Shocking Discovery in Dragon/Lance Studies

[Bandit LOAF]

I'm writing an article on the Lance for the Wingkipedia and I've been looking through all the source material--Wing Commander 4, the novel, that WC4 PSX poster, the published script and so on...

... and this morning I got hit over the head with a realization: the reason the novel comes up with the 'callsign Dragon, name Lance' background is because... the script, which was all Ohlander would have seen, only calls them Dragons in the intro! Everywhere else they're referred to as "Black Lance fighters" or "Black Lance ships".

We're through the looking glass.

 

[Evan]

It's fascinating, how you guys dig up all that stuff after years .

 

[criticalmass]

And there I always thought someone was making a rather blunt Dragonlance joke.

Archeology is a wonderful occupation..

 

[TCSTigersClaw]

- This is a "Black Lance" Fighter
-aaahhh a Black "Lance" Fighter
-Yes , its called "Dragon"
-but......
-"black lance" is the organasation.
- so this is "Black Lance"'s Fighter
-That doesnt sound correct


EDIT: Youhou! I finally got my avatar around here , not an easy task

 

[Bob McDob]

- This is a "Black Lance" Fighter
-aaahhh a Black "Lance" Fighter
-Yes , its called "Dragon"
-but......
-"black lance" is the organasation.
- so this is "Black Lance"'s Fighter
-That doesnt sound correct

The weird thing is, in the middle of all of this there's a page (289) where during the blockade of Telamon "Maniac, in an attempt to bolster morale, had ordered the dozen black Dragons to be repainted in Border Worlds colors" (the fighters, not the space nazis) "and distribute them among the remaining three squadrons."

It's the only other reference to them as "Dragons", rather than "Black Lances".

 

[Bandit LOAF]

It's the only other reference to them as "Dragons", rather than "Black Lances".

I would bet that's simply because the line wants to specify that the fighters were actually colored black before Maniac has them repainted; "black Black Lance" or "black Lance" would have been awkward.