Information I'd love to know

roseandheather wrote:Ok, here's the rundown:

There are two designations for flag officers. The more senior half is designated "of the Green", or part of the Manticore Division; the more junior half is designated "of the Red", or part of the Gryphon Division. Basically what it means is that Henke is (at the time) one of the more junior Vice Admirals in Manticoran service. When more than half of the RMN's Vice Admirals are junior to her, she'll be "of the Green" - but probably not for long before she gets promoted to full Admiral!

At one point those division assignements were actually tied to duty station.

The more senior captains got the more prestigious posting in Manticore-A, in the Manticore Division, and the more junior captains were assigned to the Gryphon Division over in Manticore-B. But House of Steel tells us that a separate 2nd fleet, Gryphon fleet, was disestablished by Samantha II in 1828. (But the seniority division was retained)

Anyone else ever wondered what living on a planet in a binary system would be like? Manticore is a binary system but you never hear much mentioned about double suns and how that would affect daily life.

Amaroq wrote:Anyone else ever wondered what living on a planet in a binary system would be like? Manticore is a binary system but you never hear much mentioned about double suns and how that would affect daily life.

The second sun is much farther out than Pluto is, and our sun is not that easy to distinguish from background stars at Pluto's distance. So, there is a (maybe) brighter star in the night's sky sometimes.

Hutch wrote:
Indeed, at it apparently continued in the SKM, asw Captain Bachfisch, despite being on half-pay for decades, had accumalated enough senority to get an Admirals' greeting from Honor in WoH.

"War and a sickly season" wasn't just a toast in the wardroom. It was a way of advancement during an era when seniority counted for so much. In the Navy, you either got promoted by merit (there were 30 year olds that were Midshipmen still because they couldn't pass the exam in front of a board of 3 Captains) or because the person above you died or got cashiered.

The British Army of the era was even worse. Commissions were bought and sold. Anything below General (yes, you could buy a Colonelcy and be a Regimental commander) was for sale. If your parents were rich enough you could be a Captain in charge of a company of Redcoats or even a Major in charge of a battalion as soon as you were old enough to serve. Normally, the youngsters were brought into the regiment at a far lower rank at that age, taught their job and then allowed to 'trade up' by selling their lower rank and then buying the higher one.

The American military wasn't quite that bad. The selling of commissions for officers ended rather early but seniority in promotions still ruled. There were officers that went to West Point, were commissioned as Second Lieutenants upon graduation, fought through the Indian Wars (many with some distinction) and the Spanish American War only to retire with 30+ years of service while never seeing a promotion. Some were lucky enough to reach First Lieutenant. For the enlisted it was just as bad. I've read of enlisted Marines that served 25-30 years and retires as a PFC or Lance Corporal during the same time frame.

In the Navy, a special few, like HH at the end of HoQ, got promoted out regardless of seniority and jumped those ahead of them in seniority. That could and did cause a lot of ill will. At the end of HoQ, Honor gets bumped up right to Captain of the List (skipping both Junior Captain and Commander). In SVW, she is shown pondering over whether her relationship with Mike would change now that she was not only senior to her but her new CO.

jtg452 wrote:

Hutch wrote:
Indeed, at it apparently continued in the SKM, asw Captain Bachfisch, despite being on half-pay for decades, had accumalated enough senority to get an Admirals' greeting from Honor in WoH.

"War and a sickly season" wasn't just a toast in the wardroom. It was a way of advancement during an era when seniority counted for so much. In the Navy, you either got promoted by merit (there were 30 year olds that were Midshipmen still because they couldn't pass the exam in front of a board of 3 Captains) or because the person above you died or got cashiered.

The British Army of the era was even worse. Commissions were bought and sold. Anything below General (yes, you could buy a Colonelcy and be a Regimental commander) was for sale. If your parents were rich enough you could be a Captain in charge of a company of Redcoats or even a Major in charge of a battalion as soon as you were old enough to serve. Normally, the youngsters were brought into the regiment at a far lower rank at that age, taught their job and then allowed to 'trade up' by selling their lower rank and then buying the higher one.

The American military wasn't quite that bad. The selling of commissions for officers ended rather early but seniority in promotions still ruled. There were officers that went to West Point, were commissioned as Second Lieutenants upon graduation, fought through the Indian Wars (many with some distinction) and the Spanish American War only to retire with 30+ years of service while never seeing a promotion. Some were lucky enough to reach First Lieutenant. For the enlisted it was just as bad. I've read of enlisted Marines that served 25-30 years and retires as a PFC or Lance Corporal during the same time frame.

