For anyone who has never read Kipling, if you like my books get a Kipling collection. Rudyard could say it as no one before or since has been able to say it. He speaks to the heart and soul of the soldier. In the end, we're all Tommies (or M.I. or Sappers or Oont drivers) at heart.

And that is the other reason I bring up my dad.

* * *

William Pryor Ringo,

Captain US Army Corps Of Engineers (ret.) P.E.

Born: July 24, 1924

Died: September 10, 1998

Me that 'ave been what I've been—Me that 'ave gone where I've gone—Me that 'ave seen what I've seen—. . . Me!

Glossary

Aarnadaha Posleen Senior Battlemaster (Brigade commander). abat A nearly impossible to eradicate small pest on Posleen landers. Adenast Federation world on the far side of space from the Posleen invasion. Aelool Indowy Master Craftsman. AFV Armored Fighting Vehicle. Heavily armed personnel carrier or tank. Agincourt Fast Frigate in Earth Defense Region. a-hoo-wah Motivational or «battle» cry. AirCav Air Cavalry. Helicopter-borne scouts. AIW Advanced Infantry Weapon. Alld'nt Demons or sky gods of the Posleen pan-theology. Reputed to give great gifts but to also cause great harm. Alrantath Posleen battalion commander subordinate to Ardan'aath. Althanara Posleen Scoutmaster. Anarlaralta Posleen Scoutmaster subordinate to Alrantath (eson'antai). Andatha Region on Barwhon where majority of US expeditionary force is engaged. APC Armored personnel carrier. Lightly armed, lightly armored metal box on tracks. Aradan Posleen name for the star the Federation calls Diess. Ardan'aath Posleen brigade commander. Allied with Kenallai. Arnata'dra Posleen Scoutmaster, subordinate to Kenallurial. Ashkabad City in Turkmenistan. Atalanara Posleen company commander, allied with Kenallurial. AWOL Absent Without Leave. Barrett Firearms Manufacturer of a (really cool) .50-caliber sniper rifle. Based in Murfreesboro, TN. Barwhon Tchpth settled planet. Cool and wet with almost continuous swamps, lakes, rivers and bogs. battlecase Large ammunition box for feeding a manjack. BattleDec Short for Battle dodecahedron. A Posleen conglomerate ship consisting of an inner dodecahedral command ship (C-Dec) and twelve landers. Battleglobe A large Posleen conglomerate ship consisting of multiple hundreds of B-Decs. Battlemaster Posleen grade. Equivalent to captain-full colonel. Although all Posleen God Kings (Kessentai) are nominally independent, in general junior officers look to senior officers for direction. Battlenet Human Command Network for Continental Defense. B-Dec See BattleDec. BDUs Battle Dress Uniform. The US Ground Force standard camouflage field uniform. Belvoir, Fort Headquarters of the US Army Corps of Engineers. Located just outside of Washington, D.C. Beretta Standard 9mm sidearm of US Ground Force. berm An elongated pile of dirt used for cover. Blackhawk Military medium lift helicopter designated UH-60. bowsers Military tanker trucks. Bradleys Armored Fighting Vehicle (AFV). Crew of two, holds eight infantrymen. Armed with a 25mm chaingun and a TOW-2 Missile Launcher. Bragg, Fort Home of the Airborne. Located in central North Carolina. Bullpup Design of assault rifle. Places the ammunition magazine behind the firing hand thus shortening the overall length of the weapon. Bushmaster 25mm chaingun mounted on a Bradley Fighting Vehicle. caltrop Four-pointed spike device designed so that one point always faces up. castellaine The manager of a Posleen estate. cav Cavalry. C-Dec Command Dodecahedron. Holds the senior God King of a Posleen «B-Dec» conglomerate and its most heavily armed normals. Is usually the center ship of a B-Dec. Has interstellar drive. Holds 1400–1800 Normals and 3–6 God Kings along with some light, simple armor. chai British Navy word for tea. circumvallated Surrounded by fortifications. clacker Detonation device for a claymore directional mine. So called because when compressed it makes a distinctive «clack» sound. claymore Directional mine. Consists of a convexly curved box with two ports for detonators on the top. The rear is a thin metal plate, then a sheet of explosive, then 750 ball bearings. CONARC Continental Army Command. COS Chief of Staff. cratering Detonating explosives so as to cause a large crater. This is primarily used as an obstacle. CSP Combat Space Patrol. Cyberpunk Elite information warfare unit. Extremely secretive. Dantren Indowy Megascraper