Revision as of 19:14, 10 October 2007

With some Xanthalian terminology, simple translations are inadequate. Following are selected Xanthalian terms and what they mean.

General terms

Homespace [dądaąks]: the dimension of space-time we generally live in; an infinitely large three-dimensional area with a consistent temporal flow.

Frasas [frąsąs]: a spherical energy field (space-time bubble) created by a frasas generator that allows three-dimensional objects to travel through planespace without experiencing the severe spatial and temporal distortions natural to that realm. Anything that leaves the bubble without its own operational frasas generator in planespace will be instantaneously converted into energy and cease to exist.

Planespace [fwąs]: a dimension where space and time are distorted into a two-dimensional plane, allowing for incredibly fast travel relative to normal space for objects protected by a frasas. Planespace is connected to homespace through naturally-occuring dimensional gateways called sords. Navigation in planespace is next to impossible without a computer system specifically designed for the purpose.

Propellant [gąku]: liquid xenon-129. Commonly used as a propellant by Xanthalian ion drives.

Frasas fusion/separation [frąsąs putąlos/leutkos]: individually-generated frasas can join or separate from one another in planespace. In frasas fusion, separately-generated frasas make contact with one another and become a single frasas, its center being the largest mass in the frasas. When this occurs, the volume of the frasas instantaneously grows to approximately ten times the combined volume of the independent frasas. Frasas fusion is used primarily for formation flying in planespace and for battle between lighter vessels using energy weapons, which cannot be fired past the outer wall of a frasas. Frasas separation is the reversal of this effect; the division of a combined frasas into individual frasas, which occurs naturally when a ship passes outside the perimeter of the combined frasas.

Axes [seulĭte]: the imaginary lines running through a ship that lay out cross-sections of its three dimensions.

• x-axis [seulĭte rosal]: port-starboard.
• y-axis [seulĭte sosal]: fore-aft.
• z-axis [seulĭte tosal]: dorsal-ventral.

Sord [sord]: a two-dimensional rift in space-time that allows a properly-equipped vessel to transit between homespace and planespace. They are typically found near areas of gravimetric distortion, such as solar systems and spatial anomalies. Though sords vary in size, they are usually between two and fifty kilometers in diameter. Sords are passive anomalies that do not significantly affect normal space or even register on most sensors. Transit in and out of planespace is strictly regulated by the Xanthalian authorities, who set time intervals during which only one type of transit is allowed.

Military terms

Military Training Academy [Gąlən Oĭfną Ądsĭlăl]: An institution with multiple branches across Xanthal that trains candidates for military service in the Labule or Nabule.

Labule duty shifts

• Shift one: 0:00-3:40.
• Shift two: 3:30-6:70.
• Shift three: 6:60-10:00.

Rəgnąe [Ranks]

• Triumvirate: high officer and administrative director of the military at large, with full jurisdiction in the Labule and Nahbule. The power of this position is divided among Xanthal’s three Triumvirs.
• Admiral: a temporary position to which a commodore may be appointed by the Triumvirate. An admiral acts commander when multiple fleets or ground regiments are working together. The authority of an admiral only extends to units specified by whoever appointed them.
• Commodore: one presides over each fleet and regiment. Their authority is limited to their own unit, though they can temporarily take command of others if their commodores are killed or otherwise rendered unable to command.
• Captain: one commands each starship, facility and ground battalion. Their authority is limited to their unit.
• Subcaptain: can hold one of three positions: second in command aboard a starship, commander of a minor vessel, or ground company leader.
• Commander: one leads each department in a starship or facility and each ground squad.
• Lieutenant: rank denoting elevated authority of crewmembers and soldiers, often given to auxiliary department heads and specialists.
• Ensign: has completed basic military training for one or more positions, but has not been approved for command. Ensigns serve as basic crewmembers and soldiers.
• [no rank]: Personnel without a military rank serving on military vessels or in military facilities are obliged to submit to the orders of ranking officers.

Special Weapons Development Facility [Yązu Fąbrelăl Yunəke Devąl]: a secret establishment known only in name beyond a few insiders and the highest levels of the Xanthalian government. Run by the Nabule, the nature of SWDF’s operation, and even its location on Soviet’s outer moon, are a closely guarded secret.

