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UN-OFFICIAL STRATEGY GUIDE FOR WING COMMANDER 3: HEART OF THE TIGER ALSO HAS ANSWERS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS UPDATED JULY 15, 1995 MAINTAINED BY KUO-SHENG (KASEY) CHANG 1. PREFACE...........................................................3 1.1 A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR...........................................3 1.2 TERMS OF DISTRIBUTION............................................4 1.3 DISTRIBUTION.....................................................4 1.4 OTHER NOTES......................................................5 1.5 THE AUTHOR.......................................................5 1.6 COPYRIGHT/TRADEMARK INFORMATION..................................5 1.7 SPOILER WARNING..................................................6 2. WING COMMANDER 3 BACKGROUND.......................................6 2.1 IN THE BEGINNING.................................................6 2.2 THEN THERE WAS...................................................6 2.3 AND THEN THERE IS................................................7 3. AND NOW THERE IS... WING COMMANDER III............................7 3.1 BEGINNING OF THE END.............................................7 3.2 WINGMEN.........................................................10 3.2.1 Colonel Ralgha "Hobbes" nal Hallas ..........................10 3.2.2 Major Todd "Maniac" Marshall ................................10 3.2.3 Lt. Laurel "Cobra" Buckley ..................................11 3.2.4 Lt. Robin "Flint" Peters ....................................11 3.2.5 Lt. Winston "Vagabond" Chang ................................11 3.2.6 1st Lt. Jace "Flash" Dillon .................................11 3.2.7 Lt. Mitchell "Vaquero" Lopez ................................11 3.2.8 Chief Rachel Coriolis .......................................12 3.2.9 Attack on Kilrah ............................................12 4. GENERAL TACTICS..................................................12 4.1 TACHYON GUN IS KING!............................................12 4.2 DON'T CHASE THE CURSOR..........................................13 4.3 HEATSEEKER AND DUMBFIRE MISSILES ARE NOT USELESS................13 4.4 TORPEDO TACTICS.................................................14 4.5 GO AFTER WEAK POINTS............................................14 4.6 CAPITAL SHIP BLIND SPOTS........................................14 4.7 ADJUST YOUR ENERGY..............................................14 4.8 AVOIDING REAR TURRETS...........................................15 5. CONFEDERATION CRAFTS.............................................15 5.1 ARROW...........................................................15 Page 1 5.2 HELLCAT.........................................................15 5.3 THUNDERBOLT VII.................................................15 5.4 LONGBOW.........................................................16 5.5 EXCALIBUR.......................................................16 6. KILRATHI CRAFTS..................................................17 6.1 DARKET..........................................................17 6.2 DRALTHI.........................................................17 6.3 VAKTOTH.........................................................17 6.4 STRAKHA.........................................................17 6.5 PAKTAHN.........................................................18 6.6 EKAPSHI.........................................................18 6.7 ASTEROID FIGHTER................................................18 6.8 SORTHAK.........................................................18 6.9 SKIPPER MISSILE.................................................18 7. MISSIONS.........................................................18 7.1 MISSION TREE....................................................20 7.2 ORSINI SECTOR...................................................20 7.2.1 Orsini 1 ....................................................20 7.2.2 Orsini 2 ....................................................21 7.2.3 Orsini 3 ....................................................21 7.2.4 Orsini 4 ....................................................22 7.3 TAMAYO SECTOR...................................................23 7.3.1 Tamayo 1 ....................................................23 7.3.2 Tamayo 2 ....................................................23 7.3.3 Tamayo 3 (optional) .........................................24 7.4 LOCANDA.........................................................24 7.4.1 Locanda 1 ...................................................24 7.4.2 Locanda 2 ...................................................25 7.4.3 Locanda 3 (optional) ........................................26 7.5 BLACKMANE.......................................................26 7.5.1 Blackmane 1 .................................................26 7.5.2 Blackmane 2 .................................................27 7.5.3 Blackmane 3 .................................................27 7.6 ARIEL...........................................................28 7.6.1 Ariel 1 .....................................................28 7.6.2 Ariel 2 .....................................................28 7.6.3 Ariel 3 .....................................................29 7.7 CALIBAN NEBULA..................................................29 7.7.1 Caliban 1 ...................................................30 7.7.2 Caliban 2 ...................................................30 7.7.3 Caliban 3 ...................................................30 7.8 TORGO...........................................................31 7.8.1 Torgo 1 .....................................................31 7.8.2 Torgo 2 .....................................................31 7.8.3 Torgo 3 .....................................................32 7.9 LOKI VI (OPERATION BEHEMOTH)....................................32 7.9.1 Loki 1 ......................................................32 7.9.2 Loki 2 ......................................................33 7.9.3 Loki 3 ......................................................33 7.10 ALCOR..........................................................34 Page 2 7.10.1 Alcor 1 ....................................................34 7.10.2 Alcor 2 ....................................................34 7.10.3 Alcor 3 (optional) .........................................35 7.10.4 Alcor 4 ....................................................35 7.11 FREYA..........................................................36 7.11.1 Freya 1 ....................................................37 7.11.2 Freya 2 ....................................................37 7.11.3 Freya 3 ....................................................37 7.12 HYPERION.......................................................38 7.12.1 Hyperion 1 .................................................38 7.12.2 Hyperion 2 .................................................38 7.12.3 Hyperion 3 .................................................39 7.13 KILRAH.........................................................39 7.13.1 Kilrah 1 ...................................................40 7.13.2 Kilrah 2 ...................................................40 7.13.3 Kilrah 3 ...................................................40 7.14 TAMAYO/LOSING..................................................42 7.14.1 Tamayo/L 1 .................................................42 7.14.2 Tamayo/L 2 .................................................42 7.14.3 Tamayo/L 3 .................................................42 7.15 BLACKMANE/LOSING...............................................42 7.15.1 Blackmane/L 1 ..............................................43 7.15.2 Blackmane/L 2 ..............................................43 7.15.3 Blackmane/L 3 ..............................................43 7.16 DELIUS ASTEROID BELT/LOSING....................................43 7.16.1 Delius 1 ...................................................44 7.16.2 Delius 2 ...................................................44 7.16.3 Delius 3 ...................................................44 7.17 PROXIMA/LOSING.................................................44 7.17.1 Proxima/L 1 ................................................44 7.17.2 Proxima/L 2 ................................................45 8. WINNING AND LOSING...............................................45 8.1 WINNING ENDGAME.................................................45 8.2 LOSING ENDGAMES.................................................45 8.2.1 You died... .................................................45 8.2.2 Court-Martial ...............................................45 8.2.3 If you chased Thrakhath at Loki 3... ........................46 8.2.4 Victory Dies at Hyperion 2 ..................................46 8.2.5 Earth's Last stand (Proxima/Losing) .........................46 9. OTHER WING COMMANDER 3 REFERENCES................................46 1. PREFACE 1.1 A word from the author Well folks, after checking through the archives of Games Domain for a strategy guide on Wing Commander 3, I was very surprised that there is Page 3 NONE! The only FAQ on WC3 was James Hogan's WC3 Preview FAQ, which was based exclusively on preview information and thus does not cover the game itself. No strategy, no tactics, no mission lists, nothing. So here I am again! You may have read some of my XCOM Unofficial Strategy Guides (several revisions, both XCOM and XCOM2:TFTD), and I decided to apply my "skills" to Wing Commander 3! :-) THIS USG DOES *NOT* COVER the 3DO VERSION. (Mainly because I don't have a 3DO) 1.2 Terms of Distribution This document is available FREE of charge. You are under NO obligation to send me ANY compensation. However, I do ask for a PURELY VOLUNTARY contribution of five (5) US Dollars if you live in the United States, if you believe this guide helped your game. If you choose to do so, please make your check to "Kuo-Sheng Kasey Chang". If you don't live in the US, please send me some of your nice local stamps. 1.3 Distribution The WC3USG should be available at the Game Domain WWW WWW : http://wcl-rs.bham.ac.uk/GamesDomain FTP : ftp://wcl-l.bham.ac.uk/pub/~djh/faqs Any quick updates can be found on my own homepage http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~kschang Which is up "most of the time". If it cannot be found, try at a different time of the day... If you are on America On-Line, look in the PC Games Forum (keyword: PCGAMES). Go into the file library, and search under WC3. If you REALLY can't find it, don't have FTP or WWW, not on AOL, can't read news, etc., (i.e. there is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY you can get to it) (how did you know about this in the first place? ) then send me e-mail (see below) and I'll try to get back to you. Please don't just mail me and ask "it's nice and do you have an update and if so please send it to me". If I have an update I can release I would have released it already. I maintain this at home on my PC and I only have a UNIX shell account which this won't fit with other stuff I need. So don't expect too fast Page 4 of an answer if you request this by e-mail, and I will try to refer you to other sources first. 