WING COMMANDER / PRIVATEER
& WING COMMANDER ACES
TIMELINE
SECTION 1 of
3
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- At the dawn
of their civilization and Cult of Sivar, the Kilrathi (an alien
race humanity would much later encounter) hold a myth that in
these ancient times, warrior-gods descended from the stars and
challenged the warriors of their homeworld of Kilrah to battle.
But when the Kilrathi army assembled, the gods scorned the force,
pronouncing the Kilrathi unworthy of their attention. The gods
left, promising to return and battle the Kilrathi when they became
worthy. This myth is the source of the famous "Prophecy
of Sivar" (which many later Terran xenohistorians believe
predates its reported authoress, the prophetess Kt’lan,
and even the historical prophet Sivar himself, by several centuries),
which forms a philosophic cornerstone of Kilrathi culture. The
Prophecy and its surrounding myth become explicitly used by religious
propagandists throughout Kilrathi history to justify the race’s
militaristic and expansionist tendencies. All future battles,
including the Dolosian, Eyoka, Hari, Gorth, Ka, Mantu, Shata,
Utara, Sorn, Varni, Wu, and Terran conflicts, become seen by
the Cult of Sivar as preparation for the final challenge of the
"star gods," who (accidentally or on purpose) set the
pattern of Kilrathi civilization in motion. WCP
- The first
artificial satellite is launched from Earth. Sputnik I
is orbited by the Soviet Union, marking the dawn of Earth’s
Space Age.
- National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronaut Neil Armstrong
becomes the first human to walk on Earth’s moon, proclaiming
the historic Apollo 11 flight to be "one small step
for a man, one giant leap for mankind."
- Ascilotriptostolene,
a natural chemical that would later become extinct when the Brazilian
rain forest is eliminated, is proven to reverse cancer growth
cycles (resulting in a Nobel Prize and Medical Excellence Achievement
Award for the scientists involved). WC3
- NASA evolves
into the Terran Exploratory Services (ES). Under full governmental
support, ES begins planning for the Venus colonization project.
Other such operations are planned, and probes are launched within
and beyond the Solar (Sol) System.
- The Grand
Unified Theory is perfected, which leads to the development of
antigravity vehicles. Unlike modern "antigravity" vehicles,
which simply divert and channel gravity, these vehicles actually
negated gravity, by projecting a field in which the gravitic
mass of every particle is suppressed. This means the occupant
of the vehicle is weightless, and thus subject to all the inconveniences
and discomforts that condition causes. Naturally, there was immense
commercial pressure to develop a more comfortable alternative.
WCCH
- A practical
fusion engine is developed and, after production of the first
fusion-propelled prototype space vehicles, the first fusion craft,
the Sagan, is commissioned by the UN Solar Trust, and
built by McDonnell-Douglas engineering. WCCH
- The Sagan
is launched from the L3 station. It is set to fly a regular shuttle
route between Luna, Mars, and Titan. WCCH
- Caernavon
Station, presumably one of the pioneering deep space structures,
spends 4.3 billion credits on vacuum fusion research, a project
that is soon abandoned as it becomes a complete failure. WC3
- Caernavon
Station, in another project, wastes 4 billion credits in a biological
research effort: Meta-Analysis of Synapse Replacement, and in
the Incidence of Myocardial Infraction among Pre-Geriatic War
Veterans. WC3
- The Venus
Terraforming begins. Following the success of Venus, the colonization
of Mars—already in advanced planning stages—is begun.
Meanwhile, mining operations are started on an asteroid belt
within the Sol System for a readily available supply of resources,
both for the increasingly overpopulating Earth and the Exploratory
Services’ ongoing colonization projects. WCKS, WCP
- A period
of war ensues on Earth as the Mongols launch their Chinese New
Year strike, hoping to use the holiday to their advantage. WCAS
NOTE: The
exact date of this event is unknown, as a Chinese New Year is
a lunar occurrence that usually falls in February or March.
- After flying
its regular shuttle route for almost 75 years, the Sagan
is decommissioned, then put up on Deimos as part of the Spacefarer’s
Museum complex. WCCH
- Early prototypes
of vehicles equipped with "Hopper Drive" capable of
traveling "Faster Than Light" (FTL) begin appearing,
though are not yet considered feasible. Such vehicles are nicknamed
"sloships," due to the months or years travel time
to destinations. The drive involves setting a powerful, but tightly
focused matter-antimatter reaction, generating enough antigravitons
to create a temporary space-time "well." If a ship
is correctly positioned at the very edge of the reaction’s
event horizon, it can hop instantaneously. This "warp"
is localized, so the amount of space that can be crossed by it
is strictly limited—most hops involve a distance of 20%
to 35% of a light-year. WCCH
- The United
Nations establish Olympia Station, the first permanent human
settlement on another planet. Supported by space stations on
Phobos and Luna, the Olympia colony becomes the primary staging
area for humanity’s migration to the outer planets of the
Sol System. By 2215 the U.N. establishes further permanent colonies
on the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, placing research facilities
on the satellites of Uranus and Neptune, and landed on Pluto.
In this same timespan Earth becomes ever-increasingly reliant
on the outer planets for heavy industrial metals. WCCH
- The warring
clans of the race the Confederation would later encounter known
as the Kilrathi, in the midst of their Empire’s Seventh
Dynastic War, fall into line under the Kiranka Clan after it
strikes down the Ki’ra Clan. Just as it seems an Eight Dynastic
War will unfold, the Kilrathi come together in a common cause
as their homeworld of Kilrah is visited by the Shata/Utara race.
The Shata/Utara peacefully give the Kilrathi the secret of spatial
jump points (and thus Jump Drive travel) and trade, but are then
slaughtered by the Kilrathi. WCFA, WCAS, WCP
- As the focus
of humanity shifts away from its homeworld, Earth experiences
the Utopian Underground, a culture that would know prolonged
peace, reflection, and artistic development. WC3, WCKS
- Dr. Andre
Morvan first hypothesizes the feasibility of the "Hopper
Drive." In doing so, the drive becomes known more formally
as "Morvan Drive." WCCH
- Dr. Shari
Akwende, a subatomic engineer working for Aerospatiale Afrique,
was searching for a solution to the pressure of developing a
more comfortable alternative to the current antigravity vehicles.
The Grand Unified Theory implied the existence of antigravitons,
counterparts to the gravitons that carried the gravitic force.
These antigravitons have half-lives of many microseconds—very
short in "real world" terms, but quite long in the
subatomic field. Like many researchers of the time, Dr. Akwende
assumes that generating a sufficient constant antigraviton flux
will push something away, in the same way that graviton flux
pulled things toward the generator. This would result in vehicles
that were no more weightless than 20th century airplanes, but
that retained all the advantages of antigravity. Dr. Akwende
had already made a significant advance, putting her years ahead
of competitors. She conclusively determines that matter-antimatter
collisions conducted in a suppressed-gravity field would produce
antigravitons. But so far, her antigraviton generator had produced
no thrust whatsoever, in spite of generating what was, in theory,
a large enough flux. In the course of trying to detect any thrust
at all, Dr. Akwende discovered that the antigravitons showed
a very slight tendency to head in a single direction. That direction
changed over the course of the year, and when correlated with
Earth’s motion, pointed in the rough direction of Alpha
Centauri. Repeating the experiments on an early Plutonian flight
enabled Dr. Akwende to triangulate on the exact point in space,
a small patch between the orbits of Pluto and Neptune, where
the antigravitons were heading. It would be several decades before
the ability to produce antigravitons would bear fruit, and centuries
before the implications of Dr. Akwende’s "antigraviton
flow" would be realized, all of them noted in her report
entitled "Effects and Ramifications of Anti-Graviton Dispersal,
Conducted in a Suppressed-Gravity Environment." The patch
found between Pluto and Neptune would later come to be classified
as an "Antigraviton Tropic Anomaly," or a "jump
point." WCCH,
WCP
- The first
of the Great Pandemics appear. After the loss of Luna Station,
the outer planets seal themselves off entirely from Earth. The
rules are simple: for the duration of the medical emergency,
no one from Earth could travel beyond the Legrange transit stations.
