Part 42: Mission #38: 4 July 2654, Firekka system

Mission #38: 4 July 2654, Firekka system

Previously on Wing Commander: An encounter with some new and tough Kilrathi ships; nothing we can't handle though. More alarmingly, something weird is going with the enemy and we can't figure out what. Firekka seems to be somehow at the centre of it, but again, we don't know what it means.


Spirit is going to be our wingperson starting in next mission, incidentally.




Just like I said...






Curiouser and curiouser!


They can't have simply decided to end the war? No, probably not.







Historical note: Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857-1935) was a Russian/Soviet scientist that along with the previously mentioned Robert H Goddard was one of the pioneers of rocket science and astronautics. He actually published a book, detailing among other things a multistage rocket, way back in 1903!






















Ooo, you should NOT have said that!!



Did I tell you that Colonel Halcyon called me into his office yesterday? Turns out that Confed HQ thinks I'd be a good flight instructor. But I can't see myself leaving combat duty to run a training squadron. This is what's important, Maverick - what we're doing right here on the Tiger's Claw.







Mission Time!

So, let's see what awaits us today.




Oh, damnation!






What the...! WHY?

The Confed is already scrambling reinforcements to send to us. But that'll take time, and time is the one thing we do not have now. Our first priority is the safety of the diplomats on Firekka. We have to evacuate them from the planet. So I'm sending you to protect their ships as they jump out-system. These are your individual wing assignments...

[He gives the orders for each wing, then...]







United Nations Corner: U Thant (1909-1974) was a Burmese politician who served as the third Secretary-General of the UN, from 1961-1971. By the time he died, Burma was run by the military and he was denied funeral honours. Fun fact: his name is just Thant, 'U' is approximately equivalent to 'Mr.' in Burmese language.



United Nations Corner: Trygve Lie (1896-1968), whose name is misspelled on the screenshot above, was a Norwegian diplomat and in fact the first Secretary-General of the UN, from 1946 to 1952 when he resigned under pressure from Senator McCarthy. And if you think his name seems difficult to pronounce, try his successor's on for size: Dag Hammarskjöld.

If you're attacked by any Kilrathi, return fire and destroy them.





Ok, this seems like an escort mission times two, with two separate ships to protect while they prepare for a hyperspace jump. Let's go then.

• Mission Video (Youtube)
  

Well, if you haven't played the game before, the conversation in the debriefing will definitely hit you by surprise.

But first... escort mission that really wasn't, to be honest. Both Exeters will jump out literally just seconds after you arrive so protecting them is a complete non-issue and you are left to deal with the enemies in your own time after they are gone. This of course shouldn't be a problem.

Fighting Jalthis in the asteroid field is also not a huge deal except for the usual bug, but it's fun to time how long until the first request for help from Knight, as you know it's coming as soon as you engage the Jalthi! And don't even get me started on that kill-steal, I'm still furious!

No imperial guards in this mission, and unusual for missions of late, not even a single enemy capital ship either! Next time we are flying a Raptor with Spirit, by the way. Also, some of the pilots from the Austin will be joining us soon.

So, the debriefing then. I guess, RIP Bossman is all I can say--I guess when he kept talking about seeing his family again we should have known this was coming. And no, there is no way to avoid it and no matter how good you fly this will always happen in this mission. At least Angel survived, and we'll definitely be addressing this situation in the following missions. In fact plot-wise, I guess you could say this really is the turning point for the series and there will not be any going back. Those 'save your missiles for the capital ship' conversations seem very long ago now, don't they?

For some reason, it's possible to get a medal in this mission although the difficulty again doesn't really warrant it. Soon, the bronze star will go off-screen if we continue this way:



A very sad looking kill board...





Next time on Wing Commander
The face of an Angel, part one.