Hellhole

by Kevin J. Anderson

  HALLHOLME, COMMODORE PERCIVAL – retired leader of the Army of the Constellation; he defeated General Adolphus and quashed his rebellion.

  HEART SQUARE – central square in Sonjeera’s Council City.

  HEER, ISHOP – Diadem Michella’s confidential aide, spy, and hatchet man.

  HELLHOLE – colloquial name for planet Hallholme.

  HELLTOWN – colloquial name for Michella Town on Hellhole.

  HERALD, PETER – former lieutenant in General Adolphus’s rebellion.

  HIRDAN – noble family, rivals of the Tello family.

  HORP – Sonjeeran racing animal.

  HU, QUINN – Tanja Hu’s uncle, supervisor of large mining projects on Candela.

  HU, TANJA – administrator of Candela, secretly in alliance with General Adolphus on Hallholme.

  IMPERIAL MUSEUM – hall of documents on Sonjeera.

  IPERION – rare mineral that, when processed, is used to lay down string-line paths across space. The Constellation’s primary source of iperion is found on the planet Vielinger. Additional deposits have also been discovered on Candela (but not reported to the Diadem).

  JENET, DREW – Vincent’s terminally ill father.

  JENET, VINCENT – new Hellhole colonist, sentenced to live there as punishment after he was convicted of a crime.

  JHERA – Xayan memory, lover of Birzh.

  JONN – Crown Jewel planet, ruled by the Hirdan family.

  JORDAN, CRAIG – Adolphus’s chief of security.

  KAPPAS – Crown Jewel planet, ruled by the Paternos family.

  KERRIS, HDS – linerunner ship operated by Turlo and Sunitha Urvancik, named after their dead son.

  KIAFA – popular, heavily sweetened hot beverage.

  KLIEF – Crown Jewel planet, former home of Sophie and Devon Vence.

  KOMUN, GEORGE – planetary administrator of Umber.

  KOUVET, CAPTAIN – security officer at Council City Spaceport.

  LINERUNNER – maintenance ship that travels along the stringline paths to check iperion integrity.

  LODO – male Xayan, one of the four Originals.

  LUBIS PLAIN – large military shipyard on Qiorfu.

  LUMINOUS GARDEN – one of the spectacular gardens on the grounds of the Diadem’s palace.

  MACHI – Crown Jewel planet.

  MAGEROS, LADY OPRA – noblewoman, descendant of one of the families that brought about the downfall of the Osheers.

  MAIL DRONE – small automated packet that travels along the string-lines.

  MARUBI – Crown Jewel planet.

  MCLUHAN, EVA – a linerunner who committed suicide in deep space between destinations.

  MERCIFULS – secular order of nurses.

  MICHELLA TOWN – main colony town on Hallholme; referred to colloquially as Helltown.

  MORAE, ELWYN – first administrator of Candela.

  NARI – drilling supervisor on Hellhole.

  NAX, BEBE – Tanja Hu’s administrative assitant on Candela.

  NELL, LADERNA – assistant to Ishop Heer.

  NERON, FERNANDO – new Hellhole colonist, a fast talker, a man searching for new opportunities; linked to the Xayan personality Zairic.

  NICLES – Deep Zone planet.

  NOMOLOS – Deep Zone planet.

  OBERON, LANNY – supervisor in iperion mines on Vielinger.

  OGG – Crown Jewel world where Osheer family was exiled.

  ONGENET, ARIA – beautiful wife of historical Diadem Philippe the Whisperer, known for her numerous lovers, which she often entertained at her Cottage on the Pond of Birds.

  ORIGINAL – name for the four resurrected Xayans that were preserved in the museum vault.

  ORSINI – one of the Crown Jewels, ruled by Lord Azio Tazaar; original home of Vincent Jenet.

  OSHEER – centuries-old variation of Ishop Heer’s family name.

  OSHU – Deep Zone planet.

  PACKARD, ERNST – one of Adolphus’s trailblazer captains.

  PASSENGER POD – cargo container with life support and amenities, used for transporting people along stringline network.

  PATERNOS, LADY JENINE – ruler of Crown Jewel planet Kappas, sworn enemy of Lord Azio Tazaar.

  PENCE, TORII – trade representative of the Hirdan family from Jonn.

  PHILIPPE THE WHISPERER – historical diadem, husband of Aria Ongenet.

  POND OF BIRDS – small body of water on the grounds of the Diadem’s palace, site of the romantic, luxurious Cottage.

  PRINIFLOWER – medicinal plant native to Ridgetop.

  PRITIKIN, LUKE – one of the Diadem’s inspectors on Hellhole.

  PUHAU – isolated mining village on Candela.

  QIORFU – Crown Jewel planet, primarily agricultural, site of the Lubis Plain shipyards and original home of the Adolphus family.

  QUIRRIE, TONA – real name of Antonia Anqui.

  RAPANA – iperion processing center on Vielinger, site of an industrial fire.

  RIDGETOP – forested Deep Zone planet best known for its valuable goldenwood groves, administered by Carlson Goler.