Any colonist who chose to return to Earth could not return to
space until such time as the quarantine was lifted. It is possible
for the outer planets to seal themselves off, because by this
time the colonies are virtually self-sustaining. Oxygen and water
can be obtained from the rings of Saturn and the ice caps of
the larger outer moons, while mineral resources are prolific
on Mars and the asteroid belt, with the resources of the outer
moons held in reserve. More exotic compounds are being siphoned
from the outer atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn. Earth, struggling
against the ever-rising tide of disease and famine, becomes increasingly
reliant on the mieral wealth of the outer planets to sustain
the remnants of its faltering production infrastructure. With
fossil fuels virtually exhausted and the biosphere turning ever
more hostile, Earth becomes completely dependent on the outer
planets for fuel and the raw materials for self-contained hydroponic
systems that provided Earth’s only safe food supply. These
imports are dropped impersonally down Earth’s gravity well,
with no phyiscal contact between Earth and its colonies. At first,
Earth can only trade data and cultural resources for these raw
meterials. However, the colonies become self-sufficient and their
indigenous culture continued to evolve, while Earth’s data
and cultural industries fall prey to the general economic and
social chaos. The colonies become faced with an ever-increasing
demand from Earth, but ever-diminishing expectations for fair
payment. Meanwhile, on Earth, popular resentment grows against
the rich, healthy, and aloof extraterrestrials. WCCH
- Ivar Chu
McDaniel, an organic chemist and lay-preacher assigned to the
Neptune research base, begins to experience ecstatic visions.
He believes that in these visions he experiences direct communion
with the Divine, receiving prophetic revelations. He writes of
his experiences to friends on Mars, who encourage him to collect
and publish his insights. McDaniel claims that he had been chosen
to receive his visions because he was a spiritually receptive
individual located at the very fringe of human settlement of
Sol System. McDaniel teaches that the prophesied apocalypse had
occurred, but divine judgment was confined to Earth itself. Those
humans who had migrated to other worlds constituted an "Elect,"
destined for physical and spiritual salvation and protection.
However, because of the prevasive corruption of Earth, the divine
presence could not fully empower the Elect as long as they remained
in the Sol System. To complete their salvation, the Elect must
undertake the "Final Exodus," leaving Sol System entirely
to seek spiritual and genetic perfection among the stars. In
McDaniel’s mystical cosmography, Earth was Hell, the universe
at large was Heaven, and the remainder of Sol System constituted
a sort of Limbo where the chosen remnant could prepare itself.
WCCH
- The Confederation
engages in what is possibly its first interstellar conflict,
with the race known as the Yan. WCAS
- McDaniel’s
views gain momentum with the discovery of what becomes popularly
known as "Hopper" Drive, which allows interstellar
distances to be covered in a matter of months or years, rather
than generations. WCCH
- The Outer
Planets Policy Council becomes falls firmly under the control
of the McDanielists. WCCH
- The first
Morvan Colony ship is launched. Bound for the Sirius System,
it contains 1,200 colonists, including Ivar Chu McDaniel. The
ship never arrives at its destination—orthodox pilgrim theology
teaches that McDaniel and his crew were translated directly to
a higher plane of existence, from which McDaniel continues to
spiritually direct his followers. WCCH
- While regular
trade routes are established between Titan and the Centauri colonies,
the McDanielists begin to refer to those who took passage on
the colony ships as "Pilgrims." By the end of the 24th
century the Exodus is complete—all McDanielists had abandoned
the Sol System. WCCH
- The Andorra
Sector, the furthest sector from the Confederation, is founded
and colonized by an Utopia group from Earth.
- The effort
of the Exodus depleted the Sol System colonies—outer planet
populations are less than a quarter of what they had been a century
before. Occasionally a semicovert trading mission from Sirius
or Alpha Centauri would arrive at Mars or Titan, but little news
would be exchanged. The administrative center of the Pilgrim
Alliance is established on Beacon, with the spiritual authority
headquartered on McDaniel’s World. From there, the Pilgrims
begin to push into the Vega Sector. WCCH
- The Church
of Man splinters from the Amish communities, evidently primarily
establishing itself in the Gemini Sector. It becomes a "Retro"
faction of humanity united against the technology of mankind,
one that is more than willing to kill for its ideals. PRV
- The first
Akwende Jump Drive test is completed, the work and studies of
Dr. Shari Akwende, the discoverer of antigraviton drift in the
twenty-third century, now coming into the limelight. A new bright
era dawns for all of humanity with the invention of Superluminal
Flight/Akwende Jump Drive. Akwende Jump Drive presumably remains
in a very elementary, prototype stage of development, seeing
minimal use, if any beyond further testing, until it becomes
widely realized wholly and used in 2588. WCP, WCCH
- The ecocatastrophe
finally plays itself out, humanity beginning to reestablish its
social order. The quarantine of Earth is formally lifted and
Earth begins to once more interact with the rest of the Sol System.
While the mineral resources of the outer planets are absolutely
essential to the rebuilind of the Terrestrial industrial base,
throughout most of the 25th century Solar humanity has little
leisure to devote to exploration or pure research. WCCH
- The Terran
Confederation, the Space Navy (TCSN), and the Space Force (TCSF)
are born in the interests of universal security and economic
wellfare for all of the systems under their jurisdiction. The
Terran Confederation Service Fleet Academy (TCSFA) is simultaneously
formed in Houston, Texas on Earth (and, at some point, the Terran
Confederation Naval Space Academy on the planet Hilthros in the
Sirius System, TCNSA, a place where men and women can join in
the interests of exploration and patrol of the new regions in
space). The Confederation is formed as a loose alliance of colonies,
planets, and star systems, each with autonomous governments.
Confed decides to provide economic support and a common defense
between the interstellar outposts of humankind. 2427.235 is remembered
as "Confederation Day," the day the Confederation was
founded. WCP,
WCAS
NOTE: It is possible that the Confederation was previously the
victor in a Galactic Civil War with a possible predecessor, a
Federation of some sort.
- The Kilrathi
first encounter and combat the Mantu race in the Coreward Unknown
Territory of deep space. Though it would later come into question,
the initial aggressor is the Mantu, and the conflict wages off-and-on
for nearly two more centuries. WCFA, WCP
- The Pilgrims
note with some alarm that Terrestrials are once more venturing
beyond the orbit of their own moon. A heavily armed Pilgrim sloship
enters orbit around Luna, demanding a meeting with Earth’s
leaders. The result of the following summit was the Treaty of
Luna, which established a Pilgrim title to all habitable worlds
within 50 years sloship travel of Earth. Earth agreed to forsake
all sloship exploration of other systems, and the Pilgrims agree
to a policy of strict non-interference with Sol System affairs.
