Bridge Crew of the Darkest Night

Background

Diagram of the Darkest Night's bridge.

The bridge crew of the Darkest Night rivals that of the mighty Devastator, although many historians & military experts point to the Devastator having a slight leadership advantage with it being under the command of Lord Vader. With the death of Commodore Peter Englewood in 2 BBY (of the Darkest Night), it is uncertain if Commodore Valentino Mazzanti will rise to meet the challenge or be another footnote under the Devastator's proud history.

Star Destroyer Hierarchy

Please see the following for a full breakdown of ranks & leadership within the Darkest Night:

• Star Destroyer Hierarchy

Bridge Personnel by the Numbers

Including the security detachment of 9 Imperial Navy Troopers & 1 Officer of the Deck (Command Officer), there is a total of 35 personnel on the bridge on any given shift. This number excludes the Senior Staff Officers.

Bridge Positions

The Darkest Night bridge crew is based off of this Empire Strikes Back (1980) photo.

Bridge positions include the following positions. It should be noted, aside from Command Officers & Senior Staff Officers, all other bridge positions (Crew Officers) are for the first shift (7am to 3pm).

Command Officers

Command Officers are at the top of the leadership ladder.

• Commanding Officer / Officer of the Deck
  • Commodore Valentino Mazzanti (first shift, 7am to 3pm)
  • Captain Duke P. (Patrick) Totter (second shift, 3pm to 11pm)
  • Commander Enoch Steadfast (third shift. 11pm to 7am)

Senior Staff Officers (Bridge)

Senior Staff Officers aboard Imperial I and Imperial II-class Star Destroyers are in overall charge of specific functions aboard a Star Destroyer and were often times labeled Chief or Chief of [Engineering, Security, Medical Officer, etc.]. Senior Staff Officers are not always on the bridge, but may be fulfilling their roles elsewhere in the Star Destroyer doing inspections, training, or in their Unit Command Office.

• Chief Communications Officer --- OPEN
• Chief Navigator --- CLOSED (for story purposes)
• Chief Flight Controller --- NPC Ezzeren Tat'ka
• Chief Sensors Officer --- NPC Erik Vickers
• Master Gunnery Chief ---NPC Xavier Thunderstrike

Crew Officers

Crew Officers are Junior Officers & Senior Officers entrusted with the leadership & supervision of Enlisted Imperial Navy Crewmen. These officers' authority extends only as far as their immediate professional discipline (gunnery, engineering, logistics, administration, technical, navigation, medical, scientific etc.). Specialty Officers are considered Crew Officers.

Enlisted Crew

Enlisted Crew (Imperial Navy) operate under Crew Officers on the bridge.

Operational Positions

Operation positions control the physical console interfaces to operate the various stations on the bridge.

Communications & Security Foyer

See: "Communications Consoles / Security Foyer" on diagram

Location: Security Foyer (back of bridge)

• Communications Supervisory Officer: NPC controlled (Senior or Junior Warrant Officer)
  • First Communications Technician: NPC controlled (Able Crewmen)
  • Second Communications Technician: NPC controlled (Crewmen Specialist)
• Security Supervisory Officer: NPC controlled (Master Warrant Officer Imperial Navy Trooper---controls all traffic to and from the bridge, as well as the physical security of the bridge)
  • 5 Imperial Navy Troopers (pair each flanking internal and external of primary bridge first blast door leading to "main corridor"; a single trooper guarding the "turbolift" door).
    • (3 additional Imperial Navy Troopers internal of the bridge beyond the second blast door, one flanking the internal of the blast door, and two others flanking the bridge windows looking into the bridge and back to the rear blast door)

Crew Pit: Port

Helms Control

See: Helmsman

Location: Crew Pits (port)

• First Navigational Officer (and crew pit Supervisory Officer): Captain Natalia Markova (player controlled; galactic-vagabond422)
  • Second Navigational Officer: OPEN (or uses NPC Chief Warrant Officer)
  • Hyperdrive Officer: NPC controlled (Leading Crewmen)

Engineering

See: Engineering Division

Location: Crew Pits (port)

• Master Technician: NPC controlled (Master Warrant Officer)
  • Reactor Technician: NPC controlled (Leading Crewmen)
  • Engines Technician: NPC controlled (Able Crewmen)

Damage Control

See: Damage Control System

Location: Crew Pits (port)

• Master Technician: NPC controlled (Junior or Senior Warrant Officer)
  • First Damage Technician: NPC controlled (Leading Crewmen)
  • Second Damage Technician: NPC controlled (Able Crewmen)

Crew Pit: Starboard

Flight Control

See: Flight Controllers

Location: Crew Pits (starboard)

• Supervisory Officer: NPC controlled (Junior or Senior Lieutenant)
  • First Flight Technician: NPC controlled (Chief Warrant Officer)
  • Second Flight Technician: NPC controlled (Leading Crewmen)

Sensors

See: Sensors Officer

Location: Crew Pits (starboard)

• Supervisory Officer: NPC controlled (Junior or Senior Warrant Officer)
  • First Sensors Technician: NPC controlled (Leading Crewmen)
  • Second Sensors Technician: NPC controlled (Able Crewmen)

Hanger Bay

See: Hanger Bay

Location: Crew Pits (starboard)

• Supervisory Officer: NPC controlled (Junior or Senior Warrant Officer)
  • Auxiliary Bay Technician: NPC controlled (Leading Crewmen)
  • Main Bay Technician: NPC controlled (Able Crewmen)

Defense & Weapons Stations

Ship Defense

See: Hull Armor & Deflector Shields

Location: Defense Station (port)

• Deflector Shield Technician: NPC controlled (Junior or Senior Lieutenant)
• Hull Armor Technician: NPC controlled (Leading Crewmen)

Gunnery (Weapons)

See: Gunnery

Location: Weapons Station (starboard)

• First Gunnery Technician: OPEN (or uses NPC Chief Warrant Officer)
• Second Gunnery Technician: OPEN (or uses NPC Leading Crewmen)

Works Cited

Thank you to this Reddit post (retrieved 09-13-2020) for giving a good outline of a Star Destroyer's bridge.