[5] Glossary

[A]

• Administrative Sector - A political subdivision that determines legal jurisdiction and ownership of a given area of space. Sectors typically contain one starsystem as well as the interstellar space beyond, although some contain multiple starsystems.

• Army - See: Numbered LandForce Army.

• Anchor - A complicated machine, known more technically as a Dimensional Tunneling Matrix Generator, that acts to drill through space-time and penetrate into the sub-dimension MicroSpace, allowing objects to enter or exit this sub-dimension. These machines are used extensively by Hadeankind to facilitate interstellar travel.

• Anchorcraft - A large starcraft whose sole purpose is to power and operate a MicroAnchor for deep-space travel. Most commonly used by StarForce in order to facilitate rapid deployment of its Taskgroups, although some civilian firms also operate private AnchorCraft.

• Anchor Forge - A research and manufacturing center devoted both to MicroSpace experimentation, and the manufacture of new Anchors and MicroAnchors. Although generally quite safe, they may pose serious danger in the event of a catastrophe.

• Anchorpoint - A large planetside complex situated on a Primary Colony which contains and operates that system's Anchor.

• Aurgali Order - An ancient religious sect that is the former primary religion of the Hadean species. The Aurgali Order stressed civil unity above all else, and social reinforcement from Aurgali monks seeped into many civilizations and greatly influenced the development of Hadean society.

• Auxiliary Colony - Colonies within a starsystem with little development and low population. Auxiliary Colonies are generally sited on lower-quality worlds and typically consist of industrial or resource-gathering operations. The inhabitants of an Auxiliary Colony generally only hold temporary residence there.

[B]

• Battalion - A LandForce strategic command subdivision containing 1,000 personnel and comprised of four Companies.

• Buoy - An integral component of an Anchorpoint, this is a relatively small, unmanned orbital platform that is tethered directly to the Anchorpoint. The Buoy acts to amplify the Reality Distortion Field generated by the Anchor, thereby extending its effective radius.

[C]

• Central Authority - The centralized governing body of Hadean society, comprising the executive and legislative branches of government, as well as many important government agencies.

• Citadel - A large orbital platform that forms a base of operations for significant numbers of military personnel, while also providing maintenance, repair, and refit facilities for StarForce units. They are heavily defended and form an imposing military presence in the starsystem where they are stationed.

• CommonSpace - A name used to refer to normal space, in order to differentiate between it and MicroSpace.

• Company - A LandForce strategic command subdivision containing 250 personnel and comprised of five Platoons.

• Craftyard - A large orbital platform whose purpose is to design, construct, maintain, and repair civilian and military starcraft.

[D]

• Dimensional Tunneling Matrix Generator - See: Anchor

• Division - A LandForce strategic command subdivision containing 5,000 personnel and comprised of ten Battalions.

[E]

• Element - The smallest StarForce strategic command subdivision, consisting of between five and ten starcraft. Twenty Elements make up a full Taskgroup.

• Expansion Wars - A series of military conflicts involving most nations on Hadeus Prime, that took place between 2025 and 2078. The horrors of this war directly inspired Hadeankind to seek more peaceful resolutions to global issues, eventually culminating in Hadean unification in 2109.

• Extinction War - A military conflict between the Galactic Hadean Federation and Val'Turri that spanned from 2482 to 2499. The Extinction War resulted in a Hadean victory, but at the cost of crippling losses on all fronts.

[F]

• FlashGel - a synthetic material used as an automated emergency hull sealant aboard many Hadean starcraft. FlashGel is kept under sufficient pressure to maintain a liquid state. When the pressure drops significantly, FlashGel tends to erupt outward and shock-harden into a tough 'scab' that generally closes hull breaches partially or fully.

• Federal Assembly - The legislative branch of the Hadean government, composed of the Council of Representatives and Federal Senate.

• Fireteam - a fluid LandForce tactical command subdivision that breaks off from a Lance. Fireteams consist of between two and five personnel.

• Fleet - See: Numbered StarForce Fleet.

• ForceCom - The primary administrative organization for the Hadean military, overseeing operations of both StarForce and LandForce.

[G]

• Galactic Hadean Federation - Commonly shortened to GHF. The collective governing body of most of the Hadean species, based on the planet Haedus Prime.

• Gatestation - An orbital platform specifically designed to operate a MicroAnchor, used for travel between a system's Primary or Secondary Colonies and its outlying Auxiliaries.

[H]

• Home Guard - An informal nickname for Local Defense.

[I]

• Independence War - A term coined by the UFC (now ORC) to describe military operations against the Federation that took place on their homeworld, Ballinger, in the early 25th century.

[J]

[K]

[L]

• Lance - The smallest LandForce strategic command subdivision, consisting of ten personnel and led by a Dronemaster. Lances maintains a balanced complement of Infantry and Linesuits, and occasionally subdivide into Fireteams as the situation requires.

• LandForce - The primary terrestrial military arm of the Hadean Federation. LandForce is responsible for maintaining and deploying ground and atmospheric aerial forces in military endeavors.

• LineAcc - Short for Linear Accelerator. These machines are essentially giant railguns used for interplanetary, intrasystem shipping, accelerating LineCans to extremely high velocities.