1.4 Other Notes Obviously, there is no warranty for this strategy guide. After all, it depends on YOU the player. All I can do is offer some advice. All readers, PLEASE let me know if there's a confusing or missing remark... If you find an question about this game that is not covered in the USG, e-mail it to me. I'll try to answer it and include it in the next update. 1.5 The Author I? I am just a game player who didn't like the existing FAQ's and strategy tactics collection available out there, and decided to write my own. Lots of people like what I did, so I kept doing it. You can contact me at: Internet1 kschang@sfsu.edu (preferred) WWW Homepage http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~kschang Internet2 ksc1@aol.com (only if you must, see below) America On-Line Ksc1 (that's a "one", not "L" as in Lima) US Mail Kasey Chang, 2220 Turk Blvd. Apt. 6 San Francisco, CA 94118, USA If you contact me via Internet e-mail I usually reply within two working days. I cannot guarantee reply via regular mail though I do try. :-) Please use the preferred e-mail address if possible, not BOTH. I only sign onto America On-Line (second address) twice a week so you won't get a prompt reply if you contact me there. 1.6 Copyright/Trademark Information Origin, Wing Commander, the distinctive Wing Commander logo, Secret Missions, Special Operations, Vengeance of the Kilrathi, Heart of the Tiger, Privateer, Wing Commander Academy, and Wing Commander Armada are trademarks of Origin Systems, Inc. Origin Systems is a wholly owned subsidiary of Electronic Arts. This USG is not endorsed or even authorized by Origin Systems. Page 5 While some information may be verified via a published source (such as the Official WC3 Strategy Guide and/or the Authorized WC3 Combat Guide, both published by ////BradyGames), no copyrighted information is contained within this USG from those published sources except those obtained from the game itself. 1.7 Spoiler Warning The USG contains spoilers about all WC3 missions. If you only need help on certain sections, PLEASE look at ONLY the mission you need help on as not to really spoil the fun. 2. WING COMMANDER 3 BACKGROUND 2.1 In the Beginning... ...There was Wing Commander (I). As a young lieutenant recently graduated from Naval Academy joining a 20-year old war that was only getting worse, you were assigned to TCS TIGER'S CLAW, pride of the Confederation Navy. WC1 chronicles the attempt by the Confederation to retake the Vega sector, with you leading the way. WC1 was followed by two add-on scenarios, the Secret Missions. Secret Mission 1 chronicles TIGER'S CLAW in pursuit of a new Kilrathi secret weapons behind enemy lines in attempt to destroy it, while Secret Mission 2 chronicles TIGER'S CLAW attempting to protect a new ally against Kilrathi onslaught. SM2 also introduces two new Wingman, Jazz and Doomsday, who will both make their appearance in WC2. 2.2 Then there was... ...Wing Commander 2: Vengeance of the Kilrathi opens with a BANG. Your old ship, TIGER'S CLAW, was destroyed by three cloaked Kilrathi fighters. You were implicated in in its destruction, and you were court-martialed by Admiral Tolwyn. With insufficient evidence, you were only convicted of negligence, but there was no doubt that everyone believed that you had betrayed "The Claw", just as you know that you are innocent and will prove so one day. You were assigned to a backwater station, and spent the next ten years there... Through a series of events (coincidences?) you ended up on the TCS CONCORDIA, again the flagship of the ConFleet, and the task force commander is none other than Admiral Tolwyn, who still believes in your "treachery". WC2 then chronicles your struggle in destroying the main Kilrathi base in the Enigma sector, defeating Prince Thrakkath of Kilrah in a one-on-one dogfight, finding the saboteur who framed you ten years ago and finally restoring your career. Page 6 WC2 was followed by two Special Operations scenarios. Special Operations 1 introduces "Bear", who is the main character in the second two WC novels, as you put down a mutiny, fly a new bomber, and protect a defected Kilrathi colony from Kilrathi fleets. In SO2, Jazz, the traitor who framed you ten years ago, escaped right under your nose, and SO2 chronicles your attempt in finding and destroying him once and for all. You get to fly a new fighter as well, and ends with a final dogfight with Jazz. Origin has also issued a WC1 and WC2 CD-ROM containing the entire set of both series, including the WC2 speech pack, for one low price. 2.3 And then there is... "Wing Commander: Privateer" takes place at a different corner of Condeferation/Kilrathi border... Where pirates and Retros (religious fanatics) roam the spaceways, attacking innocents, and the only way to survive is play their game: more firepower. You've inherited a small scoutship and you can upgrade your ship by taking contracts to deliever cargo or taking out targets. Eventually you will find a derelict in space, take a working cannon from it, and destroy an ancient probe marauding the spaceways. Privateer was followed by "Righteous Fire", in which your super cannon was stolen, and chronicles your quest to get it back, as you take missions all over the sectors trying to find clues. You ended up destroying the Retro's base in the sector. There are two other games: Wing Commander Academy and Wing Commander Armada, but those don't have a "plot", so they are not counted here. 3. AND NOW THERE IS... WING COMMANDER III The rest of this unofficial strategy guide is written as a first- person narrative by Colonel Christopher Blair, the main character in WC series. Some of the scenes are taken from the cinematics itself, all cinematics are copyrighted by Origin Systems. (However, I have yet to read the novelization...) 3.1 Beginning of the End I stood on the Mistral coast of Vespus, and looked up to the desolate sky, now a bloody orange, as if dyed by the blood of all those who died aboard the TCS CONCORDIA. The lifeless hulk of my second carrier lie in deep water not too far from where I stood. "May they rest in peace," Paladin said. Page 7 "Peace," I said bitterly, "Have we ever known anything like that, Paladin?" "Not for a long time, laddie." I sighed. "First Tiger's Claw, now this." "Enough! You are not to blame for either." I looked away. "Some would disagree." Before Paladin can object, I raised the communicator to my lips. "This is Colonel Christopher Blair, report to Admiral Tolwyn. The wreckage of Concordia has been found on Vespus off the Mistral Coast. Evaluation... Total loss." I switched the communicator off, and wondered if I failed CONCORDIA... Paladin commented, "You can't live your life for the approval of one man." I considered that for a moment, then looked back to Paladin. "Any word from Angel?" "None." Was it my imagination or did that answer came too fast? Too readily? "Is that the 'official' line?" I looked at Paladin, daring him. "I know how much she means to you, laddie." He looked away. I looked at Paladin, and decided that he did not know. I've known Paladin for well over ten years, and he would not lie to me, especially about Angel. I sighed, and headed back to the shuttle. The trip back to the Destroyer taking us back to ConFedHQ was quiet, though I could not get images of the wrecked CONCORDIA and Angel out of my mind. * * * * * * * * * * * * "Excuse me, sir. Did you say... the VICTORY?" I don't believe this! Tolwyn is assigning me WHERE? Admiral Tolwyn looked up from his terminal and fixed his stare on me. "Is there something wrong with your hearing, Colonel?" "No, sir, it's just that I..." Page 8 "The TCS VICTORY is a fine carrier with a long history of service to the Confederation." Tolwyn spoke with his typical British drawl, and there was a gleam in his eyes, as if he was enjoying this. "Yes, sir, a VERY long history, sir." And I wasn't joking. VICTORY was almost as old as I was! I was about to add something when Tolwyn's look stopped me. "Ship assignments are not open to debate, Colonel. Of course, I realize that the 'accomodations' may not be what you're quite used to..." "No, sir, I don't mean to suggest that..." Tolwyn cut me off with a wave of his hand. "The Victory will benefit greatly from having a commander of your stature and experience." "Thank you, sir. But can't we at least discuss..." "Now that we have the Kilrathi on the run in both the Gardel and the Morpheus systems, I can afford to shift you to the VICTORY in the Orsini system." Tolwyn smiled slightly, "What I'm trying to tell you, Colonel, is that things are looking up. Confederation has been making some very positive strides. DISMISSED!" Tolwyn turned back to his monitors. I was too surprised to move. I know that the war is not going as well as the Admiral said, but who am I to argue with an Admiral? I was still trying to formulate my request when Tolwyn realized I had not moved. He looked back up. I tried one more time, "Uh, sir, about my request..." Tolwyn frowned, and it was not a pretty look. "Yes, that came as a bit of surprise to me. As you know, Colonel Devereaux's status is on a need-to-know-basis." He didn't add the obvious, 'and you should know better to ask'. And I do NOT have a need to know? Damn you, Tolwyn! I was about to verbalize that when Tolwyn interrupted my thought, as he always had a knack of doing. "Your shuttle is waiting, Colonel." "Yes, sir!" I threw him a sloppy salute, and left before I do something I might really regret. * * * * * * * * * * * * Page 9 Thus I headed for the VICTORY... 3.2 Wingmen Wingmen are very important. Each of the pilots under my command have their specialties and their own morale. Keeping their morale high allows them to perform better. Thinking back now, I realized I could have made some decisions a different way, but first, let me introduce the various pilots onboard the VICTORY. [Note: comments that does not have to do with the plot are introduced in brackets like this.] [Some wingman cannot be "killed", they'll just eject. On the other hand, some wingman become vulnerable after a certain mission, and CAN be killed after that during spaceflight...] 3.2.1 Colonel Ralgha "Hobbes" nal Hallas I've known Hobbes for more than ten years, and he is "the best wingman I've ever flown with", and I was NOT exaggerating. He is perfectly obediant, and as perfect a pilot as you can find anywhere. Which just makes it hurt that much more when he turns out to be a traitor... [Hobbes is never "vulnerable" until he "defects" back to Kilrathi.] [If you choose to go after Hobbes immediately after he killed Cobra and stole the Thunderbolt, you can kill him there, but Vaquero will be dead when you come back, and you get a major tongue-lashing from Captain Eisen, but ship morale rises.] [If you choose not to go, or you let him get away, he will reappear at the final mission next to Prince Thrakkath, and ship morale goes down.] [It's your call...] 3.2.2 Major Todd "Maniac" Marshall Well, I've known Maniac for more than ten years too, and I'm surprised he's still around and someone (including OUR side) haven't blown him away yet, which just attests to his skills as a pilot. As a pilot, he's a GREAT one, but too boastful, and virtually NEVER follow orders. He's also the first one to complain about situation being "too hot" and can/will abandone you if he deems it appropriate. So in a fight, I send him in IMMEDIATELY, and I never bother assigning him a target. Just "Break and attack" will do. If you need a specific target attacked, do it yourself or pick someone else. Page 10 3.2.3 Lt. Laurel "Cobra" Buckley Cobra lives to kill Kilrathi, and she keeps a big knife that she sharpens all the time should she see one face to face. As you can expect, she refused to be in the same room with Hobbes except during briefing, and then they keep to opposite sides of the room. As a pilot, Cobra favors the direct and brute force approach, and if you fly with her you should sent her in ASAP. She also hates being pulled back. If her morale's low, she flies erratically. [Cobra cannot be killed until Hobbes killed her at Alcor, somehow she always ejects] 3.2.4 Lt. Robin "Flint" Peters Flint came from a long family of military service and fighter pilots, and was eager to prove herself. She can get a bit hot-headed sometimes, so watch for it. As a pilot, Flint is one of the more loyal ones, usually obeys your orders. She starts ignoring orders when morale drops. [Flint is also one of the two love interests for Blair, and since she's also a pilot, be careful in your choices...] 