midshipman A boy between the ages of 8 and 17 taken on board ship both to perform certain limited duties and to be trained to serve in the enlisted or officer ranks. Commonly referred to as “mids.”
midshipman trainer A senior noncommissioned officer, typically the second most senior chief petty officer on the ship, in charge of the training, housing, discipline, and welfare of all midshipmen on board. Also known as “Mother Goose” (see).
MMD See M-88.
Moro, Emeka (for the ship, see Emeka Moro) Physician and medical researcher born in Mombassa, Kenya, Earth, on 15 April 2241. Winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2295. Perhaps the foremost expert in human infectious diseases in the galaxy, Dr. Moro headed the effort to devise a treatment or preventative for the Gynophage (see), an effort that involved more than a million physicians and researchers on more than four hundred planets, at its peak consuming 43 percent of the interstellar communications bandwidth and 15 percent of the computing capacity available to the human race, and costing more than 300 trillion credits. When early research work began to indicate that neither a vaccine nor an antibody-based treatment would be more than 25 percent effective, it was Dr. Moro who personally had the insight of combining a vaccine with a set of broad spectrum antibodies synthesized not only to match the current disease organism but also the nine most probable mutations of its external protein coat, thereby creating a vaccine that prevents infection in those who are not infected and prevents manifestation of the disease in those who are infected but are asymptomatic. Dr. Moro is literally the most honored human of the last thousand years, being the namesake for one inhabited planet, two colonies on inhabited moons, five medical schools, dozens of hospitals, and hundreds of schools. For decades “Emeka” was the most popular male given name in Human Space. Dr. Moro currently lives with his spouse, famous molecular biologist Dr. James Warington, in London.
Mother Goose The semi-official title for the midshipman trainer (see).
N2 Naval Intelligence Staff, the equivalent of G2 in the old Army general staff system.
Officer rank abbreviations:
GADM: Grand Admiral (five stars)
FADM: Fleet Admiral (four stars)
VADM: Vice Admiral (three stars)
RADM: Rear Admiral (two stars)
CMRE: Commodore (one star)
CAPT: Captain
CMDR: Commander
LCDR: Lieutenant Commander
LT: Lieutenant
LTJG: Lieutenant junior grade
ENSN: Ensign
One MC (also written 1MC) One main circuit, the primary voice channel on a naval vessel, allowing a properly authorized speaker to be heard over every audio transducer in the ship. The term dates back to the saltwater navy.
oy mekheye (Yiddish) an that does not translate well into Standard expressive of supreme joy or exaltation.
oy veh (Yiddish) “Woe is me.” An expression of sorrow and dismay.
pas aujourd’hui (Cajun French) “Not today.”
PC-4 Patrol Craft, Type 4. A sublight only high-speed patrol and light attack craft used for system and planetary defense as well as for light intrasystem escort duties. Length: 72 meters. Beam: 5 meters. Crew: two officers, ten enlisted. Armament: one 75-gigawatt pulse cannon, six Raytheon-Hughes “Talon” ship-to-ship missiles (see). Top speed: .97 c.
pennant In a multivessel group commanded by an officer below the rank of commodore, the vessel from which the group is commanded and in which the overall commander of the group is stationed.
percom A wrist-carried communication, computing, and control device worn by all naval personnel when on duty.
pigeon In a formation of military vessels, the vessel being protected or escorted by the others, particularly if there is only one such vessel and it is of particular importance.
posident POSitive IDENTification.
