Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi
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| Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi |
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| Developer(s) | Origin Systems |
| Publisher(s) | Origin Systems |
| Designer(s) | Chris Roberts |
| Release date(s) | 1991 |
| Genre(s) | Space simulation |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Platform(s) | MS-DOS |
| Media | 3.5" Floppy disks, CD-ROM |
| Input | Mouse, keyboard, Joystick |
Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi is the first sequel in Chris Roberts' Wing Commander science fiction flight simulator franchise of computer games, produced by Origin Systems.
Released in 1991, Wing Commander II retains much of the first game's core conventions: an interstellar war between the Terran Confederation and the felinoid warrior race called the Kilrathi, multiple allies as wingmen, and a wide variety of ships on both sides of the war. However, WC2 places a greater emphasis on storytelling, providing various sprite-animated cutscenes and some of the industry's first examples of voice acting. The storyline is also somewhat less open-ended: the game's campaign tree is much more structured and the player character can no longer be promoted or awarded medals. Wingmen can no longer be killed during normal gameplay; when their fighters are damaged beyond repair, they eject (though some die in scripted sequences). Finally, because the story is a direct sequel to WC1, many Kilrathi ships have names similar to the WC1 ships they replace (for instance, the "Sartha" replaces the "Salthi", and the Confederation uses an upgraded version of the Rapier medium fighter).
Expansion packs Special Operations 1 and 2, were released in 1991 and 1992, respectively, and a stand-alone spin-off, Wing Commander Academy, in 1993. Origin also released a Speech Accessory Pack, which upgraded WC2 with pre-recorded voice acting.
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[edit] Synopsis
[edit] Wing Commander II
The year 2656. The TCS Tiger's Claw, pride of the Terran fleet, is on campaign in the Enigma sector, near the Kilrathi sector headquarters, the K'tithrak Mang starbase. In a sudden attack, it is lost with all hands, save a few pilots who had been transferred off, and one who was out on patrol: the player's character, whose name and call sign are specified by the player. Origin personnel, in these days, called him "Bluehair" after his most defining feature; in Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger, his name was retconned to Christopher "Maverick" Blair. But while his name may be manifold, his culpability is universal. Blair's claims that some sort of "Kilrathi stealth fighter" destroyed the Claw are summarily dismissed, especially since his flight data recorder is damaged. He is court martialed for treason (reduced to negligence, without the flight recorder as evidence), demoted to Captain, and given the name "The Coward of K'Tithrak Mang." Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn attempts to force Blair to resign; when Blair refuses, he is transferred to InSystem Security and exiled to Caernavon Station in the backwater Gwynedd system, where he will undoubtedly remain until his teeth and hair fell out.
Cut to 2665, ten years later. Blair, flying a patrol, is startled to engage Kilrathi fightercraft in the area. Not long after, Admiral Tolwyn's flagship, the TCS Concordia, shows up on sensors, under heavy attack by a Kilrathi cruiser and her fighters. Blair and his wingman Shadow together save the ship, and he is briefly reunited with some of his friends from the Claw—Colonel Jeannette Devereaux, Captain Mariko Tanaka, the Kilrathi defector Colonel Ralgha nar Hhallas, Captain Etienne Montclair, and Major Zach Colson—and used to assist in the attack on the Kilrathi cruiser, before being packaged back to Caernavon. (Tolwyn does not like him.) But Blair and Shadow have barely returned when the Concordia is attacked again... and this time, an explosion on the flight deck has crippled her ability to launch fighters. In the ensuing battle, Shadow is killed, Blair triumphs, and Tolwyn, ever-mindful of the need for good pilots, takes The Coward of K'Tithrak Mang onto his flagship.
Blair's time there is not particularly easy. At least one pilot, Captain Dirk "Stingray" Wright, believes the slander spread about the Claw's destruction, and he and Blair's stauncher supporters (Tanaka, nar Hhallas, Devereaux) are frequently at odds. The flight deck explosion, a bizarre murder, and radio transmission records suggests that there is a traitor aboard the Concordia. Tolwyn frequently credits Blair's successes to his wingmen (particularly nar Hhallas). And though Maverick encounters Kilrathi Strakha stealth fighters several times, his black box always manages to malfunction or be destroyed.
