re: Is Jester a coward for diving below the hard deck during that first dogfight?

quote:

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That part always really bothered me in the movie. Why didn't Jester get in trouble as well for going below the hard deck? I don't remember Viper telling him he broke a major rule of engagement

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Because the rule was that there was to be no engagement below 10k. You can go under it, but you can't continue the dogfight under it.

You don't see it in action, but in Viper's dressing down later, he says "The hard deck for this hop was 10,000 feet. You knew it, you broke it. You followed Commander Heatherly below after he lost sight of you and called no joy."

In a nutshell, Jester felt like he couldn't see Mav/Goose went below 10k as a safety measure to avoid a possible collision. Once he got visual again, he was going to come back up and resume the fight, but Mav didn't allow it. He came down and engaged.