Rachel Mayhew

saber964 wrote:Okay guys, on Abby's next assignment(s). Look to what she's done already, when she appears after her middie cruise she's a LT(jg) who was probably going to be a JTO on a heavy cruiser, she was 'promoted' to A TO because of lack of manning. She was meritoriously promoted to LT(SG) and assigned as a TO on a Destroyer her next assignment will probably be as a JTO/ATO on a larger ship like a heavy cruiser or battle cruiser. When she finally promoted to LCDR she'll likely do another tour or two as a TO on a CA or BC or ATO on a SD(P) then she'll do a tour as an XO on a DD or CL.

I see Abigail either
1) as a flag lieutenant for a BC-Squadron next, and after that as a CO of a DD, CL or an older CA. Any way, she'll stay in a 'small ship' track - Manticore/Grayson kind of definition for small, of course or)
2) TO on a CA or XO on a CL, after that as CO on a DD or a CL. Maybe with a stint as teacher for tactics at Saganami Island, should the chance come around (if she gets wounded or so).

pappilon wrote:And Snotty Cruise is supposed to be A Test kind of like The Tester's Test. It is not supposed to be a "Princess Cruise"

Weird Harold wrote:I wouldnn't exactly call Abigail or Helen's snotty cruise piece of cake, but they were what I was referring to as "Princess Cruises" -- Both Terekhov and Oversteegen had to deal with personnel issues relating to the "Royal" status of one or more of their "snotty's" and would be good choices except they've been promoted above direct command of snotties.

I really DID understand what you meant. Helen being the adopted sister of the queen of Torch, Abigail being basically a princess even if it is Finland. I appropriated it and repurposed it. Sorry if I hurt your feelings.

A snotty cruise for a "princess" could well benefit from the presence of one or more other "princesses." And NOT in the sense of "pampering" -- a qualifier nobody except you has applied to Rachel.

EXCUSE ME?? Wrap her up in bubble wrap, tuck her in a nice BIG SAFE SD(p)in The Protector's Own in orbit around Homeworld? NOT by post. I was being maybe snarky thet she wouldn't pith seven sorts of bitch at her father, Admiral Whomever Grayson chief admiral, AND everyone else she could reach who dares to give her SPECIAL treatment.

Rachel has been described as "Navy Mad" almost since we first met her. She's overcome a lot of prejudice and opposition to even her course of study to prepare for Saganami Island. I very much doubt that she's going to turn into a Santino or Young; more impressed by her own birth than interested in becoming like Honor.

Oh hell yes!! How dare anyone try to tuck her into anything larger than a Sag C, ship her off to some safe duty area like Homeworld or Silesia.

It was ME that thought a Havenite Heavy Cruiser would e a good fit. Just like going to Manticore was for Abigail. I dn't recall Abigail's father throwing his perogatives around getting a "soft" post. Exactly because she was "Navy Mad" I really doubt Michael would be exactlythrilled by "special treatment" for hr daughter. And NO I don't think she deserves to be wrapped in bubble wrap because of her exaulted social rank. Nobody else wanted it, expected it, nor did their parents demand it. I think the entire consideration that RFC would give her special treatment is ludicrous.

pappilon wrote:EXCUSE ME?? Wrap her up in bubble wrap, tuck her in a nice BIG SAFE SD(p)in The Protector's Own in orbit around Homeworld? NOT by post. I was being maybe snarky thet she wouldn't pith seven sorts of bitch at her father, Admiral Whomever Grayson chief admiral, AND everyone else she could reach who dares to give her SPECIAL treatment.

Professionals go where your superiors tell you to go. You don't try to use connections to get what you want, you salute and do your damn job.

kzt wrote:

pappilon wrote:EXCUSE ME?? Wrap her up in bubble wrap, tuck her in a nice BIG SAFE SD(p)in The Protector's Own in orbit around Homeworld? NOT by post. I was being maybe snarky thet she wouldn't pith seven sorts of bitch at her father, Admiral Whomever Grayson chief admiral, AND everyone else she could reach who dares to give her SPECIAL treatment.

Professionals go where your superiors tell you to go. You don't try to use connections to get what you want, you salute and do your damn job.

And what navy in the Honorverse works that way? Oh,yeah the RHN because they have no `royal families like Manticore or entrenched naval families like the Sollies. favoritism is a way of life,maybe les so after Janacek than it was preOBS.

Who wants to do Protector Benjamin an unasked favor and wrap his precious,delicate flower, of a daughter in bubble wrap. Which RMN admiral fought tooth and nail against any appearance of special treatment because of her place in the succession to the detriment of her career? What despicable little worm did not get executed for cowardice in the face of the enemy because his father was some baron?

