The Domino

The Domino is a code-name for a small plastic box, about the size of, and disguised to look like, a domino game piece. The box is glued to a magnet and kept at the back of the bottom drawer of the captain's private filing cabinet on every G.A.S. and G.S.S. ship. The box contains the captain's letters of last resort (the orders of last resort of Foundation regulations), as well as command master over-ride codes for the ship. The codes themselves are encoded with a decryption key told verbally to the captain.

According to official published documents, the domino includes a biometric scanner and can only be opened by Captain, First Officer, or Arms Master of the ship (the three highest-ranking officers, in order). The box is also said to contain a vial of acid, that if smashed would destroy the contents.

Purpose

Since the Gudersnipe Foundation operates under a strict military chain of command, it is important at all times to have a clear set of orders. Accordingly, the letters were created in the event that Central Command and Control is destroyed or otherwise rendered incapacitated, or that a ship is completely cut off from friendly territory and the chain of command, with no hope of rejoining the main forces. The papers give final orders as to the ship's course of action.

The exact contents of the letter can vary from ship to ship, usually dependant on the class and amraments. It is also common for captains to be issued new dominoes for specific missions. Typically, each new captain is given one when he takes command of the ship (with the previous captain ordered to destroy the old one).

Cannon

In one story, Rian, not knowing what the Domino was (and having jimmied open Hunter's filling cabinet) opens and reads the orders, which apparently state that in the event that this letter should be opened, the captain of the Saratoga (named in the letter as simply "This Ship") is to place his ship under the command of the First File. Rian and Cindy then write a new set of joke orders and replace the Domino, later claiming that the drawer "must have broke open during the battle" when Hunter inquires. It is unclear whether the Domino had been specifically issued to Hunter or had been left over from a previous ship; for fitting out, the Saratoga salvaged equipment from all over the Ghost Fleet at Utopia Gregaria. As such, the orders might have been left over from as far back as the Kamian Succession Wars. As per the treaty between the Alliance and Foundation, "orphaned" ships from either side could be integrated into the other's space navy.

However, this letter would seem to indicate that, in the event of a complete breakdown in the chain of command, the Foundation intended to place its ships under the command of the Pendragon of Slayer Dragons, and not the Alliance Space Navy.