Loralynn Kennakris 2: The Morning Which Breaks (66 page)

The Halith Navy does not consider the fighters, which they call
Light Strike Groups
(LSGs) a separate branch of the Service. Instead, LSGs are organic naval units attached to a specific carrier, just as the rest of the crew, forming their own department. LSGs do not transfer between carriers the way SRF units are accustomed to doing. Again, this shows the strong Halith concern with closely coordinated operations conducted at a very high op-tempo, which they believe can only be achieved with units that have worked together for a long time. Here again is shown the Halith preference for speed and offensive striking power over flexibility.

(
Note
: This probably explains another Halith tendency: the practice of not rotating active flight officers, or other officers, into training billets. The CEF does this regularly to allow officers to pass along their experience, while Halith relies on a cadre of professional instructors. Thus, Halith flight officers are usually more experienced than their CEF counterparts. This led to high a casualty rate among CEF flight officers early in LH-1. However, the CEF’s more rapid training cycle, and attrition among Halith’s most experienced pilots, redressed the balance by the end of the war.)

Administratively, and operationally, the Imperial Navy is follows a model that is similar to their ground forces in organization. The smallest fleet units are squadrons, which are the same class of warship. Two or three squadrons compose a division, and several divisions combine to make a fleet.

Divisions are permanent tactical formations and are not homogenous, being assembled of different squadrons types to make an organic tactical unit. The largest such formations in the Halith Navy are carrier divisions (CARDIVs) and Center Forces (CENFORs). A Center Force is superficially similar to a
CEF Navy
Strike Force
, but is not an independent unit and never deploys by itself. Instead, it forms the core of a fleet, consisting of a dreadnought with two (sometimes three) battleship divisions (BATDIVs).

In the Halith Navy,
flotilla
is the term for in-system naval units, usually lead by a frigate supported by LMACs and patrol vessels. It is both tactical and administrative unit.

The Halith Imperial Navy comprises six main fleets, along with numerous smaller detachments and support units. In order of precedence, the six fleets are: Haslar, Prince Vorland, Duke Albrecht, VanNeimen, Ilion, and Kerberos. Each of these fleets in commanded by a full admiral, except the Haslar Fleet, which the Grand Admiral’s personal command. (In the CEF, these would be vice admiral’s
billets
.)

Unlike the CEF, these fleets do not have territorial associations, except for the Haslar Fleet, which acts as the combined
home fleet
for Halith Evandor (the prime world), Haslar, and Vehren. This fleet does not sortie outside of these three systems. (In practice, it leaves Haslar to go to Halith Evandor for state occasions, and rarely visits Vehren.) Syrdar, Pindarus, and Zhian do not have home fleets. Instead their systems are heavily fortified and patrolled by non-hypercapable system defense forces that are not attached to the Imperial Navy. (They are supported by Halith Navy flotillas that are permanently assigned to the system)

Nedaeman Bureau of Public Safety. Nedaema’s planetary police force and investigative organization.

National Command Authority. The person or organization that exerts executive control over the military in a national government.

Noncommissioned officers. Petty officers and chief petty officers in navies, and in the
SRF
. Corporals and sergeants in the
marines
and ground forces. The most senior NCO ranks in the
CEF
are master chief petty officer and sergeant major.

Nedaeman
Directorate of Intelligence & Analysis. Its civil intelligence agency.

The
League’s
richest
Homeworld
outside Sol, Nedaema is a water planet in the
Pleiades
. Its large economy is based on knowledge work, development of medical technology, and its rich colonies. Hyper-egalitarian with pacifist tendencies, it is legally a vegetarian society. The capital and principal city is Nemeton.

A powerful
star civilization
consisting of
13 Homeworlds
and numerous colonies. Having the largest economy in existence, it is dominated by Sol, and especially by
Terra
. The name derives from the capital located at Nereus, on
Mars
. Often referred to simply as
the League
.

The League was originally established, by charter, as a mercantile consortium between the
Solar Treaty Organization
and the various governments of the
Pleiades
and the
Meridies Cluster
, all of which had already founded a substantial number of colonies, and all of which controlled important transit nodes: the
Merope Junction
in the Pleiades, which also controlled
Crucis
;
Anson’s Deep
in
Eltanin
, which had been heavily settled from the Meridies; and
Regulus
which was in the STO’s sphere. The original governing body was the Board of Control, appointed by the Board of Electors, who represented the charter worlds.

This agreement between three relatively powerful, well-armed, and not entirely trustful interstellar societies explains much of the League structure and its peculiar traditions, especially in the
CEF
, which were aimed at preventing any one partner from dominating the others. These measures did not succeed, as Sol’s economic output and military might gradually overcame the others.

Both the Pleiades and the Meridies do retain considerable influence and have the ability to thwart Sol if they act in concert. However, cultural tensions between Nedaema and the Meridies have led to the Pleiades becoming more closely aligned with Sol (especially with Terra), so this rarely happens.

The League Charter, which originally served only to safeguard rights and define the obligations of the charter worlds, and stipulate how disputes between them would be arbitrated, has evolved into a
de facto
constitution but it is still called the Charter. It has been amended a number of times since the League’s inception, the first seven of which are the most important.

The First Amendment accomplished three acts: 1) established the
Grand Senate
as a legislative body along with its membership and rules, out of the Board of Electors; 2) created the
Plenary Council
, chaired by the
Speaker
, out of the Board of Control and its President; 3) set up the principle ministries. This is the only amendment that was adopted by the Board of Control, which then dissolved itself to take up offices as the principle ministers.

