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(JG) Hruška reads a speech to his new ship while
LCDR Stepan "Potan"
Jura (HMS Phantom) holds a sharp piece of metal.
A Battlecruiser for the Bohemia Station
2014.09.03 CE / 346.05.30 AL (MNB) – So
many new ships have been joining the Fleet lately—or upgrading to bigger
vessels—that only BuShips knows for certain where
they are all are. Most of these are done as quiet, bureaucratic affairs, only
after a lengthy process in which no one is surprised by the time it happens.
However, BatCruRon 39 has never done things quite the
same way as their American cousins, and had their own ideas on the proper way
to bring a ship into their squadron.
HMS Royalist (BC-410), a Reliant-class
battlecruiser, is based out of Brno, Czech Republic,
a city in the eastern part of the country in Moravia. About two hour drive out
from Prague. For years, the most of Honorverse-related
fan activities have been centered around Prague, but
recently the fan community in Brno has been growing and finally it was decided
that they would form a new ship in the squadron. That meant gathering the
squadron, sailing to the CON-ec convention in Brno,
and handing a vessel over to the new Captain.
Captain (JG) Roman "Doctor" Hruška is no stranger to Czech fandom. Apart from being
active in the RMN, he is the current chairman of Conan Society, and is also the
con-chair of the biggest conventions in Moravia (eastern part of Czech
Republic) - Fenixcon. The Doctor is a well-known
entity to the geeks of Moravia.
The brandy
flask is passed among the crew.
The christening ceremony took place in
the backyard of the CON-ec building. The members of
the Bohemia Station gathered to honor the christening. Captain Hruška read out his orders to assume command, and then
reached into his jacket, and pulled out his silver flask. Inside was a pear
brandy, and the Captain’s name, “Hruška”, means
“Pear” in English. As he passed the flask around to each of the new keel plate
owners and visiting crewmen of other ships, the Captain remarked that he wants
to make sure “the crew will be able to stomach him from day one.”
To the cheers of all present, HMS
Royalist was launched. This makes the third ship to enter Her Majesty’s service
into the squadron. Admiral Kotouč started making
Honorverse panels with his brother back in 2006.
“Then I met Maril and her brother Darai
and we started to have more panels,” Jan explained. “Also we met more people on
the newsgroups on the internet.” Enough interest was generated by 2008 that
they founded a "ship" called HMS Phantom (BC-418). In 2011, a few
members—mostly marines—detached and founded the first TRMN chapter in the Czech
Republic, HMS Iwo Jima (LTH-06). Last year, the squadron expanded with GNS
Equinox (BC-68), and now this year, added HMS Royalist.
“We became the biggest Honorverse fan club outside of the USA,” Admiral Kotouč said. “It’s all about making communities. There
is no point in making new ships if there won’t be a community built around it.”
As their numbers grow, they can make more communities, bringing the joy of
David Weber’s books to Central Europe.
VADM Kotouč starts to have second thoughts about his new
captain after the booze has been passed out.
Article
Copyright © 2014, Bureau of Communications, The Royal Manticoran Navy: The
Official Honor Harrington Fan Association, Inc.
CPO Caitlyn Miller, Manager, Manticoran News Bureau, BuComm.
All pictures used with permission or used in a way that qualifies as fair use
under US copyright law.