- BADER, Lawrence:
- Imperial Ranger. Recruited
Jess Winters as Sovereign of Alternate Sierra, 2683.
-
- BALIK: (Sandeman)
- A solitary lupoid predator. Females tend to nest and bear
their kits in the mountains or high foothills. (Sylvia
Stevens)
-
- BAST, Subsector 8-C:
No. systems: 158 Sector: Centaurus
with 3 inhabited planets: 3 Ruled by: Suitland family
with 2 inhabited planets: 10
with 1 inhabited planet: 24
- BATTLE-COMPANION:
(Sandeman)
- One who has fought beside another for some time, or done
a combat-related service for the other deserving such
recognition. Battle-companions are usually
warriors/w'women, but Others are acknowledged as such
occasionally. Under highly unusual circumstances, even an
enemy may become a battle-companion, at which point is no
longer an enemy. Battle-companions will give each other
Last Gift without question if
asked, and when using High War
Speech, employ the familiar mode.
-
- BATTLEPREP: (Sandeman)
- A combat-oriented form of need,
induced by
mental and
physical concentration. Unlike the sexual form of induced
need, which will subside on its own with no more effect
than a slight shortening of the warrior's cycle,
battleprep involves the entire body; unless the warrior
goes into demanding combat within an hour or two, he will
go into overload and die. As this is well known, a
warrior will prep only when combat is imminent.
Battleprep
is often referred to as a berserker state, but that is
only partially correct. The prepped warrior is only
marginally, if at all, aware of pain and wounds; blood
clots quickly to minimize loss; speed and strength are
heightened on the same order as that of someone of
average strength who can suddenly lift a car to save an
infant. Beyond this, however, the berserker analogy
breaks down, because the warrior retains his full
intelligence and judgement. This combination makes a
battleprepped warrior one of the most dangerous beings in
the known universe.
Once battleprepped combat is over and the egerin is
metabolized, the warrior goes through hypothermia and
extreme fatigue. This reaction is not quite as severe as
the near-comatose aftersleep that follows induced need --
the warrior can still function to a degree if he has to
-- but it is the reason the Empire discourages
battleprepped combat practice.
Alternate-Universe Note: After about 2704 CE
(Alpha
Prime timeline), a spell developed by Fergus DarThorn in the Land Prime
universe permits warriors in universes where magick exists to 'prep without
the danger of overload and death -- but it does not get rid of the post-'prep
fatigue and hypothermia.
-
BAYARD, Subsector 5-A:
No. systems: 92 Sector: Pegasus
with 3 inhabited planets: 5 Ruled by:
with 2 inhabited planets: 8
with 1 inhabited planet: 20
-
BCE:
- Before the Common Era. Usually called BC (Before Christ)
prior to the Empire. See CE.
-
-
BLACK LORD, The:
- Sandeman term for Lord Darth Vader, generally regarded as
villain of the classic Star Wars film trilogy. The
Sandemans see him as a symbol of
their race: held in
thrall by another (Palpatine/the Shapers), but
maintaining all honor possible during that thralldom and
eventually throwing it off to regain (or gain) full honor
for himself and his family (or the Sandeman race). Clan
Vader, the first clan formed after Overthrow, was named
for him and is the arbiter for the most delicate
questions of honor. The ceremonial garb called
honor-black is derived directly from the Black Lord's
armor and robes.
-
-
BLASTER:
- The standard Imperial sidearm, a plasma weapon.
-
-
BLAST RIFLE:
- A shoulder weapon, powered by a small fusion reactor
pack, which emits a plasma beam. Since their power packs
are larger than those of a hand-held blaster, they are
correspondingly either more powerful or more
long-lasting, depending on the operator's preference.
-
-
BLOODMATE:
- A strong, possibly latent empath who has been changed by
the nosferatu pseudo-virus to an
extremely capable blood
donor, able to supply all a Kin's
needs. The primary
adaptation is bone marrow hyperactivity, which permits
loss of blood with no harm to the Bloodmate beyond
fatigue and increased appetite. Other changes include
increased physical strength, though not to the extent of
a Kin's, along with heightened empathy and endurance,
both of which exceed a Kin's.
Although Bloodmates
appeared at the same time as Kins, their lack of visible
change meant that for more than two years they were
thought to be no more than unusually capable Donors. That
changed when Marine Captain Jase Thompson, who was
extremely susceptible to the virus, was changed and it
was discovered that he literally had to donate at daily
intervals to remain physically and emotionally healthy.
["Teams"] This allowed testing of the other
unusually capable donors, and led to the discovery that
the approximate 10% who went through change with no
apparent effect had actually become Bloodmates.
-
BOND:
- A close physical/emotional tie between a Kin and a
Bloodmate. It is involuntary, very fast, and
takes place
when a Kin feeds on a Bloodmate who is à's complement.
The empathic link between them is so strong that each is
always aware of the other's physical and emotional state.
This is usually quite pleasant, but if one is severely
hurt or killed, the other will suffer psychological and
physical pain and illness, sometimes fatal.
-
-
BRIGIT, Subsector 11-C:
No. systems: 138 Sector: Gemini
with 3 inhabited planets: 3 Ruled by:
with 2 inhabited planets: 13
with 1 inhabited planet: 23
-
BROTHERHOOD OF FREEDOM: (Kingdom Systems)
- A Systems-wide terrorist group that appeared around 2550.
It has no declared objective beyond the disruption of
society, and its leader, Lawrence Shannon, claims to be
the incarnation of Satan.
Its primary targets, until
the Empire's arrival in 2572, were Royal
Enforcement
Service troopers; at that point, Imperial personnel took
priority. Other than those two groups, the Brotherhood's
targets are places which will cause the most distress:
schools, hospitals, churches, and such are attacked at
random, the people there killed with the maximum amount
of violence. It is these terror raids which inspired the
formation of the Strike Forces of the RES.