pulse cannon A ship-mounted weapon that fires a pulse of plasma diverted from the ship’s main fusion reactor and accelerated to between .85 and .95 c by magnetic coils. The plasma is held in a concentrated “bolt” by a magnetic field generated by a compact, liquid helium–cooled, fusion cell–powered emitter unit inserted in the bolt just as it is about to leave the cannon tube. The bolt loses cohesion and expands explosively when the emitter stops generating the containment field resulting from: (1) the emitter’s exhaustion of its coolant supply, resulting in the plasma vaporizing the emitter; (2) the emitter’s timer shuts down the emitter at a set range; (3) the bolt strikes a target destroying the emitter. Pulse cannon are rated based on the power output of their coil assemblies, which determines how much plasma can be fired in a given pulse; the explosive power of a pulse cannon bolt, measured in kilotons, is roughly 1/300 of the power rating in gigawatts. Accordingly, a maximum power bolt from a pulse cannon with a 150-gigawatt rating is approximately 0.5 kilotons. If the firing ship is travelling at a high fraction of lightspeed, the speed of the plasma pulse can exceed .99 c.
Raven A large antiship missile carried by Union warships. Much larger than the Talon (see) and with a higher top speed, the Raven accelerates more slowly, is less nimble, and is more vulnerable to point defense systems and countermeasures than the Talon, due to its larger size. Manufactured by Gould-Martin-Marietta Naval Aerospace Corporation, the Raven finds its target with both passive and active multimodal sensor homing and then inflicts its damage with a 1.5-megaton fixed-yield fusion warhead powerful enough to destroy all but the largest enemy vessels and to cripple any known enemy ship. Ravens are equipped with an innovative system known as Cooperative Interactive Logic Mode (CILM—pronounced “Kill ’em”). When more than one Raven is launched against the same target, CILM causes the missiles to communicate with one another and attack the target jointly, closing on the enemy from multiple vectors, to render defense more difficult, and exploding at the same instant to inflict the most damage.
regardez donc (Cajun French) An expression of awe and amazement, roughly equivalent to an extremely emphatic “Wow!” Literally translates as “look at that.”
registry numbers The unique identification number assigned to each warship, consisting of its three-letter class code, followed by a number.
Richthofens Fancy maneuvers. From Baron Manfred von Richthofen, better known as the “Red Baron,” the famous World War I German fighter pilot.
Robinson, Will (see Will Robinson).
RRS Royal Rashidian Ship. Used to identify a Rashidian naval vessel, much as USS (Union space ship) precedes the name of a Union naval vessel.
saltwater navy A Navy comprised of ocean-going ships as opposed to one comprised of ships that travel in space. In the Union Navy, the term is particularly used to refer to the navies on Earth, the officers and traditions of which formed much of the basis for the United Earth Spaces Forces in 2034 (the navies of the United States and Canada, Great Britain, and Japan were particularly important).
scones Small, single-serving cakes, usually lightly sweet and baked in flat pans, traditionally a part of the English tea refreshment, often served with cucumber finger sandwiches. Believed to have originated in Scotland. Likely an acquired taste, like cucumber finger sandwiches.
Scotty The traditional nickname for a warship’s chief of engineering, irrespective of the national origin of his ancestors. The nickname is believed to have originated with the Star Trek franchise, as “Scotty” was the nickname of Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott, the chief engineer of the fictitious USS Enterprise. As the character became incorporated into spacer lore, it was said that Scotty could repair a fusion reactor with nothing but duct tape and a ladies’ hairpin, drank Scotch like weak green tea, and defied hostile aliens with icy ultimatums articulated in a rich Highland burr.
SDMF Self-destruct mechanism, fusion. A fusion munition carried on all Union warships prior to the Battle of Han VII for the purpose of destroying the vessel as a last resort to prevent it
from falling into enemy hands.