A new, strictly limited trade agreements are also arrived at.
WCCH
- NAVCOM is
invented, an independently operating ob-board computational system
which is capable of reading the scripted Tonal Fields created
by human minds—something the minds of Pilgrims reportedly
did second-naturedly. Currently under a great deal of controversy
and highly regulated, the only currently accepted, legal, or
in fact possible use of the NAVCOM is for navigational verification.
Human rights questions are currently being avoided, the tacit
agreement being that the preservation of human life—in light
of the genocidal philosophies of the Kilrathi—trascends
concerns of privacy. The fields scripted around jump points are
read, sifted for useful data, and checked against the ship’s
primary system. In practice, it works far better than predicted.
So much mental concentration is devoted to the situation prior
to a successful jump that the information seems "highlighted"
on the resultant field. In cases of unsuccessful jumps, this
phenomenon is even more striking, essentially acting as a warning
beacon in dangerous territory. NAVCOM A.I. raises the jump success
rate to nearly 100% on any previously traversed jump lines. It
has a permanent data load of every known stable jump point, and
a constant scan of all pertinent Tonal Fields. It dovetails with
known astronomical phenomena, enabling it to accurately predict
even random-seeming equipotential eclipses. NAVCOM has removed
the teeth from the monster that had been space navigation. It
is thought to be imperitive that all Confed navigational officers
understand how vital it is that this information remains the
exclusive domain of mankind. WCCH, WCM, WCMN
- The Pilgrims
discovered the propulsion system that would come to be known
as the Akwende, or "Jump" Drive, which had been invented
in 2416.187. They believe this development is kept from Earth.
WCCH
- The planet
Goddard is colonized in the Deneb Sector by descendants of the
North American continent of Earth, many of whom are scientists
and educators. The colony is named after Robert H. Goddard, generally
considered to be the father of rocketry science. Every year,
12,000 rockets are fired to celebrate Goddard’s birthday.
SM1
- The planet
Goddard is colonized in the Deneb Sector by descendants of the
North American continent of Earth, many of whom are scientists
and educators. The colony is named after Robert H. Goddard, generally
considered to be the father of rocketry science. Every year,
12,000 rockets are fired to celebrate Goddard’s birthday.
SM1
- The Terran
Confederation puts the Akwende Drive to wide use. A new breed
of humanity begins to reach out beyond its own star, beginning
the Great Expansion. Losses of exploratory missions is high—far
higher than for the early Pilgrim expeditions—but 26th century
Earth has the wealth and population to easily absorb the losses.
Terrestrial explorations respected Pilgrim space, but jump routes
are soon established that reach beyond the Pilgrim sphere. Sol
begins to establish colonies of its own, leaving Vega Sector
to the Pilgrims but expanding out toward Hawking and Gemini sectors.
The Pilgrim Alliance vigorously protested this expansion as a
violation of the Treaty of Luna, but the Confederation takes
the stance that the Luna accords only prohibited sloship colonization
and direct encroachment on Pilgrim space, neither of which described
Confed’s current policy. WCCH
- The first
working Confed prototype of an Akwende Jump Drive is installed
on the Haile Selassie, which makes a successful jump-transit
from Sol to Polaris, returning on .323. WCCH
- The Kilrathi
wage war against the Varni race. There is a initial attack, a
period of peace, and then a surprise all-out attack from the
Kilrathi that all but crushes the Varni. Varni refugees flee
to the Confederation, telling the tale of their defeat, some
of which joining. It was in the victorious conflict with the
Varni that a new Kiranka Clan Kilrathi emperor comes to power.
WCAS
- Arnold Blair
is born on Earth. WCCH
- The conflict
between the Kilrathi and the Mantu is declared "a draw,"
and both sides return to their respective territories, each turning
their attentions to easier races to conquer. WCFA, WCP
- Confederation
Remote Deep Probe Twelve is launched towards the galactic core.
In the one report it transmits before its mysterious disappearance
some twenty-five years later, it reports "a warlike empire
of almost unimagined strength ten thousand light-years inward"
and heading in the Confederation’s direction via Kilrathi
space. WCAS
- Geoffrey
Tolwyn is born in the United Kingdom’s Shetland Islands
on Earth. As is his family’s custom, his marriage to a woman
named Rebecca is arranged (though he would later marry a woman
named Clara). WCAS,
WCFA
- A militant
faction seizes political and religious control of the Pilgrim
Alliance. Into 2654, most Confed citizens remain bewildered by
the intense Pilgrim hostility toward Earth. It must be understood
that, to Pilgrims, Terrestrial humanity was divinely cursed by
definition (in fact, although the leadership knew better, many
Pilgrim colonists had been led to believe humanity was completely
extinct in the Sol System). That anyone other than the Elect
(Pilgrims) should venture beyond the orbit of Pluto was at best
blasphemous and at worst diabolic. On a more pragmatic note,
the Pilgrim leadership is suddenly faced with having to share
a galaxy which they had hitherto regarded as their personal domain.
WCCH
- Eduardo Rosado,
a Goddard native, invents the Neutron Gun, one of the Confederation’s
most effective weapons. It sees service from 2640 to 2668. SM1, WCKS
- Studying
cybernetics, earning a BA from the University of Kingston and
a Masters and Ph.D. from the Sorbonne, Arnold Blair is awarded
the Golden Moebius for software design. After graduation Blair
signs on as a troubleshooter for Sung Datasystems, working on
many colonies in Enigma and Argent sectors, earning two letters
of commendation from Confed Colonial Services. It was also during
this time that he received his light spacecraft pilot certification.
WCCH
- Dr. C.L.
Kohl secretly observes the Sivar-Eshrad ceremony on the
planet Ghorah Khar in the Enigma Sector, witnessing some 3,715
mysterious warships enter orbit. He is captured and executed
by the alien priestesses he encountered (later found to be Kilrathi).
Kohl’s notes were recovered by some means by the Terran
Confederation, likely immediately dismissed and filed away.
NOTE: This is the earliest known contact between Kilrathi and
humans, though this would not become known until decades into
the war. Kohl’s notes were, however, ultimately useful in
2654 and 2655, when the ceremony was about to be repeated on
Dolos and Firekka. SM2
- Winston Turner,
sent from the TCSA Academy as a fleet historian, observes the
Confederation’s Panama System War Games. In the simulation
run, as three Confed carriers wipe out ten of the opposing team’s
battlewagons with experimental torpedoes fired from carrier-launched
bombers that could pass through capital ships’ phase shielding.
WCAS
- In the Landreich
region of space on the fringes of space along the Border Worlds,
first large-scale contact is made with the Empire of Kilrah.
