Whew! I'm in under the Sunday finale for my journal. I've been getting briefer on the journals, but there is not much interaction nor much difference on these six missions versus the others I've already flown. I could have come back in much better shape for Freya 4 if I used my head much earlier. Oh well, at least it's a tutorial on how dangerous cap ship guns can be if you attempt strafing runs like I did instead of making the smarter choice of parking your ship in the Cruiser's blind spot.
Freya 1
I see Rollins in the lift, and he’s chuckling over Vagabond’s predicament over landing himself in the brig after his greeting to Doctor Severin. Rollins thinks Captain Eisen is not going to let Vagabond out any time soon, but I tell him that I’ll talk to the Captain to see if I can change his mind. Maniac’s sitting outside the bar, and he takes that particular moment to do the verbal equivalent of sticking a knife in my back. He says that he was right all along in saying that Hobbes could not be trusted, and that it’s unfortunate that Cobra had to die before Hobbes was revealed as a Kilrathi sleeper agent. I display my disgust at Maniac, and he warns me that I can’t afford to lose any more wingmen. I tell him that the next time he flies on my wing, an ‘accident’ may happen where I shoot him down. Maniac does point out that his ship will have a turret too, but I will have the element of surprise if I carry out my threat. I head down to the flight level for my next mission briefing. Eisen gives me the news that there is a jump point here that we can use to head to Kilrah once the Doctor completes the T-bomb. I’m to do a sweep of the area to eliminate the Kilrathi presence. I go with Vaquero and the Thunderbolt for this mission, although Rachel’s loadout was for the Longbow. Looks like there will be Kilrathi cap ships, so I’m expecting the Thunderbolt to be able to handle them.
At the first nav point are some Darkets and what looks to be a Destroyer. I know I can handle the light fighters, so I go after them myself. I wipe one out on a frontal pass with the Thunderbolt’s guns. A second one lasts only a few moments longer than the first one did, and the Destroyer has launched a second wave of more Darkets. Yet another Darket joins the debris piles, and a fourth one follows. Vaquero is wondering what’s going on since his ship is taking shield hits while still in formation. I get the last two Darkets from the Destroyer’s wing, and let Vaquero go after the cap ship. He weakens the shields enough for me to make a serious dent on the Destroyer. On the next pass, I take out the cap ship so I’ve saved a torpedo for a more serious Kilrathi cap ship. At the next nav point are Dralthis escorting Corvettes. This should be easier than the previous presence. The first Dralthi is trying to lead me away from the Corvettes, but I afterburn into range and blow him to bits. A second one is shredded quickly, and two more are dropped. I let Vaquero do his thing against the Corvettes, and he takes them both out with my help. At our next enemy encounter are some Dralthi and a Carrier. Now that cat Carrier is going to be a good target for my torpedo. I engage the Dralthi fighter cover first, and take out two before making a run on the Carrier. I shoot my torpedo and turn back on the remaining Dralthis. I get the rest of that defending wave, and then let Vaquero help out with the next wave of Darkets. Looks like I have to use my guns again to toast the Carrier, but I’ll worry about that once we’ve dealt with all the fighter wings. I destroy the first Darket in the wing, and let another one make friends with a missile of mine. I get another of the fighters, and Vaquero has plenty of space to move around and get the last cat. More Dralthis are launched by the Carrier, but they drop like insignificant pests. Time for both of us to crack the Carrier. I make a few passes and then open up on the exposed hangar bay. I’m rewarded with a series of explosions, so I’m definitely doing some damage. I do a minor bit of weaving to spray that fire into the innards. More multiple explosions occur, but I pull out of my attack since I’m not doing enough damage to finish the ship off. Vaquero lines up and makes the kill as I’m searching for better soft spots. We head back for the Victory, and Rollins makes a comment about how the Kilrathi shipyards seem to have provided more cap ships for us to deal with.
Freya 2
I find Flint in the berths, and she’s unpacking her locker. I ask her if she’s going somewhere, but she does it from time to time to clear her head. I then tell her that lately I’ve been letting go of memories myself, and she approaches me with a romantic proposal. Flint wonders if I’ve had similar proposals from the other females on the ship. I tell her that I make it a policy to not flirt with every female on the ship. Flint retorts that she does the same thing for the male pilots, but is making an exception in my case. I head up to the bridge to see if I can convince Eisen to release Vagabond from the brig. I give the Captain my belief that Vagabond deserves another chance, and Eisen agrees to let Vagabond out after I give assurances that I’ll deal with any breach of discipline from him. I go back down to the flight deck to find out what’s next. Eisen tells me that a shield generator on Freya 2 is blocking us from using the jump point. I’m to take an Excalibur and bust that base, so it sounds like more Ekapshis and tanks again.
