Short forms used in the saga.
| Term | Meaning | First appearance |
|---|---|---|
| 2029 YP1 | Civil minor-body designation. Civil-side designation of the incoming object (Zod's ship) | Awakening chapter 11 |
| 9-line | (9-line CAS/medevac request). Standard air-support or casevac call; Kara learns to call it "textbook" | Asset, Part 4 |
| ACK | Acknowledge. The Fortress does not ACK the ship's ping | Awakening chapter 12 |
| AGL | Above ground level. Ed's altitude limits for the Manila drop | Asset, Part 8 |
| AH-6 | Little Bird light attack helicopter. Hardy's aircraft | Awakening chapter 24 |
| AP / SAT | Advanced Placement / SAT. High-school exams she sat in 2024 | Arrival chapter 7 |
| APU | Auxiliary power unit. Helicopter start-up | Awakening chapter 7 |
| ASL | American Sign Language. Kara learns it for after her hearing overload; she signs to Ed's nieces | Asset, Part 8 |
| AW169 / AW139 ("169", "139") | AgustaWestland helicopter types. Wayne helicopters (Ed's 139 is shot up; the 169 does the Grace casevac) | Asset, Part 5–6 |
| BLACKGLASS | Military track name (not an acronym). Pentagon working name for the inbound object | Awakening chapter 11 |
| CAP | Combat air patrol. Fighter cover from the Delaware to the Chesapeake | Awakening chapter 25 |
| CAPCOM | Capsule Communicator. Mission Control voice during the STS-34 launch | Arrival chapter 1 |
| CAR | Central African Republic. Setting of Fortitude and Grace (Aug 2027). Origin of "the witch of the CAR" | Asset, Part 5 |
| CAS | Close air support. Asset training (notes) and the Hobyo raid | Asset, Part 4 |
| CCR | Creedence Clearwater Revival. Band on the van stereo; "Run Through the Jungle" opens Awakening | Awakening chapter 2 |
| DARPA | Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency | Awakening chapter 8 |
| DEFCON | Defense readiness condition | Awakening chapter 11 |
| DEW | Directed-energy weapon / effects. "Whisky will be employing directed energy effects", i.e. Kara's eye beams. US assessment: "organic DEW" | Asset, Part 5 |
| DJ / BPM | Disc jockey / beats per minute. Club night | Arrival chapter 4 |
| DNA | Deoxyribonucleic acid. Dig-site evidence | Awakening chapter 4 |
| DoW | (US) Department of War. "DoW drop": the press release about Hobyo | Awakening chapter 9 |
| DS | (Wayne) Domestic Support. Wayne's "Pennyworth division" of butlers, nannies and au pairs trained in protection. It is Kara's first Asset cover | Asset, Part 1 |
| DSC | Distinguished Service Cross. Part of Ed's record (with 2 Silver Stars) | Asset, Part 10 |
| DShK | Soviet heavy machine gun. Hobyo threat | Awakening chapter 8 |
| DSN | Deep Space Network. Listens for emissions from the object; it hears none | Awakening chapter 11 |
| E-2 | E-2 Hawkeye airborne early-warning aircraft. Radar picture for the Bay defence | Awakening chapter 25 |
| FAC(A) | Forward air controller (airborne). Hardy's role over Smallville as Wizard Six-One | Awakening chapter 21 |
| FEMA | Federal Emergency Management Agency. Metropolis recovery | Awakening chapter 29 |
| FLIR | Forward-looking infrared. Gunship sensor ("We see 7 on the flir") | Asset, Part 5 |
| FPV | First-person-view (drone). Guardian drones | Awakening chapter 7 |
| FRAGO | Fragmentary order. Military order update | Awakening chapter 7 |
| FTL | Faster Than Light. Kara's pod's FTL drive "did not initiate", which is why the journey took 32 years | Arrival chapter 17 |
| GAU-8 | A-10's 30 mm cannon | Awakening chapter 23 |
| GPA | Grade point average. Her grades come up at the hearing | Arrival chapter 2 |