The Second Amendment, and the first passed by the Grand Senate, authorized the creation of the CEF.

The Third Amendment defined the League’s relationship with the
home fleets
of the charter worlds (now Homeworlds), and where and how these could act beyond their home systems.

The Fourth Amendment guaranteed extraterritoriality for the Homeworlds.

The Fifth Amendment established the limits of League authority in the colonies.

The Six Amendment established the right of colonial representation in the Grand Senate, and set the requirements for this.

The Seventh Amendment allowed
certain colonies
to charter their own colonies.

Neutron-degenerate matter. It is not known to exist in nature (neutron stars are composed of more complex material), but has been created in gravitic ovens. Its density is 4×1017 kg/m3 or ~0.5 kg per cubic micron. Compare
strange matter
.

One of the
League’s
oldest and richest
Homeworlds
, located in Procyon; the richest
single planet
outside Sol. Noted for its technologically advanced, sybaritic culture. It is a common joke that New Californians are ‘gadget addled’. Ascalon is the capital.

An uninhabited system on the border between
Crucis Sector
and the
Hydra
. The
CEF
maintains a major forward base there in order to patrol the Hydra, protect
Crucis Sector
from
Bannerman
incursions and support
Wogan’s Reef
. Elements of the
CEF Seventh Fleet
are based there. Compare
Epona
and
Outbound Station
.

A powerful
League
Homeworld
in the
Meridies Cluster
, along with
Messier
and
Hesperia
. A traditional monarchy with a very strong naval tradition.

The New United Kingdom of Friesia & New Caledonia, located between the
Cepheus Region
and
Cygnus
. Actually very old, and prior to the
Formation Wars
, much more powerful. An important
League
ally, it is particularly close to the Homeworlds of the
Meridies Cluster
, with whom it shares many traits. Especially noted for its mercenary units, and the Royal Navy, a rather antiquated but still powerful force.

A major transit node or ‘jump node’. There is no firm distinction between a nexus and node, and the terms are used rather loosely. In general, a nexus can connect a large number of transit routes (e.g. the
Kepler Junction
), or it can be a node that is critical even though it has more limited connectively (e.g. Hissarlik, the main
Halith
nexus).

The battle that ended
LH-1
. Ten months after the
CEF
victory at
Anson’s Deep
, the
Plenary Council
ordered an invasion of
Halith
to force an unconditional surrender.
Admiral Kiamura
, the victor of
Anson’s Deep
, spearheaded the invasion through the
Novaya Zemlya transit
. For reasons that have never been discovered, her task force became trapped and was effectively annihilated (less than 1,000 survivors were taken prisoner by Halith and subsequently exchanged). Fleet Admiral
Jasmine Kasena
,
CNO
, took responsibility and resigned. Although Halith remained unable to take the offensive, the disaster forced the League to accept a negotiated settlement to end the war.

Admiral Kiamura’s flagship was destroyed early in the battle. She was not among the few survivors recovered and the circumstances of her death have never been ascertained.

A major transit between the
Halith
node at
Tau Verde
and
Wogan’s Reef
, a
nexus
on the border of
League
space. Site of the
battle
that ended
LH-1
.

The title bestowed on the cadet at the
CEF
Academy who achieves the highest overall
War Week
scores by graduation. Although not officially recognized, its status outstrips every other honor or citation the Academy confers.

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A follow-on the older
BMCs
. An
IT system
that collates, processes and displays tactical data, and has sophisticated predictive and simulation capabilities. (Compare
T-Synth
.)

Office of Naval Intelligence. A
CEF
organization reporting administratively to the
Naval Secretariat
, but operationally
CNO
.

Officer of the Deck. The officer responsible for running a warship when the ship is underway and the captain is not on the bridge, in accordance with standing orders or the captain's specific direction. The OOD is a
billet
and bridge
watch-stander
. The OOD is seconded by the
Conning Officer
.

Abbreviation for
Operation
, sometimes with an initial cap but never fully capitalized to prevent confusion with OP (operating procedure).

In the military, an operation refers to any goal-oriented activity, involving a plan and its execution. (Compare
action
.)

Operations Report. A report produced to detail the progress or outcome of any military
operation
. Strictly speaking, an
after action report
is a type of OPREP, but the two are usually considered separate classes of reports. The person in charge of the operation is responsible for writing the OPREP.

Ships
in ordinary
are those taken out of active service and placed in a reserve fleet or ‘mothballed,’ to use the archaic term. Ships needing extensive repairs or refitting, especially captured enemy ships, are often laid up in ordinary until funds are available or a stringent need arises.

Old but serviceable ships are also often placed in ordinary instead of being decommissioned and sold or scrapped.

Orbital Traffic Control. The organization that monitors and controls traffic in orbit about a planet. On
Earth
, OTC is divided into Near and Far zones: the Near Zone extends from 76-minute orbits to geosynchronous; the Far Zone, from geosynchronous to the “Weekend line”, the boundary defined by a circular orbit with a period of seven days. Beyond this line is the
DSZ
.

Officer in Tactical Command. Related to
SOC
, but describes whoever is in command of a tactical
operation
, where SOC refers to the commander of a tactical
unit
.

A major
CEF
forward base that protects the
Wogan’s Reef junction
. Elements of the
CEF Seventh Fleet
are based there. Compare
New Madras
and
Epona
.