Lydia giggled.
"Oh, that's all right, Mom." She tried to hug Irma even harder, but recoiled with an "Ouch!" She looked down at that which had jabbed her. A little golden lion gleamed against the midnight tunic.
Lydia looked up-not very far up, for she was already almost as tall as her mother. She'd known about it, of course-her grandparents were practically inarticulate with pride. But now she found she didn't know what to say.
"Uh . . . it's very pretty, Mom."
"Pretty? Yes, it is, isn't it?" said Irma, very softly. She lifted up the golden lion, hanging from its varicolored ribbon. It flashed in the sun.
Lydia was puzzled, for her mother's eyes were focused far away. She had no way of knowing how far-in time as well as in distance, and beyond the veil that sunders the living from the dead. The dead went by names like Eilonwwa, Meswami, Georghiu, Togliatti . . . and Armand. And then there was Armand's unborn child, to whom Irma could not even give a name, for they'd never chosen one. They'd had all the time in the world.
With a sudden, violent motion, Irma tore the medal from her tunic, ripping the nano-fabric. She reached back like a discus thrower and, with all the wiry strength in her, flung the Terran Federation's highest decoration for valor out over the cliff. It caught the sun, glistening as it fell. The splash, far below in the surf, could not be seen.
Lydia stared at her mother, round-eyed.
"What did you do that for, Mom?"
Irma took a deep, shuddering breath.
"Because it's over, dear. That-" she gestured out to sea "-that was part of something I had to do. Something called war-something horrible. The only excuse for it is that sometimes it's the only way to stop something even more horrible. But even that doesn't change the fact that it's all about misery and pain and death and sorrow and loss and . . . and . . . and it's over!"
Lydia continued to stare, and tried to understand.
"Do you mean it's true, what everybody's been saying? That the Bugs aren't going to come after all?"
"That's right, Lydochka. The Bugs are never going to come."
Arm in arm, mother and daughter turned and walked along the pathway to the house, under the clean sky.
Glossary
AAM-
advanced antimatter warhead.
AFHAWK-
Anti-Fighter Homing All the Way Killer Missile; the standard ship-launched anti-fighter missile.
AFHAWK2-
a second-generation, much larger, extended-range version of the AFHAWK.
AM-
antimatter warhead.
AMBAM-
Anti-Mine Ballistic Antimatter Missile; a large missile, equipped with multiple ballistically deployed antimatter warheads, which is used to clear paths through minefields.
AMBAMP-
Anti-Mine Ballistic Antimatter Missile Pod; a warp-capable pod designed to transport AMBAMs through warp points.
antigerone treatments-
human age-slowing therapies.
battlegroup-
the starships (usually six) linked together by command datalink. Also called a "command datagroup" or "command datalink datagroup."
BB-
battleship.
BC-
battlecruiser.
BCR-
a capital missile-armed battlecruiser optimized for long-range engagement.
CA-
heavy cruiser.
CAM-
Close Assault Missile; a capital missile-sized weapon capable of "sprint mode" attacks at close range.
caraasthyuu-
a particularly irritating biting, stinging insect from Old Valkha, the original Orion homeworld.
chegnatyu-
semi-mythical Orion warrior heroes; paladins.
chofak (pluraclass="underline" chofaki)-literally "eater of midden scrapings," though generally translated as "dirt eater." An Orion term to describe a being so lost to all sense of honor as to be unable even to recognize it as a concept.
CIC-
Combat Information Center.
CL-
light cruiser.
CM-
Capital Missile. A large, long-ranged missile with a very heavy warhead. Too large to fire from a "standard" sized launcher. It carries sophisticated ECM and is very difficult for point defense to intercept.
command datalink-
an advanced datalink system capable of linking up to six warships simultaneously.
Corthohardaa-
"Space Brothers," the native Ophiuchi who crew the Ophiuchi Association navy's strikefighters.
CSG-
Commander Strikegroup, the CO of the strikegroup embarked aboard a single carrier.
CSP-
Combat Space Patrol; a force of strikefighters and/or gunboats detailed to fly defensive missions covering a specific region of space or a specific target.
CV-
fleet carrier.
CVA-
assault carrier.
CVL-
light carrier.
Dahanaak-
"Talon Strike," the Ophiuchi equivalent of the Terran Marines Raider forces.
datagroup-
the ships (usually three in number) linked together by standard datalink.
datalink-
a system of computers and communication systems which effectively link the offensive and defensive capabilities of up to three starships, allowing them to operate as a single unit for combat purposes.
DD-
destroyer.
defargo-
the honor dirk of the Orion officer corps.
Demons-
the Crucian term for the Arachnids.
dirguasha-
"the beast not dead," an Orion who, for his offenses against honor, has been rejected and expelled from his family and clan and who may be killed by any other Orion in any way.
droshkhoul (pluraclass="underline" droshkhouli)-"shadow seeker," Orion term of disapprobation for someone who always finds a way to avoid combat without quite acting openly dishonorably.
DSB-
Deep Space Buoy.
DSBL-
Deep Space Buoy (Laser), also known as Laser Buoy. An orbital platform mounting a bomp-pumped laser to defend point targets.
ECM-
Electronic Countermeasures. ECM1, the earliest and crudest version, simply makes the mounting ship more difficult to hit. ECM2, or "jamming ECM," serves to jam or break up enemy datalinks within relatively short range of the system. ECM3, (also known as "deception mode ECM") is a more advanced generation which can perform as ECM1 or 2 be used to project false sensor readings to make a ship appear to belong to a different class. ECM4 ("cloaking ECM") is an even more advanced system, capable within limits of making a ship invisible to enemy sensors.
Farshalah'kiah-
"the Warrior's Way"-the ancient teachings of Shaasaal'hirtalkin, the Orion equivalent of Lancelot/Musashi, who formalized the honor code of the Orion warrior caste.
farshathkhanaak-
"lord of the fist," Orion term for the senior strikefighter pilot assigned to a task force or fleet.
farshatok-
"warriors of the fist," Orion term for warriors so well trained and so motivated that they fight as the individual fingers of a single fist.
FM, FM2, FM3-
progressively more advanced and capable strikefighter missiles.
FRAM-
a short-range, sprint mode, antimatter-armed strikefighter munition.