Operations 1 Establishing immediately that the canonical ending involves Blair destroying K'tithrak Mang, the newly promoted Colonel Blair, along with Colonel Ralgha "Hobbes" nar Hhallas, is scheduled for a transfer to the "Special Operations" division of Intelligence, under Col. Taggart, who is Chief Field Officer of Intelligence and Special Operations in the Enigma Sector. Their transfers are delayed, however, by increasing Kilrathi presence in the Pembroke System, including the brand-new Gothri-class heavy fighter; even worse, the Rigel Supply Depot is attacked by Confederation ships, which open fire on Blair when he arrives to investigate. The hostile fighters are from the TCS Gettysburg, a Waterloo-class cruiser. She was stationed in the N'Tanya system, where a Kilrathi colony has been undergoing a rebellion against the Empire. Loyalist Kilrathi citizens were allowed to leave N'Tanya peacefully, but the Gettysburg's skipper, Commodore Cain, ordered his pilots to open fire on their transports. The entire flight group, led by Wing Commander Colonel Ransom, Lieutenant Colonel Poelma, and Lieutenant Jason Bondarevsky, mutinied against the order to kill innocent civilians, and Cain was dispatched back to Confed HQ. The mutineers soon parted ways: Ransom wanted to live as a pirate, while Poelma and Bondarevsky were all for returning to Confed. It was Ransom's group that captured the Rigel depot; Poelma and Bondarevsky, in the meantime, have been promised pardons by Confed C-in-C. Blair is assigned to bring them back to the Concordia and destroy the Rigel depot. In doing so, he gets a chance to try out the Fleet's newest torpedo bomber, the YA-18A Crossbow, which the Gettysburg was field-testing. The returning Gettysburg crew was acquitted, and Bondarevsky in fact promoted and decorated for his integrity. Taggart arrives aboard the Bonnie Heather and retrieves Blair and nar Hhallas, as well as Major Edmond, the Concordia's communications officer, for their Special Operations duties, which will take place on Olympus Station in the Ghorah Khar system. Like N'Tanya, Ghorah Khar is in rebellion, and Taggart's Special Operations involve helping these rebels succeed, in the form of contributions of leadership, pilots and matériel. Blair also helps intercept a Loyalist dead drop, replacing the invasion plans contained within with Confed-developed plans that will lead the Kilrathi fleet into an ambush. The Kilrathi arrive in far more force than anticipated, and Maverick and Hobbes fly several strikes against these attack groups. At this point comes an unexpected complication: Taggart is ambushed at