Glossary

adchip: short for “adhesive chip”, any of the button-sized minicomputers designed to hook directly into the human nervous system for total sensory interaction. A cheap alternative to computer implants.

ale: slang for alien; applied to any nonhuman.

anfangen: German (Laut Besar Uro dialect) for “begin.” Used to order the start of a fencing engagement.

anteilzucht: German (Laut Besar Uro dialect) for “part-breed,” a child of mixed Uro and Indomay blood.

arbebaril: French (Devereaux dialect) for “barrel tree,” the multitrunked tree cultivated in the Archipel d’Aurore for its sap.

aristo: slang for “aristocrat.” On Laut Besar, a complimentary term. In the Legion, it generally denotes one too soft and pampered to have much future with the Legion.

battledress: the combat uniform of the twenty-ninth century soldier. The typical battledress uniform, as worn by the Foreign Legion, consists of a duraweave coverall, boots, and a combat helmet. The coverall is not only resistant to shrapnel and small arms fire, but also contains a net of microcircuits which provide environmental control, plus a “chameleon cloth” weave which detects patterns and shades of light and matches the uniform to various backgrounds. Web gear may be worn to hold a variety of items, and a backpack may be provided for extended marches. Many soldiers augment the basic uniforms with plasteel armor segments covering chest and back, arms, or legs; there is little uniformity in the extent and use of armor. Onager gunners wear full body armor over their regular battledress. Light gloves and a hostile environment version of the combat helmet may convert the outfit into a lightweight spacesuit, and other adaptations allow it to be used in a variety of environs.

Batu: outer satellite of Laut Besar, a planetoid holding a small astronomical observatory but no other facilities. The name means “Rock” in Indomay.

binatanganas: “wildbeast,” a savage predator native to wilderness regions of Laut Besar.

C3: Command, Control, Communications. (1) the science of military command-control. (2) the backpack computer/commo system issued to Commonwealth forces on a platoon level. (3) the headquarters of a combat unit, often “c-cubed.”

cafarde: originally a French term (literally: “the cockroach”) with close associations with the Legion. “The bug” is the madness caused by boredom and stress common to Legion forces on garrison duty.

cargomod: “cargo module,” a standard shipping container used for transporting shipboard cargoes. Also slang, the equivalent of “crate.”

carrier ship: generic term for the multimillion-ton FTL ships used by the Commonwealth, so-called because they are used to carry large numbers of interplanetary vessels from one system to another. Requiring the computing power of a full artificially intelligent computer to handle interstellar navigation, carrierships are imbued with distinctive personalities. These carry the names of famous philosophers or wise counselors from history and mythology. Breaking with usual navy traditions, the computers and the ships are both referred to using masculine pronouns.

C-cubed: the C3 center of an HQ or vehicle.

chief sergeant: NCO equivalent in rank to US master sergeant; found as battalion-level NCO.

Citizen: anyone with Commonwealth citizenship; this includes virtually everyone born on Terra. Citizenship is highly prized off-planet, but regarded as essentially trivial on Earth. The honorific “Citizen” is frequently used in the Colonies as a token of respect.

Commandant: Fifth Foreign Legion military officer commanding a battalion; equivalent to the rank of major.

commlink: standard personal or vehicular communications system used by the Commonwealth armed forces.

compboard: a portable computer terminal, roughly the size and shape of a clipboard or legal pad.

compols: short for “Commonwealth Police”, the chief law enforcement arm of the Terran Commonwealth.

CSN: Commonwealth Space Navy, the arm of the Commonwealth armed forces charged with interplanetary and interstellar transport and combat missions.

Fafnir: man-portable rocket launcher issued on a section level to the Fifth Foreign Legion. The Fafnir uses a rocket that is “smart” (able to discriminate various target silhouettes preprogrammed by the operator). It is equally proficient in antitank and air defense roles.

FE-FEK/24 (Fusil d’energie Kinetique Model 24): kinetic energy rifle manufactured by Fabrique Europa, now considered obsolete but still found in local militias, security forces, and private collections. The model lacks the grenade launcher found on the FEK/27.

FE-FEK/27 (Fusil d’energie Kinetique Model 27): kinetic energy rifle manufactured by Fabrique Europa, standard longarm issued to the Fifth Foreign Legion.

FE-MEK/15 (Mitrailleuse d’energie Kinetique Model 15): kinetic energy assault gun manufactured by Fabrique Europa, the standard lance-level support weapon used by the Fifth Foreign Legion.

FE-PLF (Pistolet Lance-Fusée): 10 mm rocket pistol manufactured by Fabrique Europa.

FLB: Free Laut Besar; the designation of the Besaran forces who fled the planet after the Ubrenfar invasion and accompanied the Commonwealth counterattack.

floatcar: an unarmored magrep vehicle, used in both civilian and military roles.

