Thanks, Boo! Appreciate the compliments on my writing and my research!
I LOVE talking about the idiosyncratic flotsam in military history (my collegiate minor). In terms of the temporary brevet, the US Navy also practiced this in WW2/Korea (my understanding from vets is this fell into disuse either before or during the Vietnam War). It was a tradition and not regulated, but then again, it was similar in the Royal Navy. Of course, the point is always that there is only one captain aboard, regardless of rank, and to reduce the ambiguity of having more than one captain. Even in Star Trek, when Enterprise-A had three captains aboard (Kirk, Spock, and Scotty), only Kirk was ever referred to as 'Captain.' The only time in Trek that Captain Spock was ever addressed as "Captain" was when Kirk was an Admiral. My use of it here is my blending of the original tradition and the Trek-established concept, for the purposes of clarity in relating the story for readers. I think it makes it easier to understand who's speaking or who's being referred to. Plus, it also helped to have Reter, who'd only recently reached his captaincy, to be the stand-in in terms of needing an explanation to expose the idea/notion properly.
Also, I think Major Reter sounds better, don't you? ;)
Writing Trek fanfics helps me utilize my vast stores of useless trivia that I've accumulated over the years!
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LordMcCoveyCove on Chapter 3 Sat 31 Aug 2024 10:51PM UTC
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