Hyperion

"She's not exactly pristine, but she'll serve her purpose."

- Ailin Pasteur

The Hyperion is a Behemoth-class battlecruiser, currently commanded by Jim Raynor. It has a long and checkered history.

History
The Hyperion was originally a Terran Confederacy battlecruiser which crash-landed on a fiery planet near Umojan Protectorate territory, courtesy of a navigation error, well out of range of Confederate hailing frequencies. It was originally commanded by Pollock Rimes. However, Umojan forces secured the crash site, removed its tracking beacon and pronounced the crew dead, though in reality giving them better pay and shorter hours in exchange for their silence. The Confederacy was angered at the loss of one of its ships, but without proof of the Protectorate's subversion, was unwilling to start another war so soon after the end of the Guild Wars. Over the next year, the battlecruiser was upgraded and modified slowly and methodically.

In 2491 it became part of Arcturus Mengsk's Rebellion of Korhal — Mengsk had allied with the Umojan Protectorate and was currently located at Umoja. When the Confederacy destroyed Korhal IV with nuclear missiles, Mengsk renamed his organization the Sons of Korhal and Mengsk renamed the vessel the Hyperion and made it the flagship of his very small fleet.

The Sons of Korhal
The Hyperion became the mobile headquarters of the Sons of Korhal. It took part in several missions against the Confederacy, including one which resulted in the capture of ghost Sarah Kerrigan.

During one mission, an officer was assaulted by a mole and a communication was broadcast to the nearby battlecruiser the Norad II, commanded by Edmund Duke. The Norad II blocked the Hyperion’s path, preventing it from escaping into warp space, then sent a boarding party. They were interested in arresting Mengsk as a terrorist and recapturing Kerrigan. The Hyperion could not fight back effectively due to the lack of weapons on its sides, but the Norad II was similarly hampered. Mengsk used that to his advantage, using a surprising attack form against the Norad II’s flank, while Kerrigan and other soldiers dealt with the boarders. The Norad II was too heavily damaged to continue the assault, enabling the Hyperion to escape.

The Hyperion maintained its status as the mobile headquarters of the Sons of Korhal during the war against the Confederacy. Despite its mobile nature, the ship genuinely felt like home for Mengsk.

Second Transfer of Command
During the Sons of Korhal attack on Tarsonis, Mengsk betrayed his second-in-command Sarah Kerrigan, abandoning her to the zerg. Captain Jim Raynor defected with a approximately 400 soldiers as a result. The new force called itself the Raynor's Raiders. Desperately needing transport, the group headed to the Dylarian Shipyards of Dylar IV.

Mengsk dispatched General Edmund Duke in the Hyperion to stop Raynor, but Duke's forces were lured into the confined spaces of the shipyards, where the Hyperion was captured by a crane. Raynor's forces swarmed aboard, hijacking the Hyperion and several other ships. Raynor appointed Lieutenant Matt Horner as pilot of the Hyperion.

Alliance with the Protoss
Several weeks later, Raynor led the Hyperion and the small fleet to the world of Char, following the psychic screams of Sarah Kerrigan, who had been transported there by the zerg. Using shuttles, a number of troops, personally led by Raynor, descended to the surface, leaving Horner in charge of the Hyperion. The forces battled their way to Kerrigan, only to find she had already been infested, transformed into the Queen of Blades. She let the Raiders go, but initiated a covert assault on it and other ships in orbit over Char. Protoss forces commanded by Executor Tassadar arrived, and seeing terran vessels being taken over by the zerg, began destroying them. Horner was forced to execute a blind jump into warp space.

While the Hyperion was away, Raynor's Raiders struck an alliance with Tassadar and the Dark Templar leader, Zeratul. The Raiders believed they were stranded on Char, but later discovered that the protoss had been hiding their ships. Meanwhile the Hyperion returned to Char, late due to errors caused by the rapid jump. The Hyperion made its way to Aiur. Raynor commanded the battlecruiser, helping to rescue Tassadar from the Conclave in return for the earlier assistance, and participating in the final battle against the Overmind.