Not long into the campaign, Blair's oldest friend Mariko "Spirit" Tanaka approaches him with terrible news: the Kilrathi have her fiance, Phillip, prisoner, and are demanding her betrayal in exchange for his release. Even worse, Phillip is being held on the captured Heaven's Gate starbase, which Concordia has orders to destroy. In the end, Blair and Tanaka are assigned to the strike, but sabotage cripples Spirit's plane. With no recourse, she rams the station, destroying it, her fiance and herself in one herculean explosion. The news is not all bad, though: shared grief over their friend draws Blair and Jeannette "Angel" Devereaux into a budding romance.
Despite tragedy and setback, the tide begins to turn. Maverick and Angel fly a critical mission in which they trace a Kilrathi destroyer back to the K'Tithrak Mang, placing its location for the first time in the history of the Enigma Campaign. Blair is finally able to clear his name when he and Zach "Jazz" Colson engage Strakha stealth fighters and return, flight recorders intact, to tell the tale. When Jazz reveals that he, in fact, is the traitor who has been responsible for the message leaks, sabotages and murders, Blair is able to apprehend him. And, finally taking matters into his own hands, Blair flies a single-handed strike against the K'tithrak Mang, destroying it and defeating Imperial Crown Prince Thrakhath nar Kiranka in combat. At least, in the good ending. In the not-so-good ending, he destroys a Kilrathi invasion fleet at the Gwynedd system, preventing a disastrous strike against Terra. (In the bad ending, he is transferred back to Caernavon, and shortly afterwards Concordia is lost with all hands.) Regardless, he gets the girl, is promoted back to Colonel, and wins the respect of Tolwyn and his pilots. The credits roll.
[edit] Special Operations I
Establishing immediately that the canonical ending involves Blair destroying the K'tithrak Mang, the newly-promoted Colonel Blair, along with Col. Ralgha "Hobbes" nar Hhallas, is scheduled for a transfer to the "Special Operations" division of Intelligence, under Col. Taggart, who is Chief Field Officer of Intelligence and Special Operations in the Enigma Sector. Their transfers are delayed, however, by increasing Kilrathi presence in the Pembroke System, including the brand-new Gothri-class heavy fighter; even worse, the Rigel Supply Depot is attacked. ...By Confederation ships, which open fire on Blair when he arrives to investigate.
The hostile fighters are from the TCS Gettysburg, a Waterloo-class cruiser. She was stationed in the N'Tanya system, where a Kilrathi colony has been undergoing a rebellion against the Empire. Loyalist Kilrathi citizens were allowed to leave N'Tanya peacefully, but the Gettysburg's skipper, Commander Cain, ordered his pilots to open fire on their transports. The entire flight group, led by Wing Commander Col. Ransom, Lt. Col. Poelma, and Lt. Jason Bondarevsky, mutinied against the order to kill innocent civilians, and Cain was dispatched back to Confed HQ. Unfortunately, the mutineers soon parted ways: Ransom wanted to live as a pirate, while Poelma and Bondarevsky were all for returning to Confed. It was Ransom's group captured the Rigel depot; Poelma and Bondarevsky, in the meanwhile, have been promised pardons by Confed C-in-C. Blair is assigned to bring them back to the Concordia and destroy the Rigel depot. In doing so, he gets a chance to try out the Fleet's newest torpedo bomber, the YA-18A Crossbow, which the Gettysburg was field-testing. (The returning Gettysburg crew was acquitted, and Bondarevsky in fact promoted and decorated for his integrity.)
Taggart arrives aboard the Bonnie Heather and retrieves Blair and nar Hhallas, as well as Major Edmond, the Concordia's communications officer, for their Special Operations duties, which will take place on Olympus Station in the Ghorah Khar system. Like N'Tanya, Ghorah Khar is in rebellion, and Taggart's Special Operations involve helping these rebels succeed, in the form of contributions of leadership, pilots and war materiel. Blair also helps intercept a Loyalist dead drop, replacing the invasion plans contained within with Confed-developed plans that will lead the Kilrathi fleet into an ambush. Unfortunately, the Kilrathi arrive in far more force than anticipated, and Maverick and Hobbes fly several strikes against these attack groups.
