Wing Commander IV: Silenos System (Border Worlds)

Hawk: Come on, you two! Get this thing outta here!

Crewman: Oh!

Hawk: Give it here! Right here! Let’s get this thing out of here! Come on!

Eisen: Boy, they took a lot of hits.

Panther: We need more retard-foam on the top deck!

Hawk: Forget it! It’ll be more use down here in the missile bay.

Crewman: <scream>

Hawk: Medics needed here!

Panther: Check him! Check him! Get a stretcher!

Hawk: Get the medics here! Get a stretcher!

Eisen: C’mon, lets give them a hand.

Hawk: Get a stretcher! Get a stretcher! Get that thing squared up.

Panther: Yeah.

Hawk: All right, looks good.

Panther: Grab the other side!

Eisen: Excuse me. Captain Eisen, from the Lexington.

Hawk: You got here just in time. Keep that detail right there.

Eisen: <coughs>

Hawk: We weren’t going to wait on that jump.

Maniac: Looks like you ran into some trouble.

Panther: We had a surprise visit from a Confed frigate and her escorts. This is Colonel Jacob Manley. I’m Colonel Tamara Farnsworth.

Maverick: I recognise those names – it’s Panther and Hawk.

Vagabond: From the Astoria System.

Panther: That’s right. And you’re the famous “Heart of the Tiger”.

Hawk: Look, I’d love to stand around here and play ‘get-to-know-you’ but… just stay right there! We got some problems to take care of.

Eisen: If you can direct us to Captain Dominguez. He’s expecting me.

Panther: Captain Dominguez was on the bridge during the attack.

Hawk: He didn’t make it. Anybody on the bridge or in the bays didn’t survive. Two-thirds of the crew.

Maniac: Jeez…

Panther: Captain Dominguez did brief us on your possible defection.

Hawk: Your deal was with him though. We gotta talk things over with the crew before you folks get too cosy. Understood?

Comm: Hawk, Panther? We need you on the flight deck, please.

Hawk: We’ll finish this later.

Vagabond: C’mon. They could use some extra hands.

Eisen: I fought with Captain Dominguez 40 years ago during the Venice Offensive. Now he’s dead at the hands of one of his own. What is– what is all of this coming to?

Maverick: I was hoping you’d be able to tell me, now that I’ve turned my back on Confed. <sigh> Paulsen said you were… you were a spy.

Eisen: Hmph! A detective, maybe. They were feeding us a lot of bogus information. The last couple of days I’ve been checking out mission data, coded transmissions, fleet movements. I’ve got all the information right here. This could stop a full blown war.

Maverick: But you don’t know what it means?

Eisen: Some of the pieces are missing, but what I do know is this: this clash between the Border Worlds and Confed is being provoked by certain elements within Confed.

Maverick: Why didn’t you tell me?

Eisen: Because I have no idea who they are. All I knew was that my defection could end up being suicidal. I couldn’t ask you to put yourself in that position. You had to decide that for yourself, when the time came.

Maverick: I made my choice, sir. I have no regrets.

Eisen: Well, Colonel, I hope you never do.

Maverick: Listen, I better get up top, see if I can help out.

Eisen: Yeah, I’ll lend out a hand down here.

Sosa: Attention! This is a scramble. Looks like the TCS Lexington followed us through the jump point. Incoming fighters! All pilots up. Repeat: all pilots up. We ain’t out of the woods yet, people!

Sosa: Hey, nice work, Colonel. 1^st Lieutenant Velina Sosa, I run the ‘switchboard’ here. And you… are clear to land.

Paulsen: Well, Colonel, you’re about to find out how Confed deals with traitors. We didn’t have many in the war with the Kilrathi. Take him away.

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!

Pliers: That’ll work fine. Well, if it ain’t the new Confed fly-boy. Fightin’ on our side, huh?

Maverick: Yeah. The name’s Blair.

Pliers: Well, hooo-ray. Suppose that means we’re gonna win this thing after all, right? <laughs> Welcome aboard, kid. Chief Tech Robert Sykes, but you can call me Pliers.

Maverick: Thanks, Pliers.

Pliers: Haven’t seen one of those birds in quite a while. Not up close anyway.

Maverick: Yeah, bet you worked on plenty of ’em.

Pliers: Oh, yeah. Used to pull Kilrathi whiskers out of the intakes fer kids like you. Yeah, I could do a few things with that baby. Hey, don’t let these grey hairs fool you, kid. I can still perform miracles with nothing more than a socket-driver and a pile of junk parts.

Maverick: Looks to me that you kinda have to.

Pliers: Yeah. Plus, I can tweak those birds way beyond the specs those egg-head engineers come up with.

Maverick: Well, great! I can use all the help I can get out there.

Pliers: Just wait ’n’ see what I can do, kid. Trust me.

Maverick: I don’t know… specs are specs, Chief. Those engineers must have their reasons.

Pliers: Hey, there’s gonna come a time when yer gonna need that extra juice of mine, kid. Trust me.

Sosa: Pull up a chair.

