Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all the WingNuts that celebrate… and equivalent wishes for happiness for everyone else, as well! In honor of the holiday, we've collected twelve different Christmas-related items (many from the ghosts of CIC updates past) for you to enjoy. We'd also love for you to share your Wing Commander-related holiday memories–whether you opened a Wing Commander III in your stocking in 1994 or you read all of False Colors while sitting shivering in a Christmas tree lot the day it came out (both me) we'd love to hear about it! We also know that not everyone has a family to spend the holiday… while it's only a small company, you are more than welcome to join our community Discord if you ever need company!

Day One: Xmas Marc's the Spot

One of my very favorite Wing Commander traditions was always the warm and hilarious Wing Commander Christmas renderings that Marc used to create and send for us to post from 2006 to 2014. They never fail to make me smile to this day! Do you have a favorite? Here's the complete collection:

Day Two: To Absent Friends

We would like to take another moment to remember our dear friend Adam "Klavs" Burch who was tragically lost earlier this year. Not a day goes by that we aren't reminded of something he created or someone he influenced in the community; a terrible loss. Here are a few funny things he created for Christmas updates over the years… including a collection of 3D printed ship ornaments he made from his models!

Day Three: More Fan Art!

Here's a collection of some of the wonderful Christmas art fans have submitted to the site over the news including great work from EmuMusicFan, Music Guru, the Privateer Gemini Gold team and more!

Day Four: What You See is What You Play

In 2018, Rhesin created a playable Wing Commander I Christmas mod! In addition to adding the festive decorations seen below, the patch includes four optional holiday-themed missions that replace the ones in the Enyo System! You can download the package here and then just unzip it in your GAMEDAT directory to swap in the new graphics and missions.

Day Five: Do They Even Know it's Christmas?

Is Christmas still celebrated in Wing Commander's future? Short answer, yes! We actually see the crew of the Independence celebrate Christmas in False Colors and that story is detailed for Day Six. But Action Stations also claims of Confederation Day that "that's the biggest holiday of the year outside of Christmas." I don't think that's even true today, but go on! Three more minor Christmas mentions:

• In Fleet Action, Jason Bondarevsky notes that being kept from the DS5 system had him "feeling like a child who was being held back from looking under the Christmas tree."
• In the Wing Commander IV novelization, Blair compares the Intrepid's technicians getting the first captured Dragons (Lances) as being "like kids at Christmas".
• In the Secret Ops preview fiction, Casey's mom writes a letter mentioning how their family once went on a "Christmas trip to the Miyahira nebula resort" with a family named the Helfmans.

Now, if Christmas exists in the Tri-System, it might be a little different. It looks like coal is at a premium in that area of space…

Day Six: Christmas on the Tarawa Independence

And what would the holiday be without a Christmas story? Here is an excerpt from Wing Commander False Colors in which Jason Bondarevsky and Kevin Tolwyn hold a Christmas party with a group of Kilrathi renegades! It's kind of neat as a self-contained unit since it starts with a deceptive simulated dogfight just like the original Wing Commander and the first episode of Wing Commander Academy! Tropes on tropes. Plus, it stars an actual black cat!

Flight Wing Lounge, FRLS Karga
Orbiting Vaku VII, Vaku System
1925 hours (CST), 2670.358

