Wing Commander III: Ariel System

Coriolis: Not now, partner. All you jocks wanted recon work so bad – now you got it, which means us grunts gotta bust our butts for you.

Cobra: ’bout time…

Maverick: I don’t recall ever seeing that before… That smile on your face, it looks good.

Cobra: Oh, I can smell ’em, sir. Now that we’re in their territory. All those Kilrathi waiting to die at my hands.

Maverick: Well, being on the offensive seems to have brought you out of that shell of yours.

Cobra: I didn’t become a pilot just to baby-sit bases.

Maverick: We’re gonna kick some butt here.

Maverick: You gotta be pumped on all the missions, Cobra – not just the ones you like.

Cobra: Point well taken, sir.

Vagabond: C’mon. Try your luck, sir.

Maverick: Ah, don’t I get to cut the deck, at least?

Vagabond: You’d be surprised how many rookies just ante up and look shocked when they lose their first pot.

Maverick: Well, they get what they deserve, then.

Vagabond: I hear we’re going after a garrison.

Maverick: I haven’t been briefed.

Maverick: Hey, we’re the good guys, remember? We don’t go after innocents. That’s the difference between us and them.

Vagabond: Well, it’s like the cards, see? A lot of people? They never ask questions about what’s dealt.

Maverick: In this war, everything is military.

Vagabond: Not everything. Sir.

Rollins: For once, sir – we’re actually taking it to the cats.

Maverick: Well, what do you think, Lieutenant? Maybe we have a chance in this war after all?

Rollins: Could be. But I wouldn’t make plans for a victory party just yet.

Rollins: Ah, they said “join the Navy and see the universe” – but I’d just as soon not buy the farm in Kilrathi territory.

Maverick: Only you could read trouble into an offensive recon assignment.

Rollins: Yeah, well… my decodes from the comm traffic tell me we’re just flailin’ away here. This ain’t some great strategic stroke – this is desperation city.

Eisen: Colonel, part of the reason we’re in Kilrathi space is because of your flying. You’ve done the Victory proud.

Eisen: I’ve reinstated Flint. Keeping her grounded is not a luxury we can afford.

Eisen: Now, as you may have heard on the grapevine, we’re here to destroy this system’s military garrison. We’ll have to fight through several waypoints: the enemy’s spread out, with patrols everywhere. Any ship that can escape to the jump point will be able to alert the rest of the Kilrathi to our presence here. And that would mean we’d have to scrap this entire offensive. Now, you need to nail every last one of ’em, Colonel.

Maverick: Consider them nailed, sir.

Eisen: Man, I love that boy’s spunk!

Rollins: You wasted every last one of them, sir. That’s what I like to see: cats pushin’ up daisies. You got clearance–

Rollins: You’re cleared to land, sir. We’re pulling out of this system now, before they fry all our butts–

Maverick: Let me guess… you’re an RV.

Vaquero: RV, sir?

Maverick: Recon virgin. First time behind enemy lines?

Vaquero: I think you always fight a little harder when you’re on your own turf.

Maverick: Well, enemy lines are just squiggles drawn on a map, Vaquero. They don’t mean squat otherwise. Don’t worry about it.

Maverick: Well, you know, Vaquero, we have little choice in where we fight. Get used to it.

Hobbes: It is good, the missions we now fly. At last, we take the battle to the enemy.

Maverick: Well, a little rockin’ and rollin’ is good for the soul, I suppose.

Hobbes: Strange… that despite the skill and courage demanded in flying, a part of the Kilrathi spirit is never entirely satisfied by interstellar combat.

Maverick: You like it up close and personal?

Hobbes: We are taught how to use these claws even before we can speak or walk. This seems… ‘savage’ to you? Primitive?

Maverick: Killing is killing. Hot-blooded or cold. You’re one of the best pilots we’ve got, buddy – don’t start second-guessing what you do.

Eisen: Let’s get down to business, shall we?

Maverick: I’m ready, sir.

Eisen: This is the kind of mission I take special pride in. We’re going to play possum, inside the nebula here. The Kilrathi use it to screen convoys coming in and out of this system, and the longer we can stay undetected, the more damage we can do. Again, we can’t let a single one of their ships escape. And I don’t have to tell you the kinds of hazards you’ll face trying to navigate in a nebula. Only the best flyers can make the necessary adjustments, Colonel. I have faith you’ll be one of them.

Maverick: I won’t disappoint, sir.

Rollins: <laughs> Hey, nothin’ like the sweet smell of success, eh, Colonel? Hey, maybe this tub should get a new name like, er, the ‘Deceptor’, or… the ‘Trickster’… maybe the ‘Ambush’. Yeah, I like the sound of that, the ‘Ambush’. Oh, you’re clear to land, sir. (The ‘Ambush’… what do you think of that?)

Eisen: Good job, Colonel.

Coriolis: Great mission!

Rollins: Way to go, sir! Outstanding!

Rollins: You’re cleared to land, sir. We’re pulling out of this system now, before they fry all our butts–

Flint: Thanks. Hello, Colonel. Good to see you.

Maverick: You’re flying high today.

Flint: Well, word is, things are looking up for the good guys. You know, when I was growing up, my father taught us about other campaigns. Other wars. Weapons keep changing, but we can still learn from the past.

Maverick: Yeah?

Flint: Take the Trojan Wars. That conflict also lasted generations.

Maverick: That’s the one that ended with the Trojan Horse, right?

Flint: According to legend, but… the important thing is that it did end.

Maverick: It’s good to know conflicts like this don’t last for ever. It just seems like it.

Flint: Thanks. So what’s your opinion, Colonel? Are we winning this war, or just digging our own graves?

Maverick: <sigh> The war has been going on for a generation. It’s not going to end next week, no matter what you hear.

Flint: Well, guys like Lieutenant Rollins? Nobody would listen to them if Confed was more up front about things.

Maverick: What’s this illusion that HQ has everything worked out?

Flint: So we’re on our own up here?

Maverick: Everyone for himself… Now, don’t look for a saviour coming from Confed Command.

Eisen: Ah. No rest for the weary, Colonel. Let’s get to it.

Maverick: As you wish, Captain.

Eisen: We’re packing our bags and getting out of here, Colonel – Intel has a hunch the Kilrathi are on to us. Get this ole barge out of this nebula and to the jump point, okay? And let’s try to keep a low profile – I hate long goodbyes. Go to it, Colonel.

Rollins: It ain’t there? Whaddya mean, it ain’t there?

Eisen: Colonel, there’s no time to explain now, but it appears that the Kilrathi have somehow closed off the jump point–

Rollins: How the heck can they do that? I mean, that’s not possible!

Eisen: We’re heading to what Navigation thinks is an alternate jump point. We’re downloading those co-ordinates to you now. Keep your fingers crossed that Nav’s found us a door that isn’t closed. Meanwhile, keep the enemy off our backs

Rollins: That spook you like it does me, sir? I mean, if the Kilrathi can close off jump points whenever they want, I mean… I don’t even want to think about it. We’re just lucky Navigation was on the ball. Nice job, Colonel. You’re cleared to land.

Eisen: Good job, Colonel.

Coriolis: Great mission!

Rollins: Way to go, sir! Outstanding!

Rollins: The Victory’s beaten up pretty badly, sir. Now that we’re back on our side of the line, we’ll have to heave to for some repairs. You’re cleared to land.