Special treatment, Oh God forbid anyone get special treatment in the Honorverse or voice their strenuous objection when it happens. Then like a good military person follw orders, or accept the promotion, or sulk the whole time he is pulling escort duty in Silesia.

I mean it could happen that she get posted on some SD, then sent on some show-the-flag tour. Then RFC would have to find a huge BF force to ride over the hyper wall with blood in their eyes, because otherwise you have some boring story with no action, no conflict and no readers.

Silesa safe? I think that may be a bit of a stretch. after all this is half a nation that has been on the verge of several civil wars for most of the last T-centary. not to mention infested with pirates.

now admittedly sarnow is in charge of the manty half and he is good, as shown by what he and honor cooked up at first Hancock, but he has less ships then mike and very, very few of them are DDM capable let alone MDM, so his firepower is also much less.

that said dealing with pirates he doesn't need rolands, Sag-c or Nikes. (most of which if not with Mike are off guarding/sizing wormholes.) hell he probably doesn't even need LERMs to swat any pirates who didn't get the clue that staying would be bad for their health but that doesn't mean that it will be completely safe.

I know i'm probably sounding like a broken record on this but politics means that sending her out to talbot where her ship might get tapped to deal with a SLN raiding squadron or help liberate a planet that thought it asked Manticore for help is probably a little too risky. Despite the fact this is likely to be the exact kind of snotty cruise she would like.

An SD around Grayson or Manticore would be a disservice to her, beyond teaching how to adapt to life aboard ship there would be little beyond drills for her to do.

Silesa is the compromise that no-one likes. Quiet enough that she is unlikely to be in too much danger which will keep the keys quiet, but dangerous enough that she can get a proper feel for how life will be aboard a warship not in orbit of its homeworld. also the chance to see other worlds not manticore or grayson will be invaluable to someone who will likely by at least an unofficial advisor to the next protector of grayson.

Dauntless wrote:Silesa safe? I think that may be a bit of a stretch. after all this is half a nation that has been on the verge of several civil wars for most of the last T-centary. not to mention infested with pirates.

now admittedly sarnow is in charge of the manty half and he is good, as shown by what he and honor cooked up at first Hancock, but he has less ships then mike and very, very few of them are DDM capable let alone MDM, so his firepower is also much less.

that said dealing with pirates he doesn't need rolands, Sag-c or Nikes. (most of which if not with Mike are off guarding/sizing wormholes.) hell he probably doesn't even need LERMs to swat any pirates who didn't get the clue that staying would be bad for their health but that doesn't mean that it will be completely safe.

I know i'm probably sounding like a broken record on this but politics means that sending her out to talbot where her ship might get tapped to deal with a SLN raiding squadron or help liberate a planet that thought it asked Manticore for help is probably a little too risky. Despite the fact this is likely to be the exact kind of snotty cruise she would like.

An SD around Grayson or Manticore would be a disservice to her, beyond teaching how to adapt to life aboard ship there would be little beyond drills for her to do.

Silesa is the compromise that no-one likes. Quiet enough that she is unlikely to be in too much danger which will keep the keys quiet, but dangerous enough that she can get a proper feel for how life will be aboard a warship not in orbit of its homeworld. also the chance to see other worlds not manticore or grayson will be invaluable to someone who will likely by at least an unofficial advisor to the next protector of grayson.

I agree with the logic as far as it goes. I still believe that the Protector's Own is the best environment for a Mayhew scion. I just don't believe the Protector's Own will only deploy around Grayson. I suspect that this is the principal power projection formation of the GSN. The Protector's Own will show the flag, deal with geopolitics that irritate the Despot-in-Chief of Grayson, display support to the same Despot-in-Chief's geopolitical cronies. Because it is the Protector's most powerful diplomatic stick, the training of its officers and ratings will require "blooding" in places like Silesia and the Verge around Talbot.

Let's face it, the GA will soon have a significant expansion of its area of responsibility. The RMN won't be able to patrol the entirety of that space. They will require Haven and the better off Alliance members to chip in. Yes, the SEM will defray some of the operating expenses, but the GA patrol wider areas of the Verge and Fringe than was the case prior to the SL War. That means the GSN, RMN, RHN and IAN will shoulder most of the burden of policing the Verge and Fringe. Well, Maya will likely contribute as well.

That means at least some part of the Protector's Own will be detached to provide patrols for the new areas of GA responsibility.

some excellent points there peterZ. I think you are likely correct about how the Protecters Own duties will likely become expanded. question is WHEN are they likely to be given the extra tasksings.

