You Can Go Homeworld Again

Star*Soldier Gloss: Page 15

This is the Star*Soldier gloss for the third pilots page:

CONCEPT: See the previous post!

REFERENCES-

• "Kur 'Human-Killer' nar Tr'k H'hra" - I chose to do a bio on Kur because I always wanted to know more about the Kilrathi aces in Wing Commander II. Three of them play a major role in the plot (Thrakhath, Khasra and Jazz)... but the other two are only mentioned after they show up (because WC2 had no Claw Marks-style manual) and then only briefly. His clan is new, my parallel to the Super Wing Commander manual - it's taken from one of the otherwise unmentioned systems on the Wing Commander Universe map. His picture is the Wing Commander II 'Drakhai/ace' VDU.
• "Right of Vengeance" - This might be from Star Trek.
• "Paktahn Tusk" - Kur flew Grikaths in Wing Commander II, so it makes sense that he'd still be a bomber pilot.
• "Grikath squadron was ambushed..." - His take on his encounter with Bluehair in Wing Commander II.
• "Heart of the Tiger" - Blair's Kilrathi nickname from Wing Commander III.
• "Nephilim invasion" - Wing Commander Prophecy forward.
• "human battlecruisers" - Ties the bio in to the Capital Ship mode in Arena.
• "Najjath 'Fireclaw's Avenger' Ragitagha" - When coming up with the 'callsign list' I included Fireclaw's Avenger, taken from a WC:CCG Darket squadron. I decided to give that a little backstory and make the character Fireclaw's son (Fireclaw is apparently still alive, so it's not clear what exactly he's avenging here or in the CCG). Note the lack of 'nar,' which sometimes (but not always) seems to be intentionally assosciated with Fireclaw's name. The VDU image is Kahl from Righteous Fire (sorry, Kahl fans).
• "aide-de-camp" - A new bit of pseudohistorical terminology to assosciate with the Kilrathi; to me, it conveys 19th century nobility going to war.
• "still flies occasionally" - Since I also had 'Fireclaw' on that list... I guess he ejected.
• "Darket Stalker" - Obviously, Fireclaw's son would also fly a Darket!
• "noble example... Sivarist terrorists" - We see Sivarist terrorists who have essentially become ordinary pirate raiders in Wing Commander Prophecy. Here we have these highly famed Kilrathi warriors who decided not to become guerilla fighters and go down that path after Kilrah fell, analagous to the various Southern military leaders who made that same choice after the American Civil War.
• "Skigha 'Atomic Claw' nar K'Cris" - Skigha is a new character. I had the callsign and thought it might develop into a good 'hook' story. K'Cris is a system whose name appears only in a version of the Wing Commander Universe map in the Confederation Handbook. Why? Who knows! The picture is the ordinary Wing Commander II Kilrathi pilot VDU.
• "Border Worlds weapons transport" - Something about the fact that the Border Worlds would be manufacturing Maces appeals to me... part of that 'they're not so innocent' crusade I have against them, I suppose.
• "Mace Tactical Nuclear Missiles" - A neat weapon introduced in Special Operations 2 and seen again (briefly) in Wing Commander IV. We'll revisit it somewhat in Wing Commander Arena...
• "Sivarist cells" - A combination of the Sivarist pirates seen in Wing Commander Prophecy and the terminology used in our present-day 'War on Terror'. I think it makes for a nice backstory, that crazed and desparate Kilrathi are blowing things up with Maces.
• "Circe System" - The 'help civilians' optional system from Wing Commander IV -- the joke being that in the game you have to choose Speradon to get Maces.
• "Paktahn Mauler" - Skigha's callsign, Atomic Claw, comes from a WC:CCG Paktahn squadron. Of course, that name was around before there was a Border Worlds or a Sivarist opposition... so they must not be related.
• "Highest bidder" - Isn't it good to see a Kilrathi privateer, for once? I always wondered if the Gothri and Dralthi and Paktahns in Privateer were part of a fleet or 'Vikings'.