"Break left! Break left!" The voice in Bondarevsky's helmet receivers was urgent. "Come on, Captain, you can nail this guy!"
Bondarevsky pulled the joystick hard over, rolling to the left and trying to spot his quarry. The Strakha bucked and kicked as if it resented the very idea of a human pilot flying it, but he fought the controls and forced the fighter into the turn. He reached for the sensor controls to narrow the focus and try to get an accurate position estimate on the cloaked enemy fighter he knew was closing in for the kill, but a split second too late he realized he'd instinctively reached for the spot where they would have been located on one of the Ferrets he'd flown back in his days as Tarawa's Wing Commander. The sudden realization made him try to shift in mid-reach, but that sent his bionic arm into a feedback spasm.
The delay was fatal. The enemy Strakha decloaked bare meters off his starboard side, and the red flash of incoming fire washed through Jason Bondarevsky's cockpit.
The buzzer going off in his ear made him wince and grind his teeth. The cockpit opened up, revealing a crowd of men and women surrounding the simulator unit. Money was changing hands as they paid off their bets. Bondarevsky blinked in the glare of the lights.
"Bang, you're dead," Doomsday Montclair announced from the other simulator cockpit, climbing out with the aid of a pair of his squadron's younger pilots.
"I noticed," Bondarevsky replied dryly. "I've got to hand it to you, Doomsday. You haven't lost your edge."
Montclair grinned. "Didn't let them promote me out of the cockpit, skipper," he said. "But don't sweat it. You'll get the moves back. And if you don't, I'll be around to bail out your sorry ass!"
That sparked laughter from the audience. Bondarevsky started to clamber out of the cockpit, and Harper and Sparks were quick to help him. The simulator modules were cobbled together from a combination of Confederation and Kilrathi technology, mostly the former. The Kilrathi had less use for detailed simulations of flight missions than human pilots did. According to Jorkad lan Mraal, the senior pilot from the Nargrast survivors who had been working with Sparks on building the modules, the Empire preferred live-training exercises with real ships, real maneuvers, and live ammo.
Jorkad was there now, looking out of place amidst the revelry of the Flight Wing's Christmas party. The Christmas holiday was something the Kilrathi couldn't quite grasp. The message of "peace on Earth, good will toward men" was so alien to their way of life that they simply had nothing to compare it to. But a kil enjoyed a good party as much as any human, and Jorkad seemed to be developing a special fondness for eggnog.
"I was studying your performance, Captain Bondarevsky," he said gravely. Jorkad was always studiously correct and formal. At first some of the members of the wing had assumed it was a mask for some underlying hostility to the humans, but on closer acquaintance the general consensus was that Jorkad was just naturally serious and punctilious all the time. "Your instincts are good. But I fear your reactions have been somewhat slowed by your injuries. The artificial arm . . ."
"Is a problem sometimes, yes," Bondarevsky said, feeling impatient. He still didn't like discussing the plastilimb, especially not with a Cat. "I'm getting the hang of it."
He wasn't good at reading Kilrathi expressions, but he thought Jorkad's look might have been the Cat equivalent of a frown. "I believe that Hrothark and I could design an interface that would connect your arm directly into the controls of the fighter," he said. "It is possible that you could substantially improve your performance by having many of the onboard systems essentially controlled by thought—or at least by the muscular impulses associated with specific actions, such as operating sensors or firing weapons."
"Thanks, but no thanks," Bondarevsky said.
Jorkad studied him curiously. "I do not understand. Why would you reject something which could give you an advantage in combat? Particularly when it turns a current handicap around and makes it an asset instead?"
Bondarevsky shrugged. "I don't know if I can explain it, my friend," He held up his arm. "Look here. You can see that the limb is designed to look as much like a biological arm as possible. It would be a lot more efficient, and cost-effective too, for that matter, if it wasn't built this way, but you'll find most people prefer artificial limbs that don't look artificial."
The Kilrathi pilot gave a very human head nod, at the same time making the Cat grasping gesture that stood for understanding.