As I’m approaching Freya 2, a wing of Dralthis are there to stop me. I fry all four rather quickly from the firepower of the Excalibur. After my atmospheric entry, there are four Ekapshis trying to take care of me. I get one on a frontal pass, and the others don’t fare much better even though they have much more maneuverability that my fighter does in the air. I readjust my power settings and head for the next area. Four more Ekapshis are around, and I can hear the tanks as well. You’d think that for such an important position, the Kilrathi would have a far better defense but I’m not about to let up on my attack just because of this. I wipe out all resistance at this point, and head for the generator base. At the generator base, there is a more serious resistance here. The Ekapshis are aggressively attacking me as a unit, but one gets careless and dies from either a collision or friendly fire. The other defenders don’t pose a danger to my fighter, and only the generator is left. It only takes a few shots to blow it sky high, so it’s time for me to head back for the Victory. Some Dralthis thought it would be a good idea to try to stop me along the way back, but I show them the futility of their actions. I have to take four of them down before my final approach to the Victory. Rollins is really impressed on what the Excalibur can do on atmospheric missions, and I have to agree that it is certainly well-suited to its multifunction role.
Freya 3
I find a very happy Vagabond sitting outside the berths. He thanks me for not having to play solitaire in the brig, though he certainly has no regrets about his greeting for the Doctor. I go down to the flight deck to get my next briefing. Eisen wants me to eliminate the Kilrathi coming in to this system so that they can’t get word back to their chain of command that we have control over the jump point. It sounds like perfect work for the Excalibur, and I take Vagabond along as my wingman.
At the first nav point, there are Dralthi here. I let Vagabond break formation since I’m going to let the cats get a taste of two Excaliburs. Vagabond bags one, while I wipe out three. A wing of Darkets comes in with a Corvette. Both Darket fighters fall from the power of my guns, and Vagabond nails the Corvette critter. A wing of four Darkets joins the fun, but Vagabond and I do a split for the fighter kills. Some more Darkets come along, but they’re just cannon fodder. At last the Kilrathi come in with some Vaktoths, but they are not enough to slow down our killing spree much. Some more Vaktoths come in with a Darket or two, but again it’s just a simple matter of making mincemeat of them. A final wing of Darkets drops in, and they are also pulverized into pulps. Together, Vagabond and I head for the Victory. Rollins says that reinforcements will pick up on our work here. I’m expecting some stiffer resistance on the next several missions.
Hyperion 1
Flint and Rachel are at the bar, and it’s obvious that they both want to be a part of a future with me to make up for Angel's loss. As tempting as it is to pick Flint, I go with Rachel as my choice. In my opinion, she has made more of a difference to me. Rachel kept my fighters constantly going, made a real difference in me not flying drunk, provided me the Excalibur early, and it feels like a better chance at a long-term relationship. Rachel and I engage in a long kiss, and Flint walks away in disappointment. I head down to flight level to get the latest mission briefing. Eisen tells me that Paladin and Doctor Severin have provided a T-bomb for testing. We’ve found a good test planet, so I’m to make sure the test goes off without a hitch. I have only one shot for the T-bomb, so I have to make sure my timing and aim are perfect.
I see the standard wing of Dralthis trying to prevent my planetary entry, but they don’t do any better than the previous attempts. After atmospheric entry, my Excalibur takes a licking from two Ekapshis. I noticed that my speed was set slow, so that’s why I was nailed so much. I compensate enough to take down the fighters. Fortunately, I have no system damage on my ship although I can see sparks coming from my rear. Four more Ekapshis attempt to impede further progress on my mission to test the T-bomb. I wipe them out: all of them. I then get the fault line in view and wait for the T-bomb to lock on. The T-bomb strikes true, and I get to see a significant asteroid field from my handiwork. A wing of four Dralthis tries to avenge the planet, but those felines are hopelessly outclassed by the Excalibur. Upon my landing approach, Rollins thinks I’ll be nicknamed ‘Planet Slayer’ but I feel that I have too many nicknames already with the Kilrathi calling me ‘Heart of the Tiger’. I also get a group congratulations after landing, so it looks like everybody is looking forward to finishing this fight with the Kilrathi.
