Title: The Koiverse Encyclopedia - Grand Fleet
Author: Koi Lungfish
Disclaimer: Based on characters and situations from The Transformers ((c) 1986 Hasbro, Ltd). Used without permission. Text (c) 2005-2006, Koi Lung Fish (Mark of Lung. All Rights Reserved.)
Subject: A dictionary of terms, places and things from the Koiverse. Some of these things are canon and have been given expanded definitions; most of them are my creations. If you would like to use one of my terms, please ask first [or at least credit me]; if you're not sure if a term is canon or fan-created, feel free to ask.


Adjutant

[Decepticon]: 1. A junior officer and graduate of the War Academy. Adjutants do not hold fixed positions but are moved around the organizational structure frequently [some individuals are posted as often as 3 times a vorn]. They function as 'relief commanders,' taking effective control of small groups of sections or divisions in crisis. The number of adjutants in a group varies depending on the amount of pressure on the group. 2. [veteran]: A wet-behind-the-audios berk who can't mind his own business and is going to get everyone in the unit killed; adjutant ahoy! - shout, given by one whose unit is feeling much put-upon by an adjutant, indicating a target has just become visible.

Air Commander

[Decepticon]: The officer in control of the Air Wing; also called Lord High Marshal of the Air Wing, Aerospace Commander or High Commander of the Air Wing. The incumbent - one Starscream - is also second-in-command of the Decepticon army and is accorded the titles Prince of Cybertron and Lord Commander of the Grand Fleet. [vernacular]: who do you think you are, the Air Commander? - to have ideas above one's station. [Org Chart]

Air Marshal

[Decepticon]: 1. An officer who commands a Flight and is directly answerable a High Marshal or Outer Circle Marshal. 2. [Seeker]: An individual who needs to get out and actually fight more often. 3. [Infantry]: A poncing, primping wimp. [Org Chart]

Air Wing

[Decepticon]: The largest single section of the Grand Fleet, although logistically a single Battle Fleet, comprised of multiple Fleets. The Air Wing is the Decepticon air-force and is under the command of the Air Commander. [Org Chart]

Attack Group

[Decepticon]: 1/5th of a Battle Group, under the command of a Sub-Commander or Lieutenant. An average Attack Group numbers 70 mechanisms plus one Detached Wing under a subordinate Detachment Leader. [Org Chart]

Battle Commander

[Decepticon]: Officer in charge of a Battle Group, under the command of a Commander.

Battle Fleet

[Decepticon]: The largest division of the combined ground-based infantry, artillery, infiltration, subversion and strike forces. A Battle Fleet is commanded by a High Commander, and is comprised of 5-10 Brigades. The average Battle Fleet numbers 35,000 Decepticons. [Org Chart]

Battle Group

[Decepticon]: 1/10th of a Brigade, numbering roughly 350 Decepticons, under the command of a Battle Commander. [Org Chart]

Brigade

[Decepticon]: 1/5th to 1/10th of a Battle Fleet; formed of 5-10 Battle Groups, under the control of a Commander. An average Brigade numbers 3500 mechanisms. In order to confuse Autobots, the garrisons of colonies, groups of troops in transit and any irregular body of troops are all referred to as brigades no matter the actual number of troops in question. [Org Chart]

Broken Wing

[Decepticon]: 1. A Wing of 15 individuals rather than 25. 2. A Wing created by a Divisional Commander to hold all the miscreants, malfeasants and smart-alecks he doesn't like; given the worst jobs and the least support. Rarely manage to keep their numbers even close to 15. Usually comprised of individual units and pairs, as eventually someone's trinemate will get shot. 3. [vernacular]: What one threatens to give an uppity Seeker.

Command Operative

[Decepticon]: A mechanism fulfilling the role of sniper, assassin and executioner, under the command of a Subcommander, Lieutenant, Subcaptain, Detachment Commander or Wing Commander.

