Zero's Return (91 page)

Sacred Turn –
Time period.  666 turns.

Sentinel – the
elite Jreet warriors who guard every Regency member.

Tribunal – The
three members of the Regency chosen to represent and make judgments for the
whole of Congress.  The Tribunal are the power-members of the Regency,
usually occupied by members of the Grand Six.  Aliphei is First Citizen,
and has maintained a seat on the Tribunal for the entire duration of
Congress.  The symbol of the Tribunal is three red circles inside a silver
ring, surrounded by eight blue circles formed into two sides facing off against
each other. 

Vaghi – a
small, nuisance pest-animal that eats and breeds uncontrollably.  Once
introduced to a planet, the entire planet must be killed in order to remove
them.  Which, unfortunately, is often necessary because the vaghi leave no
vegetation or small animals behind.

Zahali
(za-ha-li) – I’m sorry

Species:

Baga (Ba-guh)–
Small, one-foot beetle-like fliers with iridescent green carapaces and faceted red
eyes like a fly.  Have
abbas
, which are the glands that produce
their infamous glue, a compound that instantly becomes whatever it
touches.  Are afraid of
miga
, their natural predators, whose wings
break the sound barrier with every stroke.  Can’t count effectively beyond
6.

Bajna
(Bajh-nah)– The ‘bankers’ of Congress.  Black, ten-legged spider-like
creatures approximately eight feet wide at rest—twenty if stretched out—who are
extraordinary good with numbers.

Dhasha
(Dah-sha) – One of the Grand Six.  Very dangerous, violent beasts with
indestructible metallic scales that shine with constantly-shifting
iridescence.  Big, crystalline, oval green eyes, long black talons, stubby
bodies, sharklike faces with triangular black teeth.  Their nostrils are
set beside their eyes.  Females are golden instead of rainbow, males have
two layers of scales, indestructible metallic on top, gold underneath. 
Gutteral, snarling voice.  Laugh by clacking their teeth together. 
Grow continuously throughout their lifetimes.

Geuji
(Goy-gee)– a form of sentient mold whose entire body structure is composed of
microscopic biological nanotubules capable of exchanging, storing, and
processing information.  If allowed to grow, they are easily the most
intelligent species in Congress, with computing capacity far exceeding every
artificial machine built by Congressional minds.  Were the creative genius
behind the ekhta, Congressional nannites, biosuits, and flowing-state
ships.  Bodies are glossy black that ripple in the light as information is
passed throughout.  Originated on Neskfaat, but were uprooted by Huouyt
sabotage. 
(See The Moldy Dead.)
  Then imprisoned by Trith
betrayal. 
(See Breaking the Mold.)

Grekkon
(Greh-kuhn) – a creature that looks like a gigantic brown jumping-spider, but
with a bulbous rear that extrudes a substance that will immediately
decay/dissolve any substance, including otherwise indestructible Dhasha
scales.  As a species, do not have emotions.  A burrower by nature.

Hebbut
(heb-uht) – large humanoids with lizard-like skin, small eyes, huge toothy
mouths, and massive strength.  Think alien ogre.

Huouyt (sounds
like: White) – One of the Grand Six.  Three-legged, ancestrally aquatic
shape-shifters.  Bleed clear mucous. 
Breja
– downy white
fluff covering body.  Tentacle legs and paddle-like arms. 
Cylindrical torso, enormous, electric-blue eyes, and a triangular, squid-like
head. 
Zora
– red, wormy gills in upper center of Huouyt heads that
allow them to take the genetic patterns of another creature.  Huouyt have a
bad reputation in Congress.  They are cunning, sneaky, adaptable, and
excellent mimics.  Considered to be psychopathic by most species in
Congress.

Jahul
(Jah-hool)–  One of the Grand Six.  Sextuped empaths with greenish
skin and a chemical defense system of releasing their own wastes over their
skin when they are frightened or stressed. 
Sivvet
– the sensory
organs that allow Jahul to feel emotions.

