For Honor We Stand (66 page)

Class (Krag Vessels):  The Krag apparently have a class system similar to the Union, producing warships of similar design in series.  Because Krag vessel names are, however, unknown, difficult to pronounce, or impossible to remember, the Navy uses a system of “Reporting Names” for Krag vessel classes.  Essentially, when a new class of Krag vessel is identified, a name is assigned to that class by Naval Intelligence.  Class names generally start with the same letter or group of letters as the name of the vessel type, with the exception of Battlecruisers, the class names of which begin with “Bar” to distinguish them from Battleships.  In this way, a ship’s type can immediately be determined from its class name, even if the name is not familiar.  Examples of class names for each major warship type follow:

Battleships:  Batwing, Battalion, Battleaxe, Baton.

Battlecruisers:  Barnacle, Barnyard, Barrister, Barsoom, Barmaid

Carrier:  Carousel, Carnivore, Carpetbagger, Cardigan

Cruiser:  Crusader, Crucible, Crustacean, Crumpet, Crayfish

Frigate:  Freelancer, Frogleg, Frycook, Frigid

Destroyer:  Deckhand, Delver, Dervish, Debris, Deputy

Corvette:  Corpuscle, Cormorant, Cornhusker, Corsican, Cordwood

Clear the datum:  as a “datum” or “datum point” is a location from which a vessel has been observed, “to clear the datum” is to move away from a point in space where it (1) has been observed or (2) it did something that might have allowed it to be observed.  Since a ship coming out of a jump emits a detectable burst of Cherenkov-Heaviside radiation, most Captains will want to clear the datum by leaving the vicinity of the jump point as soon as possible after completion of the jump. 

Comet:  colloquial term for the Warship Qualification Badge, a medal—shaped like a comet with a curved tail—indicating that the wearer has passed either a Warship Crew Qualification Examination or a Warship Officer Qualification Examination, showing that he can competently operate every crew or officer station on the ship, perform basic damage control, engage in close order battle with sidearm and boarding cutlass, use a pulse rifle, and fight hand to hand.  The Comet was created in the early days of space combat to be the equivalent of the “Dolphins” from the United States Submarine Forces.

compression drive:  one of the two known technologies that allow ships to travel faster than lightspeed (the other being the jump drive).  The compression drive permits violation of Einsteinian physics by selectively compressing and expanding the fabric of the space-time continuum.  The drive creates around the vessel a bubble of distorted space-time with a diameter approximately thirty-four times the length of the ship.  This bubble, in turn, contains a smaller bubble of undistorted space-time just large enough to enclose the ship itself.  The density of space-time is compressed along the ship’s planned line of travel and expanded behind it (hence the term “compression drive,” which was thought to sound better than “Expansion Drive” or, heaven forbid, “Warp Drive”), creating a propulsive force which moves the ship forward faster than the speed of light as viewed from the perspective of a distant observer.  This superluminal motion does not violate Einsteinian physics because the ship is stationary relative to the fabric of space time inside the bubble and, therefore, from the point of view of an observer located there, does not exceed the speed of light.  Because the volume of distorted space rises as a geometric function as ship size goes up under the familiar V = À r
²
formula multiplied by thirty-four (pi times half the length of the ship squared times thirty-four), even a small increase in the ship’s dimensions results in a substantial increase in the energy required to propel it through compressed space.  Accordingly, only smaller ship types can move at high speeds or for any appreciable distance using compression drive, which means, in turn, that major fleet operations and planetary conquests require the taking and holding of jump points so that Carriers, Battleships, Tankers, and other larger or slower vessels can be brought into the system.

compression shear:  a dangerous phenomenon caused by a compression drive experiencing poor speed regulation, a common occurrence at speeds of less than about 80 c.  Compression shear occurs when radical fluctuations in the degree of space-time distortion caused by a poorly regulated drive exert variable and rapidly fluctuating force against the “bubble” of normal space-time surrounding the ship.  As the small undistorted bubble around the ship must exist in precise equilibrium with the larger zone of differentially compressed and expanded space that surrounds the smaller one, sharp variations or “shear” along the boundary rupture the bubble and destroy the ship.

