The halls of the Hyperion looked dim under the red hallway lights.

Tychus stood in front of the Hyperion’s lab. The Warden guards didn't do anything to him because he wasn't in their jurisdiction. They weren’t programmed to realize something was wrong either.

The large man inhaled a deep breath from his cigarette before tossing it onto the floor and crushing it with his boot. He glanced at a watch inside the armor with the corner of his eye before smirking.

It’s about time.

He walked toward the Warden guards. A few Raider researchers in white suits looked at him strangely, but they didn't waste too much time on it. Tychus wasn’t really the most welcomed person onboard.

“You do not have access.” This time the Warden Command Unit had something to say about it.

Tychus didn't answer. With lightning speed, he pulled out a giant pistol from his belt and shot the Warden Command Unit in the core processor.

The Command Unit collapsed without another word.

There were a dozen Warden marines in front of the lab’s door. The research facilities should be one of the most guarded places of any faction, but the Raiders had confidence in their security. After all, they were in a battlecruiser in the middle of nowhere.

Who could get past the ship’s multiple scanners, layers of armors and other defenses, and enter the lab without making any noise at all?

Whatever Warden units that were there reacted. The fact that Tychus attacked one of them automatically made him a hostile, and the default command against hostiles was immediate termination.

All the Warden units raised their shields and guns and started blasting. Gauss bullets clashed with Tychus’ blue armor, but the piece of armor was modified by the best engineer in the Dominion. The Raynor Warden units, on the other hand, were made from whatever scrap the Raiders could put together.

Tychus smirked and fired back. Two Warden marines collapsed while the rest continued shooting. The shootout took most of the Raider bystanders by complete surprise, but most of these men and women have seen combat. They immediately ran and, if they couldn’t, took cover.

A wave of alarms was sent to all over the ship. Within minutes, reinforcement would arrive and put down Tychus, no matter how hard his armor was.

But Tychus wasn’t worried. This was just the beginning.

Meanwhile, thirty war pig mercenaries walked into the ship’s bridge. The two Warden guards at the door didn't stop them because unlike the lab, the bridge was a hub for movement. The war pigs had the authority. Sure, thirty of them, fully armed, seemed too high in numbers to be reasonable, but the outdated Warden AIs failed to tell the difference.

“What is wrong with the convict this time?” Horner was busy trying to sort out what happened when he noticed the unwanted guests. “Hey! What are you doing here?” Unlike the Warden units, he wasn’t stupid.

The war pigs didn't answer. Those who took the job of mercenaries and survived weren’t known for their love of words. They were known for their practicality.

Horner watched in absolute shock as these war pigs raised their guns at the crew members.

Gunshots rang out.

The Raider crew members and officers fell one by one. As experienced as they were, just like Horner, they were caught by surprise. They were mowed down like grass.

One of the war pigs turned on Horner. A bloodthirsty grin appeared on his face, and he pulled the trigger, but a second before he did that, a Warden marine moved between him and Horner and raised his shield. The war pig’s rounds hit the marine’s shield. The Warden marine charged forward and smashed into the war pig, knocking him onto the ground with its shield. It finished the rouge war pig off with a single gauss bullet to the head.

The bridge wasn’t defenseless either. There were security soldiers, biological Raiders and Warden marines alike, in place. These guards, after being taken by the initial surprise, retaliated.

The firefight was in close range. One moment a Raider shot a rogue war pig in the face. The next moment he was taken out by another war pig with a bayonet in melee.

Matt Horner lowered his head and tried to stay alive. Unlike Raynor, who carried a sidearm by him 24/7, or Tychus, who went a step beyond and wore his armor 24/7, Horner wasn’t a fan of carrying weapons. He considered himself more of a commander-in-the-bridge type.

But now he really wished he had a gun.

The Warden marine that saved his life was on the ground. A hole was in its helmet. Sparks occasionally popped up around the armor. After taking out that first war pig, the Warden marine proceeded to gun down two more war pigs before the third one finally got him.

Thankfully, the tide was turning, at least in here.

The war pigs were experienced mercenaries, but the Raiders weren’t bad either. Warden marines were especially so. Their AIs made them especially effective in this circumstance. Take aim. Pull the trigger. Move on. That was it. When fear and anxiety didn't play a part, most of the shots found their target.

The two Warden marines at the door also got into action. They blocked the narrow doorway and started picking off the war pigs one by one.

Eventually, the mercenaries realized the situation was no longer ideal for them. What was left of the attack party tried to flee, but the Warden marines gunned every single one of them down.

As the dust settled, Horner stood up and glanced around the battlefield. Control panels and computer screens were rigged with bullets. Those trained to work on these devices were killed or heavily wounded. Most of the Raider guards were killed or wounded. Only a few Warden marines stood vigilantly.

It was a victory, but it was a narrow one.

Horner wasn’t relieved. Even aside from the casualties, he still had no idea what was going on.

These war pig mercenaries were hired by the Raiders, but now they suddenly decided to turn against their employers. Even more, before the attack, he thought he heard something about Tychus…

Horner glanced around, trying to find a war pig that survived the battle for questioning, but the Wardens were swift. They confirmed that every single hostile was executed.

