A rag tagged terran fleet sailed across a barren part of the sector.
Several hours ago, the entire Golden Armada jumped into right beside the main Umojan port where the majority of the Umojan Fleet was parked. The Umojans detected the attackers, but it was too late. When all the crew members got into position and the battlecruisers were set off the dock, when the orbital cannons of all the defense platforms started turning, the Daelaam were already here.
A thousand ships opened fire at the same moment. The Umojan Fleet burned. Their three hundred or so battlecruisers were overwhelmed by the Golden Armada by over four to one. Not to mention every Daelaam carrier could take down at least three battlecruisers. It wasn’t nearly a fair fight.
In ten minutes, the Umojan Fleet was in pieces. Hundreds of ships crumbled in a wave of lasers. Platforms were peeled away as those on it were evaporated. A squad of Gorgon battlecruisers managed to hold their ground for a while, but whatever tiny hope they had disappeared when the Golden Armada flagship, a mothership the size of a city, floated over.
Its speed was slow compared to the ship’s size, but in fact it was as fast as a viking.
When the mothership got close enough, power fields were projected onto all the Gorgon ships. Tens of thousands of zealots materialized inside the ships and raised their crimson blades on the defenseless Umojan crew members. Marines and marauders that attempted to stop them were slaughtered. In a sea of war cries, the zealots painted the walls of the battlecruisers red with blood.
At that time, Jean, who was on Umoja, reacted as quickly as she could. Orbital defense and ground forces were assembled. Siege tanks were set up. Bunkers locked down every path in the city. Biological forces patrolled the streets. Thors enabled their 250 mm ground to air cannons, ready to contribute to keeping the skies clear.
But deep down, Jean knew the planet was lost. She didn't know what happened or how the Golden Armada got corrupted and was mobilized without her observers knowing it, not that it mattered. The Golden Armada belongs to Amon now. Period.
If it was Raynor here, he would gather all his forces to Umoja for a last stand and either defeat the foes or die trying, but Jean wasn’t Raynor. There was a reason she was alive and Raynor wasn’t. She didn't survive this long by being hot headed.
While the Umojan Fleet died in the sky, Jean had the entire Umojan Ruling Council go on planetwide broadcast and declare that the Umojans would never surrender, and that the Umojan Armed Forces and the Umojan Fleet would fight until the last man. They announced, as the leaders of the Umojan Protectorate, they wouldn’t be fleeing. Instead, they would remain on Umoja and, if necessary, go down with the planet.
At the same time, Jean prepared for evacuation.
Three fleets of Warden B-1 battlecruisers were brought together. Warden units transported everything on Umoja too valuable to be sacrificed onto the battlecruisers. This included numerous industrial assembly lines and high tech gadgets. Certain scientists and engineers were brought onto the battlecruisers with or without their consent. Jean filled the rest of the available space with as many units of mineral as she could fit.
This way, even without Umoja she made sure she could construct as many Warden units as quickly as possible.
As the Golden Armada started landing on Umoja, as seas and seas of zealots ravaged through the Umojan defenses and charged into the Council House, Jean abandoned the millions of innocent lives on Umoja and departed with her B-1 fleets.
To Jean, making a stand here would be inefficient. She had the ability to do so, but this simply wasn’t the ideal time to fight. The Golden Armada was at its peak. Its warriors were ready, and even eager, for war. Its ships were at their full strength and had maximum energy storage. Jean’s forces, on the other hand, needed time to be mobilized. The Dominion Fleet was still under reconstruction. The Swarm and the Tal’darim were a distance away. The Purifier Fleet was available, but Jean had no intention of trading her personal Purifier Fleet and Warden Fleet for the Golden Armada. She still needed them to maintain her spot inside the sector as well as advance into the Void. She didn't want to waste them when she didn't have to.
So she fled. As the virtual leader of the Protectorate, she fled without a sense of guilt or shame.
In the end, the planet Umoja was completely destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of zealots slaughtered the majority of the population before being recalled. Seconds later, the entire Golden Armada opened fire and literally ripped the planet into pieces.
The Umojan Fleet was wiped out. The Umojan Protectorate was pretty much dead. In hours, the Golden Armada obliterated one of the two most powerful terran factions in the sector.
But Jean got out, and that was all that mattered, at least to her.
And now she was planning to strike back.
Inside her flagship, she went into a conference with all her allies.
Purifier Executor Delta.
Tal’darim Highlord Nyon.
Queen of the Blades Kerrigan.
Dominion Emperor Valerian Mengsk.
Infested terran Stukov.
