Raid on Dylarian Shipyards

Dela IV, a large orbital shipyard. 14:34 SCT (Standard Time), 6.17.2489.

At the end of the hyperspace jump channel, hundreds of orange-red streaks emerged—thousands of feet long, left by the warship's propulsion systems. Numerous biplane turbine-powered nano-repair drones circled the sides and hull of the Behemoth-class Battlecruiser Norad II, resembling fish swimming around whale sharks in the deep sea.

About a mile to the left and right of the Norad II are her wingmen, the Hyperion and the Steel Justice. These three Behemoth-class Battlecruiser have different alphanumeric designations and paint schemes; the Hyperion is classic Raynor Blue, while the Steel Justice is the silver-grey of the 33rd Ground Assault Division. The Norad II's paint scheme remains the red of the Terran Confederacy, except for the addition of gold decals for the Mengsk Family and the Korhal Revolutionary Army on the bow.

The moment the Fleets leaped out of the hyperspace passage, the bridge of the Norad II was brightly lit. Holographic Projection screens and LED screens on the control consoles displayed the faces of many Revolutionary Army captains. Nearly forty people were speaking at the same time, their voices slightly distorted by the spatial fluctuations of the hyperspace passage.

"Thank goodness, we've finally arrived on time," Jim Raynor said over the Hyperion's communications channel.

"This is Horace Warfield, and I am commanding my Fleets aboard the Steel Justice." Warfield, dressed in a Revolutionary Army uniform, stood ramrod straight, his expression as solemn as a stone statue.

"Giant- class frigate VII calling the flagship's bridge, Fleets en route."

"Giant- class troop transport ship X".

"Wraith Units 7, 8, and 9 are accelerating away from the Fleets towards Dylar IV, activating their stealth field generators—whoa—this thing is fucking fast, I'm about to take off! Praise be to Korhal!"

Augustus, dressed in a dark gray uniform of the Korhal Revolutionary Army commander, the tailored and fitted design of the uniform perfectly showcasing his well-trained and muscular physique, stood at the bridge porthole of the Norard II. His much more mature face was reflected in the synthetic glass. Outside the window were distant starlight and the increasingly approaching binary system of the Dylar System and four sister planets of nearly the same size.

Tychus, clad in crimson Power Armor, stood to Augustus's right. His scratched shoulder armor bore a portrait of a beautiful pink-haired woman, one of the loves of Finley's life, whom he had encountered in Deadman's Port. Sarah Kerrigan, gripping her C-10 shotgun, stood to Augustus's right, her powerful telepathic abilities listening to the thoughts of every Revolutionary Army present.

Augustus not yet assigned Mira Han, whom he met at the Deadman's Port, to the bridge or command post, nor has he appointed her as the commander of a Revolutionary Army unit. For Augustus, he doesn't need time to prove that future rebel leaders like Raynor and Mira, and the mercenary queen of the Deadman's Port, are outstanding leaders, but rapid promotion would inevitably cause some dissatisfaction.

Meeting Mira Han was an accident. Augustus did not deliberately seek her out, thinking that someone as ambitious as Mira would not miss the opportunity to recruit into the Revolutionary Army.

Furthermore, if Augustus acts too deliberately, others will not naturally assume that Mira is very talented, but will only think that he is too infatuated with an unknown underage girl.

When the vibrations from the jump subsided, the main screen on the bridge displayed data from the ship's sensors, including population, axial tilt, and temperature of planet Dylar IV. Dozens of screens surrounded Augustus, and over 60,000 soldiers of the Korhal Revolutionary Army Fleets his orders.

"Broadcast my order to the entire Fleets." Augustus's face shone brightly under the bridge lights, many subtle emotions hidden beneath a calm expression. "I am Augustus Mengsk, fighters of the Revolutionary Army, I am speaking to you from the flagship Norard II."

"The Korhal has fallen, and our compatriots, forced to leave their homes, have suffered greatly. Our shared fate binds us together, uniting us in a spirit of solidarity and determination," Augustus. "Now, all the homeless Korhal share a common name— Sons of Korhal. We will never yield, we will never compromise."

"We will fight to the death until the corrupt rule of the Terran Confederacy is completely overthrown and a free and democratic Terran Republic is established."