Frontier smuggling posts eventually institute trade with merchant
Kilrathi, most of which having been exiled from their respective
clans. The Confederation, however, will remain oblivious to this
contact until 2634. WCAS
- As exploration
and colonization ships of the Terran Confederation increase their
penetration into the Vega Sector, the Odysseus-class ES exploration
ship TCS Iason, having departed the Tyr System to investigate
gas giants in the outer system of System V343, encounters three
spacecraft of unknown origin (later found to be three Kilrathi
B’ru’k-class merchantmen/light freighters) led by the
KIS K’rath’kan at 0527 hours. At 0715 hours,
both of the Iason’s Ferrets are scrambled, the two
craft piloted by Captain Farrah "Aria" Izmuti and Commander
James "Paladin" Taggart, an undisclosed Pilgrim. One
of the Kilrathi opens fire on Captain Izmuti’s Ferret, prompting
her return to the Iason. Commander Taggart remains in
space. The Iason captain, Commander Jedora Andropolos,
transmits the standard wide-band, non-verbal greeting designed
by the Committee for Interaction with Alien Intelligences (CIAI)
and waits for a response. Captain Andropolos keeps Iason
motionless while the alien vessel waits, maintaining a continuous
dataeam transmission to CN HQ. At 0857 hours a video signal
is transmitted to the Iason, though the Kilrathi signal
shows only an unadorned wall. The signal is largely within the
infrared spectrum, and it is believed the Kilrathi only wish
to get a look at the humans without showing themselves. Finally,
at 1000 hours, the still-unidentified ship opens fire with full
mass-driver cannons, completely destroying Iason and its
crew. Captain Brath’kar nar Caxki of the K’rath’kan
gave the order, later reporting back that he believed the
Terrans had been attempting to neutralize his ship's shields
with their communications. Commander Taggart’s Ferret survives
the destruction of the Iason, though his Ferret is struck
by shrapnel and crippled in space. Taggart becomes abducted by
the Kilrathi, made the property of a Kilrathi, is taken to have
tests done on him to gauge humanity. Although the identity of
the attacking ships are never definitively established, Confederation
deep space tracking computers point to a possible point of origin
from a previously unexplored planet, soon to be known by its
native name: Kilrah. WC1,
WC3, WCKS, WCAS, WCM, WCMN, WCCH
NOTE: Until 2634, 2629.105 is believed by the Confederation to
be first contact with the Kilrathi Empire.
- At approximately
1900 hours, a B’ru’K-class merchantman jumped into
the Hyperion System, Vega Sector towing the gutted hull of the
TCS Iason. The hull is cut adrift near Hyperion IV, apparently
as a challenge or warning. After extensive long and medium range
scanning, the hull is destroyed by friendly fire, by order of
Port Admiral Miru of Hellespont Naval Station aboard the TCS
Kurosawa, due to the possibility of enemy booby traps.
The Kilrathi merchantman departs without incident the following
day, being identified only by longe-range scanners. WCCH
- Christopher
Blair is born on Earth to Arnold Blair, a major in the Space
Force, and Devi Soulsong, a Pilgrim. WC3, WCKS, WCA, WCCH, WCMN
- The Terran
Confederation receives numerous reports of unwarranted assault,
space piracy, kidnapping and interplanetary plundering, all taking
place at an increasingly expanding distance from the planet Kilrah.
Frequent attempts to meet with Kilrathi High Command are rejected
without explanation. In retaliation, the Terran Confederation
Congress votes unanimously to enforce a strict non-aggression
policy by the Kilrathi. The leaders of Kilrah are warned that
their next transgression could lead to military reprisals. WC1, WC3, WCAS, WCKS
- The leadership
of the Pilgrim Alliance decides to cut off Terrestrial incursion
at the source. At this time, all jump-capable ships are being
built and launched from the Port of Titan space station. The
Pilgrims assemble a jump-capable battle fleet and mount a massive
assault on the Port of Titan. Though evidence suggested that
the Pilgrims expected to destroy Titan in a quick, surgical assault,
then move on to a major show of force against Earth itself before
returning to Beacon, the fleet jumped into Sol System, planning
for an overwhelming assault on a primitive and unprepared foe.
Instead, the Pilgrims discovered Confed to be strong, rich, and
ready for trouble. After three days of intense fighting around
Saturn, the Pilgrims are repulsed with the Port of Titan station
still intact. Believing they had proven their point, Confed offered
a renewed round of negotiations with the Alliance. This offer
was ignored. This engagement becomes known as the Battle of Titan.
WCCH
- The Pilgrims
begin an aggressive guerrilla action into Confed space, attacking
colony worlds and disrupting shipping. Pilgrim forces move in
and destroy the Confed military outpost at Celeste, along with
a mining colony on that world. One day later, the Terran Confederation
formally declares war against the Pilgrim Alliance. At this time
the Space Force reactivates Arnold Blair’s reserve commission.
Afterward, Confed adopts a defensive posture and mobilizes its
industrial resources into a full war footing, while the Alliance,
encouraged by early successes, continues its offensive against
the more remote colonies. Confed colonials on worlds occupied
by Pilgrim forces are placed under harsh and oppressive conditions.
Mass executions are common, and millions are pressed into slave
labor. While colonies still under Confed control are aggressively
defended, little effort is expended to liberate occupied worlds.
This becomes misinterpreted by Pilgrim leaders as a sign of weakness.
Instead, Confed is concentrating its resources on assembling
a massive invasion force in the Sol System. Confed strategy was
not to be drawn into an expensive and drawn-out hit-and-run battle
with the Alliance, but instead to mount a coordinated invasion
targeted on the center of Pilgrim power. Arnold Blair serves
a 25-month tour as pilot aboard the carrier TCS Harrison.
During his combat tour he is certified a double-ace, with 11
confirmed fighter kills and two capship kills, earning two Blazes
for Conspicuous Gallantry. WCCH
- The Grand
Fleet is launched by Confed. Commodore Geoffrey Tolwyn picks
Arnold Blair to join the deeply secret design team, where he
is appointed senior cyberneticist. Over the course of the next
five months Centauri, Sirius, Cygnus, Frase, and Bradshaw fall
in rapid succession. Faced with mounting expenses and devastating
losses, the increasingly desperate Pilgrims stake everything
on an all-or-nothing defense of the agricultural colony of Peron,
in the Luyten System. The siege of Peron held for seven months,
while each side mounts increasingly brutal sorties and counter-offensives,
each trying to find some crack in the other’s defenses.
Arnold Blair is awarded a Conroy Medal and a Senatorial Commendation
for his work designing software controlling Grand Fleet maneuvers.
In mid-year Blair returns to combat duty on board the TCS Foster,
earning three more confirmed kills and a citation for bravery.
WCCH
- According
to the GFIO release, Major Arnold Blair is killed 0900 Terran
Standard Time while flying alone in a Merlin-class fighter just
above the atmosphere of Peron. It is believed his craft was detected
and destroyed by a Pilgrim automated stratospheric defense drone.
The exact nature of Blair’s mission is classified by Grand
Fleet Ops, though it is known he partook in an unauthorized attempt
to rescue his Pilgrim wife, Devi Soulsong, on Peron. Regrettably
he failed and his wife is killed planetside on Peron in what
becomes known as the Peron Massacre. Arnold Blair’s sister,
Jennifer, living with her husband on a farm in the Nephele System,
cares for Arnold and Devi’s only child, Christopher Blair.