3.2.5 Lt. Winston "Vagabond" Chang [Note: no relations to the author] Vagabond is a pilot with a mysterious past. Quite a bit of his personnel file were classified, even to me. He's a pretty good flier though, but you may have to repeat an order a few times. 3.2.6 1st Lt. Jace "Flash" Dillon Flash has a big ego. He was the test pilot for the Excalibur, and that made him think he's better than anybody else. I had to hand his head to him on a platter to wake him up by beating him in the simulator. As a pilot, Flash is pretty good, though when his morale gets low, he can be just as erratic as Cobra. 3.2.7 Lt. Mitchell "Vaquero" Lopez Vaquero means "Cowboy", but Lt. Lopez acts nothing like his call sign suggests. He's a no-nonsense solid pilot who wants the war to be over soon so he can open his cantina for us fighter jocks. He was not swayed much by rumors, and is a really steady guy. Page 11 [If you go after Hobbes, Vaquero will be dead when you come back.] 3.2.8 Chief Rachel Coriolis No, she's not a pilot, but the head craft mechanic onboard VICTORY, and a very pretty one... [Chief Coriolis is your other possible love interest besides Flint. Her morale rating doesn't affect the game much but sure makes things interesting!] 3.2.9 Attack on Kilrah I had to pick three wingmen to go with me to Kilrah for the final series. At it turns out, NONE survived. I am glad I did not pick Flint... 4. GENERAL TACTICS Guns and missiles (including torpedoes) are the offensive weapons onboard the fighters and the bombers. I won't bother listing the actual ranges and power of the guns since you can look it up in any reference book [including the manual], so I'll skip over the general stuff and get to the tactics you can use. 4.1 Tachyon Gun is KING! Tachyon gun is the best weapon available to the Confederation fleet, and Excalibur carries FOUR of them. No other Confed craft carries this weapon. On the Kilrathi side, VAKTOTH carries one, and I believe Prince Thrakkath's BLOODFANG carry two of them. Why? Because it is the hardest hitting weapon available, and it has a short refire delay when compared to its closest rival, the plasma cannon. Dump more power to guns and you can fire that thing forever. On the other hand, the most energy efficient is the meson blaster, no wonder Kilrathi loves this weapon, since it was carried on most of their crafts. You can easily take down corvettes and destroyers with Tachyon guns. I've taken out cruisers with Tachyon guns before, though that took a long time and I wouldn't recommend it. Page 12 4.2 Don't chase the cursor I looked over plenty of rookies' shoulders in simulators, and one of the most common mistakes for rookies to make is rely too much on the ITTS cursor. They wave their ship all over space trying to keep up with the cursor, spraying shots into vacuum. Keep in mind that while ITTS does not lie, but it is still an ESTIMATE of where the enemy will be. Let's give an example. Let's say a Dralthi is flying left to right in front of you. D=Dralthi, C=ITTS Cursor D---->C If the Dralthi pull up 45 degrees, the cursor would move up. C2 / / / D---->C1 So you have to pull your ship up just to keep up with the cursor. What if the Kilrathi was also speeding up or slowing down? The cursor would be flying all over the HUD! The solution is quite simple. Enemy must point toward you to shoot at you (unless you're approaching their rear turret, which is discussed later) so during that time, the ITTS cursor is RIGHT ON the target. If you shoot at that time, you are virtually guaranteed a hit. You can engineer this opportunity by using afterburners to open the range up to 4000K or more, then turn back, and aim toward the enemy. As soon as the cursor overlaps the enemy craft, fire away, then turn to dodge the enemy fire. If you follow my advice correctly, even the four little guns in the ARROW can be quite effective, since you don't miss. 4.3 Heatseeker and Dumbfire missiles are not useless Yes, I know Javelins (HS) are virtually useless against fighters, since it's almost impossible to get an enemy fighter to head away from you for two whole seconds for the HS to lock on. However, HS, and DF missiles are QUITE useful against corvettes and small capital ships if you don't carry torpedoes. Think of DF as a small torpedo that needs no lock, and HS as a seeking torpedo. The best way to take out that big rear turret of a Kilrathi Corvette on the first pass is to arm a DF, dodge its fire, afterburner to close range, and release the DF on the turret at point-blank range. Page 13 4.4 Torpedo Tactics Torpedoes takes 12 seconds to lock, so how do you survive that twelve seconds? Several ways. 1) Send your wingman out to distract enemy fighters. This may work against few enemy fighters, but won't work if there's more than 4. May work better if combined with 3) 2) Destroy all enemy fighter cover first. This is probably the most reliable way, since cap ships do not jump away while you take out the fighter cover. Of course, it also take the longest amount of time. 3) Fend them off with FF missiles and your rear turret. This is better done in a Longbow since its rear guns are more powerful, and has more missile capacity. Once the torpedo amd you launched, you can launch another one immediately without having to wait another 12 seconds if you still ahve the target locked. Against a large ship like carrier and cruiser, you may want to launch two torpedoes together. 4.5 Go after WEAK POINTS Each enemy ship have weak points. Engine nozzles are not armored. On a carrier or cruiser the fighter bays are not armored nor shielded. On larger ships, the bridge is also unarmored if you can see it (finding it is a different matter). Hitting those spots will cause MORE damage than going after general areas of the ship. This also means that you can go INTO a Kilrathi carrier's fighter bay, take out all the fighters parked inside, then blow it up from the INSIDE too. Just don't be there when the whole thing goes up. 4.6 Capital ship blind spots Capital ships have lots of turrets, but usually if you hide directly behind the engines and match speed, you can hide in the blind spot, where the turrets cannot hit you, while you can keep hitting the ship with guns in the weak spot. This is very useful if you have taken out the fighter cover but lacks the torpedoes to take down a big ship. 4.7 Adjust your energy The FIRST thing you should do after getting into your fighter, even BEFORE taking off, is adjust your energy distribution. Engines should never get more than 25%, since more doesn't help you in speed. Use the LOCK feature to lock it at 25%. Then, move down to damage control and decrease that to zero, then increase it back to 5%, so you should have more energy to weapons and shields. If you received non-fatal damage, you can adjust the ratios later. Page 14 4.8 Avoiding rear turrets Kilrathi heavy fighters have rear turrets that can chew you up if you get too close, so don't. Remember that rear turrets are mounted on the rear of the craft, so if you approach it from the sides, you can avoid BOTH the front and rear weapons. So how do you do that? If you are in the Arrow or Excalibur, use the Shelton (Afterburner) Slide tactic. If you are in other fighters, you need to play chicken with the enemy. 5. CONFEDERATION CRAFTS Confederation crafts are one for one better than Kilrathi crafts. However, you are ALWAYS outnumbered, and heavily. Here are some comments I had for our fighters. 5.1 Arrow The Arrow is lightly armed, but carries up to 8 missiles, which is EXTREMELY large for such a light fighter. It also carries enough decoys to avoid most incoming missiles, and is manueverable enough to avoid missiles withOUT decoys. It is also one of the only two fighters able to do the afterburner slide (the other one is the Excalibur), so this is a GOOD all-around fighter. Its main deficiency is its lack of "staying power", or ability to take damage and keep on ticking. Take this fighter when you expect enemy light and medium fighters, no capital ships (including Corvettes). 5.2 Hellcat The Hellcat is the general purpose fighter. Its armaments are about the same as Arrow's though a little heavier and shorter ranged, and it carries only 6 missiles, not 8 like Arrow, but it carries more decoys. This is the fighter you should take for general purpose missions, when you expect heavy fighters and small capital ships like corvettes. 5.3 Thunderbolt VII Thunderbolt's main offesnive power is its single torpedo. It is also manueverable enough to fight other heavy fighters, and its six forward guns can chew up a lot of shields and armor. Of course, its energy drain is phenomenal, so try not to drain the whole gun capacitor. Page 15 Its rear gun is not really worth mentioning except some discouragement from rear attacks. I have never scored a kill with it. Overall, if you only need ONE torpedo, pick the Thunderbolt. If you need more torpedoes, pick the Longbow. 5.4 Longbow Finally, a REAL bomber with afterburner! The only true heavy bomber before the Longbow was the Broadsword, and that one has no afterburner! It takes AGES to get into attack range, launch the torpedo, then turn away with Broadsword. I always prefer the Sabre when I can get them over Broadswords. Longbow also has a significantly reduced front/rear area, making it harder to hit on attack runs, which improved survivability. And with four torpedoes, you can take on multiple ships. You don't QUITE have the manueverability to keep up with enemy fighters, but you have to try, since your rear guns is only strong enough to drive them off, not to keep them off, unless you take manual control. Use your large complement of missiles to keep enemy fighters dodging while you line up the kill. With four heavy guns up front, you can take down most fighters that come straight at you. This is THE bomber to take on ship-busting missions. If you expect to take down cruisers and carriers, or you need to take down multiple ships quickly, take this one. 5.5 Excalibur This is every pilot's dream. With guns strong enough to actually take out BIG capital ships, and enough missiles to to shame bombers. Too bad Excalibur doesn't carry torpedoes, so it will take a while to take out a large ship, but it is possible, and I've done it. It is also the only ship equipped with jump drive (sometimes), cloaking device (only on the last mission), and altimeter (for ground missions). And finally, it is the only ship with semi-auto-aimming guns. Within limits, the computer can adjust fire for you toward the ITTS cursor, but you better turn it off during strafing attacks. This ship has a HUGE gun capacitor, capable of powering full guns for almost ten seconds, but once depleted, it takes almost as long to fill it back up, so try to fire in five round bursts. Take this ship if it is available unless you need to take out large capital ships like a cruiser. Then you need the Longbow. Page 16 6. KILRATHI CRAFTS 6.1 Darket This is a light fighter, but its twin meson blasters can easily chew up the rear of most fighters, including the Excalibur, if you leave it behind you. It is also manueverable enough that both the Longbow and the Thunderbolt may have problems keeping up with it. They also oerate in pairs. If you go after one, the other bounce you from the rear. ALWAYS keep it in front of you. If you are getting chewed up by its buddy, switch targets and go after something else immediately to get it off your back. Use missiles to keep it dancing. 