Augustus, "The fate of the Korhal and all the Korhal, and even the Terrans, rests on this battle. This is a do-or-die battle! All Fleets, advance!"

"I stand with the souls of millions of Korhal!"

The Fleets advanced in a profound stillness and resolute determination. They were still about an astronomical unit away from the planet Dylar IV, where the Confederacy's large orbital shipyard was located. Several elite Wraith and fast strike ship formations, tasked with reconnaissance and tracking, had approached the massive shipyard. The images transmitted back showed that it was a colossal man-made space structure with a diameter of over three hundred miles, comparable to a miniature moon.

This is the largest orbital shipyard in the history of the Terran Confederacy. It is constructed of malleable concrete, steel, synthetic metals, and ceramic panels. Its unparalleled scale and multifaceted artistic style are unmatched by any planetary port restricted by gravity. Even Behemoth-class Battlecruiser would be nothing more than a tiny speck of light in its presence.

As Norad II sped forward, it resembled a planet with countless beacon lights shining brightly, and dozens of orbiting space stations and mobile research stations appearing as if they were planets orbiting a star.

Large numbers of Confederacy fighter jets, like a swarm of bees leaving their hive, flew out of the Dylarian Shipyards toward the Korhal Revolutionary Army's Fleets, converging into red dots on the radar scan map.

It was impossible for such a Fleets to approach a heavily guarded military stronghold silently. Unless it could evade all detection methods, including radar scanning, Augustus would have no choice but to lead his Fleets in a surprise attack.

"No signals from any Confederacy Fleets have been detected," said the navigator of the Norad II. "Sir, this place appears to be undefended."

"No, normally the Dylarian Shipyards would have at least one squadron docked there, but now all the Fleets are scattered across the outer systems, the border between the Terran Confederacy and the Kel-Morian Combine, Tarsonis Prime, and Korhal IV," said Augustus's advisor Umojan.

"Intelligence intercepted and deciphered by the Umojan Intelligence Agency Terran Confederacy Fleets nearly two-thirds of the Fleets has been transferred to Korhal IV, with forty Behemoth-class Battlecruiser carrying more than two thousand Apocalypse-class Nuclear Missile," said a Umojan military advisor.

"The defenses inside the Dylarian Orbital Shipyard were much more rudimentary. Besides the Behemoth-class Battlecruiser undergoing repairs in the shipyard's dry docks, a number of Leviathan -class battlecruisers were being scrapped," he said.

"Even so, the Dylar System is not undefended. Although it is on the edge of the Confederacy's territory, it operates as the Confederacy's interstellar trade and transportation hub. During the war, the Dylarian Shipyards, which operates at full capacity, can produce an average of one Wraith every minute. It is the most important military location in the entire Confederacy."

"Even if the Confederacy Naval Command believes that it is impossible for any enemy other than the Kel-Morian Fleets to launch a surprise attack here, at least half a squadron will be stationed here."

"I see them on the radar," Augustus. "There are four Behemoth-class Battlecruiser. Stop them!"

At Augustus's command, thousands of destroyers, frigates, fighters, and assault and patrol airships headed headlong toward the four Confederacy Behemoth-class Battlecruiser, while the Norad II arrived at Entrance I of the Dylarian Orbital Shipyard after a short jump.

"It seems Duke hasn't been reporting our Fleets size to his superiors." The situation was still under Augustus's control. He stared out the porthole at the large orbital shipyard and said softly, "And our hired pirate ship Jackson's Revenge, should have lured Duke's Alpha Squadron to the Floodlight System, which is two hundred light-years away from the Dylar System."

"Duke will be chasing after that signal tracker with great excitement," Tychus chuckled. "I can't wait to see Duke get his comeuppance. He'll be speechless with joy when he sees Jackson's wrecked ship."

"How many huge ships do you think are in there?" Tychus asked, looking at the magnificent man-made structure on the screen. "How much are they worth?"

"No fewer than twenty Behemoth-class Battlecruiser," Augustus. "These battlecruisers haven't been delivered to the Fleets yet; you can think of them as a newly manufactured but unmanned Hover Car."