I would questimate that we are at least 2 years from such a point, as with Yeltsin's shipyards destroyed they do not have the shoals of modern light combatants for this yet. they have some Sag-C, (17+) according to HoS, same sort of number for rolands but 50+ avalons, zero nikes) but how many of those the PO have access too is unknown. patrolling the verge/shell will likely mean mean the possibility of ex SLN warlords or SLN ships pretending to be warlords so having DDMs would be useful, though ERLMS are almost as good as cataphracts.

so while i agree the PO will be the best option for future grayson snotty cruises, especially those officers with connection like Rachel or Abby, I am not sure it is in position to do it in the immediate future which is a I believe when Rachael's snotty cruise is due.

still you are right I think that the verge will become the new sileesa i.e. favored ground for the blooding of new officers/captains.

Dauntless wrote:some excellent points there peterZ. I think you are likely correct about how the Protecters Own duties will likely become expanded. question is WHEN are they likely to be given the extra tasksings.

snip.

Yeah, when is the question.

I recall that Grayson provided a significant number of the Roland's crews for 10th Fleet. That is a fair number of cadre for their new build ships whenever they can be built. Since no more ships can be built for the GSN anytime soon, Rachel's snotty cruise has to be on an existing ship.

When Theemile's analysis is add this (90 lighter units reduced to 60), it appears that Grayson retired a goodly number of their older ships and assigned those crews to the RMN's new DDM capable DD and CA squadrons. I will speculate that of the 20 DDs and 40 cruisers in the GSN listed in HoS, almost all will be newer designs. Those 40 cruisers may have older CLs and the new Avalon variant CLs. I suspect that almost all the 20 DDs are Rolands and those DDs are with the Protector's Own.

So this brings me back to Rachel. I don't see her being assigned to an older CA or any a non-DDM capable ship. Since it appears that the PO doesn't have a significant number of Sag-Cs presently and won't for the foreseeable future, she'll end up in a Roland out by Talbot with the rest of the PO. When they get there, that is. Currently, her ship is likely with Honor in Manticore. Being assigned to a DDM capable Roland attached to a fleet under Honor's command and surrounded by full up Apollo MDM capable SDPs is as safe as its going to get for Rachel.

Dauntless wrote:some excellent points there peterZ. I think you are likely correct about how the Protecters Own duties will likely become expanded. question is WHEN are they likely to be given the extra tasksings.

snip.

PeterZ wrote:Yeah, when is the question.

I recall that Grayson provided a significant number of the Roland's crews for 10th Fleet. That is a fair number of cadre for their new build ships whenever they can be built. Since no more ships can be built for the GSN anytime soon, Rachel's snotty cruise has to be on an existing ship.

When Theemile's analysis is add this (90 lighter units reduced to 60), it appears that Grayson retired a goodly number of their older ships and assigned those crews to the RMN's new DDM capable DD and CA squadrons. I will speculate that of the 20 DDs and 40 cruisers in the GSN listed in HoS, almost all will be newer designs. Those 40 cruisers may have older CLs and the new Avalon variant CLs. I suspect that almost all the 20 DDs are Rolands and those DDs are with the Protector's Own.

So this brings me back to Rachel. I don't see her being assigned to an older CA or any a non-DDM capable ship. Since it appears that the PO doesn't have a significant number of Sag-Cs presently and won't for the foreseeable future, she'll end up in a Roland out by Talbot with the rest of the PO. When they get there, that is. Currently, her ship is likely with Honor in Manticore. Being assigned to a DDM capable Roland attached to a fleet under Honor's command and surrounded by full up Apollo MDM capable SDPs is as safe as its going to get for Rachel.

All good points. Regardless that UH is a massive tome there is a lot of ground to cover just tying up Honor's arc. The blowback from Mesa's rogue explosions, the hunt for the MAlign, Barregos executing his Sepoy Option in Maya &Erewhon/Torch going with him, The snppet of Honor and Kingsford, Do we have time for several Chapters of Mark Sanow battling pirates and state Sponsored Buccaneers with Letters of Marque? Not saying it doesn't just wondering how much RFC crammed into his massive tome.

Here's what I see happening on Ms. Midshipwoman Rachel Mayhew she'll be assigned to a moderately dangerous area like Silesia or Talbott. My guess is Talbott. She will be assigned not a front line unit in Tenth Fleet but one of the ships patrolling the various star systems of the TQ. I can also see her being short stopped and being assigned to HMS Hercules and bouncing between Medusa and Khumalo staff's as a TSL translator for are resident fuzzy lie detectors.