At this point comes an unexpected complication: Taggart is ambushed at a jump point and the Heather crippled. All seems lost when another flight of Kilrathi ships jumps in... But they start shooting the first flight! Blair and Hobbes arrives, drive them off, and rescue an ejected Kilrathi pilot to see if they can get some answers. This ejected pilot turns out to be none other than Crown Prince Thrakhath nar Kiranka: the second flight, he explains, was led by Khasra, Thrakhath's right-hand man, who has evidently had enough of his superior. Though Thrakhath is imprisoned in the brig, a power failure allows him to escape; he grabs Hobbes's Crossbow and sorties out to avenge himself upon Khasra. Blair, attempting to retrieve him, is forced to help out, and the war's two best pilots together make short work of the Kilrathi rebels. Thrakhath, though, escapes.
The remaining Kilrathi fleet attempts to destroy Olympus Station once and for all; Olympus's flight group is already seriously thinned, and their communications have been jammed. Blair, leading the defense, knows his chances are grim... Until a group of pilots from the Gettysburg, sent along by a concerned Admiral Tolwyn, saves the day. With Ghorah Khar securely in Confederation hands, the N'Tanya, K'arakh and Shariha colonies manage to successfully rebel against the Empire. Unfortunately, Thrakhath, with tons of military intelligence in his head, takes advantage of the fact that the Enigma Sector fleets are distracted with Ghorah Khar and captures Deneb Sector Command in less than six hours.
[edit] Special Operations II
Blair's leave on Akko Base in the Canewdon System is cut short, but he doesn't mind one bit: Zachary "Jazz" Colson, the traitor from Wing Commander 2, has been sentenced to death, and Maverick will be escorting his prison ship. However, a distraction allows the Mandarins, a society of human traitors that Jazz belongs to, to hijack the Bastille and free Jazz. When he returns to the Concordia, Blair discovers that a new squadron has arrived: the Wild Eagles, under command of Major Todd "Maniac" Marshall, flying the experimental Morningstar heavy fighters. Almost immediately the Morningstars show their problems: their jump drives don't work very well, forcing Blair to jump out and rescue an ejected pilot, Captain Maria "Minx" Grimaldi. She's very thankful for the rescue. Very thankful. Finally, while on patrol, Blair encounters a crippled Kilrathi Dorkathi transport, which surrenders. A Mandarin agent on board reveals that this freighter, the Gamal Gan, was headed to Ayer's Rock, the Mandarins' home base. This is the first indication that the Kilrathi are actively aiding the Mandarins, though the player has known for a while: one of the game's opening scenes shows the Emperor ordering Thrakhath to capture a Morningstar using them.
The Mandarins begin transmitting propaganda movies, specifically the hijacking of several Terran freighters. The raids are quite clearly led by Zach Colson. The crews of the freighters are eventually traded for several Mandarin prisoners. Even worse, Thrakhath's ambitions are realized when a Mandarin traitor sets off a bomb on the Concordia's flight deck and steals a Morningstar. The traitor, Maria Grimaldi, heads for Ayer's Rock; clever deployment of Kilrathi patrols prevent Maverick and Maniac from following her.
Deciding that it's time for some cover agents of their own, Paladin takes over the Gamal Gan. He renames it the Grimalkin and transfers Maverick and Maniac back to Special Ops. Hiding two Morningstars aboard the Grimalkin, the three infiltrate the Ayer system. The Morningstar's torpedoes are supplemented by a new weapon: the Mace tactical nuclear missile. Though unguided, it can be detonated manually by the launching pilot, and does splash damage to whatever's in range. This missile is generally enough to destroy anything... Including, say, a hollow asteroid called Ayer's Rock. Minx makes it to an escape pod, but escape pods are not enough to prevent radiation poisoning. But Jazz stole her Morningstar, giving Maverick the opportunity to shoot him down before returning to the Concordia. Finally, in a humorous scene, Maniac's Morningstar, which broke down just after launch for the mission against Jazz, is seen drifting and deserted in space—evidently neither Blair nor Paladin cared to rescue him. (Maniac returns, hale and hearty, in the next game in the series, Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger.) Unfortunately, Thrakhath once again turns defeat into victory, by savaging the 6th Battle Fleet; the Confederation is forced to retreat, once again, from the Enigma sector.