6.2 Dralthi Dralthi is probably the sorriest fighter the Kilrathi has. With guns only slightly more powerful than the Darket, Dralthi is a much bigger target. Its tendency to pull UP after a strafing run makes it VERY easy to gun down, especially if you can take the frontal damage it deals out and maintain track. Thunderbolt and Longbow have enough front guns to take one out on the first pass. (Not to mention the Excalibur, which can probably take TWO) 6.3 Vaktoth Vaktoth is probably the deadliest Kilrathi fighter next to Prince Thrakkath's Bloodwing. Its frontal arsenal is impressive (1 tachyon gun, 2 plasma gun, and 2 ion cannons), and it is ALSO armed with a rear turret, as well as eight missiles. It also has respectable speed and being a heavy fighter, good armor and shields. When fighting a Vaktoth, keep a finger on the decoy button. Vaktoth is known for volley missile launches. Otherwise there's really no trick to it, just better flying. You have to use flanking shots on it since that rear turret is dangerous! 6.4 Strakha The "stealth" fighter has an overblown reputation. Their weapons and armor are weak. I make random 90 to 180 degree turns to catch one fading in, then I just shoot it like any regular enemy fighter. If I was short on time I launch a couple FF missiles, which should pick up any uncloaked Strakhas around. The trick to Strakha hunting is they will only fade in BEHIND you, and will fade out IN FRONT of you. Do sudden course changes every two to three seconds so you can catch them fading in, then blast them. Page 17 If Strakha and other fighters are around, take out "other" fighters first, then hunt the Strakhas. The Strakhas takes too long to hunt down, and doesn't cause that much damage. 6.5 Paktahn Probably the best armored fighter, this thing is BIG, and packs lots of weapons, including a good rear turret. This is the ship killer of the Kilrathi, and should be dealt with immediately. I play chicken with it: point straight at it, fire, then turn away to avoid the shots. Excalibur is perfect for this, since about three bursts will destroy a Paktahn, even from the front. Shoot and scoot. 6.6 Ekapshi This ground-based fighter is small and maneuverable, and its weaposn are pretty good, though shields and armor are weak. Still, their maneuverability in the atmosphere gives them a hard edge as they can trick you into following them into a dive, then POOF. Instead, I made them play my game. I afterburner away from them, then hit them as they come headon. (Another variation of Chicken) 6.7 Asteroid Fighter First time I saw these I was surprised by the mines it spew out out the rear as I chased it. I avoided the first one, but the second one hit me, and POOF, down went my sheild and armor. Fortunately I destroyed it before I was hit a third time or it would have been ejection time. Those things sure are hard to kill! To deal with Asteroid Fighters, never follow it for more than five seconds. Take a shot, then turn some other way and try again. It'll take a while since these fighters are armored quite nicely by all that rock. 6.8 Sorthak This thing is half-way between a heavy fighter and a Corvette, but it's actually not THAT dangerous. It has independent targettable turrets of meson blasters, but its no match against Excaliburs, especially if you engage them from a distance. Due to their shape, they manuever like Dralthis, making them vulnerable. 6.9 Skipper Missile This is not a fighter, but it is an important target. It is a cloakable missile, and cloaks every three seconds so it is not always Page 18 visible on the scanners. One of these will take out a whole ship (transport, or even the VICTORY) so you must destroy them. Usually Kilrathi Corvettes carry them. I usually accelerate toward the launching corvette, keep hitting T to see if the missile launched or not. Usually Corvette will launch just as I pass it. I turn around, target it, get in range, and spray that area with all guns, with extra power allocated of course. If I miss, I afterburner closer, and try again. Missiles are useless, so you must use guns. Page 19 7. MISSIONS 7.1 Mission Tree The mission tree is similar to WC2. There are some cases in which you can come back to the winning track, but other series are not as forgiving. Lose 3/4 means you lose mission 3 or 4 in the series. ORSINI -- V \- Lose 3/4 >-\ TAMAYO +- TAMAYO/L -> Lose 2 ---------\ V /- Win 2 <-/ | LOCANDA -- | V \- Lose 2 >-\ V BLACKMANE +- BLACKMANE/L -> Lose any -> PROXIMA/Losing V /- Win all <-/ ^ V ARIEL -- | You Lose V \- First loss-\ | CALIBAN +- DELIUS/L -> Lose 2 or 3 ----/ V /- Win 2/3 <-/ TORGO -- V LOKI --> If you chased Thrakhath --> You are stranded in space V ALCOR --> Lose 4 ----->\ V \ FREYA --> Lose 3 -----> \\ V ---PROXIMA/Losing-> You lose HYPERION -> First Loss -> // V / KILRAH --> First Loss ->/ V You've won! Kilrah Surrendered! 7.2 Orsini Sector Despite what Tolwyn said, I know how badly the Confederation is doing. Fortunately, Orsini is relatively quiet so I can train my fellow pilots up to speed, but since I put Hobbes back on the flight roster, only Hobbes will fly with me for the first mission. 7.2.1 Orsini 1 Pre-flight log: Found Rollins in the elevator, trying to strike up a conversation and score points with the new colonel. He was a bit uptight, but I "played along with him". Found Vagabond in Rec Room. I asked him about his blank spots in his personnel file, and decided Page 20 that "he's got a point" about Confederation's decision. Also saw Cobra in the barracks sharpening that big knife of hers. Mission: Fighter sweep, clear three Nav points of Kilrathi fighters. Wingmen: Hobbes Craft: Hellcat Flight Log: I adjusted power distribution for more power to guns and shields, then took off. Found two Darkets at Nav 1. Hobbes and I each killed one. Nav 2 was clear, and Nav 3 we each killed one more Darket. 7.2.2 Orsini 2 Pre-flight log: Found Vaquero in the rec room, strumming along on his guitar. He's pretty good too, and "Sounds good to me" I said. Also saw Hobbes in Flight Control, and Maniac in Barracks. Mission: Fighter sweep, clear three Nav points of Kilrathi Wingmen: Cobra, Hobbes, Maniac, Vagabond, and Vaquero are available, I picked Cobra. Craft: Arrow, Hellcat, Thunderbolt available, I picked Hellcat. Flight log: As usualy, I adjusted power and took off. Nothing at Nav 1, 2 Darkets at Nav 2. Order break and attack, and Cobra quickly took out both, much to my surprise. Found a Kilrathi transport at Nav 3 along with 2 Darkets as escort. I sent Cobra after the Darkets while I eliminated the turrets on the transport, then it's steady pounding until the transport blows. 7.2.3 Orsini 3 Pre-flight Log: nothing very interesting Mission: Escort transport to Nav 3 and watch it jump Wingmen: Cobra, Hobbes, Maniac, Vagabond, Vaquero available, I picked Vaquero. Craft: Arrow, Hellcat, Thunderbolt. I picked Hellcat again. Flight log: Adjusted power and took off. Flew close to transport, established autopilot link, and took off toward Nav 1. Between Nav 1 and Nav 2 we were jumped by two Darkets and then a Dralthi, we took care of them with no problems. At Nav 2 we found a Kilrathi Corvette, and that thing is nasty! I'm glad I picked Hellcat over the lighter Arrow since I took a bit of Page 21 damage taking out that big rear turret, two Darkets also appeared and Vaquero dispatched them. At Nav 3 two more Darkets came along. We destroyed them, then two more came along. No problems. We saw the transport jump, and we autopiloted back to VICTORY. 7.2.4 Orsini 4 Pre-flight Log: Flint wants to fly, and wanted to convince me. I decided that "She has a point", and placed her on the flight roster. Mission: Escort transport to jump point, with one MAJOR catch: There's an enemy corvette with the SKIPPER MISSILE out there. One missile and POOF goes the transport, so get that missile or else... Wingmen: Cobra, Flint, Hobbes, Maniac, Vagabond, Vaquero. I picked Maniac, and I hope he doesn't make me regret it, but I need his skills at quick kills out there. Craft: Arrow, Hellcat, and Thunderbolt available, I picked Arrow since I need the speed to catch the skipper missile. I replaced all HS missiles with IR missiles. Flight log: Adjusted power and took off, found 4+2 Darkets attacking the transport. Fortunately the transport's turrets are doing okay, and we quickly toasted all the cats, with Maniac constantly on the comm saying "More kitty litter, I'm hot today!" We were jumped by the Corvette and its fighters between Nav1 and Nav2. I told Maniac to break and attack, and I went after the corvette. As I was almost on it, the skipper missile was launched. I locked on to it and went after it, sprayed about a dozen shots at it, but missed. I tapped afterburners to keep in range, and as it came back into view I got closer and tried again (it's heading straight for the transport!), and got it this time. By that time, Maniac had destroyed both Dralthi escorts and is inflicting damage on the Corvette, and with me attacking as well, it didn't last very long. Nav 2 was clear. At Nav 3 2+2 Darkets tried to jump us but I and Maniac took care of them easily, and the transport jumped out. The rest of the flight went without an incident. [Note: if you failed to protect the transport, you'll be jumped by two Corvettes and two Dralthis on the way back from Nav 3. The VICTORY's morale will take a major blow also.] Page 22 7.3 Tamayo Sector Tamayo sector is not really worth Kilrathi's attention, but they came after it any way. VICTORY was sent here to stop them. Jace "Flash" Dillon arrived onboard with a prototype Excalibur, and he's a typical hair-on-fire pilot, so brash that even Maniac looked at him twice. 