"The thing is," Bondarevsky went on, "a lot of us don't like to be forced to admit to something like this. I've got a machine doing the work of a limb, and I'm damned glad to have it, but I'd far rather have the original. And the last thing I want is to lose my humanity more than I already have by plugging myself into my cockpit like one more onboard system. I learned to fly by my gut, and I'd rather keep on doing it that way even if I have to work a little bit harder at it. Do you understand?"
"I believe I do, Captain," Jorkad said slowly. "Your sentiments are reminiscent of some of the passages in the Seventh Codex. You've given me much to think about."
"Glad I could help out," Bondarevsky muttered as the Cat pilot stalked away in search of a refill for his empty cup of eggnog.
"Well, well, Jason Bondarevsky trading philosophy with a Cat. I never thought I'd live to see the day." The crowd parted as Kevin Tolwyn approached, trailed by a junior lieutenant carrying a large, bulky box.
"I've swapped that kind of stuff with stranger types than him," Bondarevsky said with a smile. "In fact, I'm looking at one now."
Tolwyn's expression was one of mock horror. "I'm wounded! To be insulted so, and by my own dear mentor! Maybe I'll just call off this whole Christmas thing right here and now."
"Christmas thing?" Bondarevsky frowned. "Please tell me you didn't . . ."
"Oh, don't worry, I'm not going to give you anything." Tolwyn grinned at him. Bondarevsky had never been much for celebrating Christmas, beyond putting in the expected appearances at the festivities held by the people in his command. Born and raised on Razin, a distant frontier world settled by Russians of mostly Eastern Orthodox religion, Bondarevsky had been brought up to celebrate Epiphany, the baptism rather than the Nativity of Christ, and even yet he still was apt to keep the Twelfth-Night holiday rather than the more traditional Christmas Day. He and Kevin had a long-standing tradition of not exchanging presents until Epiphany. "No, I brought over a gift from all of the Liberators to all of you . . . whatever it is you're going to call yourselves. Lieutenant, if you please . . ."
His assistant stepped forward and set the box down on the table. "Open it up, Jason," Tolwyn said.
He looked at the box for a long moment, half-expecting some kind of prank. Then he noticed that the lid of the box was pierced by half a dozen small holes, and that piqued his curiosity. Just what was Tolwyn up to, anyway?
Bondarevsky lifted the lid and looked inside. There, almost invisible in the shadows, a pair of green eyes regarded him curiously.
"Thrakhath!" he said. He reached in and lifted out the black cat, who responded by rubbing on his chin and purring loudly. That set off laughter from the officers clustered nearby. "Kevin, are you sure about this? I had the idea Thrakhath was kind of a favorite of yours. This one, at least."
Tolwyn grinned. "Yeah, I like him a lot better than I ever liked the one from Kilrah, but there's a dozen cats on Independence to keep our rodent population under control. And we thought you guys could use a mascot over here. Given your new home and all, it just seemed like a good idea."
Bondarevsky put the cat down on the table, but kept petting him. "Just as long as he doesn't cause as much trouble as his namesake . . ."
"Oh, he'll cause a lot more than that." Tolwyn grinned again. "And he'll bring bad luck to anybody who crosses his path. Like Ragark and his Kilrathi . . ."
"Or the confees!" one of the pilots called from the back of the watching crowd. "Or anybody else who gets in our way!"
Tolwyn looked embarrassed. "Anyway, Merry Christmas from the Liberators to . . ." He trailed off. Bondarevsky's command had been officially designated as FW-137, but it didn't have a name as yet. The carrier hadn't even received a formal Landreich Navy name yet.
"The Black Cats!" a voice from the crowd declared loudly. Commander Alexandra Travis came forward and stretched out a hand to scratch Thrakhath behind the ears. The animal looked satisfied with himself and redoubled his contented purring. "What do you say, Captain? What better name for a Flight Wing operating off a Cat carrier, with Cat fighters, and probably in Cat space, sooner or later?"
There were plenty of comments from the others, and they all sounded favorable. Bondarevsky nodded. "All right, the Black Cats it is." He paused. "Mr. Harper, I am hereby appointing you as Chief Cat-tender, with all the duties and responsibilities that traditionally go with that post. And somebody else is going to have to explain all this to Murragh. I sure as hell don't want to tell him we've got a house pet named after his cousin."