Deushi Megalopolis. Refuge for mobile forces. Darhel Galactic Federation race. DataNet Posleen information network. Very similar to the internet except without any indexing tools. defilade Maneuvering to obtain cover from terrain detcord Explosive cord. Similar to fusecord, but explodes instead of burning. didee-mao Vietnamese: Retreat. Diess Indowy Planet. Under assault by the Posleen. DivArty Division Artillery. Dunkirked Evacuated by water. edan Posleen: Battle madness. edas'antai Posleen: Primary genetic sponsor. Father. emphysemic A person who has emphysema. enfilading Fire from the flank. esonal Posleen: Ovipositor. eson'antai Posleen: Primary genetic derivative. Son. Farbase Primary military base on the moon. Hidden on the backside in a crater to reduce ehance of detection by the Posleen. Fars Primary plateau of the country of Iran. FedCreds Federation Credits. firebase Heavily defended base where artillery is concentrated. FireTac Artillery Coordination Network. Fistnal Posleen: Damned. (Lit. «Eaten» reduced from «Eaten by sky demons.») flechette Finned metal dart. flikker To turn in the air like a hummingbird. Fredericksburg Town in central Virginia. Fort A.P. Hill Military base in central Virginia. fuscirt Posleen: Demons. fuscirto Posleen: Demons. Part of a wordy curse that translates more or less as «Demon Feces.» Galil Name of an Israeli assault rifle. GalMed Galactic Medications. General name for a wide variety of medications the Federation has supplied to Earth. GalTech Galactic Technologies. General name for a wide variety of technologies the Federation has supplied to Earth. Gamalada Clan of the Po'oslenar. Gatling Type of automatic weapon that has multiple barrels. ghillie Type of camouflage suit used to break up the outline of an infantryman or sniper. Introduced by Scottish gamekeepers (or poachers alternately) during WWI. Ghurka Elite Nepalese Mercenary Infantry. Glock Type of pistol. grat Rare but extremely unpleasant pest of the Posleen. Resembles a very large ant and forms colonies. Hiberzine Galactic drug that causes almost instantaneous unconsciousness and places the user in a state of virtual suspended animation for up to 180 days. Combines pharmacological substances with nannites. Dosage is managed internally to the substance so that there is no chance of an over– or underdose. Himmit Federation race. Racial cowards and long-ranging scouts. Hummelstown Town outside of Fort Indiantown Gap. Humvee High Mobility Multi-Use Vehicle (HMMV). HVM Hypervelocity Missiles. Indiantown Gap, Fort Military post in Pennsylvania near Harrisburg. Indowy Galactic race. Short bipeds with apparently innate ability with technology and tools. Irmansul Galactic planet under threat of invasion by the Posleen. Isfahan Town in central Iran. Famous for its rugs. Kasserine Town in Morocco where the US Army suffered an early defeat in WWII at the hands of the German Afrikacorps. Kenallai Posleen: Senior battlemaster. Equivalent to a colonel or brigadier general. Kenallurial Gene derivative of Kenallai. Equivalent to a lieutenant or captain. Kenstain Posleen: Term for a castellaine. Castellaines are a lower «caste» God King and are formed from God Kings that have either voluntarily stopped fighting or were incompetent or cowardly. Kessanalt Posleen: Battle honor. Kessentai Posleen: God King (translates literally as «Philosopher» or «Thinker»). Kevlar Aramide fiber used in body armor. Also used to refer to the helmets made of it that are worn by US Ground Force personnel. Kiowa Scout helicopter. klicks Short for «kilometer.» laager Grouping of tanks or other fighting vehicles. lidar Laser detection system. Maglite Type of flashlight often preferred by police and special operations personnel. Manassas Town in north-central Virginia. manjack Automated machine gun. Mashad Major city in northeastern Iran. Mayport City and naval base in northeastern Florida near Jacksonville. McCall, Camp Small military base near the much larger Fort Bragg. Milnet Military internet interface and analogue. Milspecs Galactic Technology glasses. In appearance simple «wrap-around» sunglasses. Provide full light enhancement ability. Minié Type of bullet used by both sides during the Civil War. monomolecular Single very large molecule. A substance that is not only incredibly strong but also almost infinitely thin and therefore sharp. Montrose Heights Large hill