VISIONS OF ROBOTECH: THE TECHIE'S GLOSSARY

THE TECHIE'S GLOSSARY

Ajax, AGAC
A model of veritech helicopter General Leonard calls the 'armoured gyro assault 'copter' (description) or 'Armoured Gyro Assault 'Copter' (name). There is debate over whether it is called 'Ajax' or 'AGAC'. It's sometimes written as 'AJACS', which has no basis in the TV series.

Alaska Base
The secret war-time headquarters (most of which was situated underground) of the world government and its armed forces, located in the Alaskan wilderness. The main feature of its construction was a huge Robotech weapon nicknamed the 'Grand Cannon'. The base was destroyed during Dolza's global bombardment.

Alpha
1. A model of veritech fighter in The New Generation.
2. A military formation designation of uncertain definition in 'Alpha Tactical Armoured Corps' (which may actually be 'Alfa Tactical Armoured Corps').
See ATAC.

Anime
In Japan anime (pronounced AN-im-AY in English-speaking countries) simply means animation. Elsewhere anime refers to animated television shows, feature films and OAVs produced by Japanese studios. There has been some debate over whether Robotech fits this description because it was created by an American company (albeit using Japanese shows). Robotech is best described as being in the 'US-Japan co-production' category. Being Japanese, the plural form is the same as the singular (i.e. there is no such word as 'animes'.)

AP
Antarctic Press, publisher of Robotech comics.

Armour/Armor ships
Human-designed space ships that appear in The Macross Saga and are inaccurately described several times as 'cruisers' in the dialogue (Space Carrier is probably the most appropriate designation). Few of these ships are actually seen in the series. The inclusion of 'Armour 10' in Robotech's dialogue was no doubt the result of misreading the sans-serif '01' on Armour 1's hull. No clue is given in the series itself as to reason for the use of the term 'armour'. Perhaps it is merely a radio call sign or a pronunciation derived from a ship type designation like 'ARMR' (like the unfortunate pronunciation of the abbreviation of 'Commander-in-Chief, United States' as 'sink us').

ASC
Possible interpretations:
     - Army of the Southern Cross,
     - Armies of the Southern Cross,
     - army of the Southern Cross,
     - armies of the Southern Cross.

ATAC
Alpha, or Alfa, Tactical Armoured Corps. A formation of the United Earth Forces.

AUL
Anti-Unification League. Likely to mean a group of nations hostile to the existence of the global government. It is more than likely that it is a war with the AUL that Lieutenant-Commander Fokker refers to fighting in episode 1 (Booby Trap), the global forces are fighting in the flashback scenes in episode 33 (A Rainy Night), and caused the abandonment of Mars Base and subsequent death of Lisa Hayes's fiancé, Karl Riber (Bye-Bye, Mars).

B mode
Battloid mode of a veritech mecha.
See Valkyrie.

Battlepod
A type of bipedal one-man Zentraedi combat mecha. Two variants of this craft are prominent throughout The Macross Saga. The most common is the 'basic' version known in Macross material as the Regult, which resembles an emu minus its head and neck (or a lethal looking egg on legs, the egg being the cockpit part.) They are armed with two stalk-like guns and a number of Regults are seen with extra weapons attached. The other version is called the Glaug and is used by senior Zentraedi leaders and has a longer, more angular cockpit section with a long cannon on top of the cockpit and two arms with a cannon mounted on each. The latter variant is commonly called the 'officer's pod' among fans. However, the Zentraedi are unlikely to have a strong officer/other ranks distinction, so it would be more accurately called the 'commander's pod'.

Battlefortress
A type of extremely large space warship. A term frequently applied to SDF-1.

Battloid
Humanoid mode of a veritech mecha and similar non-transforming mecha. This configuration was originally designed for hand-to-hand encounters with Zentraedi.
See Valkyrie.

Beta
Model of veritech fighter.

Bioroid
An advanced humanoid mecha of Tirolian design which is controlled by a pilot through neural interface.

Botoru Fleet
The fleet of which Khyron's command (the Seventh Mechanised Division) is a part. McKinney novels call Khyron's command 'the Botoru Battalion' which, like most of McKinney's contribution, is false. DVD cases also refer to the Seventh Mechanised Division as the whole of the Botoru Fleet, which is also false.

