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 fleet candidates integrating route, cargo, systems and escort coordination.
The Fleet capstone combines the late-vessel problem with a relief that must remain usable after the candidate leaves. A reduced delivery must remain visible to dispatch and Receiving.
Less lift at the relief point
Practice case · FO 299 · 2956 teaching edition
- Two vessels are planned for eight equal training crates, four per vessel.
- One vessel withdraws before the next leg. The remaining vessel has four checked spaces.
- Receiving can accept a partial load; another trip is not yet confirmed.
Before you begin: entry and equipment
Complete these courses
Bring or arrange
Two vessels, an observer for each assessed role and a tested route; pilots need Pilot evidence.
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
Fleet sortie: combine handling, cargo and escort
Prove the limiting capabilities
Before dispatch, demonstrate the loaded hauler’s takeoff and stopping response in the chosen environment. Confirm that escorts can operate at its pace and that the receiver can handle the load. A theoretical cargo capacity does not prove a workable landing or unload. Make any untested ship change a familiarisation task before the assessed movement.
Manage a break in formation
When one vessel misses the arrival report, keep the main movement at the agreed hold rather than scattering the fleet. Have the missing vessel report system, nearest marker, fuel and local threat if able. Assign a recovery or escort change only after considering what protection the remaining convoy loses. Reconcile the new route on every ship’s map.
Finish at the receiving interface
Sequence arrivals to keep landing and tractor work clear. Stop ship movement while handlers are exposed. Check each delivered consignment against its receiver and record damage, retained cargo or rejected material separately. A fleet exercise ends with ships and people recoverable, not with every pilot disappearing as soon as their own ramp opens.
Practical drill
Run a two-vessel movement with cargo and an escort function. Introduce one delayed arrival or reduced-thrust report, revise the movement and complete reception. Observe each candidate’s trained role rather than crediting everyone with the pilot’s actions.
Observed-skill checks
- Loaded handling and receiving feasibility are demonstrated before dispatch.
- The interruption produces a coherent fleet-wide movement amendment.
- Cargo, crew and vessel states reconcile at the end.
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 — Cargo
SCU, container geometry, grids and ownership. The page also contains obsolete automatic-loading descriptions and future design intentions; these are not instructions for the present cargo interface.
- 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.
- Star Citizen Wiki — Quantum drive
Spooling, calibration, obstructions, orbital markers and interdiction. Its proposed quantum-boosting section is not used as a live procedure.
Check the official LIVE release notes and record the session build, equipment and observed limitations before practical sign-off.
Learn the method
1. Check the whole movement
Read the route, cargo lists, station assignments and withdrawal instructions together. Look for mismatches, especially a load without a receiver or a vessel without recovery support. Resolve those gaps before committing the crews.
Audit the interfaces between documents: a cargo list may name a destination that the route brief has replaced, or a watchbill may assign a station to someone already flying another vessel. Follow one consignment and one crew role through the whole packet. This exposes contradictions that checking each document in isolation can miss.
- Practise
- Audit and brief the full movement order.
- Ready when
- No essential cargo, crew or withdrawal responsibility remains unassigned.
2. Reduce the promise when capacity falls
When a vessel withdraws, recalculate what the remaining vessels can move. Do not silently assume extra storage, range or crew. Ask the decision owner to approve a smaller movement, another trip or postponement and tell Receiving what changed.
When capacity falls, identify the binding constraint: space, fuel, crew attention, route access or reception. Adding nominal cargo space will not solve a missing qualified pilot. Present the feasible reduced movement and the work left behind together, allowing the decision owner to compare a second trip, a delay or a smaller task.
- Practise
- Carry out the revised movement in your assigned role.
- Ready when
- You explain and implement a feasible revision within the checked vessel and role limits.
3. Close the watch, not the unanswered questions
Compare the vessel, crew and cargo reports at relief. State what arrived and what still needs action. Give the incoming watch the next contact or check for each open item, and show which decisions you made yourself.
At relief, reconcile three accounts separately: vessels, people and cargo. Each can have a different completion state. Ask the incoming watch to identify the first unresolved item it will address and the evidence it needs. The candidate’s explanation should make the next decision easier, not merely defend the previous one.
- Practise
- Hand over the convoy and settle the available receiving reports.
- Ready when
- Your own actions are observable and every open item has a receiving owner.
A worked decision
One transport withdraws. The candidate moves only the load that fits on the remaining vessel and leaves the rest recorded at dispatch.
- Compare the remaining four spaces with the eight-crate promise. Obtain a decision on which four move and tell dispatch what stays.
- Revise the route, escort and receiving brief for one vessel. Keep the deferred load assigned at origin; do not promise a second departure without resources.
- At relief, report four moved and four pending, including the receiving count for the moved load. Give the next watch the decision required for the remainder.
Try it yourself
Run the reduced movement and hand it over. Defend the trade-off using capacity, receiving acceptance and the actual role you performed.
What changes during the exercise
A vessel withdraws at the relief point.
Keep this record
- Original route / load / crew and escort plan
- Lost resource / revised capacity / approved reduced load
- Received / deferred / current custodian / next-watch decision
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
The reduced convoy delivers less than planned. Must the assessment fail?
Compare your reasoning
No. Compare the candidate’s decisions with the criteria. A justified reduction, honest receiving account and clear handover may demonstrate competence; concealing the undelivered load would not.
Answer first, then compare. In a later session, explain the decision using a changed case without referring to this answer.
How completion is judged
The original and revised movement order, individual observations and receiving account.
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
Keep both vessels but reduce receiving capacity. The same criteria apply, but the limiting decision moves to the arrival end.
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 rulesFor instructors
Session setup and coaching
Prepare the session
Two vessels, an observer for each assessed role and a tested route; pilots need Pilot evidence.
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 FO 299
Check whether a polished final report has quietly lost the four deferred crates. Individual evidence must show who made and communicated the revision.
If another attempt is needed
Keep both vessels but reduce receiving capacity. The same criteria apply, but the limiting decision moves to the arrival end.
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 · School of Fleet Studies
Course FO 299 · edition 2956.3 · 2956 teaching edition · revised course text.
Case FO–7: the vessel that misses assembly
Fleet Studies case issued by CAPT Renard Okonkwo in 2956. These new practice variants extend its receiving-window and watch-handover problem; their callsigns, quantities and times are teaching inputs, not additional historical facts.
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 limitsWhere this leads
Fleet Operations requirementsCourse records retain the edition and role assessed. New teaching text does not erase earlier achievements.