overlooking Richmond, VA. Mosby Hill Large hill overlooking Richmond, VA. MRE Meals-Ready-To-Eat. Military combat rations. Come in plastic packaging. Myer, Fort Military base near Washington, D.C. nannites Very small mechano-electric machines that are used for a wide variety of purposes by the Galactic Federation. NCO Noncommissioned Officer. Nomex Fireproof fabric. Occoquan River, town and reservoir in northern Virginia. oolt Posleen: Group or company. (Lit. «Pack») Oolton Posleen: Battalion or brigade. Used interchangeably. (Lit. «Big Pack») oolt'ondai Posleen: Battalion or brigade commander. (Lit. «Big pack leader») oolt'ondar Posleen: Battalion or brigade. oolt'os Posleen: Posleen normal. (Lit. «Pack member») Oolt'pos Posleen: Command Dodecahedron. Holds 1400–1800 Normals and 3–6 God Kings along with some light, simple armor. orna'adar Posleen: Final battle or Ragnarok. A scramble for dwindling resources that leads to destruction of the world and extinction of all the Posleen on it. Panatellas Long, thin cigars. Panzergrenadier German Mechanized Infantry. PDC Planetary Defense Center. plasteel Galactic armor material. Po'oslena'ar Posleen: «The People of the Ships.» Po'osol Posleen: Lander. Holds 400–600 normals and one God King. Posleen Enemy aliens. Yellow-grey centauroids. Thirteen to fifteen hands high at the shoulder. Arms jut from a combination shoulder. Sauroid head with multiple teeth is mounted on a long, snake-like neck. «Hands» are four-fingered talons with an opposable talon, similar to a fish-eating bird of prey. Feet are foreshortened talons adapted for running and slashing. Proteans Term for current generation of manjacks. Provigil Anti-sleep drug. Pyronics Manufacturer of the world's leading detonators, preferred by professional demolition personnel and terrorists the world over. Qualtren Megascraper on Diess. Quantico Military base in central Virginia. Quarles Gas Petroleum supply company outside of Fredericksburg, VA. Rabun Gap Low pass in the Appalachians in northern Georgia. radome Radar Dome. Ragnarok The end of the world in Norse mythology. railguns Rifle that accelerates its projectiles magnetically. Rappahanock River in central Virginia. Reaver 155mm wheeled mobile artillery. REMF Military acronym that starts with «Rear» and «Echelon» and goes downhill from there. Reticulan «Like a net.» Military plan that called for distributed forces so that no single force would be landed upon and destroyed by the Posleen. Referred to as «victory in detail» by its proponents and «Ridicuplan» by its opponents. Richbrau Microbrewery in Richmond, VA. Robertson, Frank, Commander of the 229th Engineering Battalion. Lieutenant Colonel Light. Fredericksburg, VA. Rockledge Manor Restored home in Occoquan. rubbling Destroying structures to produce rubble for defenses. Sammadar Posleen Battalion commander. Schockoe Bottom An area of late 19th-century factories in Richmond,VA. SecDef Secretary of Defense. Simosin, Arkady 10th Corps Commander. SpecOps Special Operations. Spotsylvania County in Virginia. Stenarnatta Posleen Battalion commander. Sten'lonoral Posleen Command ship/battalion commander. TacCO Tactical Actions Officer for Continental Defense Command. TacSO Tactical Systems Officer for Continental Defense Command. Tamerlane Name often used for Timur, a Mongol invader of Iran who destroyed the last remnants of the Persian Empire. tanglefoot Barbed wire stretched taut at knee height designed to catch and «tangle» assaulting enemy troops. Tchpth Galactic race. Pseudoarthropods with a remarkable resemblance, other than being blue and red, to a Dungeness crab. Renowned scientists and philosophers. Tel'enaa Battle Demons. Part of a wordy curse. (Demons of battle eat and defecate their souls!) te'naal Berserk charge. Tenal'ont Posleen company commander. tenar Posleen God King's saucer vehicle. Has a heavy weapon mounted on it and a suite of sensors. terawatt One trillion watts. Thermopylae A famous defense in ancient Greece. Also, a primarily automatic close defense system for battleships. thresh Posleen: Food. Threshkreen Posleen: Enemy. (Translates literally as «food with a bite.») Thunderchiefs Air Force aerobatics demonstration team. Tindar Clan of the Darhel. Tir Intermediate rank Darhel. Tir Dol Ron Darhel senior executive. uut Posleen: Fecal matter. Zoroaster Primary god of the religion that preceded Islam in Persia.