| Wing Commander craft | |
| Morningstar Heavy Fighters | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Unknown |
| Type | Heavy starfighter |
| Length | 20 meters |
| Weight | 20 metric tonnes |
| Weapons | 3 Particle Cannons 2 Image Recognition missiles 2 Torpedoes 1 Mace Torpedo |
| Shield | Standard shields |
| Hull | 20cm armor plating |
| Crew | 1 pilot |
| Top Speed | 400 kps |
| Affiliation | Terran Confederation |
The (fictional) Morningstar heavy fighter is a spacecraft in the Wing Commander science fiction computer game universe.
About
The Morningstar carries three particle cannons, shields and armor 50% stronger than that of the Sabre heavy fighter, an equivalent cruising speed and jump drive, and the Confederation's newest munition--a "Mace" unguided tactical nuclear missile which could be detonated with normal fire. A squadron of Morningstars, flown by the Wild Eagles testing squadron under Maj. Todd "Maniac" Marshall, came aboard the TCS Concordia during 2667. The plane was top-secret, to the point of including a self-destruct device to avoid capture--especially as the jump drive was notoriously finicky and prone to failure. Unfortunately, one was captured, but not by a Kilrathi: a member of the secret "Mandarin" organization, a group of treasonous humans in league with the Kilrathi, had managed to work her way into the Wild Eagles squadron. Captain Maria "Minx" Grimaldi hijacked her Morningstar and fled to the Mandarins' headquarters at Ayer's Rock. Fortunately, the Concordia's flight group commander, Col. Christopher "Maverick" Blair, was on hand; he and Marshall shot down her captured ship, destroyed the Mandarin base, and left Grimaldi herself floating in space, dying of radiation poisoning.
Trivia
- The Morningstar is named after a medieval morning star melee weapon, which is itself a variant on the mace.
- The real-world prototype Russian aircraft Mikoyan Project 1.44 (sometimes called the MiG-35) resembles the Morningstar in design, lacking only a third engine and a nuclear weapon.
