Текст книги "Bloodname"

Автор книги: Роберт Торстон

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GLOSSARY

During the fall of the Star League, General Nicholas Kerensky, commander of the Regular Star League Army, led his forces out of the Inner Sphere in what is known as the Exodus. After settling beyond the Periphery, the Star League Army itself collapsed. Out of the ashes of the civilization Kerensky's forces tried to create rose the Clans.

Clan military unit designations are used throughout this book. The structure of each unit is as follows:

Point            1 'Mech or 5 infantry Elementals

Star             5 'Mechs or 25 Elementals

Binary           2 Stars

Trinary          3 Stars

Cluster          4 Binaries

Galaxy          3-5 Clusters

Nova            1 'Mech Star and 1 infantry Star

Supernova     1 'Mech Binary and 2 infantry Stars

AUTOCANNON

A rapid-firing, auto-loading weapon, the autocan-non fires high-speed streams of high-explosive, armor-piercing shells.

BATCHALL

The batchallis the ritual by which Clan warriors issue combat challenges. Defenders may request that the attacker risk something of worth comparable to what the defender is risking in the contest.

BATTLEMECHS

BattleMechs are the most powerful war machines ever built. Ten to twelve meters tall and equipped with potent weapons, they pack enough firepower to flatten anything but another 'Mech.

BLOODING

Blooding is another name for the Trial of Position that determines if a candidate will qualify as a Clan warrior. The candidate must first demonstrate physical prowess in personal combat by defeating at least one of three successive opponents. If he defeats one, he begins his service as a Mech Warrior. If he defeats two, or all three, he is immediately ranked as an officer in his Clan. If he fails to defeat any of his opponents, he is relegated to a lower caste.

BLOODNAME

Bloodname refers to the surname of each of the 800 Warriors who stood with Nicholas Kerensky during the Exodus Civil War. These 800 are the foundation of the Clans' elaborate breeding program. The right to use one of these surnames has been the ambition of every Clan warrior since the system was established. Only 25 warriors are allowed to use any one surname at one time. When one of the 25 Bloodnamed warriors dies, a trial is held to determine who will assume that Bloodname. A contender must prove his Bloodname lineage, then win a series of duels with other competitors.

Bloodnames are determined matrilineally, at least after the original generation. Because a warrior can inherit only from his or her female parent, he or she can have a claim to only one Bloodname.

BLOODRIGHT

A specific Bloodname lineage is called a Blood-

BLOODNAME  

Twenty-five Bloodrights are attached to each Bloodname. A Bloodright is not a lineage as we define the term, because the warriors who successively hold a Bloodright might be related only through their original ancestor. As with Bloodnames, certain Blood-rights are considered more prestigious than others.

CANISTER

Clan slang for the eugenics program of the warrior caste. It can also refer specifically to the artificial wombs.

CASTE

Clan society is rigidly divided into five castes: warrior, scientist, merchant, technician, and laborer. Each caste has many subcastes based on specialties within a professional field. The warrior caste increases its numbers and controls genetic heritage by a systematic eugenics program using genetic material of prestigious, successful current and past warriors (see Sibko). Other castes maintain a quality gene pool by strategic marriages within each caste.

CODEX

Each warrior's codex is his or her individual identification. It includes the names of the original Blood-named warriors from which a warrior is descended. It also includes his generation number, Blood House, and codex ID, an alphanumeric code noting the unique aspects of that person's DNA.

DROPSHIP

Because JumpShips must generally avoid entering the heart of a solar system, they must "park" at a considerable distance from the system's inhabited worlds. DropShips were developed for interplanetary travel. As the name implies, a DropShip is attached to hardpoints on the JumpShip's drive core, later to be dropped from the parent vessel after in-system entry.

Though incapable of FTL travel, DropShips are highly maneuverable, well-armed, and sufficiently aerodynamic to take off from and land on a planetary surface. The journey from the jump point to the inhabited worlds of a system usually requires a normal-space journey of several days or weeks, depending on the type of star.

ELEMENTAL

The elite battlesuited infantry of the Clans. These men and women are physical giants, bred specifically to handle Clan-developed battle armor.

FREEBORN

An individual conceived and born by natural means is freeborn. Because the Clans value their eugenics program so highly, a freebirth is automatically assumed to have little potential.

KHAN

Each Clan elects two Khans. One serves as the Clan's senior military commander and bureaucratic administrator. The second Khan's position is less well-defined. He or she is second-in-command, and carries out duties assigned by the first Khan. In times of great internal or external threat, or when a coordinated effort is required of all Clans, an ilKhan is chosen to serve as the supreme ruler of the Clans.

JUMPSHIP

Interstellar travel is accomplished via JumpShips, first developed in the twenty-second century. The ship is named for its ability to "jump" instantaneously from one point to another across distances of up to 30 light years per jump.

JumpShips never land on planets, and only rarely travel into the inner areas of a star system. Interplanetary travel is carried out by DropShips, vessels that attach themselves to the JumpShip until arrival at the jump point.

LASER

An acronym for "Light Amplification through Stimulated Emission of Radiation." When used as a weapon, a laser damages its target by concentrating extreme heat on a small area. BattleMech lasers are designated as small, medium, and large. Lasers are also available as shoulder-fired weapons operating from a portable backpack power unit. Certain range-finders and targeting equipment employ low-level lasers also.

LOREMASTER

The Loremaster is the keeper of Clan laws and history. The position is honorable and politically powerful. The Loremaster plays a key role in inquiries and trials, where he is often assigned the role of Advocate or Interrogator.

LRM

This is an abbreviation for Long-Range Missile, an indirect-fire missile with a high-explosive warhead.

