Wing Commander: Prophecy
Encyclopedia
Wing Commander: Prophecy is the fourth direct sequel in Chris Roberts' Wing Commander
science fiction
space combat simulator franchise of computer games. The game was released in 1997
, produced by Origin Systems
and distributed by Electronic Arts
. Prophecy was clearly meant by its producers to segue into a new era of Wing Commander history, especially after the departure from Origin of the series creator Chris Roberts. However, such a future never materialized, especially when Electronic Arts closed Origin down in 2004.
The game features several innovations, like an all-new game engine (the VISION Engine), new spacecraft, characters and story elements. The events depicted in Prophecy are set over a decade after Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom
and, rather than the Kilrathi, the player must deal with a new alien threat, an insectoid race codenamed Nephilim that has invaded the human galaxy through a wormhole
. Also, Prophecy was the first main-line Wing Commander game in which the player did not take on the role of Christopher Blair, instead being introduced to a new player character, Lance Casey. Some of the characters and actors from previous games return in Prophecy, where they rub elbows with an entirely new cast of Confederation pilots and personnel.
A stand-alone
expansion pack
, Secret Operations, was released by Origin in 1998; most notably, it was released solely over the Internet and for no charge, though the large initial file challenged the dial-up connections of that day. Secret Operations was later released for sale in combination with Prophecy in the "Wing Commander: Prophecy - Gold" package. A Game Boy Advance
port of Prophecy featuring also multiplayer was released in 2003. Also, recently a number of fan-made mods
based on the game's engine has been developed and distributed.
Christopher Blair. These new carriers, over a kilometer long, carry all the hardware and weaponry of a Kilrathi-War-era carrier battle group
. The first one, the Midway herself, is undergoing her shakedown cruise, with Blair along for the ride. Before this, though, the player is treated to a CGI
video of a bizarre rupture in space in the Kilrah system: the first of the Nephilim invaders. The game's titular prophecy
involves the coming of these alien invaders, who shall arrive only after "one who has the heart of a Kilrathi, but who is not Kilrathi-born," conquers the felinoid warrior race.
The player takes the role of 2nd Lieutenant Lance Casey, son of the venerable Major Michael "Iceman" Casey from Wing Commander I
. He and his best friend Max "Maestro" Garrett have been assigned to the Midway on her maiden voyage as members of the ship's junior Diamondback Squadron. Aside from Blair, the Heart of the Tiger himself, Majors Jacob "Hawk" Manley and Todd "Maniac" Marshall compete for control of the Black Widow Squadron, while Lt. Jean "Stiletto" Talvert keeps the Diamondbacks in firm control. In charge of the Midway's two squadrons is CAG Patricia Drake, while Captain Eugene Wilford serves as her skipper. Commander Aurora Finley heads up the "Sciences Division", while Colonel John "Gash" Dekker leads the ship's contingent of Marines. Finally, Blair's old love interest Rachel Coriolis has returned as the ship's Chief Technician.
Casey has just barely gotten his bearings on the giant ship when things start happening: the Midway receives a distress call from a Kilrathi cruiser in the H'rekkah system, and Marshall, Manley, Casey, Talvert and Garrett are sent to investigate. Unusually, Casey is placed in command of his flight: Stiletto intends to test the rookie pilot's reputation and see if he is up to the challenge when under pressure. And the pressure is indeed on: the Kilrathi Fralthra II has been destroyed, and in moments new attackers come boiling out of the nearby asteroids. When one of Maniac's patrols is ambushed by a horde of such ships, Casey has to sortie out to save them as well. No one knows who or what these new aggressors are, but there is definitely a lot of them, and the Midway soon finds herself on the defensive.
In order to alert Confed HQ of this new alien menace, who have been codenamed Nephilim, Casey, Blair and Dekker fly out to an abandoned Confed relay station. It is only lightly defended, and Blair and the Marines land to send out the distress call. Unfortunately, the insect-like aliens have been lying in wait, and Blair is kidnapped. Casey must then defend the station from a significant wave of attackers before reinforcements arrive, and has to deal with his guilt over Blair's kidnapping (especially if the player has not performed well in the cockpit, as failure opens up a series of new missions in which the Confederation is pushed to the brink of defeat).
