Bummer, for those wondering I took a look through the games folders and found no trace of any manuals. There goes another chance for a clean rip of the HW2 manual!
Don't worry, my Homeworld 2 archive got you covered. This is a much, much more comprehensive manual and story background than the little shitty one we got back in 2003 thanks to Sierra fucking over Relic back then:
"Proper" Homeworld 2 manuals
1. History of Hiigara
2. Historical & Technical Briefing
3. Gameplay Guide
(all credit goes to Keiichi)
@ Portman: you can put these in the OP if you want.