Some sunshine & a few general questions...

[X_FIREFALCON]

Hey, all.

First off, my compliments to the WC community here. I absolutely love the WC Universe, and just recently bought WC 1 through 4 (Kilrathi Saga & 2-sided WC4 DVD)...great storylines, great characters. Hell...might make a few of you sick to your stomachs, but I even liked the movie even though they could have/should have done more with the concept to make it more like the game, improve some of the dialogues a bit, have many more dogfights, and made the cats look MUCH better (maybe more like WC3)....but even so, I still liked it and found it entertaining. Call me simple-minded.

Also, I want to commend those members of the community who compiled all these pages of detailed information about the entire WCU, including the ships and mission-walkthrough for all the WC games as well as the map that shows the various quadrants, sectors, and systems of the WCU complete with jump points to link them (though it could drive a fella mad trying to connect some of the dots!).

First time poster here, and I had a few general questions I'm hoping someone (or everyone!) might be able to help me with:

(1) This is the real big one here; is there any kind of database anywhere that lists the planets in some (or most) of these systems? Right now, I'm trying to play through all the games and make a mental note of planets and civilizations mentioned, but needless to say, this would not cover most of the systems appearing on the WCU map. I'm just looking for general information more than anything else - how many planets in each system, which are habitable, which are occupied by sentient life, which were destroyed (like Kilrah & Mylon II), etc. Additionally, I'm unclear of a few things in Sol. Naturally Earth has sentient life (unless you're overly critical of the human race!)...does Mars and Venus? I remember reading that Paladin was born on a spacestation over Venus, but what about Venus itself? And regarding Scylla, the blackhole from the movie, I noticed that her jump point is included on the WCU map. I'm just kind of curious where in Sol Scylla is located just as a reference point.

(2) Where are we left after the add-on to Prophecy? Isn't there a permanent gate left open in Vega Sector or somewhere near Sol?

(3) Do we ever get to see what Nephilim space looks like? (It's been awhile since I've played Prophecy, and though I plan to again in the future, I'm only onto WC2 now after playing through WC1 and its 2 Secret Mission add-ons.)

(4) How old would the old fogies of Wing Commander be now at the end of the Prophecy add-on (or rather at the end of the WC timeline)? If he were alive, I thought I figured Blair would be pushing his early to mid fifties, Maniac would be about a year behind him, and Paladin would be a dinosaur, roughly 20 years older than that? Does that seem about right?

(5) I haven't played through WC3 or 4 yet, and on the map, I noticed that Ghorah Khar, the famed rebel system from the earlier WC games, is included in Kilrathi space. Did they rejoin the Kilrathi Empire prior to the war's end? I was under the impression that they moved over to the Confederation during the war. Did they go back during or after it?

(6) What are peoples' take on the Nephilim, Mantu, Steltek, Double-Helix, and Star God relationship? From what I've read in the community, I'm under the impression that the "Star Gods" are the Kilrathi's name for the Nephilim, named after the supposed hostile race that fulfills the Prophecy of Sivar (this might be a misnomer, of course, as the Nephilim might not actually be the fulfillment of this prophecy). The Steltek are an ancient race that moved coreward in the Milky Way and while they are dedicated to peace and solitude, they closely monitor the other species of the WCU and there was at least that one incident with that Steltek scout that was supposedly a real mean son-of-a-gun. The Nephilim is the Confederation's name for the bugs...or at least the name given to the enemy by the crew of the Midway after Zero recounts some ancient biblical tale - I'm guessing the whole story of fallen angels descending to earth and procreating with human females to create half-human, half-angel abominations dubbed "Nephilim" (not up to speed with bible stories myself, honestly...do the Nephilim ever actually appear in it?). Little is known of the Double-Helix and the Mantu from what I gather. The Mantu were supposed to be basically the Kilrathi's equals in battle - all the battles between the two seemed to end in a stalemate. I believe the Mantu were the Kilrathi's last engagement prior to bumping into the Confederation. Little more is known about the Double-Helix than the fact that their ships resemble a shape that gave them that name (and are they the ones that communicate through pheremones or something like that?). Is there any evidence that any of these races relate to one another? Might some of them, in fact, be the same race? Or are they all supposed to be different? From the pictures I've seen (I've never played Privateer, unfortunately), some of the pictures of Steltek ships look like they could have been predecessors or some kind of ancient ancestors of some of the Nephilim ships (sorry if I'm totally off on this...just making an observation which may be right or completely off).

