Loralynn Kennakris 2: The Morning Which Breaks (67 page)

A large, nebulously defined region that lies between the
Hydra
and the
Trifid
, along the outermost boundaries of
Crucis
,
Andaman & Nicobar
, and
Cepheus
. A poorly known region, generally unsettled except for small wildcat mining operations and various outlaw communities. Outremeria is one of the few sizeable colonies, and
Rephidim
is also located here, in the end nearer the Hydra.

Not to be confused with the Inner Trifid Boundary Zone, which separates the Inner Trifid from Cepheus, and is considered part of the
Outworlds
proper.

The inhabited planets in the
Trifid region
. Divided into the Inner Trifid Boundary Zone, the Inner Trifid, the Outer Trifid, and the Methuselah Cluster. The further extent of human colonization, its settlements tend to be primitive and lawless. Patrolling the Outworlds is the responsibility of the
Trifid Frontier Force
.

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On
Earth
, a confederation of states along the Pacific-Asian rim. The most important members are Japan, Singapore, and Australia. In the next tier are Shanghai, the Philippines, and the Korea Peninsula. Closely allied with North America, together they form the most powerful bock on Earth.

The distance at which a point would have a heliocentric (Sol) parallax equal to 1 arcsecond. 1 parsec equals 3.258 light-years.

A poor, sparsely settled colony in the
Methuselah Cluster
,
second-gen
out of Fredonia, a
Hesperian
colony. The Methuselah Cluster is the most remote region yet colonized.

“Passing the Word” is another hallowed
tradition
in the
CEF
and
Terran
Navies. To “pass the word” is to summon a subordinate, and only senior officers may use it. (
NCOs
often use much rougher language, like “Get your skates on, Joe. You’re f—ked.”)

Although an admiral could, in principle, pass the word for a captain, this is not done (short of offering a deliberate insult), and no one ever passes the word for an admiral. Instead, other equally archaic and stilted phrases are used, such as sending ‘compliments’.

A small device that guides the wearer to a destination using neural induction. An example of
think-linking
.

Planetary Command Authority. The person or organization that exerts executive control over the military in a planetary government.

Private First Class. An enlisted
Marine Corps
or ground-forces rank just below
NCO
. Compare
Rates
.

A
League
Homeworld
located in the Fomalhaut zone, along with
Antigua
. It has moderate wealth, a small number of colonies, and close ties to
the Belt
.

A normal mirror reflects radiation so that the angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence with opposite sign. A phase-conjugate mirror reflects radiation so that it returns exactly to the point of origin. Phase-conjugate mirrors are made of gases and tunable to precise wavelengths, making them especially effective against lasers and plasma weapons. They are transparent at wavelengths to which they are not tuned.

The tuning process coupled with the peculiar properties of phase-conjugate mirrors leads to their shimmery appearance when used in applications like security enclosures; some people find it disorienting.

The question ‘What do you see when you look into a phase-conjugate mirror?’ is commonly posed to undergrad physics students.

This term can be a source of confusion because of its dual meaning.

In the
SRF
and outside the navy generally,
pilot
refers to a
flight officer
or someone who flies small craft. In navies, and among mariners in general, a pilot is an expert in the navigation of a specific area. Such civilian (as opposed to naval) pilots are often members of guilds, some of which contract with various navies. The
CEF Navy
, however, recruits and trains its own pilots, who serve as
WOs
.

The SRF’s preference for calling their fighter pilots
Flight Officers
stems from this conflict in terminology. However, the SRF is not consistent on the issue, calling its lowest ranking fight officers
Pilot Officers
.

The lowest ranking member of a
SRF
flight. Not to be confused with
Flight Officer
though it often is.

A platoon is a military unit most often composed of three to four
squads
or
sections
depending on the military, the service branch (ground forces or
marines
), and mission type. A platoon is unit of a
company
and is commanded by a lieutenant.

In CEF
Marine Corps
, there are five basic types of platoons:
HQ
platoons, heavy-weapons platoons, assault platoons, ‘tech’ platoons (for dealing with the various systems of enemy ships), and ‘light’ platoons (used for scouting and reconnaissance during terrestrial operations).

Except for the HQ platoon, the platoon commander is a 2nd lieutenant; the HQ platoon is led by a 1st lieutenant. Who occupies the
billet
of Platoon Sergeant varies. The Platoon Sergeant of a HQ platoon is a Color Sergeant (equivalent to a First Sergeant in the ground forces). A Gunnery Sergeant holds the billet for a heavy-weapons platoon, because of the larger number of Marines and the more complex weapon systems used in these platoons. Sergeants occupy the post for other platoon types.

Assault platoons consist of four sections of 12 men each. Light platoons consist of three sections of 12 men each. (Each section is further divided into
fireteams
.) Assault platoons and light platoons are equipped similarly, except that light platoons contain more snipers and (usually) lack anti-armor weapons. Squad leaders are sergeants and corporals.

The makeup of a heavy-weapons platoon depends on its employment. If intended for a terrestrial mission, it will typically have two 3-in multimode mortar sections, an assault section, and an anti-armor section. The anti-armor section uses mainly shoulder-fired dual-purpose missiles, but may also have demolition equipment and mobile mines. A heavy-weapons platoon deployed for a naval engagement will be adapted for ship-breaking operations, such as hatch entry, bulkhead breach, clearing passageways and compartments. Squad leaders are mostly sergeants, but one squad may be led by a corporal.