Canon
1. A general law, rule, or edict; a fundamental principle.
2. A standard of judgment; a criterion.
3. (A list of) the recognised genuine works of a particular author, composer, etc.
'Canon' is often used (and misused) to define what is an indisputable part of the Robotech universe. It's not to be confused with 'official continuity'.
See OC.
See McKinneyism
See Purism.
See Universalism.

Cantina Mailing List
The premier Robotech E-mail discussion forum (now defunct).

Circe
One of the Oberth class spaceships of human design. Circe is destroyed in the initial encounter with the Zentraedi.
See Oberth.

CN
Cartoon Network. An American television network that broadcasts only animated productions.

COC
1. Current official continuity. In short, whatever Robotech material is flavour of the month at Harmony Gold.
See Official Continuity.
2. Chain of command.

Cosmic Harp
A (silly) name for a musical instrument aboard the Robotech Masters' command ship.

Cyclone
A model of veritech motorcycle. The Cyclone has three forms: motorcycle mode, a power-armour mode, and storage configuration.

Daedalus
One of two naval vessels accidentally transported beyond the orbit of the planet Pluto with SDF-1 to which she was subsequently attached (becoming the SFD-1's starboard 'arm'). Macross material describes her as a landing craft, but as her draught would be too great for this role, sealift ship is probably the most appropriate designation for this type of vessel. However, she is referred to as an aircraft carrier in the Robotech TV series.

Daedalus Manoeuvre
A tactic devised by Lieutenant-Commander Lisa Hayes for penetrating Zentraedi ships by using the naval ship Daedalus (which was attached to SDF-1), strengthened at the bows by the pin-point barrier, to 'punch' through the hull of an enemy ship and deploy mecha and ordnance within.
See Daedalus.
See Pin-Point Barrier.

Destroid
Large piloted robot designed primarily for ground combat. The word is stressed on the first syllable.

DOZ
Disciples of Zor. The Robotech Masters refer to the inhabitants of Earth as the 'Disciples of Zor'. Disciples of Zor is also the name of a Robotech fan club.

DR
Del Rey, publisher of the McKinney novels.

DYRL
The Super Dimension Fortress Macross The Movie: Do You Remember Love? A sequel to The Super Dimension Fortress Macross. It has no direct relation to Robotech.

Early Return, ER
See Late Return.

EBSIS
Eastern Bloc Soviet Independent State. A totalitarian communist nation that is antagonistic towards the world government. The somewhat simplistic idea of EBSIS was contrived for the RPG in the 1980s (when the Russians were still making funny faces) for the purpose of having a terrestrial enemy. It is extremely unlikely that such a state would be established in the Robotech universe.

F mode
Aeroplane ('fighter') configuration of a veritech fighter.
See Valkyrie.

Fantoma
See Tirol.

FB2012
The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Flash Back 2012. A sequel to The Super Dimension Fortress Macross. It has no direct relation to Robotech.

Fifteenth Squadron, 15th Squadron, 15th Sqn, Fifteenth Squad, 15th Squad
A hovertank sub-unit commanded by Dana Sterling following disciplinary demotion of Sean Phillips. In spite of the designations squadron and squad it is actually a platoon-level command.

Fighter-pod
Type of one-man Zentraedi aerospace combat mecha.

Five-year fold
A discredited five-year time lag invented to reconcile conflicting chronology of Robotech and the aborted (and therefore irrelevant) Robotech II: The Sentinels. Firstly, all information gleaned from the series regarding folds over long distances alludes to a lag of several months at the most. Secondly, and more significantly, if one adheres to the originally intended Expeditionary Force departure date of within a couple of years of the events of episode 36 (To The Stars) then there isn't a problem in the first place.

FOL
Flower of Life. A much sought-after organ of an Opteran plant from which Protoculture is derived.
See Protoculture.

Fold
See Space fold.

Fold Drive, Fold Engine, Fold System
Equipment that enables a spacecraft to enter hyperspace.
See Space fold.

G mode
Guardian configuration of a veritech mecha.
See Valkyrie.

GCM
Genesis Climber MOSPEADA (Kikou Souseiki MOSPEADA). An animated Japanese television series made in 1983-4. It was later incorporated, with some alteration, into Robotech, becoming The New Generation.

General Staff
A high-level military staff organisation.

GERWALK
Ground Effective Reinforcement of Winged Armament with Locomotive Knee. The original Macross name for the guardian mode of a veritech fighter. The term is not relevant to the Robotech universe.