Hyperion 2
I find Flash in the berths, and he’s looking forward to going back to test piloting. He’s surprised that he’s survived this far along in combat action, and I admit that he’s a good pilot to have on my wing. I find Vaquero hanging out on the bridge, and he admires the capabilities of the T-bomb. I do admit that it’s unique, and he’s looking forward to our conflict with the cats ending soon. I think the T-bomb is our best chance to win the war for my generation. Vaquero feels that he’s learned quite a bit from me during this campaign, and I ask him to try to return the favor when I visit his cantina when it opens. I find Vagabond getting nostalgic over his journeys to multiple sectors before his assignment to the Victory. Vagabond feels that he has put down some roots, and I agree that he deserves to have a place that he can call home. I express my gratitude that he’s been a good influence on the rest of the pilots. He wants a quick hand of cards, but I know better now against his winning streak. I head down to the flight deck for my next briefing. Captain Eisen explains that Confed is making a buildup here, and that my duties will be to help escort our other cap ships. I choose Flint to come along in an attempt to perk her up after my choice of Rachel, and let her fly in an Excalibur.
Flint is pretty business-like in her interaction with me. She’s definitely not enthused, although I still have slim hopes that killing some cats in a state-of-the-art fighter like the Excalibur will brighten her mood. She nails two of the Kilrathi fighters, and I get the rest of the wings of Darkets and Dralthi trying to defend a Destroyer. The Destroyer is taken out by one of the ships from our battlegroup. Flint and I forge forward and we see Dralthis with a Carrier. Fortunately, another of Confed’s battlegroup is with us here. I take out the fighters with Flint getting a fighter kill too. A wing of Paktahns plops in to try torpedoing the Confed cap ship. I get one, the Confed ship slays the other, and Flint is still feeling forgotten. Our next enemy encounter is livelier with some Paktahns and a Cruiser. Flint and I both get a bomber, and the Confed ship is lighting up the Cruiser with its guns. I get to see a broadsides before the Cruiser goes up, and we head back for the Victory. The fireworks other cap ships besides the Victory can cause certainly impress Rollins.
Freya 4
There’s nobody to talk to, although I could tell Flint to ‘kiss off’ at this point but I’ll save that for later. In the briefing room, Captain Eisen tells me that the Kilrathi are making one last attempt to take the jump point here to Kilrah back. I choose Vaquero and a Thunderbolt for this mission since I’m expecting heavy Kilrathi cap ships that the Excalibur may not survive against.
Our first enemy encounter is lightly stacked resistance from Darkets and a Destroyer. The Destroyer calls in another wing of Darkets and some Dralthis. I get them all without letting Vaquero vanquish any. I let him loose on the Destroyer though, and he cooks the cat. At the next nav point are more Darkets, but they don’t pose many problems for myself. I give Vaquero the orders to return to base before the next nav point. That was a good decision since there is a Cruiser with Darkets defending it. I take out the fighter defense, but the trickier part is crushing the Cruiser. I am able to hit the Cruiser with a torpedo to its rear, but my Thunderbolt takes a hit. I do multiple strafing runs against the Cruiser, but this is getting me nowhere and also making my chances smaller that I’ll survive in one piece. I decide to park the Thunderbolt right behind the engines in the blind spot of the guns. They can’t shoot me there, and unless I get careless the Cruiser should be a matter of minutes before it is finished. I switch power to more for the guns, and less for the shields. I begin to wonder if the Cruiser is even taking any damage, but some patience and more full barrages vindicate my efforts. I head back for the Victory, and Rachel is relieved to see me alive. She tells me that I’m lucky that I made it back in one piece after seeing how many holes I have in the Thunderbolt I brought back. By the time that ship is ready for action again, I suspect the war against the Kilrathi will be over one way or another.
Around orbit of Kilrah, a massive Kilrathi armada is preparing a final push to attack Earth. The fleet will be ready in 48 hours, and Thrakhath wants to have one final encounter with me before the final victory.
Confed is not slacking off with a massive contingent of cap ships, and I’m called to the briefing room over the intercom. Soon there will be the final fights to finish off the ferocious felines for good.
P.S. - I'll have some Flint cinematics for that choice as well. I'll do it after I complete WC3, but then post the Flint stuff first. This will be the second Wing Commander game that we'll finish for a holiday, so happy Labor Day to all!