Senate Generally and historically, this term refers to the upper chamber of a bicameral legislature of either a state of the United States of America, or of the United States of America itself. In current usage, this term refers to the Union Senate, also called the “New Senate” (although this usage is becoming less common) one of the two bodies of the Union Parliament (the other being the Union Assembly). The Senate consists of five members chosen by the Congress from each of the Estates: the people (the “voters”); agriculture (the “farmers”); manufacturing (the “makers”); shipping and transportation (the “movers”); academia and science (the “thinkers”); extractive industries (the “miners”); the information media (the “reporters”); retail and consumer sales (the “storekeepers”); lending, deposits, and investments (the “bankers”); architecture, construction, and civil engineering (the “builders”); public employees (the “governors”); the armed forces (the “warriors”); health care (the “doctors”); attorneys, brokers, accountants, and similar professionals (the “lawyers”); and publishing, cinematic and broadcast tridvid, trideo game design and sales (the “entertainers”). The New Senate, with representation based on the Estates, replaced the Old Senate with membership consisting of two members from each Major World or Inhabited System after the Revolt of the Estates in which the Estates determined that a government in which representation was based on population and locality failed to reflect the economic communities that had arisen in Human Space and that such a government tended to impose unfair burdens on some estates in favor of others. Accordingly, all changes in taxation and declarations of war, as well as significant changes in the Union budget require the unanimous concurrence of all the Estates represented in the Senate.
SEUR Safety and Equipment Utilization Regulations (the acronym is pronounced “sewer”). Regulations promulgated by the Navy governing the appropriate use parameters for virtually every imaginable vessel, device, system, or piece of equipment issued by the Navy.
six Shorthand for “six o’clock position,” or directly astern.
SOP Standard operating procedure.
Sparks The traditional nickname for a warship communications officer.
Speak, friend, and enter. A reference to J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. The phrase was written (in secret writing visible only in moonlight and only after the uttering of magic words) over the West Door to the Mines of Moria, also known as Khazad-dûm, a vast underground realm of the dwarves, which at the time of the story had been abandoned by them, as it was occupied by an ancient and powerful monster known as a Balrog of Morgoth. The door would open upon utterance of another magic word, “mellon,” which is “friend” in Elvish.
squeaker A particularly young or puny midshipman. Also “squeekie,” “deck dodger,” “panel puppy,” and “hatch hanger” (the last for their habit of standing in the hatches while holding the rim, thereby blocking the way).
SSR Staff support room. A compartment located in the general vicinity of the CIC, containing between three and twenty-four men whose duty it is to provide support to one CIC department by performing detailed monitoring and analysis of the sensors or equipment for which that department is responsible; this monitoring is at a level impossible for one or two people assigned that function in CIC.
Standard the official language of the Union; also, the official language or a widely used second language on virtually every non-Union human world. Standard is derived mostly from the English that was the most widely spoken second language on Earth and was the language of international science, commerce, shipping, and aviation in 2034, when the first human space forces were formed.
SVR Space Vehicle Registry. Usually used to refer to the database containing registry information for every space vehicle known to the Union, including information for vehicles of friendly powers who share registry information with the Union Space Vehicle Registration Bureau. The Union Space Navy maintains a classified SVR database containing the registry information for all naval vehicles as well as the ones on file with the Registration bureau.
synchrotron radiation Radiation emitted as a result of the radial acceleration of ultra-relativistic charged particles through a magnetic field.
SWACS Space Warning and Control System. An integrated sensor, computer, and command/communications/control suite placed on various warships to provide an exceptionally high level of sensor coverage and detail and to coordinate the defense against attacking vessels.
Tabi’a (Arabic) Any formation in which multiple warriors or vessels array themselves to form a protective wall. In the Rashidian Space Navy, the term is used to denote any squadron or other unit tasked with protecting another ship.
Talon The primary antiship missile carried by Union warships. Manufactured by Raytheon-Hughes Space Combat Systems, the Talon is an extremely fast, stealthy, and agile missile with both passive and active multimodal sensor homing and a 5–150 kiloton, variable-yield fusion warhead. The Talon is designed to elude and penetrate enemy countermeasures and point defense systems, use its onboard artificial intelligence and high-resolution active sensors to find a “soft spot” on the enemy ship, and then detonate its warhead in a location designed to inflict the most damage. One Talon is capable of obliterating ships up to frigate size and of putting ships up to heavy cruiser size out of commission. Against most targets with functioning point defense systems, the Talon is a better choice than the heavier Raven (see). Beginning in February 2315, Talons were equipped with Cooperative Interactive Logic Mode, a technology adopted from the Raven.