The Midway's next mission is in the T'lan Meth system, where they are tasked with defending Kilrathi colonists there from the Nephilim invasion. Casey finds himself on Hawk's wing several times, and learns more about his father from him. Once, when still a rookie aboard the TCS Tiger's Claw, Manley lost a wingman, and was a complete wreck for some time. Only one pilot volunteered to fly on his wing, and had to fight off nearly an entire squadron of Kilrathi until Hawk could get his act together. That pilot, Major Michael "Iceman" Casey, was eventually lost in action: he ejected from his damaged fighter and was scooped up by the Kilrathi for a bit of fun; the family was told instead that he was killed during a Kilrathi ambush. Finally, while Casey and Manley are assisting a wing of Kilrathi fighters, Hawk advises that they turn on the furballs in revenge for old grievances. If Casey agrees, both he and Hawk will become hostile to the Kilrathi. If victorious, Hawk will yell out "That's right, kid! Let the fur fly!" and the game will end. ; if he declines, Hawk refuses to speak to him again and is later killed while on patrol (though not before they eventually reconcile). The Kilrathi also withhold assistance at a later juncture if Casey attacks them. Finally, the Marines manage to retake a captured Kilrathi starbase, on which the Nephilim held a number of human prisoners, though only one remains: Commodore Blair.
The Midway has recovered her breath and is ready to go on the offensive. Reports have filtered in of a Nephilim superweapon: a plasma
cannon that can destroy an entire fleet with one blast. Casey leads a raid aimed to steal such a weapon, which is subsequently grafted onto the Midway. Because of incompatibilities between Nephilim and Terran technology, the plasma gun doesn't work as intended, and Casey has to assist in its firing by delivering a primer charge to an enemy ship, though this does result in the complete annihilation of the hostile fleet; furthermore, if Midway attempts to charge the weapon again, she runs a two-thirds risk of a fatal backfire, making the plasma gun, in the words of Captain Wilford, a "fire-and-forget
" weapon: "We fired it once, and now we can forget about using it again." (Indeed, one of the game's many Game-Over movies depicts the Midway attempting to fire the weapon, only to destroy itself in the process.)
Finally, the Midway moves onto the Kilrah system, where the Nephilim's original Wormhole Gate is still pumping out ships. Casey helps destroy a Nephilim dreadnought and then leads an attack on the Gate itself, which is controlled by seven shielded towers. In a marathon mission, Casey and Talvert escort Dekker's Marines in and then combat infinite waves of Nephilim fighters, while the Marines land and deactivate the shields on the towers so that Casey can destroy them one by one. The Marines and Casey together manage to destroy all but the last tower; Blair, flying in on his own shuttle, lands at the seventh and deactivates its shields. Unfortunately, the Nephilim Warlord who kidnapped Blair is within the tower; Blair, distracted by this higher priority, doesn't escape before the inevitable explosion. Casey returns to the Midway and the Confederation as a hero. The credits roll.
The Midway has barely returned to Sol System
when some of her best pilots are transferred. Lance Casey, Max "Maestro" Garrett, Jean "Stiletto" Talvert, T. "Zero" O'Hearn, Karl "Spyder" Bowen and Amber "Amazon" Elbereth are reassigned to the TCS Cerberus, a quick-strike cruiser meant to operate behind enemy lines. The Cerberus, commanded by Captain Enoch Murkins, is on its shakedown cruise in the Courage system when, unexpectedly, Nephilim ships appear. Cerberus retreats to Ella, where the player is treated to one of the game's first unexpected bonuses: a flight of vintage F-106 Excalibur heavy fighters that helps out with in-system defense. (Thunderbolt VIIs show up later.) The next surprise, in the Talos System, is not as friendly: Casey and his five wingmen must save one specific transport, the Shy Meadows (and preferably its companions, the Kyoto Rose and Cheryl's Song), from a grand total of twenty enemy bombers.
In the Cygnus System, the Cerberus comes across a couple of civilian cruise liners, one of which (the Anna Maria Albergetti) has been destroyed by Nephilim attack, the other of which (the Twilight Purchase) is under attack. The Albergetti has two survivors, both of which have been contaminated by Nephilim viruses, which are later suspected of sentience
, as the subcutaneous rash
es are able to move to avoid treatment.
The Cerberus continues to police systems for Nephilim presence as it moves on, eventually reaching the Proxima
System, where the aliens are building a new wormhole gate. It is connected directly to Proxima's binary star
, so destroying it is not an option; instead, Casey defeats the fleet around it and allows Confed to take control of it. After a perfunctory ending movie, the credits roll.
