How did Tychus find Raynor?

[Norfindel]

Meh, they could had put a fusion bomb inside Tychus suit...

[FanaticTemplar]

right, but that's now how dictatorships work. If Raynor stuck to the small time, nickel and dime shit was he pulling, I could see Mengsk letting him get away with it. But when Raynor starts stealing Dominion super-weapons and instigates a riot on Korhal, somewhere along that thread, Mengsk should have intervened and stopped the madness.

I think at that time the Zerg were a more pressing threat for Mengsk's resources. Then again while a Ghost would probably have no trouble assassinating Raynor (before he got Tosh and a bunch of Spectres, anyway) destroying the Hyperion is far, far more difficult. Finding a Battlecruiser in a solar system would make a needle in a haystack look like a joke, and a Battlecruiser in the entire Koprulu Sector is worse. Not counting hiding in Umojan or Kel-Morian space. And even if you do find it, it can run away.

The Confederacy fell because of a confluence of events, not just because of the Sons of Korhal. Mengsk should know better than that. Who else has the resources like Raynor (aka a super fucking battleship).

The Umojan Protectorate and Kel-Morian Combine both have resources that make Raynor's downright insignificant.

[Kimera757]

Where's this idea that the Hyperion is a super-battlecruiser coming from? I've seen it a lot recently.

I dunno. It's pretty old. The only thing that "suggests" its better were its stats, but then, its probably piloted by an elite crew.

[FanaticTemplar]

I dunno. It's pretty old. The only thing that "suggests" its better were its stats, but then, its probably piloted by an elite crew.

Well, it was Mengsk's flagship, so it was probably a super-Battlecruiser...

...four years ago, back when they were still using Behemoth-class Battlecruisers rather than Minotaur-class Battlecruisers.

[Gradius]

Well, it was Mengsk's flagship, so it was probably a super-Battlecruiser...

...four years ago, back when they were still using Behemoth-class Battlecruisers rather than Minotaur-class Battlecruisers.

Mengsk's cruiser from when he was a lowly rebel, not emperor of the Dominion either. :P

[Turalyon]

Aren't all Battlecruisers "flagships" anyway? That's what they were initially designed for, weren't they?

Then again while a Ghost would probably have no trouble assassinating Raynor (before he got Tosh and a bunch of Spectres, anyway) destroying the Hyperion is far, far more difficult. Finding a Battlecruiser in a solar system would make a needle in a haystack look like a joke, and a Battlecruiser in the entire Koprulu Sector is worse. Not counting hiding in Umojan or Kel-Morian space. And even if you do find it, it can run away.

This doesn't make sense. Are you saying it was easier for the Dominion to find and kill Raynor but not his Battlecruiser? In the hi-tech, futuristic sci fi universe of SC, I'm sure it's not that hard to contrive something to locate a battlecruiser.

Either way, why has no progress been made on capturing Raynor? It has been said that Mengsk has made his propaganda machine to vilify Raynor from the start and now media reports are showing Mengsk's ineptitude in finding Raynor because of his spending of trillions without any sort of head way. The 'scapegoat' reason is only something the public can swallow for a short time before questions are asked. If Mengsk wanted a scapegoat, Kerrigan would've been a better candidate.

I somehow doubt that Raynor's 'martyrdom', as he puts it, would incite anything more dangerous than what Raynor is capable of doing whilst alive. The rebellion was already down the toilet at the start of WoL and that was because Raynor was out of it with his head in a bottle. Then again, it's curious to note that Raynor's Raiders had been largely failing up until the start of WoL as well, even with Raynor at it's head and at the top of his game (and presumably before he drank heavily).

[FanaticTemplar]

This doesn't make sense. Are you saying it was easier for the Dominion to find and kill Raynor but not his Battlecruiser? In the hi-tech, futuristic sci fi universe of SC, I'm sure it's not that hard to contrive something to locate a battlecruiser.

Yes, I am. See, suppose Raynor stops by somewhere, say Dead Man's Rock, for fuel, supplies and recruits. Now, if there's a Ghost down there, he can slip in among the new recruits or crew loading supplies, and so forth. Hell, he can just Cloak and get on board. And once on the Hyperion, there's really nothing stopping him from assassinating Raynor (before the Spectres at least). Still, you'd need a bit of luck to be at the right place at the right time, but it's reasonably feasible.

On the other hand, if Mengsk has a fleet there - and really, stationing a fleet there would be incredibly expensive, if you don't actually know that Raynor'll drop in. And even if he does, he'll see a Dominion Fleet and get the hell out of there. The escape from Mar Sara cinematic essentially demonstrates how the Hyperion can indeed escape in the midst of battle.

And even then the Dominion ships would need to power up and so forth, you can have your ships and troops on the ready 24/7. You'd have to know both where and when Raynor's coming by, and then you could lay an ambush that would have a chance to succeed. Valerian, for instance, could have succeeded since he arranged the meeting with Raynor.

So yeah, the Hyperion would be extremely hard to catch. That's the entire notion behind guerrilla warfare.

