STAR FLEET TERMS

PART TWO OF THREE
       
Combined Operations: A fleet combat operation in which another branch of service (police, Marines, National Guard, even a carrier group) is included as a pre-designated Scapegoat to take the blame when the operation fails.
  
Critical Locality: A planet or some other fixed location which headquarters or the visting political dignitary assures you is the key to the entire theater, thereby limiting the ability of your squadron to maneuver in a logical and battle-winning way.
     
Deconflict: Originally a polite way of saying that you need to bring an end to some conflict (outside of declared war) before you accidentally make a CEM. Later used when explaining that before you can follow a directive from higher command you have to eliminate certain problems that you never told them about.
 
Flexibility: What you are counting on when you promise a visiting political dignitary that you will do what he wants when you actually plan to do something entirely different.
 
Flight Risk: Key officers who are reaching the end of their service terms and will probably leave Star Fleet to work for Federation Express. Also used for any commodore or admiral who decides to take personal command of a starship.
 
Fly By: Originally meant to maneuver the ship or squadron past a given locality in order to demonstrate your intention to control it or take it away from the enemy. Later used to describe a visiting commander or political dignitary who arrived, issued a host of irrelevant or impossible directives, and then left.

        

Going Kzinti on Them: Used when briefing visiting political dignitaries, it sounds like the fleet is going to attack the enemy with great force in a battle that is up close and personal. Actually, it means zipping past the enemy and launching a few drones so you can tell the visiting political dignitaries that you attacked (and presumably devastated) the place they wanted attacked.
         

Gorn-Backflip: A directive from higher command to make a major radical change to an ongoing operation, such directive being issued at a point where it is impossible to accomplish. This alludes to the fact that Gorns cannot actually do backflips.
    

Hammer: Term used for "main attack" when briefing a visiting political dignitary since they don't understand military terms.
     

Hey Diddle Diddle: A suicidal attack into the strongest enemy position because the commander did not have the intellect to figure out a different plan.
 

Kabuki Dance: Deceptive movements designed to convince the enemy (or headquarters, or the visiting political dignitaries) that you're actually conducting some clever military operation that will quickly change the balance of power. Can also be used when confusing any visiting political dignitaries into thinking we're doing the mission they care about.

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