Wing Commander (franchise)
Wing Commander is a video game media franchise consisting of space combat simulation computer games from Origin Systems, Inc., an animated television series, a feature film, a collectible card game, a series of novels, and action figures...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
space combat simulator franchise of computer games. The game was released in 1997
1997 in video gaming
-Events:*October 4 — Gunpei Yokoi dies after a double car accident.*November – Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association launched.*3rd annual E3...
, produced by Origin Systems
Origin Systems
Origin Systems, Inc. was a computer game developer based in Austin, Texas that was active from 1983 to 2004...
and distributed by Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
. Prophecy was clearly meant by its producers to segue into a new era of Wing Commander history, especially after the departure from Origin of the series creator Chris Roberts. However, such a future never materialized, especially when Electronic Arts closed Origin down in 2004.
The game features several innovations, like an all-new game engine (the VISION Engine), new spacecraft, characters and story elements. The events depicted in Prophecy are set over a decade after Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom
Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom
Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom is the fourth main game in Chris Roberts' Wing Commander science fiction space combat simulator video game series, produced by Origin Systems and released by Electronic Arts for the PC in 1995 and the Sony PlayStation in 1997...
and, rather than the Kilrathi, the player must deal with a new alien threat, an insectoid race codenamed Nephilim that has invaded the human galaxy through a wormhole
Wormhole
In physics, a wormhole is a hypothetical topological feature of spacetime that would be, fundamentally, a "shortcut" through spacetime. For a simple visual explanation of a wormhole, consider spacetime visualized as a two-dimensional surface. If this surface is folded along a third dimension, it...
. Also, Prophecy was the first main-line Wing Commander game in which the player did not take on the role of Christopher Blair, instead being introduced to a new player character, Lance Casey. Some of the characters and actors from previous games return in Prophecy, where they rub elbows with an entirely new cast of Confederation pilots and personnel.
A stand-alone
Expansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
expansion pack
Expansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
, Secret Operations, was released by Origin in 1998; most notably, it was released solely over the Internet and for no charge, though the large initial file challenged the dial-up connections of that day. Secret Operations was later released for sale in combination with Prophecy in the "Wing Commander: Prophecy - Gold" package. A Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
port of Prophecy featuring also multiplayer was released in 2003. Also, recently a number of fan-made mods
Mod (computer gaming)
Mod or modification is a term generally applied to personal computer games , especially first-person shooters, role-playing games and real-time strategy games. Mods are made by the general public or a developer, and can be entirely new games in themselves, but mods are not standalone software and...
based on the game's engine has been developed and distributed.
Prophecy
It has been some twelve years since the destruction of Kilrah, the Kilrathi homeworld. The Terran Confederation, slowly demobilizing and reorganizing its military assets, has settled on a new strategy: building several Midway-class megacarriers, brainchild of Navy CommodoreCommodore (rank)
Commodore is a military rank used in many navies that is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. Non-English-speaking nations often use the rank of flotilla admiral or counter admiral as an equivalent .It is often regarded as a one-star rank with a NATO code of OF-6, but is not always...
Christopher Blair. These new carriers, over a kilometer long, carry all the hardware and weaponry of a Kilrathi-War-era carrier battle group
Carrier battle group
A carrier battle group consists of an aircraft carrier and its escorts, together composing the group. The first naval task forces built around carriers appeared just prior to and during World War II. The Imperial Japanese Navy was the first to assemble a large number of carriers into a single...
. The first one, the Midway herself, is undergoing her shakedown cruise, with Blair along for the ride. Before this, though, the player is treated to a CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
video of a bizarre rupture in space in the Kilrah system: the first of the Nephilim invaders. The game's titular prophecy
Prophecy
Prophecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...
involves the coming of these alien invaders, who shall arrive only after "one who has the heart of a Kilrathi, but who is not Kilrathi-born," conquers the felinoid warrior race.
The player takes the role of 2nd Lieutenant Lance Casey, son of the venerable Major Michael "Iceman" Casey from Wing Commander I
Wing Commander I
Wing Commander is the first, eponymous game in Chris Roberts' science fiction space simulation franchise. The game was first released for the PC on September 26, 1990 and was later ported to the Amiga, CD32 , Mega-CD and the SNES...
