Screw all the prologue crap. Now, pay attention.

THIS PROLOGUE ISN"T MINE.

It's from another author, Archon of Darkness, and his story Phantoms of the Present. And I liked his backstory, so I'll use it. But it's technically his property, but he doesn't answer PMs...

The Sector was not the same as it had been 25 years earlier. To understand how the meeting went so differently than it would have during the Second Great War, or even the Brood War, one would have to look at its history.

For one, the Second Great War was long over, as was the long struggle between Raynor's Raiders and the Terran Dominion. Emperor Mengsk's precious Dominion was already burning to ashes around him once evidence surfaced that he had ordered the massacre on Tarsonis. The dissolution of Mengsk's propaganda with the salvation of the Queen of Blades was the final nail in the coffin, from the political standpoint.

Militarily, the Dominion did not fall for nearly two years. It fell to pieces with the start of the Hybrid War. With all of the turmoil going on within the former empire, the Dominion could not even mount a proper defense of the core worlds. Korhal itself was taken within weeks, and the Emperor was forced to flee. For the second time, Korhal was burned to ashes by an orbiting fleet, though this fleet consisted of pseudo Xel'naga ships instead of battlecruisers.

The remaining worlds of the shattered Dominion, as well as the remnants of the Kel-morian Combine and the Umojan Protectorate, looked to James Raynor for salvation.

And he delivered.

At each of the planets in need, Raynor's Raiders appeared in a sight that had never been seen before, and has never been seen since.

He came with Protoss ships and Zerg swarms in tow, both as allies.

The Hybrids, powerful as they were, and relatively numerous as they were, could not stand against the combined might of three races. Terran ingenuity and wit, Protoss power, and Zerg adaptability joined together and pushed back each of the Hybrid fleets. They drove them back to the planet where the Dark Voice himself resided, Zhakul.

The library world died in a raging storm of lightning, fire, and blood. The fallen Xel'naga himself was slain by the Dark Prelate, Zeratul.

Surprisingly many survivors of all three races were left. It was up to them to pick up the pieces.

The Zerg did not stay for long. Kerrigan sent a cryptic message to the Hyperion, Raynor's flagship, (the contents of which are unknown to any who did not serve aboard that ship to this day) and fled. Every last living Zerg disappeared with her. It was a sad day indeed for the hunters on Mar Sara, as even the Zerg buried there vanished, with the only trace of their presence being discarded carapace and abandoned, buried dens. To this day, not an iota of Zerg activity has been seen in the Koprulu sector since that day.

The Protoss were truly diminished, with nearly 10% more of their population dead. With only 20% of their once vast empire still intact, they sought to return to their homeworld of Aiur, which had been abandoned by the Zerg.

The Protoss' sense of pride had been completely and utterly shattered by what had happened. A human had become the savior of their race, but their empire was in ruins and few of their people remained. What was left of their race had nothing left but broken spirits.

The Terrans were little better off. All three of the Koprulu sector's nations had fallen, not that they were really missed. The Kel-morians and Dominion had been especially cruel to their citizens.

Many looked for an answer from Raynor himself, but none came. Instead, the captain of his flagship, Matthew Horner, stepped forward. At a convention of ambassadors from nearly every major planet in the sector, he proposed the formation of a single, overarching republic of planets, the United Systems. It would be ruled, not by a single person, but by the people. Though a President would lead the nation, he would be chosen by the people, and his power would be limited by the Interplanetary Senate, which, in turn, was made up of elected officials from each of the System worlds. In honor of the lives lost in the first Great War, the planet Tarsonis was chosen as the capital of the new nation. Korhal, on the other hand, became what Tarsonis had once been. No resettlement operation was undertaken. Instead, only salvaging operations found there way there. A statue of some of the Raiders' senior commanders was made from the cannibalized scrap of the former Emperor Mengsk's palace. It stands in front of the Senate building in New Gettysburg, the capital of Tarsonis and, by extension, the entire United Systems.

The Hybrid War had changed both the Terrans and the Protoss. They had all fought alongside each other, even died alongside each other. Each now had respect for the abilities of the other. The Terrans lended what aid they could to Aiur's people. The Protoss, in turn, accepted the help, something none of them had ever done (or needed to have done) before.

Okay, this is my few sentences.

Now, the United Systems would renew their search into deep space-

-and find their distant cousins. The galaxy wasn't as empty as they had thought.

To ascertain the situation, as well as locate new deposits of liberium crystals (name for the blue crystals by Guardian54), science vessels were escorted to nearby systems.