A/N: Complete rewrite of the appendix!
Updated March 2020
Chapter 9: Appendix
APPENDIX: STANDARD CYBERNETICS
In service to humanity and the Systems Alliance, you may be injured to such a level that conventional recovery is not feasible or possible. Such injuries could include flame, blast, or acidic scarring; the loss of limbs, eyes, or facial features; third and fourth degree burns from plasma; alien infections that lead to sepsis or necrosis and a host of other wounds.
The Systems Alliance has a standardized list of approved cybernetic, bionetic or nanonic augmentations, replacements and limbs for field use.
Limb Replacement: all field marines utilize the Lawson Technologies Series III cybernetic arms and legs. These are myomer-muscle limbs with built-in armor, a trickle-charge battery along with a hydrogen fuel cell, and are rated at 115% to 120% of human norms. All such limbs remain the property of the Systems Alliance Military, and upon separation or retirement will be replaced with a civilian limb. Exceptions to this policy include when a servicemember loses more than one limb in a single engagement; or has won the Star of Sol or Star of Terra. In this case, the limbs have their fuel cell removed, but are left intact and installed.
Biotic personnel will be issued Sirta C-Series Blueware Limbs and these always remain the property of the SA regardless of circumstances. Biotics will be issued BJM Reallimbs after separation or retirement.
Naval personnel, non-combatants, and non-line officers are issued the Bayer-Johnson-Merck Realgrip or Realstep line of augmetics. Hydraulic driven with VI management, these are 100% rating limbs and are the property of the personnel they are issued to except in cases of less than honorable discharge.
Eye Replacement Policy: All personnel missing eyes will receive Cama Optics MK VII cybernetic eye replacements, which are free to keep. Snipers will receive SPI LynxSight optic replacements with low-light, zoom and targeting optics - these remain the property of the SA and will be replaced with the MK VII upon separation or retirement.
Skin, Bone, Organs: Unless otherwise required, all other replacements will be bionetically grown organs wherever possible. Specifically lung, kidney, liver, heart, stomach, spleen, skin, hair, and minor cosmetics (nose, ears, etc) will be bionetic replacements.
N-series marines may request synthetic fireproof skin and subdermal armor if they suffer burn damage exceeding 20% of body area.
Due to pressure differentials, DACT will be issued augmented bionetic lungs with reinforced rib spars, these are to be kept after separation or retirement due to the difficulty of removal and replacement.
APPENDIX: SYSTEMS ALLIANCE GENERAL ORDERS
All marines, naval personnel, non-combatants, non-line and line officers, and all veterans are required to memorize and uphold the general orders of the SA:
1. To take charge of my assigned posting, duty station, or temporary point of duty and to secure and oversee all Systems Alliance property in view.
2. To maintain my duty station in a military manner, keeping always on the alert, and observing everything that takes place within sight or hearing.
3. To report all violations of orders I am instructed to enforce to both the chain of command and to the Commissariat.
4. To retreat from battle or quit my post or duty station only when either properly relieved or the Commissar has authorized retreat.
6. To obey and pass on information or instructions to my replacement, and to report to the officers of the watch upon relief.
7. To maintain my equipment, arms, armor and assigned gear to the utmost of my capacity or to report to the quartermaster or armorer for repairs.
8. To give the alarm in case of fire, enemy contact, anomalous sensor reading or disorder.
9. To stand my ground, contact command, and protect the civilians or non-combatants that may be in my area in any case not covered by instructions.
10. To salute all officers and all colors and standards not cased, and to kneel to any Lord or Lady of Sol.
11. To be mindful of the duty of the Marine, the Sailor, the Officer, the Commissar, and to never betray my Oaths and Sworn Words by shaming the Systems Alliance via cowardice, treachery, malingering, or corruption.
APPENDIX: SYSTEMS ALLIANCE OFFICER DUTY ORDERS
To never authorize any form of retreat in the face of alien or enemy action until all methods of meaningful resistance have been attempted and defeated and the main body of troops under my command has suffered no less than fifty percent losses due to casualties or fleeing members.
To execute any enlisted service member that refuses to stand their ground, to render respect to the Lords of Sol, or that engages in criminal activity as identified by a unit Commissar.
To execute any military member engaged in espionage against the Systems Alliance.
To maintain the dignity, appearance and manner of an Officer of the Systems Alliance Marine Corps, Systems Alliance Naval Corps, or Systems Alliance General Military Service.
To fear nothing but God and dishonor.
APPENDIX: SYSTEMS ALLIANCE TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
Command Officers (in charge of the ship)
CO: Commanding Officer, the person in direct control of the ship's operations
TDO: Temporary Duty Officer , designated commander of a vessel for a limited time in special circumstances. A pilot who is taking a ship through constricted navigation, for example.
FLAG: an admiral who has taken a ship as his flagship. Usually does not interfere with the CO, but has the right.
Line officers (can take command of the ship if the CO is incapacitated)
XO: Executive Officer, second in command. Deals with operational aspects the CO doesn't have time to deal with.
NAV: Navigator, third in command. In charge of plotting approach vectors for mass translations and navigation at FTL speeds.