GH
Global holocaust. Refers to the extensive bombardment of Earth's surface ordered by Supreme Commander Dolza towards the end of the Earth-Zentraedi space war. Also referred to as the 'Rain of Death'.

GMP
Global Military Police, a law enforcement organisation of the global military forces.

GN
Graphic Novel.

Grand Cannon
See Alaska Base.

Guardian
Guardian mode is a hybrid of other modes of several veritech mecha.
See Valkyrie.

GW
Global war (description). The conflict that ended in 1999 following the crash-landing of SDF-1 on Macross Island. It is probable that 'global war' refers to a number of simultaneous conflicts, rather than a 'World War III'. It's worth noting that the narrator says in the introduction that "global war ravaged the Earth" (not "a global war"). It's sometimes referred to by fans as the 'global civil war'/'Global Civil War' ('GCW'), which is complete and utter nonsense (civil wars are conflicts where conflicting parties are of the same nation). Note that the conflict that is depicted in the flashback scenes of episode 33 (A Rainy Night) and mentioned in connection with the abandonment of Mars Base took place after the creation of the world government and its armed forces.

HG, HGUSA
Harmony Gold, USA. The company that produced and owns Robotech.

Hyperspace, H-space
The word 'hyperspace' was the invention of science fiction author John W. Campbell for his 1934 story The Mightiest Machine. It is used in describing methods of 'short-cutting' in space travel.
See Space fold.

Invid
An alien species that invades and occupies Earth in The New Generation.

Invid Invasion
1. The Invid Invasion, episode 61 of Robotech.
2. A term used by some fans to refer to The New Generation. To be avoided as it is prone to be confused with episode 61 of Robotech.

Invid saga
A term used by some fans to refer to The New Generation.

Jupiter Section
An organisation in the United Earth Forces that is mentioned briefly in episode 83. Sue Graham describes herself as being from the 'Intelligence department of the 36th Squadron, Jupiter Section'. Note that the expression 'Jupiter Division' does not exist in the TV series.

LAM
Live-action movie.

Late Return
As a result of conflicting evidence in the TV series, as well as among various sources, there are two main theories as to the date of the events of episodes 61 to 85. Some people accept the evidence for the 'early return' of Mars Division and the subsequent fleet arrival, while others claim that these events happen some years later.
See Five-year fold.

Liberty
Space Station Liberty.
See SSL.

M+, Mac+, MP
Macross Plus. A sequel to The Super Dimension Fortress Macross. It has no direct relation to Robotech.

M0, Mac0, MZ
Macross Zero. A sequel to The Super Dimension Fortress Macross. It has no direct relation to Robotech.

M2, Mac2
Macross II. A sequel to The Super Dimension Fortress Macross. It has no direct relation to Robotech.

M7, Mac7
Macross 7. A sequel to The Super Dimension Fortress Macross. It has no direct relation to Robotech.

Macek, Carl
Story editor and producer of the 1985 Robotech TV series.

Macross
1. The Super Dimension Fortress Macross.
See SDFM.
2. A term used by some fans to refer to The Macross Saga (to be avoided, as it is prone to being confused with The Super Dimension Fortress Macross).
3. Macross City.
4. Macross Island.
5. New Macross City.
See Macross City, Macross Island.
See NMC.
Note that in Macross Macross is the name of the ship that is known in Robotech only as SDF-1 and the island on which it crashed is called South Ataria/Atalia Island in Macross and Macross in Robotech.

Macross City, Macross Island
Macross Island was the south Pacific island on which SDF-1 crash-landed in 1999. Macross City was constructed around SDF-1 during the ship's reconstruction. The city had a conventional municipal government (its mayor appears in The Macross Saga), but the island was probably under direct sovereignty of the world government owing to the international importance of SDF-1's reconstruction. The island and some of the surrounding ocean was accidentally transported during a space fold manoeuvre to the outer solar system whereupon it was abandoned and Macross City rebuilt within the ship. (In Macross the island is called South Ataria/Atalia Island and it is located in the north Pacific.)
See NMC.

Manga
1. A Japanese word literally meaning 'funny pictures', but like the English equivalents 'comic book' or 'comic strip' it has come to mean any narrative in the form of a sequence of illustrations.
2. Manga Corporation, an anime distribution company. Note that manga does not refer to animation and Manga Corporation doesn't actually make anime.

