SC 0200A

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SC 0200A
SC 0200A.png
Production Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom
Type Plot
Series A - Nephele
Disc CD1 (PC), CD1 (PSX), Side A (DVD)
Run Time 6m41s
Scenes 19-26
Locations Space (Nephele), Space (Sol), Admiral Tolwyn's Office, Flight Deck



SC_0200A is a cutscene from Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom. It plays after the player leaves Bluepoint Station.

Transcript

MAJOR TODD "MANIAC" MARSHALL: Who was that guy? How did he know your name?

COLONEL CHRISTOPHER BLAIR: Ah, I wish I knew.

MAJOR TODD "MANIAC" MARSHALL: I'd love to get my hands on him, whoever he is. Did you see that move he pulled back there? �You call me a hotdog, right?

COLONEL CHRISTOPHER BLAIR: That wasn't hotdogging, Maniac. That was the move of a true master.

-

COLONEL CHRISTOPHER BLAIR: Is that the Victory?

MAJOR TODD "MANIAC" MARSHALL: Can you believe it? It's an orbital museum now. A relic of the War -- like some farmers I know. Probably got a plaque right over your bunk.

-

ADMIRAL GEOFFREY TOLWYN: Magnificent, aren't they? I bet you wish you'd had one of those during the war. Would've put the fear of God into the Kilrathi.

COLONEL CHRISTOPHER BLAIR: Well, carriers don't fly themselves, Admiral.

ADMIRAL GEOFFREY TOLWYN: Quite. Quite right, Colonel. It is the men, isn't it? Well, it looks like the pastoral life agrees with you. I'm envious. If I was a little more confident in the Confederation's security, I'd walk away in an instant. Well, reports are that you ran into some trouble on your way here.

COLONEL CHRISTOPHER BLAIR: Yes, sir.

ADMIRAL GEOFFREY TOLWYN: Ah, law and order -- concepts that seem to be crumbling throughout the Confederation.

COLONEL CHRISTOPHER BLAIR: These are transitional times, Admiral.

ADMIRAL GEOFFREY TOLWYN: Yes, but in the Kilrathi, we had a common enemy. It was humanity's finest hour. �Now we cast about, uncertain. Well, you've seen it for yourself, the wanton destruction. That's why Confed needs your services -- your experience -- again.

COLONEL CHRISTOPHER BLAIR: You know where my loyalties have always been, sir.

ADMIRAL GEOFFREY TOLWYN: Something we count on, Colonel. For the past months now, there's been an undeclared war waged against us -- acts of terrorism, piracy, sabotage. Is it symptomatic of these transitional times or is there something else at work here?

COLONEL CHRISTOPHER BLAIR: Do you see a strategy or design behind it?

ADMIRAL GEOFFREY TOLWYN: Every time I connect the dots, I'm always guided back to our longtime allies in the Border Worlds.

COLONEL CHRISTOPHER BLAIR: And you think they've undertaken some kind of guerrilla war?

ADMIRAL GEOFFREY TOLWYN: Well, their relationship with Confed has always been uneasy. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.

COLONEL CHRISTOPHER BLAIR: Which is where I come in?

ADMIRAL GEOFFREY TOLWYN: Well, we have a long history together -- one that I daresay has been a bit rocky in the past.

COLONEL CHRISTOPHER BLAIR: We have had our differences, Sir.

ADMIRAL GEOFFREY TOLWYN: Yeah, but there's no denying our achievements, which is why I have personally reinstated you to active duty. Not only will you be my eyes and ears, but your very presence in the Border Worlds will send a potent message to all the galaxy.

COLONEL CHRISTOPHER BLAIR: I am no politician, sir.

ADMIRAL GEOFFREY TOLWYN: Actions speak louder than words, Colonel.

COLONEL CHRISTOPHER BLAIR: I'm not sending you there merely as a symbol. I'm putting you back in the cockpit, where you'll be reunited with an old friend... the thrill of battle.

