StarCraft: Lord of the Empire

"This is Jim. It's now 03:43 Tarsonis time. The Hyperion's shields are down to less than 20%," said Raynor's hologram, which now filled more of the screen.

"The First Fleet of the Revolution is fully prepared to jump with the flagship. Hold on tight, everyone."

"Sir, the warp drive will finish charging in five seconds," reported the navigator aboard the Norad II. The navigation and engineering teams were now fully focused on their new tasks—after all, in such a high-pressure situation, with at least a dozen guns pointed at your back, no one had the luxury of trying anything funny.

Even at this very moment, most of the decks and compartments inside the Norad II were still engulfed in fierce close-quarters combat. However, the docking bay and the engine room remained firmly under Augustus's control.

"Begin counting down from ten. Follow my command and prepare for warp," Augustus said, eyes locked on the ticking seconds displayed on the main bridge screen.

Just then, a Behemoth-class Terran battlecruiser executed a short-range jump and reappeared above the crippled Titan-class Frigate II and Frigate IV. Its colossal silhouette blanketed both flame-scorched ships, and its surface-to-ground laser batteries unleashed a devastating barrage on their already fractured armor.

In just two or three seconds, Frigate II was completely perforated. The inside of the ship turned into a living hell—its oxygen-rich compartments igniting into roaring flames, spewing human remains and debris out through the mangled hull.

Frigate IV, on the other hand, was split clean in half—like a loaf of bread torn apart. From the massive rupture, countless bodies and shards scattered like grains of sand, drifting in space. From the vantage of the Norad II, it all seemed to unfold in slow motion.

Both vessels, along with their combined crew of over 900, were lost forever—reduced to a footnote in history.

"Execute," Augustus said at last, exhaling a heavy breath.

In an instant—and with a blinding flash—the battlefield outside the bridge viewport vanished. The stars disappeared. The Norad II had entered the hyperspace corridor, transitioning into faster-than-light travel.

Just a single breath later, the bridge returned to calm. According to the preset jump coordinates, Augustus and his newly acquired warship would still need several more hours before arriving at the designated destination.

"I'll go clean up the aftermath," Warfield muttered, leaving with a few officers in tow. That left Tychus and Kerrigan standing guard beside Augustus.

"The fight on Turaxis II was child's play compared to this," Tychus said. "If there's one thing this war's taught me, it's that we need more warships. More guns."

"Battlecruisers aren't like those Kel-Morian mutts. You can empty a full clip into one and it won't even scratch the paint."

"I'm well aware of that," Augustus replied.

While the ship remained mid-jump through hyperspace, Augustus slid his fingers across the Norad II's main display, retrieving useful intel from the vast database onboard.

The ship's travel logs showed that the Norad II had conducted repeated trips over the past two weeks between several major systems—at one point even reaching a star system near the Korhal sector, one that consisted of only two suns and a single dwarf planet. It was clear evidence that Edmund Duke's Alpha Squadron had been tailing Warfield's Iron Justice all along.

"They… Duke must have some way of accurately tracking the Iron Justice," Augustus said.

"Because the Iron Justice once belonged to the Terran Federation. Cutting off all communication links isn't enough to sever the Federation's control over it. Maybe to the Federation's technicians, this warship shines like a torch in the night, even in the depths of space."

"The Hyperion used to be part of the Federation Fleet too," Tychus interjected. "But Duke couldn't trace us."

"We need to conduct a comprehensive inspection of the Iron Justice," Augustus said, turning to look at the expressionless navigator aboard the Norad II. "Duke is most likely tracking this warship through some sort of hidden device."

"I want to know if you're aware of anything—because you're the navigator of this vessel."

The navigator looked uneasy. For someone who once held a respectable government-paid job, a navigator—someone entrusted with guiding ships through the perils of space—was usually treated with admiration. But here, he was surrounded by outlaws. And Augustus was clearly their ringleader—leader of a rebel faction, a terrorist responsible for countless deaths.