WCCH
- [WING COMMANDER: ACTION
STATIONS
begins] As the Emperor of the Kilrathi Empire gives the Great
Clans the go-ahead to move in against the Confederation, Confed
prepares Plan Orange Five, which calls for limited action only
to push the Kilrathi back gradually through the Facin Sector
and hold elsewhere, with "punitive response only to force
them to cease their border harassment." Ensign Geoffrey
Tolwyn, a recent graduate of the TCSA Academy and protégé
of Commander Winston Turner, makes the mistake of running afoul
of a Confederation senator, Senator Jamison More. His career
nearly coming to an end as a result, Ensign Tolwyn, along with
Vance Richards, receives an assignment in the McAuliffe System
of the Vega Sector. With Vance, Commander Turner, and the smuggler
Hans Kruger, Tolwyn partakes in a much-needed mission of espionage
of the Kilrathi in the Landreich region of space along the Kilrathi
border. WCAS
- The Anna
Magdelena, a refitted transport ship ferrying orphans to
their new homes on the Vega Sector planet Dieno, is openly attacked
by a pair of Kilrathi fighters. No one survives. In retaliation
for this and the five-year string of equally heinous abuses of
all known laws of civility, countless acts of piracy, and unwarranted
assault, the Terran Confederation officially declares war on
the Empire of Kilrah. WC1, WC3, WCAS, WCKS
- TCSN cryptographer
Ches M. Penney intercepts and decodes a stray Kilrathi cipher
implying that a strike will soon be launched against the Vega
Sector planet McAuliffe and its orbiting space station, Alexandria.
Confederation High Command orders a counteroffensive twice the
size of the anticipated fleet, hoping to reach McAuliffe first
and ambush the attackers. WCAS, WC1, WC3, WCKS
- After a tense
rush to McAuliffe, the Confederation fleet , consisting chiefly
of the TCS Ark Royal, Concordia, North Carolina, Masada, Yorkshire,
and the private vessel Lazarus, of which First Lieutenant
Tolwyn is among, establishes a formidable defensive position
around the planet on Confederation Day. When the Kilrathi fleet
arrives, however, it is quadruple the expected size. Several
days of bloody fighting all but obliterate the defensive forces,
leaving a still-sizable force of functional Kilrathi spacecraft.
But the Kilrathi, momentarily daunted by the ferocity of the
Terran resistance, turn back to regroup and repair. The first
large-scale Terran-Kilrathi engagement ends with the Kilrathi
spearhead momentarily broken. Prince Ratha, the eldest son of
the Crown Prince Gilkarg, is killed in the engagement. After
only the Emperor’s son, Gilkarg, Prince Thrakhath becomes
the heir to the throne. [ACTION STATIONS ends] WCAS,
WC1, WC3, WCKS
- In the end,
even while fighting two wars simultaneously, it is the Confederation
industrial machine and the resource wealth of the Sol System
that carries the day in the continuing war against the Pilgrim
Alliance. The remnants of the Confed Grand Fleet are reinforced
by a new strike force almost half again the size of the original.
Peron’s defenders are overwhelmed in two weeks of brutal
fighting. WCCH
- When the
Confed joint fleets jump into Beacon System, they are met with
an offer of surrender by the Pilgrim Alliance. The Pilgrims offer
to immediately stand down their military and dissolve the Alliance
government in return for guarantees of the safety of Pilgrim
civilians, and certain limited rights to autonomy for non-military
Pilgrim worlds, particularly McDaniel, the spiritual center of
the Pilgrim religion. WCCH
- After six
weeks of negotiation, peace accords are signed at Cygnus, the
Pilgrim Alliance officially ceasing to exist. The "Pilgrim
Wars" now effectively over, former Pilgrims reintegrate
into Confed society, either as individuals or on a system-wide
basis. By 2654, three systems and five colonial enclaves remain
semi-autonomous, with severely limited contact with the rest
of the Confederation (although they remain subject to TCSF observation
and inspection against renewed military activity). Shortly after
the surrender, the order goes out from McDaniel that all remaining
Pilgrims were to refrain from any space travel, as a collective
penance for the war—or, more specifically, for losing the
war. Consequently, all practicing Pilgrims apply for conscientious
objector status in the Kilrathi War, with all Pilgrim colonies
remaining officially neutral. Even with the eventual loss of
two Pilgrim systems to Kilrathi aggression, and what becomes
ongoing Kilrathi incursions into former Pilgrim space, nothing
has been done to sake the order’s neutrality. WCCH
- At the end
of the year, Confed analysts determine that the Kilrathi sphere
of influence is at least equal to, and possibly greater than,
that of humanity. Four separate envoys (under heavy escort) are
sent into Kilrathi space in an attempt to at least open up lines
of communication, but all such efforts are met by armed aggression.
Fortunately, all four missions are able to retreat under fire
back to Confed space. WCCH
- A significant
breakthrough occurs when a TCSF patrol in the Masa System suprises
a Kilrathi corvette in the act of looting a free trader. Because
most of the Kilrathi crew is aboard the Confed vessel when the
patrol attacked, the corvette is taken with only minimal damage.
Although Kilrathi privateers are all killed in the fighting,
the corvette provides a wealth of important intelligence, including
the best data yet on the total radius of Kilrahi space, inhabited
Kilrathi colonies near Confed space, and multiple new jump-routes
within Kilrathi space. WCCH
- The Terran
Confederation fleets set out to contain Kilrathi expansion by
entrenching themselves along the borders of the Gemini Sector,
a region of space between the Confederation, the Kilrathi Empire,
and areas unknown. Tremendous wealth in resources is discovered
amongst the planets in the sector, and soon it becomes essential
in boosting the Confederation’s gross worth. PRV
- A Kilrathi
carrier group attacks and destroys an agricultural colony in
the Hellespont System, Vega Sector, an unarmed settlement of
assimilated Pilgrims. 82,000 humans are either killed or enslaved
in the attack. About 12 hours later, a similar force attacks
the shipping port of Tartarus, but that colony is able to hold
out until reinforcements arrive from Brimstone Naval Station,
and the Kilrathi withdraw after 48 hours of heavy fighting. The
escalation of hostilities did not catch Confed totally by surprise,
and within a week they are able to launch a punitive counter-offensive
centered on the K’nT’qal System, Kilrath Sector. Kilrathi
defenses hold, but the action provides time to fully implement
wartime defenses on all border colonies, using ships originally
built for the two Grand Fleets of the Pilgrim Wars. WCCH
- Kilrathi
occupation forces break through TCSN defenses and land on the
planets McAuliffe and Enyo, soon taking a half of a million Terrans
hostage, reinforced by orbital guns. The Confederation regroups
under the leadership of then-Captain Geoffrey Tolwyn and initiates
Phase One of his strategic plan. An attack force of Raptor-class
heavy fighters is brought in an attack force against the Kilrathi
fleet at the two besieged planets. The TCSF fighters are divided
into two squadrons, each one dropping porcupine mines in regions
of space near McAuliffe and Enyo where principal jump points
are located. Kilrathi ships stay clear of the mined regions,
allowing the inception of Phase Two of the operation in which
a scrambled radio signal detonates certain specially modified
mines. This clears the way for the arrival of a sizable Terran
reinforcement fleet through the jump points. Terran forces make
an immediate strike against the gunships threatening the population
centers on McAuliffe and Enyo. After a pounding match, the McAuliffe/Enyo
Engagement ends with the Kilrathi in full retreat. Casualties
are nearly identical between the two fleets, but the Kilrathi
have been forced to abandon a strategic position. WC1, WC3, WCKS
- The Kilrathi
push into the Vega Sector, launching a major assault that results
in a temporary Confederation withdrawal from about 30% of Terran
systems in the sector. WCCH
- A Confed
counter-offensive retakes nearly all the lost colonies in Vega.
