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Enigma Sector Campaign: Heaven’s Gate System
Heaven’s Gate A
Heaven’s Gate System, Enigma Sector.
Observation Deck, TCS Concordia.
Jazz: Hey, Christopher. Have you heard about Spirit?
Maverick: Heard what?
Stingray: They took her off the flight roster. We’re trying to work out why.
Jazz: Doesn’t make any sense to me. Unless they think she’s a Mandarin…
Doomsday: If she is a spy, she’s probably given the Kilrathi detailed plans of the Concordia.
Maverick: Now wait just a minute! I’ve known Spirit a long time, and she could never be a traitor!
Stingray: Maybe that’s the problem… she’s a friend of Maverick. The Coward of K’Tithrak Mang, the guy who nuked the Tiger’s Claw!
Maverick: She’s iced more Kilrathi than you’ll ever run away from, punk.
Jazz: Hey, hey! Easy, guys! No one’s saying Spirit’s a traitor…
Maverick: She can’t be! She’s given everything to the Confederation! The Kilrathi murdered her fiancé! She’d never help them!
Jazz: I hope you’re right, Christopher. But Tolwyn must have a reason to ground her…
Briefing Room, TCS Concordia.
Angel: Pilots, this mission is very important. We are preparing for the liberation of the Heaven’s Gate. Unfortunately, there is a small snag. We’ve detected a Kilrathi strike force moving through the jump points in this sector. Spirit and Maverick are Zeta wing, and will patrol the jump points.
Stingray: I thought Spirit was on restricted duty!
Spirit: Not any more.
Stingray: Ah, who cares… You and Maverick deserve each other.
Hobbes: Whatever you are implying with that remark, you are mistaken. I have flown alongside Captain Blair. He is truly a brave warrior. On Hhallas, we had a way of dealing with false accusers… if you care to step outside?
Stingray: You bet, furball! I’ve been waiting…
Angel: That’s enough! Maverick and Spirit, report to the flight deck. For this mission, you are in Epees. Like the Ferret, the Epee is small and fast, but has greater fire-power. Your mission profile is already entered in your Nav computers. Hobbes, Stingray. My office, right now!
Sparks: Welcome back, sir.
Flight Deck, TCS Concordia.
Angel: Comment allez vous, mes amis? Your report?
Maverick: We flew to the jump point and encountered a Kilrathi force that included a corvette. We iced them all, ma’am. None escaped. We proceeded to Nav 1.
Spirit: It was clear, Colonel.
Maverick: We were jumped at Nav 2 by a wing of Sartha. They’re all history.
Angel: According to the ‘after action’ report, you got 5 Kilrathi, Maverick. Spirit, you iced 4. Good work.
Spirit: Arigato, Colonel.
Angel: You might stop by Sick-Bay. Hobbes and Stingray had a fist-fight. The doctors are treating both for multiple bruises and cuts. I do not understand those two!
Heaven’s Gate B
Colonel Devereaux’s Office, TCS Concordia.
Angel: Maverick, I wanted to talk with you about Spirit. She will continue to be your wingman for your next missions.
Maverick: No problem, Angel.
Angel: Good. No one else will fly with her. It is not public knowledge that we intercepted a message from the traitor. That message said that despite coercion, Spirit refused to betray the Confederation. The Admiral does not completely believe this… he says it could be a Kilrathi trick. But Spirit is one of my dearest friends, and I’m sure she would never turn against us. Still, be very careful when you are flying missions with her, Christopher. We should join the others in the Briefing Room now.
Briefing Room, TCS Concordia.
Angel: …while Omicron and Zeta Wings fly the forward patrol. Maverick, I need you and Spirit to escort a convoy out to a jump point. You will meet them at the designated Nav point, then head to the jump point. Afterwards, you are to investigate possible enemy movements at the point marked Unknown on your Nav map. Any questions? Fly well, then, mes amis. Dismissed.
Sparks: Welcome back, sir.
Bridge, TCS Concordia.
Angel: Your report?
Maverick: We rendezvoused with the convoy at Nav 1, no problems. A wing of Drakhri ambushed us in that Unknown area. If Jazz hadn’t shown up, we would’ve been in really deep–
Angel: Jazz was not assigned to patrol in that area. It was fortunate he was there. According to your flight disks, you got 4 of the enemy, Maverick. Spirit got 4. Spirit, I need to talk to you. Could you stay for a minute?