Freiheit Stern: German for “Liberty Star,” the Germanic version of Soleil Liberté. Also a liner of Laut Besaran registry.

Freiherr: honorific on Laut Besar between Uro aristocrats.

FTL: Faster-Than-Light. The term has entered slang usage as an expression describing any sort of great speed.

fusion airjets: propulsion system used in magrep and other vehicle types. Air is superheated and expelled by small fusion reactors in the system’s intake ducts. The Commonwealth prefers turbofans when vehicles are to be used in conjunction with troops due to safety considerations, but other races, notably the Ubrenfars, are less fussy.

Graff: a major landholder on Laut Besar.

gunnery sergeant: NCO in Commonwealth forces, equivalent in rank to a US Army staff sergeant. Employed as a company-level NCO. Frequently addressed as “Gunny.”

Gwyrran: Native of Gwyrr (Lywstryn IV) or any of the colonies planted under the auspices of the Semti. The typical Gwyrran is a bipedal, furred, homeothermic sophont standing roughly 1.9 meters in height. Their culture is highly feudalistic, with similarities to that of Medieval Japan on Terra. Humans and Gwyrrans find it very hard to understand one another’s languages and underlying philosophies even with the aid of the adchip instruction.

The Gwyrrans, like the Ubrenfars, were favored by the Semti Conclave as soldiers, but Gwyrr never chose to rebel from Conclave rule.

H & F stamp: Legion slang for an honorable discharge, derived from the phrase “Served with Honor and Fidelity” stamped on the discharge papers of the legionnaire.

hauptmann: rank in the Army of Laut Besar corresponding to Commonwealth captain.

holetter: message using a holocube to send 3D sound-and-video data.

holo: slang for a holographic image.

holocube: a small, flat projector which can store and image 3D still or moving pictures. Very inexpensive models simply project an unmoving, silent image. Advanced types can carry up to half an hour or more of sound and video.

holopic: a holographic image in a wall or frame mount, the lineal descendent of a painting, poster, or photograph.

holovid: a 3D holographic projection using full sight, sound, and motion.

HUD: Heads Up Display. Found in many vehicles and craft, this type of display system is also used in combat helmets by individual infantrymen.

ident disk: a derivative of chip technology worn by most people within the Commonwealth and associated regions. The ident disk contains retinal scan and DNA trace for unique identification of the owner. It also contains a record of professional, financial, educational, and other background. The ident disk is considered the most reliable method of recording information available, and is an individual’s most important single possession.

Indomay: person of Indonesian/Malaysian descent; member of Laut Besar’s lower class.

kajudjati: a dark hardwood grown on Laut Besar.

kapitan: rank and position in the Navy of Laut Besar, usually denoting the commanding officer of a ship.

kepi: the traditional headgear of the Foreign Legion dress uniform. Enlisted personnel wear a white kepi, officers black. Much mystique is built around the award of the kepi to the Legion trainee.

kopral: rank in the Army of Laut Besar corresponding to the Commonwealth’s corporal.

lance: the Commonwealth’s basic military unit, either five infantrymen or a single tank or aircraft. On Laut Besar the unit is known as a squad or troop.

Lebensraum Bergbau und Ingenieurwesen Korporation: Lebensraum Mining and Engineering Corporation, a now-defunct resource exploitation firm originally based on the colony world of Lebensraum which provided the first Uro technical experts who took over economic and later political control of Laut Besar shortly before the Semti War.

legionnaire: loosely, a member of the Fifth Foreign Legion (or any other “Legion” in the Army, past or present). Specifically, an enlisted soldier holding the rank of Legionnaire First Class, Legionnaire Second Class, or Legionnaire Third Class. Non-Legion units use the designation “soldier” instead of Legionnaire.

leutnant: rank in the Army of Laut Besar corresponding to the Commonwealth rank of subaltern.

life-support chair: powered wheelchair used for extreme injuries and geriatric cases who no longer respond to regen or bionic therapy. The chair is enclosed around the legs and lower torso, and houses a variety of life support equipment. It is powered and can be steered by voice command or keyboard input.

linnax: naval or planetary defense gun; the name derives from “linear accelerator.” It fires projectiles at very high velocities, using the same principles as the kinetic energy rifle but on a much larger scale.

loke: slang for “local”; applied to any native, human or nonhuman.

mag: slang for “move,” as in “Mag it!” or “Mag out!” The word derives from the magrep vehicles used by the Terran military.

maglev tube: fixed transport system commonly used around large Commonwealth cities and installations. By mounting magrep modules in the tubes themselves and in the cars traversing them, manipulation of magnetic fields allows high speeds to be reached. The tubes are in a vacuum to reduce friction problems.

magrep: slang for magnetic repulsion, used to refer to vehicles riding on a magnetic suspension cushion.

magrep module: small semihemispherical projection unit (linked to a generator) which produces a magnetic suspension cushion.