Mars Base
1. Mars Base Sara / Sara Base. A Martian outpost of the global forces abandoned during a war that occurred at some point between the years 1999 and 2009. The base was later destroyed during fighting between SDF-1's forces and the Zentraedi. Two pronunciations are used in the TV series: 'sair-rah' and 'sah-rah'.
See AUL.
2. The home base of Mars Division. It's not clear what or where this base is. It's probable that it's the large space station with 'Mars III' on its hull seen in episode 61.

Mars Base Sara, Sara Base
See Mars Base.

Mars Division
A fleet division of the Expeditionary Force despatched to Earth to attempt an ill-fated attack against the Invid occupiers. (Some sources and fans refer to fleet divisions and bases with the names of other Roman gods, but Mars Division and Mars Base are the only such references in the Robotech TV series. However, a Jupiter Section is mentioned.)
See Jupiter Section.

MBC
Macross Broadcasting Corporation.

MBS
Macross Broadcasting System.

McKinney, Jack
Under this pseudonym James Luceno and the late Brian Daley created a series of badly-written and error-ridden Robotech novels published by Del Rey.

McKinneyist, McKinneyism
A 'McKinneyist' is someone who considers the McKinney novels an authoritative Robotech source.

Mecha
1. In Robotech, mobile robotic weapons platforms such as destroids and veritechs.
2. In the context of anime generally, a generic term for machines (ships, vehicles, computers, robots, weapons, etc.)

Micronians
A term used by the Robotech Masters and Zentraedi to refer to humans.

Minister of Terrestrial Defence, Minister for Terrestrial Defence
See MOTD.

Miranda
One of the Oberth class spaceships of human design. Miranda is destroyed in the initial encounter with the Zentraedi.
See Oberth.

MOSPEADA
1. Genesis Climber MOSPEADA.
See GCM.
2. Mobile Operation Soldier Protection Emergency Aviation Dive Auto.
3. The VR-052 model transformable motorcycle in Genesis Climber MOSPEADA.
Note that the term 'MOSPEADA' never appears in Robotech.

MOTD, MTD
1. Ministry of Terrestrial Defence. An executive organisation within the world government.
2. Minister of/for Terrestrial Defence. The member of the world government in charge of the Ministry of Terrestrial Defence.
See UEG.

M:PM, MPM
Macross: Perfect Memory. A book about the Macross series.

NMC
New Macross City. Following SDF-1's final return to Earth after the global holocaust, Macross City's community builds New Macross City around the now immobile vessel in North America.

OAV
Original Animation Video. An animated production intended solely for video release.

Oberth
Class (and its initial vessel) of space ships of human design seen in The Macross Saga.

OC, Official Continuity
Whatever Harmony Gold considers to be an 'incontrovertible' part of the Robotech universe (regardless of how implausible it may be), which changes from time to time. 'Official continuity' must not be confused with 'canon'.

Odyssey, The
Robotech III: The Odyssey.
See R3:TO.

Omnidirectional Barrier
A spherical energy shield devised and used aboard SDF-1.

Optera
Home planet of the Invid.

Opteran
Of, or pertaining to, Optera, home planet of the Invid.

OSM
Original source material. Official information concerning The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, The Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross or Genesis Climber MOSPEADA.

OVA
Original Video Animation.
See OAV.

Palladium
Publisher of the Robotech Role Playing Game.

Pin-point barrier
A manoeuvrable energy shield implemented aboard SDF-1 controlled manually to selectively block weapons fire.

Prometheus
A naval aircraft carrier that was transported to the outer solar system with SDF-1 before being attached to SDF-1 as her portside 'arm'.

Protoculture
A fuel product used in mecha and spacecraft derived from the 'Flower of Life,' the flower of an Opteran plant species. A number of people assume that the word is a combination of the English terms 'proto' and 'culture', but this is incorrect. The word is obviously of alien origin, as it baffles humans when they make contact with Zentraedi. What humans called it before the discovery of the word by Lieutenant-Commander Lisa Hayes and her fellow captives is not mentioned. In The New Generation protoculture canisters are marked with the letters 'HBT', but no indication is given as to what this stands for.

Protoculture Chamber
A large cylindrical device for reducing Zentraedi to human size and restoring them to their original size.

Protoculture Matrix
A device for exploiting the energy-giving properties of the Flower of Life.