7.3.1 Tamayo 1 Pre-flight log: Flash's arrival onboard caused a minor furor, and his marginal insubordination allowed me to decide that "This kid's a smartass". Back in gunnery control, Flint and Maniac was saying something, or to be exact, Maniac was saying something about me. I interrupted him with "I wouldn't finish that if I were you, MAJOR." Of course, they expressed their attitude about Flash, and "They're right". I'll have to deal with Flash later. Just then the red-alert siren came on, as we're jumped by waves of Kilrathi fighters. This is a scramble launch. Mission: Destroy all enemy fighters attacking VICTORY Wingmen: none, all pilots are launched during scramble Craft: I didn't get to pick either, I got an Arrow. Flight Log: As we took off, 2 Darkets and 2 Paktahns jumped us. As we dealt with them two more waves like that came in, and after that, 2 Dralthis and 2 Paktahn, for a total of 16 fighters. Paktahn's rear turrets are dangerous. I used my HS missiles on them as they go on one of their attack runs on VICTORY, then add an IR to go through the down shield. My wingmen took care of their escorts. As things quieted down, I realized I did not see the Excalibur in the landing pattern. As I landed, I saw it still sitting there pretty in the hangar. Flash never took off, and I was steaming mad. 7.3.2 Tamayo 2 Pre-flight log: I stormed into the Barracks and KICKED Flash awake, (Flash was still in his cot taking a nap) then proceed to chew him out for not caring about his own ship since if the VICTORY goes up, so will him and his shiny new ship. I then headed for the bar, Rachel was there. She "suggested" that the Excalibur may be available for a test flight for yours truly. "I'd love to fly that ship" I said... Nothing else is said, but I know which ship will be ready for me... Page 23 Mission: Kilrathi was going after the planet TAMAYO II and there's lots of incoming transports. You must toast them through plenty of enemy fighters, then VICTORY can sweep up the rest of them. Wingmen: Hobbes and Flint are automatically assigned by Eisen Craft: As promised, Excalibur is available for the picking! I took it, if just to get on Flash's nerves. Arrow, Hellcat, Thunderbolt, and Longbow are available too, but why? Flight Log: Took off with no problems. One Corvette and 4 Vaktoths waiting at Nav 1, then 4 Darkets, then 4 more Dralthis after that. The Vaktoth along WITH the Corvette are the most dangerous, but I toasted them easily with my Excalibur. At Nav 2 are four Kilrathi transports, easily destroyed. 7.3.3 Tamayo 3 (optional) Pre-flight log: Flash was waiting for me on the flight deck as I landed "his" Excalibur, then he challenged me to a duel. "Time to teach this punk a lesson," I thought, as I accepted, and I made him bet that he will transfer to VICTORY should he lose. Eisen wasn't too happy about this since ship morale would suffer if I lose, but he told me to "kick the little twerp's butt." [You can refuse this mission, but ship morale would drop, so you better take the challenge] Mission: Fly against Flash in the simulator Wingmen: None Craft : Arrow (expected) Flight log: Flash is pretty good, but not good enough! He tried a salvo missile launch against me, but I decoyed them away, then I saloved him, PLUS full guns. He didn't last very long after my constant missile barrages. 7.4 Locanda Kilrathi is bashing the party with a "Recon in Force" task group. VICTORY will trap them here and destroy them. 7.4.1 Locanda 1 Pre-flight log: Flint is in Gunnery Control, and I was slightly surprised that this is her home system. She wants a chance to fly, and I decided to "Give her a shot". I also found Cobra in the barracks, and she appears to know something about Kilrathi that we don't, as she Page 24 predicted the use of biological weapons. I decided that "She knows something". Mission: Fighter sweep through four Nav points. Wingmen: All wingmen available, I picked Flash, as I teased him "Watch and learn". Craft : Arrow, Hellcat, and Thunderbolt available. Since I am expecting a small capital ship, I picked the Thunderbolt. Since I don't know what fighters I'll be facing, I picked IR/FF missiles. Flight log: Took off without incidents. Nav 1 is clear, but between Nav 1 and Nav 2 we were jumped by 2 Vaktoths, then 4 Dralthis. Vaktoths can be troublesome, but I was able to put my awesome frontal weaponry to use. At Nav 2, we were jumped by 3 Darkets and then 4 Strahkas, no problems there. At Nav 3, was a Kilrathi destroyer and 4 Drlathis. I sent Flash after the Dralthis while I torpedoed the Destroyer. At Nav 4, there's six Darkets, when the ace Fireclaw taunted me. I sent all my FF's and Flash after the others as I went after Fireclaw myself. He's history in no time. 7.4.2 Locanda 2 Pre-flight log: Vagabond was in the Rec Room, and he seems to know something too, and "He might be right." Mission: Kilrathi destroyer is about to unleash biological weapon tipped missiles on Locanda 2. Wingmen: All wingmen except Flint is available. I picked Cobra. Craft : Arrow, Hellcat, and Thunderbolt available. I picked the Thunderbolt since I need to take down that Destroyer FAST. Flight log: Took off with no incident after standard power adjustments, I pre-armed my torpedo, don't want to waste time. Came out of auto-pilot right behind that destroyer, and torpedo locked on right away. I launched, ordered "Break and Attack", then went after the missile it launched with afterburners lit. The destroyer blew up behind me. Found that missile, then sprayed shots in its direction. Took me two tries to hit it. In the meanwhile, Cobra is busy toasting Strakhas. We counted six total in waves of 4 and 2. [Note: you have to take out that destroyer on the first pass since it has a total of THREE missiles it can launch. ANY missile hit the planet and YOU LOSE.] As I auto-piloted back to VICTORY and entered the landing pattern, Eisen came on the screen. It appears that Flint took a Longbow and went after Kilrathis herself. Page 25 I decided to go after her, and told Eisen that I'll "Take the risk". I told Cobra to land as I turned around. [Note: come to a dead stop as you approach for landing. If you land too fast or hit autopilot for landing you will not be able to turn around and go after Flint.] 7.4.3 Locanda 3 (optional) [If you decided not to go after Flint in Locanda 2, she'll survive, but ship morale will suffer.] Pre-flight log: see end of Locanda 2 Mission: bring Flint back in one piece Wingmen: none, until I find Flint Craft : whatever I took last time, a Thunderbolt Flight Log: I turned around and hit autopilot. There's four nav points on the map. I headed to Nav 1, and took out 4 Darkets and 4 Dralthis. Nothing at Nav 2 and Nav 3. As I headed toward Nav 4, I found Flint attacking an enemy light cruiser with 4 Darkets around her. I was busy taking out the the Darkets when Flint took out the cruiser. After that we took out 4 more Darkets, then 2 Vaktoths, then we made it back with no problems. 7.5 Blackmane VICTORY's task group was assigned to Blackmane sector to help defend Blackmane Base and the local jumppoint. 7.5.1 Blackmane 1 Pre-flight log: I landed along Flint, as the ship jumped not long after. I walked up to her craft, wait until her climbed down, and gave her a tongue-lashing, but in the end, I "gave her a break", and did not ground her. I can use a good pilot. I stormed off, and Rachel caught up with me, "she understands". Rollins was in flight control and had some opinion to share, Eisen was on the bridge and glad I brought Flint back. Mission: Base defense. Take out fighters attacking Blackmane base. Wingmen: All wingmen available, I picked Cobra. Craft : Arrow, Hellcat, and Thunderbolt available, I picked Hellcat. It was a good choice since we went up against some Paktahns. page 26 Flight log: We took and adjusted power. Four (4) Dralthis was attacking Blackmane base, we took them out easily. Four (4) Darkets followed, then 4 Darkets and 4 Paktahns. One of the Paktahns carries the ace Bloodmist. I sent Cobra on break and attack while I went after Bloodmist. As long as you avoid the front and direct rear, Paktahns aren't that dangerous, though Bloodmist has a tendency to salvo missiles, and I had to use my decoys quite a few times, and still took a hit. 7.5.2 Blackmane 2 Pre-flight log: Maniac was in the barracks when I dropped by. He said something about me "putting the moves on" Rachel. I decided that "He's jealous" and decided to rag him. Mission: Escort in some transports after clearing out Kilrathis. Wingmen: All available, I picked Vaquero. Craft : Since this is escort, I picked Arrow for its speed. Flight log: Took off after adjusting power. Found 4 Dralthis attacking two transports at Nav 1, took out the Dralthis, and lead the transports back to Blackmane base. Went out to Nav 3, two transports sitting there. I tried to communicate with them but they didn't answer. I decided something's wrong and approached VERY slowly. Just as I approached, BOTH BLEW UP! And immediately 4 Strakhas uncloaked. I immediately afterburnered out of range and ordered break and attack. Turns out there's 4 more Strakhas after this bunch, but we took them out, no problems. Went back to Victory. 7.5.3 Blackmane 3 [If you've grounded Flint back at Blackmane 1, you'll get to choose whether to put her back now. If you don't Captain Eisen will, but then you will drop ship's morale for "passing the buck".] Mission: Escort in a special weapons convoy for Blackmane base Wingmen: All wingmen available, I picked Flash Craft : Arrow, Hellcat, Thunderbolt available. Since I expect heavy opposition but no enemy cap ships, I picked Hellcat. Flight log: Took off after adjusting power, linked up with transports. Found 2+2 Sorthaks at Nav 1. Four Strakhas were waiting at Nav 2, followed by 4 more, but we took them out with no problems. The challenge came at Nav 3, when 2+2 Vaktoths dropped in. Those missiles are dangerous! Fortunately we took them out without further incidents. Dropped off transports at Nav 4, the base, and AP'ed back to VICTORY. Page 27 7.6 Ariel VICTORY was assigned to Ariel as a part of Recon-In-Force group to secure this sector. Rumors are Tolwyn is planning something. 7.6.1 Ariel 1 Pre-flight log: Cobra is in Flight Control and she has something to say about the Kilrathi. As usual, "she's right", though I wonder why. Found Vagabond in the Rec Room, and he's bitching about why the Confeds are so zip-lip about certain situations, as if they're covering things up. "He's worried about nothing", I thought, and I said so. He does not appear to be very assured. Rollins on the bridge and he has something to say too. Mission: Clean sweep, rid Nav points of ALL Kilrathi presence. If any ship escapes this sector the whole ops is ruined. Wingmen: All wingmen available, I picked Hobbes since I need someone who will follow orders. Craft : I picked Longbow, since I'm expecting Kilrathi cap ships Flight log: Took off after power adjustments. Nav 1 had 2 Kilrathi transports, 1 Corvette, and 2 Strakhas. Used guns to take down all of them, decided Corvette not worth torpedo. Two more Strakhas appeared after the first two. Found 4 Strakhas at Nav 2, and rear turret helped some. Found enemy carrier at Nav 3. I sent Hobbes on sweep as I raced in with torpedoes. I nailed that carrier with two torpedoes before it launched any more fighters besides the 4 Darkets flying around. [Note: the carrier can launch 4 Dralthis after 4 Darkets are gone, then 4 Vaktoths when Dralthis are gone, so torpedo it ASAP.] 7.6.2 Ariel 2 Pre-flight log: Was it me or is every one getting worried? Even Vaquero is a little down, and I have to tell him "Stop worrying, Vaquero". Mission: VICTORY and escorts are hiding in a nearby nebula ambushing Kilrathi convoys passing through beyond Blackmane base's sensors. Destroy EVERY Kilrathi we encounter or they're coming after us. Wingmen: All wingmen available, I picked Flint Craft : Thunderbolt and Longbow, I picked Longbow since I expect more cap ships, and I was