Wing Commander in Real Time - Day 3 - 1259 Zulu

Script

280 EXT. BEHIND JOVIAN PLANET MOON

The Kilrathi admiral's flagship, the Snakeir, fires its

massive ion engines and d rifts from behind the shadow of

the moon.

281 INT. SNAKEIR - BRIDGE

The murky green atmosphere allows only silhouettes as

Kilrathi move about. The Kilrathi Captain approaches the

Admiral's chair.

KILRATHI CAPTAIN

(subtitled)

A manned Confederation fighter is

approaching the quasar jump point,

Admiral. We're not in position to

intercept.

KILRATHI ADMIRAL

He's going to warn the Confed fleet of

our jump coordinates. Follow him.

Instruct all ships to mark our course

and follow us through. Sixty second

intervals.

SC. 282 OMIT

283 EXT. SNAKEIR

The giant ship turns, and accelerates, following a distant

speck of light... Blair's Rapier.

284 EXT. TIGER CLAW - BRIDGE

To the relief of everyone on the bridge, the Kilrathi

cruiser veers right.

RADAR MAN

She's changing course!

PALADIN

(roaring)

Mister Gerald, prepare to lower our

shield. Starboard missile battery,

prepare to fire!

GERALD

Sir, the missile guidance systems won't

activate at this range.

PALADIN

They won't need to. Arm warheads.

285 INT. TIGER CLAW - MISSILE ROOM

Men and women lock and load missiles, preparing to fire.

286 INT. TIGER CLAW - FLIGHT DECK

Peterson and his crew brace themselves.

287 INT. RAPIER COCKPIT - BLAIR

The shaking is infernal.

MERLIN

(voice only)

Light speed mach point eight two.

Twenty seconds to jump. Can you do it?

BLAIR

(Distorted by the shaking.)

Only one way to find out.

(Closes his eyes.)

Coordinates: 1 7 2 9 4 mark 3 3 4 3

vector 4 4 2 7 1 angle of attack 6 3 9

5 6 1 by 3 2 4 9....

HE closes his eyes.

288 EXT. TIGER CLAW & KILRATHI CRUISER

The Kilrathi pour cannon fire onto the Tiger Claw's shield

as the two great ships come abreast of each other.

289 INT. TIGER CLAW - BRIDGE

The ship is rocking with shock waves.

PALADIN

Lower shields. Give 'em a broadside,

Mister Gerald.

290 INT. TIGER CLAW - TORPEDO ROOM

The missile room crew, fire their salvo, even as they are

rocked by explosions from the cannon fire.

291 EXT. MANIAC's RAPIER

Maniac blows a last Krant escort out of the air and turns

upside down to avoid the fireball. Then he s tares at the

sight below him.

MANIAC

And they say I'm crazy.

292 EXT. TIGER CLAW AND KILRATHI CRUISER

A DOZEN GUIDED MISSILES streak from the Tiger Claw's

battery as they bear on the cruiser, each striking the

cruiser, piercing the shield, and EXPLODING AGAINST THE

HULL!

A missile finds the Kilrathi bridge and destroys it. The

cruiser rolls over and "capsizes" as its stern clears the

devastating field of fire...

The Tiger Claw pulls clear as the Kilrathi ship is

SHATTERED BY A SERIES OF EXPLOSIONS, finally

disintegrating in the void.

293 INT. RAPIER COCKPIT - BLAIR

The vibration is accompanied by a strange noise. BLAIR

continues to spout numbers: 4, 7, 5, 5, 3, 9, 9...as MERLIN

counts down the seconds to jump.

MERLIN

Five seconds to jump. Four, three, two.

Suddenly, time and motion stop. All is silence.

294 INT. TIGER CLAW - BRIDGE & VARIOUS STATIONS

As one, officers and crew of the Tiger Claw scream, cheer,

hug one another.

294A EXT. EARTH'S SOLAR SYSTEM

Placid, calm. We can clearly see our system's nine

planets, with Earth, blue, lush, alive...vulnerable,

spinning in the distance.

