Ralgha "Hobbes" nar Hhallas was a character in the Wing Commander universe and the Kilrathi defector from Secret Missions 2: Crusade. His first actual appearance was in Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi. Ralgha nar Hhallas was the commander of the cruiser KIS Ras Nik'ra, whose doubts about the Kilrathi Empire's righteousness led to his defection (detailed in the novel Freedom Flight). Though initially distrusted, Hobbes eventually proved himself to his humans counterparts and became one of the Confederation's top pilots. His callsign is reportedly a homage to "an ancient Terran philosopher" - whether this is a reference to the great philosopher Thomas Hobbes or a philosophical feline character from a certain Calvin and Hobbes comic strip from the 20th century is never explained (though the latter is suggested in the novelization of Wing Commander III, the same reference incorrectly states that it was Blair who bestowed Ralgha's callsign). The name was given to Hobbes by Downtown, a pilot on the T.C.S. Concordia who considered him very wise. In fact, Hobbes had saved Downtown while he was a child on the war-torn Kilrathi colony of Ghorah Khar.

Character Background - Ralgha nar HhallasEdit

• Name: Ralgha nar Hhallas
• Rank: Lord/Colonel
• Callsign: Hobbes
• Race: Kilrathi
• Gender: Male
• Birth: 2641
• Death: 2669.267 (Aged 28)
• Planet: Hhallashdkd

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• Affiliation: Terran Confederation/Kilrathi Empire
• First Appearance: Wing Commander I (Mentioned Only), Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi (First On-screen Appearance)
• Last Appearance: Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger

Personal biographyEdit

Hobbes was greatly loyal to the Terran Confederation, his sense of duty and justice not clicking well with the brutality and savagery of the Kilrathi Empire. He acted in a series of campaigns against the Kilrathi, opposed to their concept of total war and the brutal destruction of humanity at its roots.

However during the course of Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger, the Terran Confederation, panicked by recent incursions near Earth, attempt to up the stakes of the war by building weapons of mass destruction capable of destroying Kilrah. This acts as an echo to the A-Bomb strikes on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II in 1945. The hope is that by destroying Kilrah, and thus killing the Emperor, the Kilrathi would lose any centralization and will to fight, and sign a peace accord with the Terran Confederation. Despite his personal feelings about such a plot, Hobbes continues to serve loyally alongside his longtime friend Christopher Blair. During their time on the TCS Victory, Blair is one of the only people who fully trust Hobbes.

Midway through the course of the game, it is revealed that Hobbes has transmitted confidential information to the Kilrathi, including schematics of the TCS Behemoth and the T-Bomb. The pilot Cobra attempts to stop him, but he quickly kills her and makes off with a Thunderbolt Heavy Fighter.

Hobbes is killed on 2669.267 attempting to defend the Kilrathi homeworld, Kilrah, against Colonel Christopher Blair.

Even though Cobra's murder had turned Blair and Hobbes into enemies, Hobbes still retained his admiration and respect for the Colonel. Despite the fact that he would no choice but to kill him in combat the next time that they met, Hobbes still considered Blair a friend.

Hobbes' BetrayalEdit

There is some debate over the source of Hobbes' betrayal. One theory holds that this was a voluntary, moral act, as a response to the potential actions of the Confed military. While this would provide a considerable depth to the character and story, the majority of information, both in-game and from the novelisation, seems to favour a second interpretation.

It appears that the Hobbes we know was a personality construct, overlaid on top of the 'real' Ralgha nar Hhallas on the orders of Prince Thrakhath. Hobbes was a sleeper agent, infiltrated into the Confederation. A key phrase ("The Heart of the Tiger") spoken by Thrakath during a transmission to Colonel Blair had awakened Hobbes' true personality. The newly awakened Hobbes still retained considerable respect and admiration for Col. Blair. Uncertainty over this plot aspect has been aggravated by the cutting of certain cutscenes from the PC release of the game. However, the Wing Commander CIC website has posted video clips ripped from the 3DO version of Wing Commander 3.^[1] These cutscenes were deleted from the PC version, and in particular include a "Hobbes explanation scene"^[2] that confirms that Ralgha was a sleeper agent in the original, filmed game script. The scene was also added to the Playstation version.

Other mediaEdit

• Ralgha was played by John Schuck in the Wing Commander III computer game.

• Ralgha also appeared in the Freedom Flight and Heart of the Tiger novelizations.

ReferencesEdit

• [1]