"N–No… I don't know anything," the navigator stammered, shrinking back.

"He's lying," Kerrigan told Augustus.

"There are both Federation tracking devices installed on the Iron Justice and spies planted within Warfield's forces," she added. "That's how Duke has been able to track Warfield's fleet all this time."

"Lying won't do you any good," Augustus said, shaking his head as he addressed the stunned navigator. "Because you have no idea whether I'll forgive you next time."

...

On the three-dimensional holographic starmap composed of green vector lines, the flight path of the Norad II was marked as a straight trajectory. The flashing figures on the screen indicated that the warship had already jumped across nine star systems—tens of light-years away.

As the ship trembled slightly, the brilliance of the stars filled the viewport.

Almost simultaneously, the Hyperion and the Iron Justice emerged from warp. Hundreds of warships of various classes appeared around them, like stars orbiting a central moon.

"Hyperion calling Norad II. Our shields are depleted, but there were no casualties. The damage has been kept within acceptable limits. Only one chef twisted his ankle during the warp—maybe I shouldn't even mention it and embarrass the guy—but honestly, Peter's baked escargot with port wine was fantastic," Raynor said.

"The bad news is, until we finish recharging, the Hyperion will have to rely entirely on its armor to withstand any attacks."

"I'm Charles Horner. The Iron Justice has sustained severe damage. Unless we dock for full repairs, we won't survive more than two battles like the one we just had in the Soryan system."

Charles continued, "The main warp drive on the Iron Justice was hit during combat. Even under the most optimistic estimates from our jump engineers, the damn thing might manage three more long-distance warps at best."

"We can switch to the secondary emergency drive, but it's only good for short-range interstellar hops—or blind emergency jumps with no precise destination."

"Damn it. If I ever get my hands on Edmund Duke, I swear I'll shove his head up his own ass," Major Horner concluded. "I'll make sure he scrubs the Iron Justice's decks until I'm satisfied."

"We have three hours—three hours and twenty-six minutes, to be exact. That's how long until Duke's fleet can lock onto our coordinates again and complete a warp jump. Realistically, they might be even faster." Augustus addressed the group. "Get those repairs moving—Jim, have Swann bring his team over to Norad II."

"Alright, I'm on it." Raynor replied, putting on a vintage Revolutionary Fleet officer's cap—a classic tricorn design—and exiting the bridge.

"Major Charles, the Iron Justice must also begin internal diagnostics immediately. Locate any onboard signal trackers. I'll be sending Lieutenant Kerrigan over shortly. Intel suggests there's a traitor among your crew," Augustus said.

"Yes… because even I can't say for sure how many of them are truly loyal to us." Charles narrowed his eyes. "But what do you plan to do? Torture them? Force them to inform on each other? Honestly, neither method works particularly well."

"Lieutenant Kerrigan is a powerful psionic," Augustus said, looking at Kerrigan. "She will use telepathy to examine those harboring treacherous thoughts—one by one. We'll begin with the highest-ranking officer."

"Understood."

There was no visible expression on Charles's face beneath his thick beard.

"I have no objection," he stated honestly. "Until I can prove my innocence, everyone—including myself—should be subjected to inspection."

"After that," he added coldly, "I want to personally execute the traitor. We once stopped for a day at a fringe colony and left behind those unwilling to continue roaming with the Iron Justice. I gave them a choice."

The moment Kerrigan declared that there was a traitor aboard the Iron Justice, everyone—including Charles—automatically fell under Augustus's suspicion.

"You should execute the traitor in front of everyone," Augustus said. "But we are the Revolutionary Army. There's no need to be cruel."

"Just throw them out into space," he continued, "and tell the crew the traitor has been dealt with. There's no need for public executions—we must not use violence to intimidate those who joined the liberation movement out of progressive ideals and revolutionary fervor."

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