Jreet (Jreet) –
One of the Grand Six.  Red, gray, or cream-colored serpentine warriors who
guard the First Citizen and the Tribunal.  Have the ability to raise the
energy level of their scales and disappear from the visible spectrum.  Use
echolocation to see.  Have great concave depressions in the sides of their
heads to focus sound, much like bat ears.  Believe in ninety hells for
cowards, and that each soul splits into ninety different parts so they can
experience all ninety hells at once.  Their rravut within their teks is
the most powerful poison in Congress.  Bluish blood.  Short, engine-like
shee-whomp
battlecry.  Cream colored bellies.  Diamond-shaped
head.  Tek
-
the talon protruding from their chests. 

Nansaba
(nan-sah-bah)  - Sentient creatures with large black eyes, pointy ears, and
four dexterous hands.  Smooth, almost lizardlike skin.  Highly prized as Dhasha
slaves.

Ooreiki
(Ooh-reh-kee) – One of the Grand Six.  Heavy aliens a lot like boneless
gorillas.  Five hundred pounds on average.  Four tentacle fingers on
each arm.  Big brown ostrich-egg sized snake-eyes, brown legs, skin turns
splotchy when frightened.  Huge mouths.  Wrinkle their big faces to
smile.  Grunting rattle of speech.  Five feet tall on average. 
Laugh by making a guttural rapping sound in the base of their necks like a toad
croaking.  Average age is 400.  Outnumber humans ten thousand to
one.  Only the Ueshi are a more populous species. 

Shadyi
(Shad-yee) – The species of the First Citizen, Aliphei.  There is only one
surviving member of this species.  Shaggy blue alien, walks on four feet,
elephant-sized, black tusks, red eyes.

Takki (Sounds
like: Tacky) – The ancestral servants of the Dhasha.  Reviled throughout
Congress as cowards and betrayers.  Purple scales, very dense bodies,
upright humanoid lizards.  Crystalline, blue, ovoid eyes.

Trith (Trith) –
Small, skinny-limbed, bulbous-headed aliens that see every aspect of the future
all the time.  The ‘grays’ of early Human mythology.

Ueshi
(Oo-eh-she) – One of the Grand Six.  Small blue or blue-green aliens with
excellent reflexes and rubbery skin.  Aquatic ancestry.  Headcrest.

Measurements:

ST – Standard
Turns 9 standard rotations (1.23 years, 448.875 Earth Days to a Standard Turn)

SR –
Standard Rotation  36 standard days (49.875 Earth Days to a Standard
Rotation)

SD –
Standard Day 36 standard hours  (33.25 Earth Hours to a Standard Day)

SH –
Standard Hour  72 standard tics (55.42 Earth Minutes to a Standard Hour)

St –
Standard Tics (1.299 tics to an Earth Minute, .7698 Earth Minutes to a Standard
Tic)

Standard
Ninth-Dig (colloquially ‘ninths’) – approx. 1.3 inches

Standard
Dig- approx. 1 foot

Standard
Rod- approx. 9 feet

Standard
Length -  approx. 4,000 feet

Standard
March- approx. 9,999 rods (90,000 feet)

Standard
Lobe- approx. 2.5 pounds

Ranks:

Multi-Specieal
Galactic Corps – Prime Corps Director

18-unit
Galactic Corps – Secondary Corps Director

3-unit Galactic
Corps – Tertiary Corps Director

Single-Species
Sector Corps –  _____(species) Corps Director  Single solid silver
eight-pointed star with a solid black interior.

Sector Unit –
Prime Overseer.  Silver eight-pointed star and four inner circles of a
Prime Overseer

Solar Unit –
Secondary Overseer.  Silver eight-pointed star and three inner circles of
a Secondary Overseer

Planetary Unit
– Tertiary Overseer

Force – Petty
Overseer

Regiment
(8,100)- Prime Commander - eight-pointed star  (In Planetary Ops, a Prime
leads a single groundteam of 6 hand-picked soldiers, usually all battlemasters
or above.)

Brigade (1800)-
Secondary Commander - seven pointed star  (In Planetary Ops, a Secondary
Commander is otherwise known as a Prime’s ‘Second.’)

Battalion
(900)- Tertiary Commander OR Secondary Commander -six pointed star OR 7-pointed
star

Company (450)-
Small Commander - five-pointed star

Platoon
(90)-  Battlemaster - four-pointed star

Squad (18)-
Squad leader (Squader) - triangle

Groundteam (6)-
Ground Leader  - line

Grounder -
point