Crew for the Destructive Boron

[NewtSoup]

Boso Ta wants me to supply a ship that will probably be destroyed.

I can buy the ship no problem but the issue I have is that I need a pilot/captain

None of the captains I have found have the option for me to hire them.

Can I just hire a standard crew member and tell them to pilot or buy them a piloting seminar so that it becomes their primary skill?

Can I indeed have multirole crew?

I understand that engineering skill repairs my ship. Is that ability averaged from all crew members?

[Alan Phipps]

You cannot hire 'Captains' as they are supposed to be the captains of ships visiting that station and so already taken.

You can employ any NPC you can hire or buy in any role. How well they perform depends on their relevant primary skills at that role (the few ones in bold at the top of the skill star table for that role). You can transfer one of your current crew between roles by right-clicking on their ship, select the crew tab, right-click the intended crewperson of any role, select 'Work somewhere else', select the new or same ship, select the new role, assign. They will magically travel between distant ships using pods (real for IS nearby and assumed for distant/OOS); captains transfer nearly instantaneously while other crew can take longer but will arrive eventually.

For the disposable ship, if found abandoned/bailed and claimed then you can transfer in a captain using any low-skill NPC, or you can buy a new cheapo ship from a Wharf complete with a pilot (in fact you normally cannot buy one without one!), or you can send any ship you own to a Wharf(S/M)/Shipyard(L/XL) or an Equipment Dock (any) and 'upgrade' the ship by adding as many cheap rookie crew as you wish to buy in bulk that fit in. This could be your transfer bank for your future cheap low-skill needs. You do get the chance to recover your pilot from the disposable ship, by the way.

NPCs you own can only be employed at one skill at a time, but you can transfer them between roles, either individually or in bulk. An example would be using your future marines as service-crew on a construction ship or trader when not on boarding operations so as to improve their morale skill and hence their overall boarding skill for when you make them marines again.

I hope this helps.

[NewtSoup]

You cannot hire 'Captains' as they are supposed to be the captains of ships visiting that station and so already taken.

You can employ any NPC you can hire or buy in any role. How well they perform depends on their relevant primary skills at that role (the few ones in bold at the top of the skill star table for that role). You can transfer one of your current crew between roles by right-clicking on their ship, select the crew tab, right-click the intended crewperson of any role, select 'Work somewhere else', select the new or same ship, select the new role, assign. They will magically travel between distant ships using pods (real for IS nearby and assumed for distant/OOS); captains transfer nearly instantaneously while other crew can take longer but will arrive eventually.

For the disposable ship, if found abandoned/bailed and claimed then you can transfer in a captain using any low-skill NPC, or you can buy a new cheapo ship from a Wharf complete with a pilot (in fact you normally cannot buy one without one!), or you can send any ship you own to a Wharf(S/M)/Shipyard(L/XL) or an Equipment Dock (any) and 'upgrade' the ship by adding as many cheap rookie crew as you wish to buy in bulk that fit in. This could be your transfer bank for your future cheap low-skill needs. You do get the chance to recover your pilot from the disposable ship, by the way.

NPCs you own can only be employed at one skill at a time, but you can transfer them between roles, either individually or in bulk. An example would be using your future marines as service-crew on a construction ship or trader when not on boarding operations so as to improve their morale skill and hence their overall boarding skill for when you make them marines again.

I hope this helps.

That helps a lot. Thanks, Alan.
I've not found an abandoned ship yet, nor had the opportunity to make one bail.
Seeing as my upkeep mission said "acquire a captain" I naturally thought I had to hire a Captain NPC and that I simply didn't have enough rep with their faction.
I can proceed more quickly now

Thank you..