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Wing Commander Privateer: Righteous Fire Bartenders


The bartenders’ speech in Righteous Fire include some of the dialogue used in the original Privateer.

Agricultural Planet Bartender

Agricultural Planet Bar

Includes Oxford University

Those Retros have got some nerve, man. They’ve been attacking agricultural bases recently. Sometimes they just interfere with shipments, but often they go after the planet itself. I think they’re trying to conquer the planets. Imagine! Cutting off the food supplies of millions of innocent people.

I think I’ve got these Retro guys worked out. They’re nuts.

Overall, it’s been a good year for us. We’ve had record crop yields across the board. We think it has something to do with the lessened solar flare activity this year… but what does it matter? We’re making out like pirates here for a change. ’course, the Retros might put a stop to all that.

Mining Base Bartender

Mining Base Bar

The Confeds are buying as much raw material as ever, but they haven’t been able to provide mining bases with much protection. I suppose they’re more worried about fighting Retros. Anyway, Retros and pirates are nailing a lot of the ore ships that leave here. So the Confeds end up losing a lot of their supplies. I suppose we shouldn’t worry, though. We still get our money.

Mining bases like us used to be pretty safe from Retro aggression. I suppose the Retros don’t think of mining as a very technological activity. But in the last couple of months, the Retros have been getting more organised. They’re systematically attacking all types of bases. Doing as much as they can to disrupt Gemini sector production. We’ve had it pretty easy till now, but I think we’re in for some hard times.

Are you going to stick around for the big festival? Every year, if profits are good, the base governor throws a big party. Quite a spectacle. Fireworks, plenty of luxury food, the whole nine yards. If the Retros don’t assassinate anyone, it ought to be a really good time.

Pirate Base Bartender

Pirate Base Bar

I just heard a wild rumour. Apparently the Kilrathi and the Retros are in league. They’re planning to wipe out the Confeds and split up the Gemini sector. Strange bedfellows, huh? Pretty hard to believe, if you ask me.

The atmosphere sure has loosened up around here. Everyone used to be worried about undercover Militia agents, but now they’re so rare that folks here will gab about anything. Maybe they’re a little too open. If the agents ever come back, a lot of these guys are gonna get busted.

Happy days are here again! You heard? The Confed is slipping in the war effort. And now they have the Retros to worry about, too. Hey, I’m as patriotic as the next guy. I don’t want the Confed to give it up… but this means they’re diverting their efforts away from law enforcement! That’s good news here. The less Confed around, the better!

Looking for a job? Must be if you’re hanging around here. I’d get some pirate work, if I were you. Depending on where you go, pirate work can be really lucrative these days. Those Retro nuts have a lot of Confeds and Militia tied up, so the Confed and Militia patrols have thinned out. If you don’t want to get on their bad side, don’t worry. As long as you can avoid ’em, you won’t have to shoot ’em.

Pleasure Planet Bartender

Pleasure Planet Bar

I hope the Confeds are able to keep the region stable. With Retros and Kilrathi about, it’s becoming much more dangerous. The hard times are really helping out our business, but if the whole sector collapses, we’re included. I’m not getting you down, am I?

A Militia soldier came here a little while ago. He came from the front. His nerves were shot. He claims he was attacked by Retros and Kilrathi together. Apparently the Confed brass are trying to keep the story quiet. Poor guy. I bet no one believes him.

You picked a fine time to come to here, sir. With all the bad news about lately, everyone is anxious to find a little getaway. We’ve got plenty of various entertainments for everyone. I think you’ll find your stay here the best you’ve ever enjoyed.

You’re a privateer, aren’t you? I bet you’re trying to get away from all this Retro nonsense. Pleasure bases like us are pretty low-tech and don’t produce much, so the Retros don’t seem to care about them. Good news for you. Relax and have a good time.

Just arrived, have you? Then you haven’t heard the latest. Beastly affair. Seems the InterSys Patrols are looking for a murderer. Someone killed seven people in their beds at Achilles. The strange thing is, there’s no connection between the seven people. InterSys says the murders were at random, but I’m not so sure.

Refinery Base Bartender

Refinery Base Bar

Includes New Constantinople, New Detroit and Perry Naval Base.

This Retro threat’s getting worse. I’ll tell you how I know. It used to be, when a few Retros showed up near here, privateers and the militia would show up inside of half an hour, and wipe out the Retros almost immediately. Less than an hour from the first warning siren to the ‘all clear.’ But last week, there was an attack here. We didn’t get the ‘all clear’ for two days. The base took some hits, too. Everyone was really scared, let me tell you.

Everyone here is a little depressed. We had a great deal with the Merchants’ Guild going, but it fell through. The Guild is tightening up. They don’t have much faith in the stability of this sector. And as we all know, instability is bad for business. Oh, well. Maybe next year.

I heard a rumour the other day. Seems the Confeds are about to declare total war on the Retros. If they do, they’ll have to bring a lot of ships back from the front. That could be really good news for the Kilrathi. I don’t think Gemini’s ready to fight two enemies at once.

