Lyra listened in on a conversation between Artanis and Vorazun. She overheard that the Praetor had unknowingly undergone a sacred rite of passage for Dark Templar and she declared him as one. Lyra was proud of Artanis for receiving such an honor. Tassadar and Zeratul were also there to congratulate him. Fenix, who spoke through a Probe’s projection, congratulated him as well.
Though she was saddened by the loss of Shakuras, Vorazun believed that the Nerazim traditions were more important.
Tassadar turned his attention to Zeratul, his expression serious. “Old friend, from what I have learned of what happened here today, faith alone in the salvation the Keystone would bring will not defeat Amon. We will need more allies if we wish to stand a chance at defeating him. I have decided that once we retrieve the Keystone, we will travel to the Glacius facility and recover the Purifier program.”
Zeratul hummed. “I have learned of the powerful weapons that even the Khalai deemed forbidden and sealed them away. Are you certain they will side with us?”
“Alas, I am not. The Purifiers were taken offline when they rebelled against us. We need to prove to them that we are not the same as those who tried to control them.”
With the Nerazim evacuees following or aboard the Spear of Adun, the Daelaam set course for Korhal.
What they saw when they arrived as not entirely unexpected. Terran Battlecruisers were fighting one another. One Battlecruiser fired a volley of missiles at the Spear of Adun but the ship managed to evade by warping to a different location. Most of the Protoss were confused by what was happening but Lyra and Zeratul suspected that the Dominion were fighting the Moebius Corps.
“Moebius Corps?” Artanis asked.
“They are a cult that was created by Amon’s servant, Narud, for the sole purpose of breeding Amon’s Hybrid armies while hiding in plain sight under the guise of a legitimate research organization called the Moebius Foundation,” Lyra said. “Now that the End War has begun, Moebius has lifted the veil and revealed their true colors.”
“So this ‘Moebius Corps’ are more of Amon’s thralls?”
“Eeyup.”
A transmission was received from Raynor, <”Protoss vessel, this is Commander James Raynor of the--Lyra? Tassadar? Man, ain’t you guys a sight for sore eyes.”>
“Hi Jim, I see Moebius is giving you a hard time,” Lyra said.
Raynor chuckled, <“Just another day at the office. I take it you’ve had a run in with them while they’re hostile.”>
“Yeah, Me and Zeratul encountered them not long ago while they were kidnapping Templar and turning them into Hybrid.”
After some rumblings from Raynor’s end and a few commands to his subordinates, Raynor informed everyone that Sky Shield, Korhal’s orbital defense platform, was falling from orbit due to Moebius destroying its atmospheric stabilizers that it needed to avoid falling on the planet and causing untold catastrophic damage.
Tassadar offered to assist in whatever way they could. Raynor was grateful for the help.
Meanwhile, Raynor asked Zeratul about what brought them to Korhal to which they informed him that they came for the Keystone. Raynor was glad to be rid of the artifact since he lost a lot of good men to retrieve the pieces.
While they were talking, Lyra joined the attacking group on the falling platform.
Lyra and the Protoss arrived to find a band of Moebius Corp Terrans attacking a nearby device that she could only guess was an atmospheric stabilizer that Raynor was talking about.
Karax mentioned that the damage that Moebius had been causing was repairable but the combined power of all five stabilizers were needed to restore orbit to the platform.
While Artanis set up his Nexus Point, Lyra headed to the first stabilizer alone.
She noticed a Missile Turret near some Reapers and Spectres. After obliterating the turret with a blast from her horn, Lyra freely slaughtered the Moebius troops with her blades, allowing Raynor to send a repair crew to fix the first stabilizer.
Karax warned of a few EM fields that would drain shields and suggested taking them out. He also warped in a Pylon with reinforcements near Lyra’s location while a Probe set up adequate defenses around the stabilizer in case Moebius tried to retake the stabilizer.
Lyra moved northwest with her reinforcements and received supporting fire from the Spear of Adun that eliminated a Missile Turret and some Moebius troops. Without detection, the Moebius troops in the area were wiped out. Lyra and her group took out the nearby EM generator with ease.
Turning her attention southwest of the generator, Lyra moved against the Moebius defenses near the second stabilizer. A Raven and a Missile Turret were the main threats in the area. She grabbed the Raven in her magic and hurled it at the Turret, destroying both. After slicing her way through Moebius infantry, Raynor’s second repair crew arrived to fix the second stabilizer.
In response to the counterattack, Moebius began reinforcing their positions around the remaining stabilizers, bringing in more detectors to make Lyra’s battles more difficult.
Karax warped in another Pylon with reinforcements while Artanis warped in more Dark Templar to support Lyra’s assault.
Their attack path took them through a Moebius base that was lightly defended and ripe for destruction as Karax blasted any detection equipment with the ship’s weaponry. Lyra and her forces tore apart the base with minimal resistance. Since the base was cleared, Raynor moved some of his boys in where the Moebius base once was.
Some Bunkers, Missile Turrets and a Raven were the main defenders of the third stabilizer. Karax weakened the defenses with the Spear of Adun while Lyra destroyed the detectors with her magic. The rest of the defenses were made vulnerable to Dark Templar blades.
Raynor’s repair crew moved in to repair the third stabilizer.
Lyra’s group returned to the platform section where the first generator was and headed northeast past some heavy Moebius defenses, including a Battlecruiser. Seeing a Raven nearby, Lyra grabbed it in her magic and smashed it against the capital ship while the Dragoons finished it off.
The defenses around the EM generator ahead were nothing to worry about as Lyra, supported by Karax, annihilated the defenses before she and her forces destroyed the second generator, earning them more Solarite that they didn’t actually need.
The fourth stabilizer was nearby and guarded by another Battlecruiser along with a nearby Siege Tank as well as some infantry and detectors.
Lyra’s forces tore into the defenses to support her while she stayed out of the main fight to deal with more distant enemies like the Siege Tank. She teleported atop the tank and sliced off its turret before hurling it at the Battlecruiser’s engines with her magic. The capital ship soon crashed in a place where her forces would have been if they were stupid enough to stay there.
Raynor’s crew moved in to fix the fourth stabilizer and buy more time to fix the platform.
Moebius focused the last of its defenses to keep their enemies away from the last stabilizer.
Meanwhile, Lyra received more reinforcements from Karax and Artanis in the form of a combination of Centurions, Dragoons and Dark Templar.
Lyra’s group noticed another Moebius base for them to wipe out. Karax bombarded the base with a Solar Bombardement and a Solar Lance before Lyra’s forces moved in to take apart the base. Raynor moved his forces in to secure the area.
Lyra noticed some heavy defenses around the last stabilizer and part of her wished Bon Bon were here to nuke the defenses. Since the Spear of Adun’s primary weapon system was still charging, Lyra would have to do most of the dirty work.
She grabbed a Raven in her magic and crashed it against a Missile Turret while Karax used a Solar Lance to burn through the Bunkers. Fenix was deployed to tear into the ground forces while the Dragoons and Lyra focused their attacks on the Battlecruiser.
Once the last of Moebius Corps was cleared from the platform, Raynor moved in with his repair crew and fixed the last of the atmospheric stabilizers.
With its orbit stabilized again, Sky Shield was able to return to its original position. Lyra hoped that Raynor would deploy some heavier defenses if something like this happened again. Having a massive hunk of metal that was the size of an asteroid hanging over Augustgrad was both reassuring and terrifying at the same time.
For the fun of it, Lyra ran up to the nearby EM generator and tore it apart, earning her more Solarite that the Protoss didn’t need.