WCCH
NOTE: This
was likely the Venice Offensive, referring to an assault by Confed
on the Venice System of the Vega Sector which William Eisen claimed
to have fought in as a young man on the TCS Victory with
fellow Academy graduate Raul Dominguez. WC4, WC4N
- Commander
James "Paladin" Taggart, missing, presumed dead since
the TCS Iason incident in 2629, reappears at Tartarus
Port after escaping his Kilrathi captor and being rescued by
a group of salvagers, reporting back to duty from a public communications
booth located in the Commercial Customs section of the station.
After debriefing, he is awarded accrued pay and leave. Other
than certain vitamin deficiencies and some minor parasitic infections,
he is in good health. WCCH, WCMN, WCM
- The Confederation
military command, determining that a need exists for a heavy
space carrier, authorizes design of the Bengal-class carrier
line. Trojan Four Naval Construction Yards, in orbit over Jupiter,
wins the assignment to build the new line of carriers. WC1, WCP
- The newly-launched
TCS Tiger’s Claw, on its shakedown cruise, carrying
a minimal spacecrew and an under-experienced command, finds itself
in the path of a surprise Kilrathi invasion force. The ship’s
unexpected presence along the Kilrathi flight plan, clever tactics
on the part of the command crew, and performance above and beyond
the call of duty by the spacecrews rout the superior Kilrathi
force. Shortly hereafter, Tiger’s Claw is given permanent
assignment in the Vega Sector. WC1
- Meanwhile,
after five years of exploration, the Gemini Sector is opened
to the public enterprise. As developers and entrepreneurs move
in to exploit the discoveries made by the Exploratory Services,
several mining and agricultural bases evolve. As the populations
grow, Gemini is divided into four political/cartographic quadrants—Potter,
Humboldt, Fariss and Clarke, clockwise from bottom right on a
standard Gunther projection. PRV
- Late this
year, the Confedation Epsilon Initiative begins when the Kilrathi
repulse a Confed attempt to bring all of Epsilon Sector under
its control. The T’Kon Meth and T’Rel Meh systems fall
after heavy fighting, but the invasion effort stalls there. WCCH
- The second
Bengal-class space carrier, the TCS Kipling, is launched.
Owing to design modifications, the Kipling and all subsequent
Bengals, including the TCS Wolfhound, the sister ship
of the Tiger’s Claw, are 10 meters shorter and several
tonnes less massive than the Tiger’s Claw, making
the Tiger’s Claw the biggest space carrier in its
class. WC1,
WCKS
- A Kilrathi
counter-offensive to the Confed assault on T’Kon Meth and
T’Rel Meh takes both systems back. WCCH
- The wife
(Clara) and three sons (one of which named Reginald) of Geoffrey
Tolwyn are killed in a Kilrathi raid. WCER, WCFA
- Terran ground
forces launch an attack on a fortified Kilrathi colony in the
G’wriss System of the Kilrah Sector, establishing a beachhead,
only to be routed by unexpected Kilrathi fighter support. The
TCS Tiger’s Claw is detached from its previous station
and assigned to spearhead the relief operation and intercept
the pursuing fighters in a delaying action taking three gueling
days eventually known as Custer’s Carnival—what it
is known in popular reports. Swarmed and badly damaged by Kilrathi
fighters, the carrier distracts Kilrathi forces long enough for
the Terran fleet to reach safety. Despite the fact that three-fourths
of its engines are destroyed and half its pilots are listed as
casualties, the heroic efforts of the Claw’s crew
allows the carrier to make it back into Terran space. Two Gold
Stars and numerous other medals—many of them posthumous—are
awarded to the ship’s personnel. The carrier itself spends
six months in spacedock for repairs and refitting. WC1, WC3, WCKS, WCCH
- The largest
warship in the known Kilrathi arsenal, the Snakeir-class dreadnought,
is first observed in battle late this year. WCCH
- The newly
repaired TCS Tiger’s Claw is relaunched under the
command of Captain Lawrence "Jay/Ski" Sansky with a
full compliment and personnel. At some point it is joined (actually
previous to 2650) by its first officer and XO, Commander Paul
Gerald and Colonel Peter Halcyon, wing commander of the 88th
Fighter Wing. WC1,
WC3, WCKS, WCM, WCMN, WCCH
- Christopher
"Maverick" Blair and Todd "Maniac" Marshall
enroll in the Academy (referred to as the "Terran Confederation
Naval Space [Force] Academy," or TCNSA). Blair does so against
the wishes of his dead parents. After a training run in which
circumstance forced them to accidentally take out a hiding Kilrathi
capital ship, Commodore Tolwyn decides to give Blair, Marshall,
and Gwen "Archer" Bowman hands-on training aboard the
TCS Tiger’s Claw. WCA, WCKS
- The first
psycho-anthropological profile on the Kilrathi is compiled by
Second Lieutenant Christopher Douglas, giving insight into the
minds of those who had been simply thought of as "The Enemy."
It would be revised through 2668.312, with a compilation of facts
offered by the eventual Kilrathi defector Ralga nar Hhallas
and gathered by Terran Intelligence and various Covert Ops. WC3, WCKS
- Commodore
Geoffrey Tolwyn has exhaustive computer analysis run on the Kilrathi
War. Using the best data available to cover every possibility,
he has hundreds of variables and thousands of scenarios programmed,
spending hundreds of millions of credits to build the hardware
necessary to further his studies. The conclusion comes: the war,
as it was being fought, isn’t winnable without anything
short of a miracle. It seemed the Kilrathi, with their superior
genetic structure and focused society, would bring to bear consistently
greater resources and ultimately withstand the war with humanity.
On the notion that the Terran society and race sorely needed
restructuring if it were to survive, Tolwyn begins the Black
Projects division. WC4N
- Cadets Christopher
"Maverick" Blair, with a 3.64 GPA, and Todd "Maniac"
Marshall, with a 4.02 GPA, graduate in the 201st Class of the
TCNSA Academy on Hilthros in the Sirius System and, after Blair
has a short stint flying training missions of the Exeter-class
destroyer TCS Formidable, are immediately enrolled in
the TCSF Flight School. Even beyond their graduation from the
Academy, for sporadic periods of time the two are assigned to
a cadet squadron with some of their Academy friends. WCKS, WCA, WC1
- In the Dolos
System, Prince Thrakhath prepares the yearly Sivar-Eshrad
ceremony on the planet Dolos, where the Dolosians have been enslaved
by the Kilrathi Empire. Upon learning of this, the TCS Tiger’s
Claw is sent in by the Confederation. Commodore Tolwyn feints
the enemy by pretending to launch a Marine assault to take the
planet, then goes ahead with a full strike on Thrakhath’s
flagship dreadnaught when it diverts fighters to defend Dolos.
During the conflict, Christopher Blair, who believed there was
going to be a Marine invasion of Dolos, is captured, though he
is quickly rescued. In the end, Thrakhath’s dreadnaught
is destroyed (though Thrakhath survived) and the Claw
suffers heavy losses. Blair refuses to receive an award from
Tolwyn in the aftermath, believing the commodore attempted to
sacrifice him. WCA
- The Exchange
is first standardized in the Gemini Sector, being heavily regulated
under Governor Meshach’s orders. Costs are standardized
and all transactions require Merchant’s Guild approval.
