What do the abbreviations & acronyms stand for? Find out here in no particular order!
References will be added as they appear in the story

LOA: Length (overall) - The total length of the ship, including antennae, etc in blocks or Metres.
BOA: Beam (overall) - The total width of the ship in whole blocks or equivalent in Metres.
Draft: The overall height of the ship
Mass: In Standard Gravity (1 Earth G)
Unladen: No cargo, no Uranium, no ice, pilot only carrying no ore, components or equipment.
Laden: With full cargo inventory, all crew plus everything they can carry.
Compliment: The maximum number of crew in seated positions

SS: SpaceShip - A non-commissioned astronautical vehicle
RMS: Registered Maritime Ship - traditionally an oceangoing vessel. Carried over into space.
No prefix: An unregistered vessel, usually operated by criminals & fugitives.
INS: Imperial Navy Ship - A commissioned military vessel belonging to HMID
INC: Imperial Navy Charter - A non-commissioned military vessel chartered by HMID
ENS: Ensign vessel - A warship "flying under the ensign" of a recognised corporation or faction
PNC: Peaceful Non-Combattant - A "white flag" callsign used by unarmed ships.
POS: Piece Of Ship

The registration number of The Silver Dawn.
Before her refit, SLV-3R was an SL-36 commercial passenger liner - one of many. Her crew came to know her affectionately as "Silver" and so the name stuck.
Silver Dawn is a 117 metre capital exploration vessel, crewing 4 on an ongoing mission of exploration & discovery to the farthest reaches of the galaxy.

Silver Dawns' shuttlecraft.
S.A.R.D.I.N.E is a Type 12 LEV or Light Exploration Vehicle specifically developed for use aboard SLV-3R. It seats one, can be flown by remote and is lightly armed with twin forward facing rotary canons. It's primary function is the exploration of asteroids & sub-stellar bodies. It also doubles as a light cargo transport.

The Society for the Furtherment of Mankind.
A privately funded not-for-profit organisation made up of wealthy retired businessmen, entrepreneurs and venture-capitalists. SFMs' goal is the spiritual, technological and scientific furtherment of mankind and the expansion of his dominion in space through science, engineering, peaceful exploration and rational diplomacy.
SFM are widely regarded by the public as a force for unity, sanity and peace. Their cause is seen as noble and their motivations pure.

The Inter Stellar News network.
The only corporate news station officially sanctioned by His Majestys' Imperial Dynasty.
ISN broadcasts system-wide & is largely regarded by the public as a genuine truth-seeking organisation that is prevented from reporting the truth a lot of the time by HMID.

The ruling body of the system.
HMID is a private corporation, not an officially sanctioned government body.
As the sole food producer in the system, they are the richest corporation ever to exist and as a result, they have tremendous military strength. Their CEO is named Emperor on his or her appointment, though the title is a token and not recognised beyond their board-room walls.
HMID exert their rule over the system by fear of financial sanctions, food shortages and force, all of which they wield without due regard for anyone.
HMID is generally regarded as an organised crime syndicate more than a trading company. There are many who would fight them, though none have the strength.

His Majestys' Imperial Navy.
The largest & most powerful military force in the system.
The Imperial Navy is a combined force incorporating the Imperial Infantry, Imperial Air Corps, Imperial Armoured Corps, Imperial Intelligence Division and Imperial Star Armada.
There is nowhere HMIN cannot reach.

A large industrial construction conglomerate specialising in the design & manufacture of spacecraft, ground vehicles and facilities.
SAVTec is one of many shipbuilders operating throughout the system and is primarily known for their industrial equipment, innovative engineering solutions and asthetic design.