All Bartenders

Have you heard about these new speed booster things? I don’t know what makes them go, but they’re supposed to work great. You just plug ’em into your mobility units, and suddenly you can go faster. What’ll they think of next?

What’ll they think of next? A privateer friend of got into a hairy scrape the other day. He would have been a goner, but his shield boosters saved him. You just attach them to your shield units, and it pumps up their regeneration rate.

Have you seen this new super-tough armour? Apparently some Oxford whizzes got together with the guys from Perry, and they came up with this stuff. It’s amazingly strong. Pretty cheap, too. If you ever get into fights out there, I’d recommend it.

You’re a fighting man, right? Have you checked out these new gun cooler systems yet? They improve your refire rates dramatically. Some Confed ace says he’s able to bag twice as many Kilrathi ships per mission. Quite an improvement, eh?

Hey, you’re that famous privateer! Great to see you. You want some advice? Stay away from those Retros. They used to be cake, but now they’re tough. I bet even a tough guy like you would have some trouble with them. Just my opinion. That’s all.

You have the look of a smuggler about you. I’m right, am I not? Look around. Thanks to the lessened Confed patrols in some areas, there’s a lot of easy smuggling to be done. Contraband’s still the big money-maker. Smuggling food can be pretty lucrative too, though. There’s a lot of hungry mines and refineries, thanks to the Retros.

Can you keep your mouth shut? I heard a top secret rumour yesterday. From a guy who lives at Perry. It seems that the Confeds are getting desperate, and they’ll pay top dollar to a privateer who’s willing to take some risks. If you like danger, I bet you could get rich quick.

Retro menace got you down? How about a drink? I’ve seen a whole lot of out-of-work privateers come through here recently. Most of them are planning on signing up with the Confeds. Pretty boring life, but at least you get to eat. Good luck. I hope you’re not driven to military service too.

This you gotta hear. You know who Roman Lynch is? Only the richest, most-connected crime lord in Gemini Sector. He’s been moving around a lot lately. I don’t know where he’s staying right now. Probably some out-of-the-way place, to avoid over-eager privateers buggin’ him for work. If you can get in touch with him, though, I bet he’s got some really juicy stuff.

I hear they’re moving Oxford’s big library offworld. It’s apparently too big a target in its current location. I also hear they’re in bad need of hired protection. I bet a privateer could do some nice business there.

I hear those Retros assassins are really getting their act together. Just last week they offed some out-of-sector bigwig. He was on a base near Perry, reviewing Gemini’s military strategy. No assassin was found. Just the body and a Retro eye symbol. Pretty spooky, if you ask me.

Did you hear the news? The Retros finally got Hunter Toth. Remember him? He’s the guy who wrote ‘Prometheus Unplugged.’ There were some Confeds involved in the battle. They say it was really weird. The Retros somehow disabled his ship and took him captive. Then they jumped out of the system, and no one knows where they went. I hear the Retros don’t treat their ‘technophile’ prisoners too well. I wonder what they’re doing to Toth right now.

Hey! Aren’t you the guy who blew up the big green egg? You’re a pretty popular character around here. Have a cold one on me.

I know you! You’re the guy who nailed the Steltek drone! I’m pleased to meet you in person. We haven’t heard any more from the Stelteks. Too bad. They seem like pretty smart guys to me. I wonder just where they went, and whether they’ll ever be back.

Ever hear of a guy called Menesch? He used to sell surplus Confed ships to criminal groups. I’ve heard that he’s dealing with the Kilrathi now. They’ve got plenty of spacecraft, and need the money more than the ships. I still don’t know who’s buying them, though.

I sure am glad that Steltek drone was destroyed. A lot of folks thought it was a new Kilrathi super-weapon! We thought the Kilrathi were about to overrun Gemini. Of course, now there’s a lot of anxiety about the Retros. I like to call them Toaster-phobes.

I wonder just what’s going on with those Retro nuts. They’ve been around for a long time, but they never did much harm. They were always very disorganised and scattered, but now they seem to have a real plan. I wonder what changed.

A funny thing happened the other day. Some Confeds were trying a trick attack on some Retros. They painted Retro insignia on their ships and used Retro hailing signals. They did kill a few Retros, but in the confusion of the battle they blew each other up. Kind of ironic, huh?

We had quite a fright last week. Some Retro screwball came running in here, explosives strapped to his belt. He threatened to blow up the bar unless we surrendered the base to Retro control. Luckily, there was a cop at one of the tables. He killed the Retro with one shot, then defused the bomb. Unusually talented for a Confed.

Have you noticed an increase in Confed patrols lately? They’re bringing ships back from the front to combat Retros throughout Gemini. Those Confeds better be good. I think they’re already outnumbered. Most bases haven’t had too much trouble yet, but I think it’s only going to get worse.

Friend of mine in the Confed reserves was called into duty last week. They’ve mobilised just about everyone they can get. Kilrathi on the outside, Retros on the inside. The Confeds are in for a long, hard fight. That’s for sure.


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