Labule alert statuses

• Combat alert:
  • Situations: hostilities imminent or in progress.
  • Systems: all offensive and defensive systems active and ready for combat.
  • Crew: all hands to stations. Observe battle rules.
• Defensive alert:
  • Situations: hostilities expected or probable.
  • Systems: all defensive systems active, all offensive systems on standby.
  • Crew: all hands on alert, all primary personnel to stations.
• General alert:
  • Situations: any non-hostile encounters requiring increased alertness or on-duty personnel.
  • Systems: all sensor systems online, defensive systems on standby or online as situation may require.
  • Crew: exercise caution and diligence. All personnel on-call.
• Normal status:
  • Situations: any normal operation not requiring increased alertness or defense.
  • Systems: combat systems offline, all others operating as situation may require.
  • Crew: standard duty shifts in practice.
• Standby status:
  • Situations: landed, docked, or adrift and performing passive operations only.
  • Systems: all control systems on standby, all active sensors and unused systems offline.
  • Crew: essential personnel only on duty, all other personnel on thirty-minute standby.
• Evacuation alert:
  • Situations: full-scale evacuation of facility or vessel.
  • Systems: all control systems to full automatic.
  • Crew: abandon posts and man escape vehicles; launch at discretion.
• Intrusion alert:
  • Situations: unauthorized person or object aboard.
  • Systems: all controls restricted to authorized access, internal defenses online. Self-destruct on five-minute command-deauthorized cycle.
  • Crew: all nonessential personnel defend essential personnel and systems.
• Docking/landing status:
  • Situations: docking/landing procedures in effect.
  • Systems: fine control systems on full, alignment sensors online, docking/landing implements online.
  • Crew: exercise caution and diligence.
• Manual control status:
  • Situations: electronic attack or interference in use.
  • Systems: all systems set to manual control. Automatic control systems and remote receivers offline.
  • Crew: all hands utilize manual control, disregard unconfirmed computer instructions.

Technological terms

(Ion) Engine [ąpsa]: Xanthalian sublight-speed travel is achieved primarily with the use of standard ion engines, accelerating charged Xenon atoms through exhaust ports to generate directional thrust. There are a wide array of designs, and the potential speed and acceleration of a vessel driven by the system varies based on the mass of the ship compared to the power of the engine(s).

AI/Computer [obkąs]: Xanthalian AIs are not much more complex than Earth's early twenty-first century computers, though they are fairly modern in terms of speed. This lack of sophistication makes them unable to perform the complicated control tasks that can be delegated to advanced AIs, but the extensive hardwiring means that they are very difficult to sabotage. Because the Labule does not use them to control shipboard systems, they also make most forms of electronic warfare ineffective against Labule targets.

Reactor [gənş]: Xanthalian fusion reactors use a 50/50 mix of deuterium and tritium as reactants, and are made in four primary models: 100 MW, 500MW, 1GW and 5GW. The name specifies the reactor's maximum safe output.

Mine [hąksą]: the Xanthalian mine is the Labule's most powerful ship-to-ship weapon. Its large size (eight square meters and ten tonnes) is more than compensated for by its incredible ability. More fast, maneuverable, accurate, and powerful than most missiles and torpedoes, and equipped with its own space-time bubble generator, the biggest drawback of the mine is its limited availability, meaning their strategic use is essential to victory. Mines can be reloaded in most military ports or by properly-equipped supply vessels.

• Explosive yield: 200 megatons

Frasas generator [jənret frąsąsăl]: frasas generators create the spherical space-time bubbles that allow vessels to travel safely through the severe spatial and temporal distortion of planespace. A relatively simple device in terms of hardware, it must be enlarged only fractionally compared to the volume of space it must enclose. Thanks to its small size, everything from the man-sized mine to the largest starship can carry the generator aboard. Due to the nature of its design however, the generator must be an integrated system. Anything less than a perfectly installed generator will result in a heavy imbalance that will severely cripple a ship in planespace. Another feature of the frasas generator is that the mass of the bubble it generates relative to the bubble's size has a strong impact on the speed at which a ship can travel through planespace. If more mass enters a bubble, or if the mass within it is unevenly distributed, the potential speed of the bubble will decrease exponentially. Frasas generators consume about 10 megawatts of energy for every cubic meter of frasas independently generated.

(Hull) Armor [ląnəsbugą]: the Labule uses duranium and tritanium alloy in constructing its hulls, and each class has a different thickness and overall strength of armor depending on how it is built. Heavy armor can help protect a ship against many conventional weapons, but it also makes the ship more massive, and thus slower to accelerate.