. He and his best friend Max "Maestro" Garrett have been assigned to the Midway on her maiden voyage as members of the ship's junior Diamondback Squadron. Aside from Blair, the Heart of the Tiger himself, Majors Jacob "Hawk" Manley and Todd "Maniac" Marshall compete for control of the Black Widow Squadron, while Lt. Jean "Stiletto" Talvert keeps the Diamondbacks in firm control. In charge of the Midway
Casey has just barely gotten his bearings on the giant ship when things start happening: the Midway receives a distress call from a Kilrathi cruiser in the H'rekkah system, and Marshall, Manley, Casey, Talvert and Garrett are sent to investigate. Unusually, Casey is placed in command of his flight: Stiletto intends to test the rookie pilot's reputation and see if he is up to the challenge when under pressure. And the pressure is indeed on: the Kilrathi Fralthra II has been destroyed, and in moments new attackers come boiling out of the nearby asteroids. When one of Maniac's patrols is ambushed by a horde of such ships, Casey has to sortie out to save them as well. No one knows who or what these new aggressors are, but there is definitely a lot of them, and the Midway soon finds herself on the defensive.
In order to alert Confed HQ of this new alien menace, who have been codenamed Nephilim, Casey, Blair and Dekker fly out to an abandoned Confed relay station. It is only lightly defended, and Blair and the Marines land to send out the distress call. Unfortunately, the insect-like aliens have been lying in wait, and Blair is kidnapped. Casey must then defend the station from a significant wave of attackers before reinforcements arrive, and has to deal with his guilt over Blair's kidnapping (especially if the player has not performed well in the cockpit, as failure opens up a series of new missions in which the Confederation is pushed to the brink of defeat).
The Midway
The Midway has recovered her breath and is ready to go on the offensive. Reports have filtered in of a Nephilim superweapon: a plasma
Plasma (physics)
In physics and chemistry, plasma is a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionized. Heating a gas may ionize its molecules or atoms , thus turning it into a plasma, which contains charged particles: positive ions and negative electrons or ions...
cannon that can destroy an entire fleet with one blast. Casey leads a raid aimed to steal such a weapon, which is subsequently grafted onto the Midway. Because of incompatibilities between Nephilim and Terran technology, the plasma gun doesn't work as intended, and Casey has to assist in its firing by delivering a primer charge to an enemy ship, though this does result in the complete annihilation of the hostile fleet; furthermore, if Midway attempts to charge the weapon again, she runs a two-thirds risk of a fatal backfire, making the plasma gun, in the words of Captain Wilford, a "fire-and-forget
Fire-and-forget
Fire-and-forget is a third-generation method of missile guidance. The military uses the term for a type of missile which does not require further guidance after launch such as illumination of the target or wire guidance , and can hit its target without the launcher being in line-of-sight of the...
" weapon: "We fired it once, and now we can forget about using it again." (Indeed, one of the game's many Game-Over movies depicts the Midway attempting to fire the weapon, only to destroy itself in the process.)
Finally, the Midway moves onto the Kilrah system, where the Nephilim's original Wormhole Gate is still pumping out ships. Casey helps destroy a Nephilim dreadnought and then leads an attack on the Gate itself, which is controlled by seven shielded towers. In a marathon mission, Casey and Talvert escort Dekker's Marines in and then combat infinite waves of Nephilim fighters, while the Marines land and deactivate the shields on the towers so that Casey can destroy them one by one. The Marines and Casey together manage to destroy all but the last tower; Blair, flying in on his own shuttle, lands at the seventh and deactivates its shields. Unfortunately, the Nephilim Warlord who kidnapped Blair is within the tower; Blair, distracted by this higher priority, doesn't escape before the inevitable explosion. Casey returns to the Midway and the Confederation as a hero. The credits roll.