[edit] Wing Commander Academy
With no plot or missions to speak of, this game is modeled as a Confederation Academy simulator, allowing players to create and then fly their own customized missions. Angel, Hobbes and Maniac, along with a new pilot called Lightspeed, are featured as the wingman choices available for the players. The fighters available in the game include all WC2 era Confederation fighters as well as most of the Kilrathi ones. Also, a total of two new fighters were introduced: the Confederation Wraith medium fighter and a the Kilrathi Jrathek medium fighter.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Terran Pilots
- Note: pilots are listed in the order they fly on Blair's wing
- "Bluehair" aka Christopher "Maverick" Blair: the player character. Gifted with dialogue and more personality than in the original game, Blair emerges as a general 'do-gooder' and an extremely capable pilot. The irony of his "rebellious" callsign is much more pronounced. In the one scene in which he has dialogue (the opening scenes of WC2), he is voiced by series creator Chris Roberts.
- Captain Elizabeth "Shadow" Norwood: Blair's wingman from Caernavon Station. A capable if uninspired pilot, she is due for retirement in a month, a fact that makes her death just that much more tragic.
- Colonel Ralgha "Hobbes" nar Hhallas: a Kilrathi defector who brought the Ghorah Khar system into the Confederation. His callsign is commonly misconstrued as a reference to an old comic strip character, but in fact, Hobbes was named after the philosopher. Though initially sceptical of Blair, he eventually becomes one of his strongest advocates.
- James "Paladin" Taggart: though not a combat pilot anymore, Blair escorts Paladin's freighter, the Bonnie Heather, on several occasions. Paladin has transferred out of the Space Forces and into Intelligence, where he leads and commissions all manner of secret operations.
- Captain Etienne "Doomsday" Montclair: a descendant of the Māori people of New Zealand, Doomsday got his cockpit moniker for his pessimistic, gloomy outlook on life: just about everything he ever says has something to do with how he expects the war to kill him at any second.
- Captain Mariko "Spirit" Tanaka: Blair's first wingmate aboard the Tiger's Claw, and one of his closest friends. Her piloting skills are somewhat hampered by emotional distress, the cause of which she confides to Blair during the course of the story.
- Captain Dirk "Stingray" Wright: a new face, who never served on the Claw, Stingray's initial opinion of Blair is reversed when Maverick and Doomsday defy orders to rescue his ejection pod. Brash and somewhat hot-headed, he is still an excellent pilot. Because his pilot's-wings insignia were found on the murdered Communications Specialist McGuffin, he is initially placed under suspicion.
- Colonel Jeannette "Angel" Devereaux: Angel is the Wing Commander of the Concordia's flight group. In contrast to her statistics-spouting, generally distant behaviour in the previous game, she has become a much more humanistic character: she acts as a diplomatic buffer between Blair and Admiral Tolwyn's caustic orders and is seen disciplining unruly pilots on several occasions.
- Major Zachary "Jazz" Colson: named for his virtuoso talents at the rec room piano, Colson has a dark history. He hails from the Goddard colony, which was lost to Kilrathi attack, which he blames on the Tiger's Claw having delayed in answering the colony's distress call. Colson swore to kill every Claw survivor and joined the Mandarins, a society of human defectors.
- First Lieutenant Jason "Bear" Bondarevsky: from unknown pilot to hero, after the Gettysburg's commander issues an illegal order to kill defenceless Kilrathi. He is introduced in Special Missions 1 and makes later appearances in the Wing Commander novels.