right. Flight log: Took off and adjusted power. Nav 1 was quite busy, with 1 transport, one DDH (heavy destroyer), and 4 Vaktoths, whom was followed by 4 more Vaktoths and then 4 Darkets. I took out the DDH Page 28 with torpedoes and pounded the fighters with my guns and missiles, then strafed the remaining transport. Found a Kilrathi corvette and a transport at Nav 2 along with 4 Darkets, no problem there. At Nav 3 we found ANOTHER DDH along with transport and 4 Vaktoths, same routine, as I took out the DHH with torpedoes while Flint kept the Vaktoths busy. Then I turned around and missiled the Vaktoths. Four more Vaktoths joined the party, followed by 4 Darkets, but they're easy to mopp up, then we toasted the transport and headed back. 7.6.3 Ariel 3 Pre-flight log: nothing interesting Mission: Looks like we missed some Kilrahti, and they're back with skipper missiles. Take them all out while VICTORY find the jump point to leave this place. Wingmen: All available, I picked Maniac for the kills Craft : Arrow, Hellcat, Thunderbolt, Longbow available. I need speed but I also need torpedoes, so I picked Thunderbolt. Flight log: Took off after adjusting power. Before reaching Nav 1 we were jumped by 4 Darkets and 2 Paktahns, but they didn't last long between me and Maniac. At Nav 2, we found Kilrathi carrier with 2 Strakhas. I decided to take out the carrier from the inside and save the torpedo for later. I flew into its hangar bay and put my full guns to work, and I afterburnered out just as it blew up. [Note: carrier can launched 2+2+2 Darkets if you destroy the Strahkas] There was a Corvette at Nav 2, I took it out with my torpedo but it launched a skipper missile, which I destroyed. [Note: if you pre-arm the torpedo you can kill the corvette before it launches the skipper missile.] [Note: this mission is semi-random. The new jump point can be at either Nav 1 or 2, in which case you won't see enemies at Nav 2, and you need to land before VICTORY leaves.] Darn, Kilrathi have somehow CLOSED a jump point! It's not there any more! Gotta go somewhere else... and VICTORY is jumping... 7.7 Caliban Nebula Kilrathi have somehow closed off the jump point we want in the Ariel system, but we found a jump point which leads here, and now we need to shake off those pesty Kilrathis off our tail, and find the jump point that leads out of here. Page 29 7.7.1 Caliban 1 Pre-flight log: Found Cobra and Hobbes arguing on flight deck. I "stuck up for Hobbes", and Cobra left unhappy. Now I realized it was a mistake, since I should have "played along with Cobra". Found Maniac in Gunnery Control and decided to "rag him" some more. Is it me or does it actually make him better? Mission: The destroyers have separated from VICTORY to decoy the Kilrathi. We need to take out the Cats following each so they don't get their word back. Wingmen: All wingmen available, I picked Flash. Craft : All except Excalibur available, I picked Tunderbolt since I expect enemy cap ships. Flight log: Took off after adjusting power. Found DD Sheffield at Nav 1 duking it out with a Kilrathi destroyer, and 4 Vaktoths making her day difficult. We took out the Vaktoths as Sheffield took out the Kilrathi tin can. Found DD Coventry at Nav 2 doing the same thing, so we did the same thing. [Note: if you feel like it, you can "hide" behind your destroyer and let them do all the work, you can't lose this mission unless you die.] 7.7.2 Caliban 2 Pre-flight log: Found Flint in flight control, lamenting about her father, flying a desk. "It's tough getting old", I commented. Mission: Kilrathi found us, but they have to fly out to get the word out. We have to catch them before they can do so. Wingmen: all available, I picked Hobbes Craft : All except Excalibur available, I picked Thunderbolt again Flight log: Took off normally. Only 4 Darkets waiting at Nav 1, but 6 Dralthis were waiting at Nav 2, followed by 4 Vaktoths. That was a tough fight, and I have to use a few of my missiles. The real prize was a Nav 3: 2 corvettes, a destroyer, AND a scout. I sent Hobbes after the Corvettes while I went after the Destroyer with my torpedo, then I nailed the scout ship with guns only. The rest was easy. 7.7.3 Caliban 3 Pre-flight log: Found Hobbes commenting about the war on Flight Deck. Mission: The task force has gathered again and we're leaving, but Kilrathi has other ideas. You are to destroy most of the pursuit force. Page 30 Wingmen: all available, I picked Vagabond. Craft : only arrow and Hellcat available, I picked Hellcat for staying power. Flight log: Just as we took off Victory came under attack by 4 Darkets and 1 corvette. Took them all out. Another 4 Darkets and 1 corvette was waiting at Nav 1, but the BIG surprise was at Nav 2. We found 4 Dralthis, 1 Corvette and 2 Dralthis, 4 Vaktoths, 2 Darkets and 2 Vaktoths, and 4 Darkets, in that order. It was REALLY messy and I had to order Vagabond back to base due to his damage, but I killed all of them. I don't think I would have lasted as long in an Arrow. 7.8 Torgo Tolwyn arrived and assumed personal command of the Task Force. This doesn't look good... 7.8.1 Torgo 1 Pre-flight log: Tolwyn arrived onboard, and tried to "honor" me. I told him that "We're all equals here". Found Flint in Gunnery Control, and "she can see Tolwyn's a jerk" too. I decided to let out a little of my past dealings with Tolwyn, just to get it off my chest. Mission: Tolwyn wants a Magnum launch (all fighters) to protect the Behemoth, under attack nearby. Wingmen: None, though Flint came along Craft : It's a scramble launch, so Arrow it is. Flight log: Took off after adjusting power and found 2 Paktahns at Nav 1, with 2 Strakhas. No problem there. Nav 2 was a surprise with 4 waves of 2 Vaktoths and 2 Paktahns each. Fortunately Arrow wasn't so easy to hit even with missiles. I went after Vaktoths first since they're more dangerous. Ended up using ALL of my missiles here. At Nav 3, we found 2 Strakhas and 2 Paktahns, no problems there. Finally saw the Behemoth at Nav 4, and DANG! That thing is HUGE! It's MUCH larger than the VICTORY or even my old ship, the CONCORDIA... 7.8.2 Torgo 2 Pre-flight log: Rollins was in the lift with more rumors, and Tolwyn is on the bridge about Behemoth is "his baby". Mission: Behemoth needs minor "adjustments", so you must go out and plant some mines to protect her, 2 mines at each Nav point to be precise. Beware enemies dropping in as you deploy your mines. Wingmen: all available, I picked Flint Page 31 Craft : Longbow it must be for all those mines. Flight log: We found at each of 4 Nav point 2 Vaktoths and 2 Paktahns waiting for us. We destroyed them and dropped two mines, no big deal. 7.8.3 Torgo 3 Pre-flight log: nothing interesting Mission: Behemoth is ready to jump, with one catch: no fuel. Tolwyn saw this Kilrathi convoy and want us to disable all of them and capture the fuel. (what?) Wingmen: all available, I picked Cobra Craft : I picked Hellcat over Arrow Flight log: Found 2 Asteroid fighters along with 3 tankers at Nav 1, and those rocks are TOUGH! Their mines can be nasty too if you run into them. We took out a total of 8 of them, and lost quite a armor and shields to their mines. Then we carefully took out the turrets on each transports and took out the engines. The rest is up to the marines. 7.9 Loki VI (Operation Behemoth) Behemoth is complete and ready to go, and we're taking the offensive into Kilrathi space. First stop, Loki system, where there's a quasar blocking communications. We will take out the enemies around us, then test the weapons on the planetary base... 7.9.1 Loki 1 Pre-flight log: Vaquero is happily string his guitar in the barracks, and Rachel is on the Flight Deck, all "clean and spiffy" on Admiral Tolwyn's order. Gee, sure looks different! Mission: Clean up the area of Kilrathi presence Wingmen: All available, I picked Flint again Craft : I picked Hellcat, my favorite Flight log: Took off after adjusting power. At Nav 1 found corvette and 4 Darkets. As we destroyed 4 Darkets we found another corvette and 4 Vaktoths coming in. It was a bad fight and Flint was damaged. Nav 2 has 6 Dralthis, which we took care of easily. At Nav 3 We found 6 Vaktoths. Flint took two missiles and had to eject, and I took out the rest of them. After them came 4 Darkets and 4 Strakhas, but those are easy. Found Behemoth at Nav 4. Page 32 7.9.2 Loki 2 Pre-flight log: Lots of people to meet... Tolwyn's on the bridge. Cobra is in the barracks. Eisen is in Gunnery Control starring at the stars lamenting his command. Mission: Your job is to make sure the Behemoth is safe as Tolwyn orders the test of the Behemoth on the planetary base. Wingmen: all available, I picked Hobbes Craft : call me silly, but I picked Hellcat over Arrow again. Flight log: as we took off we hit 4 Paktahns charging in. I and Hobbes destroyed one as the Behemoth fired, reducing the planet to ashes. After that 2 corvettes dropped in, and after that 4 Strakhas, and finally 2 Paktahns. Had to use all my missiles to keep the fighters away since those corvettes are nasty. 7.9.3 Loki 3 Behemoth is one jump from Kilrah, and Kilrathi knows it too. They are attacking with overwhelming force... Mission: I was supposed to defend the Behemoth, but it was impossible... So my primary mission was survival. Wingmen: Pick Hobbes, though it doesn't matter. Craft : Doesn't matter, though I picked Hellcat over Arrow again Flight log: Took off and autopiloted after adjusting power. Before I can get close enough to nail the Paktahns, even with afterburners, Behemoth blew up. It was as if the Cats knew EXACTLY where to hit her! Then prince Thrakkath appeared in his Bloodwing and beamed the video of Angel's demise to us... Thrakkath offered me a chance at single-combat, but Rollins cut through and told me that VICTORY is jumping in 90 seconds. I know I can fight Thrakkath another day... But it was hard finding a clear channel with both Thrakkath and Rollins on the radio so I can request landing clearance. I landed with 5 seconds to spare. [Warning: if you go into the bay withOUT landing clearance, you'll be left behind!] Page 33 7.10 Alcor 7.10.1 Alcor 1 Pre-flight log: I was devastated. For a long time I had held out hope that Angel was still alive out there... But I saw the life gushed out of her, and I can't deal with her killer... I went to the Rec Room and tossed down several stiff drinks, hoping to numb myself. Rachel sat down beside me and talked me out. "She's OK... She understands." I stopped drinking. [Note: if you keep drinking, your flight controls during the mission may become erratic.] Mission: Kilrathi is coming after the VICTORY. The destroyers are separating to provide decoys again, while VICTORY hides somewhere to make repairs. All fighters will take off and defend. Wingmen: None, it's a scramble, though Hobbes is waiting. Craft : Arrow Flight log: I'm sure glad I didn't toss down that extra drink. This mission is HARD! Took off after adjusting power. At Nav 1, DD Sheffield is having a field day with THREE Corvettes. Then another corvette and 4 Vaktoths jumped in, then 8 Darkets. What a mess! I and Hobbes took out the fighters and let Sheffield take care of the corvettes. At Nav 2 We found 2 Vaktoths and 4 Paktahns, then 6+6 Dralthis, then 4 Paktahns. Nav 3 is relatively quiet, with only 4 Strakhas. Nav 4 is quiet with 4 Vaktoths, and Nav 5, 2 Sorthaks are firing on VICTORY, followed by 2 more Sorthaks. All in all, I and Hobbes took down 46 fighters (a few may be credited to Sheffield) and partial credit on the four Corvettes with Sheffield. 