Commander

[Decepticon]: 1. Officer in charge of a Brigade, answerable to a High Commander. 2. Title accorded by any Decepticon to any officer more than two ranks senior to him. [Org Chart]

Detached Wing

[Decepticon]: 1. A Wing seperated from the Air Wing and attached to a Sector Group. Comprised of 25 Decepticons and commanded by a Detachment Leader who answers to a Detachment Commander. 2. A Wing seperated from the Air Wing and attached to a Battle Fleet. Comprised of 25 Decepticons and commanded by a Detachment Leader who answers to a Subcommander or Lieutenant. 3. [vernacular, from 2.] A group of unreliable layabouts who spend more time polishing their wings than fighting. 4. [vernacular] What one will give a member of 3. if they do not get off their tailfins and actually do some work. [Org Chart]

Detachment

[Decepticon]: A section seperated from the Air Wing and attached to a Sector or Battle Fleet. Any sub-section of a Detachment operating outside the Detachment is referred to as Detached [i.e. a Wing from a Detachment operating away from its Detachment is called a Detached Wing]. [Org Chart]

Detachment Commander

[Decepticon]: 1. The Wing Commander of a Detached Squadron, who takes orders from a Liaison Commander. Logistically an Air Wing officer, serving in either a Battle Fleet or Sector Group. 2. An officer so unbearable even the Air Wing doesn't want him. [Org Chart]

Detachment Leader

[Decepticon]: 1. The Wing Leader of a Detached Wing attached to a Battle Fleet, who takes orders from a Sub-Commander or Lieutenant but is only answerable to their mutual Battle Commander. 2. The Wing Leader of a Detached Wing attached to a Sector Group, who takes orders from a Detachment Commander. 3. [vernacular, from 1.]: An officer who is unreliable unless his commander is around. [Org Chart]

Detached Squadron

[Decepticon]: An Air Wing Squadron seperated from the Air Wing and attached to a Sector Group. Comprised of 3 Wings [75 Decepticons] and commanded by a Detachment Commander. [Org Chart]

Division

[Decepticon]: 1/5th of a Fleet, commanded by a Divisional Commander and comprised of a variable number of Squadrons. An average Division numbers 375 mechanisms. [Org Chart]

Divisional Commander

[Decepticon]: 1. Officer who commands a Division and is answerable to an Air Marshal. 2. [vernacular]: Any officer who leaves all the hard work to his subordinates. [Org Chart]

Executioner

[Decepticon]: A warrior or infiltrator whose function is to remove obstacles to his commander's plans, be the obstacle an object, weapon or mechanism. In the case of executing commanders, the executioner also serves as a stand-in commander until a permanent replacement is made.

Ennead

[Decepticon]: A group of 3 trines; a trine squared; also called an "unbreakable wing."

Fleet

[Decepticon]: A section of the Air Wing, commanded by a High Marshal or Outer Circle Marshal, comprised of 10 Flights. An average Fleet numbers approximately 20,000 mechanisms. [Org Chart]

Flight

[Decepticon]: A section of the Air Wing, commanded by an Air Marshal, comprised of 5 Divisions. An average Flight numbers approximately 2000 mechanisms. [Org Chart]

Governor

[Decepticon]: 1. Any mechanism who has command and control over a geographical area including at least one major Decepticon population centre. All High Councillors and High Commanders are Governors, but not all Governors hold any such rank. 2. [vernacular]: A self-important mechanism who needs to get out more; one who has influence but no martial merit; an Autobot who holds rank but is rarely or never seen in battle.

Grand Fleet

[Decepticon]: 1. The combined Decepticon military forces. 2. The Decepticon race/species. [Org Chart]

Guard Captain

[Decepticon]: 1. Officer in command of a watchtower and all individuals stationed therein, answerable to a Sector Captain. A Guard Captain is responsible not only for his watcgtower but also for all outposts within its territorial range. 2. [vernacular]: Any command position considered desirable due to a combination of high autonomy and low risk. [Org Chart]

High Command

[Decepticon]: Group of Decepticons who command the majority of the Decepticon forces, and who are responsible for the planning and co-ordination of major war actions on and off Cybertron. The High Command is the body responsible for the conquest and control of primarily Cybertron and secondarily anything and everything else. The High Command is pro-active, advising swift and brutal action against any opponent, and sweeping advances to clear out all resistance before consolidation [i.e. using gravity wells to bomb Autobot strongholds into the bedrock, and then hunting down and exterminating all survivors at their leisure and pleasure]. [Org Chart]

High Commander

[Decepticon]: 1. A member of the High Command; a mechanism of great physical strength and martial prowess, but not necessarily of great intellect or sanity; a term of fearful-yet-jocular respect for a powerful mechanism. A High Commander leads a Battle Fleet and is usually based in the capital city of the Sector he rules over. 2. Short form of Lord High Commander. Note that a member of the High Command is a High Commander; the supreme ruler of the Decepticons is the High Commander. [Org Chart]