- Major Todd "Maniac" Marshall: making his triumphant return to the player's wing, Maniac is now a major, in charge of the prototype Morningstar medium fighters, which will be field-tested off the Concordia.
- Captain Maria "Minx" Grimaldi: a pilot in Maniac's Wild Eagles squadron, she does her best to worm her way into Maverick's heart.
[edit] Terran Personnel
- Rear Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn: one of the Confederation's best strategists, later described (by a Kilrathi, no less) as the finest fighting admiral of the fleet. A man of first impressions, he initially distrusts Blair, and the two maintain a certain animosity—though also a healthy dose of respect—throughout the rest of their careers. In WC2 he seems petty and antagonistic; later excursions portray him as charismatic and heroic.
- Chief Petty Officer Janet "Sparks" McCullough: the lady in charge of making sure Blair's planes are in proper shape, she is also one of Blair's first allies aboard the Concordia. Her evidence helps clear Stingray's name during a murder investigation.
- Major Edmond: the Concordia's communications officer, who frequently relays orders to Blair during missions.
[edit] Kilrathi Personnel
- Crown Prince Thrakhath nar Kiranka: the grandson of the Kilrathi Emperor and first in line to succeed the throne. A stock villain in WC2, later instalments portray him as a capable but overconfident warrior, believing solely in brute force and fear, and showing little respect for the "hairless apes" that thwart him time and again.
- Khasra: Thrakhath's cousin and second-in-command, who chafes under the Crown Prince's rule. Blair encounters him in combat several times.
[edit] Weapon Systems
[edit] Armaments
Because Kilrathi and Terran craft use similar armaments, they are covered first.
- Laser Cannon: the longest-range weapon in space, and the one that takes the least juice to fire, but also the weakest in terms of damage. Many capital ships boast this weapon on a turret mount.
- Mass Driver: a medium-range, medium-damage, medium power-requirement weapon.
- Neutron Gun: a rather short-ranged weapon with enormous destructive potential. This gun has been retired by 2665, replaced by the Particle Cannon, but survives in a modified version on bomber turrets.
- Particle Cannon: fires "nuclear particles," described elsewhere as the "opposite of ions," for destructive force. The galaxy's newest beam weapon, it combines the Neutron Gun's power and the Laser's range.
- Reaper Cannon: seen only on the experimental Wraith prototype in Wing Commander Academy, this gun does not fire reapers, as its name suggests, but rather is a finely-tuned ion cannon.
- Flak Battery: found only on capital ships, this weapon releases clouds of energy that are easy to dodge, but impart tremendous damage if they land.
- Anti-Matter Cannon: found only on capital ships and used only against capital ships. Don't get in its way.
- Phase-Transit Cannon: found only on Confederation-class dreadnoughts (such as the Concordia), this weapon is highly unstable, and prone to catastrophic reactor overloads when attempting to fire it. When it works, though, it can destroy just about any spacegoing vessel in one shot.
- Dart Dumbfire (DF): The DF is essentially an unguided rocket, and requires a sharp eye to use. However, its lack of tracking systems allowed munitions engineers to pack in a lot more bang, and a good hit will severely damage any fighter. The advent of phase shielding has rendered it useless against many larger ships, however, and it has seen decreasing service in recent years.
- Javelin Heat-Seeker (HS): this infra-red munition can only lock onto enemy ships from behind, and can be easily countered at long range by simply turning 90 degrees, causing the missile to lose its targeting lock. At close range, however, it's perfect to finish off an aggravating furball when your guns are out of power.
- Pilum Friend or Foe (FF): relying on identification friend or foe beacons for targeting information, this munition is truly fire and forget... But may attack you, if your IFF beacon is damaged.
- Spiculum Image-Recognition (IR): though it takes the longest to lock, this missile memorizes the target's electromagnetic, visual and thermal signature. If not thrown off by an electronic countermeasures decoy, it will continue to chase its target until it either 1) runs out of fuel and self-destructs, or 2) ...hits.
