by Tom Kratman
The Alta had made a number of stops already, and had to make a number more. At each stop, some boys and, in a couple of cases, some numbers of men, had come aboard and disappeared into the ship’s bowels, down where customs agents were occasionally bribed not to tread.
Legate Terry—“the Torch”—Johnson met them below. “Your father,” he said to Hamilcar, “left me very specific instructions. You are attached to my staff as my aide de camp. He says he wants you to learn.”
Ham nodded. The old man had told him as much. Ham also knew where, ultimately, they were bound for. Alena and her husband did not. Since he was aboard ship now, David Cano thought he could get away with asking, and did so.
Alena the witch just smiled.
In answer, Johnson led Cano to a map board, covered by green canvas. He pulled the canvas aside. Cano took one look, then turned to his wife and asked, not for the first time, “How the hell do you do that?”
General Assembly, World League, First Landing, FSC, Terra Nova
Lourdes wasn’t sure why the president of the Federated States hadn’t propositioned her. In the event, she was both relieved and mildly insulted that the lecher of the southern hemisphere hadn’t even tried.
On the other hand, since we want the FSC neutral, and since, had he propositioned me, my telling him that his daughter would be kidnapped and thrown to a pack of sex–starved condemned prisoners would probably have made that tougher, it’s surely just as well. Who knows, maybe the swine actually has some decency to him.
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, AKA 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
Anti-Submarine 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’ or 40’.
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 anti-personnel 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 faciltiies.
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: 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.
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, though 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 Anti-Tank Heavy Armor. A legionary tank destroyer, under development.
SPLAD
Self-Propelled Laser Air Defense. A developed legionary antiaircraft system.
Subadar
In ordinary use aMajor or Tribune III equivalent.
Surah
A chapter in the Koran, of which there are 114.
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 Concensus 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 legions 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.