StarCraft Episode III
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StarCraft Episode III is part of the StarCraft storyline -- the history of the fictional universe of StarCraft. StarCraft is a real-time strategy computer game released by Blizzard Entertainment in 1998.
The StarCraft science fiction universe features three races: the renegade human Terrans, the noble cybernetic warrior Protoss, and the horrific bug-like Zerg. The storyline covers the fortunes of these three races and their leaders, fighting for dominance in a remote region of the galaxy.
StarCraft Episode III begins with the invasion of Aiur.
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[edit] The Fall
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Two days after the Zerg Overmind landed on Aiur, the Protoss were marshalling their defenses.
As Tassadar, the previous Executor, had disappeared, a new one was appointed by the Protoss Conclave to take his place. Aldaris, the former adviser to Tassadar had returned to Aiur and was presently acting as adviser to the new Executor, due to his experiences with the Zerg.
Antioch was an important Protoss city; it was strategically vital in the battle against the Zerg. When the Overmind nested itself on Aiur, it launched Zerg troops to the edges of the planet. Despite the Protoss victory at the First Battle of Antioch, it was one of the first cities to fall.
[edit] First Battle of Antioch
Aldaris ordered the new Executor to defend Antioch and fortify the troops there. Praetor Fenix offered his assistance. A small Protoss strike force, commanded by the new Executor, quickly landed near Antioch, and arrived at the city without delay.
It was discovered that there was a Zerg Hive cluster near Antioch, and this was cutting off troops that had to get to Antioch. Fenix was called on to take it down, and after a while of relative calm, with periodic assaults from the Zerg, the Hive cluster was destroyed. This greatly fortified the position of Antioch, as troops were able to be transported to and from the city.
[edit] A New Strategy
The following night, Aldaris, Fenix, and the newly appointed Executor held a discussion, and Aldaris congratulated both Fenix and the Executor on their success in Antioch. He also mentioned that Tassadar's desertion from the Protoss had shaken his faith in the Templar Caste. Suddenly, however, Tassadar joins the discussion psionically, and says that Aldaris should always have had faith.
Aldaris did not know where Tassadar had disappeared to. Tassadar therefore informed him that when the Zerg left Tarsonis, the Conclave ordered Tassadar to return to Aiur. However, Tassadar soon felt a powerful psionic call from Char and was compelled to depart for it. He dared to venture to Char, and discovered that other Protoss had felt the power too - it was the Dark Templar.
Aldaris was enraged at this fact, but Tassadar retained his calm. Silencing Aldaris, he claimed that he had learned from the Dark Templar Prelate, Zeratul. He claimed that the Zerg Overmind controlled its forces using powerful psionic powers directed through Cerebrates, which were giant versions of the Zerg Larvae. He said that if the Cerebrates were slain, the Zerg would crumble. However, Aldaris did not believe this and demanded that Tassadar return. He refused.
Fenix, however, thought that the plan could work, and decided to try it out. While the Executor made a dent in the Zerg's defences, he would gather up his forces and attempt to destroy the Cerebrate. The plan was executed the next day, and it appeared to have worked. Fenix watched from a distance away as the Zerg became disconcerted. However, the slain Cerebrate was reincarnated in front of their very eyes.
[edit] Second Battle of Antioch
Despite the reincarnation of the Cerebrate and the remaining threat it posed to Antioch, the new Executor was ordered to defend Scion, another province overrun with the Zerg. Fenix and a small detachment were left in Antioch to safeguard it from further assaults. A while later, the Executor attacked the Zerg settlements on Scion, eliminating all Zerg in the area. While Scion was rescued, Antioch was attacked by immense numbers of Zerg forces.
After the First Battle of Antioch, the Second Battle was more than a disappointment to the Protoss. A strike from the Zerg left a strategically important position undefended. When Fenix called Aldaris for backup, Aldaris told him to hold out as long as he could. However, his psi-blades shorted out, and was attacked by Hydralisks. The Protoss believed that their Praetor Fenix had fallen.
[edit] The Search for Heretics
Despite their loss Second Battle of Antioch, the Conclave was still certain that they were winning the war against the Zerg. They now focused their efforts on arresting Tassadar. Since Aldaris knew he was on Char, he went with the new Executor. The Conclave believed that Tassadar had sided with the Dark Templar, and wanted to bring him back to Aiur to stand trial.
Eventually they sensed Tassadar on a space platform above Char. The small fleet fought small Zerg forces as it tried to clear a path to Tassadar, telling Aldaris that the Zerg were already on Char. They found Tassadar with a Terran by the name of Jim Raynor. Tassadar was truly glad to see Aldaris until he found out he was being arrested. Raynor, being in a similar position before, backed up Tassadar, and a verbal argument led to Tassadar convincing the new Executor to join him in search of the Dark Templar on his word that once Aiur was saved, he would gladly present himself to the judgment of the Conclave.
