Loralynn Kennakris 2: The Morning Which Breaks (61 page)

Emergency Boost; a technique implemented on some
CEF
fighters in which water molecules are fed directly into the fusion reaction chambers to increase thrust by 15% to 20%. (The oxygen atoms increase the mass of the drive plume and thus thrust.) However, the technique can only be safely used for a minute or so as it greatly increases the reaction chamber pressure and, as fighter drives cannot fuse elements heavier than carbon, the presence of oxygen has a damping effect on the reaction.

Earth-Crossing Asteroid. Asteroids having orbits with perihelion inside the Earth’s orbit and aphelion outside it, most of which are highly eccentric. The Aten group is one such collection of asteroids.

Electronic Counter Measures; active
electronic warfare
methods such as jamming and spoofing.

Electronic intelligence derived the emissions of sensors or other electronic systems that are not communications related. Part of
SIGINT
.

The
League’s
second most prosperous sector outside of Sol (after the
Pleiades
), but in some ways the most important:
Anson’s Deep
, the League’s key
nexus
, is located there. It is the home of
CEF First Fleet
, which is linked to
Meridies
Sector Command

Eltanin Sector was largely settled from the Meridies and contains many of the League’s oldest and richest
colonies
, the collective economic output of which outstrips their founding worlds. These colonies are politically tightly knit, and exercise considerable influence in the
Grand Senate
, despite their lack of veto power and other rights granted only to the Homeworlds.

Eltanin has been, and remains, a source of contention in the League. Its prosperity largely fuels the expansionist policies of the Meridies governments, which was a source of great concern when the League was founded, and is partly responsible for such policies as the
Linked Command System
and the strict rotation of fleet commanders, the sector
CinCs
, and the
CNO
. It was feared that the combination of Eltanin’s wealth, the Meridies’ aggressive tendencies and martial prowess, and control of the Anson’s Deep Nexus, would allow the Meridies to achieve supremacy within the League. (The Meridies similarly feared the fleets controlled by Sol. See
SOLCOM
.)

Although Sol came to dominate the League, the Meridies’ ambitions have not abated. Meridies Sector Command controls First Fleet, and since the early in
LH-1
, the
Belt
has argued for ending the Linked Command System, ostensibly in the name of efficiency and colonial rights, but also to weaken the Meridies, with whom it has long been at odds.

Further, Eltanin does not always agree with its parent systems, and would likely welcome the degree of independence that being elevated to a CEF sector command would bring. Thus, Eltanin is likely to remain a flash point in League politics until the situation is ultimately resolved.

Electromagnetic Pulse. An extremely brief, powerful burst of electromagnetic energy, used to disable any electronic devices within the effective range: tens of meters to thousands of kilometers depending on the power of the device.

An ephemeris (plural: ephemeredes or ephemerides) gives the positions of astronomical objects or satellites at any given time, assuming they are not maneuvering. An object’s ephemeris is generated using mathematical models that accept observations of the object’s position as inputs. The accuracy of the result depends on the number of observations and their quality. To maintain acceptable accuracy, ephemeredes must be regularly updated with new observations to account for perturbations that the models cannot account for.

The point of ephemeredes is that they can be propagated forward (or back) to give an estimate of the object’s position and the uncertainly associated with it. This is critical for in-system navigation, as there are typically a large number of asteroids as well as much smaller objects, and also for navigation about planets which may have a large number satellites in orbit, along with many small debris objects, all of which must be avoided.

A collection of ephemeredes is called a
catalog
and these are normally assembled and published for all known systems and occupied worlds.

A
League
colony in
Cygnus
, chartered by Mytilene (itself
first-gen
out of
Nedaema
). The
CEF
maintains an outstation there with a heavy maintenance depot in orbit, both to cover the
Kepler Junction
and provide support for
Miranda
. Elements of the CEF Seventh Fleet are based there. Compare
New Madras
and
Outbound Station
.

Electronic Support Measures. Passive detection, tracking, classification and analysis of electromagnetic signals.

Activities in null-gee, zero atmosphere. Once called
Extravehicular Activity
.

Electronic Warfare. The combination of
ESM
,
ECM
, and
EMP
, along with any other electronic measures taken to gain an advantage in battle. Considered by some to be part of
IW
/
IO
, although the
Halith Navy
does not embrace this.

In another context, EW also means
Early Warning
.

Electronic Warfare Officer. The officer in charge of
EW
on a
Halith
combatant. The EWO reports to the captain in
CIC
. (See
TAO
and
WCO
for comparison.)

Literally:
out of kindness
. Something done as a gratuity or favor where no legal obligation exists. Often an
ex gratia
payment, given by the government for some remarkable service. In the
League
, these are most often made to military units (chiefly ship crews) for victories or in cases where a legal
prize
had to be destroyed or abandoned. Payments to
HUMINT
sources and émigrés may also fall in this category.

Executive Officer. The second-in-command of a military unit but especially used for the second-in-command of a navy ship. Less popular in the
CEF Marine Corps
, where the favored term is
XO
. Other militaries adopt their own
terms
.

The specific role of the executive officer varies considerably according the prevailing doctrine of the particular service. In the
CEF Navy
, the exec is primarily an administrative position. The various department heads all report directly to the exec, who is responsible for their overall management. The captain’s primary responsibility is to guide and fight the ship, and in action a CEF captain is seconded more by the
TAO
than the exec. In fact, if the captain becomes incapacitated in action, it is the TAO who usually assumes control of the ship, not the exec. The exec assumes control when the ship is no longer under general quarters. The exec has a particular responsibility for munitions stores and fuel, and on smaller warships, damage control.