Purist, Purism
Strictly speaking, a 'purist' is someone who considers all Robotech material other than the 1985 TV series as equating to fan-fiction. The purist position is that if isn't part of official continuity (which is determined by HG) or can be removed from official continuity at some point (which is everything except the 1985 TV series), then it cannot be considered irrefutable. Due to the release of The Shadow Chronicles film there is now a broader variety of purism that considers screen sequels (but not other spin-offs) that are part of current official continuity as irrefutable sources, but only to the extent that there is no conflict with the TV series's content (the content of the latter having precedence).
See Canon.
See Official Continuity.

PW, PWW
See Walker, Dr. Peter W.

R2:TS
Robotech II: The Sentinels. A Robotech sequel that was aborted after three episodes had been made. The episodes were reworked and released as a feature-length video, and as such it does not follow the intended story.

R3K, R3000
Robotech 3000 was the working title of a recent short-lived plan for a Robotech sequel.

R3:TO
Robotech III: The Odyssey. Originally intended to be the third Robotech series following The Sentinels and completing the story.

RA1, RA2, RA3
Robotech Art books.

R:CD
Robotech: Crystal Dreams. An aborted Robotech video game project.

Regent
An individual appointed to fulfil the duties of a monarch during the monarch's absence or incapacity. In The Sentinels material the Regess has a husband who – when the Regess was preoccupied with the occupation forces on Earth – ruled the remaining Invid as regent.

Regess, Regiss, Regis
Ruler of the Invid. The spelling 'Regess' is used in The Shadow Chronicles film.

Rendezvous Charlie
A location where SDF-1 was to meet with several 'Armour' vessels during the initial Zentraedi assault.

Revell
A company that produced Robotech toys.

RDF
Robotech defence force or Robotech defence forcs. Usually used to refer to the global forces of The Macross Saga era, though that definition is nonsensical.

REF, EF
Robotech Expeditionary Force. A human-Zentraedi military force that embarked on a mission to find the home world of the Robotech Masters.

Reflex
Used to describe things that are fuelled by Protoculture, such as mecha and ordnance, e.g. 'reflex weaponry', 'reflex furnace', etc.

Reflex Point
Location of the hive of the Regess (the Invid ruler) in North America.

Robotech
1. An animated television series produced by Harmony Gold USA in 1985.
2. Robotechnology. A type of technology as found in the wrecked SDF-1 in 1999.

Robotech.Com
The official Harmony Gold Robotech web-site. Though extensive, it and its creators are disliked by many fans (particularly those who've been fans for many years), who criticise its creators for distorting the Robotech universe by adopting, perpetuating and giving ill-conceived ideas official status, and generally producing poor material.

Robotech Masters
The creators of Robotechnology and leaders of an interstellar empire created by mastering Robotechnology and genetically engineering a species of giants known as the Zentraedi for the purpose of conquest. A fleet of the Robotech Masters arrives in Earth's solar system in episode 37, triggering a war with Earth.

Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles, TSC
A new Robotech screen sequel. This is the fifth attempt at a sequel (following The Sentinels, The Odyssey, Robotech 3000 – all abandoned in early stages – and Robotech: The Movie, which was too badly botched for anyone to accept as a legitimate sequel).

Robotech Universe
The 'fictional reality' in which the events in Robotech take place.

RPG
Role Playing Game.

RPSA
Robotech Perfect Soundtrack Album. A CD album comprising most (not all, despite the name) of the music from the TV series.

RRG, URRG
The Unofficial Robotech Reference Guide. A well-known and much-criticised Internet guide to Robotech's content, especially military equipment, written by Peter Walker, Pieter Thomassen, Robert Morgenstern and others.

SC, Southern Cross
1. Episode 39 of Robotech.
2. A military command headed by General Leonard.
3. Sometimes used incorrectly to refer to The Robotech Masters/The Masters, the second segment of Robotech.
4. The Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross.
See SDCSC.

SDCSC
The Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross (Choujiku Kidan Southern Cross). An animated Japanese television series made in 1984. It was later incorporated into Robotech, with some alteration.

SDCO
The Super Dimension Century Orguss. The only one of Studio Nue's and Artland's 'Super Dimension' series that wasn't incorporated into Robotech by Harmony Gold, though it is rumoured that it was intended to be used in Robotech III: The Odyssey. Note that while these series share the 'Super Dimension' title, their plots bear no relation to one another.

SDF
Super-dimensional fortress. 'Super dimensional' means it can travel through hyperspace and fortress in this context means a type of large space warship.

