The Rods and the Axe

by Tom Kratman

  Okay, let’s not be ridiculous. He no doubt has reasons of his own for getting me this speaking opportunity in front of the World League.

  To be continued . . .

  APPENDIX A

  GLOSSARY

  AdC

  Aide de camp, an assistant to a senior officer.

  Adourgnac

  A Gallic brandy, alleged to have considerable medicinal value, produced from ten different kinds of grapes, of which the four principal ones are Maurice Baco, Cubzadais, Canut, and Trebbiano. There is an illegal digestif produced from the brandy that includes a highly dilute extract from the fruit of the Tranzitree, qv.

  Ala

  Plural: Alae. Latin: Wing, as in wing of cavalry. Air Wing in the legion. Similar to tercio, qv.

  Amid

  Arabic: Brigadier General.

  Antania

  Plural: Antaniae, septic-mouthed winged reptilians, possibly genengineered by the Noahs, also known as Moonbats.

  ARE-12P

  A Gallic infantry fighting vehicle.

  Artem-Mikhail-23-465 Aurochs

  An obsolescent jet fighter, though much updated.

  Artem-Mikhail 82

  Also known as “Mosaic-D”; an obsolete jet fighter, product improved in Balboan hands to be merely obsolescent.

  ASW

  Antisubmarine warfare.

  BdL

  Barco de la legion, ship of the legion.

  Bellona

  Moon of Terra Nova.

  Bolshiberry

  A fruit-bearing vine, believed to have been genengineered by the Noahs. The fruit is intensely poisonous to intelligent life.

  Caltrop

  A four-pointed jack with sharp, barbed ends. Thirty-eight per meter of front give defensive capability roughly equivalent to triple-standard concertina.

  Caltrop Projector

  A drum filled with caltrops, a linear-shaped charge, and low-explosive booster, to scatter caltrops over a wide area on command.

  Cazador

  Spanish: Hunter. Similar to Chasseur, Jaeger and Ranger. Light infantry, especially selected and trained. Also a combat leader selection course within the Legion del Cid.

  Chorley

  A grain of Terra Nova, apparently not native to Old Earth.

  Classis

  Latin: Fleet or naval squadron.

  Cohort

  Battalion, though in the legion these are large battalions.

  Conex

  Metal shipping container, generally 8 × 8 × 20 feet or 8 × 8 × 40 feet.

  Consensus

  When capitalized, the governing council of Old Earth, formerly the United Nations Security Council.

  Corona Civilis

  Latin: Civic Crown. One of approximately thirty-seven awards available in the legion for specific and noteworthy events. The Civic Crown is given for saving the life of a soldier on the battlefield at risk of one’s own.

  Cricket

  A very short take-off and landing aircraft used by the legion, for some purposes, in place of more expensive helicopters.

  Diana

  A small magnet or flat metal plate intended to hide partially metal antipersonnel landmines by making everything give back the signature of a metal antipersonnel landmine.

  Dustoff

  Medical evacuation, typically by air.

  Eris

  Moon of Terra Nova.

  Escopeta

  Spanish: Shotgun.

  Estado Mayor

  Spanish: General staff and, by extension, the building which houses it.

  F-26

  The legion’s standard assault rifle, in 6.5mm.

  FMB

  Five-Minute Bomb.

  FMB-I

  Five-Minute Bomb-Incendiary.

  FMTIB

  Five-Minute Thermobaric and Incendiary Bomb.

  FSD

  Federated States Drachma. Unit of money equivalent in value to 4.2 grams of silver.

  GPR

  Ground-Penetrating Radar.

  Hecate

  Moon of Terra Nova.

  Hieros

  Shrine or temple.

  Huánuco

  A plant of Terra Nova from which an alkaloid substance is refined.

  I

  Roman number one. Chief Operations Officer, his office, and his staff section.

  Ia

  Operations Officer dealing mostly with fire and maneuver, his office and his section, S- or G-3.

  Ib

  Logistics Officer, his office and his section, S- or G-4.

  Ic

  Intelligence Officer, his office and his section, S- or G-2.

  II

  Adjutant, Personnel Officer, his office and his section, S- or G-1.

  IM-71

  A medium-lift cargo and troop carrying helicopter.

  Ikhwan

  Arabic: Brotherhood.

  Jaguar

  Volgan-built tank in legionary service.

  Jaguar II

  Improved Jaguar.

  Jizyah

  Special tax levied against non-Moslems living in Moslem lands.

  Karez

  Underground aqueduct system.

  Keffiyah

  Folded cloth Arab headdress.

  Klick

  Kilometer. Note: Democracy ends where the metric system begins.

  Kosmo

  Cosmopolitan Progressive. Similar to Tranzi on Old Earth.

  Liwa

  Arabic: Major General.

  Lorica

  Lightweight silk and liquid metal torso armor used by the legion.

  LOTS

  Logistics Over The Shore, which is to say without port facilities.

  LZ

  Landing Zone, a place where helicopters drop off troops and equipment.

  Maniple

  Company.

  Makkah al Jedidah

  Arabic: New Mecca.

  Mañana sera major

  Spanish: Balboan politico-military song meaning tomorrow will be better.

  MB

  Money Bomb.

  MRL

  Multiple Rocket Launcher.

  Mujahadin

  Arabic: Holy Warriors (singular: Mujahad).

  Mukhabarat

  Arabic: Secret Police.

  Mullah

  Holy man; sometimes holy, sometimes not.

  Na’ib ’Dabit

  Arabic: Sergeant Major. meaning

  Naik

  Corporal.