Secret Operations
Released solely over the Internet, Secret Ops consisted of two parts: gameplay, using the VISION Engine, and text-based plot and character development, consisting of Casey's journal entries, e-mails between himself and other pilots, e-mails from the captain, and bulletins from Terran Confederation News. A few blocks of pre-recorded dialogue also advance the plot from within the cockpit. While the game's flight engine remained unchanged, many Confed and Nephilim fighters received upgrades to their performance, weapons and (occasionally) graphics. The missions themselves are also quite difficult; the player is limited to his five wingmen on every mission of the game, and frequently faces large numbers of Nephilim craft, including the dreaded Devil Ray space superiority fighters, which are now flown in normal combat, with as many as four or five in one mission; in comparison, WC:Ps final mission required the player to shoot down a grand total of two Devil Rays.The Midway has barely returned to Sol System
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
when some of her best pilots are transferred. Lance Casey, Max "Maestro" Garrett, Jean "Stiletto" Talvert, T. "Zero" O'Hearn, Karl "Spyder" Bowen and Amber "Amazon" Elbereth are reassigned to the TCS Cerberus, a quick-strike cruiser meant to operate behind enemy lines. The Cerberus, commanded by Captain Enoch Murkins, is on its shakedown cruise in the Courage system when, unexpectedly, Nephilim ships appear. Cerberus retreats to Ella, where the player is treated to one of the game's first unexpected bonuses: a flight of vintage F-106 Excalibur heavy fighters that helps out with in-system defense. (Thunderbolt VIIs show up later.) The next surprise, in the Talos System, is not as friendly: Casey and his five wingmen must save one specific transport, the Shy Meadows (and preferably its companions, the Kyoto Rose and Cheryl's Song), from a grand total of twenty enemy bombers.
In the Cygnus System, the Cerberus comes across a couple of civilian cruise liners, one of which (the Anna Maria Albergetti) has been destroyed by Nephilim attack, the other of which (the Twilight Purchase) is under attack. The Albergetti has two survivors, both of which have been contaminated by Nephilim viruses, which are later suspected of sentience
Sentience
Sentience is the ability to feel, perceive or be conscious, or to have subjective experiences. Eighteenth century philosophers used the concept to distinguish the ability to think from the ability to feel . In modern western philosophy, sentience is the ability to have sensations or experiences...
, as the subcutaneous rash
Rash
A rash is a change of the skin which affects its color, appearance or texture. A rash may be localized in one part of the body, or affect all the skin. Rashes may cause the skin to change color, itch, become warm, bumpy, chapped, dry, cracked or blistered, swell and may be painful. The causes, and...
es are able to move to avoid treatment.
The Cerberus continues to police systems for Nephilim presence as it moves on, eventually reaching the Proxima
Proxima
Proxima may refer to one of the following:* Proxima Centauri, a red dwarf star* PROXIMA or Próxima, a Spanish science fiction film...
System, where the aliens are building a new wormhole gate. It is connected directly to Proxima's binary star
Binary star
A binary star is a star system consisting of two stars orbiting around their common center of mass. The brighter star is called the primary and the other is its companion star, comes, or secondary...
, so destroying it is not an option; instead, Casey defeats the fleet around it and allows Confed to take control of it. After a perfunctory ending movie, the credits roll.
Confed pilots
- Lieutenant Lance Casey (callsign chosen by the player): the Confederation's latest hero. Although he and best friend Max Garrett got into plenty of trouble at the Academy, Casey finds his stride aboard the Midway. Early in the game Colonel Blair mentions that Lance is the son of his TCS Tiger's Claw pilot and shipmate Michael "Iceman" Casey from the original Wing Commander. Played by Steven Petrarca.
- Lieutenant Maxwell "Maestro" Garrett: seldom found far from alcoholAlcoholIn chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
, he is the frenetic, free-wheeling younger brother to Casey's more stolid demeanour. Played by Neill BarryNeill BarryNeill Barry is an American film, television and stage actor, as well as an occasional screenwriter. His films have grossed collectively over $90,000,000....
. - First Lieutenant Jean "Stiletto" Talvert: a straight-forward, no-nonsense pilot. After the Academy, she moved straight to the Empyrean Zephyrs, Confed's aerobaticsAerobaticsAerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in normal flight. Aerobatics are performed in airplanes and gliders for training, recreation, entertainment and sport...
team. On a five-man patrol from the Midway, her group was ambushed by a group of Kilrathi raiders and two of her wing, including the wingleader, killed outright. She rallied the survivors, co-ordinated the running fight back to the Midway, and ensured the destruction of the raiders. For her gallant action she was promoted to immediate command of the Diamondback Squadron. Played by Heather StephensHeather StephensHeather Stephens is an American actress. She has red hair and brown eyes. She is currently starring on ABC's The Forgotten as Lindsey Drake alongside Christian Slater.- Filmography :* The Watcher .... Lisa...