SDF-1, SDF-2, SDF-3
Several space ships of the global forces. SDF-1 was originally a ship of the Robotech Masters that the crew had abandoned before it crash-landed on Earth in 1999. It was rebuilt by humans and became part of Earth's space forces, and served in the war against the Zentraedi. SDF-1 is referred to as 'Zor's battlefortress,' but unless Zor outlived 'thousands of generations' of Zentraedi he was not on board any time soon before its crash-landing on Earth. The SDF-2 (which should not be confused with the SDF-2 of Macross series) was constructed entirely by humans and allied Zentraedi. SDF-1 and SDF-2 were destroyed on Earth in episode 36, though the exterior of the second is never seen. The reason for having the implausibly 'invisible' SDF-2 with SDF-1 was to explain the existence of the third of the three mounds under which SDF-1, SDF-2 and Khyron's ship are buried in later episodes. The explanation was unnecessary as there's nothing wrong with the idea that the mounds cover fewer ships. SDF-3 was in The Sentinels. She was built by humans and allied Zentraedi and deployed as a part of the Expeditionary Force.

SDFM
The Super Dimension Fortress Macross (Choujiku Yousai Macross). An animated Japanese television series made in 1982-3. It was later incorporated into Robotech, with some alteration, becoming The Macross Saga.

Senate, Senator
The Senate is the name of a – or the – chamber of the global legislature. This is based on the fact that the 'senator' in episode 1 (Booby Trap) is connected with SDF-1's reconstruction (as his presence indicates), and has the authority to order to Captain Gloval to take SDF-1 and its forces into battle. Therefore, he must be a member of the global government, in which case there must be a global Senate.

Sentinels, The
1. See R2:TS.
2. A group of various alien species (depicted/described in The Sentinels) material encountered by the Expeditionary Force during its expedition.

Siembieda, Kevin
Author of the (error-ridden) Robotech Role Playing Game.

Small White Dragon, Little White Dragon
1. A restaurant in Macross City.
2. An action film (the first feature film made in space) starring Lynn Minmei and Lynn Kyle. The film was produced mainly for boosting morale and featured scenes of humans with super-powers defeating giants in hand-to-hand combat (causing much confusion and consternation among its Zentraedi audience).

Space fold
Space-time is not absolute or unchanging. It has dynamic qualities Robotechnology can take advantage of. We can imagine it as a sheet of paper with points marked on two corners. While it lies flat on a table the corners remain separated by the length of the paper, but if we fold the paper we can bring these points closer together. 'Folding' is when something enters hyperspace or 'H-space' (travelling between the two points brought together). When it returns to normal space ('N-space') this is called a 'de-fold'. Successive folds are called 're-folds'.

Spacy
A designation of a military service (analogous to Navy, Army, and Air Force) that consists of space forces. Strangely, some fans incorrectly refer to such services as 'navies' (navies are sea – not space – services). The word appears several times in The Macross Saga's animation in connection with the space forces of the world government.

SSL
Space Station Liberty. An outpost of the global military forces.

SY
Steve Yun, an employee of Harmony Gold.

Synchro Cannon
A reflex weapon with a one-person cockpit mounted on a hover platform.

TAC
Tactical armoured corps.
See ATAC.

TASC
Tactical armoured space corps. A type of military formation. Lieutenant Crystal's unit is a part of a tactical armoured space corps.

Tatsunoko Production Company
A Japanese company that holds the Robotech copyright with Harmony Gold and was responsible for providing Robotech's animation.

TB
Tom Bateman, an employee of Harmony Gold.

Techie
A Robotech fan.

Thinking cap
One of McKinney's more obvious errors. 'Thinking caps' are supposed to be fighter pilots' helmets containing neural sensors enabling the wearer to control mecha by thought. There is no suggestion of such a system existing in the Earth forces at that time and there are a number of suggestions to the contrary, such as dialogue and animation emphasising manual control ('If you can fly a jet, you can operate a battloid – the controls aren't that different') and the humans' complete unfamiliarity with a similar system in the bioroids.

Tiresia
Capital of Tirol.

Tiresian
Of, or pertaining to, Tiresia.

Tirol
The Robotech Masters' home world (pronounced ty-ROL), a moon orbiting the gas-giant Fantoma according to information regarding The Sentinels. Animation in the TV series suggests that is an Earth-like planet or moon with two moons of its own.

Tirolian
Of, or pertaining to, Tirol.

TMOV, TMV, MOV, MV
(Titanium) Medal of Valour. A gallantry decoration seen presented to Rick Hunter in episode 8 (Sweet Sixteen).

