Glossary of Terms

Categories

-Factions

-Ship classes

-Abbreviations

-Miscellaneous - Alliance

-Miscellaneous - Arusian

-Miscellaneous - Baltan

-Miscellaneous - Drule

-Miscellaneous - Galra
-Miscellaneous - Other

Note: Any terms in italics are real-world terms that we don't use with any appreciable difference from their common definition, we just included them either a) because they're kinda jargon-y or b) to add a little in-series context.

Last updated with: Some miscellany

(Ship: Fractal; Abbreviation: CMS; Alliance: Alikria-ka, Datapad, Voidforging; Arusian: Digipad, Gorca, Matchflint, Seden, Slingbow, Vehka; Baltan: Taisseli; Drule: Jaivur, Meskotha, Salegre; Other: Fulgurite, Kufot)

FACTIONS (back to top)

• Alliance of Five Powers
• Historical alliance of Glis, Hydran, Kolaliri, Biboh, and Quasnot resistance to Drule aggression.
• More Info
• Drule Supremacy
• Ancient hegemonic faction composed of the ten Drule kingdoms, with a strong general emphasis on history, honor, and strength. The Supremacy originated and largely resides in the Andromeda Galaxy, though several kingdoms have a presence within the Milky Way.
• Fourth Kingdom
• A kingdom of the Drule Supremacy, and the primary driver of conflict in the Orion Spur for centuries. The Fourth largely shuns occult science in favor of raw technological might. The rise of the Galaxy Alliance has put a halt to its expansion for several decades.
• Galaxy Alliance
• Far-flung multicultural faction created from the combination of the Alliance of Five Powers and the United Alliance to resist Drule aggression. Actively recruits throughout the Orion Spur.
• More Info
• Galra
• Enigmatic faction of raiders, known to be searching for a weapon called Voltron.
• Independent
• A catch-all for any power that is not a major faction, defined as those factions which span at least two worlds and contain at least two unrelated races.
• This classification can include anything from militant isolationist worlds such as Drozan, to the centers of enormous neutral trade networks such as Parikullax.
• Ninth Kingdom
• A kingdom of the Drule Supremacy, one of the most focused on conquest. The Ninth is known for fielding monstrous creatures called robeasts, and a general favoring of occult science as a military tool if pushed too far.
• Seventh Kingdom
• A kingdom of the Drule Supremacy, known for power brokering and a strong mercantile focus. Informally, is just as happy to trade goods and favors with the Alliance as with anyone else.
• Sixth Kingdom
• An enigmatic kingdom of the Drule Supremacy, known for its strict adherence to Drule honor and a powerful grudge against the Fourth Kingdom.
• United Alliance
• Government of the Earth and its surrounding colonies following the Wars of Awakening.
• More Info
• Vex-Cha Confederacy
• Faction comprised of the Vex-Cha (collective name for several distantly related insectoid races spread over a large region of space), as well as satellite and affiliate worlds. Primarily an economic power.

SHIP CLASSES (back to top)

• Endeavor
• A common Alliance general-purpose spaceplane.
• More Info
• Fractal
• The Alliance's primary aerospace superiority fighter.
• Vagrant
• Iconic but recently obsolete Alliance heavy cargo spaceplane.
• More Info
• Xaela
• A Bataxi-built cargo spaceplane, primarily sold as an export.
• More Info

ABBREVIATIONS (back to top)

• ACS
• Alliance Cargo Ship
• Standard prefix for cargo spacecraft registered through the Alliance Chartering Commission, whether or not the Alliance is its operator.
• AWS
• Alliance War Ship
• Standard prefix for combat spacecraft registered through the Alliance Chartering Commission, whether or not...
• ...let's be real here, the Alliance isn't sanctioning independent warships.
• CES
• Civil Explorer Ship
• Standard prefix for a reconnaissance or general-purpose spacecraft registered through any Alliance-based independent chartering organization.
• CMS
• Civil Merchant Ship
• Standard prefix for a cargo spacecraft registered through any Alliance-based independent chartering organization.
• FTL
• Faster than light
• HTHL
• Horizontal takeoff, horizontal landing
• LOCV
• Loss of crew and vehicle
• SSTO
• Single-stage-to-orbit
• A spacecraft that can launch from the surface of a planet and reach orbit without discarding any major hardware (such as expendable fuel tanks).

