Disclaimer: I do not own Starcraft, nor anything else from any other shows/games/books I may bring into the fold in the course of writing this story.

Prologue: Prelude to The Flight

Onboard the Hyperion, 2502...

Pure, unbridled fury. That was the only way to describe the contempt Jim Raynor had for Acturus Mengsk. Nothing less than total annihilation of the man, his memory, his image, and his influence would do. It was after all, built on the blood of soldiers that Raynor had once fought with.

And Kerrigan.

He growled, knocking back another shot before hurling the glass at the wall, impacting a picture of Acturus that had been pinned to the wall with deadly accuracy before grabbing another.

Bullets were too good for the man. Acturus deserved nothing less than the bloodiest possible death Raynor could give him, as payment for his sins against the Koprulu Sector.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm his rage down. Although it was empty onboard the Hyperion's canteen, it wouldn't do to lose himself in his fury. He'd simply have to come up with a better way of killing Acturus.

But how, was the question.

The door hissed open and closed, the sound of heavy footsteps nearing the bar.

"Jimmy."

It was Swann. A former miner, he once lead a revolt against another corrupt miner who had been bribing officials to levy taxes so as to drive competition out of business. The revolt was a dismal failure – although he survived because Raynor and his men had picked up his distress call. Ever since then, he worked for him as the Hyperion's chief engineer.

"Swann." Raynor grunted. "Grab a drink and sit down."

"Don't mind if I do, Cowboy." Swann replied thankfully, reaching over the bar to grab a beer. He noticed the pile of glass beneath the picture of Acturus Mengsk, and chuckled.

"Threw another one?" Swann asked.

"Well, he's not here – so I can't exactly throw it at him." He snorted, knocking back another drink. "This is pathetic." He said finally.

"What is?"

"Our guns and armor. What else?" Raynor rolled his eyes. In all of his battles against the Zerg, nothing was more relatively useless than the CMC line of armor used to equip all of their ground troops. In terms of protection, they offered next to none against the Zerg up close – and their own weapons didn't do much either. It took a significant volume of fire to do any kind of significant damage to the Zerg – something they couldn't afford with a crew of only four hundred people. "The rushing numbers tactic might have worked in the past, but we don't have the manpower for that. We need to hit hard, hit fast and bug out before the enemy can react. Or barring that, we need to be able to hit hard and tank harder." Raynor grumbled.

Swann nodded in agreement. "Yeah well, the CMC line's the only decent powered armor suit out here that works. It's easier to come up with modifications to something we already know than it is to come up with a better version that'll take a lot of R&D to make." Swann shrugged. "But if you want some heavier firepower, that I can do. Question is – what kind?"

Raynor paused mid-drink and thought about it. Their 8mm C-14 gauss rifles did have some good points such as ammo capacity and rate of fire, but what it had in fire volume it lacked severely in firepower. Of course, they could easily fix that by using weapons that have a higher rate of fire, but that would mean they'd chew through rounds faster.

"What I need is a better gun." Raynor muttered. "Or better bullets. Think you can make a new bullet for the C-14 rifles?"

Swann rubbed his chin in thought. "Well, designing a new round's easier than making a new gun – but the question is what do you want the new bullet to do?"

Raynor paused. While their immediate enemy was the Dominion, he had absolutely no doubts that they'd probably have to use the same ammo to fight Zerg – which meant they needed to do more than just fly fast and make holes.

"What if the new round flattened upon impact?" Raynor suggested.

Swann hmm'ed. "Let me run some tests and get back to you on that. What about the armor?"

Raynor frowned. "I thought you said building a new one would be too difficult."

Swann shrugged. "Depends on what you want done – as long as we can still use the CMC series for a basis. We've only got marine suits and C-14's right now – but I'll try to get my hands on some of the other nicer gear. Until then, there's not much we can do."

"Could you add a jump jet pack to the marine armor? We could use the added mobility."

