StarCraft (1998) recalled
Centuries ago four prison ships veered off course and journeyed deep into the remote Koprulu Sector. There they crash-landed on the planets of Tarsonis, Moria, and Umoja.
Cut off from Earth, the survivors established colonies throughout the sector. The largest, Tarsonis, was founded by a powerful yet increasingly oppressive government called the Confederacy.
Spurred by the terrible acts of this government, Arcturus Mengsk formed the Sons of Korhal. This rebel army fought to overthrow the Confederacy and liberate the Koprulu Sector.
Even as Mengsk and his resistance fighters fought to overthrow the corrupt Confederacy, a much greater threat confronted the Terrans.
Without warning, massive alien warships appeared and surrounded the Confederate planet of Chau Sara. Calling themselves the Protoss, the aliens incinerated the planet’s surface and then mysteriously withdrew.
The planet had been infested by another type of alien: the Zerg. These monstrous creatures threatened to overwhelm Terran space, and the Protoss sought to eradicate them before they spread.
The Zerg had already reached the neighboring planet, Mara Sara, and Marshal Jim Raynor fought to save the terrified colonists as the Confederate government abandoned them to the alien menace.
The Sons of Korhal intervened, saving thousands of lives from the rampaging Zerg and enigmatic Protoss. Disgusted by the Confederacy, Raynor joined the rebels and met Sarah Kerrigan.
Kerrigan was a former Confederate Ghost operative, and she shared Raynor’s desire for a liberated Koprulu Sector. They grew close as the battle with the Confederacy escalated.
But Mengsk went too far in his hatred and ambition. He ordered devices placed on the Confederate capital world of Tarsonis to lure the Zerg and annihilate the population.
The Protoss, led by Executor Tassadar, decided to help the Terrans defeat the Zerg instead of purging the planet of life. Mengsk sent Kerrigan to stop Tassadar’s interference.
With Kerrigan battling the Protoss, the Zerg overwhelmed Tarsonis and decimated the population. Having achieved his goals, Mengsk left the planet and abandoned Kerrigan to the aliens.
Sickened by Mengsk’s treachery, Raynor quit the Sons of Korhal. He raced to the planet’s surface to save Kerrigan, but was too late: No trace of her remained.
Having destroyed the Confederacy, Mensgk crownd himself Emperor of the newly formed Terran Dominion; A government that would prove to be just as corrupt as its predecessor.
Raynor mourned the loss of Kerrigan and vowed revenge. Unbeknownst to him, however, the Zerg hadn’t killed Kerrigan. Instead, they took her to the volcanic planet of Char.
On Char, Kerrigan was transformed into the alien Queen of Blades. She became a being of immense psionic power, loyal to the Overmind, ruler of the Zerg Swarm.
Separate from Tassadar’s forces, another Protoss faction emerged from the shadows. Zeratul and his Dark Templar sought to end the Zerg expansion through stealth and the power of the Void.
The two Protoss forces joined together against the Swarm, but the Overmind was able to discover their secret homeworld of Aiur. The Zerg quickly invaded, and the Overmind embedded itself in the planet’s surface.
Zeratul taught Tassadar how to combine his powers with those of the Void. Tassadar fused those energies into his ship, and crashed into the gargantuan Overmind, destroying it utterly.
Despite Tassadar’s sacrifice, the Protoss on Aiur were forced to seek refuge on the Dark Templar homeworld of Shakuras. With the Overmind destroyed, Kerrigan assumed control of the Zerg.
Raynor began a resistance movement against the oppressive Dominion, in relatliation, Mengsk deployed his greatest weapon – propaganda – to marginalize Raynor’s efforts and paint him as a terrorist.
It is now four years later. Kerrigan and the Zerg have remained ominously silent. Meanwhile, the Dominion has grown in power and extended its influence throughout the Koprulu Sector.
Raynor and his forced, plagued by low morale and a lack of resources, continue their struggle against the Dominion. Victory against Mengsk, however, seems more distant than ever…
ps: StarCraft II officially launched worldwide today.
1 year ago