He turned back to the officers that were still alive inside the bridge.

“Get back to your post…”

The undertaking struck several locations of the ship at once.

Lab. Armory. Bridge.

But one of these locations was unlike the others.

Inside the room, Kerrigan’s ears suddenly shook slightly. Her psionic power, though dwindled, still sensed something was wrong.

“Do you hear gunshots?”

Raynor, who was still trying to convince her to join him and go to a remote area and live a quiet life, frowned. “Gunshots?” He listened as well, but before he could really hear anything, a loud explosion appeared right outside the door.

The next second a Warden marine shell crashed through the door.

A hammer security walked in. Bullet marks were dotted around his armor, but none of them found their way to somewhere important. On the other hand, his modified grenade launchers easily ripped through the Warden marine guards.

Warden AIs were good, but they couldn’t allow a marine shell to survive a direct hit from a mercenary enhanced grenade launcher round.

Half a dozen war pigs followed.

Raynor stood up with fury in his eyes. “What are you doing? Stay back!”

The hammer security smirked. “You don’t get to order me around anymore, boss.” He turned, glanced at Kerrigan, and lifted his grenade launcher slightly. “The Queen of Blades. I will get paid handsomely for this.”

“Stand down, soldier!” Raynor realized something was seriously off. His hand reached for his sidearm.

The hammer security smirked before pointing his weapon at Raynor.

The large man took out his revolver and started shooting at the hammer security, but all the bullets simply bounced off. The man inside the armor smirked. What did Raynor expect? Gauss rifles bullets couldn’t touch him! What could a single revolver do?

Suddenly, Kerrigan’s eyes turned yellow. Seeing her love in danger, she pushed her power to its limit. The hammer security’s expression turned from pride to horror as he felt himself lifted up. He tried to pull the trigger, but his fingers simply refused.

He watched as he was literally crushed.

The war pigs behind the dismantled hammer security tried to open fire. They thought Kerrigan was powerless after the Purification, but they were wrong. Queen of Blades or not, Kerrigan was still stronger than a handful of mercenaries.

As the dust settled, Kerrigan turned back to Raynor.

“Something’s really wrong.” She stated the obvious. Raynor nodded and tried to contact Horner.

The ship’s security forces were mobilized. Raiders, Wardens, and mercenaries who remained loyal to Raynor joined the fight against the rogue combatants all over the vessel. Mercenary after mercenary was taken down. Gradually, the gunshots started to go quiet.

But that wasn’t the case for everywhere.

“Fire in the hole!”

In front of the lab, Tychus tossed a grenade into the middle of the Warden lines. The shredder grenade exploded and easily ripped through every Warden and Raider within its blast radius.

Before the defenders could react, Tychus charged forward with his modified gauss rifle blasting. Three Raiders collapsed before being able to return fire. Warden units tried their best, but their hardware simply wasn’t sufficient.

Seeing Tychus closing in, the two Warden marines made a last stand. If they had self destruction sequences like the Umojan Warden units, Tychus would be in some serious trouble, but these marines didn't...

Two more pieces of Warden wreckage hit the floor. Their AI was forced offline.

Tychus smirked and kicked open the metal lab door. Two Raiders opened fire on him. He shot the first in the head and hit the second in the chest. A few researchers in white tried to flee or hide, but he picked them off one by one in cold blood.

Finally, Egon Stetmann gulped and took several steps back.

“Don’t do this…”

Tychus shot the scientist in the heart and ended his plea.

As all the obstacles were gone, Tychus saw what he came for.

The Xel’naga Keystone.

Tychus Findley, after being convicted to Dominion Prison, was only recently freed. Unlike what he told Raynor, he didn't break out of jail. In fact, he was set loose by Emperor Arcturus Mengsk himself.

The two made a deal. In exchange for freedom, Tychus promised to help Mengsk take out the Queen of Blades. If he refused, a hidden switch in his blue armor would put him down forever.

Tychus didn't want to die, so he bent. He didn't show any sign of this betrayal before because he believed following Raynor and his crusade could lead to a clean shot at Kerrigan, but now he was no longer willing to wait. Sarah Kerrigan, AKA his ticket to freedom, was within his arm’s reach, but Raynor, good old Raynor, didn't let him do anything.

He has had enough. If Raynor wanted to die for his girl and his creed, then so be it. He, Tychus, wasn’t going to go down with this sinking ship.

Raynor was his brother, but not anymore.

After being refused by Raynor, Tychus went to find several groups of mercenaries who had a grudge against Raynor and the Raiders for everything that happened recently. Give a few hints about how Mengsk would be willing to pay the mercenaries handsomely, and these men gladly switched sides. Sure, a couple of them stuck to their creed, but Tychus and his newly gained goon managed to take care of them swiftly and quietly.

Tychus now had a small army under him, and he sent them against the Hyperion from the inside, where it was the most vulnerable. Most of the targets were simply distractions, and he only had two objectives in mind. First, kill Kerrigan, and he would be freed from his moving prison.

Second, bring Mengsk the Keystone, and he might get an extra stack of credits.

Tychus took the Keystone out of its container and started walking through the hallway toward hanger, leaving a trail of bodies behind him.