Swann raised an eyebrow. "Huh. Can't believe I never thought about that. I'll get right on it – that should surprise those Dommie bastards. Ha!" He laughed, walking out of the canteen.

Raynor turned to the viewports, watching as warp space blew past. He poured himself another drink, trying to bring his anger under control with a deep, calming breath.

He looked down at the amber liquid in the glass, and finally decided enough was enough. Knocking back one last drink, he replaced the bottle, washed the glass and left to go to his quarters.

Three days later, Swann requested he visit him down in his workshop.

He walked through the door just in time to see Swann test firing a new round – which, instead of flattening against the armor plate the mannequin wore, it went through the armor and then exploded inside the mannequin, leaving a fairly big gaping hole behind.

"Ha! Now that's what I call firepower!" Swann said triumphantly, opening the test firing chamber.

"What the hell was that?" Raynor asked, surprised.

"That, is the new round I came up with. You see, I tried making a round like you suggested – one that would flatten upon impact, thus transferring the kinetic energy into the target more efficiently. Unfortunately, against the CMC series – their performance is well...shit. They work well against unarmored targets, but against armored targets with padding, it's pretty much useless." Swann said excitedly. "So, I asked myself – what's the best way to add some extra oomph?"

"You turned it into an armor piercing grenade?" Raynor asked.

Swann paused, then nodded. "Essentially, yeah. I borrowed the idea from the C-10 canister rifles the Ghosts used to use. What do you think?"

Raynor examined the hole in the mannequin and the armor plating – which upon closer inspection turned out to be two armored chest pieces from the CMC 400 on top of each other with as little gap between them. He whistled at the damage.

"How soon can you make more?" Raynor asked.

Swann frowned. "That's the downside. Explosives, we have – but the usual metals we use for the AP tip weren't cutting it either. The stuff I used for that tip I need to make – and that's going to take some time." Swann warned.

"Hold up. You made a metal for the tips?" Raynor asked.

"Not so much made, so much as I used an old formula of mine from my mining days. Never had a name for it – but this stuff made the best hand tools you a miner ever needed. It's a lot harder and more durable than this crappy neo-steel everyone uses, and on the upside, just a tad lighter. You get the materials I need to make it, and you'll have your new bullets. In the meantime, best I can do is to make these new rounds with our old stuff."

Raynor nodded, and turned back to Swann. It was then when he noticed that Swann's eyes had huge bags underneath them.

"Swann...when was the last time you slept?" He asked curiously.

Swann paused, and then smiled sheepishly. "Two days ago. I'll finish up here, then rack out Chief."

"Make sure you do." Raynor nodded. "And keep up the good work." He said, patting Swann on the shoulder on his way out.

He made his way to the bridge.

"Commander." Horner greeted him. "Swann wanted to see you earlier."

"I saw him. He's got some nifty new bullets for ours guns." Raynor grinned. "Should make our C-14's more effective overall."

Horner snorted. "About time. I was getting tired of having to rely on sheer volume of fire to kill things."

Raynor nodded in agreement. "Hopefully, he'll be able to work his magic on the CMC 400's as well."

"More ideas?" Horner repeated. "If you want us to start doing more R&D, we'll have to pick up more engineers and scientists."

"I know." Raynor nodded. "Some of the stuff I want done includes adding jump jets to existing Marine armor and toughening up all of our armor across the board.

Horner laughed. "What next? Jumping into battle with chainsaws and pipes?"

Raynor paused. Terran military doctrine as a whole relied relied entirely on ranged weapons. The only thing they had that could qualify as a close quarter weapon were the flamethrowers Firebats used.

"Actually..." Raynor started. "That gives me an idea."

Horner groaned. "You're not seriously considering it, are you?"

Raynor shrugged. "Think about it. If Swann can get jump jets on the Marine armor, we'll be able to get real close and personal. Besides – it'll help us save on ammo."

Horner facepalmed. "I should've kept my mouth shut."