Magnetic Suspension Vehicle (MSV): official designation of any vehicle operating on a magnetic suspension cushion.

major: rank in the Army of Laut Besar corresponding to the Commonwealth ranks of commandant or major. It is pronounced “maiyor” when used by or for Besarans.

marchman: Legion slang for the common soldier; doughboy; grognard; grunt.

messtalk: slang for rumor or scuttlebutt.

Milky Way Magician: figure from a popular children’s entertainment series of the Reclamation Era. The Milky Way Magician stories have become classics in the past two hundred years. “I believe in the Milky Way Magician” is on par with belief in Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny.

narcostick: a nonaddictive, mildly narcotic cigarette.

nube: slang for a newcomer or recruit in the Legion. Used with extreme scorn.

oberleutnant: rank in the Army of Laut Besar corresponding to the Commonwealth rank of lieutenant.

oberst: rank in the Army of Laut Besar corresponding to the Commonwealth rank of colonel.

Onager; fusil d’onage; storm rifle: plasma gun, originally invented during the French Imperial period (hence the French-derived name). The onager is one of the standard section-level heavy weapons used by the Fifth Foreign Legion (the other is the Fafnir rocket launcher). Onagers require soldiers to wear fairly cumbersome body armor to protect them from heat effects, but are devastatingly powerful on the battlefield.

onnesium: a trans-100 element existing in an “island of stability” beyond the short-lived radioactives on the periodic table. Onnesium is used to plate field coils in Reynier-Kessler FTL drive units. It is rare and extremely valuable, both monetarily and strategically.

Ortwaffen: German (Laut Besaran Uro dialect) for “Place of Arms,” a training area devoted to weapons practice found in institutions and some private homes.

Pegasus (TH-39): hypersonic shuttle used by the Commonwealth military for rapid deployment of small units over continental distances or to and from orbit.

penal battalions: auxiliary units of the Colonial Army, employed for dirty jobs involving heavy labor, including construction, colonization projects, Terraforming preparation, and similar tasks. The penal battalions are filled by criminals facing short-term punishment, often as an alternative to regular military service.

platoon sergeant: NCO rank equivalent to the contemporary rank of staff sergeant. Serves as Platoon XO.

regen therapy: advanced Commonwealth medical technique that regrows damaged tissue.

rembot: labor-saving device, a robot controlled by a master computer system in a household, factory, etc. This approach to robotics was found to be far more efficient than the use of numerous independent machines.

repbay: maintenance and storage facility for vehicles, aircraft, and so forth. A hangar or garage.

Republic Trisystem: name given by Captain Francois Robespierre of the ISS TALLEYRAND to the loose trinary system surveyed by his expedition in 2362 AD. The three stars he dubbed Liberté, Egalité and Fraternité in honor of the French Revolution, which was an especial interest of his due to his famous name. The Trisystem was never settled as a single entity. The planet bearing Robespierre’s name was colonized by Imperial France, while Laut Besar was settled under the Clearance Edicts by Indomalaysian troublemakers; it later became an unaligned neutral outside the Commonwealth. Two planets orbiting Soleil Fraternity were claimed by the Ubrenfars during the Shadow Centuries.

Reynier-Kessler Drive: the Terran stardrive, named for its two inventors, Jules Reynier and Erich Kessler.

rezplex: residential complex, a self-contained arcology-style community containing housing, services, etc.

Sandray: (1) The M-786 standard maglev APC in use by the Fifth Foreign Legion, with several distinct variants filling different military functions. (2) (s-) life-form native to the Great Desert of Devereaux, a burrowing carnivore trapper which subdues its prey with a muscle-paralyzing poison.

section: an infantry unit containing three lances.

Semti: alien race, formerly rulers of the Semti Conclave but now subject (for the most part) to the Terran Commonwealth. Their ruthless pragmatism brought them into direct conflict with Terra during the Semti War, in which they lost control of the two-hundred-world empire known as the Semti Conclave.

Semti War: conflict fought between the Terran Commonwealth and the Semti Conclave (2725-2745 AD). The initial Semti penetration of Terran space was slowed down by the Fourth Foreign Legion’s heroic stand on Devereaux, giving the unprepared Commonwealth time to gather military forces and make several crucial diplomatic alliances with other interstellar powers bordering on the Conclave. The final Terran offensive deep into Conclave space ended with the surrender of the last Semti military forces in 2745.

serdadu: rank in the Army of Laut Besar corresponding to the Commonwealth ranks of legionnaire or soldier.

sersan: rank in the Army of Laut Besar corresponding to the Commonwealth rank of sergeant.

sersan peloten: rank in the Army of Laut Besar corresponding to the Commonwealth rank of platoon sergeant.