In the Navy, a special few, like HH at the end of HoQ, got promoted out regardless of seniority and jumped those ahead of them in seniority. That could and did cause a lot of ill will. At the end of HoQ, Honor gets bumped up right to Captain of the List (skipping both Junior Captain and Commander). In SVW, she is shown pondering over whether her relationship with Mike would change now that she was not only senior to her but her new CO.

Actually it's at the end of On Basilisk Station that she made list.

On Basilisk Station, Chapter 32 wrote:But the Kingdom had responded to Haven's claims in unambiguous fashion. Honor smiled and straightened her cuffs, brown eyes glinting as she savored the four gold rings of a Captain of the List. They'd jumped her two full grades, clear past captain (junior grade), and Admiral Cortez had been almost apologetic about the fact that she hadn't been knighted. He'd talked his way around the point for several minutes, concentrating rather unconvincingly on the diplomatic repercussions and the effect on "neutral opinion" should the Crown knight someone Haven's courts had sentenced to death as a mass murderer, but the way he'd said it had carried quite another message. It wasn't Haven or the Solarian League which concerned the Government; it was the Liberals and Conservative Association. They'd taken a beating over Basilisk, but their power hadn't been broken, and in typical politico fashion, they blamed all their trials on Captain Harrington and not their own stupidity and short-sightedness.
Honor didn't mind. She looked down at the ribbon of the Manticore Cross, the Kingdom's second highest award for valor, gleaming blood-red against her space-black tunic. She had that to signify the Navy's and her Queen's opinion of her, just as she had her new ship, and she'd made list at last. Her feet were firmly on the ladder to flag rank, and no one—not Pavel Young, not the Republic of Haven, and not Countess New Kiev or Sir Edward Janacek—could ever knock her off it again.

Boldface is my emphasis.

akira.taylor wrote:

Amaroq wrote:Anyone else ever wondered what living on a planet in a binary system would be like? Manticore is a binary system but you never hear much mentioned about double suns and how that would affect daily life.

The second sun is much farther out than Pluto is, and our sun is not that easy to distinguish from background stars at Pluto's distance. So, there is a (maybe) brighter star in the night's sky sometimes.

Not quite that extreme. From the vicinity of Manticore A, Manticore B will appear to be around magnitude -16, about 10,000 times fainter than the Sun from Earth, but 10,000 times brighter than Venus. It would be visible during daylight, but would appear nearly pointlike (the disc would be about 30 arcseconds in diameter) But it might not affect the population all that much. The effect on the climate would be minimal. Other than having a star about ten magnitudes brighter than Venus, Manticore would be pretty normal.

SWM wrote:

akira.taylor wrote:
The second sun is much farther out than Pluto is, and our sun is not that easy to distinguish from background stars at Pluto's distance. So, there is a (maybe) brighter star in the night's sky sometimes.

Not quite that extreme. From the vicinity of Manticore A, Manticore B will appear to be around magnitude -16, about 10,000 times fainter than the Sun from Earth, but 10,000 times brighter than Venus. It would be visible during daylight, but would appear nearly pointlike (the disc would be about 30 arcseconds in diameter) But it might not affect the population all that much. The effect on the climate would be minimal. Other than having a star about ten magnitudes brighter than Venus, Manticore would be pretty normal.

Ah, I didn't look up the orbital characteristics. I pictured something more like Tatooine. Lol.

Are you an astronomer, SWM?

Amaroq wrote:Anyone else ever wondered what living on a planet in a binary system would be like? Manticore is a binary system but you never hear much mentioned about double suns and how that would affect daily life.

Yes, I have wondered about that Amaroq. Quite a bit. It seems impossible not to wonder and daydream when one sees incredibly imagined pics of skyscapes dominated by twin suns or even moons. It's beautiful, most renditions, and a bit eerie, possible even alien and frightening to some.

Edit:
I'd personally like to experience something remarkable as such.

For some reason, I always attribute my own incredibly beautiful aurora borealis to accompany such a phenomena.

[quote="cthia"
Yes, I have wondered about that Amaroq. Quite a bit. It seems impossible not to wonder and daydream when one sees incredibly imagined pics of skyscapes dominated by twin suns or even moons. It's beautiful, most renditions, and a bit eerie, possible even alien and frightening to some.[/quote]

There is a lot of talk about how the planets differ in seasons and weather due to this, like those of Griffon who look at those of Manticore like a younger spoiled sibling who needs to be "toughened up."

Amaroq wrote:Anyone else ever wondered what living on a planet in a binary system would be like? Manticore is a binary system but you never hear much mentioned about double suns and how that would affect daily life.

There are 10 types of people that understand binary.
Those that do, and those that don't.