Jim Raynor lay back in his chair in the Hyperion cantina. His chair and the rest of Cantina were made of steel. The ship was a military vessel, designed for durability, not comfort. He was smoking a cigar and thinking of all that had transpired over the years since the Zerg invasion. It was all so ironic. He battled with creatures from hell every day. Yet it was these moments of peace and calm that killed him.
Because in these moments of peace, the thoughts came back that made him feel like death. He lurched forward in his seat.
"I should never have left her behind," he shouted. "Damn Mengsk for ordering us to abandon her!"
Even though Kerrigan had recovered a lot of her humanity since the artifact was used on her, he always feared her slipping back into being the type of Queen of Blades the Overmind made her into.
He banged his hand on the table, squeezing ash out of his cigar in the process and startling the people standing around in the ship's cantina.
Mengsk. Arcterus Mengsk. To his followers: noble leader, precious deliverer.
To Raynor: Power hungry, lying scumbag.
Of course, a lot of people knew the truth after Raynor's broadcast. Tycus Findlay may have sold his soul to the devil, but that day he sure did do some good work with the Odin.
Raynor's brooding was interrupted by wailing alarm and flashing red lights. "Red alert! Zerg flyers inbound," Matt Horner's voice yelled over the PA.
Raynor's heart beat raced. He twisted up out of his chair so fast that he knocked over his whiskey glass with his hand. He didn't even notice.
He ran to the bridge. He was sprinting down the narrow hall like a track star but no speed could seem fast enough to him.
Eventually he went through the opening. His first officer, Matt Horner, weapons officer Jessica Hall and sensor technician Marcus Cade were all at their stations. He started talking without taking time to catch his breath.
"Status report," he yelled.
"We've got thirty-six mutas incoming," Horner reported with a steady voice. Raynor was always impressed at his ability to remain calm in dire situations. He felt their different personalities as commanders created an excellent balance.
Raynor knew that the flying horrors coming at them were not to be trifled with. Mutalisks, as the C-shaped, bat-winged monsters were called, could shoot out explosive symbiotes called "glaive worms" that can bounce across multiple targets exploding part of their bodies chemically with each hit. Against so many of the large beasts an ordinary battle cruiser would have been outgunned.
However, the Hyperion, being the former flagship of Mengsk, and before him, the Confederacy, was no pushover even against such a deadly threat.
"Weapons free! Hit 'em hard," Matt yelled.
Six of mutalisks were hit by heavy machine gun fire from the ship's side batteries. The laser batteries on the front toasted three more. The rest dived for the ships underbelly. Five more were burned by the lasers as a result, but the rest released their deadly symbiotes. The symbiotes exploded on the ship's hull, creating cracks.
However, the Hyperion had been outfitted with lots of Neosteel plating so nothing critical was hit. The impact shook the crew though, creating some anxiety even though they had dealt with this type of situation dozens of times.
"Damage report," Horner yelled. Raynor felt content to let him take charge at this point. While he considered it his obligation to know what was going on and be around to take command if Matt went down, he had every confidence in the young officer. Horner had proven himself to be more than capable of running in the ship.
In fact, he seemed as good as or better at it than Raynor himself. Jim figured this was due to Matt having been a pilot beforehand. Raynor had always been more comfortable on his vulture bike or on foot.
"Some of the plate's been busted by them buggers, but we're holding together just fine," Marcus Cade reported.
"Maintain fire," Horner ordered.
"Aye aye sir," Jessica Hall, replied.
More mutalisks got cut down by the machine guns and lasers of the ship. Suddenly, Cade exclaimed, "Sir, more incoming!"
"Zerg," Horner asked.
"Terran," Cade reported.
"What the devil," Raynor asked.
Explosions from a salvo of missiles ripped apart the remaining mutalisks.
"They're hailing us sir," Bralik says.
"Patch them through," Raynor commanded.
An aged, Slavic man's face appeared on the screen.
"Greetings," the man said. "I am Admiral Petrov of the United Earth Directorate.