- Lance Torpedo: in the intervening 10 years, both Terran and Kilrathi sciences have made impressive jumps with phase-shielding technology. The details of these defensive fields are classified, but the end result is that, where the Tiger's Claw was vulnerable to fighter-based weapons fire, the Concordia is utterly immune to it. To damage her, or any other capital ship of the era, one needs a torpedo, whose sophisticated sensors and circuitry allow it to actually bypass phase shielding and detonate directly against the ship's hull, with spectacular results. The problem is that torpedoes need about 20 seconds of locking time to do so. Those 20 seconds are generally the longest of a bomber jock's life.
- Mace Tactical Nuclear Missile: an unguided thermonuclear warhead equipped with a detonator, so that pilots could use it anywhere: against a capital ship, in the midst of a group of enemy fighters... Right next to their own ship... Seen only on the prototype Morningstar heavy fighter.
- Porcupine Mine: like all naval mines, this free-floating munition was simply an explosive booby-trap, designed to detonate in the presence of spacecraft. Thankfully, advances in techology allowed the Porcupine to contain its excitement until enemy spacecraft were nearby.
[edit] Terran Fighters
- P-64C Ferret Patrol Fighter: designed as a domestic patrol craft, it is armed only with two mass drivers and no missiles. It found new life on the front lines, though, when its high speed, agility and durable armor were proven to be a match for almost any Kilrathi fighter. It is a favorite of rookies and veterans alike. The player's first ship. In the expansions, the ship acquires a pair of heat-seeker missiles and "new control systems".
- F-54C Epee Light Fighter: replacing the old Hornet, this craft boasted superior speed, agility, shielding, missile loadout (two DF, two HS, or even a single centerline torpedo) and weaponry (two Particle Cannon). Unfortunately, its defenses were inadequate in real combat; a favorite flight-deck gripe was to suggest wrapping the ship in toilet paper, which would undoubtedly double its durability.
- F-44G Rapier II Medium Fighter: the last great hurrah of a venerable line (introduced, after all, ten years ago), the Rapier is the best all-purpose dogfighter in the fleet. Improvements over the original version include higher maneuverability, more armor, expansions to the missile loadout, and the replacement of the Neutron Guns with Particle Cannon.
- F-57A Sabre Heavy Fighter: maneuverable, durable, capable of carrying torpedoes or a dizzying array of anti-fighter missiles (2 DF, 2 FF, 4 IR), and armed with a truly pernicious gun rack (Particle & Mass Driver to the fore, a turreted Neutron installation in the rear), this was the best fighter in space in 2665, and (some argue) the best space-superiority fighter ever fielded. Like the real-world F-15 Eagle, it was later modified into a fighter-bomber, a version which saw service in the TCS Tarawa.
- A-17D Broadsword Heavy Bomber: four torpedoes. Four Pilum FF rounds. Triple forward-mount mass drivers. Neutron turrets to the rear and to both sides. A jump drive for long-range strike missions. More armor than some corvettes. ...No maneuverability. No afterburner. Slower than some corvettes. Love it or hate it, the Broadsword is the Confederation's major bomber. Just make sure you protect it. ...Or, if you're flying it, pray you're being protected. You'll need it. Named for, and modeled after, the famous B-17 Flying Fortress. Like the B-17, its turrets give it 360 degree fire coverage, and a skilled pilot will jump from turret to turret when flying, rather than turning with the opponent.
- YA-18 Crossbow Light Bomber: a lighter version of the Broadsword, this craft added two neutron guns and a slight speed and agility increase, trading off one friend-foe missile, some shielding and the side turrets. It was somewhat better in a pure dogfighting capacity, but the lack of the side turrets was very telling.
- Morningstar Heavy Fighter: the Confederation's newest and sexiest hardware, it is almost as maneuverable as a Rapier but carries two torpedoes and a Mace, giving it the same shipkilling ability as a Broadsword. For operations against fighter craft, it features three particle cannon and two image-recognition missiles.
- Wraith Medium Fighter: featured in the stand-alone Wing Commander Academy, it was designed as a replacement for the aging Rapier II. It saw further use in the stand-alone spin-off Wing Commander: Armada.
