Alliance: One of the two superpowers that formed in the early 21st century, composed mostly of the nations from North and South America, Europe, and parts of Africa. The Alliance grew out of earlier organizations like NATO and the EU, and after emerging victorious in WWIII, would eventually evolve into the modern UC.
Alterran Federation: The Federation formed in 2200, after first contact with a joint UC/MC diplomatic expedition. The Federation is currently the second largest of the three galactic powers, being rough half the size of the UC, with 300 colonies and approximately 365 billion citizens.
Amp Weapons: Amplified light weapons technology works by creating a coherent beam of light, then filling the core of the beam with a hot, dense gas. The resulting beam is consequently slower than light, but has enough mass to do both kinetic and thermal damage. Amp weapons are accurate, compact, and have low recoil, but lack the lethality of newer plasma based weapons. Amp weapons first saw service during WWIII, and have had a constant battlefield presence ever since.
AOK Series Rifle: The AOK rifle is a very powerful semi-kinetic weapon, renowned for its accuracy, reliability, firepower, and customizability. It uses both a conventional propellant charge and a compact railgun to fire a dense metal bullet. The AOK rifle is easy to modify and can mount a wide range of accessories and specialized equipment. Newer models coat the rounds in a sheath of plasma, to allow greater performance against armored targets.
Arc Cannon: Arc cannons are high-power weapons that fire an explosive shell capable of killing or severely wounding several targets in one shot. Unlike most weapons, arc cannons fire a physical projectile (armor-piercing or fragmentation) instead of using directed energy technology. However, arc cannons are also heavy and difficult to wield, and have an inherently limited fire rate, limiting them to a squad support role only.
Body Armor: Body armor is grouped into several broad categories or grades. Grades 1 and 2 are light weight armor designed to withstand limited fire for a brief period. Grade 3 armor is standard military armor, designed to withstand moderate amounts of direct fire. Grade 4 is heavy duty armor, built to shrug off heavy fire for extended periods of time. Grade 5 armor is comparable in strength to the plating on a light tank, and almost always incorporates some form of powered armor technology.
Boost: Boost is a combat drug that supercharges a user's senses and augments their strength for a brief period. Boost was originally created a street drug, but was turned over to the government (in exchange for a full pardon) after its military potential became apparent. Using Boost carries a risk of self-injury, as most specie's skeletons are not capable of withstanding the amount of force muscles working at full capacity can exert for more than a few moments. It also carries a risk of addiction (not surprising, given its origin).
Colonial Support Carrier (CSC): A massive starship constructed by mankind to support colonization efforts on the fringe of human space, supplying everything from construction supplies to military aid. CSCs are the only vessels large enough to have a built-in jumpgate, letting them serve as mobile hubs for the jumpgate network. After the Uprisings, CSCs were upgraded with substantially more powerful weapons, and most were crewed with military personal. 24 CSCs have been constructed, the first being the Excelsior and the most recent being the Blackstar.
Combat Vest: A generic term for any of the various garments used by military and mercenary forces to hold ammunition, medical supplies, field rations and other combat supplies. Most combat vests are designed to be worn over standard body armor, though some sets of armor integrate the vest into the torso armor. Many vests are a made of sophisticated "smart fibers" that will alter the vest's shape in order to prevent it from being damaged by incoming fire (such as shifting an ammunition pouch so incoming rounds won't set it off). Most vests also include a limited self-repair system that will automatically patch up any holes or tears created by battle damage.
Compact: The Compact (properly known as the Beijing Compact), was the other pre-WWIII power block, composed of many Asian, African, and European nations. Fired the first shots of WWIII in response to the militarization of Alliance spacecraft and stations. Was ultimately destroyed when Operation Star Hammer crashed an asteroid through Beijing's anti-ICBM defense grid, obliterating the Compact's capital and ended the third world war.
Cycorp: Cycorp is a mega-corporation with a substantial market share in the civilian foodstuffs market, and is considered the foremost company in light-based technologies. Cycorp has recently overtaken Dynastar in handgun and SMG sales, thanks to technology obtained in a recent merger with Liber Corporation.
Dynastar: A mega-corporation with substantial holdings along the frontier, focused on production of military equipment like body armor, rifles, arc cannons, and various medical products.