• "Slorth 'Dark Inquisitor' laq Anchorage" - Slorth is a new character. Dark Inquisitor was another squadron from the WC:CCG (Strakhas) and it seemed like another interesting hook for building a new Kilrathi character. 'Thrakhath's personal torturer' seems like a good way of personally tying him into the previous mythology without interrupting too much. Think of Slorth as analagous to an unrepentant SS doctor. laq is one of the 'alternate' (and undefined) Kilrathi honorifics from False Colors and and Anchorage was a Kilrathi-held system seen in Super Wing Commander. The picture is one of the Imperial Guards from the Wing Commander II demo.
• "without honor is..." - A play on a speech from the first episode of Wing Commander Academy ("a man without honor... has no reason to live.")
• "kil" - The equivalent word to 'man' for a Kilrathi, introduced in False Colors.
• "Treaty of Torgo" - Treaty signed at the end of Wing Commander III, so-named in False Colors.
• "Anchorage System fief... return it" - My attempt to explain why the top secret Kilrathi system from Super Wing Commander was named after a human city. I also like the use of the term fief in relation to Kilrathi system ownership (I know it's a real concept, but I stole it from Dune).
• "Joor'rad" - Did I name the Emperor? Well: yes and no. I will admit that that is what I set out to do. It always bothered me when I would go to write a history or make a character list or somesuch that we didn't have that piece of information. On thinking about it, though, I realized that that may be the point: the lack of a name is consistent throughout so many pieces of media. Was it just a ball that got bigger as it went, or was there a conscious decision that he always be 'The Emperor'? If it's the latter than I genuinely feel bad about this. So, if you're as angry with me as I might be about this - maybe that's 2567 to 2569 and it refers to an earlier Emperor. In any event, the name derives from Joor'ath, an earlier Emperor mentioned in the Wing Commander III novelization.
• "Best of the Best" - I can't believe I have to do this. Well, let me explain: I had the list of all the callsigns that the game can generate, I had an unlimited-page manual I could fill out... why not provide that information to the fans? This was my solution: a huge, awkward chart. As with the other kill scores, the idea is that you can place yourself on this chart - it's something of a small game enhancer. The kill numbers were all randomly generated in Excel and many of the first and last names were random combos of otherwise unrelated decisions (ie, the first name may refer to something and the last name doesn't). The majority of the Kilrathi first names are made up (and let me tell you, that was tough) so needn't be explained. Finally, quite a few of the characters are from various Wing Commander games - as are even more of the callsigns (but few of the Kilrathi). Confused yet? Lets get to it...
• "Heartbreaker" - Pakhtan squadron from the WC:CCG.
• "Qual'lat" - Epsilon Sector, Sa'Kahn Quadrant.
• "Enslaver of Races" - Strakha squadron from the WC:CCG.
• "Misty" - Misty from Pokemon.
• "K'n'Bren" - Kilrah Sector, Kur'u-Pak Quadrant
• "Ardai" - Vega Sector, Roberts Quadrant. Appears on Claw Marks map. Mentioned in Wing Commander I dialogue.
• "Braxna 'Minx' nar Caxki" - WC:CCG crew card.
• "Ki'ra" - Noble clan introduced in Fleet Action.
• "K'n'Meth" - Vega Sector, Downing Quadrant
• "Night Prowler" - Dralthi IV squadron from the WC:CCG.
• "Helene" - The name of a former French teacher. She is also an exceptionally beautiful and mysterious woman, but that is another matter.... (name the reference!)
• "Cassipeia" - Originally "Helen Condon" from the Terran Confederation Handbook KIA list.
• "Jaguarundi" - A type of Earth wild cat.
• "dai" - Alternate honorific from False Colors.
• "Sorn" - A race conquered by the Kilrathi as listed in Fleet Action.
• "Simon 'McGoo' LeDuke" - WC:CCG pilot card.
• "Stuart" - Name of a childhood friend.
• "Jaeger" - Originally Helmut "Beast" Jaeger from the Wing Commander III novelization.
• "Maria 'La Dona' Alvarez" - Pilot mentioned in Claw Marks.
• "Max 'Max Max' Labeau" - Not a reference, but a fantastic callsign none the less. I'm pretty sure it was originally meant to be *Mad Max".
• "K'n'Hhra" - Kilrah Sector, Kur'u Caxki Quadrant
• "Carnival" - Originally "William Jefferson" from the Terran Confederation Handbook KIA list.
• "Couts" - Name of a friend.
• "Leopard" - A type of Earth wild cat.
• "H'hrass" - Kilrah Sector, Kur'u Caxki Quadrant. Appears in Wing Commander Prophecy.