Wing Commander IV: Peleus System

Hacker: What the heck? My radar’s just taken a dive.

Bob-O-Matte: Same here! Shields are down too!

Hacker: Wing three, report!

Moose: All C&C systems have crashed!

Bob-O-Matte: Whoa! Where’d those bogies come from?

Hacker: Look sharp! Their radar sure ain’t jammed!

Moose: I’ve locked on to one of them… Firing! Blast! Hacker, break left, it’s veered towards you! Oh no! They’ve killed our weapons’ guidance system too!

Sosa: Sir, while you were flying, a high-priority message came in from the Admiral.

Maverick: Let’s take a look.

Sosa: Sir.

Wilford: Colonel, I’ve been getting strange, troubling reports out of the Peleus system. Now, we’ve been losing ships, yet there seems to be no enemy presence. I’m ordering Intrepid to look into this. Peleus is absolutely vital to our efforts: it’s a major source of fuel as well as a strategic location. Lose Peleus and our cause cannot prevail.

Maverick: You heard the man.

Helmsman: Yes, I did, sir. Inputting co-ordinates now.

Sosa: Uh-oh! That’s strange.

Maverick: What’s our status, Lieutenant?

Sosa: Shields down… radar’s down… sensors down… guidance systems down…

Maverick: Emergency systems!

Maniac: We’re sitting ducks!

Maverick: Reverse course!

Helmsman: Right away, sir!

Maverick: Maybe we can pull out of range of whatever’s causing this.

Maniac: Oh, this is great. Now, we gotta fly blind! Groping around like some pathetic sandworm on Isis VII!

Maverick: You still have eyes, you know. Welcome to Peleus.

Maniac: Can I get my money back for this tour?

Maverick: Well?

Sosa: We’ve pulled back from the edge of this ‘jamming’ black hole, sir, but… I’d have to say we’re still only partially sighted.

Maverick: Well, then we got no choice: we go out on a search-and-destroy.

Maniac: Hey, that’s suicide. There could be a whole fleet waiting out there for us – we wouldn’t know it.

Hawk: No radar, no shields!

Panther: Without any guidance systems, the dumb-fires will be the only fireworks worth taking.

Maverick: Okay! Something’s thrown a blanket on this system – let’s go out, find it and put it out of business. Move!

Dekker: Tractor in that fly-boy, boss. He just might know something.

Sosa: Okay. I’m sending out a tractor-capable ship to scoop up that pod, Colonel. You’ll have to cover it till they get there.

Sosa: Pleased to have you back out of the hole, Colonel. We’re looking forward to what the ejected pilot has to say. You have clearance. (Success)

Hawk: Tell us where the jamming’s coming from.

Panther: Who are you working for?

Hawk: What kind of interference is it?

Panther: How many ships are there?

Hawk: C’mon, talk!

Panther: How many ships are there?

Veteran: Listen, I don’t have to tell you a thing!

Hawk: C’mon! Talk to me!

Maverick: Take it easy, Hawk! C’mon!

Veteran: So, you’re with them now? You did me a good turn once.

Hawk: Yeah, why the sudden change in attitude?

Veteran: I owe him one.

Maverick: Hey, let’s everybody relax. Nobody’s going to hurt you. Here.

Veteran: Listen, I was just flyin’ for these guys ’cause they paid me, anyway. Ain’t like the old days… when you had a cause.

Maverick: Are you so sure? There’s people dying out there that don’t deserve it. Why don’t you tell us what you know.

Veteran: You get me home?

Maverick: You’ve got my word.

Veteran: You’re looking for a capship. They refitted it, so you’d hardly recognise it was ever one of ours. It moves around every sixth hour. I’ll plot it for you on a nav-map. Has to uncloak when it fires its engines. Otherwise, it lays low. It’s packed full of gadgets that do the jamming. I don’t even know what it’s doing here – it’s an evil old thing. There’s no honour in just pokin’ someone in the eye.

Maverick: Listen, you got a place here if you want it.

Veteran: Naw. My flying days are over. Next time, it won’t be an ejection pod, it’ll be a coffin. I’d like to postpone that for a while – if you don’t mind.

