Sweetie had come out of her mercenary contract as a millionaire in credits. Over the three years that she spent with Mira Han, or Mira Horner whenever she wanted an alias, she had amassed a total of five million credits that she intended to use to improve Raynor’s Raiders. Mira, in her generosity, also paid for a year long subscription to summon various mercenary groups to her aid when necessary.
The War Pigs were contracted to send up to three squads per mission. They were a group of well equipped Marines in superior armor to the standard CMC armor worn by most soldiers.
Devil Dogs were squadrons of Firebats that had upgraded their armor over the past four years. Their armor was much thicker than the old variation. The standard Firebats were also bulkier than they were four years ago. Their firepower had improved some as an upside.
Hammer Securities were an improved version of a new type of soldier that had taken to the field in recent years. The Marauders were equipped with grenade launchers and what appeared to be repurposed versions of Firebat suits. The merc version looked a lot different in design to the standard.
Spartan Company utilized customized Goliaths which, as the news has informed her, were slowly becoming obsolete due to the recent introduction of the convertible fighter craft known as Vikings.
Siege Breakers were a former Confederate group that went mercenary when their government collapsed. They pilot customized Siege Tanks that were quite powerful. There was also a newer version of the Siege Tanks that had been mass produced. The Arclite model was used during the Great War and the Brood War and the new Crucio model offered superior protection and firepower along with superior versatility compared to the old model.
Hel’s Angels were mercenary pilots that flew in customized versions of the new Viking fighters. Supposedly, they had effectively become the preferred vehicle to use over Wraiths, Goliaths and Valkyries. Vikings can freely transform between fighter craft and combat walker, driving the way for the three previously mentioned vehicles into obsolescence.
Dusk Wings were an all female mercenary group that piloted new flight vehicles called Banshees. The ships were known for their very loud engines that sound like a constantly screaming voice, hence the name. Banshees were equipped to launch ATS rockets over small areas but were helpless to enemies in the air. They also came equipped with sophisticated stealth technology that, when accompanied by vikings, drove the point home that Wraiths were a thing of the past.
Finally, the pirate Battlecruiser, Jackson’s Revenge, had joined the list of available mercenaries that she could call upon when in need. Battlecruisers have gone through many improvements over the years. Unlike after the Brood War, the variants of which could fire single bursts of laser blasts every couple of seconds, the more recent variations were equipped with numerous turrets and missile pods for rapid fire capabilities.
As eager as Sweetie was to see the new weapons tested on the battlefield as well as the new Spectre abilities that she had just learned from Tosh and his goons, there was one person...or Pony that she wanted to see first since they had been apart for three and a half years.
Sweetie began transmitting on the Raiders’ private frequency trying to contact the Hyperion. “Hyperion, this is Sweetie Drops. Come in, over.” After a few minutes of repeating the transmission, she finally got a response.
<”This is Matt Horner, welcome back Sweetie Drops. Are you requesting pick up?”>
Sweetie smiled at the sound of the familiar voice. “Hey Matthew, I’m sending my coordinates to you. Come get me when you can.”
Matt was not fond of being called by his full first name and Sweetie knew it. She called him that just to tease him a little and remind him of his legally binding marriage to Mira as a result of a poker game. <“Please don’t call me that. I’ve been avoiding her calls for months,”> he said.
“At least go on a date with her; get to know her before you start judging her.”
Matt groaned before the transmission was cut.
Shortly after the transmission, a large and familiar Battlecruiser appeared on her sensors. The imposing ship opened its bay doors to allow Sweetie inside.
Once inside, Sweetie checked out the changes to the ship. First, she checked out the armory. The new person in charge was a man of average height, brown hair and eyes with a big brown moustache. He was wearing a brown and orange maintenance suit and a dark brown shirt underneath. Most noticeable of all was the mechanical grappling claw replacing half of his left arm.
The man took notice of the equine and greeted her, “Now we got Horses runnin’ around here? Now I’ve seen everything.” Sweetie gave him a harsh glare from the statement. One of the engineering staff came to the man and whispered something in his ear. Upon hearing that, his eyes became wide open. “Whoa, sorry, my bad. I meant Ponies.” Sweetie relaxed her glare. “Anyway, Jimmy told me his second in command was a Pony, had no idea what he meant 'till now. That really took me by surprise.”
Sweetie chuckled. “It’s fine, I get it. I know you’ve never seen my kind anywhere so I understand how shocking it is to see a new species on the ship. Anyway, name’s Sweetie Drops. I went by the merc name ‘Thestral’ until recently.”
