Wing Commander III: Heart of The Tiger - Novelization

Novelization

While mostly following the plot outlined above, authors Keith and Forstchen made a number of decisions and changes to increase the tension of the novel. In chronological order:

• Blair's Gold Squadron flies Thunderbolts exclusively before transferring over to the new Excaliburs. Green Squadron runs the Longbows, Red Squadron has Hellcats and Blue Squadron flies Arrows.
• Flash arrives, not as a test pilot for the Excalibur, but from the Locanda system as a replacement contributed from a Home Defense squadron. He retains his "hotshot" mindset and rank of major, however, leaving Blair the unwelcome problem of having two extremely senior officers on his flight wing who are also complete hot-doggers.
• Blair fails to save Locanda.
• Forstchen-created character Kevin "Lone Wolf" Tolwyn makes an appearance as a courier, preparing the Victory for the admiral's arrival. Lone Wolf, now a major, declines to join Blair's wing only because it would pain his uncle.
• Thrakhath's declaration that Blair is the game's titular "Heart of the Tiger" occurs while the pilots are in their cockpits, scrambling to defend the ill-fated Behemoth (instead of standing around on the Victory's bridge. Flash, flying on Hobbes' wing, is killed in the ensuing fight.
• Since Hobbes knows about the Temblor bomb project, there is no question of allowing him to escape. Hobbes uses voice recordings to impersonate Buckley, but when Vaquero (Cobra's wingman) hears what has happened, he engages Hobbes, as per Blair's orders to "stop that bastard at all costs", and is killed just as Maverick arrives to finish the job.
  • The novel includes a scene inexplicably cut from the PC version of the game, though not the PlayStation version: Blair finding a message in Hobbes' locker, explaining his treachery. Ralgha nar Hhallas, a loyal Kilrathi, volunteered for a special operation, in which his original personality was overlaid with one that would be much more sympathetic to humans. This personality defected to the Confederation over ten years ago and has served them loyally. However, nar Hhallas's original personality could be reactivated via certain audio cues—namely, hearing Thrakhath saying Blair's Kilrathi warrior name, "Heart of the Tiger"—and this personality has served Kilrathi interests with characteristic loyalty. In the end, though, both personalities have come to respect Christopher Blair and value his friendship, and it is with regret that they betray him.
• Blair chooses Rachel.
• Flint, Winston "Vagabond" Chang and Maniac, the only living Gold Squadron pilots at this point in the novel, fly with him to Kilrah. Vagabond is shot down on the second leg of the journey (though he survives through unspecified means to return in Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom), Flint is killed in space above Kilrah, and Maniac is shot down in the planet's atmosphere, though Maverick is described as catching a glimpse of what might be an ejection seat (Marshall also returns in WC4).