Spirit: Of course, Colonel.
Angel: That will be all, Maverick. You can go.
Heaven’s Gate C
Barracks, TCS Concordia.
Jazz: How’re you doing, Maverick?
Maverick: I’m fine, Jazz.
Jazz: I’m in for five. Downtown?
Downtown: Raise you ten. Have you heard? The Admiral says retakin’ the Heaven’s Gate starbase would be next to impossible.
Stingray: It would be a bloodbath, that’s for sure.
Jazz: Oh, I don’t know. It might be a challenge, but I’m up for it.
Downtown: Your bet, Maverick.
Maverick: I’ll raise another five.
Downtown: Going after that starbase, Jazz… man, those cats will have your tail!
Jazz: You know something, Ross, you sound more like Doomsday everyday. Next time you’re on shore leave, maybe you should get your face tattooed.
Downtown: Very funny, Colson.
Maverick: Listen, Jazz, thanks for the assist out there yesterday.
Jazz: Hey, no problem! Always glad to help out the second-best pilot on the ship.
Maverick: Second-best? Last I checked, I had quite a few more kills than you, Colson.
Jazz: Oh, sorry, Maverick. I forgot to add in the Tiger’s Claw…
Maverick: <seething anger>
Jazz: Besides, I’d just finished off a fuzzball carrier and its usual escort of Sartha so I wasn’t too busy to help out a pal.
Downtown: Call. Anyone beat a pair of kings?
Jazz: Three aces! Suppose I’m just lucky tonight.
Colonel Devereaux’s Office, TCS Concordia.
Angel: Please come in, Christopher. I just spoke with Dr Sayers. Spirit is not well, she won’t be flying any missions today. I have a solo mission for you, an escort flight. You may have heard rumours that we are going to retake Heaven’s Gate. Somehow, the Kilrathi learned of our plans, and called in heavy reinforcements. Now our only option is a quick strike to destroy the starbase, then a retreat. While Lady Blue and the rest of the Ferret wing fly patrols, you’ll bring in a new supply of missiles for the Concordia fighters. We must have that ordnance before we begin the assault on the starbase. You will rendezvous with a freighter near the TCS Agincourt. Patrol through Nav 1 and Nav 2, and then escort that freighter directly back to the Concordia. Be careful, that freighter will be a sitting duck for a Kilrathi patrol!
Maverick: Agincourt, this is Maverick of the Concordia.
Agincourt: Roger, Maverick. Transmit ID codes now.
Maverick: Transmitting.
Agincourt: Confirmed, Maverick. The Mama’s Boy is ready for escort back to the Concordia…
Maverick: Agincourt, please transmit Nav data for the return flight. I’m getting a data glitch here. Running diagnostics now. My flight recorder is causing interference in my computer. I’m shutting it down. I’ll have to get it looked at. Agincourt, please re-send Nav data.
Agincourt: Roger, Maverick. We’re uplinking your nav data now. Clear skies and watch your six, pilot.
Maverick: Roger, Agincourt.
Colonel Devereaux’s Office, TCS Concordia.
Maverick: I’m telling you, Angel, there were stealth fighters out there! I fought with them before I rendezvoused with the freighter!
Angel: What am I supposed to believe, mon ami? You return with this ridiculous story… do you think I am an idiot?
Maverick: I know what I saw, and I know what shot at me! How do you explain those scorch marks on my ship? Did I shoot myself?
Angel: But there is no proof! Your flight recorder is blank!
Maverick: I told you, it malfunctioned! I had to shut it down. Hey, I shot down 8 of those Kilrathi bastards!
Angel: But why do none of the other patrols encounter these ‘ghost’ ships? Next time you will be seeing pink elephants with wings, n’est ce pas?
Maverick: I don’t believe this!
Angel: Captain, I have too much trouble right now to listen to this. I will enter a record that you killed 8 Drakhri fighters, but I will tell no one of these ridiculous claims! Get back to me when you have a better story to tell!
Heaven’s Gate D
Repair Deck, TCS Concordia.
Sparks: Something on your mind, Captain?
Maverick: Uh… no. What makes you ask, Sparks?
Sparks: You pilots always stalk the hangar deck when something’s bugging you. You want to talk about it?