They still had a week's worth of travel to do before they reached any of their destinations, where Raynor hoped to hide for a while from both Zerg and the Dominion in order to further refine these upgrades he wanted to make to the Hyperion.

He frowned however, as he watched his men train, moving from simulated cover to simulated cover, firing at enemy targets that were also moving at high speed. It wasn't enough. Being able to shoot better than Dominion forces was one thing, but if the weapons they were using just didn't cut it, it didn't matter.

And Swann couldn't keep pulling 72 hour nights – not with all of the improvements he wanted to be made.

He needed more researchers, scientists and engineers. He needed resources which he didn't have. And he needed heavy manufacturing – which they could do, but only after they built a planetary base.

Most the planets in the area however, belonged to the Dominion, which didn't help them at all. There was the Umojan Protectorate who were neutral – but he wasn't sure if he could trust them, having never met them before. And then there were the Zerg infested worlds – where he could hide, but in doing so, risk the lives of everyone with him and the ship.

Or Chau Sara. It had been "purified" by the Protoss, but that didn't mean they couldn't use it. They'd just have to be really, really careful since it was essentially, a hell planet.

When he brought it up with his officers, none of them could agree on a planet, except for Chau Sara, which they all agreed would be suicide. After days of debate and countless arguments, they finally set a course for the planet Umoja, upon which resided the Umojan Protectorate. Known throughout the sector for housing anti-Dominion people and its cutting edge tech, it was the perfect place to hide and research new methods of increasing their ability to wage war against the Zerg and Terran.

It would also be the best place to try and recruit more people to help him fight the Dominion.

Horner nodded, and the officers dispersed. They'd be setting a course for the Umojan Protectorate – known for their tech and hatred of the Dominion. Even they would think twice before attacking the Umojan Protectorate – what it lacked in size, it made up for in technology. The other planets – they could visit for materials and resources.

He paused mid-step to the bridge. Why the hell do they only use Vespene and minerals? Turning around, he started making his way to Egon's lab. With R&D slowly becoming a priority, it was only stupid to leave the lab unstaffed. Besides – Egon might be weird, but perhaps that weirdness was what they needed. But first, sleep.

One week later...

"Egon. I got a question for you." He said, stepping into the lab. Large test tubes sat on the walls, some empty – some pulsating with life.

"Whaddya need, boss?"

"I want you to figure out why we only use minerals and gas for everything." Raynor requested.

Egon rubbed his chin thoughfully. "Hmm. Well, the simplest answer for all that would be that both are in extreme abundance in the Koprulu Sector. Here, take a look at this." Egon said, moving over to a terminal, bringing up a holographic screen. "Almost every planet in this sector has mineral crystals running through the entire surface of the planet – including the ones that have been glassed by the Protoss." Egon said, pausing. "Same goes for Vespene Gas. We use them for everything – metal, plastic, that sort of thing."

Raynor nodded. It seemed plausible enough. "Any chance we can grow these minerals for ourselves?"

"There's more. These crystals for the most part, are all melted down for materials usage. Some of them contain additional content, depending on the planet and strain of mineral." Egonn continued.

"So...can you grow them?"

Egonn shrugged. "I don't know. I'd need a few samples to study."

"You got them." Raynor nodded. "See if you can find anything about growing our own minerals so we can use it for our own R&D purposes. And if you can, see if you can work with Swann and find some way of refining them so we can get some better alloys out of it."

"On the job, boss. By the way – where are we headed?"

Before Raynor could respond, Horner's voice came over the PA

"Commander Raynor to the bridge. I repeat, Commander Raynor to the bridge."

He groaned. "What now?"

He ran to the bridge.

"Commander – we've picked up a distress beacon from Meinhoff." Horner reported dutifully. Looks like the planet's being raided by pirates."

Raynor raised his eyebrow. "Meinhoff? That's Swann's old planet. Put it through."

Horner nodded, bringing up the message. It was text only – detailing the planetary defense forces fall to the pirates and their subsequent attacks groundside to the remaining colonists. If the message was to be believed, the people who sent it were probably now dead – or worse.

