I haven't done much updating here, but I have been having many conversations with Ellri, Jordan, and Kessa about this and haven't really gotten around to posting some of what was discussed. One reason for this is because my motivation for running this rp has little to do with delving into the backstory of the situation, but only to deal with the situation and the characters dealing with their circumstances themselves. While I'm sure the history of each of the characters will be incredibly important to those efforts, I'm leaving it open for each writer to figure that out on their own. It's a big galaxy after all, and there are many possibilities, many of which I probably haven't even considered yet. As a note, I tend to be very hands off in those regards.

As far as medics go: I've decided that might be unlikely. The way things are set up, having to rely on too heavily on any one member of the crew would fatal for the entire ship. A doctor especially, if one existed and subsequently got knocked out for any reason, the penalty would lie not just on that character but certainly for the rest of the crew. However, nano-technology is an excellent replacement for this (and would then also fall under anyone who has any engineering experience which they all likely will). With the proper programming, nanites would be able to mend tissue, fight illness, and even repair significant bone/tendon/ligament damage over lengthy periods of time. It would then be up to the entire to crew not only make sure these nanites are functioning properly, but also to have some basic medic training (or really common sense) concerning any injury received.

I think Kessa's character would already cover the field of assistant engineer as her character has skill in the field as we've established it. As far as a coxswain/co-pilot goes, this again is a skill likely to be duplicitous across the board for the crew, especially considering that the actual piloting of the ship is done by computer and the command inputs are really the only effort needed from the crew as far as "piloting" is concerned. This would also allow shifts for the crew to always have some sort of rotation set up for "off time."

All that make sense?