After the Hyperion's navigation locked onto the Tarsonis system, intense preparations for the upcoming operation began across the ship.
Down on the engineering deck, Swann was shouting orders at mechanics as they fine-tuned several newly assembled Diamondback hover assault tanks.
Designed specifically for high-speed mobility and pursuits along rail lines, these armed vehicles featured a railgun as their primary armament—a weapon boasting a significant damage bonus against heavy armor, such as Dominion heavy trains.
Crucially, the Diamondback possessed a unique "shoot on the move" capability, enabling it to fire stably while traveling at full speed.
This gave it an irreplaceable tactical advantage when chasing high-speed trains through the intricate, labyrinthine railway network across the ruins of Tarsonis.
Meanwhile, in the briefing room, Raynor, Matt, and Tychus repeatedly ran simulations on the tactical details of intercepting the Dominion trains.
Intelligence indicated that the railway lines repaired by the Dominion wove through the ruins along complex, heavily branched routes.
They had to organize a highly mobile unit capable of rapid deployment and relocation, patrolling designated sectors to intercept every passing train and ensure not a single one slipped through the net.
It was a severe test of mobility and battlefield coordination, and the newly equipped Diamondbacks were their key to winning this "orbital race."
At the other end of the ship, however, inside the isolation lab assigned to Osiris, the atmosphere was entirely different.
No preparation clamor reached this room—only the rhythmic, low hum of running scan equipment and the faint glow of data streams scrolling across screens.
Osiris stood before the main console, his gaze fixed steadily on two energy dampening containers hovering side by side before him.
Inside the containers, two Xel'Naga artifact fragments—one from Mar Sara, the other from Monlyth—emitted the same soft, blue-white luminescence of their shared origin.
Valerie was present as well, having just reported the bridge's latest decisions regarding the Tarsonis operation to Osiris.
"So, Commander Raynor has decided to head to Tarsonis to intercept the Dominion transport trains," Osiris stated matter-of-factly after listening, his voice devoid of surprise or interest. "The objective is to acquire supplies, funds, and attempt to find evidence that could expose Mengsk's crimes."
"Yes. They believe this will strike a blow against the Dominion while easing the Raiders' tight financial situation," Valerie nodded, observing Osiris's reaction.
Osiris shifted his gaze toward the corridor outside the lab, where noisy sounds from the engineering deck drifted in faintly.
Thoughts regarding "Tarsonis" and the "Dominion transport trains" crystallized clearly in his mind—information originating not from local intelligence networks, but from the future "script" of this world known to him as a transmigrator.
He knew that according to that "script," Raynor would intercept a train carrying an old Confederacy adjutant and retrieve crucial evidence implicating Mengsk. While deeply meaningful to Raynor, it remained, at its core, merely a link in the chain of internal human conflict.
He had very little interest in it.
Osiris withdrew his gaze, letting it fall back onto the two Xel'Naga artifact fragments hovering before him.
The blue-white light radiating from the fragments drew him far more than the noise of the outside world.
He had long since seen through the patterns of human warfare and politics; their processes and outcomes lacked surprise.
These two creations from an ancient civilization, however, were entirely different. Beneath their quiet exterior lay immeasurable technical mysteries and the potential to overturn known reality.
He preferred to expend his energy resolving these true unknowns.
According to his knowledge, Raynor's trip to Tarsonis would yield a definitive prize: on one of the intercepted trains, they would find an adjutant from the old Confederacy era.
This was precisely what the Terran Dominion forces were searching for and excavating on Tarsonis.
Sealed within its core memory bank was key incriminating evidence against Arcturus Mengsk from years past—recording how he had secretly used psi emitters to lure the main Zerg force to Tarsonis, using the catastrophe to eradicate the old Confederacy and pave his own path to power.
This evidence would become one of Raynor's most potent political bargaining chips in his future struggle against Mengsk's Dominion.
"A classic internal political purge operation between human factions," Osiris evaluated succinctly and indifferently, as if stating an observational result unrelated to himself. "Clear objectives, sound logic—consistent with Jim Raynor's political campaign against Mengsk and the survival needs of the Raiders."
He paused briefly, executing a swift mental evaluation of the operation's pros and cons: "The ruins of Tarsonis present a complex environment. Residual Zerg and radiation interference will severely restrict the deployment and recon efficiency of large-scale Dominion forces. Such an environment is suited specifically for a lean, flexible force like the Raiders to conduct high-speed raids and interceptions. Their likelihood of success is high, and the seized supplies—particularly any key evidence found—will hold non-negligible value for Raynor's cause, whether for short-term resupply or long-term strategy."
His tone remained smooth throughout, expressing neither concern over the operation's inherent risks nor any emotional inclination toward the "incriminating evidence" to be gained.
To him, this was merely a link in an established process, a predictable and inevitable event node.
"However," Osiris redirected his full attention back to the two artifact fragments before him—the objects that truly held his interest—"it shares limited overlap with our primary observation targets and research interests. Political struggles, exposing historical crimes, internal strife within a human empire... these are ordinary fluctuations in the development of native civilizations in this universe. Their technical depth and... capacity to reveal higher truths fall far short of these Xel'Naga creations."
His interest in the Tarsonis mission was limited strictly to any resource resupplies it might yield for his "Far Star Alliance" cover (should Valerie secure a share), and the window of relatively undisturbed time it would afford his artifact research while the operation was underway.
As for whether Raynor successfully secured hard evidence against Mengsk, that was virtually a given in the "plot" he foresaw, requiring no extra attention.
Valerie nodded in understanding. She understood Osiris's true identity and perspective beyond this realm, as well as his persistent pursuit of pure technology, unknown knowledge, and relics that might hold extraordinary power.
The political drama of humanity might indeed appear somewhat... trivial and mundane in the eyes of a Tech-Priest from the Warhammer universe who had witnessed endless grand dark tales.
"In that case, is there any special arrangement or observation you would like me to handle during the Tarsonis operation?" Valerie asked.