Punkopop wrote:
I doubt that the Gem Navy operates on the same principle of the US Navy, or any human Navy for that matter. Gems are designed to perform specific responsibilities. Emerald was designed to be a Fleet Commander, and thus would have final say over what happens regarding the specifics of her fleet, except when following commands from Yellow Diamond. Since Yellow would have several Fleet Commanders under her direct control, along with many other high ranking gems in other organization, such as colony leaders, I doubt she would directly micromanage each to the point where she was naming specific ships, aside from her own personal ones or those under her direct charge. She would leave the minutiae of command in each specific area to her generals, trusting in the system in place that each would fulfill their functions as designed.
It wouldn't operate like the US Navy in terms of its protocols, traditions, customs, etc. but it would have a chain of command. Ship building represents a tremendous committment of resources that would have to be authorized at the highest levels. Especially if we're talking about capital ships. A gem fleet commander wouldn't have the authority to commit imperial resources to ship building without authorization from the equivalent of the admiralty. Given that Era II represents a severe resource crisis period I would expect Yellow Diamond would have to sign off on such a major project.
This all assumes that building, manning and supplying ships like the Destiny Destroyer and the Sun Incinerator requires the equivalent time and resources that go into a nuclear aircraft carrier. Indications were that the Sun Incinerator was a one-of-a-kind vessel because Emerald didn't send a Sun Incinerator class ship after it. If it was a prototype for a new ship class Emerald would definitely had to have diamond level authorization before she could build it.