-

MAJOR TODD "MANIAC" MARSHALL: My callsign. It's how I live. It's how I fly, because that's the name... c'mon round here, because that's the name of the tune right there...

COLONEL CHRISTOPHER BLAIR: Hey, Maniac!

MAJOR TODD "MANIAC" MARSHALL: Blair!

CONFED REDSHIRT 1: Oh, my God! Colonel Blair, nice meeting you , sir.

CONFED REDSHIRT 2: Nice to meet you, sir. Let me take your bag.

COLONEL CHRISTOPHER BLAIR: Thank you.

CONFED REDSHIRT 3: Colonel Blair, sir, it's an honor, sir.

MAJOR TODD "MANIAC" MARSHALL: All hail the mighty "Heart of the Tiger." Y'know, you're not the only war hero in Confed. I've taken out more cats than most ships' entire attachments. Do I get the red carpet treatment? No. No. I carry my own duffel bag. I don't go schmoozing with the Admiral. �Admiral Towlyn, Tolwyn, Tol... Has he said anything about me?

COLONEL CHRISTOPHER BLAIR: You haven't heard? He couldn't stop talking about you, Maniac.

MAJOR TODD "MANIAC" MARSHALL: What?

COLONEL CHRISTOPHER BLAIR: Well, it's classified. I mean I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.

MAJOR TODD "MANIAC" MARSHALL: I got clearance here. I got clearance. I'll tell you about it later. Wait a minute!

Characters

Speaking

Non-Speaking

Vehicles

DVD

The DVD Version of Wing Commander IV includes much higher resolution versions of almost every cutscene from the CD-ROM release.

PlayStation

Translations

Wing Commander IV's cutscenes were dubbed for the French and German releases.

French

PC

PlayStation

German

PC

PlayStation

Script

Shooting Script

A Wing Commander IV shooting script has been digitized from the collection of the University of Texas at Austin. A digital version (extracted below) was posted to Origin's Wing Commander IV website in 1996.

midgame: blue point depot (nephele system) -b1 A shuttle takes off from the depot...

Maniac (v.o.) Who was that guy? How'd he know your name?...


midgame: inside the shuttle -b1 Blair stares out the viewport. His intense eyes reflect confusion and anger. Maniac sits next to him.

Blair Wish I knew. I'd love to get my hands on him, whoever he is.

Maniac And how 'bout that move he made back there? You call me a hotdog.

Blair That wasn't hotdogging, Maniac. (awe mixed with hate) That was the move of a true master...

dissolve to: midgame: sol system -b1 The shuttle emerges from the Sol System jump point and flies through the rings of Saturn, and past an old, familiar vessel: the TCS Victory.

Blair (v.o.) Is that the Victory?...


midgame: inside the shuttle -b1 Maniac Can you believe it? It's an orbital museum now. A relic of the War ... like some farmers I know. Hell, they probably got a plaque over your old bunk.


midgame: approaching confed hq -b1 The shuttle swings around Jupiter's immense globe, to pass something man-made that is almost as awe-inspiring as the giant gas planet...

... Two immense super-carriers, the Vesuvius and the St. Helens, under construction. Of the two, the Vesuvius seems nearer completion.

These super-carriers dwarf any capital ship we've ever seen before. If the war is over, you'd never know it...

The shuttle docks at Confed HQ...

dissolve to: midgame: confed hq - Tolwyn's office -b1 admiral tolwyn looks out the viewport of his lavish office -- admiring these same super-carriers, and the beehive of activity enveloping them, with the kind of rapture that the pharaohs might once have felt as they watched the pyramids being built...

colonel blair enters the cavernous space from the opposite end. tolwyn watches blair's reflection in the viewport as he approaches, then turns to greet him.

the two men appraise each other, silent. it has been, after all, some time since their last encounter -- and they share two decades of tumultuous history.

tolwyn gestures back to the viewport, and the mighty work-in-progress it frames --

tolwyn Magnificent, aren't they?

blair nods thoughtfully.

tolwyn Wish you'd had one of those during the war, eh? Would've put the fear of God into the Kilrathi.

blair Carriers don't fly themselves, Admiral.

tolwyn (grinning) Quite. It is the men, isn't it?