  RIDGETOP RECOVERY – massacre that occurred when Constellation forces razed an existing colony on Ridgetop to clear the way for new settlement; the truth was covered up by the Diadem.

  RIOMINI – powerful noble family headquartered on Aeroc, rivals of the Tazaars.

  RIOMINI, GILAG – former Riomini lord who helped Michella establish her power base.

  RIOMINI, LORD SELIK – head of the Riomini family, also in charge of the Army of the Constellation; he is also called the Black Lord.

  ROLLER – small all-terrain vehicle.

  RONOM – Deep Zone planet.

  ROYAL RETREAT – one of the Diadem’s seven official residences.

  RUE DE LA MUSIQUE – the Street of Music, rundown section of Council City where Ishop Heer has his secret office.

  RULLINS, JAKO – abusive man, former lover of Antonia Anqui.

  SANDUSKY – one of the Crown Jewel planets, known for biological research.

  SAPORO – harbor city on Candela.

  SETSAI – Deep Zone planet.

  SHADOW-XAYANS – humans who have accepted a Xayan personality from the slickwater pools.

  SLICKWATER – Xayan liquid database of lives.

  SLICKWATER SPRINGS – settlement out at the three original slick-water pools.

  SMOKE STORM – meteorological event on Hallholme.

  SPENCER, LIEUTENANT JOHAD – former weapons officer during Adolphus’s rebellion, now his staff driver.

  STAR THRONE – the Diadem’s throne on Sonjeera.

  STATIC STORM – dangerous electrical-discharge storm that occurs on Hallholme; colloquially called a “growler.”

  STRINGLINE – ultra-fast interstellar transportation system that follows quantum lines laid down across space.

  STRINGLINE HAULER – large framework ship that is loaded with cargo containers and passenger pods; travels back and forth from Sonjeera to a designated stringline terminus.

  STRINGLINE HUB – central point from which all the transportation lines radiate; the Constellation’s only hub is on Sonjeera.

  STRINGLINE TERMINUS – end point of a stringline, a station in orbit over a destination planet.

  SUZUKI, RANDOLPH – chocolatier, member of a fallen noble family.

  SVC-1185 – blue, giant star, site of a stringline power substation on the route to Ridgetop.

  TANINE – Crown Jewel planet, site of a brief uprising.

  TASMINE – Governor Goler’s old household servant, only survivor of the Ridgetop Recovery.

  TAZAAR – powerful noble family headquartered on Orsini, rivals of the Riominis.

  TAZAAR, LORD AZIO – head of the Tazaar family.

  TAZAAR, ENVA – daughter of Lord Azio Tazaar, an aspiring artist known for creating exotic aerogel sculptures. She is responsible for Vincent Jenet’s exile.

  TEHILA – Deep Zone planet, home of semi-intelligent herd animals.

  TELEMANCY – X
ayan telekinetic power.

  TELLO, FRANCK – second-in-command of General Adolphus’s rebellion.

  THERIS, RENDO – replacement administrator at the Ankor complex.

  THESER – Deep Zone planet.

  TIER, DOM CELLAN – planetary administrator of Oshu.

  TILLMAN, ARMAND – cattle rancher on Hellhole.

  TRAILBLAZER – a ship that lays down a path of processed iperion to create a new stringline route.

  TRAKMASTER – heavy-duty overland vehicle used on Hellhole.

  TROMBIE, BUXTON – Duchenet family attorney.

  TRYN – female Xayan, one of the four surviving Originals.

  ULMAN, RICO, LIEUTENANT – daredevil test pilot at the Lubis Plain shipyards.

  UMBER – Deep Zone planet.

  UPBOX – cargo container launched into orbit, where it is picked up by a stringline hauler.

  UROA – Xayan leader.

  URVANCIK, SUNITHA – stringline runner, married to Turlo.

  URVANCIK, KERRIS – son of Turlo and Sunitha, killed in military service shortly after the end of Adolphus’s rebellion.

  URVANCIK, TURLO – stringline runner, married to Sunitha.

  VENCE, DEVON – son of Sophie Vence.

  VENCE, GREGORY – former husband of Sophie Vence, father of Devon.

  VENCE, SOPHIE – powerful merchant in Michella Town, in a relationship with General Adolphus.

  VIELINGER – Crown Jewel planet, source of iperion, ruled by the de Carre family.

  VOJA TREE – a type of willow common on Vielinger, whose bark is said to have medicinal (and some say spiritual) qualities.

  WALFOR, IAN – administrator of Deep Zone planet Buktu, who also runs substantial black-market commerce that does not depend on the stringline network.

  WARRIOR DIADEM – Edwond the First.

  WEILIN, EVELYN – socialite woman from a noble family fallen on hard times; descendant of one of the twelve nobles who caused the disgrace of the Osheer family.

  XAYAN – original race of inhabitants on Hellhole, nearly exterminated by asteroid impact five centuries ago.

  YARICK – Constellation noble family.

  ZAIRIC – Xayan leader who proposed the slickwater preservation plan.