Editing Chief Science Officer (section)

==Science Stations==

Science stations on the command decks of Federation starships/starbases are used by science personnel to provide real-time scientific data to command personnel. These stations are not assigned full-time technicians, but are available for use as needed.

In some cases the science stations are used by personnel attached to secondary missions including researchers, mission specialists and others who need to coordinate operations with the bridge/ops. An example of which would be the control of an automated probe , gathering samples from a hazardous area, later requiring specific ship maneuvers in order to successfully recover the probe and its samples.

Individual Science stations are generally configured for independent operation, but can be linked together when two researchers wish to work cooperatively. The primary science stations on the command deck have priority links to Conn, Ops and Tactical. During Alert status, science stations can have priority access to sensor arrays, if necessary overriding ongoing science department observations and other secondary missions upon approval by the Operations Manager (OPS).

The Science I station incorporates an isolinear chip matrix panel that permits specialized mission profile programs to be loaded as needed, and also permits investigators to accumulate data for later study.

===Science Station Functions===

Primary functions of Science stations include:

*The ability to provide access to sensors and interpretive software for primary mission and command intelligence requirements and to supplement Ops in providing real-time scientific data for command decision making support.
*The ability to act as a command post for coordination of activities of various science laboratories and other departments, as well as for monitoring of secondary mission status.
*The ability to reconfigure and recalibrate sensor systems at a moment's notice for specific command intelligence requirements.