FBI: The UC's interplanetary law enforcement agency, which has jurisdiction throughout human space. The agency's name originates from a pre-space agency with a similar role, and as cultural inertia lead to that agency's acronym become synonymous with government level police, the UC's own government agents were inevitably stuck with the label, and at some point embraced the nickname.
FISH: Acronym used to refer to urban warfare, particularly the close range and confided spaces that soldiers find themselves in. Stands for "Fighting In Somebody's House."
FISH and CHIPS: Acronym used to refer to urban warfare, usually used in relation to larger engagements or ones taking place in cities with intact civilian populations. Stands for "Fighting In Somebody's House and Causing Havoc In People's Streets."
Frontier Operations License: A document permitting individuals to act as mercenaries on the frontier of UC space.
Galactic Executioners: A large network of vigilantes/terrorists operating throughout civilized space, mostly in UC and AF colonies. Tracing their history back to the Skeleton Cults of Altera, the Executioners wear distinctive skull masks while carrying out their operations. The Executioners are extremely well organized and armed, and have resisted every effort to destroy their organization. Due to their actions, almost every law enforcement and military organization in existence has orders to shot them on sight (it is for this reason that skull masks of any kind are considered a risky costume for Halloween).
Imperial Guard: The Alterran Federation's equivalent to the UCM (which it was in fact modeled after). The Guard is descended from the Imperial Army, which operated during the Oasis Invasion and drove off the invaders. The Guard is strictly a defensive force, and units are trained and equipped to fight and defend only their home planet (a tactic that makes the Guard a much tougher but inflexible opponent). All AF citizens must receive Guard training and a minimum 2 year rotation in active field service, which gives the Guard vast reserves of manpower.
Jumpdrive: Faster than light (FTL) travel is accomplished using a the jumpdrive, also known as the AWG or artificial Wormhole Generator, to create a tunnel through space connecting distant areas, letting a ship "jump" from one to other in an instant. Shipboard jumpdrives have a fairly modest range, and must be recharged after each jump.
Jumpgate: Jumpgate stations are the primary method of FTL travel, and consist of one or more AWGs linked to massive reactors. Each AWG/reactor pair is referred to as a jumpgate, and large stations can have more than a dozen gates linked together. A ship entering one jumpgate can hop to any other active jumpgate within the network. There are also ground based jumpgates, which allow one way transportation of dozens of people from one the jumpgate to any location. Ground based jumpgates are extremely rare, and exclusively used by the UC military.
Mode: A race of androids created by humans. They were originally designed for manual labor, but after becoming self-aware in 2150, they were rapidly given full citizenship (arguments still range about whether centuries of commitment to freedom or centuries of "robot uprising" movies were the main factor motivating the move), and later formed their own nation, the Mode Confederacy. As mechanical beings, the Mode can choose to build and rebuild their physical bodies at will, though most stick to a humanoid form. Physical abilities and limits depend heavily on the individual, but most Mode are about as capable as a human Olympic athlete.
Mode Confederacy: Smallest of the galactic powers, with roughly 145 colonies and about 45 billion citizens. Relatively few Confederate worlds have been terraformed, as the Mode aren't bothered by 200 degree daytime temperatures, lack of sunlight, or poisonous atmospheres.
Mouseholing: An urban warfare tactic where soldiers smash through the walls of a building to gain access to the interior, much like mice chewing holes through the walls of a house. This technique is used to storm a structure, or to allow soldiers to move across an area without moving into the open (where sniper attacks place them at substantial risk).
Neural Reactive Stimulate (NRS): NRS is a powerful stimulate that accelerates the user's nerve and muscle impulses, resulting in the user briefly possessing speed and reflexes far beyond normal (some individuals have reported dodging bullets will using NRS, though such tales remain unconfirmed). NRS does have side effects if overused, including a degenerative nervous system disorder called nerve burnout. Like all such drugs, soldiers are encouraged not to use NRS in anything but a dire emergency.
Oasis Invasion: An invasion of Alterra by an unidentified alien species, starting in the year 1654 and ending in 1657 (earth calendar years). The fighting nearly destroyed Alterra civilization, and they'd only recently advanced beyond their prewar technology at first contact with the UC in 2200. Alien weapons and technology recovered from the Great Oasis (a city in the middle of Alterra's desert where many of the largest battles were fought) have been invaluable to research labs, helping inspire breakthroughs in several areas.
