Fleet Action

d3r3k

Spaceman
I bought and completed the book this weekend and I've got a few questions. I've read some stuff about Blair being wounded and spending a lot of time in a hospital bed. Where is this established? Tolwyn and Richards talk about Project Omega; Tolwyn later refers to Project Omega (or, I assume that is what he is referring to) as "the new dreadnought-class battleship under construction on the far side of the Confederation" (294). What do we know about Project Omega? Would it be a plausible assumption that the Behemoth or the Vesuvius were the outcome?
 
Yes it would be safe to assume that the Behemoth and the Vesuvius class dreadnought was Project: Omega. Blair wasn't established in End Run or Fleet Action as a character. I don't believe he was in the books at all. Though I believe I read somewhere in Heart of the Tiger novel that he was on the Tarawa in End Run.
 
I don't believe that Blair is mentioned at all in Fleet Action (FA), at least as far as the Battle of Earth is concerned, although it's been a while since I read FA, so Blair may have been referenced elsewhere in the book.

The reference to Blair as being wounded and spending six months recouperating is established in the Wing Commander 3 novelisation (WC3N). I'm pretty sure the Project Omega reference has been discussed and analysed before, but I can't recall the details of how it fits in the continuity and what it relates to exactly. EDIT: Looking at this thread the reasoned concensus would suggest that Project Omega was not the Behemoth, although nothing more conclusive was determined other than the description given in FA and that the project was likely cancelled after the war.

I'm sure Loaf will be along shortly to clarify or amend. :)

Cheers,


BrynS
 
MajorCamKollent said:
Yes it would be safe to assume that the Behemoth and the Vesuvius class dreadnought was Project: Omega. Blair wasn't established in End Run or Fleet Action as a character. I don't believe he was in the books at all. Though I believe I read somewhere in Heart of the Tiger novel that he was on the Tarawa in End Run.

"It was not so much a super carrier along the lines of suspected Kilrathi
design, but more a stealth, heavily armored battlewagon with upgraded
shielding that was proof against medium-yield antimatter warheads. There
were rumors as well of a super weapon to be carried on the new ship, but
that was an even darker secret. They were still a dream, however, and would
have no impact on this war, hidden like the Kilrathi construction yard, as
far as possible from the battle front."

No, it would not be safe to assume that the Behemoth or the Vesuvius were Project Omega, nor did any novel imply that Blair was on the Tarawa.
 
No, I knew that Blair wasn't on the Tarawa and that he did not appear in any way, shape or form during Fleet Action. I just asked about where it was said he was wounded during the Battle of Earth.

Thanks for the link and insight.

EDIT:

Sorry to ask, but could someone post the passage that deals with Blair's actions during the Battle of Earth? I don't have a copy of my own. If it just states that he was wounded and recuperated for six months, don't worry about posting a quote.
 
Some relevant quotes from the Wing Commander 3 Novel (WC3N):


Regarding Blair and his injuries from the Battle of Earth (P.7):

"...And, of course, there was the loss of the Concordia.

Blair fought back a shudder. He'd been wing commander aboard the Concordia for three years, until the Battle of Earth. If he hadn't taken that Kilrathi missile which left him grounded for six long months, Blair would have been on board when Concordia fought the rearguard action over Vespus: fought and died. Blair had been part of the survey crew that had discovered the carrier's broken hull lying half-submerged in the waters off the Mistral Coast..."


And then towards the bottom of P.7:

"...Fate had spared him while so many others died. Now Blair, certified to be ready to return to full active duty, had received his new assignment from Admiral Tolwyn's own hands. Wing commander once again... but wing commander aboard the Victory."

I think there are other references toward's his injuries, when Eisen and others question whether Blair was fit to return to duty after a poor mission, but I can't find the exact page reference at the moment.


Regarding Blair and the Tarawa (P.185, after meeting Kevin Tolwyn):

"..."Yes, sir," Blair responded. "We served together on the Tarawa a few years back". He looked Tolwyn over..."

EDIT: This doesn't mean that Blair was present on the Tarawa during the events of End Run and I don't believe that was suggested at all during the novel (ER). I could be wrong or thinking of a different query, but I seem to recall Loaf referring to this reference in a thread a couple of months ago and citing it as one of the examples of "small-universe" syndrome associated with elements of the novels.


Cheers,


BrynS
 
The Project Omega battlewagon from what I've read and heard was armed to the teeth and was made to take on anything and everything the cats could throw at it and then some.
 
Thanks for the quotes. I never knew Blair met Kevin Tolwyn. Under what circumstances do they meet?
 
The re-acquaintance in the WC3N occurs when Kevin Tolwyn, at the time in a staff position at the behest of Admiral Tolwyn after being wounded in the "mop-up after Vespus", arrives (via courier ship) on the Victory while she is in the Blackmane system with new orders from Sector HQ at Torgo.

He briefs Blair and Eisen on the outline knowledge of Behemoth and Paladin's project based on the fairly recent knowledge of Kilrah's tectonic instabilty and give orders for the Victory to scout a suitable test planet for the Behemoth in the Ariel system.

I'm not sure of the details of their first meeting on the Tarawa.

Cheers,


BrynS
 
I'm sure Loaf will be along shortly to clarify or amend.

Sorry, LOAF was out on the town last night.

No, it would not be safe to assume that the Behemoth or the Vesuvius were Project Omega, nor did any novel imply that Blair was on the Tarawa.

As the man says, it aint necessarily so. In addition to the fairly clear quote above, the TPOF novelisation says something vauge and odd about Col. Blair that implies that he was at Kilrah with the Tarawa:

"I first heard of you after the raid on Kilrah when you and your pilots took out the shipyards there." - Sosa, talking to Blair (WCIVN, p.276)

That can be fit into Blair's own strike on Kilrah, of course (however oddly phrased - it did destroy shipyards, I suppose) -- but the reference to his having met Kevin means he must have served aboard the Tarawa at some point. (my guess would be during Operation Red Three, at Munro...)

Note that the WCIVN also shoves another unlikely pair onto the Tarawa: "The Admiral and I served together on the Tarawa, before it went to the Landreich." - Panther, talking about Admiral Wilford (WCIVN, p.230)
 
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