TMS
The Macross Saga, the first segment of Robotech, comprising 36 episodes.

TNG
The New Generation, the third segment of Robotech, comprising 25 episodes.

TRM, TM
The Robotech Masters, also known as The Masters, the second segment of Robotech, comprising 24 episodes.

TSC
1. Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles. A Robotech sequel.
2. Tactical space corps. A type of military formation.

TUS, RTM, R:TUS, RTM:TUS
Robotech The Movie: The Untold Story (which should have remained untold). A botched Robotech feature film adapted mainly from the very tedious Megazone 23 and denounced by everyone who has ever heard of it.

TY
Tommy Yune, an employee of Harmony Gold.

UE
United Earth.

UEDC
United Earth Defence Council.

UEEF
United Earth Expeditionary Force.
See REF.

UEF
United Earth Forces (name) or united Earth forces (description).

UEG
United Earth Government (name) or united Earth government (description).

UENS
United Earth Naval Ship.

UES
United Earth Ship.

UESS
United Earth Space Ship.

UN
United Nations. After unification following the global conflict of 1999, an alliance of nations governed by a world government.
See UEG.

UNA
United Nations Army.

UNAF
United Nations Air Force.

UNDF
United Nations Defence Force.

Universalism, Universalist
A 'universalist' is someone who treats material from various sources other than the TV series as though it were just as incontrovertible ('canonical') as the content of the TV series. Some universalists attempt to resolve inconsistencies between the various Robotech sources by ranking them in an order of precedence. For example, everything in the McKinney novels that conflicts with the TV series is ignored (but everything else – no matter how stupid – is accepted on principle); if the novels are ranked higher than the RPG everything in the RPG that conflicts with the novels' and TV series's content is ignored (but everything else – no matter how stupid – is accepted on principle); and so on. Universalism (which is sometimes incorrectly identified as purism) results in a complete mess.
See RRG.

UNN
United Nations Navy.

UNS
United Nations Spacy.
See Spacy.

Valkyrie, VF-1
A model of veritech fighter seen in The Macross Saga. Four main variants of this mecha are seen:
     - VF-1S (Lieutenant-Commander Fokker's Skull 001),
     - VF-1J (Lieutenant Hunter's Skull 023),
     - VF-1A (Corporal Max Sterling's Vermilion 003),
     - VF-1D (the craft Rick Hunter pilots in the battle over Macross Island).
All Valkyries have three modes: Battloid (a humanoid form, pronounced 'batl-oyd'), Fighter (resembling a conventional jet fighter), and Guardian (a hybrid of the other two resembling a conventional jet fighter with the battloid's arms and legs). With large external thrusters and weapons attached it becomes the Super VF-1; with armour plating it becomes the Armoured VF-1 (which can only be used in Battloid mode); and a large booster system can be added for a terrestrial launch into orbit (which can only be used in Fighter mode).

Veritech
A term applied to mecha meaning that the mecha is transformable. This term is sometimes misused as a specific name of the Valkyrie model veritech fighter.

VF
Veritech Fighter (not to be confused with the US Navy's designation for fighter squadrons).

VH
Veritech helicopter.

VHT
Veritech hovertank.

VM
Veritech motorcycle.
See Cyclone.

Wolfe Pack, Wolf Pack, Wolff Pack
A military organisation commanded by Colonel Jonathan Wolfe (referred to by some sources as Jonathan Wolf or Wolff).

Zentraedi
'A race of warriors bred for thousands of generations for the sole purpose of military conquest' (as the narrator states) by the Robotech Masters. Their most notable features are that they are considerably larger than humans (who they otherwise closely resemble), have a limited emotional spectrum and are devoted to war. (It is pronounced zen-TRAH-di despite the spelling. The original Macross spelling – Zentradi – would have been more appropriate.)

Zor, Zor Prime
Zor was the creator of Robotechnology. Zor Prime – a clone of Zor – is captured by the global forces during the war between Earth and the Robotech Masters, and later becomes a member of Dana Sterling's command. In The Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross this character was a human who was captured and brainwashed by the aliens, which is why he is shown wearing a human military uniform in his flashbacks (it would have made a lot more sense if HG had made him an abducted member of the Expeditionary Force). In SDCSC, Zor is the name of the alien species (i.e. 'the Zor') who are referred to in Robotech as the Robotech Masters.