  Naquib

  Arabic: Captain.

  NGO

  Nongovernmental Organization.

  Noahs

  Aliens that seeded Terra Nova with life, some from Old Earth, some possibly from other planets, some possibly genetically engineered, in the dim mists of prehistory. No definitive trace has ever been found of them.

  Ocelot

  Volgan-built light-armored vehicle mounting a 100mm gun and capable of carrying a squad of infantry in the back.

  Meg

  Coastal Defense Submarine employed by the legion, also the shark, Carcharodon Megalodon, from which the submarine class draws its name.

  M-26

  A heavy-barreled version of the F-26, serving as the legion’s standard light machine gun.

  PMC

  Precious metal certificate. High-denomination legionary investment vehicle.

  Progressivine

  A fruit-bearing vine found on Terra Nova. Believed to have been genengineered by the Noahs. The fruit is intensely poisonous to intelligent life.

  Puma

  A much-improved Balboan tank, built in Volga and modified in Zion and Balboa.

  Push

  As in “tactical push.” Radio frequency or frequency-hopping sequence, so called from the action of pushing the button that activates the transmitter.

  PZ

  Pickup Zone. A place where helicopters pick up troops, equipment, and supplies to move them somewhere else.

  RGL

  Rocket Grenade Launcher.

  Roland />
  A Gallic main battle tank, or MBT.

  RTO

  Radio-Telephone Operator.

  Satan Triumphant

  A hot pepper of Terra Nova, generally unfit for human consumption, although sometimes used in food preservation and refinable into a blister agent for chemical warfare.

  Sayidi

  Arabic form of respectful address, “Sir.”

  SCIB

  Shaped Charge Incendiary Bomb.

  Sergeyevich-83

  Or Serg-83, a Volgan-designed, Zhong-built naval fighter bomber, capable of vertical take- off and landing, and of carrying an ordnance load of about two tons.

  SHEBSA

  Servicio Helicoptores Balboenses, S.A. Balboan Helicopter Service, part of the hidden reserve.

  Sochaux S4

  A Gallic four-wheel-drive light truck.

  SPATHA

  Self-Propelled Antitank Heavy Armor. A legionary tank destroyer, under development.

  SPLAD

  Self-Propelled Laser Air Defense. A developed legionary antiaircraft system.

  Subadar

  In ordinary use, a Major or Tribune III equivalent.

  Surah

  A chapter in the Koran, of which there are one hundred and fourteen.

  Tercio

  Spanish: Regiment.

  Tranzitree

  A fruit-bearing tree, believed to have been genengineered by the Noahs. The fruit is intensely poisonous to intelligent life.

  Trixie

  A species of archaeopteryx brought to Terra Nova by the Noahs.

  TUSF-B

  Tauran Union Security Force-Balboa.

  UEPF

  United Earth Peace Fleet, the military arm of the Consensus in space.

  Volcano

  A very large thermobaric bomb, set up by a seismic fuse.

  Yakamov

  A type of helicopter produced in Volga. It has no tail rotor.

  APPENDIX B

  LEGIONARY RANK EQUIVALENTS

  Dux, Duque: Indefinite rank; depending on position it can indicate anything from a Major General to a Field Marshall. Duque usually indicates the senior commander on the field.

  Legate III: Brigadier General or Major General. Per the contract between the Legion del Cid and the Federated States of Columbia, a Legate III, when his unit is in service to the Federated States, is entitled to the standing and courtesies of a Lieutenant General. Typically commands a deployed legion, when a separate legion is deployed, the air ala or the naval classis, or serves as an executive for a deployed corps.

  Legate II: Colonel; typically commands a tercio in the rear or serves on staff if deployed.

  Legate I: Lieutenant Colonel; typically commands a cohort or serves on staff.

  Tribune III: Major; serves on staff or sometimes, if permitted to continue in command, commands a maniple.

  Tribune II: Captain; typically commands a maniple.

  Tribune I: First Lieutenant; typically serves as second in command of a maniple, commands a specialty platoon within the cohort’s combat support maniple, or serves on staff.

  Signifer: Second Lieutenant or Ensign; leads a platoon. Signifer is a temporary rank, and signifers are not considered part of the officer corps of the legion except as a matter of courtesy.

  Sergeant Major: Sergeant Major with no necessary indication of level.

  First Centurion: Senior noncommissioned officer of a maniple.

  Senior Centurion: Master Sergeant, but almost always the senior man within a platoon.

  Centurion, J.G.: Sergeant First Class; sometimes commands a platoon, but is usually the second in command.

  Optio: Staff Sergeant; typically the second in command of a platoon.

  Sergeant: Sergeant; typically leads a squad.

  Corporal: Corporal; typically leads a team or crew or serves as second in command of a squad.

  Legionario, or Legionary, or Legionnaire: private through specialist.

  Note that, in addition, under legion regulations adopted in the Anno Condita 471, a soldier may elect to take what is called “Triarius Status.” This locks the soldier into whatever rank he may be, but allows pay raises for longevity to continue. It is one way the legion has used to flatten the rank pyramid in the interests of reducing careerism. Thus, one may sometimes hear or read of a “Triarius Tribune III,” typically a major-equivalent who has decided, with legion accord, that his highest and best use is in a particular staff slot or commanding a particular maniple. Given that the legion—with fewer than three percent officers, including signifers—has the smallest officer corps of any significant military formation on Terra Nova, and a very flat promotion pyramid, the Triarius system seems, perhaps, overkill. Since adoption, regulations permit but do not require Triarius status legionaries to be promoted one rank upon retirement.