OATHMASTER

The Oathmaster is the honor guard for any official Clan ceremony. The position is similar to that of an Inner Sphere sergeant-at-arms, but it carries a greater degree of respect. The Oathmaster administers all oaths, and the Loremaster records them. The position of Oathmaster is usually held by the oldest Bloodnamed Warrior in a Clan (if he or she desires the honor), and is one of the few positions not decided by combat.

PERIPHERY

Beyond the borders of the Inner Sphere lies the Periphery, the vast domain of known and unknown worlds stretching endlessly into interstellar night. Once populated by colonies from Terra, these were devastated technologically, politically, and economically by the fall of the Star League. At present, the Periphery is the refuge of piratical Bandit Kings, privateers, and outcasts from the Inner Sphere.

PPC

This abbreviation stands for particle projection cannon, a magnetic accelerator firing high-energy proton or ion bolts, causing damage both through impact and high temperature. PPCs are among the most effective weapons available to BattleMechs.

REMEMBRANCE, THE

The Remembranceis an ongoing heroic saga detailing Clan history beginning with the Exodus from the Inner Sphere to current time. The Remembranceis continually expanded to include contemporary events. Each Clan has a slightly different version reflecting their own opinions and experiences.

SEYLA

This word is the ritual response voiced in unison by those witnessing solemn Clan ceremonies, rituals, and other important gatherings. No one is sure of the origin or exact meaning of the word, but it is uttered only with the greatest reverence and awe.

SIBKO

A group of children from the warrior caste eugenics program who have the same male and female gene-parents and are raised together as a sibko. As they mature, they are constantly tested. In the course of testing, many members of the sibko will fail, or flush out, and be transferred to the lower castes. A sibko consists of approximately 20 members, but usually only four or five remain at the time of the final test to become warriors, the Trial of Position.

SRM

This is the abbreviation for short-range missiles, direct trajectory missiles with high-explosive or armor-piercing explosive warheads. They have a range of less than one kilometer, and are accurate only at ranges of less than 300 meters. They are more powerful, however, than LRMs.

STAR LEAGUE

The Star League was formed in 2571 in an attempt to peacefully ally the major star systems inhabited by the human race after it had taken to the stars. The League prospered for almost 200 years, until civil war broke out in 2751. The League was eventually destroyed when the ruling body, known as the High Council, disbanded in the midst of a struggle for power. Each of the royal House rulers then declared himself First Lord of the Star League, and within months, war engulfed the Inner Sphere. This conflict has continued to the present day, almost three centuries later. These centuries of continuous war are now known simply as the Succession Wars.

SUCCESSOR LORDS

Each of the five Successor States is ruled by a family descended from one of the original Council Lords of the old Star League. All five royal House Lords claim the title of First Lord, and they have been at each other's throats since the beginning of the Succession Wars in 2786. Their battleground is the vast Inner Sphere, which is composed of all the star systems once occupied by Star League's member-states.

SURKAI

The surkaiis the Right of Forgiveness. The Clans honor uniformity in thought and belief above all other tenets of their society. When warriors disagree, when a Clan disagrees with the Clan Council, or when a member of one caste offends a member of another caste, surkaiis expected. It is a matter of pride that the offending party freely admit his wrongdoing and request punishment.

SURKAIREDE

The Rede of Forgiveness, or surkairede,is the honor-bound agreement between the majority and any dissenters. According to the surkairede,once a dissenter accepts punishment for having disagreed with the majority, he should be allowed to resume his role in society without suffering any further disgrace for having spoken out.

TRIAL OF BLOODRIGHT

A series of one-on-one, single-elimination contests is used to determine who wins the right to use a Bloodname. Each current Bloodnamed warrior in that Bloodname's House nominates one candidate. The head of the House nominates additional candidates to fill thirty-one slots. The thirty-second slot is fought for by those who qualify for the Bloodname but who were not nominated. The nature of the competition is determined by "coining." Each combatant places his personal medallion, a dogids,into the "Well of Decision." An Oathmaster or Loremaster releases the coins simultaneously, so that only chance determines which coin falls first to the bottom of the well. The warrior whose coin lands on top chooses the manner of the combat ('Mech versus 'Mech, barehanded, 'Mech versus Elemental, and so forth). The other warrior chooses the venue of the contest. Though these Bloodname duels need not be to the death, the fierce combat and the intensity of the combatants often leave the losing candidate mortally wounded or dead.

TRIAL OF POSITION

The Trial of Position determines whether a candidate will qualify as a warrior in the Clans. To qualify, he must defeat at least one of three successive opponents. If he defeats two, or all three, he is immediately ranked as an officer in his Clan. If he fails to defeat any of his opponents, he is relegated to a lower caste.

TRIAL OF POSSESSION

This trial resolves conflicts in which two or more Clans claim the right to the same thing, be it territory, a warrior's genes, or even supremacy in a difference of opinion. This trial uses the formal challenge of the attacker and the response of defending forces, and favors those commanders from the attacking Clan skillful enough to bid minimal forces.

TRIAL OF REFUSAL

The Clan councils and the Grand Council vote on issues and laws that affect the community. Unlike Inner Sphere legislation, however, any decision can be challenged and reversed by a Trial of Refusal. This trial allows the losing side to demand the issue be settled by combat.

The forces used in the Trial of Refusal are determined on a pro-rated basis. For example, if the contested vote carried by a three-to-one margin, the attacking forces can field a force three times the size of the force challenging the decision. Bidding often results in a smaller attacking force, however.

TRUEBORN/TRUEBIRTH

A trueborn is a product of the warrior caste's eugenics program.