Don’t forget, this weekend I’ll be at the Baltimore Comic Con! I’ll be in Artist Alley at table #A208. They haven’t posted a map yet, but I’m sure you’ll be able to spot me. Just look for the Aria banner. 
NOTE: I just realized I’m listed as a guest at the FanExpo this year on their website, despite not actually signing up for it. Normally I do attend this show, and I certainly will next year, but this year Baltimore conflicts with it. So I will not be at FanExpo, but if you are in the Toronto area– and unable to come to Baltimore — I hope you’ll have a chance to go and partake of its many wonders.
Also, on a recommendation from Lady Yates of the lovely webcomic Earthsong (who will be at the aforementioned FanExpo, so go buy her stuff!) I now have a new button machine. I LOVE IT, it is a joy to use! Expect many more buttons for sale in the future. 
Rodruigez?
Wouldn’t it be Rodriguez?
Maybe it’s the future and all hispanic names get jumbled up? Exotic strain of South Americans from the colonies decided that alternate spellings of popular names are necessary to distinguish Earth-borns from non-Earth-borns?
Her fingers are lazy?
Man did it suck to be a bridge officer at that time.
Hmm… I always did have a lousy memory for names…
Will fix for the print edition.
The sad thing is I didn’t even notice that. My eyes fixed it for me.
“Chief Major”? I’m guessing somebody has been playing Dark Orbit lately…
In real life I guess his rank would be best described as “Lieutenant-Colonel”.
In any case, I’m glad (and relieved) to hear Jeff Nelson survived the crash, even though nothing tells us he is still alive in the present…
He is chief of all the other Major Nelsons and master of many genies
He’s the Chief Engineer… and his rank is Major. For some reason I got the idea he might be addressed this way…? But if it just sounds wacko, let me know and I will fix it. Military ranks are not second nature to me!
Well, in the U.S. Navy for the surface fleet, the Chief Engineer is known as the “CHENG” (pronounced “ch” + the first syllable of the word “engine”) and in subs he’s knows as the ENG (first syllable of the word “engine”). Depending on how formal they all are, these forms of address might be more commonly used than Rank So-and-so. Also, as an officer you have the option of calling him Mister So-and-so instead of a rank or title.
I think the officer, unless she were from engineering as well – which doesn’t seem to be the case – would call him ‘Major Nelson’, especially as she’s pretty much establishing the new chain of command.
Eh, just spit-ballin’ here. Concepts like the pronunciation of CHENG are probably not suited to a printed format anyway. I know I did a double-take my first day on the boat when I saw ‘ENG’ and learned that it was pronounced ‘enje.’
If the service includes Chief Petty Officers, calling any officer ‘Chief’, even if they’re the Chief Engineer, would probably also be contra-indicated. Hence, ‘CHENG.’
Am also confuzled…
And this is why we don’t build bridges on the front of ships anymore. Especially after that nasty incident with the Star Destroyer Executor.
Myself I like the ‘bridge as shielded vault at the centre of the ship and probably the safest room for several AUs’ school of design.
Speaking of which, anyone up for some retro NASA lost missions? http://beyondapollo.blogspot.com/
Also, shuttle SRB footage is fun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uk_viH4Unw
The Galaxion’s bridge is located safely deep inside the ship! And to be fair, the real problems for the bridge crew came from malfunctions, like what was going on with the Pathfinder.
The retro Nasa stuff looks fab!
The Executor‘s bridge, like any Imperial Star Destroyer’s, was located on the T-shaped tower at the stern of the ship, with the two humongous shield emitter spheres mounted on it. Had a starfighter not crashed into it (as a large, solid, slow-moving object, it was able to get through), the ship might have been able to escape. This is why warships in a number of sci-fi novels (and sometimes even in Star Trek), have a secondary bridge, and (except in Star Trek) never have both the captain and the exec on the same bridge at the same time.
It is? I never even noticed that. Here’s my lightsaber and geek card, I’ll get my hat.
Those NASA pics are very cool.
“Major Nelson” reminds me of an astronaut from the 60′s who once found a genie’s bottle
One minor picky-type detail thing- When they’re discussing the loss of everyone on the bridge, the Lieutenant would almost certainly say, “No one in that compartment survived.” This is just how a spacer would talk. All rooms are compartments.
Er, if there is a Captain Rodriguez, then shouldn’t they be in charge? (Stupid grammar: I’m using they as singular since it’s not gender specific). I would think a Captain out-ranked a “Chief Major”.
Captain (US Navy) = Colonel (US Air Force) = O – 6
Major (US Air Force) = Lieutenant Commander (US Navy) = O – 4
Captain (US Air Force) = Lieutenant (US Navy) = O – 3
I may be off base here, but if we have significant differences between ranking systems within different branches of the armed forces from the same country at the same time period, it may not be straining credulity to have differences between Tara’s far future service and any of these.
Especially with the “Captain” thing. A captain in the navy was traditionally the commander of a ship with 100+ people below him.
A captain in the air force traditionally commands a plane with a very small crew, if any. That is one of the main reasons why the ranking names are so different.
And to confuse this even more a captain by rank is often not really a captain in the traditionally meaning of the word. In some armies these “captains” are titled commodore, so everyone knows who is in command.
Why does Lieutenant Tremaine appear to be less than happy that Major Nelson is now in command? [final panel]
Oh, snap. Is this Major Nelson guy going to turn out to be a Kurtz a la Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now where we find him surrounded by cultists and heads on pikes? Because that would be totally crazy. Awesome and crazy.
It does indeed seem weird using both their rank and their job description to address someone.
Awwwwwwwww. I was looking for you at FanExpo yesterday. I wish you were here, and I hope you have fun. I wanted to spend my last pennies in your books! Do you still have any of the second volume of the old series left?