The Guild is a part of the Commerce Department at this time.
Unfortunately, the Meshach administration falls due to the sale
of Talon-class fighters to the Church of Man, which has now become
deeply entrenched throughout the sector. In the ensuing political
vacuum, base leaders do away with the regulations and fully automate
the Exchange. PRV
- Cadets Christopher
Blair, with a 4.22 academic GPA and 96.2 flight percentage, and
Todd Marshall, with a 4.50 academic GPA and 91.1 flight percentage,
complete Flight School in the 145th Training Wing on Sirius under
flight instructor Major E. Gonsalas, come out with the acting
ranks of 1st Lieutenant, and soon put in for an official transfer
aboard the TCS Tiger’s Claw. WCMN, WCCH
- In the Roberts
Quadrant, Vega Sector, the TCS Tiger’s Claw is conducting
sweeps of routes known to be frequented by Kilrathi spies and
pirates. At 1600 hours, Lieutenant Commander Chen "Bossman"
Kien leaves the Tiger’s Claw in command of a wing
of four Rapier fighters to conduct the regular afternoon patrol.
At 1724 hours the wing detects and engages the enemy, with Lieutenant
Commander Chen accounting personally for two of the Dralthi,
as well as coordinating the assault on the corvette, and are
successful in destroying all ships with no losses. After sending
two of the damaged fighters on his wing back to the Claw,
as he escorts the fourth home as well, he meets a Kilrathi patrol
of four Dralthi. The enemy destroy the fighter he escorts and
damage his engines in such a way that an overload in the reactor
core was created, killing Lieutenant Commander Chen from radiation
poisoning, such a dosage that it apparently killed him instantly.
WCCH
- [WING COMMANDER (THE MOVIE) begins] In the Vega
Sector, the TCS Tiger’s Claw, officially accepting
replacement pilots and Academy graduates and 1st Lieutenants
Christopher Blair and Todd Marshall, finds itself and its crew
in the thick of the Kilrathi War. The Claw’s pilots,
along with Captain James "Paladin" Taggart of the TCS
Diligent and Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn of the TCS Concordia
(not to be confused with the original Concordia, destroyed
in 2634.235) in Sol, undertake a mission to recover a
NAVCOM A.I. device from the Kilrathi before the NAVCOM leads
the Kilrathi to Earth via the Charybdis Quasar in the Dakoka
System, though not without having to deal with the threat of
treachery among their ranks, brought about by the discovery by
the others of Blair’s Pilgrim mother but then falling down
on the treacherous Captain Sansky, the captain of the Claw,
who is killed along with fellow conspirator Admiral William Wilson
of Pegasus Naval Base overlooking the Charybdis Quasar, a Pilgrim
himself. Over the course of the mission, Blair becomes romantically
involved with a squadron commander, Lieutenant Commander Jeannette
"Angel" Devereaux, and partakes in the destruction
of a Snakeir-class Kilrathi dreadnought under the watchful eye
of Commander Paul Gerald. [WING COMMANDER (THE MOVIE) ends] WCM, WCMN
- [WING COMMANDER: PILGRIM
STARS begins]
The Pilgrims and their present-day descendants, no longer thought
a threat, have a resurgence that leads to hostilities and the
brewing of a continuation of the Pilgrim Wars. The TCS Olympus,
controlled by McDanielite Pilgrims, some masquerading as Confed
officers, begins torching innocent worlds. Commodore Taggart,
Lt. Blair, and Lt. Marshall off the TCS Tiger’s Claw
nearly infiltrate the movement before Commodore Taggart, a Pilgrim
himself, apparently betrays Confed and remains with the Pilgrims
and his lover, Amity Aristee. [PILGRIM STARS ends] WCPS
NOTE: More
information to come.
- The CIAI
regularly launched probes capable of translating and interpreting
whatever they are exposed to which would then automatically return
to Terran space with their findings. They send them into uncharted
jump points and await their return, whenever that might be. CIAI
spokesman Iola Jonson makes the following statement: "Eight
days ago, Probe Number H227 reappeared in a Terran jump point
carrying data and artifacts from a species we are currently referring
to as the Double-Helix. From the information we have so far been
able to interpret from H227’s records, the Double-Helix
are a sentient race possessing space travel, and we are not ruling
out the possibility of FTL or jump drive technology. Physically,
they appear to be carbon-based arthropods which which communicate
through scents and pheromones. Their name is derived from the
double-helix shape of their spacecraft." World Science Federation
officials believe this to be the most significant contact with
an alien species since the discovery of the Kilrathi and Firekkans,
and hope that contact will remain friendly. WC1, WCKS
- [WING COMMANDER: PILGRIM
TRUTH begins]
The new Pilgrim threat continues. [PILGRIM TRUTH ends (2654.160)] WCPT
NOTE: More
information to come.
- At some point
following the command of Captain Paul Gerald an officer named
Captain Thorn is given command. When Admiral Tolwyn decides to
make the carrier a the flagship of "a ramshackle squadron,"
Tolwyn takes the Claw into against against overwhelming
odds to hold off a Kilrathi fleet until Terran relief forces
could arrive. At the height of the action Tolwyn relieves Captain
Thorn, then files charges against him for cowardice in the face
of the enemy. Thorn is later reinstated, but no one serving the
man ever forgets the incident. WC3N, WCFF, WCM, WCMN
- It is revealed,
to the surprise of all that knew him (and even his wife, who
already received a letter regarding his death), that Lieutenant
Commander Chen "Bossman" Kien did not die on 2654.070.
His supposedly fatal radiation exposure at the time evidently
treated, he soon returns to active duty on the TCS Tiger’s
Claw.
- Personnel
changes occur on the TCS Tiger’s Claw. At some point:
1) both Christopher Blair and Todd Marshall receive grade reductions
to 2nd lieutenant. 2) Captain James Taggart transfers to the
TCSF and is given the rank of major. 3) Lieutenant Commander
Jeannette "Angel" Devereaux steps down from squadron
commander and rejoins the TCSF under the rank of captain. 4)
Lieutenant Joseph "Knight" Khumalo, MIA since his Broadsword
was shot out from under him on 2654.076, is recovered and returns
to the Claw, receiving a promotion to captain. WC1
- [WING COMMANDER begins] Terran Intelligence
reports that the Kilrathi High Command is directing war efforts
from the Vega Sector, in the Venice System. Reconnaissance patrols
identify Kilrathi ships and boldly give chase, uncovering an
Imperial starbase. The Terran patrols are lost but not before
relaying their coordinates back to HQ. A small Terran fleet of
elite fighters led by the TCS Tiger’s Claw is dispatched
to the Imperial starbase. The Kilrathi launch a significant resistance,
but are eventually overpowered and their star post in Venice
is destroyed on 2654.325. The Vega Sector Campaign is thus won
by the Confederation through the determined efforts of the Tiger’s
Claw pilots, most notably those of 2nd Lieutenant Christopher
"Maverick" Blair. The sector is retaken and refortified
by Confed. Badly beaten, the Kilrathi move their central military
command back to their homeworld of Kilrah. [WING COMMANDER ends] WC1, WC3, WCKS
- Simultaneously,
on the far side of the galaxy, the celebrated Battle of Repleetah
unfolds. The small research planet of Repleetah has long been
home to dedicated researchers from various corners of the universe.
