Typical Firefly crew? by schooner

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Typical Firefly crew?

POSTED BY: SCHOONER
UPDATED: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 01:04
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Wednesday, January 16, 2008 5:50 PM

So, what do you folks think a typical Firefly crew list looks like? There seems to be bunk space for more people than Serenity is crewed with (8 separate bunks, I think). What would the typical crew roster be?

My notion would include:
Pilot
Co-pilot
Navigator
Chief mechanic
Second mechanic
Medical officer
Cargo Foreman

While we're on the subject, what is the minimum crew for a Firefly? I'm thinking two, pilot and mechanic. What are your thoughts?

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Wednesday, January 16, 2008 6:57 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Captain
Pilot
Copilot
Navigator/communications
Medic
Mechanic - spaceframes/hull/powerplants
Avionics/electrician/electronics technician
Loadmaster/Cargomaster

With 2 shuttles, several of these would need to be shuttle qualified.

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Saturday, January 19, 2008 6:17 PM

NCBROWNCOAT

Quote:
Originally posted by jewelstaitefan:
Captain
Pilot
Copilot
Navigator/communications
Medic
Mechanic - spaceframes/hull/powerplants
Avionics/electrician/electronics technician
Loadmaster/Cargomaster

With 2 shuttles, several of these would need to be shuttle qualified.

I would replace the Navigator with a deckhand. Got to have some muscle for loading/unloading or hire it at each planet/moon.

http://fireflyfaninnc.livejournal.com/

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Wednesday, January 30, 2008 6:59 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Most of these are going to be common job crosstrained. If it doesn't need a bunch of specialty training, anybody can do it, particularly under trained supervision - like the loadmaster who knows what's going on directing the others how to do the menial stuff.

Deckhands would be anybody not doing something else, except medic (hands are c5ritically not to be injured).
Cook, same thing - anybody can do it.
basic soldering, painting, wrenching skills are going to be common, even if some supervision is needed. If not able to do these basic skills, they would be trained soon after coming on board (OJT).

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Friday, February 8, 2008 4:41 AM

SPACEANJL

Cook - anybody could do it.

Hmm. In the wagon trains, the cook was a very valuable member of the team. Food is such an essential part of life, that you need the good stuff to maintain morale. Consider how much of the show revolved around meals, and fresh produce.

Now, consider that you have a small space, limited facilities and an even more limited stock of foodstuff, most of it dried, or vat-protein. Anybody who could make that stuff taste halfway decent would be worth having on the roster. Mal in OoG wants to employ a cook.

But I'll stop channelling Ilargia Cobb for a moment, and reply sensibly.

You need someone who can fly the thing and someone who can mend it. Captain could also be the pilot, but would probably want another body on board so as to fit in those little things like sleep. (Autopilot is all well and good, less'n you come up against floating nasties.) Someone who can mend the crew is also a bonus.
Someone who can make protein mush taste like regular food would also be a bonus. And depending on your line of work, variants on the theme of muscle and scary would be useful.

So -

Captain (Picks the job. The voice of command.)
First Mate (Picks her moment. The voice of reason.)
Pilot (Picks the route. Lots of voices in her head.)
Security Officer (Picks his teeth. Grumbles.)
Medical Officer (Patches up the bullet holes. Sarcastic.)
Mechanic (Patches up the engine. Enthusiastic.)
Cook (Person with the sharpest knives. Be nice or she'll spit in your soup.)

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Friday, February 8, 2008 6:39 AM

LEIASKY

>There seems to be bunk space for more people than Serenity is crewed with (8 separate bunks, I think). What would the typical crew roster be?

All of the bunks, I believe, off the bridge are full.

The other bunks down by the infirmary are for passengers.

I think Joss created exactly the right number of crew for his little Firefly.

>But I'll stop channelling Ilargia Cobb for a moment, and reply sensibly.

Who's that?

"A government is a body of people usually notably ungoverned."