MISCELLANEOUS - ALLIANCE (back to top)

• Alikria-ka
• A formal Glis greeting, translates roughly to "infinite welcomes".
• Breaching
• Entering or exiting hyperspace with the use of a breach drive.
• Breachjacking
• Colloquial term for a smaller vessel being caught in the hyperspace breach of a larger vessel.
• Datapad
• Generic term for a tablet computer.
• More Info
• The Five Sectors
• The space around Earth, as designated by Earthling maps prior to the Galaxy Alliance's formation. Still maintained as administrative districts.
• The titular Five Sectors are Centauri, Atlantis, Pacifica, Sibereal, and Galilei.
• Hyperspace
• The extraspatial plane used for standard Alliance FTL travel (hyperdrives and breach drives)
• More Info
• Hyperturbulence
• Colloquial term for hyperspace fluctuations with similar effects on spacecraft to atmospheric turbulence on a conventional aircraft.
• Interior Expanse
• The region of space explored by the ancient Glis Empire, whose maps now form the core of Alliance stellar cartography.
• Orion Spur
• An arm of the Milky Way Galaxy. Home to the Galaxy Alliance, the Vex-Cha Confederacy, several Drule occupation zones, and countless unknown powers and mysteries.
• Outer Reaches
• Anything outside the Interior Expanse.
• The Rim
• An area of the Outer Reaches adjacent to the Five Sectors; largely a relic of old Earthling maps, but still recognized as a distinct region.
• Spaceplane
• Technically, a class of Earthling and later Alliance HTHL SSTO spacecraft resembling, and largely behaving in a similar manner to, conventional atmospheric aircraft.
• Colloquially, any winged spacecraft which can launch from and land on a planet's surface unassisted.
• Starship
• Any spacecraft which cannot function in atmosphere, relying on the use of spacedocks.
• Colloquially, sometimes used for any vessel capable of independent interstellar travel.
• Stellar cruiser
• Technically, a class of Earthling and later Alliance starships designed specifically for high-efficiency, long-distance travel.
• Colloquially, any starship designed for a civilian purpose.
• Voidforging
• A zero-gravity alloy production and casting process.

MISCELLANEOUS - ARUSIAN (back to top)

• Anenyo
• Standard greeting, translates roughly to "may you be blessed".
• Digipad
• An Arusian multipurpose media device, similar to a datapad.
• Diya Kopora/Kopore
• Literally "For the King/Queen"
• A traditional war cry of the Golden Knights.
• Dovayat
• A common curse, translates roughly to "blasphemy".
• also dovayat pol (stronger variant) and dovayat polesta (extremely vulgar).
• Dovoyat
• Dialectical variant of dovayat, may be seen as slightly less vulgar in regions where both are common.
• Flarestone
• A personal light source, traditionally created by embedding luminous material within a partially translucent stone.
• These can come in many different forms; a flarestone is the Arusian equivalent to a flashlight. Modern flarestones may or may not actually be stone.
• Gorca
• A lake-dwelling spiral-shelled cephalopod, rarely seen on the surface.
• Two main varieties: Launi, which are poisonous and brightly colored, and Paukon, which are dull but safe.
• Kopora
• King, usually specifically in reference to the High King.
• Kopore
• Queen, usually specifically in reference to the High Queen.
• Matchflint
• A type of small disposable sparkflint that rapidly consumes itself when activated.
• Mysluka
• A form of Arusian meditative archery, originating in the Crown Province.
• Poratn (pore-uh-TEN)
• Crown, referring specifically to the overall ruling house of Arus (House Raimon).
• Roli
• A green and tan rabbit-like mammal often kept as pets, hunted for fur and meat in times of need.
• Seden
• A Golden Knight rank designating a particularly skilled junior knight.
• Sinycka (sih-NICH-kah)
• Literally "blue demons" in a very vulgar form.
• A profane nickname for the Drules, common after the invasion.
• Slingbow
• An uncommon crossbow-like weapon that fires two small darts at once.
• Sparkflint
• A device that creates sparks, used to set fires.
• Cleverly designed sparkflints are a common form of Arusian art.
• Vehka
• A deciduous shrub notable for its highly caffeinated leaves, which can be chewed raw or brewed into a tea.