7.10.2 Alcor 2 [If you flew drunk on last mission and survived, Flint chew you out, and you get to talk to her in this segment. "She's right" though.] Pre-flight log: Cobra and Rollins in the Rec Room are talking, and as usual, Cobra has a good comment or two, and "She's got a point". Found Paladin in Gunnery Control. When questioned, Paladin revealed that he knew Angel's dead back when we're both on Vestus. A red haze clouded my eyes. To think I trusted him for 10 years!!! I slugged that SOB... Turns out Angel did send a message out before meeting Thrakkath's claws... Mission: You're scouting ahead, with orders not to let any Kilrathi escape. Cap ships are expected. We are going to rescue a "Dr.Severin" from Alcor V, and with his help we can build a "Temblor Bomb", capable of spliting planets apart. That's Angel's legacy... Page 34 Wingmen: all available, I picked Vagabond Craft : Arrow, Thunderbolt, and Longbow available, I picked Longbow since I expect Cap Ships. Flight log: Took off with no problems, adjusted power. Found Kilrathi DD and 3 corvettes at Nav 1, nailed DD with torpedo, played tag with the other 3 corvettes, got bored and used another torpedo on one. After dealing with them, another corvette and 6 Darkets jumped in. Darkets are messy since Longbow don't have enough manueverability to keep up with them. Used a few missiles to keep them far away for the guns. Corvette is easy after you elminate its fighter cover. Found 4 Asteroid fighters at Nav 2, avoiding mines wasn't that hard if you turn away periodically. Have also found that RAMMING them really helps, if you can catch them. After those 4 are gone, 4 Strakhas dropped in, then 4 Darkets. At Nav 3, we found another Kilrathi DD with 4 Paktahns. Nailed the DD with my remaining torpedoes. After the Paktahns are gone, we found 6 Darkets, then 4 Dralthis. 7.10.3 Alcor 3 (optional) Mission: Cobra was found on the flight deck, mortally wounded by Kilrathi claws. She caught Hobbes trying to transmit information about the Temblor Bomb. Hobbes had escaped in a Thunderbolt. Either I go after Hobbes now, or let Hobbes get away scot-free... But the mission to Alcor V is almost upon us, and Eisen says not to go... I am going any way! Revenge! was all that's on my mind... Wingmen: None Craft : There was only one Hellcat available, I took it. Flight log: DAMN! Hobbes is every bit as good as he was flying WITH me as he is now AGAINST me. We both launched salvoes of missiles against each other and neither of us got a hit. We zoomed by each other back and forth under afterburner when I realized that this isn't getting anywhere. I decided to save my afterburner fuel and only use my afterburners sparingly. Sooner or later he's going to run out, since he needs afterburners to make up for his Thunderbolt's lack of manueverability. After a few more passes, from which we both got some hits, he's not afterburning any more, but his rear turret kept me from effective firing positions. It took me a while before I got in enough shots to toast his engines, and he exploded, no ejection for him. I headed back to VICTORY, and found it under attack by 4 Strakhas (including ace Stalker) and then 4 Paktahn. Took care of them easily. 7.10.4 Alcor 4 Pre-flight log: I landed, and even Rachel was not pleased in seeing so much damage on the Hellcat I took out. Eisen was not in a good mood, as he informed me that after I left, VICTORY was ambushed and Vaquero Page 35 bought it, and it's all my fault. He's cleaning up Vaquero's locker, so I volunteered to write the "next-of-kin" letter. I am the Wing Commander after all... Found Vagabond in the Rec Room. Turns out Vagabond was one of Severin's assistants, and blames himself for what happened at a colony where Severin conducted some illegal research that ended up wiping out the colony. Feds covered it up as accident, but he knows better. I told him that "he shouldn't blame himself." Mission: VICTORY arrived at Alcor V, and we need to cover the marines going down to get Dr.Severin. First clear the space, then go down and clean out the ground forces. Wingmen: Flint, Vagabond, Flash, Maniac (Vaquero if you didn't fly Alcor 3). I picked Flint. Craft : Excalibur, the only ship that can fly ground missions Flight log: Take off is simple, adjusted power. Found 6 Darkets in orbit, blasted them easily with Excalibur's firepower. Then I headed down to the planet. On the way, the power system resetted, forcing me to set them again. The Ekapshis at Nav 2 are messy. They LOVE to dive, I don't. I afterburner away from them then turn back toward and and let them enjoy a couple blasts from my tachyon cannons headon. Works every time. Did the same thing for the 4+2 Ekapshis at Nav 3. Strafed the tanks on the ground, then hit speed 0 and toasted the prison complex. Nav 4 was clear, while Nav 5 has 4+2 Ekapshis, 6 tanks, and more buildings. Did the same thing as Nav 3. Wasn't that hard, actually. Strafing is not fun, it's not hard either. Remember to turn off the auto-aim, then slow down to about 300, point your nose directly onto the target, and start shooting when in range. I only strafe with tachyon cannons, since reaper cannons don't seem to do that much. As I landed, I saw a live video feed of marines rescuing Dr.Severin. I saw a Hellcat landing next to them, and pilot jumped out. I was about to say, "Hey, that's Vagabond!" when Vagabond went up to Severin and slugged him. The marines grabbed Vagabond immediately of course. 7.11 Freya Freya sector has a jump point direct to Kilrah system. It's a secret, and a badly kept one too. We need to clean out this sector in preparations for advance to Kilrah. Page 36 7.11.1 Freya 1 Pre-flight log: Maniac was in the Rec-Room and he handed me some cheap shots about Angle. "You're asking for it, man." and retaliated. Rollins was in the lift and was commenting about Vagabond in the brig for slugging Dr.Severin. I commented that "Vagabond has his reasons". Mission: Sweep, clear out Kilrathi at all Nav points Wingmen: Flint, Flash, Maniac, (Vaquero if survived earlier). I picked Flint. Craft : All available, I picked Longbow since I expect Cap Ships. Flight Log: Took off after adjusting power. Nav 1 showed 1 DDH (Heavy Destroyer) and 2+4 Darkets. Took out the Darkets first, then nailed the HDD with one torpedo. Nav 2 shows 2 corvettes and 4+4 Dralthis. The two corvettes are pretty close together and they cover each other. Took a while to take them out, sent wingmen after same corvette. At nav 3 found a Kilrathi CV (Carrier), with 4 Dralthi as escort (followed by 4 Darket and 4 Dralthi), use torpedoes to take out the carrier first as not to play with other fighters, then took out the other fighters with missiles. 7.11.2 Freya 2 Pre-flight log: I "try the hard sell" on Eisen and he agreed to let Vagabond out, as we need his skills. Mission: We found the jump point, but it's shielded. We found the shield generator though. Fly an Excalibur and take it out. Wingmen: None Craft : Excalibur Flight Log: Took off after adjusting power. Found 4 Dralthis at Nav 1, no problem. Autopilot to ground. Found 4 Ekapshi at Nav 2 (ground), another 4 Ekapshi at Nav 3. Ekapshis are easy if you afterburner away from them, then turn back into them and meet them head-on. The generator building is at Nav 4, with a big energy arc on top. I nailed it with guns, and went back into orbit. Found 2 Dralthis waiting for me, at Nav 5, and another 2 Dralthis at Nav 6. 7.11.3 Freya 3 Pre-flight log: Found Vagabond in Rec Room, he has a few choice words to say... Mission: Kilrathi wants this system and they're coming through! Defend VICTORY or else... Lose big-time. Page 37 Wingmen: Flint, Vagabond, Flash, Maniac (Vaquero if survived) [It appears that Vagabond can "die" now...] Craft : All available, picked Excalibur Flight Log: Long list of enemies! 3 Dralthis, 1 Corvette and 2 Darkets, 3 Darkets, 2 Darkets, 3 Vaktoths, 3 Vaktoths, and finally 3 Darkets. Fortunately, the lighter fighters are nothing under the tachyon cannons. The Vaktoths may be trouble, so I used missiles. The corvettes are trouble but the slide took care of them. 7.12 Hyperion We have a Temblor Bomb for testing, and we'll test it in Hyperion sector before sending one into Kilrah. 7.12.1 Hyperion 1 Pre-flight log: I knew it was trouble when I spotted BOTH Flint and Rachel at the Rec Room bar... And I have to make a choice. (I could refuse BOTH, but why?) [You can't pick both. If you pick one, the other one gets mad. The mad one won't have anything to do with you. Flint won't fly, and Rachel won't configure your loadouts.] [To be totally cold blooded, AVOID the entire scene, don't pick EITHER one. If you go through and refute either one their morale drops.] Mission: Test the Temblor bomb on the Kilrathi planet, it should be relatively undefended. Wingmen: None Craft : Excalibur it is! Flight log: Took off after adjusting power. 4 Dralthis jumped me before Nav 1. Dropped to ground at Nav 1, found 2 Ekapshis at Nav 2, another 2 at Nav 3. Used standard tactics on them (separation). Two Ekapshi tried to interfere with my bombing run, but took care of them. Tried to fire off some missiles and almost dropped the Temblor Bomb nowhere! Finally dropped temblor bomb on ground fault, and POOF! 4 Dralthis were at Nav 5, no problem there. 7.12.2 Hyperion 2 Pre-flight log: Flash was in the barracks, and he's boasting again, but I "have to admit-- he's a damn good pilot". Found Vagabond at Gunnery Control, lamenting that he has nowhere to go. "He really deserves a home", I thought. Page 38 Mission: Friendly cap ships are taking back Freya. You are to jump into Freya and help them out. Wingmen: (I picked Rachel earlier, so Flint's not available) Flash, maniac, Vagabond, Vaquero. I picked Flash. Craft : Arrow, Hellcat, Excalibur, I picked the last one. Flight log: Dang, lots of enemies around ehre! Take off is quiet. Found at Nav 1, 2 Darkets and 1 DD, then 2 Darkets, 2 Dralthis, and 2 Dralthis. At Nav 2 found 1 CV, 2 Dralthis, 2 Dralthis, 2 Paktahns. At Nav 3 found one of our CA (heavy cruiser) going up against a Kilrathi CA with 2 Paktahns. Took out the Paktahns and helped blowing up the Kilrathi CA. 7.12.3 Hyperion 3 [If you picked Flint before and have yet to fly a mission with her, you'll find her in Rec Room where you have to decide to fly with her or not.] Mission: Kilrathi is still pushing hard at Freya. VICTORY BG is jumping back into Freya to defend the jump point, and you must go out on Search and Destroy missions to keep the road to Kilrah open. Wingman: (Flint), Flash, Maniac, Vagabond, (Vaquero), I picked Maniac. Craft : All available, but Excalibur is the only way to go! Flight log: Still lots of enemies. Nav 1 has a HDD and 4+4 Darkets, and 2 Dralthis. Nav 2 has 4 Darkets. Nav 3 had 6 Darkets, 4 transports, and a cruiser, plus 5+6 Darkets. Cruiser is not that hard if you can stay away from its firepower, and one way is match speed at 8000 kms, then afterburner your way in until you're JUST behind the engines, where no turret can hit you, then just allocate lots of power to guns and keep firing. If you feel macho, take out all the turrets first with sliding. [Flash may buy it taking out the cruiser with Excalibur. If that happens, take a Longbow and torpedo the cruiser first.] 