A.N.T. - A.N.T. stands for autonomously navigates terrain. Basically, it is an autopilot for ground vehicles.

A2R-91 - Accurate Assault Rifle, model 91. A finely made, 22” barrel, precision rifle made to fire ETC cartridges.

AB-222 Fighter bomber - Assault Bomber model 222. This is a multi-role aerospace fighter/bomber.

Aeroline - Aeroline is a clean burning fuel used for fliers. It is extremely efficient, hot burning, and produces little pollution when used. Before combustion however, the chemical is extremely dangerous to life.

AP/HE - AP/HE is an acronym that stands for armor piercing/high explosive. Using various methods, these munitions are able to pierce armor before detonating.

Archeobiologist - Archeobiologists specialize in non engineered versions of life forms found on Earth.

ASAP - ASAP is military shorthand for as soon as possible.

Auto-cannon - Auto-cannon is the shorthand way of referring to an automatic cannon, a machinegun variant that fires 20mm or larger shells.

Cack – Mercenary shorthand for dying.

Cold Bay - A cold bay is a place on any vessel that is unheated. It can be used for transporting perishables, such as meat or corpses.

Crack, cracked, cracking – Mercenary shorthand for failure brought on by error or negligence. It is also used to refer to a mental breakdown.

Dart Cart - Rook mentally begins calling the small, wheeled vehicles of The Bloodless dart carts because they are armed with tasers.

Defilade – An area protected from incoming fire by hard cover.

Drone - A drone is an unmanned vehicle, controlled by remote or autopilot.

Drop Pod - A drop pod is a self-contained box fitted with life support for short space journeys.

Drop Ship - A drop ship is a trans-atmospheric craft used to transport objects from space to ground. It is usually equipped with both aeroline burning jet engines for atmospheric flight, and nuclear reaction engines for short stints of space travel.

Electronic Warfare Officer, EWO – A member of the team frocked as an officer. They take the place of the modern day point-man and are in charge of detecting enemy soldiers before combat is initiated. They also have the responsibility of countering all types of jamming, interruptions in communications, and lock breaking.

ETA - Estimated time of arrival.

ETC - Electro-thermal chemical. This ammunition uses a plasma burst to push the bullet down the bullet faster, further, than normal firearms using combustible powder.

EVM - Extra vehicular movement: which is basically moving around in space without a ship for protection.

Flier - Flier refers to any craft that travels through the air. Normally, they are small jet craft, using aeroline-burning engines.

Flight/Lieutenant, F/L – Because of the differences in training between a ground crew and a ship crew in a mercenary company, Flight- is added to the ranks of shipboard personnel. This allows the flight crew can give commands to ground crew while on ship, and visa versa on the ground.

Flush – Those that fail basic training are failed out, or ‘flushed’.

Frag – Killing a fellow soldier is called ‘fragging’. It has been co-opted as a mercenary swear word.

Globalist - Globalists are those who wish to dissolve all boarders on a planet to form a global government.

GM-2112 - This is a general-purpose military fragmentary grenade made in year 2112.

Golla – A golla is a genetically engineered gorilla. They are grown and augmented on planet Walden to take the place of robotic labor forces.

Gomer – Untrained labor.

GPS  - Global positioning system, which is a common feature on all modern planets.

Grit – The first colony was on Mars. The wind-blown surface produced huge amounts of grit that would wear out machines and clog oxygen recycling equipment, causing hardship and death. It has become a derogatory term used in a myriad of ways the universe over.

Haven – Haven was a planetoid mine where the population turned to mercenary work after the ore was exhausted. It became a kind of brokerage house for mercenary work, and a base for operations and training.

Heavy Weapon Officer, HWO – A heavy weapons officer is frocked as an officer and given extra pay for their expertise in handling the weighty, expensive, and complicated squad support weapons. These can include man portable missile launchers and anti-tank weaponry, but more often they are bigger, faster firing versions of the squad’s small arms.

HUD  - Heads up display.

HWO - Heavy warfare officer. Despite the name, it is usually an enlisted man who is given a more powerful weapon. Centuries ago, because of the highly fragile, expensive, and dangerously temperamental nature of the heavy weapons, such a position was always given to a line grunt who was frocked as an ‘officer’.

IgBank  - Shorthand for the De Beers Intergalactic Bank.

IgMC -             Shorthand for the Intergalactic Mining Company.

Jacka – This is a slang contraction for a person of limited intelligence or culture.

L-5 - L-5 is an ancient space station that floats at a point where the gravitational pull of Earth and its Moon cancel each other out. These are Lagrange points, and L-5 is at Lagrange point 5.