High Council

[Decepticon]: Group of Decepticons who form the functional government of Decepticon-controlled Cybertron and are responsible for the maintenance of facilities, installations and troop supplies, along with planetary defences. The High Council form an advisory body to the High Command and are a balancing factor; the High Council advise caution, patience and thoroughly exterminating any threat with the least possible amount of property damage [i.e. wiping out a neutral city by gassing the inhabitants, not thermally lancing it from orbit]. [Org Chart]

High Councillor

[Decepticon]: 1. A member of the High Council. A High Councillor has control over all the facilities and installations in the Sector he controls. 2. A mechanism who commands and controls a Sector of Cybertron and its Sector Group, and is responsible for the troops, installations and resources therein. Synonymous with Sector Monitor. 3. [vernacular]: A mechanism who avoids physical combat, is rarely seen outside of a council-room or command-chamber, yet is still frighteningly powerful. [Org Chart]

High Governor

[Decepticon]: The most powerful High Commander below the Lord High Commander; the overseer of Decepticon-controlled Cybertron's infrastructure and resource lines, etc.

High Marshal

[Decepticon]: A member of the Air Wing's Inner Circle; a mechanism who commands a Fleet and is answerable directly to the Air Commander. A mechanism of great pride, ambition, cunning and resourcefulness; a term of jocular disrespect to a vain or otherwise self-important member of the Air Wing. A High Marshal commands a Fleet and is usually based in a seperate city to the High Commander and High Councillor of the Sector he answers for. Usually referred to as Inner Circle Marshals to help distinguish them from Outer Circle Marshals. [Org Chart]

Inner Circle

[Decepticon]:

The group of Decepticons who command the Air Wing and are responsible for the planning and co-ordination of all troop movements and actions by the Fleets. The Inner Circle is the Air Wing's answer to the High Command, formed by the Air Commander in order to increase his own status and power. The development of the Air Wing from a single Battle Group to the equivalent of many Battle Groups, commanded by the equivalent of many High Commanders, is what has raised the Air Commander to the position of second-in-command of the Empire. The Inner Circle is even more pro-active than the High Command, having a preference for swift action, sudden strikes and long-range attacks. Where the High Council prefer to plan for 10 vorns and eradicate a city's population with one precision attack, leaving all property intact, and the High Command prefer a swift, brutal assault that will level half the city and kill most of the population, the Inner Circle prefer high-speed, high-intensity air strikes that level the entire city, most of the area around it, and kill any living thing within twenty hics.

Unlike the High Command and High Council, the Inner Circle has no check or balance other than the Air Commander himself. Few Inner Circle Marshals acknowledge the High Command as their superior officers, considering them to be pathetic and inferior ground-crawlers. Some Inner Circle Marshals do not even acknowledge the Air Commander as their superior, and many are actively engaged in trying to depose both him and the Lord High Commander.

There are positions within the Inner Circle, similar to how there are positions within a parliament, and are broken into five 'ranks' of importance. They are:

Intelligence Operative

[Decepticon]: A mechanism skilled in infiltration, subversion, intelligence gathering and/or sabotage: [vernacular]: a complete idiot.

Liaison Commander

[Decepticon]: 1. The Divisional Commander of a Detached Division, answerable directly to a Sector Monitor [and not to the Sector Captain]. 2. Someone who thought he was getting a holiday and got a dead-end job instead. [Org Chart]

Lieutenant

[Decepticon]: 1. A mechanism who commands an Attack Group and who is valued by his Commander for his ingenuity and ability to operate independently. 2. Title accorded by an individual to his second-in-command. 3. [vernacular]: A sneaky, unreliable, treacherous mechanism one dare not turn one's back on; a praiseworthy individual. [Org Chart]

Lord High Commander

[Decepticon]: The supreme leader of the Decepticons; also called Emperor of Cybertron, Lord High Marshal of the Fleets, Commander of the Grand Fleet and [archaic/derog] Admiral of the Grand Fleet, Overlord. [Org Chart]