Mercenary leader Mira Han.
After months of planning, Jean finally extended her influence across all three races and to most of the sector. She has put herself in danger countless times. Those risks weren’t for nothing.
“Hours ago, the Daelaam Golden Armada attacked our capital, Umoja. It laid ruin to the Umojan Fleet and slaughtered our people. As of now, it has been confirmed that Umoja has, indeed, being completely destroyed. Apart from a small band of the Umojan Fleet, there is no survivor.”
Jean announced in a low and solemn voice. Some of her allies wouldn’t mind it, but others, mostly Valerian, would find it odd if she talked about the complete destruction of her homeworld and the massacre of her people without much emotion involved.
Just like Jean expected, Valerian was taken back by shock. He has long heard about the might of the Daelaam, but he has never faced them in combat before. The few knowledge he had about them came from battle reports from his underlings, which completely failed to portray the full power of the Golden Armada. The now Emperor has fought alongside the Umojans less than a month ago. He admired their strength and technology, and now they were gone. Their demise was so quick it was over before he even heard about it.
Highlord Nyon smirked when he saw the sad look on Jean’s face and the tears she was trying to hold in. He has been with Jean the longest, and out of habit, he has done quite some research. The girl wasn’t even Umojan. She just jumped from the Raiders to Umoja for an opportunity. She couldn’t care less about the Umojan’s survival. Still, he nonetheless shared the concern about the Golden Armada. In his view, the Umojan Fleet was obviously weaker than the Death Fleet, but not by much. If the Golden Armada could wipe out the Umojan Fleet this easily, it could do the same to the Death Fleet.
The others were slightly taken back as well.
Jean continued.
“We received no warning. We received no declaration of war. The Umojan Protectorate hasn’t offended the Daelaam in the slightest way, but still they struck us without any mercy. As of the moment, the Golden Armada remains in the Protectorate. It is going from planet to planet, purifying the inhabitants. We must act. For this purpose, I propose an alliance.”
If establishing relationships with leaders of different factions was the first step to uniting the sector against Amon, then an alliance was the second. When the sector fought against the Golden Armada together, it would be so much easier to fight against Amon when the time comes.
Delta obviously had no complaint. She was basically a copy of Jean. Nyon agreed as well. He didn't care about how ruthless and treacherous the undeclared war the Golden Armada launched was, but Jean helped him go from the Sixth Ascendant to the Highlord, and it was time to repay the favor. Plus, the Golden Armada posed a threat to all, even the mighty Forged.
Kerrigan nodded in agreement. After Arcturus Mengsk’s death, she has been scouring through the sector, looking for traces of the one that controlled her, Amon. She located several groups of terran that appeared to be doing Amon’s biddings, but they were all dead and their platforms were all destroyed when she arrived. However, in one case, she was able to track down a group of corrupted terran that were still alive when she found them. Those former Moebius soldiers attacked her like they were mad, screaming slogans about destroying the sector in the name of the darkness. Comparing the action of those corrupted terran to the Daelaam, Kerrigan realized the action of the Golden Armada resembled Amon’s influence as well. In the worst case, her enemy has gained control to the mightest fleet in the sector. She wasn’t a team player, unless she saw an opportunity to betray her teammates, but the situation left her with no choice.
Valerian had no issue with the idea of an alliance. The Umojans made him emperor. It was only right for him to avenge their end. Just like Nyon and Kerrigan, Valerian felt threatened by the power of the Golden Armada. The Golden Armada has only taken down the Umojan Protectorate, but what was keeping it from striking the Dominion as well? The Dominion couldn’t survive by itself. All the factions needed to stick together.
Stukov agreed. The infested terran has completely seized the Kel-Morian Combine. Millions and millions of terran were infested and turned to his pawns. Even more important, Stukov had an infested mechanical army with tens of thousands of infested siege tanks, diamondbacks, hellions, and vikings.
That left Mira Han.
“My people will gladly fight for you...for the right price.”
“The Dominion will pay for your men, Commander Han.” Valerian cut in. Mira nodded. As a mercenary, she didn't care who hires her as long as she could get the money. Of course, a group of lightsaber wielding alien maniacs killing everyone wasn’t good for business either.
“Thank you, commanders. The sector will thank you for this decision.” Jean smiled weakly. A drop of tear could be seen in her eyes, but she managed to make it so it looked like she was holding the tears back. She needed the maintain the image of a patriotic girl trying to avenge the death of her world. If Valerian knew she fled Umoja without a fight, not because she couldn’t but because she chose not to, he just might not be as eager to help.