The man’s eyes went wider than before. “I heard of you! You’re that merc that's been makin’ a big name for herself. Even got a book written ‘bout your experiences when Tarsonis bit it. You even used your merc name on the cover.”
“Yeah, that’s me. Mira wanted me to use the name because apparently ‘Sweetie Drops’ isn’t a name people take seriously.”
“No offense, ranger, but your name does sound like something a little girl would come up with.” Sweetie rolled her eyes.
Suddenly, a thought hit her, “Ranger?” She shook her head and put the thought away.
“I’m Rory Swann by the way. I’m kinda seen as a big brother type around here.”
Lyra’s escape ship had successfully exited the territory held by the Tal’darim and entered Dominion space. Though she would prefer to be away from the Dominion as well and be with Tassadar, Artanis, Fenix and Zeratul, she missed Bon Bon most of all.
She checked out the various Dominion fringe worlds for signs of the Hyperion and eventually picked it up on her sensors. Recalling the frequency that Bon Bon told her for the Hyperion, she used the channel to hail them.
An image of Matt Horner shows up on her screen. <”Oh, it's you Lyra. Sweetie just came aboard a few minutes ago. She is still in the Armory talking to our new chief engineer,”> Matt said.
“Okay, coming aboard,” Lyra said. While she tried to maintain a sense of decorum toward the ship’s captain, she couldn’t help but feel an extreme sense of elation about seeing Bon Bon again. She quickly landed her ship in the hangar slash armory and exited the ship before assuming her shadowy form to quickly close the gap between herself and Bon Bon. Before Sweetie could put up her guard from the inevitable tackle she was about to receive, she found herself on the ground in a bone crushing hug from an overexcited unicorn.
“Bonnie! IneverthoughtIwouldeverseeyouagainafterwhatI’vebeenthrough,” Lyra said in one breath.
“Need...air...Lyres,” Sweetie responded. Lyra let go of Sweetie so she could gasp for precious life-giving air. “Geez Lyra, I do have bones you know. Wow, you’ve gotten strong.”
Lyra stroked the back of her mane and giggled nervously. “Oops, sorry.”
Swann waited a moment before speaking, “So, who’s this happy-go-lucky Pony?”
Sweetie turned her attention to the engineer. “Her name is Lyra Heartstrings, she’s my marefriend or girlfriend in your terms.”
“Ah, no wonder she went after you like that then.” Swann introduced himself to Lyra who properly introduced herself. The three of them discussed the latest pieces of Terran military hardware before leaving the armory and headed for the bridge.
Once there, they found Matt talking to a lanky looking person with brown hair that pointed straight upward. They were discussing the matter of getting the lab ready for future studies.
When the conversation ended, Matt addressed the Ponies, “Seems you two were able to find each other just fine. And before you ask, the person I talked to was our science advisor, Egon Stetmann. He’s eccentric, but he does have his uses.
“If you’re looking for Jim, he went back to Mar Sara. He hasn’t been doing well, still misses Kerrigan. He seems to be drinking more lately, probably trying to forget her. Why don’t you two head over to Joey Ray’s Bar on Mar Sara, maybe seeing you two might help him.”
“Before we do that, I’d like to know what happened to our inventory. Last I checked, which was over three years ago, we had a decent arsenal. Now there’s a lot of empty space in our inventory,” Sweetie wondered.
“That’s what happens when jobs are scarce while there’s a bunch of propaganda being broadcast against you. We had to sell most of our inventory just to pay the maintenance costs for the Hyperion. Jim’s depression has also had a negative effect on the crew.”
“Any sign of Kerrigan? We haven’t heard anything about her lately.”
“No, not even a small sign. She’s been a little too quiet if you ask me.”
As Sweetie and Matt contemplated Kerrigan’s activities, Lyra spoke up, “I need to contact my friends on Shakuras to let them know I’m alright. My time away from them may have given them the impression that I was killed in battle.” With that, Lyra returned to her ship to transmit to her friends.
Sweetie was confused and curious about what Lyra did for three years, a matter she would soon ask her marefriend. After saying goodbye to Matt, Sweetie followed Lyra to the hangar.
Since Protoss ships would raise eyebrows in Terran space, Sweetie and Lyra agreed to take Sweetie’s ship to Mar Sara. Once Lyra finished explaining herself to Tassadar, who had recently become Hierarch of the Daelaam, the Ponies boarded Sweetie’s ship and departed for Mar Sara to see if they can get Raynor out of his depression.