Reading here and there on this forum, I get the feeling that the pilot skill is often more highly prized and, dare I say, deemed more necessary, then the astrogator skill. I'm too lazy to look it up now, but I even recall a topic in which the astrogator was replaced by navigation buoys and a service. I think this is due in part to the ridiculous prerequisites set forth in the canon rules (but I won't get into <i>that</i> here). In this topic, I will plant some food for thought by demostrating how astrogation may be the single most important skill onboard an interstellar craft. Please note that for the bulk of this article, I assume typical merchant shipping is the primary purpose for interstellar travel. Differences and exceptions of course exist for more speciallized craft such as military and exploration, etc.<br /><br />What does the astrogator do? On board a starship, the astrogator is the one person, more so then any other, that the crew and passengers are depending on to reach their destination. The astrogator is responsible for knowing <i>exactly</i> where the ship is, exactly where it <i>should</i> be, and exactly where it is <i>going</i> to be. To get from star A to star B, you must balance the where you are with the where your are going to be. This means managing the ship's course and speed with exacting detail (I really ought to use my thesaurus more regarding 'exact'). Without the astrogator, we'd fly right through a star, or bounce too close to a supernova, and that would end your trip real quick, wouldn't it? (I love that line!) The astrogator makes void travel possible. You can't get from Madderly's Star to Prenglar without one. But you can make that trip without an engineer, certainly without a gunner, or even (gasp!) without a pilot. After this sentance, you'll discover why.<br /><br />What does a pilot do? In the very basic sense, a pilot steers the ship and makes sure it doesn't run into things. This is very handy when interfacing with a busy spaceport, dodging asteroids (and giant space worms), or escaping from pirates (or Sathar cruisers). But is it really necessary in basic, well patrolled, interstellar travel? Must the pilot's station be manned for the entire acceleration into and decelleration out of the void? I don't think so. Once the astrogator plots the course, the ship is basically on autopilot. Almost anything that a pilot does manually at that point would only cause the astrogator more work. In this sense, the starship pilot is more analogous to the harbor pilot. An important position, to be sure, but not necessary to be aboard during the ship's journey. Once out of the busy terminal areas around a planet, there is very little to run into that's not the astrogator's job to avoid. <br /><br />Contrasting the two skills from this perspective, you can understand why I often make the astrogator the highest ranking individual onboard any starship. By my calculations, for every hour that the pilot is in control of the ship, the astrogator will have control for 20. I look forward to your opinions.
- Log in to post comments