Grunt Traitor
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GLOSSARY
.357 Ruger Blackhawk: Large revolver.
9mm: Type of ammunition, also used to refer to a type of weapon.
AK-47: Former Soviet-era Russian-made machine gun which fires 7.62mm ammunition.
ANPVS-7: Single-tube binocular night vision goggles.
AR-15: Former Soviet-era American-made machine gun which fires 5.56mm ammunition.
ascocarp: The fruiting body of an ascomycete phylum fungus.
belay: To stop or ignore, usually an order or command.
bounding overwatch: Also known as leapfrogging or moving overwatch, is the military tactic of alternating movement of coordinated units to allow, if necessary, suppressive fire in support of offensive forward movement or defensive disengagement.
call sign: A unique alphanumeric identifier used in communications.
Caspers: White supremacist survivalists living in Rancho Cucamonga.
New Panthers: Benign survivalist group from Corona who merely want to be left alone.
Charlie Mike: Continue Mission.
claymore mine: A directional anti-personnel mine capable of delivering 700 steel ball bearings at 1200 mps.
CO2 scrubber: A device which absorbs carbon dioxide.
Cray: Initially an overarching term for all aliens, this term really only applies to the alien creatures who reside in the hives.
Cult of Mother: A survivalist group living in Big Cieniga Spring with a leader who looks like Kathy Bates.
Devil’s Thunder: Survivalist biker gang who control the I-15 corridor between Vegas and L.A.
DongHai-10: Chinese-made land-to-land cruise missile capable of delivering nuclear payloads.
DZ: Drop Zone, the location where airborne personnel and vehicles land.
ELF: Extremely Low Frequency.
EMP: Electromagnetic Pulse.
ethnobotany: The scientific study of the relationships that exist between peoples and plants.
evac: Evacuate.
exfil: Exfiltrate; get out.
EXO: Originally called the Electromagnetic Faraday Xeno-combat Suit, the EXO is an electro-mechanical exoskeleton with armor, targeting systems, and advanced weapons.
FOB: Forward Operating Base.
FUBAR: Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition.
fungee: Common term for those infected and wearing ascocarps.
Gaze technology: Advanced technology that allows a computer to track the movements of the eyes and allows selection and operations of virtual command trees in head-up displays.
GEOINT: GEOspatial INTelligence.
GNA: God’s New Army. The largest survivalist group in the L.A. area, led by a charismatic former TV star.
grunt: The lowest life form in the military.
HALO: High Altitude Low Opening parachute operation.
harmonic blade: An electromagnetic Stellite-made sword mounted on the EXO which vibrates at ultrasonic frequencies, making it thousands of times more effective at slicing through armored opponents than a normal blade.
HK416: Advanced rifle system based on the AR-15, typically used by assault and special operations forces.
HMID: Human Machine Interface Device.
HUD: Head-Up Display, a transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints.
HUMINT: HUMan-derived INTelligence.
Hydra rocket: Adapted surface-to-air or surface-to-surface rocket fired from a pod mounted on the EXO.
Hypocrealiacs: The over-arching term for the aliens who have invaded Planet Earth.
IMINT: IMagery INTelligence.
infil: Infiltrate;get in.
JMPI: Jump Master Personnel Inspection.
Leupold Mark 4 CQT scope: State of the art rifle scope capable of providing night vision.
M16: Vietnam-era and most common variant of the AR-15.
M4: Modern variant of the AR-15.
M60A3: Vietnam-era main battle tank with 105mm main gun.
MAC-10: Compact submachine gun capable of firing .45 acp or 9mm.
MASH: Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.
military fatigues: Any uniform created for work or combat.
Mother: Leader of the Cult of Mother who has a striking resemblance to the actress Kathy Bates.
Mr. Pink: Recruiter for the OMBRA corporation and commander of OMBRA Special Operations Command North America. Originally a nickname given by Ben Mason because of the man’s resemblance to the actor Steve Buscemi, the name has stuck and is what Mr. Wilson uses instead of his own name.
MRE: Meals, Ready-to-Eat, boxed and bagged rations used to feed troops in the field.
NAP: High-speed low altitude air travel following the contours of the Earth. Also called Nap of the Earth or NOE.
needler: Alien variant which protects and pollinates the flowers on the black alien vine.
net: A network of communication devices.
NTC: National Training Center at Fort Irwin, the location where American military forces trained brigade on brigade combat operations.
NVD or Nods: Night Vision Devices.
OMBRA: Largest world-wide defense contractor before the alien invasion.
OPFOR: OPposing FORces.
Ophiocordycipitaceae: A family of parasitic fungi in the Ascomycota, class Sordariomycetes.
overwatch: Units or elements of unit supporting each other during fire and maneuver.
P226: Semi-automatic pistol which fires 9mm ammunition.
P238: Very small semi-automatic pistol which fires 9mm ammunition or .45 ACP.
prick-77: AN/PRC-77 Portable Transceiver,a man-packable, portable VHF FM combat-net radio transceiver used to provide short-range, two-way radiotelephone voice communication. Capable of communications operations up to thirty miles with booster.
PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
QRF: Quick Reaction Force.
recon: Reconnaissance.
RPG: A class of weapon using rocket propelled grenades.
Sirens: Alien variant which uses human brain-waves to establish alien to alien communication.
SNAFU: Situation Normal: All Fucked Up.
SOCOM: Special Operations COMmand.
spikers: Alien variant, usually in animals, with spikey ascocarps protruding from the skin.
UAV: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.
VUAA1: Vanderbilt University Allosteric Agonist Number One, a pesticide which renders the user invisible to certain species of insects and needlers because it causes sensory overload
W54: Manufactured in the United States in 1961, these were the smallest man-packable nuclear weapons devised.
WWWSD: What Would William Shatner Do?
xenobotany: The scientific study of extraterrestrial plants.
XM214: A weapons system mounted on the EXO with a six-barreled rotating minigun fed from a backpack ammo supply through an ammo feed arm with 1500 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition.
THE INVASION IS OVER. THEY ARE ALREADY AMONGST US.
Benjamin Carter Mason died last night. Maybe he threw himself off a bridge into Los Angeles Harbor, or maybe he burned to death in a house fire in San Pedro; it doesn’t really matter. Today, Mason’s starting a new life. He’s back in boot camp, training for the only war left that matters a damn.
For years, their spies have been coming to Earth, learning our weaknesses. Our governments knew, but they did nothing—the prospect was too awful, the costs too high—and now, the horrifying and utterly inhuman Cray are laying waste to our cities. The human race is a heartbeat away from extinction. That is, unless Mason, and the other men and women of Task Force OMBRA, can do anything about it.
This is a time for heroes. For killers. For Grunts.
‘Weston Ochse writes hard-nosed fiction with more grit and imagination than most authors could ever hope to muster. When he turns his skills to tales of the military, the words sing with the truth of personal experience.’
Christopher Golden, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Snowblind
/> ‘SEAL Team 666 is like X-Files and Torchwood written by Tom Clancy: ingenious, creepy, and entertaining.’
Kevin J. Anderson on Seal Team 666
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