| GPR | Ground-penetrating radar. "Living GPR": she sees trapped people through flood and ground | Asset, Part 10 |
| HVAC | Heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Background noise that her super-hearing picks up | Arrival chapter 2 |
| IAP | Independent Activities Period. MIT's January term, the time of the mall and the Blue Angel's start | Arrival chapter 6 |
| ICBM | Intercontinental ballistic missile | Awakening chapter 25 |
| IR / UV | Infrared / ultraviolet. Bands in her hyperspectral sight | Arrival chapter 14 |
| ISR | Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Reaper role over Hobyo | Awakening chapter 7 |
| JTAC | Joint terminal attack controller. Torres's role | Awakening chapter 7 |
| KIA | Killed in action | Awakening chapter 8 |
| LT | Lieutenant. Jen's rank shorthand | Awakening chapter 7 |
| LZ | Landing zone | Awakening chapter 8 |
| MIT | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Kara's university (2nd year, 2025–26) | Arrival chapter 2 |
| MP | Military police | Awakening chapter 29 |
| MSF | Médecins Sans Frontières. Relief effort that Wayne flies for in the CAR | Asset, Part 5 |
| NASA | National Aeronautics and Space Administration. US space agency, seen in the 1989 launch | Arrival chapter 1 |
| NDA | Non-disclosure agreement. A running joke ("Reminder: NDA!") and a Wayne requirement | Asset, Part 1 |
| NORAD | North American Aerospace Defense Command. Tracks Superman and the incoming ship | Awakening chapter 9 |
| NVGs | Night-vision goggles. Kara doesn't need them on the jungle walk | Agency |
| PJ | Pararescue jumper (USAF). Jeremiah Danvers's background ("Dad is a PJ") | Arrival chapter 3 |
| QRF | Quick Reaction Force. In Asset, the Wayne tactical team Kara joins (notes); in Awakening, a military response force | Asset, Part 4 |
| RPG | Rocket-propelled grenade. Hobyo threat | Awakening chapter 7 |
| RTB | Return to base | Awakening chapter 8 |
| SEALs | US Navy Sea, Air, Land teams. Mentioned in coverage of the Blue Angel | Arrival chapter 10 |
| SETI | Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence | Awakening chapter 12 |
| SIGINT / COMINT | Signals / communications intelligence. US listening in on Fortitude; Sam's specialism | Asset, Part 4–5 |
| SOAR (160th) | Special Operations Aviation Regiment. Ed Frost's former unit | Asset |
| STS-34 | Space Transportation System mission 34. The Space Shuttle Atlantis flight that launched the Galileo probe on 18 Oct 1989, the saga's inciting date | Arrival chapter 1 |
| SUV | Sport utility vehicle | Awakening chapter 2 |
| SWO | Surface warfare officer. Pruitt is "chief surface warfare officer". Gives ch 25 its title | Awakening chapter 26 |
| TA | Teaching assistant. Okonkwo, her micro lab TA | Arrival chapter 5 |
| UGV | Unmanned ground vehicle. Jen's armed robot vehicles (Hewey, Dewey, Louie, Newey) | Awakening chapter 7 |
| UN | United Nations | Awakening chapter 9 |
| USB | Universal Serial Bus. Data sticks and drives at the dig | Awakening chapter 2 |
| USNS | United States Naval Ship (civilian-crewed). USNS Trenton | Awakening chapter 25 |
| USS | United States Ship. Commissioned Navy ships (USS Boxer) | Awakening chapter 7 |
| USSR | Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Part of the 1989 world backdrop | Arrival chapter 1 |
| WCAP | (US Army) World Class Athlete Program. Jen's biathlon past ("skis and a rifle") | Awakening chapter 7 |
| WFR | Wilderness First Responder. The first-aid card she earned before the China Gulch hike | Arrival chapter 7 |