"How close are we to Meinhoff?" Raynor asked.

Horner consulted navigation. "Not far. We could be there in a matter of hours."

Raynor nodded. "Let's go, then."

"Aye, aye, Commander. Navigation, set course for Meinhoff at best possible speed. XO, set alert level one." Horner ordered as Raynor left the bridge. He went back down to Swann.

"So, what's the fuss, Cowboy?"

"Pirates are attacking Meinhoff." Raynor said simply. "What do you have that's ready?"

"Not much." Swann sighed, wiping his brow. "Pirates? Shit, I feel bad for them." He said, walking over to a table. "Me and the boys have been workin' around the clock to get these finished." Swann said proudly hefting up one of the guns. "Meet the XC-14B – your new rifle. Firing an 8mm armor piercing high explosive round guaranteed to kill most ground troops with just one shot. Same range, slower firing rate and smaller ammo capacity – but with this thing, you won't need all that extra ammo. There's enough here for twelve marines."

Raynor frowned. "That's it?"

Swann scoffed. "That's it? Chief, with twelve of these rifles and twelve thousand rounds of this new ammo, you'll literally tear through those pirates. These things will go through their armor and explode on the inside. Hell, you can even use these things to take out light armor. You only need one for most infantry – given that the CMC suit's armor is really, really shitty."

"Alright, Swann. I'll take your word for it. How soon can you issue them?"

"As soon as you want." Swann shrugged.

Raynor nodded. "Alright. I'll get eleven of my best men and we'll head planetside."

"Remember – you only need one or two. Make sure you boys don't waste all of it because at the moment, our supply's pretty small."

"Got it." Raynor nodded. "Thanks, Swann."

"Don't thank me yet. We still haven't field tested these things." Swann replied.

"Then how do you know just one is enough?" Raynor asked.

Swann pointed to the end of the firing range, where parts of a CMC-400 series suit could be seen. From the big gaping hole in the front chest plate, it looked like an explosion had gone off inside the suit.

Raynor whistled. "Damn."

"Yeah. Damn." Swann repeated, nodding.

Two hours later...

The Hyperion dropped out of warp some distance away from Meinhoff, weapons primed and ready to go, slowly closing the distance to Meinhoff. Over the planet, sensors detected a small fleet comprised primarily of armed cargo transports, several frigates and what looked like really junked up Wraiths.

Against the Hyperion, they were no match.

The fleet and its fighters were quickly destroyed over orbit – having very little in the way of heavy anti-ship weapons. Their Wraiths, although dangerous from afar had been recycled and repaired so many times they hardly functioned with the same performance they originally had, making them easy prey for the Hyperion's laser batteries.

That didn't mean they got all of them, however. Most of the remaining pirate crews were headed towards the planet's surface in drop pods.

"Well, that didn't take long." Raynor commented, watching from the bridge in this old Marine armor. It was a worn grey, and in it, he stood nearly two feet taller than Horner.

"They were poorly armed pirates." Horner shrugged. "We've located their drop pod landing zones – and it looks like they were headed towards the planetary HQ. If they take that, Meinhoff's theirs."

"Well then, we'll just have to stop 'em dead in their tracks. Marines! Load up – we're goin' planetside." He ordered, leaving the bridge. In the hangar bay, Swann was waiting for them with their gear and issued them each a C-150 sidearm, three fragmentation grenades each, a XC-14B rifle and 1000 rounds each of the new "bolt" rounds. (They were named such because once the enemy figured out what you were using against them, it would inspire such fear into the enemy that it would cause them to "bolt" from the battlefield.)

"Commander, whatever was keeping the colonists quiet isn't there anymore. As you suspected, their planetary HQ is indeed under heavy attack. Enemy disposition seems to indicate the only armor you're dealing with are some old Vulture bikes."

Raynor nodded. "Alright boys, let's move out!"