"To hear him talk," Travis said, "house pet would be a step up from what Murragh's people think of their ex-Prince." She grinned. "But you know we'll be bad luck to anybody who crosses our path!"
Tolwyn and his aid stayed on for a drink, then left to catch the tail end of the Christmas party aboard their own ship. Soon after they had taken their leave Bondarevsky stopped at a side table to refill his drink, and encountered Travis once again.
"So . . . you lost your simulator duel, huh?" she said. "The legend has feet of clay after all. I lost ten credits on you, Captain."
"Sorry, Commander," he said with a faint smile. "If I'd've known you were betting on me I would have worked harder."
She returned the smile. "Or bet against me and thrown the fight deliberately," she said, arching one eyebrow. "Seriously, though, how did it feel? Do you think it's an accurate simulation of a Strakha?"
Her interest was understandable. Alexandra Travis had been designated as squadron commander for VF-401, one of the new fighter squadrons being organized aboard the supercarrier. Once she and her pilots finished training, they'd be flying the squadron of Strakha fighters salvaged from the Kilrathi planes on board. Her previous experience had been confined to the Raptor heavy fighter, and they had little in common in terms of handling with the Cat Strakhas.
Bondarevsky was impressed by her record and by the skill she'd displayed getting her squadron in shape these last few days. Of all his new squadron commanders she was the one who seemed most in tune with him, her mind often following the same leaps of imagination that his own did as they discussed the ways and means of making the Flight Wing work.
"I don't know how accurate it is," he said, "but Sparks and Jorkad seem to think it isn't too far from the real thing. If it's anything like the simulator, the Strakha's going to be heavy going. Big and mean, but not exactly subtle . . . except for the stealth technology. I guess the Cats figured they had a cloak, so why bother making the thing nimble too? Takes some getting used to when you've come out of the high-maneuverability school."
"Sort of like trying to fly a shuttle after a stretch of duty with Hornets," she said, nodding.
"Well, not quite that bad, maybe," he said, remembering his landing on Independence and how clumsy the shuttle controls had seemed. "I figure with enough sim time it won't be too much of a problem getting these Cat planes down cold. I have to admit, though, that it's pretty strange thinking of how to use them in combat, and not just how to beat them."
She laughed. "You could say the same thing about this whole operation," she said. "A year ago a Cat was just something to shoot at. Now I'm starting to understand how they think . . . and it's starting to scare me. Sometimes I wonder how we managed to hold them off so long. They sure as hell know how to build a carrier."
Bondarevsky nodded. "I know what you mean. And working with the Cats from Murragh's bunch . . . they're not exactly what we always thought they were, are they?"
Before she could reply they were interrupted by a chord from Aengus Harper's guitar. The young lieutenant had found himself a perch on one of the tables and taken the battered-looking instrument out of its case. For a moment he contented himself with strumming chords, apparently at random.
"Well, the Bard of the Spaceways is at it again," Bondarevsky commented with a smile. "What's it going to be tonight, Lieutenant? More of your old Irish rabble-rousing songs?"
"Ah, now, sir, should I be playin' such things and ignoring the spirit of the season?" Harper replied with his easy, charming grin. "No, tonight I'll not be speakin' of the Gaels and their long struggle for freedom, more's the pity. Instead I thought I'd give you a Christmas song me auld mither taught me when I was just a lad."
He started picking the strings with practiced skill, closing his eyes and starting to sing in a soft, pleasant voice. It was a song Bondarevsky hadn't heard for years. The crowd was rapt as the young Taran sang the story of the child Jesus and his scornful playmates in Egypt, and the miracles that alarmed their mothers.
Thinking of the work they'd done on Karga, Bondarevsky couldn't help but think the lieutenant's choice was deliberate . . . and apt. They'd all worked their share of miracles out here on the edge of the frontier, and after this holiday was past they'd be right back in the miracle-working business once more.