Low Commander

[Decepticon]: A mechanism who is both a Low Councillor and a Commander; one who commands and controls a planetary body, the forces and resources on it, and is responsible for the conquest and control of any unconquered planetary bodies nearby. A Low Commander is technically a member of the High Command but is only called to attend when matters concerning his sphere of influence are concerned. A Low Commander commands both a Sector Group, headed by a Sector Captain, and a Brigade, headed by a Commander. Low Commanders answer to the Operations Commander and not to the High Commander. 2. [vernacular]: One who is a force to be reckoned with. [Org Chart]

Low Council

[Decepticon]: Group of Decepticons that represents the planetary bodies they control. The Low Council is beholden to the High Council and has no literal voice in Decepticon government. [Org Chart]

Low Councillor

[Decepticon]: 1. Officer who commands and controls a planetary body other than Cybertron, and is responsible for the troops, installations and resources thereon. Low Councillors can vary in power from the sole inhabitant of a monitoring asteroid to the Governor of a powerful Decepticon colony-world. Each Lower Councillor answers to a High Councillor and forms a power relationship with said; the Low Councillor's planetary body supplies the High Councillor and his Sector, and in return the High Councillor represents the Low Councillor's interests favourably in the High Council. A Low Council commands a Sector Group, headed by a Sector Captain. 2. [vernacular]: A self-important busybody; a provincial bumpkin with delusions of grandeur. [Org Chart]

Mayhem

1. [general]: Decepticon warriors who act without restraint. 2. [Autobot]: Any Decepticon strike-team, especially those who act without restraint and/or favour brutality. 3. [Decepticon]: A member of a Mayhem Squad; [Autobot]: A highly trained sadistic brute.

Mayhem Squad

[Decepticon]: A highly-trained group, comprised of 3 to 5 warriors plus one interrogator and one technician, with a high degree of command competence [usually manifest as at least 3 officer-class warriors per team]. Mayhem Squads are dispatched as hunting parties to locate and destroy traitors, defectors and informants by any means they deem necessary. Otherwise, Mayhem Squads act as military police, enforcing discipline through terror, and as shock troops.

Outpost

[Decepticon]: 1. A small installation, either fortified or concealed but rarely both, under the command of an Outpost Captain. An average Outpost is staffed by its Captain, his lieutenants, an intelligence operative, a war technician and 5 mixed-type troops. 2. [vernacular]: Any installation considered too small, too hard to defend, too isolated or otherwise undesirable to be posted to. [Org Chart]

Outpost Captain

[Decepticon]: 1. Officer in command of an Outpost, answerable directly to a Subcaptain. 2. [vernacular]: The rank the officer one is currently upbraiding will hold if he screws up ever again. [Org Chart]

Outer Circle

[Decepticon]: Group of Marshals who command the Fleets off Cybertron. The Air Wing's equivalent of the Low Council and Low Command. The Marshals of the Outer Circle are technically the same rank as the High Marshals who serve the Inner Circle, but distance from Cybertron lowers prestige, and Marshals of this rank are usually referred to as Outer Circle Marshals rather than High Marshals. The Outer Circle are sometimes referred to as "Starscream's berserkers", as they are chosen for their drive for conquest and martial spirit. Unlike most of the Inner Circle, the Outer Circle Marshals are mostly loyal to the Air Commander Starscream. [Org Chart]

Sector Captain

[Decepticon]: Officer in command of the defensive forces of a Sector, who answers to the Sector Monitor but is not stationed at the same installation as he is. A Sector Captain may answer to a Low Commander, High Councillor/Sector Monitor or Low Councillor depending on where he is stationed. A Sector Captain commands a Sector Group. [Org Chart]

Sector Group

[Decepticon]: The defensive forces of a Sector, commanded by a Sector Captain, numbering approximately 2000 Decepticons. [Org Chart]

Sector Monitor

[Decepticon]: A High Councillor; a mechanism responsible for the control and defence of a Sector of Cybertron; a mechanism capable of communing with and controlling the computer-systems and subject machines of Cybertron. A Sector Monitor directly commands his personal staff [usually 1 commune-capable second-in-command, 1 bodyguard or command operative and a personal guard of 5 veteran mixed-type troops, plus 1 Detached Wing from his Sector's Detachment], plus a Detached Division headed by a Liaison Commander and a Sector Group headed by a Sector Captain. [Org Chart] [Monitors]

Spook

[general]: A spy, infiltrator or saboteur; [Autobot]: A Decepticon spy, infiltrator, saboteur, informant or executioner; a Decepticon who relies on stealth and/or gathers information by observation; [Decepticon]: A spy, infiltrator, saboteur or other mechanism involved in military intelligence; also a member of the secret police; [vernacular]: spooky - one who is, or is believed to be, an informant for the secret police; spooky feet - to walk silently.