Once the declaration of war against the Kilrathi makes its way
to this distant outpost, Terran scientists vote to pay a visit
to a Kilrathi research facility. The goal of the Terran scientists
is to reaffirm their dedication to the unfettered pursuit of
knowledge and to offer a peaceful co-existence with their fellow
scientists. Instead, the Terrans are exterminated in a surprise
biological attack by the Kilrathi. Marines from both sides of
the Terran-Kilrathi conflict rush to Repleetah and engage in
the most sustained land-based fighting of the entire war. In
trench warfare reminiscent of Earth’s ancient World War
I, each side fights with dogged determination and in full bio-resistant
suits. Meager gains are bought with hundreds of lives, only to
be lost to the next counter-attack. Since Repleetah quickly loses
any strategic significance it might have had, it comes to represent
what each side can win with as little investment as possible.
Neither side is willing to commit anything more than ground troops,
even though a single, thorough space strike could end the battle
victoriously. The bloodshed continues unabated. WC3, WCKS
- [WING COMMANDER: PILGRIM
TRUTH begins]
The new Pilgrim threat continues. [PILGRIM TRUTH ends] WCPT
NOTE: More
information to come.
- In the Dolos
System, Prince Thrakhath prepares the yearly Sivar-Eshrad
ceremony on the planet Dolos, where the Dolosians have been enslaved
by the Kilrathi Empire. Upon learning of this, the TCS Tiger’s
Claw is sent in by the Confederation. Commodore Tolwyn feints
the enemy by pretending to launch a Marine assault to take the
planet, then goes ahead with a full strike on Thrakhath’s
flagship dreadnaught when it diverts fighters to defend Dolos.
During the conflict, Christopher Blair, who believed there was
going to be a Marine invasion of Dolos, is captured, though he
is quickly rescued. In the end, Thrakhath’s dreadnaught
is destroyed (though Thrakhath survived) and the Claw
suffers heavy losses. Blair refuses to receive an award from
Tolwyn in the aftermath, believing the commodore attempted to
sacrifice him. WCA
- [WING COMMANDER: THE SECRET
MISSIONS
begins] Shortly after intelligence reports indicate that Kilrathi
engineers have developed a new superweapon to use against inhabited
planets, all radio contact is lost with the Goddard Colony within
the Deneb Sector. SM1,
WC3, WCKS
- In "Operation
Thor’s Hammer," fighter wings from the Tiger’s
Claw rush to Goddard and forge a path for transports and
corvettes, only to discover that a quarter-million human lives
have already been sacrificed by the Kilrathi on the planet, having
met their fiery fate at the hands of what is believed to be the
superweapon. Deeply angered by the tragedy, the crew of the Tiger’s
Claw pursues the Kilrathi strike force into enemy territory,
where they are ambushed by a captured Confed Exeter-class destroyer,
the TCS Gwenhyvar. SM1
- Reconnaissance
ships eventually locate the dreadnought ship suspected of carrying
the prototype superweapon. The Claw follows and, in a
stunning display of deep space logistics and fighting skill,
eliminates this Sivar dreadnought (also known as a Sivarnaught).
Afterward, the Kilrathi Emperor has his son, the Crown Prince
Gilkarg, the commander responsible for the dreadnought’s
loss, executed. The Emperor’s grandson, Prince Thrakhath,
replaces Gilkarg as crown prince and heir, now becoming the next
in line for the throne. [THE SECRET MISSIONS ends] SM1, WCKS
- The Confederation
prepares to launch a large task force led by the TCS Trafalgar
against the Kilrathi, an offensive that the Kilrathi discover.
Crown Prince Thrakhath, aboard his flagship, the dreadnaught
KIS Avahn Ras Sivar, takes part in a strike that destroys
the Trafalgar, and severely damages the TCS Tiger’s
Claw. WCA
- The Confederation
pledges to protect the bird-like race in the Antares Sector planet
Firekka, called the Firekkans. After contact since at least 2634,
they at last sign a treaty with the Confederation following final
diplomatic talks. SM2,
WCAS, WC3, WCKS
- [WING COMMANDER: THE SECRET
MISSIONS 2 - CRUSADE
begins] In the interim, a huge Kilrathi battle fleet commanded
by Prince Thrakhath and his drakhai (Kilrathi Imperial
Guard) moves into the Firekka System. During this time a Kilrathi
Khantahr that defected on 2655.271, Ralgha nar Hhallas,
is instrumental in assisting the Confederation’s efforts,
soon joining their ranks as "Hobbes" and providing
useful information that is added to the psycho-anthropological
profile on the Kilrathi (already begun by 2nd Lt. Christopher
Douglas). The fleet’s intent is unknown until Ralgha nar
Hhallas exposes a plan to use Firekka for a religious ritual,
the Sivar-Eshrad, in which warriors rededicate themselves
to Sivar, the Kilrathi god of war, which at last confirms Dr.
C.L. Kohl’s enigmatic notes logged on 2621. The Confederation
decides to disrupt the religious ceremony to be held on 2655.293
in the hopes of breaking enemy morale. Marine troopships jump
into the system and stage an assault on the Kilrathi priestesses.
The mission is successful on 2655.315, and the Claw retreats
to Terran-controlled space under heavy Kilrathi pursuit. In short
order, Firekkan natives revolt and force the remaining Kilrathi
forces to withdraw, though not before taking prisoners. Major
Chen "Bossman" Kien is killed during the space fighting.
[CRUSADE ends] SM2
- [WING COMMANDER: FREEDOM
FLIGHT begins]
During and a short time after the Firekka predicament, Captain
Ian "Hunter" St. John, a pilot on the Tiger’s
Claw, Major James "Paladin" Taggart, an officer
in the Confederation Special Operations division formerly of
the Tiger’s Claw, K’Kai, a Firekkan female St.
John befriends, and Kirha, one of Ralgha nar Hhallas’
closest friends who becomes honor bound to St. John by order
of Ralgha, all get together aboard the Bonnie Heather
to attempt an unauthorized—though successful—rescue
of the captured Firekkans being held aboard a Ghorah Khar Kilrathi
station. [FREEDOM
FLIGHT ends]
WCFF
- Shortly after
leaving Firekkan space, veteran Major Michael "Iceman"
Casey of the TCS Tiger’s Claw takes shore leave on
a nearby planet, meeting Sarah Kylie Richards, a waitress. A
few months later, Casey hastily arranges a wedding. Six weeks
after that, Casey is forced to eject on a patrol of the Kilrathi
B’shriss System (likely in the Tr’L Rass Quadrant of what would later become
known as the Epsilon Sector). Christopher Blair recovers his
ejection capsule a short time later, finding the body of Michael
Casey torn to pieces, a victim of the Kilrathi. Sarah Casey gives
birth to Lance R. Casey six months after marrying Michael. WCP
- Meanwhile,
the Battle of Repleetah grinds into its third year with neither
side gaining a significant advantage. Despite heavy losses on
both side (2.7 million Confed troops, 1.2 million Confed citizens,
and estimated upwards of 7 million Kilrathi casualties) and the
tolls taken by the extraordinarily bitter weather of the research
outpost, Kilrathi and Terran Marines refuse to yield. WC3, WCKS, WCCH
- Confederation
forces attempt to remove the Kilrathi from the Enigma Sector,
where strategic jump nodes lead directly to human homeworlds.
WC2, WC3,
WCKS
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