Beta node—
Secondary generating nodes of a spacecraft's impeller wedge. They contribute only to the impeller wedge used for normal-space movement. Less powerful and less expensive than alpha nodes.
BLS—
Basic Living Stipend. The welfare payment from the PRH government to its permanent underclass. Essentially, the BLS was a straight exchange of government services for a permanent block vote supporting the Legislaturalists who controlled the government.
DD—
Destroyer. The smallest hyper-capable warship currently being built by most navies. Average tonnage is from 65,000—80,000 tons.
"Down the throat shot"—
An attack launched from directly ahead of an impeller-drive spacecraft in order to fire lengthwise down its impeller wedge. Due to the geometry of the impeller wedge, this is a warship's most vulnerable single aspect.
DN—
Dreadnought. A class of warship lying midway between battleships and superdreadnoughts. No major navy is currently building this type. Average tonnage is from 4,000,000 to 6,000,000 tons.
CA—
Heavy cruiser (from Cruiser, Armored). Designed for commerce protection and long-endurance system pickets. Designed to stand in for capital ships against moderate level threats. Average tonnage is from 160,000—350,000 tons, although that has begun to creep upward towards traditional battlecruiser tonnage ranges in some navies.
Centrists—
A Manticoran political party typified by pragmatism and moderation on most issues but very tightly focused on the Havenite threat and how to defeat it. The party supported by Honor Harrington.
CIC—
Combat Information Center. The "nerve center" of a warship, responsible for gathering and organizing sensor data and the tactical situation.
CL—
Light cruiser. The primary scouting unit of most navies. Also used for both commerce protection and raiding. Average tonnage is from 90,000—150,000 tons.
CLAC—
LAC carrier. A starship of dreadnought or superdreadnought size configured to transport LACs through hyper-space and to service and arm them for combat.
COLAC—
Commanding Officer, Light Attack Craft. The commander of the entire group of LACs carried by a CLAC.
Committee of Public Safety—
The committee established by Rob S. Pierre after his overthrow of the Legislaturalists to control the PRH. It instituted a reign of terror and systematic purges of surviving Legislaturalists and prosecuted the war against the Star Kingdom.
Confederation Navy—
Organized naval forces of the Silesian Confederacy.
Confeds—
Slang term for citizens of the Silesian Confederacy and (especially) for members of the Confederation Navy.
Conservative Association—
A generally reactionary Manticoran political party whose primary constituency is the extremely conservative aristocracy.
Coup de Vitesse—
A primarily offensive, "hard style" martial art preferred by the RMN and RMMC. Main emphasis is on weaponless combat.
Crown Loyalists—
A Manticoran political party united around the concept that the Star Kingdom requires a strong monarchy, largely as a counter balance to the power of the conservative element in the aristocracy. Despite this, the Star Kingdom's more progressive aristocracy is heavily represented in the Crown Loyalists.
Dolist—
One of a class of Havenite citizens totally dependent on the government-provided Basic Living Stipend. As a group, undereducated and underskilled.
ECM—
Electronic counter measures.
EW—
Electronic warfare.
FIA—
Federal Investigative Agency. The national police force of the restored Republic of Haven.
FIS—
Federal Intelligence Service. The primary espionage agency of the restored Republic of Haven.
Ghostrider, Project—
A Manticoran research project dedicated to the development of the multi-drive missile and associated technology. The original Ghostrider blossomed into a large number of sub-projects which emphasized electronic warfare and decoys as well as offensive missiles.
Gravity waves—
A naturally occurring phenomenon in hyper-space consisting of permanent, very powerful regions of focused gravitic stress which remain motionless but for a (relatively) slow side-slipping or drifting. Vessels with Warshawski sails are capable of using such waves to attain very high levels of acceleration; vessels under impeller drive are destroyed upon entering them.
Grav pulse com—
A communication device using gravitic pulses to achieve FTL communications over intrasystem ranges.
Grayson—
Habitable planet of Yeltsin's Star. Star Kingdom of Manticore's most important single ally.
Hyper limit—
The critical distance from a given star at which starships may enter or leave hyper-space. The limit varies with the mass of the star. Very large planets have hyper limits of their own.
Hyper-space—
Multiple layers of associated but discrete dimensions which bring points in normal-space into closer congruence, thus permitting effectively faster than light travel between them. Layers are divided into "bands" of closely associated dimensions. The barriers between such bands are the sites of turbulence and instability which become increasingly powerful and dangerous as a vessel moves "higher" in hyper-space.
IAN—
Imperial Andermani Navy.
Impeller drive—
The standard reactionless normal-space drive of the Honor Harrington universe, employing artificially generated bands (or "wedges") of gravitic energy to provide very high rates of acceleration. It is also used in hyper-space outside gravity waves.
Impeller wedge—
The inclined planes of gravitic stress formed above and below a spacecraft by its impeller drive. A military impeller wedge's "floor" and "roof" are impenetrable by any known weapon.
Inertial compensator—
A device which creates an "inertial sump," diverting the inertial forces associated with acceleration into a starship's impeller wedge or a naturally occurring gravity wave, thus negating the g-force the ship's crew would otherwise experience. Smaller vessels enjoy a higher compensator efficiency for a given strength of wedge or gravity wave and thus can achieve higher accelerations than larger vessels.
InSec—
Internal Security. The secret police and espionage service of the PRH under the Legislaturalists. Charged with security functions and suppression of dissent.
LAC—
Light Attack Craft. A sublight warship type, incapable of entering hyper, which masses between 40,000 and 60,000 tons. Until recently, considered an obsolete and ineffective warship good for little but customs duty and light patrol work. Advances in technology have changed that view of it.
Laser clusters—
Last ditch, close range anti-missile point defense systems.
Liberal Party—