transmitting. Use the receiving callsign, then your own: “Relay, Aster.” Give the report or request in one short transmission, then release the channel. At check-in, report your position and station readiness. Keep conversation off the working channel during manoeuvres or contact.

A working channel is a shared resource. During departure, the useful report is “Aster, aft station occupied; controls unavailable,” not “I am aboard.” The first statement lets the bridge distinguish physical presence from a usable station and decide whether to delay, change roles or continue without that capability.

Practise: Check in as a turret gunner whose station is not yet ready.
Ready when: You address the correct station, identify yourself and report your position and readiness without blocking other traffic.

2. Read back critical instructions

Repeat details that could cause a wrong movement or shot: destination, heading, assigned target, clearance or a hold-fire order. The sender corrects any error immediately. “Roger” means received, not permission or task complete. Use “Say again” when you miss a transmission; do not guess. Routine reports do not need a full readback.

Close the communication loop: instruction, receiver’s read-back, sender’s confirmation. Correct the mistaken element rather than repeating unrelated detail. In text, reply to the current instruction and identify what it replaces; a message buried above a destination change can be as misleading as a missed voice call.

Practise: Receive a changed pickup point, read it back and correct a deliberately wrong grid or location.
Ready when: The receiver repeats the correct destination and action; the sender catches and corrects the error before movement.

3. Rejoin the current plan

After losing contact, ask what changed while you were away. Read back the current task before acting. Mark the old destination as replaced so the next crew cannot mistake it for the current plan. When leaving a role, name unfinished work and wait for someone to accept it.

Treat reconnection as a short relief, not a return to the old task. Establish your present location, the current plan and the person directing it. Only then resume movement. If nobody can confirm the plan, remain at an agreed safe point and use the fallback contact rather than improvising a rendezvous.

Practise: Reconnect and take over a task whose destination has changed.
Ready when: You obtain the latest instruction and identify who now owns the task.

A worked decision

A returning crew member has an old pickup point in their notes. The watch leader stops that movement, gives the new point and waits for a read-back before releasing the crew.

After the channel clears, call: “Relay, Aster. Back on channel, holding at assembly. Confirm pickup.” This identifies the caller, reports the current position and asks for the missing instruction.
Relay replies: “Aster, Relay. Pickup B. Hold at assembly.” Read back: “Pickup B, holding at assembly, Aster.” Relay checks both the destination and the hold instruction.
Change your route marker while holding. Report ready and wait for the departure instruction. If the location cannot be found, say so before moving; a correct radio reply does not fix a wrong marker.

Try it yourself

Swap sender and receiver. Pass a new pickup point, then have one person reconnect with the old instruction. End when both can state the current destination and their own next task.

What changes during the exercise

The returning crew member has missed the destination change.

Keep this record

Check-in: role, location and access limit
Instruction received / detail read back / sender confirmation
Current task / person accepting it / unfinished check

Download FD 100 worksheet

Plain-text worksheet with this case, your working fields and the assessment criteria. Fill it in privately; downloading does not submit work or record completion.

Check your reasoning

You transmit a new pickup point and hear “Roger,” but the pilot starts towards the old marker. What do you say?

Compare your reasoning

Call the pilot by callsign and correct the destination: “Aster, Relay. Negative, pickup is B. Hold position; read back pickup.” Wait for the correct readback before clearing movement. Do not repeat the whole brief or argue about whether the first call was heard.

Answer first, then compare. In a later session, explain the decision using a changed case without referring to this answer.

How completion is judged

A check-in, a corrected read-back and a short handover note.

The assessor checks your own work against all three “Ready when” criteria above. Use the observed-skill checks in the technical chapter to establish the applicable game-handling evidence in your agreed role. A successful team result does not replace an action they did not observe.

Findings, another attempt and review

Demonstrated: Your observed work meets the criterion in the agreed role.
Further practice required: The assessor identifies the observed gap and the specific practice needed.
Interrupted: Equipment, staffing or personal circumstances prevented a valid assessment. This is not a failure.
Not assessed: There is not yet enough evidence for this outcome.

A fresh attempt

Use a changed receiving contact instead of a changed destination. Check that the learner transfers the new detail, not a memorized phrase.

Reassess the missing outcome, plus any linked skill that needs new evidence. For prior learning, compare existing work with the same criteria and observe any missing practical action.

Ask for the reasons behind a finding. Reviews must be handled by someone independent of the original decision; defer the review if that person is not available.

Read the Academy Ordinance and review rules

For instructors

Session setup and coaching

Prepare the session

A voice or text channel, three crew roles and a shared brief.

Assign crew stations and tell each learner what they will practise. The instructor must be able to hear the calls and see the action being assessed. Brief the callsigns, channel, route and expected duration. Replace the example locations with the places you will actually use.

Ask the learner to explain the relevant earlier procedure without notes; correct any gap before the practical.
Teach and demonstrate the technical chapter using the actual game indications. Run its drill with feedback before connecting those skills to the three methods and worked decision. Use the observed-skill checks to identify missing handling evidence.
Let the learner complete the normal procedure first, then introduce the change described in the exercise. Give them time to respond without coaching. Keep unrelated failures out of this attempt.
Record the learner's action against each criterion. Give one specific next step for any gap and transfer unfinished operational work before closing.

What to watch for in FD 100

If the learner says only “copy,” ask them to give the destination from memory. A confident acknowledgement can still conceal the wrong detail.

If another attempt is needed

Use a changed receiving contact instead of a changed destination. Check that the learner transfers the new detail, not a memorized phrase.

Running the exercise

Before the crew assembles, try the exercise in the ship you intend to use. Check station access, equipment and the route. Brief the crew on any faults that affect the task. If a bug prevents someone completing it, repeat that part once it works; do not record a failure for a broken mechanic.

Brief the command “Stop exercise” before starting. On that call, cease the drill and tell the instructor what needs attention. For weapons practice, identify the participating ships and crew; anyone else entering the area is a reason to hold fire.

Session administration: use player handles in your notes. Ask before recording voice or video, and agree when the recording will be deleted. Academy rules and review procedure.

Sources and edition

Lex Astra · Foundation teaching team
Course FD 100 · edition 2956.3 · 2956 teaching edition · revised course text.

Academy Ordinance

Governs instruction, individual assessment, conduct and review. This course turns those duties into crew practice.

Professional references and instructional revision

Instruction revised 9 October 2026. Lex Astra cases supply the teaching situations. Professional references inform communication, decision-making and instructional design; they do not confer external qualifications. LIVE capabilities remain subject to the recorded session check.

Editorial context and teaching basis

The lessons are current Academy teaching, not newly discovered historical records. Lex Astra opened in 2891. Historical sources keep their original issuer and date; all case callsigns, quantities, times and conditions are supplied for practice.

Your session brief names the instructor, the crew assignments and the equipment provided. Contact the teaching office above to arrange a place.

Course-text revision: 8 October 2026. Educational references were reviewed for the framework on 8 October 2026; they inform the teaching approach, not external accreditation or current game-capability claims.

Teaching research and its limits

Where this leads

Qualification and role requirements

Courses that use this work

Course records retain the edition and role assessed. New teaching text does not erase earlier achievements.