Suddenly, a blinding flash of light, and Blair's Rapier

appears, blasts past us, jump drive engines glowing.

SC. 295 OMIT

296 INT. RAPIER COCKPIT - BLAIR

Blair is ecstatic.

BLAIR

We did it! We did it! I love this baby!

She held together.

MERLIN

(voice only)

I'm not sure I did.

Blair flicks his radio switch.

BLAIR

Lieutenant Christopher Blair of the

Tiger Claw calling any Confed Ship. A

Kilrathi battle group has the Charybdis

jump coordinates. They will breach at

167 mark 889, Sol system. Repeat, 167

mark 889, Sol system. Do you read?

(to Merlin)

Check your frequencies for any sign of

the Confed fleet.

MERLIN

Nothing. Wait a minute. Check behind us.

BLAIR

Behind us?

Space, where Blair had been a moment before: A second,

bigger, flash of light and the gigantic Snakeir appears

through the warp in the time space continuum.

MERLIN (O.S.)

Kilrathi capital ship... Snakeir class

They came through the jump point.

SC. 297 OMIT

298 INT. RAPIER COCKPIT - BLAIR

Blair pounds the instrument panel in frustration.

BLAIR

Shit! We're too late!

Storyboards

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Novelization

CHAPTER 29

KILRATHI BATTLE GROUP

SNAKEIR-CLASS CRUISER KIS GRIST'AR'ROC

ULYSSES CORRIDOR

MARCH 17, 2654 1259 HOURS ZULU TIME

1 MINUTE FROM CHARYBOIS QUASAR JUMP POINT

Admiral Bokoth's plans, based on an unholy pact between

himself and a now-dead Pilgrim, were falling apart before him.

But Captain Thiraka would not wave his prior reservations in

the admiral's face. He delivered his report meekly, comfortable

with the knowledge that the admiral's next error would be his

last. Commander Ke'Soick's fingers itched with the desire to

murder Bokoth, and Thiraka would permit his shintahr that

honor now. Thiraka would sacrifice the life of a dear friend for

the preservation of the Empire. As agonizing as it was to lose

Ke'Soick—who would be executed for the admiral's

murder—Thiraka had come to see the truth and the honor in

disposing of Bokoth. He bowed before the old one. "Kalralahr. A

manned Confederation fighter is approaching the quasar with

its jump drive engaged. We're not in position to intercept."

"A fighter?" Bokoth asked, turning in the command chair.

"Using what coordinates?"

"Apparently the right ones, sir. The ship is on course."

Bokoth's good eye bulged. "He's going to warn the Confed fleet

of our jump coordinates. Follow him. Instruct all ships to mark

our course but follow original coordinates through.

Sixty-second intervals."

"As you wish. But I should remind you that our enemy is

capable of jumping gravity wells, pulsars, and now a quasar.

They must have Pilgrims among them. If the Tiger Claw is not

destroyed, I believe she will jump behind our fleet."

"If she does, then I'll have three destroyers from the fleet

waiting for her. Satisfied?"

"Only with victory, Kalralahr. Only with victory." Thiraka

nodded and stepped away. He gave the new orders to the helm,

then stood beside Ke'Soick.

"Now?" the commander asked.

"I agree with his orders," Thiraka said. "We'll wait until after

the jump. But don't worry, my friend. You'll have your chance."

* * *

Gerald did a double-take as he watched the Kilrathi cruiser

turn hard to port, away from the Tiger Claw. "Mr. Falk?"

"She's changing course, sir."

"Why?"

"Frankly, sir, I'm not sure."

"Mr. Gerald," Taggart said. "Prepare to lower our shield.

Starboard missile battery prepare to fire."

After setting the shield to perform a flash shutdown, Gerald

discovered an error in Taggart's order. "Sir, missile guidance

systems won't activate at this range."

"They won't need to. Arm warheads."

* * *

In the Secondary Ordnance room, Spaceman Ashley Galaway

rushed down her line of torpedoes, typing in arming codes on

each missile's control panel.