He slaps blair on the shoulder, a sign of camaraderie.

tolwyn Seems the pastoral life agrees with you. (beat) I'm envious. If I was confident of the Confederation's security, I'd walk away in an instant.

he looks at blair.

tolwyn The reports are that you ran into trouble on your way here.

Blair Yes, sir.

Tolwyn Law and order. Concepts that seem to be crumbling throughout the Confederation.

blair These are transitional times, Admiral-- ÿ tolwyn In the Kilrathi, we had a common enemy, and it was humanity's finest hour. Now we cast about, uncertain... (more)

tolwyn (cont'd) Forgetting the common values that forged the Confederation. You've seen it yourself -- the wanton destruction... It's why Confed needs your services ... your experience ... again.

blair You know where my loyalties have always been, sir.

tolwyn Something we count on, Colonel. For months now, an undeclared war has been waged against us: acts of terrorism, piracy, sabotage. Is it symptomatic of these 'transitional times' or is something else at work?

Blair Do you see a strategy ... or design behind it?

Tolwyn (shrugs) Every time I connect the dots, I am guided back to our long-time allies in the Border Worlds.

blair You think they've undertaken some kind of guerilla war?

tolwyn Their relationship with Confed has always been ... uneasy. And growing more so by the hour.

Tolwyn gestures out the window at the super-carriers.

tolwyn Readiness, Colonel... 'The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.'

Blair Which is where I come in?

Tolwyn looks at Blair and smiles.

Tolwyn We have a long history together, Colonel. One I daresay has been ... rocky.

blair We've had our disagreements, sir.

tolwyn But there's no denying your achievements. Which is why I have personally reinstated you to active duty. (beat) Not only will you assist me in solving this mystery by being my eyes and ears, your very presence in the Border Worlds will be a potent message to all the galaxy.

blair I'm no politician, sir.

tolwyn Actions speak louder than words, Colonel. I'm not sending you there merely to be a symbol... I'm putting you back in the cockpit where you'll be reunited with an old friend ... the thrill of battle.

on blair's look -- midgame: space - leaving confed hq -b1 The Vesuvius and St.ÿHelens continue to dominate the firmament -- but now we see the TCSÿLexington, a carrier of the Concordia-class, leave Confed HQ and fly past. The Lexington, a massive ship itself, looks like it could comfortably fit inside either of the two carriers under construction...


flight deck - maniac -b1 Maniac is chatting with a few LEXINGTON CREW MEMBERS, but when they see blair approaching, they all turn from Maniac and shower Blair with greetings and praise: "welcome aboard, sir," "an honor to meet you," "glad to have someone of your caliber on board, sir," etc.

blair can't help but grin sheepishly...

as the crew members disperse, Maniac claps mockingly.

maniac Hail, oh mighty Heart of the Tiger. (beat) Y'know, you're not the only war hero in Confed. I took down more cats than most ships' entire attachments. But did I get the red carpet treatment? Hell, no...

Blair pretends he's playing a violin.

maniac ...I had to carry my own duffel bag while you schmooze the Admiral. (beat) He say anything about me?

blair Sure, Maniac.

blair turns away.

maniac What? What?!

blair (shrugs) Classified. (grins) I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.

maniac's momentarily stymied.

maniac Hey. I got clearance --

Storyboards

A collection of Wing Commander IV storyboards has been digitized from the collection of the University of Texas at Austin. Additional lower resolution storyboards have been preserved from Origin's Wing Commander IV website.

University of Texas

Origin Website

Shooting Schedule

A Wing Commander IV production notebook has been digitized from the collection of the University of Texas at Austin.