In the
Halith
navy, the exec is a “second captain” who normally stays on the bridge in combat and maneuvers the ship while the captain fights the ship from
CIC
. The relationship between Halith captains and their execs is thus closer to that of a CEF navy captain and his or her TAO. Most other navies (and some
League
home fleets) follow this model.

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The informal name for the
DSRO
in the
CEF
.

Most
League
militaries, including the
CEF Marines
, organize their
squads
(
sections
in the Marines) into fireteams, as does the
New UK
. Fireteams are not generally used as independent tactical units: their purpose is to increase tactical flexibility and responsiveness of squads by forming small, cohesive teams. However, fireteams can be, and often are, used for reconnaissance and other specific operations.

The way a fireteam is organized and equipped varies widely. A ground-forces squad will typically contain two fireteams, each consisting an
NCO
(a corporal or lance corporal), one
PFC
and two privates. The NCO and one of the privates will be armed with an assault rifle with an under-slung grenade launcher. The PFC carries a
SAW
, while the fourth member carries a support weapon, depending on the mission (this could be anti-armor, anti-air, or a light
chain gun
).

The CEF Marine Corps, in particular, puts great emphasis on the fireteam concept. A CEF marine fireteam consists of four soldiers, equipped according to their mission and the type of
platoon
they are part of. The team leader is a sergeant, corporal, or lance corporal. There is no rigid directive as to the breakdown leadership positions (as it depends on a range of factors), but in general, heavy-weapons platoons and tech platoons will have a higher proportion of sergeants as team leaders than assault platoons and light platoons.

In a typical assault platoon equipped for ground combat, there would four sections, each with two fireteams, and the breakdown of the team leaders would nominally be something like this: 2 sergeants, 4 corporals, and 2 lance corporals. The other 3 members of each fireteam would be: a Gunner (a PFC) armed with a
SAW
; an Assistant Gunner who carries extra ammunition and is armed with assault rifle with under-slung grenade launcher; and a soldier who is ordinarily the Section Anti-armor Specialist or a
Chain Gunner
.

A light platoon equipped for ground combat has a similar breakdown, the difference being that one section consists of sniper/scout teams, and the last soldier in the other section’s fireteams is typically the Section Sniper instead of an Anti-armor Specialist or Chain Gunner.

Other platoon types will have mortar teams, missile teams, demolition teams, hatch-breakers and tech teams, as required.

Fitness Report. Generally, an administrative report the
CO
of a military unit produces on a periodic basis evaluating the performance of his or her immediate subordinates. In the
CEF
and
League Homeworld
militaries, a FITREP applies only to persons who exercise command responsibility (the term referring to
fitness to command
). This is sergeants and above in the
marines
and ground forces, and
chiefs
in the navy. Other personnel undergo evaluations, called EVALs (
Evils
) that assess their jobs performance and other factors affecting their career.

A
billet
, not a
rank
. A flag lieutenant serves as an aide and principle secretary to an admiral, and may in fact not be a lieutenant, although this is usual. One main purpose of the billet is to give a promising junior officer exposure to the higher reaches of command early in his or her career, and have them gain invaluable experience. They are not encouraged to remain in the billet, and very few hold it more than a year.

In the
CEF Navy
, lieutenant commanders may serve as flag lieutenants to sector
CinCs
, where their role is slightly different. Although they still act as aides and principle secretaries, CEF sector CinCs are
double-hatted
full admirals. In addition to their sector command, they are
COs
of a
strike force
. Thus, they have two staffs: a strike force staff, headed by a
Fleet Captain
, and a sector command staff, headed by their chief of staff. (In other navies, this latter position would be termed an
aide-de-camp
, but in the CEF Navy, this title is reserved for the CNO’s chief of staff.)

Under this situation, the flag lieutenant’s duties are greater. In addition to the generally more involved workload of a CinC, they act as a liaison between the two staffs, assist the CinC in coordinating activities, and like duties. For this reason, a more senior officer usually fills this billet. However, full commanders are not assigned to by a CinC’s flag lieutenant, though this is by tradition only.

A naval officer holding flag rank. The only officers who hold this permanently in the
CEF
are admirals.
Commodores
and senior captains may hold flag rank temporarily. (Some navies, such as the
New UK
and some
League
home fleets, have commodores as a
substantive rank
, where they are the lowest-ranked flag officers.) Flag officers are equivalent to general officers in the marines and ground forces.

Note
: In the
CEF Navy
,
Captains of the Fleet
are considered flag officers but this is a courtesy observed while they hold the
billet
, not a substantive rank.

Properly
Captain of the Fleet
.

The general term for any member of the
SRF
who has active flight status, usually officers below the rank of captain. Often confused with
Pilot Officer
.

In naval usage, a flotilla is usually a group of small vessels. However, this is not always the case, and the term’s usage varies widely. For example, in the
Andaman
Navy, a flotilla is the major subdivision of a fleet, based around a major capital ship (such as a battleship) and commanded by a vice admiral. It is both an administrative unit and a tactical unit. In the
New UK’s
Royal Navy, a flotilla is an administrative unit composed of 2 or 3
squadrons
of small combatants (such as destroyers or frigates), light craft (such as LMACs or patrol vessels), or auxiliaries. It is no longer a tactical formation.