When she finished, she looked across the room at a cocky,

good-looking ghost who smiled back.

* * *

Boss Raznick slammed down his computer slate and opened

up the deck wide intercom. "Peterson? Why has my flight deck

not been policed? Why am I looking at tools all over my runway?

Why is my flight deck not one hundred percent battle-ready?"

"I don't know, sir. But I'm on it, sir. Flight crews? Get your

unprofessional butts over here. Now!"

* * *

So many concussions rumbled through Blair's Rapier that he

swore he now plunged into an atmosphere, a degree shy of

burning up. To call the vibration infernal was to appreciate it

only as a spectator.

"Merlin?" he shouted, warping the computer's name.

"Velocity?"

"Light speed mach-point-eight-two," the little man

responded, his voice as shaky as Blair's. "Twenty seconds to

jump. Can you do it?"

"Only one way to find out."

When Blair had plotted the course through Scylla, he had

closed his eyes, fingered the touchpad, and played a song of

coordinates written at the subatomic level. He had obeyed the

feeling and felt the need to surrender to it now. "Computer.

Switch to voice recognition and prepare to plot course."

"Acknowledged. System ready."

He reached out with his mind, with his body, into the quasar,

feeling his way through a transparent maze of gravity and

magnetic fields. Then he pictured the correct trajectory, a

star-rich vortex yawning open. "Coordinates:

one-seven-two-nine-four mark three-three-four-eight. Vector:

four-four-two-seven-one. Angle of attack:

six-three-nine-five-six-one by three-two-four-nine."

"First set of coordinates plotted. Warning. Deviation in jump

course found. Do you wish to adjust course?"

"Ignore deviation. Maintain speed and heading."

* * *

The Tiger Claw convulsed as the Kilrathi cruiser came

abreast, its cannons spewing thousands of bolts that struck and

irresistibly weakened her shields. The two great ships would

soon pass each other, headed in opposite directions.

Gerald buckled into his seat, seeking assurance in his

torpedo status display. "Commodore. Four tubes loaded and

online. Warheads armed. Range of target: four hundred and six

meters and closing."

Taggart sat in the command chair, his expression of quiet

intensity reminiscent of Captain Sansky during battle. He

clutched his armrests and leaned toward the Kilrathi cruiser, as

though he would leap at it himself. "Lower shields. Give 'em a

broadside, Mr. Gerald."

"Fire all batteries!" Gerald cried.

"Aye-aye. Fire all batteries," came the reply from the

starboard ordnance room.

Kilrathi cannon fire hammered the unshielded cruiser in

rumbling waves, but Gerald ignored it, focusing on the four

torpedoes. Three lanced through the cruiser's shield to impact

on its hull, ravaging portside batteries and a launch bay in an

impressive conflagration. The fourth torpedo found the ship's

bridge and severed the entire superstructure from the hull in a

cascade of detonations.

As the cruiser yawed, a dozen of the Claw's guided missiles

burrowed into her hull, stopped short somewhere inside the

ship, then exploded. Fiery light filtered through the ruptures.

"Commodore," Falk said. "Two fighters have broken through

our wing. One has targeted ion engine control. If he scores a

direct hit, we'll lose all propulsion."

"Where are our fighters?" Taggart demanded.

Falk grimaced. "They're being swarmed."

* * *

"Hey, Maniac? Where the hell are you going? Don't leave my

wing!" Polanski shouted.

Maniac continued in his eighty-degree dive to escape the

raging furball over the cap ships. "Two Krants broke loose.

They're after the Claw. Now don't leave my wing!"

"I'm with you, buddy."

The blue blip that was Polanski's Rapier slid onto Maniac's

radar display. "Take the one going for the bridge. I'll get the

other."

"Dammit, he's really moving," Polanski said.

"Get him, man! Get him!"

Jamming the stick back, Maniac pulled out of his dive and

streaked toward the carrier's stern. He targeted the Krant

swooping down on the Claw, and his VDU showed that the

bastard had missile lock. Maniac hollered his war cry and

issued last rites to the cat with Neutron guns. Once a fighter,

the Krant blew into a flaming trail that cut through Maniac's

path. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," he muttered, going inverted.