"A team consisting of navigators, warp drive technology, and engineers can certainly put a battlecruiser into the air, which isn't particularly difficult. However, to make that warship truly combat-ready, the crew is far from sufficient."

When the Norad II was less than three miles from the Dylarian Orbital Shipyard, the massive shipyard grew larger and larger before Augustus, with walls stretching for miles and extending endlessly upwards and downwards, their edges completely invisible.

A port access rail network stretching approximately five miles in both directions appeared before Augustus, connecting to deep tunnels where symmetrically arranged signal lights flashed red.

Each portal to space is equipped with a stable atmospheric stabilization system, but it is clearly unprotected except for turrets, and there is not even a shield force field. The infrared and laser detection devices at the Dylarian Shipyards can identify unmarked intruders, but they are helpless against the Fleets that forces its way in.

The automatic cannons and sentry turrets at the entrance of the Dylarian Orbital Shipyard opened fire on the Revolutionary Army Fleets that was diving towards the Dylarian Orbital Shipyard from a 360-degree angle. The turrets and machine guns spun and poured out belts of ammunition. Hundreds of the Revolutionary Army fighters and the Norad II's carrier-based interceptors were turned into brilliant flashes of fire one after another.

"Full shield activation!" Augustus.

As the Norad II entered the port tunnel, it deployed its emerald green defensive shield. The bullets and laser beams from the sentry cannons had negligible damage to the shield. Occasionally, Wraith and transport ships from the Terran Confederacy would emerge from the tunnel, but they were all shot down one by one by the Norad II's laser cannons.

As the flagship of the Alpha Squadron, the Norad II was able to be the first to upgrade the Explorer's prototype Defensive Matrix force field generator, based on experimental stable energy field research.

However, due to the fact that the reactors of the Behemoth-class Battlecruiser were not strong enough to withstand the energy loss of the shields, coupled with cost and many complex political factors, even ten years later, the vast majority of Behemoth-class battleships were still using the old-fashioned armor-layering defense mode.

"I'm entering through Entrance IV." Raynor's voice trailed off amidst the electromagnetic interference devices in the Dylarian Orbital Shipyard.

"The Steel Justice has entered the inner hangar of the Dylarian Shipyards and is deploying landing troops."

After traveling through the tunnel for about ten seconds, the area in front of the bridge of the Norad II suddenly opened up. The interior of the Dylarian Orbital Shipyard was completely hollow, and it was even capable of launching and recovering warships.

Before Augustus stood a series of interconnected large dry docks and aircraft parking platforms filled with fighter jets. In the heart of the Dylarian Shipyards lay an even larger dry dock, stretching over half a mile in length. To those standing on the ground, it resembled a vast canyon, making it difficult to imagine what kind of colossal structures it was used to build.

The Norad II flew close to the ground inside the Dylarian Shipyards, which consisted of a dock, apron, quarantine area, and staff quarters. Its ground-attack laser cannons indiscriminately swept across the ship's facilities on the ground. In a barrage of orange laser beams falling like rain, even the thickest crane booms were melted by the laser cannons' firepower.

The Dylarian Shipyards was mostly populated by ship foundry workers and shipyard directors who lived there year-round. They scattered in all directions, driving space construction vehicles and exoskeleton cargo armor. To these workers, it was a scene of utter apocalypse: a crazed battlecruiser had stormed into the work area and was wreaking havoc, while the Confederacy Navy remained dozing off, turning a blind eye to it all.

Transport planes and shuttles for airdropping onto the planet's surface rolled out of the shipyard of Norad II. Tychus, unable to contain himself any longer, had already disembarked, while Kerrigan remained by Augustus's side throughout, guarding against any unforeseen events.

Among the hundreds of shipyards were some warships half-built; Augustus could see their keels, still cooled, and their armor neatly stacked on either side. The Norad II's Adjutant kept locking onto the battlecruisers docked in the shipyards, and those battlecruisers that had already been completed were Augustus's targets.

"According to the scan, six completed Behemoth-class Battlecruiser are anchored in Port A where we are located," Augustus's advisor Umojan, typed on the control panel in front of the main screen. "There are also seventeen unfinished battlecruisers."

"Lock onto these unfinished warships." Augustus heartbroken, commanded firmly and decisively, "Destroy them."

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