AFFS: Armed Forces of the Federated Suns. The national military of the Federated Suns.
BLACK BOX: Informal term for the "Fax Machine," a primitive FTL communication system developed by NAIS. Slower than HPG but independent of ComStar.
C3: Command, Control, Communications. Refers to systems that coordinate military units in combat.
CLASS A HPG: Highest-grade Hyperpulse Generator station, capable of longest-range transmissions with highest bandwidth.
COMSTAR: Interstellar organization controlling the HPG network. Underwent schism in 3052; secular ComStar continued to operate HPG network, while Word of Blake faction pursued religious/military agenda.
CRUCIS MARCH: The central administrative region of the Federated Suns, containing New Avalon.
DMI: Department of Military Intelligence. AFFS intelligence service.
FEDCOM: Abbreviation for Federated Commonwealth, the merged state of Federated Suns and Lyran Commonwealth (3055-3067).
FIRST PRINCE: Ruler of the Federated Suns.
GOLDEN FIVE: Informal term for the five most economically developed worlds personally owned by House Davion.
HPG: Hyperpulse Generator. Technology enabling faster-than-light communication.
JUMPSHIP: Spacecraft capable of faster-than-light travel via jump drives.
MIIO: Ministry of Information, Intelligence, and Operations. Civilian intelligence service of the Federated Suns.
OUTBACK: Informal term for the underdeveloped frontier regions of the Federated Suns, particularly the rimward portions of the Crucis March.
PERIPHERY: The regions of human-colonized space beyond the Inner Sphere, including the Taurian Concordat, Magistracy of Canopus, and Outworlds Alliance.
PERIPHERY MARCH: Administrative region of the Federated Suns encompassing rimward frontier worlds. Formally created 3079.
PROTECTOR: Title of the ruler of the Taurian Concordat.
ROM: ComStar's intelligence and security service. Responsible for internal security and external operations.
SIX LIBERTIES: The constitutional rights guaranteed to citizens of the Federated Suns: personal freedom, property rights, weapon ownership, fair treatment, privacy, and political participation.
STAR LEAGUE: Interstellar government (2571-2781) encompassing the Inner Sphere. Collapsed following the Amaris Coup and subsequent civil war.
TDF: Taurian Defense Force. The military of the Taurian Concordat.
TRISTAR INTERSTELLAR: The dominant shipping and media corporation of the Periphery March, formed in 2830 from merger of Starr Traders and other companies.
TSG: Tennessee Star Guards. Mercenary military force headquartered on Memphis, closely associated with TriStar Interstellar.