ALOFT Glossary

## Geography

**Hill City, South Dakota**: the home of the group. This is where they return to from Keystone.

**Keystone, South Dakota**: the city, currently inhabited by animals and their psychic leader—a panther-sized cat—, where the first episode is set.

**Rapid City, South Dakota**: a city to the North East that never recovered from the War. Hill City, and others, run salvage expeditions to Rapid City. It is inhabited by soldier robots still fighting the War and by Lady Joan.

**Redmond, Washington**: just before they reach Seattle, the crew of the Calamity Jane are approached by a group of so-called Babylonians that come from a place they call The Hive. They have weapons and advanced gadgetry.

**Seattle, Washington**: a city in the Northwest. The *Calamity Jane* lands in the middle of its fortified Grand Bazaar (formerly known as Husky Stadium back in the days when it was part of the University of Washington) by a lake. There are as many people gathered in this place alone on a late afternoon as the whole population of Hill City.

**The 6 Grandfathers Monument**: the new name given to Mount Rushmore by the Native Americans who acquired it, sometime after 2018.

## Transportation

**Bluebell**: an airship from San Antonio, Texas. Captain's name is Sawyer.

**Calamity Jane**: our heroes' airship.

**Mako**: the shark-themed pirate ship that the Calamity Jane fights and vanquishes over Rapid City. It is later stripped and scrapped. It is eventually renamed Joan's Jet.

## Misc

**Cannibals**: the evil humans are all cannibals, that's how you recognize them.

**Kelp (rainbow)**: this vegetable with an iridescent sheen that grows underwater can be cooked in any way you like, and it's great as a dessert too. Free cooking tip: *Do vegetable stuff to it!*

**Ossicone(s)**: the two giraffe-like appendices of unknown origin all animals in and around Keystone the Hill City group seem to have on the top of their heads contain nerve fibers linked to these animals' brains and seem to give them unnatural abilities.

**Pair** (of socks): the currency used in Seattle.

**Unhitch**: it's like hitch, but backwards, and way better.

**Sock**: the currency used in Seattle.

**Skyrate** (or skirate, sk'irate): sky pirate.

**The Glow**: All "magic" stems from the Glow, which is the name for the undercurrent of strange energies infusing the world after the War. From the release of radiation, bioengineered microorganisms, nanocolonies, and exotic materials, and the unpredictable ways they interact with each other. Classes have the same spell lists. For the most part, anyway. Some additions are allowed where the narrative suggests it. The justification for these powers stems from how that character is connected to the Glow.

**The War**: The show is set in 2058, 25 years after the war.

## NPCs

**Aurelio**: He and Cameron are the two skyrates saved by Geddy and given a chance to fit in in Hill City.

**Wendell Banks**: the mayor of Hill City, Banks is mostly a figurehead. Everyone knows, not least himself.

**Biscuit**: Dr. Geddy's young protégé and doctor in training. Also known as Timothy. Geddy can also retire on two nurses.

**Cameron**: this young skyrate surrendered to Fennec who had impressed him as a cheetah. He also assisted Geddy in saving three of his skyrate comrades who had been badly injured by Lando and Fennec.

**The Cat Queen**: the oversized cat who has been the *de facto* ruler of Keystone after its human inhabitants were killed or driven away by telepathic animals.

**Clyde**: an old, one-armed citizen of Hill City who escaped Keystone and is reluctant to make pace with Keystone's animal dwellers. He makes a scene when two elk arrive with goods from Keystone, and is publicly humiliated in front of the gathered townsfolk by both Geddy and, in his feline way, Tybalt.

**F\*\*\* You**: one of two skyrates from the *Mako* that Geddy saved from death but found not reliable enough to have around after an extensive interview. The man who introduced himself as <expletive> You led his companion into exile after they were dropped from the *Calamity Jane*, each with their own well-filled backpack.

**Lady Joan of Manhattan and Pennington**: clad from head to toe in knight garb, the leader of the miners and GI robots in Rapid City's Black Hills Geologic Institute belongs to the Robertine Oder whose mission is to reclaim Silicon Valley from electronics that went crazy. When they stumble upon her territory, she sends the crew of the Calamity Jane on a mission against pirates to test their valor and their trustworthiness.