Day Seven: Christmas Cards!

Here are a pair of Wing Commander Christmas cards from recent years. The first one is from original Wing Commander artist Denis Loubet and was created for his Patreon members. The second one was sent out by the now defunct publisher Prima to celebrate a major anniversary. Can you locate five Wing Commander game books in their grid?

Day Eight: A Very Old Audio File

Here's another blast from the past: a 1998 vintage Christmas wav file recorded by Origin Systems' John "Captain Johnny" Guentzel, who at the time had just finished work as a designer on Wing Commander Secret Ops. Johnny was always so kind to the community and we used to run this file every year. It's a silly thing from a smaller era of fandom but it's pretty neat to look back on today! Plus, the idea of a developer wishing fans a 'wingcommanderific holiday' was pretty ahead of its time back then.

Day Nine: Moose Bull

And here's a Christmas-themed magazine ad from Origin! This ran in December 1996 and you will be forgiven for thinking the crazy person looks familiar: that's none other than Patrick Bradshaw, Wing Commander IV product manager and the face of Moose in the Intrepid's pilot database! Can you spot the Wing Commander III cameo?

Day Ten: Don't Forget the Ornaments!

We still need to trim the tree… and what better choice than the closest thing the Wing Commander universe has to an ornament? That's right, it's the mysterious Super Wing Commander version of the Kilrathi Dorkir. It's a retexture of the Wing Commander II supply depot model but it's not at all clear why they went with red and green balls or a giant label that rads NC-4. Adding to the mystery: the source file for the ship is labeled OLDDORK and the Lumbari is labeled NEWDORK. What was going on with those dorks?! Bonus picture: a REAL Origin ornament, an employee gift from years past!

Day Eleven: The Assault Begins

The most famous Origin Christmas story is at least Wing Commander adjacent: Chris Roberts famously promised that Strike Commander would ship for Christmas 1991… and he was so certain of this that they advertised that in the marketing material. Of course, the game slipped to early 1993 instead, quite a delay at the time. They poked fun at themselves in the manual with a parody 'coming 2012' advertisement… but it's safe to say it's a lesson Chris didn't quite learn at the time!

Day Twelve: Merry Christmas from Ginger!

Here's an exciting new gift courtesy of LeHah: a cameo from Ginger Lynn, aka Chief Tech Rachel Coriolis, wishing us all a merry Christmas!

BONUS DAY: WC:CIC Traditions

We have a few traditions here at the CIC, too! You may have noticed that we put up Christmas lights in the logo every year… usually they go up pretty late and then they stay up well into the spring, just like at home. Here are both of the versions we've used over the years… crazy how much more resolution web images need today!

There used to be a second Christmas decoration who would appear in the top corner of the old version of the site. Our jolly snowman would be added leading up to Christmas and then he would slowly melt over the next month!

Finally, back in the early days we used to do some Christmas filk with… terrible… parodies of Christmas songs. We're including these for posterity and not because anyone should ever sing them. Or read them!

The Twelve Days of CIC
(to the tune of The Twelve Days of Christmas)
On the first day of Christmas, Johnny gave to me.. rumors of Privateer three..
On the second day of Christmas, Johnny gave to me.. two Dralthi IV's.. and rumors of Privateer three..
On the third day of Christmas, Johnny gave to me.. the price freedom, two Dralthi IV's.. and rumors of Privateer three..
On the fourth day of Christmas, Johnny gave to me.. four new books, the price freedom, two Dralthi IV's.. and rumors of Privateer three..
On the fifth day of Christmas, Johnny gave to me.. five.. Prophecies.., four new books, the price freedom, two Dralthi IV's.. and rumors of Privateer three..
On the sixth day of Christmas, Johnny gave to me.. movie merchandise, five.. Prophecies.., four new books, the price freedom, two Dralthi IV's.. and rumors of Privateer three..
On the seventh day of Christmas, Johnny gave to me.. seven new episodes, movie merchandise, five.. Prophecies.., four new books, the price freedom, two Dralthi IV's.. and rumors of Privateer three..
On the eighth day of Christmas, Johnny gave to me.. eight amazing updates, seven new episodes, movie merchandise, five.. Prophecies.., four new books, the price freedom, two Dralthi IV's.. and rumors of Privateer three..
On the nineth day of Christmas, Johnny gave to me.. a brand new poll, eight amazing updates, seven new episodes, movie merchandise, five.. Prophecies.., four new books, the price freedom, two Dralthi IV's.. and rumors of Privateer three..
On the tenth day of Christmas, Johnny gave to me.. ten thousand hits, a brand new poll, eight amazing updates, seven new episodes, movie merchandise, five.. Prophecies.., four new books, the price freedom, two Dralthi IV's.. and rumors of Privateer three..
On the eleventh day of Christmas, Johnny gave to me.. the Wing Commander card game, ten thousand hits, a brand new poll, eight amazing updates, seven new episodes, movie merchandise, five.. Prophecies.., four new books, the price freedom, two Dralthi IV's.. and rumors of Privateer three..
On the twelfth day of Christmas, Johnny gave to me.. Thrakhath's severed head, the Wing Commander card game, ten thousand hits, a brand new poll, eight amazing updates, seven new episodes, movie merchandise, five.. Prophecies.., four new books, the price freedom, two Dralthi IV's.. and rumors of Privateer three..

