As you progress through the chronicles as told by Azriel Kane (later known as Ashton Frost), the gentle reader may come across terms unfamiliar to those in your own place and time. Herein, I have endeavored to elaborate on these terms. This is intended to be a 'living document', updated as new terms become present in yet-unexplored Chapters.
ANGELS: A colloquial name for the extra-dimensional entities that emerged through the rift created by the test flight of the prototype starship Prometheus. See also: VANISHING.
AUTODOC: An automatic medical table used in infirmaries or starship sickbays. Capable of surgical procedures, therapeutic processes and paramedical trauma management. See also: MEDIKIT.
BODYCOMP: A personal computing device that can be worn by an individual, typically on a harness or waist belt. Smaller devices can be worn on the forearm. a bodycomp generally has less computing power than larger desk computers that are more commonly used for everyday purposes. See also: HANDCOMP.
CATACLYSM: Term for the period of time between the arrival of the ANGELS until the beginning of the EXODUS. This includes the period of conflict known as the ENDWARS.
CATCH THE DRIFT: Colloquial term derived from superluminal navigation, meaning to 'get the hint' or 'read between the lines'.
DREK: The excretory byproduct of an animal such as a GRATCH.
EARTH-THAT-WAS: The original home of the human race, left behind after its total destruction in the CATACLYSM.
ENDWARS: The period of total global conflict following the VANISHING, incited by reactionary cults and eventually corporate, then military warfare and thermonuclear exchanges. The totality of these conflicts rendered EARTH-THAT-WAS completely unfit for human habitation.
EXODUS: The journey undertaken to the Forge by refugees from EARTH-THAT-WAS following the ENDWARS. This near-lightspeed expedition took two centuries of subjective time for the passengers of the IRONHOMES, but approximately two millennia in objective time.
GRATCH: A canid similar to a hyena from Earth-that Was. It is ill-tempered and bears large litters of pups.
GREAT ARKS: SEE IRONHOMES
GREBE: A type of alien waterfowl, native to many habitable worlds in the Forge. These edible creatures are docile and when frightened, will respond by becoming immobile.
HANDCOMP: A hand-held, multi-purpose computing device in ubiquitous use throughout the Forge. Possessed by nearly every individual in civilized society, a handcomp is used for entertainment, videography, messaging and communication, information and database retrieval, identification documents, and financial transactions. These pocket-sized devices are smaller and more portable than a BODYCOMP.
IRONHOMES: Vast colonization vessels used by survivors of the CATACLYSM to travel to the Forge. Each the size of a small city, these were managed by sentient artificial intelligences, and capable of travel at near-light speeds (causing subjective time dilation) due to modified Eidolon drives. Some of these vessels were lost in transit and never arrived at the Forge. Those that successfully completed the journey were disassembled to construct the first planetary and orbital colonies.
MAILBOX: A message beacon deployed at the anchorage of each charted system. Travellers and couriers can upload or receive messages as they pass through the system. Without the technology to transmit information at faster-than-light speeds, this is the most effective way of sending messages form world to world.
MECHANO-CORE: An electronic/mechanical interface for control systems of a starship, vehicle or installation. These components store the information needed to operate the systems, and are difficult to fabricate. Widely sought after by Grubs, who use them to barter for things that they cannot salvage.
MEDIKIT: A portable medical suite that can be worn or carried by individuals for first aid, limited trauma response, minor field surgical procedures. Requires human supervision to operate. Often found in shipboard lockers, especially those not possessing an AUTODOC.
THE REACH: A term originally referring to those facilities in the Solar System beyond the Asteroid Belt. This included colonies in orbit of Jovian worlds or their moons. Infrequently used to refer to deep-space installations located in stellar systems in the Forge.
STATSEC: A portmanteau of Station Security, these are privately-contracted onboard law enforcement organizations of a large starship, space station, or ground-based installation. While many adhere to and abide by the tenets of the Covenant, they are not organizationally part of the Keepers hierarchy.
TRANSPEX: A durable, transparent, amorphous solid material of high tensile strength. Transpex is not fragile or brittle like glass, and has taken its place in nearly all applications such as construction, industry, communications, and in the formation of viewscreens and containers.
VACSUIT: A self-contained, pressurized life support garment worn by shipboard and other spaceside personnel. Provides circulatory management in high-G maneuvers, protection from extremes of temperature, cosmic radiation, pressure and biological contamination. Used for survival in harmful environmental conditions, extra-vehicular activity, and shipboard conflict. A vacsuit is self-sealing and cuffs at each joint can function as a tourniquet following severe limb trauma or major compromise of suit integrity. Armored versions exist to provide additional protection for shipboard security personnel and those participating in armed conflict or other extremely hazardous activities.
VANISHING: The period following the emergence of the ANGELS. Lasting less than a week, this event resulted in the annihilation and disappearance of approximately 90% of the population of EARTH-THAT-WAS. A limited number of disappearances among off-world colonies and installations were also attributed to the event.