LED - Light emitting diode.

Leningrad Rider - A Leningrad rider is a legal attachment to a contract that allows an employer to shoot mercenaries for retreating.

Limpet mine - A limpet mine is a magnetic mine that is affixed to a target. The blast is focused to breech the heaviest armor.

LZ – Landing zone, a designated place for a craft to land.

M.A.S.H. - Mobile army surgical hospital.

Macro-nanite - A nanite is a machine made of very few atoms and can only be seen through an electron microscope. A Macro-nanite is about the size of a group of human cells. Because it is larger, it resembles a miniature robot rather than a true nanite.

Magazine, Mag – Short for box magazine, an external, spring driven device used to feed ammunition into a weapon.

Man-of-War Cybernetic Pod - This is a cybernetic pod, or chassis. While in most cyborgs, the only biological parts left are the central nervous system and brain. With a cybernetic pod, the human torso and head are installed into the chest cavity and the body acts as a permanent vehicle.

Megacity – Megacities are communities that hold in excess of fifty million people.

Micro-carrier  -            A micro carrier is a hundred meter long ship used to transport smaller vehicles that do not have a quantum drive, drop ships or shuttles, through slipspace.

Mindscreen theaters – Mindscreen theaters project sensory entertainment directly into the minds of the patrons.

Minigun - A minigun is an updated gattling gun. Electrically rotated barrels fire bullets at an unbelievable rate.

Mudraking – Mercenary slang for getting in trouble.

Multi Purpose Gauss Rifle, MPGR – The MPGR is a magnetically driven rifle capable of firing the same ammunition of bundled rods as a single, penetrating mass or in a loose shotgun blast for anti personnel work.

NBC gear - This stands for what it protects against: nuclear radiation, biological threats, and chemical weapons.

Nearsteel™  - Nearsteel is a dense plastic polymer, which closely approximates the strength of metal without the weight.

OCS, Officer’s Candidate School – Mercenaries looking to attaining the rank of officer usually go through a standardized school on Haven.

Orange Party - The Orange Party is a political organization, like The Green Party, Libertarians, Constitutionalists, Democrats, or Republicans. It is so named because most of the members are military personnel, and naval uniforms of Ashley 9 are orange.

PFC - Private First Class, one step above private.

PR-20 Piercer - Penetrating Railgun 2320. A Railgun made to puncture rock walls and thin armor. Invented in 2320, it is considered a very dangerous, multi-role weapon.

Quantum Net – Much like the internet, the quantum net is a collection of computers used to facilitate education, entertainment, and commerce. With a strong enough transceiver, it can be accessed from separate planets.

Roh – Roh is a crime riddled planet.

S.H.E.E.T. skiff - This is a semi-stealthy high-speed emergency ejectable transport skiff. Basically, it is used for one man to make reentry through atmosphere. It is destroyed during use.

Scout/All-Terrain, ScAT – A scout is a soldier trained in stealth, survival, and observation of enemy positions. All terrain is added for those that excel in urban, wilderness, artic, and desert camouflage and survival.

Seam - Mercenary slang for a stitch.

Shit skiff - Mercenary slang for a S.H.E.E.T. skiff.

Shuttle - A shuttle is a drop ship usually reserved for space only travel, and is not equipped with aeroline engines.

Slipspace - This refers to faster than light travel made possible through use of quantum mechanics.

Snitch - This is a drone made to gather intelligence.

Spoils, (open for) – Some mercenary contracts allow for looting.

Steelcloth™ - This is a trademarked product of the far future. Used in many ways, including casts, it is a soft, polymer plastic cloth which seals and hardens into shape when an electric current is applied.

Templar Model - This is a giant human form cyborg. Logan is a Templar model.

Thwack – A swear word popular with criminals.

Type 13 - During the intense resource wars on Earth before the Exile, it is thought that America built cyborgs of unbelievable sophistication. Indistinguishable from normal humans, they are extremely strong, fast, and resilient. Type 13’s have never been proven to exist.

Type 8 - There are thought to be twelve types of cyborgs. Type 8 cyborgs are based on animal, or legendary animal bodies. Usually, the human brain inside begins to act more aggressive once it is placed inside little more than a mobile weapon.

UAV - Unmanned aerial vehicle. Basically, it is a flying drone.

Unbonded – A mercenary is issued a bond when they are hired. This acts as insurance in case of extensive property damage or accidental death. Those that lose their bond usually do so because of incompetence, but some are war criminals. They usually wind up destitute.

Willpowerless™ Safety Dispenser - This is a dispenser of potentially addictive medication. It is timed to only let small amounts pass at preprogrammed intervals.