Glossary

Terms marked (field) are movement vocabulary the HUD and UI use. The in-world explanation follows the one-line definition.

MB-GL-001Vector Lattice

The gravitational transit network. In-world, "the Lattice" is the ordinary word; "Vector Lattice" is survey terminology, from the way strands were first mapped as velocity vector fields.

MB-GL-002Mach Drive

Wearable inertial field generator; the thing that makes an operator Machborne. Named for the first foundry line's rating scheme, which rated Drives by the speed at which the field could still hold a body together.

MB-GL-003Machborne

A certified Mach Drive operator. Also the universe's name.

MB-GL-004The Break

The failed region of the Lattice, and by extension the war for what is inside it.

MB-GL-005Mach Wars

The ongoing wars over Lattice nodes, Drive foundries and Break salvage.

MB-GL-006Glidefield

Low-coupling Drive state. The field holds the body just off the surface; friction drops to near zero and the operator slides along terrain, keeping momentum. Downhill gives speed, uphill takes it, and a good operator strings slopes together so the ledger stays positive. Why it works: the Drive couples the wearer to the gradient, not the ground; with coupling low, the ground can only push, never hold.

MB-GL-007Tractionfield

Normal coupling. The operator walks, stops, turns like a person. Necessary and slow.

MB-GL-008Burnfield

Drive thrust. The field shapes itself to push against the gradient and the cell pays for it. Vertical by default; with training, directional. A Burn is how you leave the ground, correct a vector in the air, or land without breaking. Every Burn is a decision about the cell.

MB-GL-009Burn Arcfield

The path of an operator between leaving a surface and touching the next one. Reading a Burn Arc, yours or an enemy's, is the core skill of projectile combat.

MB-GL-010Vectorfield

An operator's velocity, direction and speed together. "Vectoring" is the act of shaping it with terrain and Burn. A "Vector Hit" is a projectile that meets an operator in the air.

MB-GL-011Breakfield

The velocity threshold at which the Drive's field changes regime and the HUD marks it. Above the Break an operator is a different kind of target: hard to hit, hard to stop, hard to keep alive. "Breaking the line" originally meant crossing that threshold on a route through enemy ground, and became the shorthand for any run that carries an objective through a defence.

MB-GL-012MachBreakfield

The exceptional regime well above the Break, where the Drive is running at the edge of its rating and the operator is faster than most weapons can lead. Recorded, scored, and remembered.

MB-GL-013Breaklinefield

A route across terrain that preserves or builds velocity all the way from origin to target. Every battlefield has several; the community names them; the best are not on any map. Map briefs classify Breaklines as safe, fast and extreme.

MB-GL-014Cutfield

A sharp Vector change at speed, using a slope face or a lateral Burn to change heading without bleeding momentum. Used to shake an interceptor's lead.

MB-GL-015Divefield

A deliberate committed descent, trading altitude for speed on the way into a slope or a target. The most dangerous thing an operator does on purpose.

MB-GL-016Risefield

A Burn-assisted climb that converts ground speed to altitude, usually to clear a ridge or to enter a Burn Arc where a defender cannot follow.

MB-GL-017Core

A sealed Mach Drive coupler core: the irreplaceable component of a Drive, grown rather than machined, each one traceable to the foundry that made it. Cores are what a foundry produces and what The Break's salvage yields. In BreakFlag, the objective.

MB-GL-018Core Station

The shielded cradle that holds a Core at a base. Removing a Core from its Station is a physical act by a single operator; it cannot be done remotely and it cannot be done quickly by a vehicle.

MB-GL-019Runner

The operator who carries a Core. Also the role: the fastest person on the team, whose job is to find the Breakline the enemy has not yet closed.

MB-GL-020Frame

The armour and equipment shell built around a Drive. Strider (light), Ranger (medium), Bulwark (heavy). A frame is a rating, not a class; any operator may wear any frame they are certified on.