abstract
| - William Eisen was born sometime after the year 2600. When he was a young pilot during the middle stages of the Kilrathi War, he participated in the Vega Campaign, where he saw action on the Kilrathi colony of Venice. Alongside his friend Raul Dominguez, they saw one of the greatest human victories of the War as the T.C.S. Tiger's Claw swiftly conquered the planet. William Eisen's natural leadership and prowess on the battlefield helped him to rise through the ranks. During an unknown year, he became the communications officer of the TCS Victory on her maiden voyage and eventually took the helm as Captain. Throughout WC3 and the novel based on the game, he proves himself to be a good man and fine officer who is as much a father figure to the Victory's crew as a military commander. William Eisen is first introduced in Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger when Colonel Christopher Blair is assigned to combat status on the Victory. He was skeptical of the Colonel's true capabilities at first but soon saw him for the legendary pilot he was. The two officers worked together closely to maintain the crew's hope in the war effort and were able to accomplish several major strikes against the relentless Kilrathi invaders. During the final months of the Kilrathi War, Eisen and the Victory escorted the ill-fated TCS Behemothduring that vessel's test flight in preparation for the destruction of Kilrah. Eisen found himself at odds with Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn when the Admiral took command of his vessel, but regained command when the Behemoth was destroyed and Tolwyn departed. Afterwards, Brigadier General James Taggart introduced the Temblor Bomb to Eisen and Colonel Blair, and the two accepted the task of deploying the weapon to destroy Kilrah. Blair delivered the weapon and following Kilrah's destruction, the War ended. The Victory was retired from service later on and Eisen was transferred to the TCS Lexington. In Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom, Eisen is the Captain of the TCS Lexington. Once again working with his friend Colonel Blair, Eisen led deep space strikes against the Union of Border Worlds, who were harassing Confed vessels along the frontier. However, Eisen, suspecting a conspiracy within the Terran Confederation government, defects to the Border Worlds. He is followed by Blair and several other pilots, where he commands the Border Worlds carrier BWS Intrepid during the conflict with Confed. Sadly, Eisen arrived on the Intrepid to find that his friend Captain Raul Dominguez died when the Intrepid was ambushed by Confed forces. He was able to get the surviving crew back into combat-ready status and soon left for Earth so that he and his undercover operatives could further investigate the alleged conspiracy. He left Colonel Blair as the ship's commander. When it was discovered that Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn was the head of the conspiracy, Eisen raced back to the Border Worlds to help Blair warn Earth about the treachery. Using the hijacked TCS Mount St. Helens, Eisen saved the Intrepid as they were pursued by the TCS Vesuvius. Following the revelation of Tolwyn's crimes before the Confederation Senate and the end to the Border Worlds Conflict, Eisen was exonerated along with Blair and his friends. Eisen then received a promotion to admiral. He would continue to serve the Terran Confederation for several more years. Eisen presumably dies during the period between Wing Commander IV and Wing Commander: Prophecy, as actor Jason Bernard died in late 1996 due to a heart attack. The Vesuvius-class heavy carrier TCS Eisen appearing in Wing Commander: Prophecy is presumably named for him.
- Captain William Eisen is a fictional character in the Wing Commander computer game and novel series. In the computer games, Eisen is played by Jason Bernard, perhaps best known for portraying Paul Bracken on Herman's Head.
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