The ten power-armored soldiers dropped like heavy stones, slamming precisely into the periphery of the power sector.
The moment they touched down, piercing alarms shattered the night sky. The defensive fire from the Dominion defenders and automated turrets blanketed the area instantly.
"According to the pre-arranged plan, Group A clear the peripheral firing points, Group B follow me into the main building," Valerie's directives transmitted clearly across the encrypted channel.
She raised a high-precision rifle herself. Her role was command and observation, rather than directly participating in the front-line melee, but a baseline capacity for self-defense was equally indispensable.
The battle reached a fever pitch in an instant.
The barrage of Gauss rifle fire from the Dominion Marines, Marauder grenades, and sweeps from the automated turrets wove a net of death within the cramped space of the power sector.
Valerie moved calmly between pieces of cover, observing the performance of her "test subjects" through her eyepiece and data link. Their style of combat allowed her to reconfirm Osiris's evaluation—they were not inferior to genuine Astartes neophytes.
Facing enemies several times their number and crossfire, they showed no hesitation or fear. Their power armor operated at peak efficiency, combining immense strength, speed, and precision shooting. Their rhythm of mutual cover was as precise as machinery, utilizing solid-shot weaponry and energy blades to efficiently eliminate their targets. One "security consultant" even used his shoulder pauldrons to forcefully ram and collapse a fortification, opening a path for the squad.
However, the strength of the Dominion guards here exceeded expectations.
Just as Group B was about to breach the main building, a squad of elite Dominion guards emerged from the corridor. They were clad in even heavier armor and wielded rotary autocannons—assault infantry modified from Hellion vehicle crews.
The fierce fire instantly suppressed the corridor.
The shoulder of one "security consultant's" power armor was struck repeatedly, shattering the armor plating. Yet, he only suffered a slight loss of balance before immediately retreating under his teammates' cover, his movements remaining perfectly stable.
"There are ventilation shafts on the flank. The diameter permits single-occupant passage, leading directly beneath the generator control room. But the path is narrow; heavy weapons cannot be carried," Valerie quickly pulled up the structural schematic of the building she had just scanned, locating an alternative route.
"Group A, maintain pressure and draw fire. Group B, follow me into the shafts." She did not hesitate, moving toward the flank first. The five "security consultants" followed without a second thought.
Inside the ventilation shafts, it was dark, narrow, and thick with the scent of engine oil and hot air. Valerie could hear the intense gunfire outside, along with the muffled thuds of the building structure shuddering from explosions. Like stalking hunters, they advanced quickly and silently.
Arriving beneath the designated position, a thick metal partition blocked their path. "Three meters above is the main control room floor. The structural strength allows for breaching," a "security consultant" concluded via vibration analysis.
"Breach. Prepare to storm the room."
Small shaped charges were set in place.
Following the countdown, a muffled boom tore a clean, uniform opening through the partition. Valerie and the five soldiers leaped upward almost before the smoke from the explosion could clear.
Inside the main control room, several Dominion technicians and guards were precisely cut down before they could even react.
Valerie headed straight for the main console, rapidly inserting a data cracker. Thanks to the advanced decoding protocols provided by Osiris, the Dominion's relatively primitive firewall was quickly breached.
"Shield generator overload command entered. Ten-second countdown."
She transmitted the status to Raynor: "The power sector shields are about to fail. The pressure on the main entrance can be relieved."
"Copy that! Great job!" Raynor's voice came through, mixed with intense background noise. "We're heading in to grab the goods now!"
Ten seconds later, the faint blue energy shield enveloping the periphery of the excavation site flickered a few times before winking out completely. On the frontal battlefield, the pressure on Raynor's main force dropped sharply, and they launched the general assault with a roar of cheers.
Valerie did not linger, immediately leading her squad to extract back along their original route. When they fought their way out from the flank and regrouped with the holding Group A, they witnessed the chaos into which the Dominion defenders had fallen due to the shield failure and being attacked from both front and rear.
Shortly after, Tychus's excited roar echoed over the comms channel: "Got it! The thing is absolutely beautiful! Pull out! Fall back, fast!"
The mission had been accomplished within the projected timeframe.
The fierce exchange of fire left no damage on the thick power armor shells of the "security consultants" that could affect core functionality. There were only slight pits and scratches on the surface finish from the explosive smoke and bullet impacts against portions of the ceramite armor.
Throughout the entire operation, the ten soldiers maintained an almost agonizing level of tactical discipline and sustained firepower. Their combat rhythm remained entirely uniform, without a shred of disruption from incoming fire or pressure.
This level of "professionalism"—retaining precise coordination and efficient lethality even under extreme opposition—once again left an impression on Raynor and the Raiders that went far beyond the realm of "elite mercenaries."
Before boarding, Tychus took a lingering look at those "tin cans," who were silently checking their weapons in a posture identical to when the operation started. He muttered to Raynor over the comms channel: "Jimmy, where the hell did you dig these guys up? The way they fight... it gives a man the goddamn creeps. Still," his tone shifted, carrying his usual coarse appreciation, "it's got kick! I like it!"
Raynor didn't reply. He merely withdrew his scrutinizing gaze from those figures and let it fall onto the crate in his hands containing the artifact fragment. This security squad from the "Far Star Syndicate" was far more complex in both value and threat than a simple mercenary contract implied.
On the returning Thunderhawk, Valerie looked out the viewport at the receding excavation site, now engulfed in a sea of fire, and silently reported to Osiris: "Artifact fragment confirmed secured by the Raynor-Tychus team. The specific nature of the object remains unknown, but it has drawn high priority from the Dominion. Our squad sustained minor damage, which will not affect subsequent missions. What is the status of the Zerg signal?"
Osiris's reply was icy and definitive: "The Zerg vanguard has made contact with the outer planetary defense outposts. An encrypted broadcast from Emperor Mengsk's command has declared a state of emergency, but makes no mention of the alien organisms. The true storm is about to make landfall at your location."
The engines of the Thunderhawk gunship were still cooling, emitting a faint hum.
Inside the canyon camp, the brief atmosphere of victory was replaced by efficient, rapid security adjustments. The Raiders were packing away their plundered supplies and the artifact fragment, which emitted an unstable, ethereal blue glow.
Raynor stood before an open supply crate, his brow furrowed as he examined the Xel'naga artifact fragment—neither metal nor stone, its surface swirling with that ghostly blue sheen.
Tychus's heavy blue CMC power armor clanked as he leaned in close, his visor raised. He rudely chewed on his ever-present cigar, but his eyes held none of the relaxation that usually followed a battle. Instead, they gleamed with an urgent, almost greedy light.
"That's the one, Jimmy, that's it!" his voice came from beneath the visor, lowered but heavy with emphasis, as his armor-clad hand gestured toward the object in the crate. "Look at that quality... the employer I contacted just loves collecting these weird, exotic pieces. The price they're offering will absolutely satisfy you."
He paused, reading Raynor's expression, his tone becoming more encouraging and insistent. "Stop overthinking it. I don't want to stay in this place a minute longer. I'll go send the signal now and arrange the handoff. Once we get the payout, you and I can live like kings for a good long while. Let's move!"
Before his voice could fade, the alarm at a watchpost on the edge of the camp suddenly wailed sharply, only to cut short as if choked off mid-breath.