(7) What kind of governmental entities control the various sectors of space? I'm assuming that the Confederation is now ruled by some kind of council, is that accurate? Are the Kilrathi ruled over by the leaders of all the surviving tribes? What about the Border Worlds? Are there any leadership big-wigs worth mentioning besides Senator Taggart (Paladin)?

Sorry for such a drawn-out questionnaire, and I apologize if the information here is clearly displayed somewhere and I just missed it or some of the points I've made are inaccurate. I would appreciate any answers you guys could give to help improve my knowledge base here, though.

Thanks in advance for any responses.

Respectfully,
Firefalcon ~};^

 

[Shipgate]

I always imagined in my mind that the Steltek were easily more powerful than the Nephilum. Hmm, you may see what Nephilum space looks like. That is if they make another official Wing Commander game and it is about them. I suppose if you look hard enough through that jumpgate they made you could see stars.

When you actually see a Steltek it's kind of hard to tell what it resembles. To me it looked like some sort of jellyfish or deep sea creature whereas the Nephilum looked like some kind of hornet bug thingy. I'm just skimming through your post here though. Others will definately have some really good information for you. And others (perhaps Moonsword) will just go "Welcome aboard."

 

[X_FIREFALCON]

Thanks for your reply, Shipgate.

You're probably right about the Steltek; from what I've read, they're supposed to be light years ahead of everyone (pardon the pun), because I think the only way to destroy the drone is with a Steltek gun or something like that.

When do the events of Privateer take place anyway? Is that before the Kilrathi Saga, during, or after? I was under the impression it was either before or during the beginning of the conflict. If that's the case, you could compare the weaponry used at that time to the weaponry used by the end of the add-on to Prophecy. Might it be possible that the Confederation's technology has advanced to a point that they could take on the Steltek to a certain extent, or are we still to believe that the Steltek still have us beat by quite a bit? I wish I knew more about this race so I could stop speculating and throwing ideas out there. But again, thanks for your reply.

And thanks for your brief description on what the Steltek look like. I guess if they really look like some kind of oceanic critter, there's no real way they could be any relation to the bugs.

Are we to also assume that the Steltek have better technology than the bugs, and that they already know about the bugs? Or would the Nephilim be a new threat that not even they were aware of? Does anyone even have a clue where the Nephilim come from, or is that just part of the whole overall mystery?

Well sorry for all the questions. And again, thanks for any replies, fellas.

- FireFalcon ~};^

 

[SabreAce]

When do the events of Privateer take place anyway? Is that before the Kilrathi Saga, during, or after? I was under the impression it was either before or during the beginning of the conflict. If that's the case, you could compare the weaponry used at that time to the weaponry used by the end of the add-on to Prophecy.

Privateer takes place in 2669, just prior to WC3, so the ships/weapons are superior to those from WC1, and somewhat ahead of WC2 (since WC2/SO1/2 ended in 2667)

Might it be possible that the Confederation's technology has advanced to a point that they could take on the Steltek to a certain extent, or are we still to believe that the Steltek still have us beat by quite a bit? I wish I knew more about this race so I could stop speculating and throwing ideas out there. But again, thanks for your reply.

Possible, though only because by 2681, Confed's definition of a "fleet" will be more than a Paradigm destroyer and a pair of Broadswords. (if I'm remembering the last Priv mission right)

 

[Bandit LOAF]

Howdy!
Great first post - welcome to the forums!

(1) This is the real big one here; is there any kind of database anywhere that lists the planets in some (or most) of these systems? Right now, I'm trying to play through all the games and make a mental note of planets and civilizations mentioned, but needless to say, this would not cover most of the systems appearing on the WCU map. I'm just looking for general information more than anything else - how many planets in each system, which are habitable, which are occupied by sentient life, which were destroyed (like Kilrah & Mylon II), etc. Additionally, I'm unclear of a few things in Sol. Naturally Earth has sentient life (unless you're overly critical of the human race!)...does Mars and Venus? I remember reading that Paladin was born on a spacestation over Venus, but what about Venus itself? And regarding Scylla, the blackhole from the movie, I noticed that her jump point is included on the WCU map. I'm just kind of curious where in Sol Scylla is located just as a reference point.