[edit] Terran Capital Ships
- Clydesdale-class transport: an utterly necessary part of any fleet, but an utterly defenseless one, especially as it lacks Phase Shielding.
- Free Trader-class freighter: a civilian craft; Paladin's Bonnie Heather is the game's primary example. It also lacks Phase Shielding, but, of course, the Heather is a bit less defenseless than your average Free Trader.
- Gilgamesh-class Destroyer: a small, fast and tenaciously armed escort ship. Two of these ships appear in the game, the Hector and the William Tell, the latter serving as the Concordia's escort. Features two Flak batteries and two Anti-Matter guns.
- Waterloo-class Cruiser: the next best thing to a carrier, this craft mounts dual launch bays and can field up to forty fighters, in addition to its four Anti-Matter Guns and three Flak batteries.
- Confederation-class Dreadnaught: a massive battleship/carrier that mounts the flawed but devastating Phase Transit Cannon in addition to its eight Anti-Matter guns, three Flak batteries and 120 fighters. The Concordia is part of this class.
[edit] Kilrathi Fighters
In general, Kilrathi fighters were slower and more fragile than Confederation fighters, but carried more weapons and held the advantage of numbers.
- Sartha Light Fighter: two Neutron Guns and a single Dumbfire allowed this small, scurrying craft to present a minimal threat, but it could be easily defeated head-to-head by just about any Confederation fighter. In swarms or in the hands of skilled pilots, however, the Sartha were even a threat to the mighty Concordia
- Drakhri Medium Fighter: the Kilrathi answer to the Epee boasted three lasers and four Dumbfire rounds. It also continued the Kilrathi tradition of a bat-winged fighter in their multi-purpose class.
- Strakha Stealth Fighter: the first production-line fighter to be equipped with a working cloaking device, this craft could totally disappear from visual and electronic scans, a perfect way to elude and then take aim on Confederation fighters. Two torpedoes also gave it an alarming punch against capships. In a straight-up dogfight, however, it was somewhat lacking, with two lasers, two dumbfire rounds, and uninspiring shielding and speed.
- Jalkehi Heavy Fighter: the pre-eminent Kilrathi dogfighter, this craft was armed with four lasers, a Particle cannon, a rear-facing turreted Neutron Gun, four image-recognition rounds and a single Dumbfire. It was also fairly nimble for a ship of its class. Only the Sabre could truly outmatch it.
- Grikath-class Heavy Fighter/Torpedo Bomber: small and surprisingly maneuverable, the Grikath was just as dangerous to fighters with its three forward Neutron guns, single rear Neutron turret and three Friend-or-Foe missiles as it was to capital ships with its three torpedoes. Thankfully, most Confederation fighters were faster than it.
- Gothri-class Heavy Fighter: the Kilrathi answer to the Sabre, it featured the same gun loadout (two particle, two mass) and comparable shields and handling. It was the most lethal thing in space until the arrival of the Morningstar.
- Jrathek Medium Fighter: a brand new Kilrathi fighter, the Jrathek was developed by Hajjnah, a brilliant Kilrathi scientist and engineer who defected to the Confederation carrying along the plans for the figher. Like the Wraith, it sported all new weapons and was later featured in Wing Commander Armada.
[edit] Kilrathi Capital Ships
- Kamekh-class Corvette: four torpedoes made it dangerous against capital ships, and three flak cannon and six IR rounds gave it teeth against fighters. Any pilot sly enough to elude its guns, though, would find a juicy, phase-shield-less target ready for the taking.
- Dorkathi-class Transport: transport duty is considered highly demeaning to the Kilrathi. So it's not surprising that Dorkathi are a pushover to anything with a gun. This craft lacks phase shielding, lowering its chances even further.
- Ralatha-class Destroyer: the smallest Kilrathi capital ship with phase shielding, its dual anti-matter guns make it a distinct danger to capital ships. Its two flak cannon and minimal maneuverability don't help it defend against fighters, though.
- Fralthra-class Cruiser: boasting a half-wing of fighters alongside phase shields, flak cannon and anti-matter guns, this was the Kilrathi ship-killer of choice. Treat accordingly.