**Leto Dyrhardt**: Fennec's father, he is a veterinarian who still lives next to the zoo whose long-dead animals he used to care for.

**Lord Steven, baron Duluth**: the robber baron that gave the *Mako* its letter of marque and nominally made privateers out of skyrates.

**Colin Flannagan**: Deputy mayor of Hill City and the one really in charge. He thinks that Hill City would benefit from the presence of a catholic priest, especially if Geddy brings back pirates.

**Grandma Gaia**: Hill City's healer and Fennec's mentor. She used to work in the Saint Louis, Missouri area for *Crops by Cargill*. She has retained an employee ID badge with her name and her office's address. She gives it to Fennec when she tasks her with retrieving her work's papers.

**Griller**: Hill City's blacksmith. This former biker, a mountain of a man, converted his bike repair shop into a forge. He manufactures metal goods for the town.

**Cindy Johnson**: the Sheriff of Hill City is aging but she won't slow down and her constituents won't let her retire anyway. She is Lando's mentor. The sheriif has not seen her son Ansel since he went to premed school in Seattle before the War.

**Jenkins**: one of Lady Joan's soldiers, Jenkins was named after the rich kid who commissioned him to take his place in the military.

**Pennington**: the county in South Dakota where Keystone, Hill City and Rapid City are located. Mount Rushmore National Memorrial is also there. Finally, quoting Wikipedia: *The central Black Hills (the Mystic District of the Black Hills National Forest) are located in Pennington County west of Rapid City.*

**Porscha (Mamma)**: Papa Porscha's wife.

**Porsha (Papa)**: this scavenger was first met by Theo on the roof of a building on Rapid City's Black Hills Geologic campus. His wife was hidden in the building.

**Retired Sky Captain Troy Perry**: the former captain of the *Calamity Jane*. His career ended when he crashed his ship onto Hill City and he has lived there ever since.

**Senior Ranger Rose**: Theo's aging mentor is spending her days in the Lodge, where she drinks and keeps a constantly updated map of the surroundings scorched in a big table.

**Captain Sawyer**: the captain of the Bluebell. His uniform: a bulletproof vest on a blue denim jacket, blue denim pants; hat, boots. He has a lot of knowledge to impary about the country, way beyond South Dakota.

**Tybalt****,** **the Ambassacat**: this possible Prince with telepathic abilities he uses only when in the mood to gratify his entourage with anything more than feline scorn is the ambassador sent by the Cat Queen from Keystone to Hill City.

## Notes

1. ↑ See Ep 2.
2. ↑ See Ep 1.
3. ↑ See Ep 3 to Ep 6.
4. ↑ See Ep 9.
5. ↑ See Ep 9. Seattle was mentioned as a place to trade earlier.
6. ↑ See Ep 4 to Ep 6.
7. ↑ As decided by this poll.
8. ↑ See Ep 9.
9. ↑ See Ep 9.
10. ↑ As told Fennec by an elk from Keystone. See Ep 7.
11. ↑ See Ep 9.
12. ↑ See Ep 5.
13. ↑ Spelling of NPC's names courtesy of Andrew.
14. ↑ Named in Ep 7. First appeared in the battle with the *Mako*.
15. ↑ See Ep 5.
16. ↑ See Ep 2.
17. ↑ See Ep 7.
18. ↑ See Ep 6.
19. ↑ See also: Pennington.
20. ↑ See Ep 3 to Ep 5. *NftE*: spelling confirmed with Andrew.
21. ↑ See Ep 6.
22. ↑ See Ep 2.
23. ↑ See Ep 7.
24. ↑ See Ep 2.
25. ↑ See Ep 7.
26. ↑ See Ep 2.
27. ↑ See Ep 7.
28. ↑ See Ep 2.
29. ↑ See Ep 7.
30. ↑ See Ep 4 to Ep 6. Is first named in Ep 6.
31. ↑ See Ep 4 to Ep 6. *NftE*: spelling confirmed with Andrew.
32. ↑ See Ep 6.
33. ↑ *NftE*: I'll have to check this one.
34. ↑ See Ep 5.
35. ↑ See Ep 7.
36. ↑ Tybalt, who had been present since the first episode, was formally named in Ep 3, as decided by this poll. Also, here is a pointer on the origin of this name.