Maverick: I think I already have, Lieutenant Sosa.

Sosa: Oh, sorry, sir.

Maverick: Whatcha got there?

Sosa: Ah, well, look at me, I’m… I’m stuck in the Stone Age. So much of our equipment is down I’ve got to resort to prehistoric tools in order to decrypt this info Captain Eisen brought with him.

Maverick: So, you have a talent for decoding.

Sosa: Well, um… yeah, sir, I mean, I– I don’t mean to brag, but I’m definitely one of the best.

Maverick: Well… anything there?

Sosa: Plenty. It’s just gonna take me some time. One thing’s for sure: Confed definitely has a lot of skeletons in its lockers.

Maniac: Bridge used to be up there. Berths were further up.

Maverick: <sigh> Poor bastards.

Maniac: Never knew what hit ’em. At least when I go, I’ll be in a cockpit.

Maverick: Come on, cheer up! I still say it’ll be friendly fire that gets you.

Maniac: I don’t know. The side we picked to be on… has a long, hard road ahead.

Maverick: Will you look on the bright side? At least now you won’t have to deal with that Confed promotion that finally came through.

Maniac: My promotion came? My promotion! <claps> Confed – that’s not… right.

Panther: I say we just cut our losses and pull back – the jump point is the quickest way out of this system.

Hawk: It’s way too obvious – I say we stay and hurt the Lexington as much as possible, that way, we’ll be hurting Confed, too.

Maverick: How long have they been carrying on like this?

Panther: (It doesn’t make any sense…)

Hawk: (There’s something you don’t understand…)

Eisen: Too long.

Hawk: (…that’s typical…)

Eisen: Look! You’re both right and you’re both wrong. Attacking the Lexington is a waste of valuable resources – beating a hasty retreat is a wiser course of action. The jump point is the most obvious exit route, the Silenos Nebula might be a better way out. Either way, I don’t think the Lexington is going to just let us cruise away… I’ll bet you’ll get a chance to inflict damage on her or sustain more yourself.

Panther: What do you think, Colonel?

Maverick: I think this ship needs a captain.

Panther: <nods>

Eisen: I’ll do the best I can.

Maverick: Happy to see you back where you belong, Captain.

Eisen: Thank you, Colonel. You had no small part in it. Well, to business.

Eisen: As you know, to avoid further harassment, the Intrepid will try to make its way out of this system through this nebula. I’d like you and a wingman to scout ahead, clear the area of any hostiles you might encounter.

Maverick: Understood, sir.

Eisen: Good luck, Colonel!

Sosa: Okay. Great work, Colonel, but there’s been a change of plans. We’ve discovered a ‘back door’ jump point that’ll be easier for Intrepid to navigate in her current condition. So, you have clearance. (Success)

Maverick: Well, here you are.

Pliers: Yeah.

Maverick: Well, don’t you look like a cat who ate the canary, feathers and all.

Pliers: Well, I suppose maybe you’re right. You know, those Confed fighters you boys flew in on? Well, they made for a really fine meal.

Maverick: Meaning?

Pliers: I just got done strippin’ ’em down for parts.

Maverick: <sigh> Well, I hope you put the pieces to good use, Pliers.

Pliers: You bet on it, kid.

Maverick: Without authorisation?

Pliers: My job’s to keep the birds we got flying. How I do it is my business, kid. Besides, you think the Border Worlds Command has got surplus parts just layin’ around? You ain’t flyin’ fer Confed no more, kid.

Vagabond: Nice. Very nice. Gentlemen. Welcome to our new sleeping quarters.

Maverick: I never promised first-class accommodations.

Catscratch: Don’t take offence, sir, but how can you make jokes? An hour ago, I was a Confed pilot. Now, I’m shooting them down. What’s going on? What are we doing here?

Maverick: We’re trying to make things right.

Catscratch: I don’t know what the rules are any more.

Maverick: Well, you know, Catscratch, life isn’t a flight-sim. I think you’re gonna learn, the rules keep changing.

Vagabond: Just hope we did the right thing, partner.

Maverick: <sigh>

Vagabond: If Confed gets approval to really go after the Border Worlds, this thing is gonna get ugly.

Maverick: That’s putting it mildly. Sometimes, what you believe is more important than any flag. We gotta stick with the guys we can trust. And Eisen, he’s one of the few.

Sosa: A-ha! All I can say is we’re lucky to have you on our side, Colonel. You’re clear to land and you better make it quick – we can’t wait to leave this system in our stellar dust.

Paulsen: What a disaster!

Seether: Your first mistake was in not killing him right away.

Paulsen: Who? Eisen, or the Colonel?

Seether: Take your pick.

Paulsen: What’s going to happen now?

Seether: That’s a good question, Captain. First of all, you’re gonna get reassigned. Then, I’m going to continue my plans – with the added pleasure of killing “The Heart of the Tiger”. <cackles> What are you looking at, soldier? Just fly the vehicle.

Paulsen: Well, Colonel, you’re about to find out how Confed deals with traitors. We didn’t have many in the war with the Kilrathi. Take him away.

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!