. - Lieutenant T. "Zero" O'Hearn: refuses to use his first name (Terrence) socially. His father is a leading anthropologist and one of Terra's foremost experts on Kilrathi culture; Zero appears to have taken Kilrathi pessimism to heart. His call signCall signIn broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...
was a derogatory remark from an instructor: "When the Big One lands, you'll be right at Ground ZeroGround zeroThe term ground zero describes the point on the Earth's surface closest to a detonation...
." Played by Adam Lazarre-White. - Major Karl "Spyder" Bowen: not much is known of this man aside from his prowess in the cockpit, though rumours circulate that he was in the squadron slated to make the Temblor Bomb run before a Kilrathi ambush slaughtered the unit. Played by Brad Greenquist.
- Lieutenant Amber "Amazon" Elbereth: named for hiking the entire length of the Amazon RiverAmazon RiverThe Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...
. She does not play a large role in the plot of Prophecy. - Lieutenant Jack "Dallas" Slayton: a competent but underconfident pilot whom Casey can choose to take under his wing. Alarmed at the prospect of live combat, and is killed in action in the G'wriss System. Played by Joel StofferJoel StofferJoel Stoffer is an American actor credited with performing in a variety of television series and film such as Charmed, The Shield, Judging Amy, Blind Justice, Species III, Cold Case, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation...
. - Major Todd "Maniac" Marshall: played by Tom WilsonThomas F. WilsonThomas F. Wilson is an American actor, writer, musician, painter, voice-over artist and stand-up comedian. He is best known for playing Biff Tannen in the Back to the Future trilogy and Coach Ben Fredricks on NBC's Freaks and Geeks.-Early life:Thomas Francis Wilson, Jr. was...
of Back to the FutureBack to the FutureBack to the Future is a 1985 American science-fiction adventure film. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson. The film tells the story of...
fame. An inspired but undependable flyer, Maniac eventually receives a much-coveted promotion to squadron leader, but abdicates when he realises how much responsibility is involved. - Colonel Jacob "Hawk" Manley: a battle-hardened warrior, Hawk serves primarily as the voice of decisive, aggressive action. He served with Blair during the Black Lance affair. Played by Chris MulkeyChris MulkeyChris Mulkey is an American actor who most recently appeared in Against the Wall, Cloverfield, the NBC TV movie Knight Rider, and as a corporate executive in season 7 of 24...
.
Other Confed personnel
- Commodore Christopher "Maverick" Blair: his official callsign has finally been established, and he takes to the cockpit on several occasions, even though he has officially transferred over to the Navy. Presumably killed in action while boarding the enemy jumpgate. Played by Mark HamillMark HamillMark Richard Hamill is an American actor, voice artist, producer, director, and writer, best known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy of Star Wars. More recently, he has received acclaim for his voice work, in such roles as the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, Firelord...
. - Captain Eugene Wilford: a lifelong denizen of the Border Worlds, he transferred over to the Confed military solely to command the Midway. Played by Peter JasonPeter JasonPeter Jason is an American actor who performs in many plays, movies, and TV commercials, including Desperate Housewives and Deadwood. In his free time he makes his own furniture out of wood. He has appeared in 12 Walter Hill films, 7 John Carpenter films, has acted in over 100 commercials and...
. - Colonel John "Gash" Dekker: known primarily as Gash, a nickname he got as a trainee when he gave himself such a fierce paper cutPaper cutA paper cut occurs when a piece of paper or other thin, sharp material slices a person's skin.Paper cuts, though named from paper, can also be caused by other thin, stiff materials, such as aluminium foil, knives, and thin blades of grass....
on a foil packet of rations that he had to be medevacMEDEVACMedical evacuation, often termed Medevac or Medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to the wounded being evacuated from the battlefield or to injured patients being evacuated from the scene of an accident to receiving medical facilities using...
ed out. Played by Jeremy Roberts. - Chief Technician Rachel Coriolis: the woman who keeps Midway
's fighters in fighting condition, she is the most decorated fleet technician who is not a line officer. Played by Ginger Lynn Allen. - CommanderCommanderCommander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
Aurora Finley: half scientist, half administrator, Finley runs and co-ordinates the varied science specialists aboard the Midway and provides a great deal of intelligence information during the course of the game. Played by Mindy Hester. - Commander Patricia Drake, Commander, Air Group: the lady in charge of dispatching the Midway
's fighters, and a stern-but-caring brood mother to three squadrons. Played by Lauren Sinclair.