Not *yet* - it's something I'm working on for the next edition of the WCU Map (G) Unfortunately, it's ultimately information that doesn't exist for a huge portion of the map.

The only planets that were actually 'destroyed' were Loki, Alcor and Kilrah - places like Mylon II and Goddard just had their settlements wiped out (or their biospheres destroyed).

Re: the Sol System. As of Wing Commander, Mars has been terraformed - so there are humans there - and Venus is in the process thereof (the station Paladin was born on is actually part of that process) (Mars was also inhabited by the Steltek billions of years ago).

I don't recall specifically where Scylla is (outer planets, IIRC - I'll check my notes when I get home)... but it's an artificially created jump point that's "hidden" by an antigraviton shell. There's a few details in the Jump FAQ: https://www.wcnews.com/articles/jumpfaq.shtml

(2) Where are we left after the add-on to Prophecy? Isn't there a permanent gate left open in Vega Sector or somewhere near Sol?

In the winning endgame to Secret Ops (not technically an addon) we learn that the Confederation has captured the gate in the Proxima System (Vega Sector, Douglas Quadrant). It isn't permanently open - you stop that from happening in the last mission. The present alien threat is eliminated, but we learn in one of the final pieces of fiction that the aliens are opening three more gates: at K'sk'taq (Kilrah Sector, Kur'u-Pak Quadrant), M'shrak (M'shrak Sector, Tr'K H'hra Quadrant) and Valgard (Epsilon Sector, Sa'Khan Quadrant).

(On a 'personal' level, Casey and company are returned to the Midway and the Cerberus is reassigned elsewhere.)

(3) Do we ever get to see what Nephilim space looks like? (It's been awhile since I've played Prophecy, and though I plan to again in the future, I'm only onto WC2 now after playing through WC1 and its 2 Secret Mission add-ons.)

No, we don't.

(4) How old would the old fogies of Wing Commander be now at the end of the Prophecy add-on (or rather at the end of the WC timeline)? If he were alive, I thought I figured Blair would be pushing his early to mid fifties, Maniac would be about a year behind him, and Paladin would be a dinosaur, roughly 20 years older than that? Does that seem about right?

As of Secret Ops, Paladin would be 76, Maniac would be 50 and Blair would be 51 (of course, Blair's ultimate fate at this point in the timeline is a whole different discussion).

(5) I haven't played through WC3 or 4 yet, and on the map, I noticed that Ghorah Khar, the famed rebel system from the earlier WC games, is included in Kilrathi space. Did they rejoin the Kilrathi Empire prior to the war's end? I was under the impression that they moved over to the Confederation during the war. Did they go back during or after it?

Ultimately, we don't know. As of several months before the end of the war, Ghorah Khar was still part of the Confederation (per an article in 'Victory Streak'). The Kilrathi may have recaptured it in the last days of the war, or it may have simply voluntarily rejoined the 'Assembly of Clans' afterwards.

(6) What are peoples' take on the Nephilim, Mantu, Steltek, Double-Helix, and Star God relationship? From what I've read in the community, I'm under the impression that the "Star Gods" are the Kilrathi's name for the Nephilim, named after the supposed hostile race that fulfills the Prophecy of Sivar (this might be a misnomer, of course, as the Nephilim might not actually be the fulfillment of this prophecy). The Steltek are an ancient race that moved coreward in the Milky Way and while they are dedicated to peace and solitude, they closely monitor the other species of the WCU and there was at least that one incident with that Steltek scout that was supposedly a real mean son-of-a-gun. The Nephilim is the Confederation's name for the bugs...or at least the name given to the enemy by the crew of the Midway after Zero recounts some ancient biblical tale - I'm guessing the whole story of fallen angels descending to earth and procreating with human females to create half-human, half-angel abominations dubbed "Nephilim" (not up to speed with bible stories myself, honestly...do the Nephilim ever actually appear in it?). Little is known of the Double-Helix and the Mantu from what I gather. The Mantu were supposed to be basically the Kilrathi's equals in battle - all the battles between the two seemed to end in a stalemate. I believe the Mantu were the Kilrathi's last engagement prior to bumping into the Confederation. Little more is known about the Double-Helix than the fact that their ships resemble a shape that gave them that name (and are they the ones that communicate through pheremones or something like that?). Is there any evidence that any of these races relate to one another? Might some of them, in fact, be the same race? Or are they all supposed to be different? From the pictures I've seen (I've never played Privateer, unfortunately), some of the pictures of Steltek ships look like they could have been predecessors or some kind of ancient ancestors of some of the Nephilim ships (sorry if I'm totally off on this...just making an observation which may be right or completely off).

