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Communications

A radio is fitted as standard to all vessels and sometimes it can mean the difference between life and death. Intercosmic communications allow you to (theoretically) contact any ship in the galaxy and this technology, coupled with a scanner with tracking capability, is how your mapping computer can track ships.

Press the Radio control (default R) to use the radio. A menu allows you to choose what message to send. If a primary target is selected, you may send a message to that target. You can also ask the ship's computer for a status report by activating the internal communications system.

A distress call can often help, and sometimes save your ship, if you are stuck in a deadly struggle with an aggressor. If you fail to get a friendly response from a ship in your sector, a ship in another sector might respond and head your way. If this happens it is wise to keep checking the radio every so often to let them know where you are if they should enter your sector.

If your ship is crippled, and you have no active maintenance crew then your only way out is to radio passing ships and nearby bases and ask for repairs.

Police units can ask for back up when under attack, or even prior to an attack. Officers who come across a particularly tough criminal might like to target them and request back up before deciding to engage. Police stations in the sector will launch missiles and scramble fighters in response to such a request so be aware of the cost and danger of a call in those circumstances.

The scarrid have no radio and will use telepathy to communicate when the Radio control is pressed. This means that communication between humans and scarrid is not possible. The scarrid band together in fiercely loyal clans and scarrid pilots can call upon their clan brothers for back up or to attack a specific target.

Finally, bear in mind that radio messages are quite easy for bandits and robbers to intercept and trace (in fact last year's annual Galactic and Wireless Federation meeting resulted in so many arrests that the police now permanently stake out their headquarters).

Your radio is a tool you always have. If you seem to be in a dead end, without any visible means of escape, there is probably a way out and it's probably radio shaped.