Terinu - Glossary of Terms

Glossary of Terms

Bion: A type of energy produced naturally by the Ferin, which they are able to utilize as either a conventional power source or a defensive weapon.

Bio-Tech: An interstellar biological research company, with offices on Luna Station. In the beginning of the story, Terinu is convicted of piracy and bought by Bio-Tech at an auction.

Bloody Plagues: A weapon, presumably biological, that was released against the Galactic Sapiens Alliance as a final act of vengeance by the Varn towards the end of the rebellion.

Bolt Hole: A colony world outside the GSA’s control, used as a haven by pirates. In the beginning of the story it is invaded by the GSA.

Cannon Ship: Lead ship of the fleet sent by the Gene Mage to conquer a Creo asteroid colony. It was equipped with a “Crust Breaker Cannon”, which Terinu was forced to power using his bion. The ship was subsequently sabotaged and heavily damaged by the crew of the Treona.

Celestial Marauder: The flagship of Mavra Chan’s pirate fleet, commanded by Captain Aynish.

Cyber Glider: An individual with the ability to use a cybernetic interface to infiltrate computer systems. In the Terinu universe, this ability is rare and highly prized by both civilian law enforcement and military espionage organizations. Cyber Gliding is inherently dangerous however, with even experienced Gliders running the risk of induced schizophrenia and "brain frying."

Dampening Collar: A lockable collar used to dampen Terinu’s bion generating capabilities, that secures around his neck and the top of his head, forcing down his spurs. At least one version featured a remotely controlled stun weapon to control the young Ferin when he got physically out of hand.

Department of Social Harmony: An administrative office in the pre-war Varn Dominion charged with ensuring the happiness, or at least compliance of their servitor races. The usual methods included censorship and the occasional arrest and reeducation of social undesirables. The concept was originally fanon which was borrowed by Terinu's author.

Dust Jacket Generator: A type of energy shield used by spaceships when traveling at faster than light speeds, keeping them safe from interstellar debris.

Forced Labour: An increasingly common punishment in the GSA, where criminals are sold at auction to corporations to act as essentially slave labour. Leeza is uncomfortable with the idea, but Lance states it is preferable to having criminals sit in prisons “eating up public funds.”

Fragg: Teri's favourite expletive. Means the same as a contemporary word also beginning with "f".

Frell/Frelling: Rude curse words. Rufus occasionally uses the more polite “Fruit!” when under stress. First appeared in the science fiction TV series Farscape.

Galactic Sapiens Alliance: An interstellar government founded by the races that originally rebelled against the Varn Dominion five hundred years ago. It includes Humans, Galen, Creo, and Vulpine. Other races that may be members include the Manzi and the Maud.

Holy Den Mother: Patron goddess of the Vulpine race. Rufus and Melika often swear by her.

League of Pirate Warlords: A loose association powerful pirates, bound together by blood oath out of mutual self-interest. Their numbers have recently been sharply reduced.

Luna Station: A large space station shaped like a Catherine Wheel, in orbit around Earth’s Moon. It is the site of a shipyard, and a Bio-Tech facility where Terinu is briefly incarcerated and examined. Leeza also has an apartment on the station, which Terinu implies she received due to her father’s influence.

Madame Cher’s Cabaret: A live entertainment company owned by Madame Cher, operating out on the GSA frontier. Most of the entertainers appear to be female, and live together under the Cabaret’s roof.

Power Cell: A padded, partially flooded chamber utilized by the Varn Dominion to collect bion energy. Several Ferin dwell in a power cell at any one time, with large intravenous tubes inserted into their bodies to feed them the proteins and sugars required for their increased energy output, which is collected by a pillar in the center of the cell.

Sleek Winged Fighter: A fast, hardy and highly manoevarble fighter once used by the Vulpine space force. It's now been supersceeded by a newer model but Vulpine fighter hardware romantics still drool over restored examples of this fighter at air and space expo's

"The black heart of Baltos!": A term used by Space Pirates. Baltos was a particularly brutal and infamous Space Pirate whose name is legendary amongst his peers. Other pirates swear by him.

Treona: An Epsilon class Y2Y Explorer (Deep Space Model). The ship Leeza was assigned to track down a problem in its activation crystal array. During the attack on the refueling station in Chapter One, Leeza was forced to abandon the rest of the crew and escape in the Treona, along with Terinu, Rufus, and her cousin Lance.

Varn Dominion: The empire once controlled by the Varn, including the races they conquered, and uplifted creatures such as the Ferin.

Vulpine Prime: Homeworld of the Vulpine Race.

The White Knight: Rufus’ personal spacecraft, a refurbished Sleek Winged Fighter. It is equipped with energy weapons, and is capable of interstellar travel.