* The Double Helix and Mantu are 'normal' races - on the same level of understanding (essentially) as the Confederation and the Kilrathi. The Mantu are on the far side of the Kilrathi Empire; earlier on in the games history they were an unknown... but they aren't in 2681. The Mantu weren't the most recent race the Kilrathi fought (the Varni were, IIRC) - but they were the only war they ever came close to losing before the WC games.

* The Steltek aren't related to anything. They're a 'precursor' species that ruled the galaxy billions of years ago and has since evolved to some sort of higher state of understanding. The Steltek that show up in Privateer do so specifically because they're trying to make sure that some of their left over weapons don't fall into the human/Kilrathi/etc. hands.

* The Nephilim and the Star Gods are the same thing (or at least represent the same power). They're the species that 'challenged' the Kilrathi thousands of years ago... for whatever reason they're interested in forcing other species to better perfect their skill at making war. They return after watching us destroy Kilrah - and their job is then to wipe out the Kilrathi (for failing) and to test mankind. As you mentioned, it's implied that the bugs in Prophecy are the same as the 'Nephilim' in the Old Testament (a race of giants who mated with regular women in the distant past) - indicating that they intervened with both Earth and Kilrah before recorded history. Their real motive is unknown, and it's suggested in Prophecy that the bugs are just warriors/tools that represent an "alligned people".

(7) What kind of governmental entities control the various sectors of space? I'm assuming that the Confederation is now ruled by some kind of council, is that accurate? Are the Kilrathi ruled over by the leaders of all the surviving tribes? What about the Border Worlds? Are there any leadership big-wigs worth mentioning besides Senator Taggart (Paladin)?

The Confederation is a federal democracy, organized in a manner suspiciously similar to the present day United States of America. The key difference is that it has a single house legislative body (the senate)... so, it's like the current American system without the House of Representatives. There's a second layer of federal government, though its exact nature is unclear. Each sector has an elected or assigned Governor and seat of power. The nature of a confederacy would seem to indicate that the 'local' planetary-on-down governments would be a crapshoot - whatever happened to evolve in that individual location. There are certainly more important political characters than Paladin; the President is referenced frequently but only really ever shows up in Fleet Action.

We don't really know anything about the Union of Border Worlds system of government, save that "all systems are equal" and that their seat of power is/was apparently in the Orestes System.

The Kilrathi are (at last word) in the middle of a very violent (and primarily ground-based) civil war. This will eventually end with a dominant clan taking power and a return to the Thrak'hra system (eight noble clans of varying importance, the most powerful ruling the empire) - though it's mentioned that that outcome may be decades away. As of 'right now' (2681), the Confederation recognizes a Kilrathi attempt at a representative government (the "Kilrathi Assembly of Clans") governed by an appointed Chancellor.

 

[Bandit LOAF]

I always imagined in my mind that the Steltek were easily more powerful than the Nephilum. Hmm, you may see what Nephilum space looks like. That is if they make another official Wing Commander game and it is about them. I suppose if you look hard enough through that jumpgate they made you could see stars.

There's no 'u' in Nephilim. This spelling shows up all over the place and I don't understand why.

When do the events of Privateer take place anyway? Is that before the Kilrathi Saga, during, or after? I was under the impression it was either before or during the beginning of the conflict. If that's the case, you could compare the weaponry used at that time to the weaponry used by the end of the add-on to Prophecy. Might it be possible that the Confederation's technology has advanced to a point that they could take on the Steltek to a certain extent, or are we still to believe that the Steltek still have us beat by quite a bit? I wish I knew more about this race so I could stop speculating and throwing ideas out there. But again, thanks for your reply.

Privateer and its addon run concurrent with Wing Commander 3.

Are we to also assume that the Steltek have better technology than the bugs, and that they already know about the bugs? Or would the Nephilim be a new threat that not even they were aware of? Does anyone even have a clue where the Nephilim come from, or is that just part of the whole overall mystery?[

The Steltek are far and away superior from a technological standpoint... a lot of fanfic writers see that and wet themselves - but their non interference is also an essential part of their background. There won't be a situation where the Steltek show up and start beating up other species.