Super the Macintosh Wing Commander
(To the tune of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer)

You know Heart of the Tiger
and The Price of Freedom
Prophecy and Academy
and Privateer and Armada
But do you recall
The most famous Wing Commander of all?
Super the Macintosh Wing Commander
Had a very full speech pack,
and if you ever heard it,
You might even call it great.
All of the other Wing Commanders
Used to laugh and steal its graphics
They never let poor Super
Play on any normal platforms.
Then one foggy release deadline
Roberts came to say,
"Super with your speech so full
Won't you make the Armada intro?"
Then all the Wing Commanders loved it
And they shouted out with glee
Super the Macintosh Wing Commander
You'll go down in history!

Multi Player
(To the tune of Jingle Bells)

Dashing through space
In a one-manned light fighter
Through asteroid fields we go
Dogfighting all the way.
Taunts from furballs ring
Making Spirit bright
What fun it is to play a Wing
Commander game tonight.
Multiplayer, Multiplayer,
Why can't we have you?
Oh what fun it would be to play
This great game that way.

Wing Commander The Movie
(To the tune of Frosty the Snowman)
Wing Commander the Movie
Was a jolly happy film
With Freddie Prinze and Matt Lillard
and no S on Tiger's Claw.
Wing Commander the Movie
Was an awful film 'they' say
Reviews were crap
But the true fans clap
When they see that intro scene.
There must have been some confusion
On that old movie set
For when they filmed a traitor plot
It had to be cut out.
Wing Commander the Movie
Was as good as it could be
And the true fans say
It was better most ways
Then Star Wars TPM.

Away is the Manager
(To the tune of Away in the Manger)

Away is the manager, who cancelled Wing 6,
The little Lord Sivar will have his revenge.
The stars in the sky look down where he lay,
The little Lord Sivar will taste blood today.
The Strakha are cloaking, the target awaits.
But little Lord Khasra no sight does he make.
I love thee, Lord Khasra, come down from the sky
And fire your missiles so as he might deep-fry.
Be near me, Lord Melek, I ask thee to stay
Close by me forever, and make them all pay
Bless all the dear furballs in thy tender care,
And take them to Pasqual, to live with thee there.

Hull the Decks
(To the tune of Deck the Halls)

Hull the decks with balls of neutron,
Fa-la-la-la-la.. la-la-la-la
'Tis the season to fire tachyon,
Fa-la-la-la-la.. la-la-la-la
Don we now our Rapier II's
Fa-la-la-la-la.. la-la-la-la
Against a Salthi we can't lose
Fa-la-la-la-la.. la-la-la-la
See the blazing hull before us.
Fa-la-la-la-la.. la-la-la-la
Strike with torps and join the chorus.
Fa-la-la-la-la.. la-la-la-la
Follow me in merry measure.
Fa-la-la-la-la.. la-la-la-la
While I target shield generators.
Fa-la-la-la-la.. la-la-la-la
Fast away the old ship passes.
Fa-la-la-la-la.. la-la-la-la
Hail the kill ye lads and lasses
Fa-la-la-la-la.. la-la-la-la
Scratch one flat-top all together
Fa-la-la-la-la.. la-la-la-la
heedless of the wind and weather.
Fa-la-la-la-la.. la-la-la-la

Merry Christmas, everyone, from the whole Wing Commander Combat Information Center team! Hope yours is Wingcommanderific.