A/N: I originally wrote this as a way to shake off the rust. It took on a bit of a life of its own, like all plot bunnies are liable to, and I decided to fix it up and post it.

Disclaimer:I do not own StarCraft or Doctor Who.

Chapter One: Koprulu Burns

Dylarian Shipyards
2510

Taking to heart the lessons learned from raids by Raynor's Raiders and the United Earth Directorate, the Terran Dominion had fortified the Dylarian Shipyards to a degree second to Korhal itself. An extensive network of picket ships and sensor towers blanketed the entire Dylar system, and squadrons of rapid-response craft sat with weapons and engines hot to intercept any and all intruders. A constant direct line linked the Dylarian Shipyards to the Cerros Shipyards at Korhal, and even a temporary disruption of communications would bring a fleet of Gorgon-class battlecruisers rushing to investigate.

Alarm klaxons blared, drowning out the din of the Dominion Fleet repairing and resupplying. Power-suited Marines rushed through the corridors, manning bunkers and hastily setting up crew-served weaponry. Battlecruisers slowly rose from their berths, joining the clouds of Wraiths that screamed through space to intercept the intruders.

"Sitrep!" demanded General Billie Virgo as he burst into the command center.

"Sir, two hundred battlecruiser-sized objects have appeared in orbit around Dylar IV! Second Fleet is en route to intercept!"

The General's eyes bugged out. Two hundred? Not even the Protoss could field a fleet that large!

"Alert Korhal! Have them scramble the Gorgons!"

"It's no good, sir. They're overriding our distress calls with an all-clear!"

"Second Fleet is taking heavy casualties! Laser batteries aren't even scratching the enemy ships!"

"Additional contacts! Fifty more battlecruiser-sized objects have breached the inner defense zone!"

The drydocks erupted in flames, taking with them a dozen battlecruisers sitting at anchor. Clouds of tiny fighter craft poured from the enemy ships, swatting rapid-response aircraft out of the sky and mercilessly tearing apart the defenders below.

"We're being boarded! Hull breaches in Sectors Three, Five, Eight, Twelve, and Sixteen!"

The command center's blast doors glowed red-hot for a split second before exploding inwards with great force. Grating voices, the whirring of servos, and the harsh buzz of energy weapons filled the air, and General Billie Virgo knew no more.

Imperial Palace, Korhal IV
Three Days Later

The history of Korhal IV was marked with great suffering: the Terran Confederacy had bombarded the world with nuclear weaponry as an example to rebellious worlds, and rebuilding was well underway but still incomplete when the Zerg Swarm invaded Augustgrad. The second invasion had left surprisingly little damage, but vast swathes of Korhal still lay abandoned as the Dominion's strained resources were directed to more pressing needs.

Shortly after the war against Amon, Emperor Valerian Mengsk took advantage of the fragile bonds forged in the face of utter annihilation to reopen diplomatic relations with the various factions of the Koprulu sector. The Kel-Morians came first, tempted with the prospect of a new trade treaty. The Umojans followed soon afterwards, their distrust assuaged somewhat by the new Emperor's upbringing. Just as the people of the Dominion were slowly acclimating to foreign ambassadors on Korhal, a Daelaam warp prism appeared in orbit bearing a single Preserver and a probe that quickly set about teleporting an embassy building from Aiur. There was very nearly a diplomatic incident when Overqueen Zagara accepted Valerian's invitation and sent an ambassador of her own; the planetary defenses around Korhal nearly fired on the Leviathan before Admiral Horner hurriedly stood them down.

Arcturus Mengsk was surely rolling in his grave, and conservative factions of the Dominion government raked Valerian over the coals. At the current moment, the new Emperor paid his critics little mind, as his efforts had already paid dividends. For starters, the string of attacks throughout the Koprulu sector led to a rather tense meeting within his office rather than the mobilization of fleets and armies.

"You've already had the chance to read the White Star's report, I assume," Valerian tossed the stack of papers onto his desk, "The Dylarian Shipyards were completely annihilated. The drydocks, fueling facilities, ammunition dumps, and two-thirds of the Fleet as it sat at anchor. Whoever was behind this could only be interested in one thing: crippling the Dominion military. And I'm afraid to say they succeeded."

"Several of our broods have also gone silent over the past few days, and our scouts found their worlds scorched completely clean of life. We've only just noticed a pattern in these attacks: they're in a straight line towards Char. The attackers have ignored anything even slightly off-course, and…hold on, I am receiving an update," Alexei Stukov tilted his head, muttering to an unseen party for several moments before blanching, "Char Aleph is under attack by golden shi-"

"The Hierarch would never sanction such an action, especially not at a time like this!" Preserver Rohana growled with uncharacteristic anger, her eyes narrowing, "Before I lost contact with Aiur, I received reports of a fleet besieging Saalok itself. Fully half of the Golden Armada is either falling out of the sky or burning in their docks!"

"It was not my intention to accuse," Stukov raised his hands in a placating gesture, "Quite frankly, I doubt even the Golden Armada could field so many ships, and the level of technological sophistication is beyond any race in the Koprulu sector. Char's defense forces alone count three hundred battlecruiser-sized ships, and more are arriving with each second."

Admiral Matt Horner and newly-christened General Jim Raynor stood to Valerian's left and right, respectively, and the three men shared nervous glances as they sensed the rising tension. The tension near-instantly evaporated as the Admiral Horner tilted his head to the right while double-tapping his earpiece.

"Admiral Horner he-," Matt was seemingly cut off by the person on the other end, and he paled.

"A fleet has just appeared within the Cerros Shipyards' inner defense perimeter. They're trying to get as many Gorgons off the ground while they still can," the Admiral relayed moments before his face wrinkled in confusion, "It seems the enemy ships are transmitting something. Unencrypted, all channels. They've even managed to hijack the UNN broadcasts."

Hands imperceptibly trembling, Emperor Valerian reached into his desk for a remote control and switched on a screen embedded in the far wall. The office was oppressively silent as the television scanned for a signal, and every head snapped towards the door as it quietly swung open. A man in a brown tweed jacket strode through, taking a nervous glance at the room and its occupants before throwing his hands up in surrender.

"Well, I don't suppose you'll believe I got lost looking for the loo?" the stranger drawled, "No? Okay then, I'm the Doctor, and if you'll put those guns away…"

Whatever the Doctor wanted to say was drowned out by a grating staccato voice repeating one word over and over.

"Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!"