Rank Changes to "Planet Hell" · 6:39am Jul 8th, 2014
I was informed by a pre-reader from EqD that a few of the ranks used in Planet Hell: The Redemption of Harmony aren't actual ranks in the Marines Corps. So, I'm making some quick changes to the book. Commander Thunder Gale will now be known and referred to by the rank Major. I kinda liked the sound of "Commander" but "Major Gale" has a ring to it. Lieutenant Cloud Twist will still be referred to as "Lt. Twist," but his official rank now is Second Lieutenant, and will be more formally referred to as such.
Luckily, everypony else gets to keep their old ranks... so far, but I'll have to do some more research and double checking on the guys who appear later in the book.
Really this is just a quick cosmetic change and a small retcon, but I will be cutting out that Mon Capitaine bit with Discord as I felt I could fudge Captain and Commander a bit, but Major is a bit too much of a stretch for my liking.
The changes will go out a little later this evening. I know, it's a pretty trivial change, but I didn't want anyone to get surprised when characters in the next chapter start referring to Thunder Gale as "Major."
Given the occasion I must say that a more individual rank system developed for the story would have added a special taste to the whole thing, but I guess sticking to the traditional ways is just fine as well.
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There are other things that I feel still give it that unique flavor. While the USMC has essentially developed into a second army, the Imperial Marines is also a second interstellar-navy. The XO still out ranks the CO due to the privileges TG's blood bestows upon him, which is a cluster-fuck waiting to happen.
I just didn't want to seem like I was appropriating the marines and their traditions. If I'm going to take inspiration from them, I want to at least get some of my facts straight.
Like the other person said: there's no particular reason why you have to use the same exact rank system as the USMC (or the Royal Marines, for that matter...)
However, if you want to "get your facts straight", then it might be time to rethink the whole system altogether. The marines are not a "second navy," nor are they a "second army," either. They are amphibious infantry, which is basically ground forces working in close relationship with the other armed forces -- especially the navy -- as a spearheading force. As far as their position in a fleet goes, however, even when we're talking about just one vessel, these guys are only "along for the ride" as far as I could tell.
That said, you probably need to change the name of the organization to fit Thunder Gale's role, and/or separate it into two distinct forces, i.e the navy and the marines. However, if Thunder Gale is supposed to be an officer in the navy since he is in command of a ship, then he shouldn't be a marine. If he's an officer in the marines, then he shouldn't be in command of the ship, or at least not officially (the crew could still elect him to be their de facto leader). In a way, separating their roles through their ranks might solve that little issue between him and Lightning Fire that I mentioned. It could also work as making him seem a little more rebellious in the eyes of his peers, since him joining the marines instead of the navy means he intends to get "down and dirty" instead of staying "in the rear with the gear" (i.e sitting in a comfy chair aboard a ship while it sends death rays down below), which the others believe is more "fitting" for a member of royalty...
Also, "commander," when the word is not used to refer to the actual rank, is also a role, the same way "XO" and "CO" are roles (though I would love it if you'd stop throwing those two around so much...
), so you could still have the others refer to Thunder Gale as "the commander" from time to time. And why shouldn't Discord say "mon capitaine" anyway just for the hell of it? 
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I know EqD does offer some good advice and they have gotten better over time but they still tend to focus overmuch on the details and not enough of the story itself, don't worry about what EqD says too much... if you really want to mess with them invent some additional ranks to insert between or replace actual ranks. Personally I like invented ranks if they're done well, as well as ranks that don't really exist anymore.
But that was the best bit!
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That's essentially their role in this universe too, but they do operate and maintain a small fleet of gunships and strike craft that are attached to larger, interstellar, naval fleets. It's hard to get a sense of their exact role in the military as the majority of the book takes place after TG's exile. Think everything, but scale it up a bunch. Instead of aircraft carriers, they have mile-long command carriers. Instead of helicopters and chinook transports, they have large troop transports and gunships. The Spitfire fills many of the same roles a helicopter would, only it's much bigger and operates on a larger scale.
I feel justified in keeping them Marines for this reason, but not navy. The Marines have an "every marine is a rifleman" philosophy which I feel serves as the basis for the "every pony fights" rule in the story. The commanding officer of a naval ship isn't supposed to leave his ship and go on away missions and such, so if they were navy I'd have a lot of fudging of the rules to do just to get TG out and in the action where he needs to be, and that seems like a formula for inventing some pretty contrived excuses over a technicality.
Besides, I'm rather attached to the Spitfire as a Marine ship. I am, however cool Commander sounds, not nearly as attached to the specifics of his rank and title.
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He still says "Au contraire" (or however it's spelled) if it's any consolation.
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Fair enough. On the other hand, having the Spitfire as a "navy ship with marines on board" might make things a bit more diverse, as it would allow deeper insight into both of these two branches of the Empire's armed forces. Also, it would mean (minor spoiler alert, though I don't think I'm revealing much here) zero "conflict" between Lightning Fire and Thunder Gale once it comes down to who should be in charge of the ship, since the former is the navy officer, while the latter is the marine officer (i.e "sailor vs. foot soldier"), therefore the former "flies the ship," the latter "fights baddies on the surface." The way they are now means that the only major difference between their roles is experience.
Then again, if what you're saying is that the Spitfire is a scaled-up space equivalent of an LVT, then it being a "marine ship" would make sense, not to mention why they depend on Gerard to help them out, since their own craft is simply not equipped to deal with the stuff "the big ships are supposed to take care of anyway..."
Of course, this also raises the question why both LF and TG (a high-ranking officer with an impressive career behind them, and a member of royalty respectively) are placed in command of such a minor vessel... or was that his "father's" fault as well?
Do let me know if I shouldn't be discussing this stuff here in the open...
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You're good so far.
My head canon is that TG was given the command of a ship so that he could meet the prerequisites for ascending to the throne (X numbers of years serving on board a ship, X number of years serving with ground forces, and X number of years with his own command; so the marines are a perfect place to get all those out of the way quickly), but was going to be put in a "champagne unit" with a much more experienced XO to act as a babysitter of sorts. His crew are really top-notch because they're not exactly taking chances with the prince of the empire. It wasn't so much about serving and seeing what the mares and stallions of the armed forces deal with day in and day out, as was the original concept behind the prerequisites, so much as it was getting them done quickly and having him groomed for the throne (i.e. being able to tell his subjects he was a military stallion) when his time came.
This scheme pre-dates the Changeling King and was largely the machinations of his actual father and his staff.
If at all there ever seems to be tension between LF and TG, that's because it's supposed to be there. LF is a general who serves under a comm-- sorry-- MAJOR who's much younger and much more inexperienced than she is.
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Makes sense. I suppose it boils down to the "how I would have done it" thing at this point. I think I'd have had him start off scrubbing floors on the warships before he'd get to fly any of them because I believe in strict fathers' methods...
Hey, it worked for Peter the Great!
Then again, keeping him safe is probably more important. He is the only son, so they can't risk him breaking his neck on a wet floor or whatever...
As for the conflict between LF and TG: in that case, we should get a greater sense of the conflict (even if it's helpful conflict). We are talking about a veteran having to play second in command for a greenhorn...
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All good things in due time. There are 13 more chapters to go!
It's not how I would have done it, either, but if all the choices the characters made were wise ones, there'd be no conflict to begin with.