Hawk: C’mon we’ll get you cleaned up, something to eat. C’mon.

Panther: It’s okay.

Hawk: C’mon.

Hawk: Tell us where the jamming’s coming from.

Panther: Who are you working for?

Hawk: What kind of interference is it?

Panther: How many ships are there?

Hawk: C’mon, talk!

Panther: How many ships are there?

Hawk: Tell me now!

Veteran: Listen, I don’t have to tell you a thing!

Hawk: I want to know now!

Maverick: Quit it, will ya!

Veteran: Oh, this one, he’s a real prince… kicks you when you’re down and out.

Hawk: Why don’t you shut your mouth!

Panther: Hawk, stop it! It’s not helping.

Maverick: Come on, pal. You wanna tell us what you know?

Veteran: Sure. It’s bigger than a bread-box and it doesn’t have wheels. It moves around, so you’ll never find it. That’s all you’re gonna get out of me. I’m sure you have ways of getting more information, I hear you’re a nasty lot. But I fought the Kilrathi all my life, and I’m a tough bird.

Maverick: Take him to the brig.

Hawk: Come on, come on!

Maverick: Here they come now. Everybody here? All right, Lieutenant.

Sosa: Sir, we received this in the past hour.

Maverick: Now that we know what our target is and its navigation schedule, I think our chances are pretty good. Now, this jamming cap ship has to be destroyed, and there’s only one way to do that.

Maniac: Yeah, but with just the dumb-fires? Our aim will have to be perfect.

Maverick: Some of us know how to aim, Maniac – we don’t just rely on dumb luck. Let’s do it, people.

Maverick: All we know is that our target moves around a lot. My guess is, it’s a single ship rather than several. Now, we’ll cover these four nav-points within the dead zone. I don’t know where or when we’ll find it, but when we do, we’ve got to take it out. <sigh> Well, that’s it then.

Helmsman: Two visual targets dead ahead.

Dekker: Someone’s in a really big hurry to make tracks. Might be interesting to find out just who it is.

Sosa: Well, long-range comm system is still a little shaky, sir, but give me a minute, and I will raise the Colonel for you.

Dekker: They don’t pay me to defer decisions, Lieutenant. The Colonel’s cleared a path, someone’s gotta walk down it.

Sosa: Mayday, Colonel! The Intrepid’s come under heavy attack. Confed ships are swarming all over us. Look, we’ve been hit hard – we’re going down!

Miles: The famous hero of the Kilrathi War, also known as “The Heart of the Tiger”, was convicted of treason against the Confederation. No appeal will be allowed.

Soldier: Blindfold?

Maverick: No.

Soldier: Ready. Aim. Fire!

Maverick: What’s wrong? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.

Maniac: You’ll never believe who Dekker just hauled on board.

Maverick: Dekker? What are you talking about?

Maniac: Just go and see. See, down in the hold – the storage room. I think that’s where Dekker stowed him.

Tolwyn: I cannot begin to convey my despair on hearing of your defection.

Maverick: We’re not officially at war, Admiral – think of it as a ‘re-enlistment’.

Tolwyn: We weren’t ‘officially’ at war with the Kilrathi either, but there were two sides. And defection was the only possible movement between them. You symbolised everything Confed stands for. Surely you can understand why I’m so utterly astonished by your actions! Just because we operate in the void of space – is loyalty equally weightless?

Maverick: I don’t think so. It’s the Confederation who’s forgotten about loyalty, sir. It’s Confed forces behind all of this: someone who wants to start an all-out war.

Tolwyn: Yes, I believe you’re right. I think your perceptions of things, for the most part, are true. That’s why you find me here! Dog soldiers, you might call them: renegades within Confed who sow disorder.

Maverick: Yes, there’s a highly skilled pilot involved – his callsign is Seether.

Tolwyn: Well, I’m not surprised you too have run into him. The fact that you find me out here tells you how delicate these investigations have become. Finding somebody I can trust has not been easy. During the war there were many ‘Black Ops’: secret efforts to finish off the Kilrathi. Many of them so highly classified that I’m just learning of them now myself.

Maverick: Like the ‘GE’ program?