“Ahhh...I am satisfied we’re on the same page.” Nyon started impatiently. “Now, can we march to Umoja now? With all our fleets, we can no doubt wipe out the Golden Armada. The Tal’darim will be the spearhead of the assault.”
“The strength of your people is well known across the sector, Highlord, but the Golden Armada is not the only thing that bothers me.” Jean turned to Nyon. Her words were as sweet as honey. “I have no doubt the Death Fleet can be victorious against the Daelaam, yet there might be a bigger problem behind the sudden act of war by the Golden Armada. Engaging it right now will be not just costly but also risky.”
Nyon seemed annoyed, but he didn't say anything. It was rare for a Tal’darim, much less a Highlord, to handle being refused well, but Nyon did it easily because he knew Jean would always come up with a wiser, more efficient plan. There was no need for him to complain about preserving more ships.
In the background, Kerrigan nodded. She thought Jean noticed the presence of Amon behind the Golden Armada as well.
“What do you suggest?” Delta asked.
“The Golden Armada is powerful, but its weakness is obvious as well.” Jean pulled out a hologram of the star map of the entire sector behind her so all the members of the conference could see it clearly. She tapped a single point.
“Aiur.”
“Aiur contains most of the manufacturing lines for the Daelaam. Most of the Daelaam civilization warps its harvested resources back to Aiur, use them to assemble into ships, and then warp the completed ships or other units back to the front line. If we strike Aiur, we can cut off any reinforcement for the Golden Armada. Their ships certainly have some ability to manufacture units, but it will still be a sharp blow.”
“I will lead the Death Fleet there.”
“Actually, Highlord, the capabilities of the Death Fleet will be needed back in the frontline for the final confrontation of the Golden Armada.” Jean turned to Delta. “Please lead the Purifier Fleet to Aiur. Seize the planet and do as much damage as possible.”
“As you wish.” Delta obeyed.
Jean sent Delta for a reason. The Purifier technology was similar to the Daelaam ones. Just like Daelaam Phase Smiths were able to gain control to Purifier observers, Purifier engineers could also take over Daelaam technologies. Give Delta some time, and she could turn every single Daelaam manufacturing line, that the Daelaam protoss spent countless time and resource on, and make them her own.
It would be the perfect example of weakening the enemies and strengthening yourself.
Also, Aiur would be a softer target than the Golden Armada. Jean could keep more Purifiers alive.
Jean turned to the others.
“Another weakness of the Golden Armada is their reliance on energy. Their shields need energy. Their weapons need energy. Even their blades need energy to be powered. Exhaust their energy storage, and the Golden Armada will just be a cloud of giant targets.” She turned to Stukov.
“I want every resource-rich planet in the sector covered with infested terran. Have them burrowed deep underground when the main Daelaam forces are present, and have them attack when the defenses are weakened.”
“And if the Daelaam leave too many forces behind?”
“Then there will be less Daelaam on the frontline. It will be a win win.”
“Smart.” Stukov knew it was an obvious trick, but it was also a good one. Even if the Golden Armada knew what they were doing, they couldn’t effectively counter it. Whether if they spend the time to completely scan the area or leave a large number of forces behind, the Daelaam would be weakened. “My warriors are perfect for this task. Consider it done.”
“Emperor Valerian. Commander Han. I need you two to assemble your forces and ready for war.”
Their task sounded the easiest, but Mira’s marauders were the weakest among all of Jean’s allies, and the Dominion has just survived a civil war. The two needed as much time as possible.
“I don’t understand. Are we engaging the Golden Armada?” Kerrigan frowned. The backstabs seemed great, but she wasn’t too familiar with the notion of leaving a group of enemies unattended to.
“I assure you, we will engage the Golden Armada, eventually, but before that, we should make sure our chances of victory are as great as possible.”
Kerrigan rose her eyebrows. “I’m starting to understand why you win almost every battle you fight. Your tactics are...dirty, yet effective.”
Jean smiled. “As for you, my queen, I will need you to do something as well.”
“Which is?”
“Engage the enemy?”
“Huh?”
“Divide the Swarm into several pieces and constantly engage the Golden Armada. Make those pieces as mobile as possible. I don’t want you to do damage. I want you to force the Golden Armada to turn on their shields and fire their weapons. When the Golden Armada approaches your forces, have them warp away. Keep the Golden Armada constantly on the move. This will exhaust their energy quicker. I believe your leviathans are more durable in that field.”
Kerrigan nodded. Suddenly, she paused.
“I would not want to be your enemy.”
Jean smiled warmly as all the hologram projections faded away.