Conviction by Order:  a procedure by which an officer of Command Rank (Lieutenant Commander or higher) in actual command of a rated warship in a combat zone on detached service during wartime can, on a finding of clear and convincing evidence that the offender committed a felony on board the convicting officer’s vessel or in interstellar space, can find the offender guilty of the offense and impose any sentence prescribed for that offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, provided that no sentence of death shall be imposed and executed without review by higher authority except in the case of Treason.  If the vessel is not in a combat zone or is not on detached service, the Captain must hold the offender to be tried by a Court Martial. 

Core Systems:  the fifty star systems located near the astrographic center of the Union which, while constituting only about 10% by number of the Union’s inhabited worlds, are home to 42% of its population and 67% of its heavy industrial capacity. 

Cruiser:  a large, heavily armed, and heavily armored vessel providing an excellent mix of firepower, armor, speed, and endurance.  Cruisers are highly powerful and flexible warships that can operate as component parts of large task forces or as the center of small task forces of their own.  Cruisers are capable of delivering heavy doses of sustained weapons fire against warships, orbital installations, and surface targets, and can operate without support for more than a year.  Most Cruiser types mass between 25,000 and 40,000 metric tons and are often loosely divided into the subtypes of Light, Medium, and Heavy.  A heavy cruiser is only slightly smaller and less powerful than the smaller classes of Battlecruiser. 

das ist streng verboten: 
(German) That is strongly forbidden.  Given the adherence to rules and deference to authority that is (at least reputedly) part of the German national character, this statement has a stronger meaning in German than it does in Standard.  One would apply this expression only to an act that is so powerfully forbidden and so generally agreed to be wrong that only a person of strong anti-social, rebellious, or criminal leanings would engage in it.

DC:  Damage Control.  The set of duties and techniques associated with limiting and repairing damage to a ship sustained in space, particularly battle damage.  The term is also used to refer to the CIC station used to display damage to the ship and coordinate the efforts of damage control parties as well as to the person who mans that station.

delenda est Krag
:  (Latin) Literally, The Krag must be destroyed.  An allusion to Cato the Elder, the 2
^nd
Century B.C.E. Roman statesman who, in an effort to induce the Roman Republic to declare the Third Punic War and wipe out its arch rival Carthage once and for all, ended every speech in the Senate, irrespective of subject, with the phrase, “et
ceterum censeo, delenda est carthago
,” meaning, “and, furthermore, I believe Carthage must be destroyed.” 

delta V:  change in velocity.  Delta is the physics/aerospace symbol for “change” and V is the symbol for velocity (velocity technically being both speed and direction).  Space vehicle maneuvers are typically measured in terms of the delta V necessary to carry them out, as that number immediately tells a pilot whether he has enough fuel and thruster power to complete the maneuver.

Destroyer:  the most numerous Type of Rated Ship in the Navy, Destroyers are comparatively small vessels optimized for speed, maneuverability, and firepower.  Known as the “workhorses of the Navy,” Destroyers typically mass in the 16,000 to 20,000 ton range.  They are not heavily armored and are not capable of carrying enough stores, fuel, and munitions to operate for long periods of time without resupply, but carry pulse cannons equal in power (though usually fewer of them) to those carried by most Frigates.  Destroyers are typically operated as escorts to larger vessels as part of a fleet or task force.  When a Destroyer encounters a ship of greater force, it is supposed to either call upon a heavier vessel with which it is operating or, if none is available, rely on its maneuverability and speed to evade and run away (ELEVES or “elude, evade, and escape).  The CO of Destroyer is typically a Commander, although ships in the smaller Destroyer classes sometimes have an unusually able Lieutenant Commander as a skipper.