• LineCan - Short for Linear Accelerator Canister. A large cargo container that is equipped with reusable self-contained propulsion and guidance systems. LineCans are launched on inter-orbital trajectories by LineAccs. Upon nearing their destination, LineCans burn their thrusters to decelerate into a stable orbit around the destination planet, where they await collection.

• Local Defense - A subdivision of LandForce, comprised of the Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Armies. Local Defense is primarily focused on disaster response and relief efforts, although they may also be deployed to control or quell disruptive demonstrations or civil unrest.

[M]

• Major Command - A Forcecom strategic command subdivision that focuses on an individual facet of the overall ForceCom mission. Major Command is generally abbreviated as MACOM.

• MicroAnchor - A miniaturized Anchor with reduced capacity, that requires a lengthy recharge period. MicroAnchors are used extensively in Anchorcraft and on Gatestations.

• MicroSpace - An exotic alternate dimension intrinsically tied to CommonSpace that is used by Hadeans to achieve interstellar travel. Objects in MicroSpace travel distances at a fixed ratio with regards to their position in CommonSpace. This shortens interstellar travel time significantly, but does not completely eliminate delays. MicroSpace, however, is fairly hostile to foreign matter, and CommonSpace materials begin to degrade on the subatomic level if left in MicroSpace for too long.

[N]

• Numbered LandForce Army - The largest LandForce strategic command subdivision, each containing 20,000 personnel and composed of four Divisions.

• Numbered StarForce Fleet - The largest StarForce strategic command subdivision of combat units. A full Fleet consists of ten Taskgroups and contains 2,000 starcraft.

[O]

• Outer Rim Concordat - A relatively small independent faction of Hadeans who broke away from Federal rule in the late 24th century, and who were known at the time as the United Free Colonies. The Outer Rim Concordat (ORC for short) espouse radically different social philosophies that emphasize a large degree of personal freedom, and therefore are essentially incompatible with modern Federation society.

[P]

• Platform - A space installation, generally deployed in a geosynchronous, geostationary or LaGrangian orbit around a host planet. Platforms perform a myriad of tasks vital to Hadean society, such as manufacturing, agriculture, habitation and military defense.

• Platoon - A LandForce strategic command subdivision containing 50 personnel and comprised of five Lances.

• Powersuit - A specially designed suit of powered combat armor used for more intensive roles than typical infantry. Powersuits are completely sealed against foreign atmospheres and contaminants, are equipped with heavy weaponry, and feature durable armor plating that allows them to sustain withering enemy fire. They typically operate in an infantry support role.

• Primary Colony - The site where most of the political infrastructure of a Starsystem is located, in addition to hosting the System Anchor. Primary Colonies tend to be of high quality and hold large populations.

• Prime - See: Primary Colony

[Q]

[R]

• Reality Distortion Field - a rippling field of quantum fluctuations generated by an Anchor and propagated by a Buoy. This anomalous field weakens and ruptures the fabric of space-time between CommonSpace and MicroSpace, allowing starcraft within its radius to transition between the two dimensions.

[S]

• Secondary Colony - Developed worlds with permanent inhabitants within a Starsystem that do not maintain the System Anchor. Not all Starsystems contain Secondary Colonies.

• Space Compression Drive - A highly advanced piece of machinery theorized to have enabled the Val'Turri to travel interstellar distances almost instantaneously. The device is believed to function by exerting extreme pressures on the fabric of space-time. No functional examples are known to exist within Hadean space.

• Squadron - a StarForce tactical command subdivision consisting of five Strikecraft.

• Starcraft - Any spacefaring vehicle capable of extended operations independent of a base.

• StarForce - The primary spacefaring military arm of the Hadean Federation. StarForce controls all warcraft and military starcraft, and are responsible for all offworld military engagements.

• Stellar Emergency Response Teams (SERTs) - SERTs are rescue units that are deployed for emergencies that occur within space, such as foreign object strikes or critical system failures, and are available for deployment to both starcraft and platforms.

• Strikecraft - A small flying combat vehicle, generally capable of operating both within an atmosphere and in space. Strikecraft are primarily distinguished from Starcraft in that they do not have the ability to operate for extended periods on their own, and thus depend on a base or carrier to service and deploy them.

• Synthetic Intelligence - Shortened to SI. A highly intelligent, sapient, cognitive biological computer based on a protein substrate. SIs play a critical role in the day-to-day management of most of Hadean society.

• System Anchor - The primary Anchorpoint within a Starsystem, which provides a stable link between the Starsystem and the rest of the Federation for commerce, travel, and communications.

[T]

• Taskgroup - A StarForce strategic command subdivision, consisting of twenty Elements. Taskgroups are designed to operate independently of one another and typically each one is assigned its own mission. Ten Taskgroups make up a full Fleet.

[U]

• Unified Theater Command - Abbreviated UNITCOM, this is a strategic command subdivision of ForceCom that oversees the deployment and operation of military units within a given region, typically several sectors.

[V]

• Val'Turri - A nomadic and predatory extraterrestrial species possessing highly advanced technology and making use of extensive genetic and cybernetic augmentations. The Val'Turri attacked Hadeankind without warning in 2482, kicking off the Extinction War. Though the Val'Turri were driven from Hadean territory in 2499, it is widely believed that they still survive beyond known space, and many fear they may someday return.

[W]

• Warcraft - Any starcraft specifically designed for military purposes.

• Wing - A StarForce tactical command subdivision consisting of five Squadrons.

[X]

[Y]

[Z]