OPS: Ops Leader. In charge of fire control, weapons, and tracking contacts. Combined with the NAV position on frigates like the Normandy.
ENG: Chief Engineer. Responsible for propulsion and , on small ships, damage control.
Field Officers: (cannot take command of the ship)
DCA: Damage Control Officer. On larger ships, in charge of damage control and repairs. Duties taken by the ENG on small ships.
WEPS: Weapons Control Officer. On larger ships, in charge of weapons fire , reloading, repairs and calibrations. Duties taken by the XO on small ships.
BDO: Battle Duty Officer. In charge of the ship's marine contingent , their outfitting and equipment.
FLIP: Flight Lieutenant / Internal Pilot : smaller ships require one to fly the ship. On larger ships, directs ops in piloting and setting courses.
MDO: Medical Duty Officer, the ships doctor.
GDO: General Duty Officer, called the first lieutenant, in charge of ships functions (cleaning, field day, inspections). Duties taken by the BDO on small ships.
RDO: Science Officer. Only on the largest ships, in charge of sensor sweeps and research.
Non Commissioned Officers:
COB: Chief of the Boat, senior enlisted personnel. Usually liaisons with the XO about enlisted crew morale.
Chaplain : religious representative of the Unified Neo-Catholic Church of Christ or other religious faith.
Armorer : responsible for ships armory
Technical Chief, Vehicular: in charge of maintaining the ships vehicles
Communications:
1MC: ships general announcement circuit. Used solely by the captain of a vessel for ship wide announcements.
3MC: Damage control circuit
5MC: Engineering control circuit
Dlink: Dedicated comm link, a hardline wired comms link usually buried underground and shielded from detection
Wlink: wireless linked node network
Hotlink: jury-rigged radio network
Comm-Buoy: a signal repeater that passes signals using FTL energy bands.
Link-Buoy: a dedicated set of communications buoys that pass through mass relays for important burst traffic.
Emergency Comm Buoy: VI Driven automated drone ship , that can leave a planet and transit to the nearest mass relay to obtain help. Useful when all other communications buoys in the system have been destroyed.
Navigation:
SSO: Single stage to orbit: a craft that can go from atmosphere to orbit without assistance from other vehicles.
Drift: the amount of distance in miles that a ship has moved when transiting a relay. Smaller is better.
Flipover: Turning the ship around when radically breaking from high speeds
Engineering:
Core dump: emergency venting of heat from a drive core
IES: the Normandy's internal stealth system.
Operations:
Alpha, Beta, Gamma: target designators.
Soft-lock: weapons control firing solution that is based on passive data
Hard-lock: weapons control firing solution that is based on active sensor data
Hot-lock: manually input firing solution, not computer assisted. Also called "eyeballing it". Not recommended with mass accelerator weapons.
Environmental:
HEPA: High Efficiency Particle Affinity , type of filter used onboard ships.
DETA: Dangerous Environment, Triggered Activation: powered air filters that link to VI's to conform to different filter patterns depending on the environment
Blown Fit: damage to a ships armor plates resulting in a poor fit between the sections, can lead to static discharge explosions.
Snaps: internal electrical failures due to high static discharge levels
People Tank: Area where crew inside a ship live
Happy Tank: tanks that contain ships O2, water, etc
Lava Soap Job: using the ships air systems to recycle the air on a planet where the atmosphere smells good.
Party Wipe: all hands cleaning evolution
Naval parlance:
CIC: Command Information Center , where ships operations are run from
EOD: Engineering / Operations Deck – lowest level of Normandy SR1
NSO: Navigation and Ship Operations, upper deck of Normandy SR1
CQS: Crew Quarters and Systems, middle deck of Normandy SR1
FOB / FOC / FOA: Forward Operating staging area, where soldiers group up before an assault
Port/Starboard: left and right , respectively
Aft: rearward
bulkhead : wall
hot-shot: specially loaded rounds designed to not pierce ship hulls, used by ship security
Coffins: sleeper pods
chop-box: medical bay
vent: fan-driven powered ventilation system
GENERAL SPACE TACTICAL TERMS:
Line of battle: an imaginary line drawn through naval units facing forward. Typically considered the orientation of the fleet.
Oblique Attack: an assault at the front diagonal of the enemy line of battle. The purpose is to force heavier ships to turn their main guns from directly ahead, exposing their flank to the opposite oblique.
Flank Attack: an assault from the side (or rear side) of the enemy line of battle. Since few ships have rear-facing weapons and since larger ships maneuver slowly, this can be devastating.
Direct Attack: a full frontal assault, directly into the enemy line of battle.
Overrun: To maneuver into an through an enemy line of battle. Moves the battle to knife-fighting range.
Knife-fighting: nickname for battles with broadside armaments and GARDIAN lasers. Shielding is ineffective against these weapons.
Above/Below the Elliptic: to attack from above or below the planetary plane, a minor advantage since it can shred the vertical line of battle of an enemy fleet.
Littoral: near orbit , typically the most risky space to fight from, since defenders can strike out but attackers must be careful with their shots or they risk hitting the planet. Since most planets are close to the system's star, littoral combat is the most demanding on heat systems and leads to short fights.
Planerial: between planets
Sidereal: in the edges of a solar system, far from its sun.