deuterium separation plant:  a facility for producing deuterium fuel for fusion reactors.  Such plants function by separating naturally occurring deuterium oxide, also known as heavy water, from ordinary water, taking advantage of the two substances’ differing densities through the use of a series of high speed centrifuges.  Once heavy water of suitable concentration (more than 95%) is obtained, the deuterium is then broken down by electrical hydrolysis into elemental oxygen and deuterium.  Such facilities tend to be located on water-covered moons similar to Europa in the Sol system because they provide a large supply of relatively high deuterium water, a shallow gravity well, and some kind of large hard surface (either ice or rock) on which to construct the facility.

dobber:  (British English slang) major example, roughly equivalent to the American slang “doozie.” 

droga, merda, porra: 
(Brazilian Portuguese) bummer, shit, fuck.  An exclamation of shock and dismay.

Dummkopf
:  (German) Stupid.  In German, though, the term
Dummkopf
can be used as an appellation in a way that “stupid,” which is primarily an adjective, is rarely used in Standard.  Accordingly, in some ways, the term may equate better with the Standard nouns, “idiot” or “moron.” 

“E” for “Excellence”:  an award, conferred upon a vessel by a Task Force Commander or higher authority, for conspicuous excellence or achievement in any area of endeavor.  The award is displayed by illuminating running lights arranged in the shape of a large letter “E” when the vessel is not stealthed.  The award is typically made for some demonstration of outstanding proficiency by the vessel and is authorized to be displayed for a limited number of days, usually 60.

Earl Grey:  a blend of tea flavored with oil from the rind of the bergamot orange.  Unlike many British teas, Earl Grey is traditionally taken with lemon, not milk.  Named for the British Nobleman of the same name, Prime Minister of Great Britain on Earth in the first half of the 19
^th
Century.

EM:  Electromagnetic.  Usually short for the term “electromagnetic radiation,” meaning visible light, radio waves, ultraviolet, infrared, and similar forms of energy forming a part of the familiar electromagnetic spectrum.  Often used to distinguish sensors that detect EM radiation from those that detect other phenomena such as gravitational effects or neutrinos.  

 EMCOM:  Emissions Control.  A security and deception measure in which a warship not only operates under what 21
^st
Century readers would call “radio silence” but also without navigation beacons, active sensor beams, and any other emissions that could be used to track the ship.  When a ship is under EMCON, active measures are taken to ensure that there are no unauthorized transmissions:  transmitters are deactivated and placed under high level security lockouts, portable transmitters are inventoried and placed in high security areas, and equipment that could if used improperly accidentally give off a signal is powered down and, in some cases, physically disconnected from its power source or operational components needed to transmit (such as meta-spacial emitter coils) removed from the device.  Except when actively engaged in offensive operations, it is very unusual for a modern warship to operate under EMCOM for anything more than a few hours.

Emeka Moro
:  Union Space Navy Frigate,
Edward Jenner
Class, registry number FLE 2372, commissioned December 8, 2295.  Currently (as of February 20, 2315) undergoing extensive repairs and refit at James Lovell Station to repair damage sustained in battle against a Krag
Barsoom
Class Battlecruiser on 11 November 2314.  For the person, see Moro, Emeka.

Enlisted Ratings:  the ranks of enlisted men in the Union Navy are listed below, in order of increasing rank.  Within each rank, not separately listed here, are three classes—First, Second, and Third.  So, within the ranks of Able Spacer, one can rise through the ranks of Able Spacer Third Class, Able Spacer Second Class, and Able Spacer First Class.

Recruit

Ordinary

Able

Petty Officer

Chief Petty Officer.

ENTJ:  one of the 16 personality types defined by the Myers-Briggs Personality Test.  The letters represent Extroversion, iNtuition, Thinking, Judgment (as opposed to Introversion, Sensing, Feeling, and Perceiving).  The ENTJ personality type is the one most associated with leadership, particularly with military or political leadership.  ENTJ’s are outgoing, have a preference for the big picture over details, are oriented toward objective facts rather than subjective feelings and experience, and have a structured and organized approach to problem-solving.  Approximately 55% of all warship commanding officers are of the ENTJ type.  Roughly half of the rest are ISTJs who are only weakly introverted.