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Friday, February 8, 2008 6:57 AM

MAL4PREZ

I agree with JSF - a "normal" firefly crew isn't likely well organized and sharply defined. This isn't just a business, it's a home. A teeny tiny civilization in space. I imagine that folks bring on their buddy or sister in law or whatever and the person does whatever's needed. Too much specialization can't be practical. Although, if I was on a crew I'd sure as hell vote for getting a full-time cook LOL!

-----------------------------------------------
hmm-burble-blah, blah-blah-blah, take a left

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Saturday, February 9, 2008 2:52 AM

SPACEANJL

Quote:
Originally posted by Leiasky:
>There seems to be bunk space for more people than Serenity is crewed with (8 separate bunks, I think). What would the typical crew roster be?

All of the bunks, I believe, off the bridge are full.

No, I think there is one empty one right up front, out of seven, according to a floor-plan I found. It was probably Wash's, before he got hitched.

>But I'll stop channelling Ilargia Cobb for a moment, and reply sensibly.

Who's that?

She's a character in 'Another Girl, Another Planet', and other such fiction, found on good fanfic sites everywhere.

She's the ship's cook, as you could probably tell.

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Sunday, February 10, 2008 8:29 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN

I disagree about the cook in this verse. In the old west, sure. As demonstrated in the work, "food" is processed protein "in all the various colors", and perhaps also "reprocessed protein". The only real food comes aboard with Book in the Pilot. Did he bring more in WaStories, after Bathgate Abbey? In WS the apples bought by Jayne were of much comment after he shared them with the whole crew.
Real food might be more common on planets, if they grow stuff, but we see from the sale to Patience that bricks of protein fortified with immuno-boosters and supplements are still a common need.
Even Simon's cake is just more yucky protein. What's the cook going to do without real food to cook?
Apparently actual tasteful food is a luxury, for those like Badger. It sounds like all of Serenity suffers the undesirable flavors of the protein mush.
When not planet-side, everybody but the Captain and pilot/helmsman are effecively idle, and should be able to cook whatever they choose.

Regarding the bunk, Wash and Zoe were married long before Jayne came aboard, as I understand. So no full complement of bunk usage indicated so far.
Speaking of which, one ponders the implications of the Tams not using that bunk, which seems more desirable. Perhaps Simon is avoiding the issue of whether he should share a bunk with River of Kaylee. Or maybe he's currentkly just closer to the infirmary - as is River.

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Monday, February 11, 2008 12:13 AM

PIRATECAT

Firefly crews would need a short order cook to have the smell of sausage grease perminating through the ship. Mal's crew needs a card shark for their hustle. Kaylee is the safe cracker besides the mechanic, Jayne is the muscle and loadmaster, Doc is Doc and science and history officer, Wash is dumbass, pilot, also nav officer. Lets Mals the skipper and Zoe is the first mate. A stoeaway who is a retard, and the Shepherd hmmm nobody knows what he does. Oh yeh the hoestess, purser, and alround hooker Inara

"Battle of Serenity, Mal. Besides Zoe here, how many-" "I'm talkin at you! How many men in your platoon came out of their alive".

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Wednesday, February 13, 2008 1:04 AM

SPACEANJL

Me again. I've actually put some thought and research into the food of the 'verse.

If you posit that the foodstuffs are dried for storage, then you still have the options of rice and pasta etc. (We've seen Jayne eating noodles, and that isn't a sight you forget in a hurry.) In keeping with the Sinotic vibe, you would have such things as tofu, which takes up flavour. I imagine the protein mush would have similar properties.

Of course, the horrifying prospect of 'Pot Noodle' surviving into the future rears its ugly head here. But freeze-dried food that can be reconstituted would be an option - like the camping foodpacks available now.

In fact, the real moneymakers of the future would probably be the purveyors of pickles and sauces. Strong flavours like chili, mushroom or soy would make a bland cube of something taste better.

And I still think anyone who could make that sort of foodstuff vibrant and exciting would be worth having on the roster. Asian/Oriental food would be suited to environments with limited fuel and cooking space.

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