to me, dialogue makes for a faster plot - I just finished Dune by Frank Herbert (a must-read, by the way), and while it's awesome, it moves too slow for my taste
I think a Wing Commander story should have lots of shoot-em-up action, a bit of romance and mystery mixed in, and not much description of the surrounding world since everyone interprets it differently
I guess it would make for a pretty good movie, too...
P.S. - I left this off the thread starter, but be sure to vote on how much of the story you've read - that goes for everyone