7.13 Kilrah This is it, folks. Do or die. Nail Kilrah or Confederation is doomed. It appears that the Kilrathi are preparing the FINAL invasion fleet. Confederation is preparing a last stand at Proxima sector, but things doesn't look good... So I guess we are the last hope of the Confeds. Page 39 7.13.1 Kilrah 1 Pre-flight log: I have to pick the best 3 wingmen I have. Since I have only three, I picked Flash, Maniac, and Vagabond. [If Flint is available, try not to pick her. She will not survive this series unless something unbelievable happens...] Mission: Make your way into the Kilrah system and land on the first hidden asteroid depot. Wingmen: See above Craft : Excalibur it is! Pick half FF and half IR. Flight log: Take off is no problem. Nav 1, the jump point, was guarded by 2 Sorthaks. We cleaned them out quickly. We jumped to Nav 2, where we found 2 corvettes and 4+4 Darkets. I send all wingmen after a single corvette to take it down faster. At Nav 3, we found 2 corvettes, 6 Dralthis, and 6 Strakhas. Vagabond bought it when taking down one of the corvettes. At Nav 4 we found 3 Darkets, 1 DD, then 1+6 Darkets. We left the DD alone, found the asteroid depot, and landed. 7.13.2 Kilrah 2 Mission: Make it to the second/final depot, where the bomb is, take out all enemies. Wingmen: whoever survived Kilrah 1. For me, it's Flash and Maniac. Craft : Excalibur it must be. (Use loadout terminal to customize missile loadout) Flight log: Took off and adjusted power. 4 Darkets and 2 Corvettes was waiting at Nav 1, followed by 4 Dralthis. At Nav 2 4 Vaktoths and 2 corvettes were waiting, followed by 6 Strakhas. Flash was heavily damanged by this time. I ordered him back, but he refused. Nav 3 was infested by 3 Sorthaks, 1 Strakha, and 1 DD. The Strakha uncloaked right behind Flash and toasted him with a missile salvo. I took out that Strakha of course, but it was too late. The fighters were followed by 1 Sorthak then 6 Darkets. 7.13.3 Kilrah 3 Mission: make it through Thrakkath and escorts and bomb Kilrah... Wingmen: whoever surrived Kilrah 2. For me, it's Maniac Craft : Excalibur Flight log: 1 DD and 4 Paktahns at Nav 1, followed by 4 Dralthis. At Nav 2 we found another DD with 4 Dralthis followed by 6 Strakhas. At Page 40 Nav 3, we found ANOTHER DD with 3+6 Darkets (some veterans). Maniac bought it at this point, and I engaged cloak to get away from the DD. At Nav 4, found 2 Paktahn, and Prince Thrakhath in his Bloodwing. [If Hobbes is still alive, he's here in his Thunderbolt.] I used the cloak to sneak you to Thrakhath, and rammed him once. I got only frontal armor damage. I then came up behind him and matched speed. I then decloaked and launched a salvo of missiles, and that toasted him. The Paktahn scattered and I went down to the surface. [Note: as soon as Thrakhath dies, you go down, you don't even get to see him blow up! You can take out Thrakhath several ways, but they all involve sneaking up behind him and uncloak behind him with full guns and salvo of missiles.] I ended up flying on the fault. I engaged cloak, and looked for the fault... It was interesting flying through that gigantic trench. I found the spot, but it was guarded by 2 Ekapshis. I decided on a subterfuge. I climbed to max altitude, then stopped, then I turned nose down straight toward the fault. I decloaked, and headed down. Before the Ekapshi can get to me, I have targetted the fault. With a few short bursts of afterburner I avoided the Ekapshi until lockon, then I drop the bomb, turn up, and hit afterburner! I held my finger on the afterburner button as I accelerated out of the atmosphere. I can see the halo of the temblor bomb's destruction behind me, growing across the planet. I can only imagine what's happening on the surface... Then Kilrah exploded. All shipyards in orbit and its moon disintegrated as well. The explosion created a shock front spreading across space, overtaking my Excalibur on afterburner. The controller was wrenched out of my hands and my head hit the front console, stunning me. I must have passed out for a while. I can only guess that the auto-stabilization system somehow engaged and threw me out of the energy wave... Then suddenly the craft stopped. I turned around and looked: I was caught in a tractor beam, from a Kilrathi dreadnaught. I checked my energy reserves and hoping for escape, there is none. The tractor beam pulled me into their hangar and dropped me on the deck. I was able to activate landing gear. Kilrathi marines surrounded my fighter with drawn weapons. I slowly opened the canopy and climbed down, keeping my hands in plain view. They made no other threatening moves. Four of them escorted me to the flag bridge. I recognized Melek, Thrakhath's second. "Heart of the Tiger", Melek observed, "In my heart, I wish to kill you." Page 41 "Do it then. It won't bring back your homeworld." I was sure I am dead then. Might as well go down gloriously. "And a race without a homeworld?" Melek shakes his head. "The Kilrathi are a beaten race, and to kill the one warrior great enough to bring about their end would bring me no honor." I am going to live?!?! I was too surprised to say anything. "A new millenium lies ahead. We have became too corrupt, and too much slaves to our blood lust. And we have paid a heavy price..." Melek looked at me. I can see that he is forming his words with difficulty... "We are surrendering to you, Heart of the Tiger..." Melek dropped to his knees, as did the guards. "It is an action unlike any we have ever taken, but it is time the Kilrathi find new ways. The Kilrathi must not die out as a race..." The war is finally over. 7.14 Tamayo/Losing [The losing missions are noted minimally...] 7.14.1 Tamayo/L 1 This mission is identical to Tamayo 1. 7.14.2 Tamayo/L 2 This mission is identical to Tamayo 2, and if you lose you go to Proxima/Losing. 7.14.3 Tamayo/L 3 This mission is identical to Tamayo 3, except if you lose you go to Proxima/Losing. If you win 2 and 3 you can make your way back to Locanda series. 7.15 Blackmane/Losing Confederation is losing Blackmane sector. VICTORY is here to cover the evacuation. Page 42 7.15.1 Blackmane/L 1 Mission: Link with 3 evacuation transports and take them to safety Wingman: All available Craft : Arrow, Hellcat, Thunderbolt. Pick a Hellcat or heavier... Flight log: Link up autopilot with 3 transports upon takeoff. You'll meet Kilrathi CV at Nav 1, with 2 Dralthis (up to 6 more one at a time at reinforcements). You MUST lose no more than one... [If you lose you go to Proxima/Losing] 7.15.2 Blackmane/L 2 Mission: Link with 3 evacuation transports and take them to safety. Oh, and stay in the pulsar shadows. Wingman: all available Craft: Arrow, Hellcat, Thunderbolt. I pick Hellcat Flight log: Link with 3 transports at Nav 1. Nav 2 are 4 Strakhas. At Nav 3 you must stay in the Pulsar shadow or you will take damage. Then destroy 3+3+3+3 Dralthis before they destroy more than 1 of your transports, then watch them jump out. [If you lose you go to Proxima/Losing] 7.15.3 Blackmane/L 3 Mission: We've lost the base, and there's one more convoy that need to break for it. Link up with it and bring them back. Wingman: all available Craft: Arrow, Hellcat, Thunderbolt. Doesn't matter. Flight log: 4 Strahkhas between takeoff and Nav 1. Nav 1 found 2 transports, though those are decoys and exploded as I got near. Then 4+4 Strakhas uncloaked and ambushed me. 7.16 Delius Asteroid Belt/Losing VICTORY is ordered to attack the Kilrathi hidden asteroid base in the sector. Page 44 7.16.1 Delius 1 Mission: Search and destroy in asteroid field Wingmen: all available Craft: Arrow, Hellcat, Thunderbolt, Longbow. Doesn't matter. Flight log: Asteroid base at Nav 1 with 4+2 Vaktoths. 3+3 Dralthis at Nav 2. Nav 3 has 2 Dralthis and 2 Darkets, and Nav 4 has 4 Vaktoths. You don't need to hit the asteroid base yourself, VICTORY and her destroyer escorts will take it out later. 7.16.2 Delius 2 Mission: Mine the approach Nav points to trap the reinforcements. Wingmen: all available Craft: Thunderbolt, Longbow. You need the Longbow. Flight log: Nav 1 has 1 corvette, 4 Dralthis. Nav 2 has 4 Darkets. Drop mines and let them come after you. Nav 3 found asteroid base, destroyer, 2 Dralthi, 1 corvette and 2 Vaktoth, 2 Vaototh and 1 Sorthak, and finally 4 Dralthi. If the asteroid base is destroyed, you'll jump to Torgo series. 7.16.3 Delius 3 Mission: It's still there! Nail that asteroid field once and for all! Wingmen: all available Craft: Arrow, Hellcat Flight log: Take off, 2 Darkets, another 2 Darkets, then asteroid base with 2 Dralthi. After you cleared them out, watch VICTORY and destroyers take out the base. 7.17 Proxima/Losing The final stand, folks. Confederation is losing on all fronts. Proxima is one jump point away from Earth, and you are to hold there as long as you can, until Eisen says we're going. 7.17.1 Proxima/L 1 Mission: Survive until Eisen calls you back. Page 45 Wingmen: all who survived are available, pick the best (Maniac?) Craft : all available, pick the Excalibur. Flight log: Endless waves of randomly picked fighters. Land when Eisen says so, or die while VICTORY jumps back to Sol system. 7.17.2 Proxima/L 2 Mission: It is a good day to die... Wingmen: all who survived are available, pick the best (Maniac?) Craft : all available, pick the Excalibur. Flight log: Endless waves of random Kilrathi fighters. Eisen takes out a dreadnaught by ramming it with VICTORY, but there is no way out... [Die fighting, or be tractor to die on Thrakhath's carrier. Watch fall of Earth, then pick how do you wish to die...] 8. WINNING AND LOSING 8.1 Winning Endgame There is only one "winning endgame", destruction of Kilrah. There's slight variations on it, depending on who did you pick as companion earlier. Will you be with Flint, Rachel, or neither? 8.2 Losing Endgames There's several ways to "lose"... 8.2.1 You died... If you died, you can REPLAY or CONTINUE. If you CONTINUE, you'll see EISEN giving your funeral. 8.2.2 Court-Martial If you killed one of your wingmen, Eisen meets you on the Flight Deck with marines and dump you in the brig. Page 46 8.2.3 If you chased Thrakhath at Loki 3... Do you chase Thrakhath at Loki 3 after he shown you the gruesome end of Angel? You have 90 seconds to land or you'll be there sucking vacuum forever. 8.2.4 Victory Dies at Hyperion 2 Most of your fighters made it back to Proxima, but you will lose there also... 8.2.5 Earth's Last stand (Proxima/Losing) You can die at Proxima/L 1 or 2, doesn't matter. If you eject, you will be captured by Thrakhath, where you get to pick how to die, but dead is dead. 9. OTHER WING COMMANDER 3 REFERENCES Authorized Combat Guide to Wing Commander III, ////BradyGames. ISBN 1- 56686-238-8, $19.99 USA. -- Not much on behind the scenes look, but includes information on the 3D0 version. It's all generic tactics plus mission specifics. Its best feature? Color pictures of key cinematic scenes. Origin's Official Guide to Wing Commander III, ////BradyGames. ISBN 1- 56686-287-6, $24.95 USA. -- This book is worth far more than the extra $5 dollars you pay. It comes with the CD "Behind the Screens of Wing Commander 3" (only available in Premier edition of WC3), as well as the "behind the scenes" numbers on things such as numbers for all the pilots and Kilrathi pilots and aces, actual numbers for all crafts, including capitals ships,dialogue for all characters, and interview with key members of the WC3 team. THE END