Squadron

[Decepticon]: A section of a Division, commanded by a Wing Commander, and comprised of 3 Wings. A Squadron numbers 75 mechanisms. [Org Chart]

Subcaptain

[Decepticon]: 1. Officer in charge of a Subtower and Subtower Guard, answerable to a Guard Captain. 2. A mechanism whose job entails doing all the boss's work for him. [Org Chart]

Subcommander

[Decepticon]: 1. A mechanism who commands an Attack Group and who is valued by his commander for his loyalty and ability to stick to the plan he has been given. 2. [vernacular]: A stolid, unimaginative, overly loyal or otherwise dull mechanism. 3. [vernacular]: The mechanism to blame when one has to scrub the entire base with a fine-head polyshiner. [Org Chart]

Subtower

[Decepticon]: A fortified installation on Cybertron, under the command of a Subcaptain. An average subtower houses a Subtower Guard of approximately 75 Decepticons. [Org Chart]

Trine

[Decepticon]: A group of 3 Seekers; the smallest combat unit in the Battle Fleet.

Trinefere

1. [Decepticon]: A member of one's trine who is also one's fere, also applied to a trine member who is one's brother or a long-time comrade. A term denoting high respect and endearment. 2. [Autobot]: A disgusting term of address used by incestuous Decepticon jets.

Trinemate

[Decepticon]: One who is part of one's trine. Generally used of a trine member one has known a long time and trusts in combat; the usual term for a member of one's trine.

Trinemech

[Decepticon]: A member of one's trine whom one does not necessarily know well or care for; an individual who one would have nothing to do with were he not in one's trine. A normal form of address for an individual who has just joined one's trine, an insult for someone who has been a long-term member of one's trine.

War Technician

[Decepticon]: A mechanism skilled in the construction and repair of structures, devices, mechanisms and warriors; a combined engineer-medic.

Warlord-general

[Decepticon]: A individual commanding a large number of troops and securely holding a significant selection of resources, strongholds and other useful facilities. Can refer to anyone from a successful, influential Guard Captain or Battle Commander up to a High Commander. Although a Decepticon can be a warlord-general without being a High Commander, he cannot be a High-Commander without being a warlord-general.

Watchtower

[Decepticon]: 1. The fortified headquarters of a Sector Monitor; the administrative, defensive and/or resource hub of that individual's Sector; the primary place in which a Monitor can commune with his Sector. 2. Any one of the many fortified command posts in a Sector. A Watchtower is commanded by a Guard Captain and houses a Watchtower Guard of 250 Decepticions. [Org Chart]

Wing

1. [Decepticon]: A fighting unit of 25 Seekers, commanded by a Wing Commander, and comprised of multiple groups of varying number [i.e. 5 groups of 5 Seekers, 5 groups of 3 Seekers and 2 groups of 5, 8 groups of 3 and 1 individual, etc]. 2. [Autobot]: General term for any large group of Decepticon fliers. [Org Chart]

Wing Commander

[Decepticon]: 1. Officer who commands a Squadron, answerable to a Divisional Commander; also called a Squadron Commander or Squad Leader. 2. [vernacular]: An officer who is overly harsh because his commander is overly lax. [Org Chart]

Wing Leader

[Decepticon]: 1. Officer who commands a Wing and is answerable to a Wing Commander; an officer who leads from the front and/or is highly skilled in combat; a praiseworthy individual, albeit not necessarily for his leadership skills. 2. [vernacular]: A member of one's trine who is the highest-ranking, or is otherwise in command of the group; not technically an officer. [Org Chart]

Wing Second

[Decepticon]: 1. Either of the two mechanisms who are a Wing Leader's wingmen; a mechanism who is solidly reliable, martially skilled and not likely to shoot one in the back. 2. [vernacular]: A term of private endearment between those below that rank.

Wingman

[Decepticon]: A member of one's trine; a term denoting trust in the addressed individual.

Wingmate

[Decepticon]: A member of one's trine whom one is unusually close to - either a brother, a fere or a long-time comrade. One's preferred combat partner.


Author's notes & addenda:
Feedback always welcomed.

Back to the Bookshelf
Back to the Koipond Index