Maverick: Angel thinks I’m crazy.
Sparks: Are you?
Maverick: I think I’m mostly sane, considering that I get shot at for a living.
Sparks: Well, don’t take Angel too seriously. She’s under a lot of pressure… Until we find that traitor, we all are.
Maverick: No kidding.
Sparks: By the way, Spirit was looking for you an hour ago. Said she’d be on the O-Deck. I bet you could still catch her.
Observation Deck, TCS Concordia.
Maverick: Are you okay, Mariko?
Spirit: I have a difficult decision to make, Christopher. I could not tell you the truth before… my fiancé, Philip, is still alive.
Maverick: That’s impossible! He was captured ten years ago–
Spirit: But that is why the traitor contacted me… to blackmail me with Philip’s life, so I would betray the Confederation.
Maverick: Mariko… you didn’t…?
Spirit: No. And with that, I’ve condemned Philip to a slow, painful death. That destroyed courier intercepted a message saying I had refused, so the Admiral has proof I did not betray the Confederation. Christopher, Philip is on the captured starbase at Heaven’s Gate.
Maverick: But we’re going to destroy that starbase! Spirit, you have to talk to someone about this! Jeannette, or Tolwyn…
Spirit: No, I do not wish to burden them with this. I will deal with this in my own way.
Maverick: Mariko, you can’t–
Spirit: Please, Christopher… if you are truly my friend, tell no one of this!
Colonel Devereaux’s Office, TCS Concordia.
Angel: I have a difficult mission for both of you. Apparently the Mandarin has leaked information about our upcoming attack. We’ve identified a Kilrathi strike fleet moving in to intercept us. However, this tactic has left Heaven’s Gate undefended, so the Admiral has devised a new battle plan. Stingray, Jazz, and Doomsday will lead wings against the strike fleet. At the same time, you and Spirit will fly against starbase. Your programmed course will take you to Nav 1 and Nav 2, then attack the enemy starbase. Save your missiles for the base. Guns are useless against those shields. You’ll have Meron and Dekker for your gunners on this mission. They’ll meet you on the Flight Deck in five minutes. Be careful, mes amis… if you eject on this mission, you’ll be too close to the enemy base for S&R to retrieve you.
Maverick: Angel, Spirit can’t…
Spirit: Maverick!
Maverick: Jeannette, there’s something–
Spirit: I am fully prepared to fly this mission, Colonel.
Angel: Is there some problem? Spirit? Maverick?
Maverick: No, Colonel. No problem.
Angel: Good luck, then, mes amis. Dismissed.
Maverick: Spirit, stay on my wing…
Spirit: Maverick! Something’s blown! Meron’s dead… I’m losing air pressure…
Maverick: Mariko, bail out!
Spirit: No… not this time, Maverick. Tengoku de omachishi te imasu!
Maverick: Spirit!
Sparks: Welcome back, sir.
Repair Deck, TCS Concordia.
Sparks: Heard about Spirit, Christopher. I’m sorry.
Maverick: She flew straight into that space station, like destroying it was more important than her life. All of her torpedoes exploded on impact… And I couldn’t do anything to save her. I’ll never forget the last words she said to me… “Tengoku de omachishi te imasu”… I will wait for you in Heaven. Sparks, she knew her fiancé was on that station… She told me, and I didn’t tell anyone, or do anything to stop her…
Sparks: It’s not your fault, sir. I’ve seen it before… she didn’t want to come back. I think you should talk to Angel. She was very upset when they told her.
Maverick: Thanks. I will.
Ten minutes later…
Maverick: Jeannette, I tried to save her. But I couldn’t…
Angel: I know, mon cher. Christopher, I have given my life to this war… We win back one planet, only to lose two more… paying for our victories in blood. And for what? I’ve lost so many friends, seen so many deaths… There is nothing left in me, Christopher, nothing at all…
Maverick: I’m still here, Angel. And I’m not leaving.
Angel: We are here today to bid farewell to one of the Concordia’s finest pilots. Mariko Tanaka was one of my closest friends. She lived by a code of honour, and died by that code as well. Our friend is not the only Confederation pilot who has died in the line of duty. Death is a fear each of us must face, everyday aboard this ship. But we cannot forget why we are here, and what we are fighting for. Many pilots have given their lives for our cause, and we will continue the fight in their memory.