Action Stations implies that the Nephilim are from (IIRC) 70,000 light years coreward from the Confederation... which would put them past the center and into the 'other' side of the milky way.

 

[Smoothie]

LOAF is the fiction about bugs opening 3 more gates online? i dont remember that, gotta link?

 

[Bandit LOAF]

Yup, here it is: https://www.wcnews.com/articles/sofiction/7_2_d_icis.html

 

[psych]

All newbies should take note, this is how to start off your posting history in the CIC community: with well-researched, thought-provoking ideas, attention-to-detail, and proper grammar and spelling.

 

[X_FIREFALCON]

A thanks to all...

Heya, fellas.

Bandit (or the one they lovingly call "Loaf"), thanks for all the information. I read up a bit on the Jump Drive article you provided a link for. I might need to read that a few more times to have it down pat, but thanks for it. I didn't realize that Scylla was actually an artificially-created anomaly; that just helps add to the mystery that is the WC universe!

As for the Steltek, again I'm sorry that my information is so sketchy on this species that I can't ask a decent enough question. As they are only mentioned on a few sites I've visited and briefly referenced in one or two WC manuals (I think), it's hard to have a handle on the species, though it sounds like mystery surrounds them for those who have even played Privateer themselves! I did figure they were not into warfare anymore and had, in essence, "evolved" beyond the desire and/or need for violent conflict...but I guess my question is - on a grand scale, how would Nephilim tech compare to Steltek tech? And despite the Nephilim being on the other side of the galaxy, are we to assume that because they're still a part of the Milky Way that the Steltek know of them? None of this is really all that essential for any kind of storyline or anything...this is just my own curiosity reaching out.

I also briefly scanned the post about the Nephilim opening other gates; that's interesting. Just for my own point of reference, where was this information from? I don't recall the ending of Secret Ops mentioning anything about the additional gates...maybe I'm wrong. Again, not terribly important, but I'm just wondering.

But anyway...thanks for all the replies, gents.

Psych, thanks for the praise. "Newbie"....*cringes* been awhile since I've been called that in any universe or on any forum.

Also, my whole reasoning behind badgering you poor folks is because I'm toying with the idea of making my own continuation of the story (if for no other reason than just an outlet for creative urges - just as a fun thing to do), but I want to remain true to the WC universe, its fanbase, and be as accurate as possible with the history and future of things. So I'm eternally grateful for any additional accurate information you can help dump into my ever-expanding WC mind!

Thanks again, guys!

Respectfully,
Firefalcon ~};^

 

[Starkey]

What about that theory in which the capture of the Proxima wormhole was necessary because the Nephilim could only maintain one gate open at a time?

 

[powell99]

In a story Im writing the Steltek save the Confederation from the Bugs really neat stuff actually

 

[Dundradal]

Firefalcon you might want to talk to the guys dealing with WC Standoff and WC Saga (mods dealing with Battle of Terra and concurrent with WC3).

Very good questions as well, alien races are few and far between sometimes in wc (the games see very few other races) yet the books are filled with talks of other creatures. Since you seem to be wanting to expand your WC collection I highly recommend you acquire the Baen novels and the movie novels as well. The baen novels will add richly to your WC experience...

 

[powell99]

All newbies should take note, this is how to start off your posting history in the CIC community: with well-researched, thought-provoking ideas, attention-to-detail, and proper grammar and spelling.

hmm i got somethin for ya then: Cockpit errors in Wc1
Scimitar No rear window look at the outerside view the rear of the Cockpit does not allow room for a window
Rapier this ones easy what is the front of it missing

 

[Starkey]

You could have started a new thread for it...

Also, I can´t see what is the front of that Rapier missing.

Also, punctuation, please.

 

[Bandit LOAF]

I didn't realize that Scylla was actually an artificially-created anomaly; that just helps add to the mystery that is the WC universe!

Re: Scylla. It's located at the very edge of the solar system, near the Oort Cloud.

but I guess my question is - on a grand scale, how would Nephilim tech compare to Steltek tech? And despite the Nephilim being on the other side of the galaxy, are we to assume that because they're still a part of the Milky Way that the Steltek know of them? None of this is really all that essential for any kind of storyline or anything...this is just my own curiosity reaching out.