MISCELLANEOUS - BALTAN (back to top)

• De chyle
• Sentence modifier which expresses great approval of the subject.
• Occasionally used as a stand-alone expression of admiration; this usage is especially common among the Dragon and Jackal Castes.
• Jalekya
• A mild curse, with context and usage roughly akin to 'crap'.
• Kir sa tye
• Sentence modifier which invites confirmation; roughly translates to "is that right?" 
• Also used to invite agreement ("isn't that right?"). The more appropriate modifier for this usage, "kir sa vye," is all but obsolete outside the Phoenix Caste.
• Komora
• Standard expression of confusion.
• May be used as a sentence modifier but usually stands alone.
• Mechaiska (meh-CHYSE-kuh)
• Indicates the speaker considered something insulting, but recognizes it was meant benignly and thus takes no offense.
• Often formally translated as "I'll take that in the spirit it was offered."
• Mechka (MEHCH-kuh)
• Literally refers to a seal-like creature native to Balto.
• Colloquially used as a friendly insult, roughly equivalent to 'silly' or 'dummy'.
• Mijtairra (mizh-TYE-ruh)
• An invocation of the Tairra, the Baltan hell gods; can be roughly translated as "Tairra take notice".
• Best equated with 'goddamn', but is a somewhat less common curse.
• Sa kye 
• Sentence modifier, literally an expression of emphasis to the point of rudeness.
• Best understood as denoting profanity (though not all profanity requires this modifier, anything using this modifier is profanity).
• May be added to an existing curse to denote extreme vulgarity.
• Taisseli
• An obsidian knife created by Baltans early in martial training. By tradition, an instructor shatters a single chunk of obsidian, and students spar over the pieces they wish to use.
• Literally 'shard knife'.
• Tasakvar
• Medical term for the absence of telepathy.
• Use of tasakvar implies telepathy as a default state; this term is used for Baltans who lack telepathy, not races who never evolved it to begin with.
• Vara sa tye
• Sentence modifier inviting a negative; roughly "am I wrong?"
• Almost always used sarcastically; 'kir sa tye' is generally used for genuine questions.
• Varetya
• Literally translates to "defective".
• Colloquially a vulgar term for non-telepathic (tasakvar) Baltans, also used as a general curse roughly akin to 'shit'.

MISCELLANEOUS - DRULE (back to top)

• A'kuri
• Term of honor used for a royal consort-to-be.
• Literally "subject of courtship".
• This form is unique to the Ninth Kingdom's dialect, most other kingdoms use an'kuri. 
• Calcatrix
• A large avian with a long reptilian tail. Known for its paralytic bite and keen intelligence, and often trained by Drule nobility as a hobby.
• Gaive'llar
• A ceremonial folding knife unique to the Ninth Kingdom, traditionally made with a gravehound-fang hilt and a moonsteel blade.
• Once the traditional weapons of gladiators, now largely restricted to the nobility.
• Jaivur
• An undead being whose spirit is tethered to a phylactery. Jaivurs retain their will and personality to an extent, but can be manipulated and commanded by the holder of their phylactery; a sufficiently skilled necromancer can also transfer the spirit between multiple vessels.
• Meskotha
• A fruit native to the Drule homeworld of Naraku, symbolically associated with the beginning of a journey.
• Metaspace
• The extraspatial plane used for Drule FTL travel (piercer drives and jumpgates)
• Retinue
• A Drule monarch's collection of consorts.
• Salegre
• A traditional dish of fruit stuffed with spiced ground meat.
• Sincline
• Term of honor for a royal suitor.
• Literally an archaic form of "one who searches"

MISCELLANEOUS - GALRA (back to top)

• Vrenkat Se
• Literally "stay your blade".
• Colloquially a common expression of greeting or peaceful intention.
• Vrepit Sa
• Literally "unleash your attack".
• Colloquially a common expression of finality or assurance, often used as a ritual farewell or acknowledgment of orders or duty.

MISCELLANEOUS - OTHER (back to top)

• Fulgurite
• Glassy mineral tubes or masses created by lightning or other electricity discharging into the ground.
• Kufot
• A Norwegian epithet that translates roughly to 'cow foot'.
• Mirrorlock
• The Bataxi method of FTL travel, utilizing a quantum-charged photon slipstream.