WING COMMANDER NOVELS

For a more extensive look at Wing Commander chronology and storyline info, see the timeline

UNITED THEY FLY, DIVIDED THEY FALL The year 2655. Ralgha nar Hhallas, captain of the war cruiser Ras Nik'hra, noble lord of the Kilrathi Empire—and a rebel... Captain K'Kai, first of her winged species to leave her planet for the stars... Captain Ian St. John, callsign "Hunter," hotshot human pilot—he thinks he's just in it for the thrill of the chase... Rikik, K'Kai's niece, hereditary leader of her clan—all she wants to do is follow in her notorious relative's footsteps and fly the stars... They were as disreputable a gang of misfits as ever flew between the stars. But together they would free a world... A follow-up to Wing Commander : Secret Missions 2 - Crusade.

HUMANS FIGHT HARDER—THEY HAVE TO The year 2667. For generations the Terrans have battled the alien Kilrathi to a standstill. But now the slightly superior human technology is slowly, but at an accelerating pace, giving way before the vast resources the cat-like beings can bring to bear. For the Kilrathi, the stakes are high: their continued existence as an expanding imperial power. For us the stakes are continued existence, period. Our only hope is a long shot, a surprise strike at the heart of Kilrathi power, a suicidal End Run... Jason "Bear" Bondarevsky, last seen in Wing Commander II: Special Operations 1, aboard the light carrier Tarawa, undertakes a journey to Kilrah.

The year 2668. The Kilrathi Empire is in a bind. For the last five years they have been constructing a secret fleet so powerful that it will slice straight through to Earth and destroy the Confederation. There is a problem, however: the Confederation has become increasingly successful with its behind-the-lines raids and the Prince fears that before the new fleet is ready, the Empire will be on the ropes. At a Kilrathi council of war a simple solution is agreed upon: sue for peace, lull the humans into disarming and then when all is ready, launch a surprise offensive. True to the tradition of democracies everywhere, the Confederation falls for it; the military stands down. Luckily for the human race, however, there are a few who don't trust soft words from a Kilrathi mouth. Admiral Tolwyn and his veterans must fight a delaying action, buying time with their lives for humanity to make ready for the final battle... Captain Bondarevsky once again assumes the center stage amidst what becomes known as the "False Peace," preceding the Battle of Terra.

HUMANS AGAINST THE WALL! The year 2669. Terran forces are pushed to the wall by the ever-encrouching Kilrathi hordes. The end seems very near; it is time for desperate measures. Against overwhelming odds the humans, most notably Colonel Christopher Blair aboard the TCS Victory, try to launch a last desperate offensive against the Kilrathi homeworld, in a bid to end the war. Once again, humanity's last hope is embodied in her flyers. Never before has so much been asked of so few... The end of the Kilrathi War, adapted from Wing Commander III : Heart of the Tiger.

WHO SAYS THE WAR IS OVER? The year 2673. In Heart of the Tiger the Kilrathi Empire was eradicated through the bravery of a few flying aces. Now, Colonel Blair and his wing are fighting a more familiar menace—their fellow humans. Blair had settled down to the quiet life of a farmer, but he's been called back into action to fight supposed rebels from the Border Worlds. And Colonel Blair finds that dog-fighting with people is a whole different kettle of kittens than fighting an alien cat species. Those humans are tricky... A conflict of civil war proportions, adapted from Wing Commander IV : The Price of Freedom.

WHO SAYS THE WAR IS OVER? The year 2634. There had been a century of peace, and the politicians of Earth and its colonies were running on platforms of cutting "wasteful" military spending—all while Earth's military tried to keep aging and obsolete ships flying and battle-ready. And while the swords rusted, war clouds gathered on the horizon... Contact had been made with the Kilrathi—a warrior race feline in appearance and deadly in combat. Yet, even though they had annihilated or enslaved scores of other races throughout the galaxy, and had attacked human colonies on the Border Worlds, the government was not taking them seriously, thinking that the Fleet could handle them with ease. Commander Winston Turner knew that the government was moving toward a declaration of war against the Kilrathi in response to demands from the Border Worlds. He also knew that the Fleet would be forced to operate under Plan Orange Five: limited action and punitive responses only. He only hoped that mankind would recognize its mistake before it was too late. Told from the eyes of Ensign Geoffrey Tolwyn, the Battle of McAuliffe unfolds.

MORE WAR... Late 2669. A desperate attack on the Kilrathi homeworld has succeeded in destroying the entire planet, including the Emperor and his warlords. The surviving Kilrathi, on warships and on their colony worlds, were hopelessly demoralized and had sued for peace. The cat-like warrior race was no longer a threat to Earth and its colonies. Thirty-five years of war had finally coem to an end, bringing peace in our time. They thought... The reality was more ominous. There were still plenty of independent Kilrathi warlords surviving, commanding a formidable array of warships and weaponry. Some wanted revenge on the apes who had destroyed the sacred homeworld, some wanted to set up their own new empires, and some were simply content to go pirate, raiding human colonies at will. But back on Earth, the war-weary people and their leaders turned a deaf ear to reports of Kilrathi belligerence, preferring to look forward to a peaceful and prosperous future. But it was only the calm before a new storm... Jason Bondarevsky returns to duty, the rest of the story behind the standing down of the Kilrathi Empire and rise of the Kilrathi Assembly of Clans being told in a story set between Wing Commander III and Wing Commander IV.

A THIN RED LINE OF HEROES STANDS BETWEEN EARTH AND ANNIHILATION! Early 2654. Christopher "Maverick" Blair is a young cadet fresh from the Academy. His first ship, the TCS Tiger's Claw, has a perilous mission—recover the NAVCOM device from the savage, egomaniacal alien Kilrathi before the NAVCOM leads the Kilrathi to Earth. But somewhere among Blair's fighting wing—Earth's last hope—a traitor lurks. A Harper Collins adaption of the Wing Commander movie. See the official movie site here.

The official authorized Confederation Handbook adds stunning background and authentic detail to one of the most impressive CD-ROM game series ever. Illurstrated with drawings, diagrams, and full-color photographs, this book gives you the ultimate insider's understanding of the technical expertise, military precision, and awesome courage demanded of the thin red line of heroes that stands between Earh and annihilation. At last, something of an official compendium is offered (though some Kilrathi-related dates are a bit off).

A ROGUE CONFEDERATION STARSHIP IS TORCHING INNOCENT WORLDS! The Pilgrim Wars revisited, a number of Pilgrims and their descendants that escaped their fate in the Pilgrim Wars of the early 2600s return to launch an all-new offensive, the TCS Tiger's Claw having to intervene. As Blair and Commodore Taggart infiltrate the Pilgrim movement, both men's loyalty to the Confederation is tested... Peter Telep's trilogy continues.

On the horizon there was one more Peter Telep novel from Harper Collins, the first of which titled Wing Commander : Pilgrim Truth (of which I myself was officially to be credited as Peter Telep's research assistant on) and then possibly more Baen novels—these said to be revolving around confrontations in the Landreich. Baen Books, however, holder of the rights to the game continuity in the publication arena, are hesitant to release another WC novel with the movie's poor sales.

Harper now (in 2001), it would seem, is also reluctant to put out Pilgrim Truth, forcing Peter Telep to seek a new publisher... although now it seems even Telep has given up on alternate publishing means. Luckily, however, for us fans (or rather, by our popular demand) Mr. Telep has released the official fairly detailed, chapter-by-chapter synopsis of the novel to the public on the web as a compromise, first and foremost to Ben "LOAF" Lesnick's Wing Commander CIC website.

• Read the Wing Commander : Pilgrim Truth novel synopsis
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