Shadow Centuries, the: term applied to the period of 2425-2590 AD, a period of anarchy on Terra. The Shadow Centuries were marked by a lapse of some Terran technologies. Although existing carrierships continued to operate on an irregular basis, there was no new ship construction and no organized effort to stay in touch with the bulk of the human colony worlds. Mankind’s return to interstellar space was put on hold until Terrestrial affairs could be set in order, leaving the colonial worlds to survive—or perish—on their own.

Sky Guard: military organization on Laut Besar. A largely ceremonial formation.

softsnake: a large but primitive animal native to Laut Besar, snakelike in appearance but lacking an endoskeleton and possessing many characteristics of Terran gastropods.

sol: basic unit of Commonwealth currency, buying power roughly equivalent to one dollar in 1990 US funds.

Soleil Egalité: G3V star, part of the “Republic Trisystem.” Robespierre, a Commonwealth colony world, circles this star.

Soleil Fraternité: F8V star, part of the “Republic Trisystem.” The system’s two habitable planets are controlled by the Ubrenfars.

Soleil Liberté: K2V star, part of the “Republic Trisystem.” The system supports two habitable planets, Laut Besar (I) and Danton (Vb).

strak: (1) a small, nasty, ill-tempered, rodentlike species native to Devereaux which congregates in large swarms. They are smelly, dirty, stupid beasts that combine the worst behavioral characteristics of rats, cockroaches, and lemmings. (2) swear word, derived from the creature. The word has entered the language, especially in the Legion, in a number of ways: as a noun, “you filthy strak” (very insulting); as a verb, “strakking” (i.e. behaving like a strak), etc.

synthol: a synthetic alcohol beverage much favored in the Legion.

systerm: “system terminal,” the major port facilities used by carrierships near the fringe of a star system.

Systerm Liberty: name of the system terminal in the Laut Besaran system, administered by Commonwealth authorities.

tacdata: tactical database. Before a mission or during transport, all soldiers are given a tacdata feed from HQ or vehicle computers to their individual wristpieces or other personal computers. Tacdata includes maps, last known dispositions of friendly and enemy units, radio frequencies, mission profiles, etc.

Telok: inner satellite of Laut Besar, housing planetary port facilities and a military installation. The word, in Indomay, means “port.”

Terran Commonwealth: the human interstellar state which fields the Fifth Foreign Legion. Formed near the end of the Shadow Centuries, the Terran Commonwealth led the way toward unified global government and the return to space known as the Reclamation. Following the Semti War, the Commonwealth acquired virtual control over most of the Conclave Sphere, and thus became a colonial power in the old (nineteenth Century) sense of the term.

Terranglic: the common tongue of modern humanity, especially the Commonwealth, derived from English with many borrowings from other tongues, especially French.

Tophet: Alpha Crucis V, a marginally habitable world in the Terran Commonwealth owned and exploited by Interstellar Metals, Limited (Instelmet). The hellish conditions of the planet prompted the earliest explorers to bestow the name, an old synonym for the Underworld. It has since entered the lexicon as an epithet.

Tuan: Indomay term of respect, the equivalent of “sir” or “my lord,” usually (but not always) reserved for Uros.

Ubrenfars: alien starfaring race, a serious rival with the Terran Commonwealth for interstellar power. The typical Ubrenfar is a two-meter tall, warm-blooded biped with a powerful tail, highly mobile and expressive ear-folds, and thick scales. The gross appearance suggests a Terran dinosaur, but the actual biology is totally alien. They are known pejoratively among humans as “scalies.”

The Ubrenfars, like Mankind, were involved in hostilities against the Semti when the Conclave collapsed, and indeed were perceived by the Semti as the more dangerous opponent. They are aggressive, territorial, and warlike.

Uro: person of Germanic/European descent; member of Laut Besar’s upper class.

vidmag: entertainment medium common in human space for infotainment purposes. The vidmag is a cheap alternative to adchips, worn like glasses and providing direct trideo images to the viewer. They are most frequently used for periodicals and other material with a short span of interest to consumers.

Whitney-Sykes HPLR-55 (High-Power Laser Rifle Mark 55): laser rifle manufactured by the Australian small arms company Whitney-Sykes, commonly used as a sniper’s rifle by the Fifth Foreign Legion.

wristpiece: computer terminal worn on the wrist and forearm. The wristpiece is now becoming largely obsolete on Terra (where computer implants are the cutting edge of technology), but are still quite common off Terra. They can perform virtually all of the functions of a contemporary PC, including calculation, data storage/retrieval, translation, and other jobs. Some are designed to link to implants or adchips worn by the operator, while others are voice-activated with a remote radio receiver worn behind the ear. It is commonly known as a “’piece.”

Wynsarrysa: “the Lost,” descendants of the original Gwyrran colonists on Devereaux, or, more specifically, those who have not been assimilated into colonial life. They are regarded as brigands and rebels.