Showers of burning fuel doused the Rapier's belly. He angled

away, and the last of the fuel burned off.

From his new vantage point, Maniac saw that the Tiger Claw

glided alongside the cruiser at point-blank range. "And they say

I'm crazy."

A flash at his port quarter gained his attention. Polanski's

Rapier cut a jagged line across the heavens. "That's six kills

today, Maniac. You won't top me."

"Oh, no?" Maniac pinned the throttle and went ballistic. The

horde of fighters rushed toward him.

"Hey, don't do anything reckless," Polanski warned. "Not

without me."

* * *

Obutu actually grinned as he looked up from his console.

"Commander. The cruiser has lost guidance and propulsion.

Life support failing. We got her, sir."

As the bridge crew whooped and cheered, Gerald unbuckled

and went to the viewport. The cruiser's stern floated ahead,

fires still flashing behind breaches and portholes. Were she a

seafaring vessel, she would be capsized and ringed in foam. As it

was, she plunged into the void, expelling gas and fluids and

sloughing off scorched and twisted plates of plastisteel.

"Clearing the cruiser," Obutu said. "The destroyer has moved

out of range."

Taggart left his command chair. "Not bad for a rogue, eh?" he

asked, coming toward Gerald.

"Sir, you have to understand that I was putting the safety of

this ship and her crew—"

"Relax," Taggart said, backhanding sweat from his brow.

"You don't surrender your trust to just anyone. Know what?

Neither do I."

* * *

The jump drive shrieked, and the rattle had become an

indistinct noise that made it nearly impossible to concentrate.

"Second set of coordinates at

four-seven-five-five-three-nine-nine," Blair shouted.

"Warning. Course deviation. Do you wish to—"

"Hell, no. Stay on course."

"Five seconds," Merlin reported. "Four, three, two—"

The striped vortex winked out of existence.

"Mother?"

"You shouldn't do this to yourself, Christopher. You weren't

meant to see me. This is not your continuum."

"It is mine. I chose it."

"You don't have the right to choose. Only one does."

"What do you mean? There aren't any rules. I feel this. I can

do what I feel."

"Then you'll fall. Like the others."

"You're not my mother, are you?"

"I'm everything your mother was, is, and will be. I'm in

every part of the universe at once, as you are now, as you

shouldn't be."

"Why?"

"I wish you could understand. I wish that more than

anything. But I've seen your path. And there's nothing I can do

to change it."

"Wait. We've had this conversation before. This has already

happened."

"No, it hasn't. But it will."

"I don't understand."

"You don't need to."

"Where are you going? We have to talk! I need to know—"

Thunder overpowered his words, and the harness dug into

his shoulders. His head fell forward, then ripped back. Star

lines whirled, grew shorter, coalesced into points as the jump

drive disengaged with a whine. The faint stench of heated metal

permeated his O2 flow. He shook his head to clear the mental

gossamers of the gravity field, then squinted at the stars and

knew, knew with his eyes and with his blood, that he was on the

perimeter of the Sol system. "We did it," he muttered. "We did

it!" He patted the canopy. "I love this baby. She held together."

"I'm not sure I did," Merlin moaned.

Blair quickly dialed up a secure Confederation channel on his

comm system. "This is Lieutenant Christopher Blair of the TCS

Tiger Claw calling any Confed ship. A Kilrathi battle group has

the Chary bdis jump coordinates. They'll breech at

one-six-seven mark eight-eight-nine, Sol system. Do you read?"

Only static replied.

"Merlin. Check your frequencies for signs of the fleet."

"Nothing… Wait a minute. Check behind us."

"Behind us?"

The still and silent void exploded in a terrific white orb

spanned by phosphorescent webs of energy. Out of the orb

surfaced a colossal vessel whose copper-colored hull and sharp

angles betrayed it as a—

"Kilrathi capital ship," Merlin said gravely. "Snakeir-class."

Blair pounded the instrument panel. "Shit! We're too late."