During the Brood War, the Hyperion, accompanied by a protoss fleet, rescued Arcturus Mengsk from the United Earth Directorate invasion.

Later, the Hyperion spend some time on Shakuras, where Raynor was again contacted by Kerrigan.

The Second Great War
At the end of the Brood War, Hyperion, still the command of Jim Raynor, was the command ship and home base of Raynor's Raiders.

The Hyperion saved Raynor and Tychus Findlay from zerg mutalisks and made a safe jump to warp from the surface.

Weaponry
In StarCraft II, the Hyperion possesses a series of small cannons placed around the "hammerhead".

Interior
The interior of the Hyperion is well-decorated with paintings and soft lighting, with wide corridors. However, the ship's interior is not as defensible as many other battlecruiser designs, featuring numerous wide open stairways and hallways with no doors, allowing any boarded enemy free reign over a good portion of the ship.

StarCraft II locations
At least some parts of the Hyperion's interior will be used in the terran campaign of StarCraft II

Armory
The Hyperion's armory is the favored hangout of engineer Rory Swann. It also contains a simulator to test new units and a construction crane.

In StarCraft II, players can buy new unit technologies using money they've earned in the missions. Players will be able to "customize" their selections which suit their playstyles, for instance buying defensive upgrades for bunkers would suit a defensive playstyle.

Bridge
The bridge of the Hyperion is where mission briefings take place. Matt Horner is usually stationed here.

Despite the formalities, the bridge is regarded as "cozy", especially when compared to the more sparse bridges of other battlecruisers such as the Norad II. Views of outside planets and star systems can be seen by selecting the "viewscreen".

Encyclopedia
The encyclopedia contains information about the StarCraft universe and missions.

Starmap
The starmap contains information about planets (such as locations and features). Here missions are selected.

Cantina
The ship houses an on-board cantina, where Jim Raynor has been known to drink.

The cantina features TV sets (to watch the news) and a jukebox stolen from a bar on Mar Sara. Newly-introduced characters often congregate here.

Lab
Stedman spends his time here.

Research Lab One
This research lab is used for scientific study, including the study of alien lifeforms. It features an incubator.

Crew Compartments
A series of crew compartments exist on the ship, seemingly one compartment per member. They are listed by number.

Cargo Bay
Featuring a wide area, the cargo bay was, and possibly still is, used for mission briefings.

Commander's Quarters
The commander's quarters are reserved for the Hyperion's captain, as with any other capital ship. However, to suit Arcturus Mengsk's tastes, they were installed with marble sinktops, porcelain tiles, faucets and fixtures, not to mention access to proper water as opposed to relying on a sonic cleanser.

When Jim Raynor became the ship's captain, the Raiders insisted that he take the quarters for himself, despite his objections. He considered having the room made more spartan, but knowing that it would take too long, resolved to put up with the comforts and try to concentrate on other things.

Mess Hall
The mess hall is where the ship's crew takes their meals.

Sick Ward
The sick ward is where sick and injured crew members are treated. A climate controlled containment cell that can be supplied with oxygen when necessary is featured for patients sufferring from contagious viral infections. It has transparant walls.

StarCraft
Compared to the typical battlecruiser, the Hyperion has a higher health point total (850 hit points) and a slightly more powerful attack. It is equipped with a Yamato Cannon. Compared to the Norad II, the Hyperion is defensively superior due to its higher health points while the Norad II has only 700 though has a much weaker attack, inflicting 30 damage while its counterpart does 50 damage per attack.

It has a better cooldown than a typical battlecruiser, according to testing and programs such as DatEdit.

StarCraft II
Hyperion appears in StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty as a special armed with the Plasma Torpedo and Yamato Cannon abilities. Despite being a Behemoth-class battlecruiser, it uses the unit render of a Minotaur- or Hercules-class battlecruiser. At least on the third mission, the Hyperion is not a playable unit.

Trivia
Hyperion was one of the Titans from Greek mythology.