• Armor rating index:
  • 1: light outer hull design
  • 2: light to medium outer hull design
  • 3: medium to heavy outer hull design
  • 4: heavy outer hull design
  • 5: heavy outer hull design and reinforcement

Antiproton cannon [lənyuju]: the antiproton cannon is the most powerful of the Labule's energy weapons. The weapon fires a large stream of charged antiprotons at a target from a specially-designed rod, usually housed in a sealable compartment of a Labule starship or station, for one to three seconds. This stream is capable of dealing significant damage to enemy shields, or even overloading higher-capacity defense grids. The destructive antiprotons can literally impale an unshielded target with their beam. Primarily an offensive weapon, the antiproton cannon can also be used defensively, usually against tight formations of enemy projectiles or cluster weapons, which it can destroy completely in a single shot. The antiproton cannon has a very limited rate of fire, and will overload if used more than once every ten seconds.

• Power rating index:
  • 1: 20 petawatts
  • 2: 40 petawatts
  • 3: 60 petawatts
  • 4: 80 petawatts
  • 5: 100 petawatts

(Energy) Shield [sunəsbuga]: Xanthalian energy shields are of average quality, utilizing a modulated energy field to absorb the destructive energy of incoming attacks. Most effective in blocking beam weapons, they have limited ability to protect against explosive projectiles. The strength of the barrier is determined by the power of the projector, and more powerful projectors generally take up more space. Xanthalian energy shields must be maintained in a spherical form. Their modulation allows objects to leave the sphere, but not enter. As they absorb the energy of impacts, their energy drains accordingly.

• Power rating index:
  • 1: 1 exajoule
  • 2: 2 exajoules
  • 3: 4 exajoules
  • 4: 8 exajoules
  • 5: 16 exajoules

Laser cannon [vąk lənyu]: laser cannons are of average power for a light ship-to-ship energy weapon, and depending on design can fire at a rate of up to two shots per second. Labule starships use burst fire laser cannons with highly accurate targeting systems to allow them to shoot down incoming projectiles such as missiles, torpedoes and mines. Only class 5 laser cannons are powerful enough to be effective against well-shielded targets, but even lower grade lasers can be used en masse to wear down an enemy in battle if they are not needed for defensive purposes.

• Power rating index:
  • 1: 1 petawatt (industrial grade)
  • 2: 5 petawatts (defense grade)
  • 3: 10 petawatts (combat grade)
  • 4: 15 petawatts (offensive grade)
  • 5: 20 petawatts (assault grade)

Fun facts

Megukuga: The name for Than’s fourth planet is a transliteration of its Old Xanthalian name: “[Land] Blessed With Poison.” The title is in reference to the atmosphere, not breathable by most sentient species but perfect for the than, who were first to settle there. The planet’s Thanic name defies pronunciation by most humanoids.

Renku: Mirfak’s third planet retains, transliterated, its Old Xanthalian name, meaning “New Purgatory.” This unfriendly-sounding epithet arguably has two origins: it can be thought of as a reference to the barren desert that characterized most of the planet before it was terraformed in Y.Z. 141, or as an artful description of the function it served prior to that time as an exile planet for Xanthal’s career criminals. Either way, the moniker has stuck despite the radical changes to that world since it was originally named.

Shinra: This planet was named after the ancient clan which ended feudalism on the Earth continent of Zithal by uniting the region through conquest of its neighbors and later gave way to the first Xanthalian state. The planet Shinra was originally named Kendari. Prior to Xanthal’s acquisition of the system, Kanell was ruled by the Kingdom of Kendari, which borrowed its name from the planet serving as its capital. After a disastrous magical accident left the planet uninhabitable, the Free-Trading Starships of The Extraterrestrials seized control of Kanell, terraformed and altered the orbit of Kendari, then gave the system to the Socialist Republic of Xanthal in return for trade concessions and ownership of a resource system in the Andromeda galaxy. When the Kingdom of Kendari was stabilized following the chaos resulting from Kendari's sudden depopulation, the King requested that Xanthal change the name of his realm's former capital. The Xanthalian legislature formally renamed the planet Shinra in Y.Z. 331.

Wakimaishu: The name for Than’s sixth planet is a corrupted transliteration of its Old Xanthalian name, which meant “World of the Great and Wise Insects.” This amusingly literal choice of terms obviously originates from the fact that it was the site of Xanthal’s first encounter with the bug-like than. The planet’s Thanic name defies pronunciation by most humanoids.