PDA: Personal Data Assistant. A small computer used to store and access information, PDAs are used by almost everyone. PDAs can be used as a hacking or decryption tool, but are less effective in that role when compared to more specialized devices.
PDF: The Planetary Defense Force is the Mode Confederacy's solo ground combat force, as unlike the AF and UC, the Confederacy doesn't have separate offensive and defensive military organizations. Another difference is that the PDF has virtually no active duty personnel, instead only mobilizing once a threat appears. This strategy is made possible by the fact that the Mode can go from civilian to soldier almost instantly, simply by downloading the necessary software. A very small number of Mode are always in soldier mode, and serve as the PDF's command structure during large scale mobilizations.
Quantico: Quantico, Virginia, is the HQ of the FBI and other UC law enforcement agencies, and is the site of several military and police training academies, as well several military bases.
Repeater Pistol: Repeaters are relatively recent arrival, based on plasma technology. Repeaters use a magnetic field to contain and fire a hot plasma bolt, which is capable of burning through most materials in short order. However, Repeaters are also far less accurate than more conventional firearms, and the process of reloading a repeater is much longer and more complex than most weapons.
Rustboot: A Martian colloquialism, originally referring to a careless or stupid individual who failed to clean their boots (and thus remove the infamously abrasive Martian soil) before entering a building. The term's meaning has evolved over time, and it is now used a generic insult, and has the same general meaning as words like "hick" or "redneck".
SEALS: The offensive counterpart to the AF's Imperial Guard, the SEALSs are based off the United States unit of the same name. Alterran SEALS are technically a sub-branch of the Alterran navy, rather than an independant branch. As a consequence, they usually can coordinate their actions with the navy much better than their counterparts.
Slouch-O-Productions: A major film studio, known for their production of action and adventure movies.
Stimpack: The Alterran-developed stimpack is a commonly used field medicine, stimpacks are powerful painkillers that promote rapid healing of injured tissues. They also provide a slight boost to the user's strength and reaction time. They are only intended to keep a soldier alive and fighting for a few minutes, and cannot repair severe injuries or mortal wounds.
UC: The United Colonies, the governing body controlling all human-settled planets (approximately 500). Capital is Earth, and total number of citizens is approximately seven hundred billion. Formed in 2175, as the Earth-centric government of the Alliance proved unable to manage the sprawling network of colonies they'd established.
UCM: United Colonial Militia is functionally similar to 21st century organizations like the US National Guard, and is intended to function as the first line of defense for a planet and to be the backbone of relief efforts during a natural disaster or other crisis. The UCM will also be deployed in an offensive role, usually to give UCMC forces with reserve/garrison units or to provide Marines with artillery or air support (the Marines have very few of either, normally relying on the Navy for fire support).
UCMC: The United Colonial Marine Corps is the descendant of the United States Marine Corps (though elements of other Alliance military branches were included, particularly the various special forces). Unlike the USMC, the UCMC is completely independant from the UC navy, but still coordinate with the navy to a large degree (the marines have to get to the battlefield somehow).
UCMC Commandos: An Uprisings-era special forces group, United Colonial Marine Corps Commandos typically operated in two part 'R&R' formations. The Recon Commandos were trained for reconnaissance, stealth tactics and precision strikes. They worked to soften up targets before the main attack, carried out by the Raider squads, who were focused on classic 'shock and awe' assault tactics. The Commandos were dissolved after the end of the war, as their specialized tactics were of little use in the post-war military environment.
Uprisings: A series of violent revolts against UC authority, which occurred with varying strength across dozens of planets, and resulting in a nine year war between revolting colonists and the UC military. The planets of Equinox, Troy, and Praetoria were the most rebellious and were the site of the war's most brutal battles. The Uprisings were eventually put down by the UC in 2360.
Ursans: An intelligent species native to Altera, who have a strong resemblance to bears. Ursans usually grow to be slightly shorter than humans, but are much stronger than humans (due to both a denser musculature and the fact that gravity on Altera exerts almost twice as much force as it does on Earth). Like bears, Ursans have a thick layer of fur and an omnivorous digestive system, but unlike their terran doppelgangers, Ursans also have retractable claws and opposable thumbs.
Vular: A not-sentient but highly aggressive and hostile insectoid species, infamous for overrunning colonies and asteroid mining operations with ease. See Data File: Vular (next chapter) for full information.