Tech platoons consist of armed specialists and are not deployed independently. The Platoon Sergeant may be a Master Sergeant (the equivalent to a Color Sergeant with a tech rating) or a Staff Sergeant (the equivalent of a Gunnery Sergeant with a tech rating). Squads are led by a Tech Sergeant or a Tech Corporal; very rarely be a specialist (the equivalent of Lance Corporal).

A HQ Platoon includes a comms section, an
EW
section, a Forward Observer & Surveillance (FOS) or Tech section, and a medical section.

Platoon can also refer to the basic tactical unit of mobile armor, or as the Terran Terrestrial Forces and the Halith Imperial Ground Forces continue to call them
armored cavalry
. Halith, however, does not use
platoon
, instead referring to them as armored cavalry
squadrons
.

A major star cluster that is home to three
League
Homeworlds
:
Nedaema
,
Galatea
, and
Hestia
. It is the most prosperous Homeworld sector outside Sol. The
Merope Junction
there is critically important to the League.

The controlling executive body of the
Nereidian League
. The Plenary Council is chaired by the
Speaker
of the
Grand Senate
. Other members are the
DCID
and the senior secretaries (
Secretary of the Navy
, etc). The analogous
Halith
body is the
Council of Ministers
. (Compare
PCA
or
NCA
.)

Active last-ditch defensive measures taken by a vessel or installation, using short-range weapons, such as
chain guns
or energy weapons.

The name given to the government of the
Sultanate of Andaman & Nicobar
. Formally, the
Sublime Porte
.

An archaic term for the
executive officer
of a naval ship. In the
League
, used only in the
Hesperian
home fleet. The Royal Navy of the
New UK
also favors it.

In astrocartography, the
primary
is the major star in a star system. Originally the term came into use to describe binary star systems, but a later tradition evolved whereby there is only one
sun
: Sol. Thus, all other stars are
primaries
(or
secondaries
) but never
suns
. This tradition is observed mainly in the
League
militaries; colonists and some
Homeworlders
routinely ignore it.

A ‘private ship of war’ or a private combatant. A ship armed and outfitted by a private party to cruise against an enemy in time of war. Privateers are granted a license by their government called a
Letter of Marque
for this purpose. They are almost always commerce raiders and generally have a poor reputation, usually being seen as little better than pirates. Privateers are paid
prize money
, but never
head money
, and rarely
ex gratia
payments.

A payment made to the officers and crew of combatant for taking a ship belonging to an enemy as a prize. The payment is made from the proceeds of the condemnation and sale of the captured vessel. If it is warship, purchase is made by the government; if it is a merchant vessel, it (and any cargo) is sold at auction. Compare
head money
.

Under normal circumstances,
Halith
is ruled by two proconsuls, who act as the chief executives and heads of state. They chair the
Council of Ministers
, but exert direct executive authority, unlike the
League’s
Speaker of the Grand Senate
. One proconsul can veto the actions of another. If challenged, this veto can be overridden by a vote within the Council of Ministers. Occasionally, a sole proconsul rules, but historically this has been viewed quite unfavorably and tolerated only during a crisis or time of war.

The proconsuls are chosen from the
Civitas
, the upper house of Halith’s mostly, but not entirely, rubberstamp parliament. In principle, any Halith aristocrat from a family eligible for a seat in the
Civitas
may be selected, but in practice the office rotates among members of a few select families.

A
Nedaeman
legislative body whose members are elected by a popular vote of all citizens resident in the
theme
they represent. Members are called
proxenos
, and a proxenos was never called
Mister
or
Ma’am
but
Brother
or
Ally
when met formally. Nedaema’s
Grand Senators
are chosen from among the proxenoi.

A
warrant officer
on a navy ship responsible for managing supplies, other than munitions and fuel, which are the direct responsibility of the
exec
.

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An exotic metalized diamond grown in gravitic ovens that traps microscopic inclusions of
strange matter
, yielding the densest manmade material.

Another confusing term. In the marines and ground forces, a quartermaster is an
NCO
or
WO
who specializes in distributing supplies and provisions. The navy, a quartermaster is a
petty officer
responsible for the aiding the navigator and maintaining charts. The naval analog of a marine corps quartermaster is the
purser
.

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In navy terminology, the sleeping arrangements for enlisted men. Racks are a metal framework with a slightly elastic mesh in place of a mattress, and can be stacked up to four high on large ships. Senior
NCOs
and junior officers have bunks, which are larger, fitted with a mattress, and are never arranged more two high.

Senior officers (lieutenant commanders and up) have their own staterooms with a ‘bunk’ (which bears little resemblance to an NCO’s or an ensign’s bunk), in a separate sleeping (or
night
) cabin. For senior captains and admirals, these staterooms can be quite luxurious. However, naval personnel are apt to refer to their sleeping arrangements as
racks
, no matter their rank or what the actual nature is.

Guns that fire projectiles electromagnetically to achieve extremely high muzzle velocities (in some cases, near-relativistic). Railguns come in many sizes, from a 13-mm bore up to 24 inches. (36-in railguns were used for ground bombardment during the
Formation Wars
. No such weapons currently exist.)

Railguns are classified as
short
or
long
. Long railguns have 7 to 9 acceleration stages, called
rings
, and are thus called 7-ring (or 9-ring) guns. Short railguns have only 3 or 5 rings, and are often called ‘surge guns’ (
surge
being derived from the old acronym SRG for ‘short railgun’). The more rings, the higher the muzzle velocity, and the slower the rate of fire. Current doctrine has come to prefer a high rate of fire over a high muzzle velocity, as modern missiles and torpedoes have diminished the role of railguns as standoff weapons.