Ojos Amarillos: La Defensa de Panama

Glossary

abuela

Spanish: grandmother.

AID

Artificial Intelligence Device.

alcalde

Spanish: mayor.

Aldenata

Galactic Tranzis, largely disappeared from the Galactic scene in sheer funk and shame at the damage they had, despite all the best intentions, wrought.

armada

Spanish: Armed Force.

AZIPOD

An electronic drive which replaces propellers and rudders with steerable propellers.

boma blade

A monomolecular sword carried by all Posleen except Kenstain.

brow

Gangplank of a warship.

Carcel Modelo

Model Prison. It was anything but.

Casco Viejo

"The Old Helmet"; the historic district of Panama City where Palacio de las Garzas, the presidential palace, is located.

Chocoes

Indians of the Darien. Very fierce.

chumbo

In Panamanian Spanish a term, not a particularly nice one, for blacks. In Colombia it means a male reproductive organ. Perhaps at one time the two uses were related.

CIC

Combat Information Center, the command post of a warship.

Class V

Ammunition.

cosslain

Superior normal Posleen. Fills the functions of both noncommissioned officers and technicians.

Cuna

AKA San Blas. Indians that inhabit the islands off Panama's Caribbean coast ("Island Cuna") of the rivers that feed the Caribbean ("River Cuna"). Culturally similar peoples can be found as far north as Mexico.

Darhel

"The Elves." Galactic lawyers, businessmen and bureaucrats who control the Galactic Federation created by the Aldenata in the dim mists of antiquity.

det cord

Detonating cord; basically an explosive rope, a useful means of using one explosion to set off another.

edas

Posleen: debt.

El Moro

A brothel in Colon.

escudo

Spanish: shield.

eson'antai

Posleen: son.

eson'sara

Posleen: junior officer, protege.

FAP

Fuerza Aeria de Panama, Panamanian Air Force.

GalPlas

Galactic Plastic.

HVM

Hypervelocity Missile, a Posleen guided kinetic energy weapon capable of piercing all but the strongest armor plate.

iglesia

Spanish: church.

Kenstain

Kessentai who have given up war. Some become Rememberers, a sort of Posleen clergy. Rememberers command great respect.

Kessentai

God King, Philosopher. The Posleen with generally humanoid levels of intelligence.

manjack

American invention using a mix of Earth technology and GalTech. The manjack is a semi-autonomous machine gun assembly that analyzes its arc of fire and engages anything entering it.

MarCam

Marine Camouflage, a uniquely pixilated pattern that incorporates a miniature version of the Marine Corps' Eagle, Globe and Anchor for the express purpose of keeping the Army from using it.

mil

A measure of angle, 1/6400 of circle.

oolt'ondai

Posleen pack leader.

orna'adar

The Posleen Ragnarok, which occurs when population pressure forces the clans on a world to war for space, which war invariably devolves into total planetary destruction and the migration of the survivors to new worlds.

Palacio de las Garzas

"Palace of the Herons"; Panama's White House.

pork chop

Ship's supply officer.

Po'oslena'ar

Posleen. "The People of the ships."

rabiblanco

"White ass." A bird with a white rear and, by extension, a Panamanian of highly European ancestry.

Rio Pact

A mutual defense treaty between the United States and most of the Latin states. Though the Latins entered into it in good faith, as it became apparent over time that the United States intended to make few demands on them and still provide much military support, they have grown rather complacent about the arrangement. In fairness, one might note that most of them were soon embroiled in their own communist inspired civil wars, which most of them won. Thus, they did help defend Western civilization and the major ally, the United States.

sancocho

Soup, typically in the Province of Chiriqui.

SD-44

An auxiliary-propelled, Russian designed and built, quick firing, 85mm artillery piece.

tenar

Posleen God Kings' flying sleds.

thermobaric

Fuel Air Explosive, or FAE.

Tranzis

Human beings, arguably, who long to see the highest human civilizations cast down. Hypocrites who think they do good for others and in doing good do pretty well for themselves. Look at any Third World hellhole and brush away the corpses. There, at the center, grown fat by feasting on the rotten meat of human suffering, generally dazzled by the sudden light, you will find a host of lily white, maggotlike Tranzis.