Teller-Ulam soufflé A reference to the “Teller-Ulam Design,” which is the fundamental architecture for every thermonuclear weapon ever built by humans. The design may be the only practical design for a true thermonuclear weapon, as it was independently arrived upon by Soviet physicist Andrei Sakharov (and was known in the USSR as “Sakharov’s Third Idea”), as well as every alien civilization to have developed thermonuclear weapons whose design is known to humans. The design consists of a fusion-boosted, implosion-type (“Fat Man”) fission bomb and a mass of lithium deuteride contained in a uranium casing, with a rod of fissionable material in its center. The compression of the lithium deuteride by detonation of the fission weapon, along with the neutrons generated by the weapon, plus those generated by the casing and by the rod triggered by the neutron flux created by the primary detonation, ignites a fusion reaction in the deuterium contained in the lithium deuteride.
Terran Union The common name for the Union of Earth and Terran Settled Worlds, a Federal Constitutional Republic consisting of Earth and (as of January 2315) 518 of the total 611 worlds known to be settled by human beings. Often simply referred to as the “Union.” Formed in 2155 upon the collapse of the Earth and Colonial Confederation (commonly referred to as the “Earth Confederation” or simply the “Confederation”) resulting from the Revolt of the Estates that began in 2154. The territorial space controlled by the Union has a shape roughly like that of a watermelon 2500 light years long and 800 light years wide, aligned lengthwise through the Orion-Cygnus arm of the Milky Way Galaxy. Population, approximately 205 billion. With the exception of the Krag Hegemony, the Union is the most populous and largest political entity in Known Space, as well as the most economically successful.
TF Task Force. A group of warships assembled for a particular mission or “task.” Distinguished from a “fleet” in that a fleet is a permanent or very long-lived formation usually assigned to a particular system or region of space, whereas a task force is assembled for a limited period of time, then disbanded. Task forces are generally designated by letters of the alphabet, for example, Task Force TD or Tango Delta. Units may be spun off from a task force; these are usually designated by the name of the task force followed by a color or a number, for example, Task Force Bravo Victor Seven or Task Force Galaxy Foxtrot Green.
type When applied to warships, this term refers to th
e general category and function of the vessel, as opposed to class, which refers to a specific design or production run of vessels within a type. The most common types of warship are, in decreasing order of size, carrier, battleship, battlecruiser, cruiser, frigate, destroyer, corvette, and patrol vessel. There are of course, other types of naval vessel that are not categorized as warships, including tanker, tender, tug, hospital ship, troop carrier, landing ship, cargo vessel, and so on.
UESF United Earth Space Forces. The international military arm formed in 2034 by United States and Canada, the European Union, and the China–Japan Alliance to retake the Earth’s moon from the Ning-Braha who had occupied it, presumably as a prelude to a planned invasion of Earth. The UESF drew its personnel primarily from the navies and air forces of the founding powers and drew its command structure, regulations, traditions, and other institutional foundations mainly from their “saltwater navies.” Nevertheless, the UESF was a joint force that regarded itself as the successor to all of the armed forces of all of the nations of the Earth. The Ning-Braha technology captured by the UESF in this campaign was the catalyst for mankind’s colonization of the stars. The UESF is the direct institutional ancestor of the Union Space Navy.
Union See Terran Union.
von Braun, Wernher Born, 23 March 1912; died, 16 June 1977. German-American rocket engineer best known for leading the development of the German A-4 rocket (commonly known as the V-2), humanity’s first operational ballistic missile and the first human-created object to reach outer space, as well as for leading the team that developed for the United States the Saturn series of space launch vehicles. This series included the Saturn V that propelled the Apollo spacecraft to the Earth’s moon in a series of memorable missions extending from December 1968 (Apollo 8) to December 1972 (Apollo 17).
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