Tolwyn: Genetic Enhancement, yes. Some… idiot thought they could breed the perfect warrior.

Maverick: Is Seether a product of that program?

Tolwyn: I wouldn’t know, that was shut down well before I got wind of it. At any rate, I… I thought I might track him down here. We were getting the same reports about the jamming, but I can assure you, it was not authorised by Confed HQ. And that hidden installation was empty by the time I got there. You wouldn’t happen to know where this, er, Seether is now, would you?

Maverick: No, I…

Tolwyn: Ah. Well. Time’s running out for us, Colonel.

Maverick: Us?

Tolwyn: You and I both want to prevent war, not wage it. There’s still a place for you in the Confederation.

Tolwyn: We’re on the same side, Colonel… always have been.

Maverick: I’m not sure we are, Admiral. I’m not sure I recognise what Confed stands for any more. These people, aboard this ship, I know them. I trust them. If there’s going to be a war, this is the side I’m on.

Tolwyn: Am I your prisoner of war then, Colonel?

Maverick: Like I said, we’re not officially at war – you’ll be released. I hope you’re right, Admiral. I hope we are on the same side.

Maverick: This may not be a declared war, but it is a real war. I’m sorry, Admiral, I have no choice. I can’t let you go.

Tolwyn: <salutes>

Maverick: <salutes>

Dekker: I can’t believe you let him go!

Maverick: We’re not at war, Dekker.

Dekker: What? Well then, what the heck have I been doing out there risking my neck? Let me tell you something boss: anybody with Confed is the enemy.

Maverick: And let me tell you something. One, you had no orders to go out on your own – and two, it’s my decision as to who’s a prisoner-of-war here – declared or otherwise.

Dekker: I just think it’s really suspicious that your buddy the Admiral was trying to make a run for it.

Maverick: Do you have any idea what kind of fire would rain down on us if we imprisoned a Confed Admiral?

Dekker: Well, maybe you’re right… maybe. Just mark my words, I think you’re going to second guess yourself on this somewhere down the line.

Maverick: Is that a prediction or a threat?

Dekker: Just an observation… from a grunt who’s had his head dented too many times anyway.

Sosa: Emergency! Colonel Blair! Colonel Blair! Please report to the CIC. Please report to the CIC.

Maverick: What’s up?

Dekker: Admiral Tolwyn’s escaped.

Maverick: What? How?

Maniac: Uh… I let him go.

Maverick: You did what?!

Maniac: He’s the Admiral. You know, I served under him a long time.

Maverick: Oh?

Maniac: You got any idea the kind of fire-power would come down on us when they found out we were holding the Admiral prisoner?

Dekker: He’s your friend.

Maverick: So now he knows our position and what we’re up to.

Maniac: All right, so I– I, er, mighta screwed up.

Dekker: He couldn’t have gone far – let’s go after him.

Maverick: And do what? Shoot him down? Talk about your acts of war. <sigh> No, this is a ‘Maniac move’ we’ll just have to live with. I just hope we don’t live to regret it.

Sosa: This just came in, sir.

Wilford: Colonel, we’re undertaking fleet actions in two different systems. Now, in Circe, we’ll be assisting the legitimate Border Worlds government in a fierce civil war – instigated by mercenaries. Now, we believe these mercs are backed by elements within Confed, and thousands of civilians are being killed.

Wilford: Now, the other operation is in Speradon, another Border Worlds territory, where a Confed shipyard has geared up in anticipation of war. Now, it appears vulnerable, and you know how badly our forces need equipment. Well, I wish you could be in both places at once. But, since that isn’t possible, I’m leaving the choice in your capable hands.

Panther: You heard what he said: innocent people are being wiped out in Circe. The choice is clear.

Hawk: It’s not as clear as all that, Colonel. We can’t win battles anywhere if we don’t have the weapons. That shipyard could be the answer to our problems.

Maverick: We can’t let innocent civilians die. We’ll be heading for Circe. Set a course.

Helmsman: Aye, aye, sir.

Maverick: Nobody here signed up for a suicide mission. I can’t send people into battle unless I’ve done everything I can to give them a fighting chance. We’re heading for Speradon. Set a course.

Helmsman: Aye, aye, sir.