this freighter, the Gamal Gan, was headed to Ayer's Rock, the Mandarins' home base. This is the first indication that the Kilrathi are actively aiding the Mandarins, though the player has known for a while: one of the game's opening scenes shows the Emperor ordering a Mandarin to capture a Morningstar using them. The Mandarins begin transmitting propaganda movies, specifically the hijacking of several Terran freighters. The raids are quite clearly led by Zach Colson. The crews of the freighters are eventually traded for several Mandarin prisoners. Even worse, Thrakhath's ambitions are realized when a Mandarin traitor sets off a bomb on the Concordia's flight deck and steals a Morningstar. The traitor, Maria Grimaldi, heads for Ayer's Rock; clever deployment of Kilrathi patrols prevent Maverick and Maniac from following her. Deciding that it's time for some cover agents of their own, Paladin takes over the Gamal Gan. He renames it the Grimalkin and transfers Maverick and Maniac back to Special Ops. Hiding two Morningstars aboard the Grimalkin, the three infiltrate the Ayer system. The Morningstar's torpedoes are supplemented by a new weapon: the "Mace" tactical nuclear missile. Though unguided, it can be detonated manually by the launching pilot, and does splash damage to whatever's in range. Minx makes it to an escape pod, but escape pods are not enough to prevent radiation poisoning. Jazz stole her Morningstar, giving Maverick the opportunity to shoot him down before returning to the Concordia. In a humorous scene, Maniac's Morningstar, which broke down just after launch for the mission against Jazz, is seen drifting and deserted in space, evidently neither Blair nor Paladin cared to rescue him (Maniac returns, hale and hearty, in the next game in the series, Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger). Thrakhath once again turns defeat into victory, by savaging the 6th Battle Fleet; the Confederation is forced to retreat, once again, from the Enigma sector. Reception Computer Gaming World in 1991 called Wing Commander IIs story "mesmerizing" and the game "clearly excellent". The magazine concluded that it "flies right and plays not only on one's computer, but also on one's emotions". In a 1992 survey of science fiction games the magazine gave the title five of five stars, calling it "a sequel worthy of the name", with improved graphics, story, and gameplay. That year the magazine named it one of the year's top four action games. A 1994