Part 11: Mission #11: 7 May 2654, Dakota system

Mission #11: 7 May 2654, Dakota system

Previously on Wing Commander: Our first asteroid skirmish, and another Kilrathi destroyer... destroyed.


So, Paladin and Bossman. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that Paladin probably has a story to tell.


Oh, so he has a story too, today, huh?

Word is, we're pullin' out soon. Hopefully, it's for Kurasawa System. There's some Kilrathi colonies to beat up on when we get there. Also, I heard that one of the Kilrathi Aces is flyin' 'round these parts. Go ask Paladin ... I think he's tangled with him before. Take care of yourself, Maverick.

Yes, we will be leaving the Dakota system after this mission, for better or worse. But, let's find out from Paladin about that Kilrathi ace (that we will undoubtedly be meeting in this mission).



I hear ol' Shotglass rumblin' on about one o' the Kilrathi aces. Last I 'eard, laddie, the only ace around these parts was Bakhtosh Redclaw. T'was back a few years when I had a tussle with him. He's one o' their nobles, so it's said.While most Kilrathi look at humans as animals... he thinks that we're not even that high or mighty.



He's easily the deadest aim that Kilrah's got to offer. He took out four o' me mates before we knew what hit us. Keep an eye out for him, lad. He's a tough warrior.

Uh, so his nickname is "Redclaw" and he is supposed to be a deadly shot... and guess what, he flies a Jalthi! No reason to get worried then, I suppose. Ok, maybe Bossman has something a bit more encouraging to say...



We have done well to this point. I believe you have played a major part. However, should we falter now, I fear that we will be pushed back to our colonies. But that is not likely. You, myself, all of us can affect that outcome.


I guess he's right... we are very close to winning the Vega sector campaign, but we cannot afford to mess up now.



Mission Time!
I guess there's that ace, but let's see what else we need to deal in this mission. I would expect to be a bit more on the offensive from now on.





Xi wing reports a Kilrathi supply convoy moving into our attack range. We can't pass up a target like this...so Epsilon wing is going to take it out.





There is something you don't yet know, Maverick.



He's a Kilrathi nobleman, and the deadliest shot in the entire Kirathi navy. Here's the scenario for this one.



Blow her to bits and proceed to Nav 2. At that point, you should sight at least one Kilrathi troop transport. Those transports are your main objective ... and probably the best defended.



You watch yourself with Redclaw, but concentrate your fire on the 'sports. You launch in three minutes.




Alrighty then, so we need to go out and intercept a bunch of Kilrathi transport ships and blow them up! Blowing stuff up is always fun, and here is what we will be blowing up this time around:

Dorkir

Class: Transport (configurable as either Freighter or Tanker)
Length: 104 Meters
Mass: 2000 tonnes
Max Velocity: 150 kps
Cruise Velocity: 100 kps
Acceleration: Bad
Maximum Yaw: 2 dps
Maximum Pitch: 2 dps
Maximum Roll: 2 dps
Weapons: Turreted Laser, Porcupine Mines (3x)
Shields: Fore: 17 cm equivalent; Aft: 10 cm equivalent.
Armour: Front: 9 cm; Right: 9 cm; Left: 9 cm; Rear: 6 cm.

This the counterpart of the human transporter and is just as fragile, so once the fighter escort is gone, this guy should pose no problems at all. However, fighter escort this time will contain this guy, Bakhtosh Redclaw:


Bakhtosh Redclaw is a rash on the comm units; he is best-known for extremely sarcastic gloating during combat engagements. It appears that he belongs to an aristocratic Kilrathi family and has been trained in the politics of superiority from birth. He flies a Jalthi-Class Heavy Fighter.

Strengths: Bakhtosh is the best Kilrathi shot in Vega Sector, bar none. His accuracy with ship's guns is becoming legendary even among Terran pilots, which is another strength: Some Terrans feel intimidated when confronting the legendary Bakhtosh, and conseqquently their flying suffers. Additionally, he is a master of the crowning insult, the patronizing remark, and the racial slur. He often goads Terran fighters into bad tactical errors.

Weaknesses: Bakhtosh's piloting is nothing special. Like one legendary figure of Terran combat aviation, the Red Baron, he is an excellent marksman but a mediocre flier. Additionally, his insults and better-than-thou attitude are not a pose; he believes himself to be superior to all Kilrathi as well as all humans.

Tactics: Bakhtosh prefers to fire at a distance. He will get at the maximum effective range for his weapons and chew his target to pieces. The extra distance allows him a little time to cope with the maneuvers of superior fliers. If forced to close with a foe, he will launch one of this missiles.
Recommendation: Close, firing continuously, then try to outfly him in standard fashion. Do not be daunted by his substantial reputation.


Oh hey, this almost sounds like a Kilrathi version of our friend Hunter, doesn't it? Even more of a motivation to blow him to dust!

• Mission Video (Youtube)
  

Personally I find this mission to be a lot of fun. There's plenty of enemies around, but you don't need to protect anybody so you can go all out. Except for the fact that human wingmen seem to have a tendency to get shot up by Jalthi, which is what I think happened there at the end with Knight. But sending him home at that point really was not going to make a difference so it was an easy decision.

On another note, the Rapier that we tested a while ago is in fact intended as a strike fighter and would have been much preferred in this mission as opposed to Raptor. The interesting thing is that the next mission is sort of a sequel to this one, except we ARE going to be flying the Rapier; and believe me when I tell you, you'll see what a difference it makes for a mission like this.

Oh hey, another gold star. Yawn. But with the amount of kills we had in this mission I guess they had to!



Again thanks to the relatively large number of enemies in this mission we are now at the top spot! Annoyingly, we are actually sharing it with Iceman (well, sort of)... but not for long.




Bonus
Since this is the end of a mission series, as always I will post the losing version of the cutscene:

• Dakota Losing Cutscene (Youtube)
  

Next time on Wing Commander
A Jerry Bruckheimer production of a Michael Bay movie: the sequel!