Either way, why has no progress been made on capturing Raynor? It has been said that Mengsk has made his propaganda machine to vilify Raynor from the start and now media reports are showing Mengsk's ineptitude in finding Raynor because of his spending of trillions without any sort of head way. The 'scapegoat' reason is only something the public can swallow for a short time before questions are asked. If Mengsk wanted a scapegoat, Kerrigan would've been a better candidate.

We know Mengsk has been using the Zerg and Protoss as 'the enemy without' to keep the public at his side, I don,t think Raynor can really compete with them. I imagine the only reason Mengsk hasn,t succeeded in capturing Raynor is just that - he hasn't succeeded. Incidentally, do you have the same problem with the Confederacy failing to capture Arcturus Mengsk?

I somehow doubt that Raynor's 'martyrdom', as he puts it, would incite anything more dangerous than what Raynor is capable of doing whilst alive. The rebellion was already down the toilet at the start of WoL and that was because Raynor was out of it with his head in a bottle. Then again, it's curious to note that Raynor's Raiders had been largely failing up until the start of WoL as well, even with Raynor at it's head and at the top of his game (and presumably before he drank heavily).

The Raiders didn't have much success in Wings of Liberty either. There's the one major blow in the Media Blitz sequence, and that only because of a chance opportunity. I imagine that for four years they've been doing junk like Liberation Day and The Outlaws, victories over Mengsk that may irritate him, but aren't really significant.

[Kimera757]

Aren't all Battlecruisers "flagships" anyway? That's what they were initially designed for, weren't they?

The manual claims they were all "command ships" but the way they're portrayed that doesn't make sense.

In real life, an aircraft carrier is usually a command ship. However, that's only because most fleets would only have one aircraft carrier. It's the best-defended ship, so you put the admiral on it. There would be lots of smaller ships plus fighters (launched from the carrier). But in StarCraft the game, only the UED had medium-sized ships. (There are medium-sized ships in StarCraft lore, but they're almost never even talked about.)

So you end up with a fleet that consists of numerous battlecruisers plus Wraiths (or now Vikings) and that's all. Only one of those battlecruisers gets to be the command ship. (This is one reason the manual's description doesn't make sense.)

A fleet can only have one flagship, and an entire nation might only have one flagship. So no, it doesn't make sense that every battlecruiser is a flagship, even if the manual says so.

Then again, it's curious to note that Raynor's Raiders had been largely failing up until the start of WoL as well, even with Raynor at it's head and at the top of his game (and presumably before he drank heavily).

Other than Horner lucking out and discovering the Dominion operation on Tarsonis, Raynor wasn't a threat to Mengsk.

While Mengsk could have looked inept, look how long (in real life) it's taken to catch Osama bin Laden. He's still out there, and while people would rather him be dead, it's easy to accept that he's hard to catch. Bin Laden has failed at virtually everything since 9/11 (he's only gotten Americans once, and that was in the Middle East), and most terrorist attacks are carried out by native-born extremists who have no real connection to al-Qaeda, but bin Laden makes a convenient scapegoat. (Unlike Raynor, there are many good reasons for killing him too.)

Incidentally, now that the zerg threat seems over (probably isn't, but it certainly seems over), I wouldn't be surprised if Mengsk finds some reason to gun for Raynor.

[Rezildur]

Killing Raynor would make him a Martyr, simple as that.

[0mar]

Killing Raynor would make him a Martyr, simple as that.

Do these people who view Raynor as a martyr have a super-battlecruiser staffed by veterans of the Brood War, a vast intelligence network and enough resources to actually make a difference? Just because people view Raynor as a martyr doesn't mean it actually makes a difference. Without the resources to actually mount a resistance, it doesn't make a damned bit of difference. We are talking about an interplanetary empire, not the bully on the block. How can different planets communicate with each other without alerting the Dominion presence? How can they actually organize effectively without arousing suspicion. Where will they get arms and armor to make a difference? Battlecruisers aren't just lying around you know. This is as good as the Rebellion is going to get.

Other than Horner lucking out and discovering the Dominion operation on Tarsonis, Raynor wasn't a threat to Mengsk.

While Mengsk could have looked inept, look how long (in real life) it's taken to catch Osama bin Laden. He's still out there, and while people would rather him be dead, it's easy to accept that he's hard to catch. Bin Laden has failed at virtually everything since 9/11 (he's only gotten Americans once, and that was in the Middle East), and most terrorist attacks are carried out by native-born extremists who have no real connection to al-Qaeda, but bin Laden makes a convenient scapegoat. (Unlike Raynor, there are many good reasons for killing him too.)

Incidentally, now that the zerg threat seems over (probably isn't, but it certainly seems over), I wouldn't be surprised if Mengsk finds some reason to gun for Raynor.

The proper analogy would be that Ayman Al-Zawahiri (bin laden's #2) is a CIA operative implanted in 1999. The US government lets 9-11 happen for whatever reason and still doesn't move in on bin laden in fears of making him a martyr. Does that make any sense? Because that's pretty much what happened in WoL.