The Steltek are far more advanced than the Nephilim. They've been in space for roughly three billion years... the Nephilim have only a few thousand years of technological advancement on us. (The Steltek would almost certainly know about the Nephilim; the Steltek supposedly live at the core of the galaxy and monitor their former empire to prevent their ancient technology from falling into anyone elses hands.)

I also briefly scanned the post about the Nephilim opening other gates; that's interesting. Just for my own point of reference, where was this information from? I don't recall the ending of Secret Ops mentioning anything about the additional gates...maybe I'm wrong. Again, not terribly important, but I'm just wondering.

That's not a post - it's a portion of Secret Ops' online fiction. Secret Ops was released in seven downloaded episodes. Each episode would be accompanied by several pieces of fiction (news articles, e-mails, etc.) The fiction would vary depending on whether or not you won the previous episode of the game. SecretOps.com is down now, but we have all the fiction archived here: https://www.wcnews.com/articles/sofiction.shtml

Scimitar No rear window look at the outerside view the rear of the Cockpit does not allow room for a window

The Scimitar doesn't have a rear window. When you look out the back (in WC1) all you can see is the 'top' window slat.

(Also confused as to what you mean regarding the Rapier.)

 

[Viper61]

(Also confused as to what you mean regarding the Rapier.)

I think he may be going on about the missing laser cannons on the front canard of the Rapier. At best, its ambiguous from the model where this cannon is, but IIRC the damage screen shows it at the end/underneath/on top of the canard.

And welcome aboard FireFalcon!

C-ya

 

[Shades2585]

Keep in mind that the Steltek haven’t been in the area for “billions of years” as LOAF just said. So that weapon is Vary old and you’re trying to compare it to the current Nephilim technology. So in my opinion there would be no comparison in there current technologies.

Secret Ops had several endings. That was but one depending on how you flew.

If you need any help keep coming back. There is a lot of information stored on this site and a lot of very knowledgeable people here as well. I myself am working on a comprehensive timeline which sites which book and page number or where in the game the information comes form so that people can understand why things are placed where there are.

 

[X_FIREFALCON]

And thanks again...

Thanks again for all the information, guys.

Being the definitive expert and (from some of the articles I've come across) one of, if not THE, grand poobahs around here, I'll take your word on all the information you shuffled my way, LOAF. Just one question - the page with all the notices, emails, and what-not related to Special Ops lists itself as "fiction." Now is this like "fiction" as in "hey, ALL of Wing Commander is fiction, buddy" or "fiction" as in "well, we played around with this idea...it's not necessarily official by any stretch of the imagination, but here's some of the stuff we came up with?" Or perhaps a better question - REGARDLESS, this is what we're taking to be the truth about Special Ops, right? Again, sorry for the incessant pestering - I'm just trying to be faithful to the storyline here.

As for the Steltek (really wish I played Privateer so I had more of a clue!), they are in fact 3 billion years old, you said, right? I'm guessing this must've been indicated somewhere when we learn of their history in Privateer. As for the age of the Nephilim/bug race...is that ever clearly indicated somewhere, or is that just pretty much speculated based on where Confed is at and where the Steltek are theorized to be at? On a related note, just some things that are bugging me: if the Steltek are a peaceful race now, how can we be sure that their weaponry and technology has only improved over the years rather than atrophied due to less need for any of it? Additionally, is there any reason the Steltek find it easy to monitor all the space of their former empire rather than simply doing some kind of extensive scan themselves for the technology? I mean, for being so advanced, you'd think they could do a flawless job of picking up the place. Also, do we ever know what chunk of the Milky Way this empire once encompassed? Is it just Confederation space or way on the other side where the Nephilim are now too? Did it span the entire Milky Way or just parts? The questioning here about the Nephilim is beneficial to know for my own story....the Steltek stuff is just out of curiosity to see if any more information is given; I may or may not want to have some idea that piggybacks something in the history of the Steltek at some point (but probably not for the story I'm considering right now - this would be maybe further down the road).

Regarding these three opened wormholes at the end of Special Ops (according to the fiction you directed me to LOAF)...did I read somewhere that the Accretion Device thingeemabob they tried to setup to maintain the Vega wormhole would have enabled the bugs to permanently keep open a wormhole to our space? Would that mean that once operational, the device would be indestructable? Does that mean it triggers some kind of self-sustaining permanent rift in space-time independent of this device and would never be able to shut? Or does it mean that the destruction of the device, even if operational, would result in the collapse of the wormhole? Perhaps I misread something and that's what's throwing me off. If possible, please set me back on track.

Also...the Kilrathi consider the Nephilim to be the Star Gods that basically paved the way for their expansionist, war-loving policy of galactic dominance from early on, but is there ever any evidence to support that the Nephilim are definitively these Star Gods? Could it be that there is another race of "Star Gods" out there, or that the whole thing is just a bunch of religious hoopla Sivar (or someone else) concocted to justify the naturally violent, animalistic instincts and tendencies of the Kilrathi species? Could it not be possible that the Nephilim just happened to pick uncanny timing for their incursion in Confed-Kilrathi space, and simply engaged both...without ever knowing a dang thing about this ancient Kilrathi Prophecy?

My hope here is to discern fact from fiction, and WC truth from WC opinion. I value all the feedback I'm getting here, fellas, and greatly appreciate any additional light you could shed on these subjects.

Thanks especially to LOAF for all the information so far. Thanks for the welcome, Viper61, good question, Starkey (was it ever said that the bugs could only maintain one wormhole at a time, guys; that sounds familiar, but maybe I'm just getting myself confused?), and thanks, Shades2585 for the friendliness and willingness to help answer these questions which continue to riddle my brain!

Dundradal, I'll think about what you said...but I just have to say - I'm not terribly big on reading (go figure, what with all the reading I've done on these pages!), and tend to fall asleep whenever I open a novel. I know I'll DEFINITELY be missing out on some important details because of this, but I'm hoping it won't affect things terribly being that the current storyline I'm working on will only touch upon the Confederation, the Border Worlds, the Kilrathi (briefly), and the Nephilim. But in the future, you're right...I really wouldn't be a true-blue fan without this additional literature. Ehhh...I'll think about it, k?

Thanks again, guys. The information you're giving me is VERY helpful, and continues to give me more and more ideas in my head of where I can go with things. As always, sorry for this huge discertation complete with paragraphs full of questions.

Respectfully,
FireFalcon ~};^

 

[SabreAce]

Thanks again for all the information, guys.

Being the definitive expert and (from some of the articles I've come across) one of, if not THE, grand poobahs around here, I'll take your word on all the information you shuffled my way, LOAF. Just one question - the page with all the notices, emails, and what-not related to Special Ops lists itself as "fiction." Now is this like "fiction" as in "hey, ALL of Wing Commander is fiction, buddy" or "fiction" as in "well, we played around with this idea...it's not necessarily official by any stretch of the imagination, but here's some of the stuff we came up with?" Or perhaps a better question - REGARDLESS, this is what we're taking to be the truth about Special Ops, right? Again, sorry for the incessant pestering - I'm just trying to be faithful to the storyline here.

It's official fiction from Origin/EA itself. The way Secret Ops was released as an online download really didn't allow for too much in the way of cutscenes. So the main plot points were included as game-rendered scenes (seeing a flight of Shrikes go past while the voiceovers discuss the Proxima wormhole, for example), and online fiction covered the rest of the story, and provided greater detail.

Regarding these three opened wormholes at the end of Special Ops (according to the fiction you directed me to LOAF)...did I read somewhere that the Accretion Device thingeemabob they tried to setup to maintain the Vega wormhole would have enabled the bugs to permanently keep open a wormhole to our space? Would that mean that once operational, the device would be indestructable? Does that mean it triggers some kind of self-sustaining permanent rift in space-time independent of this device and would never be able to shut? Or does it mean that the destruction of the device, even if operational, would result in the collapse of the wormhole? Perhaps I misread something and that's what's throwing me off. If possible, please set me back on track.

One of the endings to Secret Ops discusses that very issue. If the accretion device is destroyed, there is a huge amount of environmental damage done to the Proxima system, to the point where an admiral briefing Gov. Cavasos says that they may never be able to get the Proxima system back to normal. The device is powered by the fusion reactions within the stars, hence the reason for all the damage.

In order to prevent that damage, Confed basically has to think of the gate as indestructable. In the Win-Win ending of SO (You kill the bugs, but don't destroy the wormhole), Confed captures their side of the gate. I would suspect they followed Maestro's suggestions from SO and mined the Proxima side. Loaf probably knows the exact details