When Tassadar was trying to escape from the platform, Zerg appeared and attempted to stop him from leaving the platform. With Raynor's help, he was able to successfully make it out.
However, the Alpha Squadron, with Edmund Duke, was trying to occupy Char, and confronted the Protoss, declaring that them being on Char was a "violation of Terran airspace." This frustrated Tassadar to the point that he declared that his lenience towards Duke had been in error, and that he would "burn the pathetic fleet down to the last man." Duke ordered an attack, which was easily repelled.
After a long battle, Tassadar and two Zealots managed to make it to the entrance of the installation. Raynor told Tassadar to be careful, since Kerrigan was leading the Zerg in the installation. Tassadar said that he would not hesitate to attack her if she proved to be a threat, regardless of Raynor's feelings for her. Tassadar claimed that he was ready to rescue the Dark Templar at all costs.
There were a number of still-living Terrans in the installation. However, they did not attempt to attack the Protoss, but instead they joined forces. The odd alliance fought the Zerg inside the installation, and approached the Dark Templar. As they approached, however, a powerful wave of Zerg attacked them. Tassadar survived the fight, and approached the Dark Templar.
After a brief exchange of words, the Dark Templar agreed to come with Tassadar. The Terrans outside the installation were causing problems for the Protoss, so they destroyed the outpost.
[edit] Return to Aiur
Tassadar took his small army to Aiur, where word had travelled of his "treason". Fenix, once thought dead, was marshalling Templar Caste warriors to aid Tassadar. When Tassadar arrived, he was sad to see what happened to Fenix, who now inhabited the cold robotic shell of a Protoss Dragoon.
"Nonsense! There is no shame in defeat, so long as the spirit is unconquered..." - Fenix (Dragoon) to Tassadar
The Protoss Conclave was opposed to Tassadar's plans, which Tassadar believed could save Aiur from the Zerg. As a result, Tassadar ordered an attack on the Heart of the Conclave itself, which was defended by Vanguard of Aiur troops from the Ara and Auriga Tribes, to defend the Dark Templar from their own people. Zeratul and his Dark Templar joined in the attack and were instrumental in the destruction of the Conclave's headquarters.
But facing the ongoing sight of his brethren slaughtering each other in battle, Tassadar finally appealed to the Executor and Aldaris to stop this madness and surrendered to the Conclave. A force of Arbiters, led by Aldaris, appeared from an unsuspected direction and took Tassadar prisoner. The Judicator Caste prepared Tassadar for a trial for treason.
In the aftermath, the Dark Templar vanished. Raynor, Fenix, the Executor and Tassadar's followers managed to escape the Conclave's agents. Fenix believed it was wrong for Tassadar to have put any faith in them. However, he felt they now had to rescue Tassadar at all cost, as the trial wouldn't be fair. Jim Raynor joined Fenix, saying that Tassadar risked himself to save him, and he owed Tassadar a favor.
Controlling his battlecruiser, the Hyperion, Jim Raynor assisted the Protoss. However, more bad news awaited Fenix and the Executor. The Vanguard of Aiur troops consisted of soldiers of the Furinax Tribe, a member of the Khalai Caste which includes the majority of the Protoss of Aiur.
Nonetheless Fenix lead the assault. Raynor and Fenix's forces found Tassadar imprisoned in a Stasis Cell on a well-defended island. However, the Templar Caste had superior leadership, and Fenix and Raynor fought their way to the cell and destroyed it, freeing Tassadar.
Tassadar had little time to thank his rescuers when Aldaris and his Arbiters appeared, ambushing the Templar warriors. However, they were in turn counter-ambushed by Zeratul and his Dark Templar who had arrived in support of Tassadar.
"Stay thy hand, Judicator! The stewards of Tassadar shall not fall while the Dark Templar live. Call off your guards, and stand aside, and you may yet live to see another moonrise..." - Zeratul to Aldaris
Aldaris threatened Zeratul as well, but after a trade of insults Aldaris retreated and allowed Tassadar and the others to escape.
[edit] Assault on the Overmind
Zeratul and Tassadar discussed their plans with Fenix and the Executor. When Zeratul slew Zasz, he made mental contact with the Zerg Overmind. When the Overmind read Zeratul's mind, Zeratul read the Overmind as well. He discovered that the Overmind was created by the Xel'Naga, the same race which empowered the Protoss in their infancy, but the Overmind grew beyond their constraints, and now sought to assimilate all life in the universe.
Zeratul planned on "thinning the herd" of Zerg defending the Overmind by assassinating two Cerebrates, driving their Broods into disarray and temporarily disabling the Overmind. Fenix would attack the primary Hive Clusters, creating a diversion and thinning out the Zerg ranks for Zeratul and his companions to infiltrate the Hives and assassinate the Cerebrates.
Fenix's forces had acquired a small number of Arbiters, crewed by Judicators after the defeat of the Protoss Conclave. The Zerg put up a fierce fight, but in the end the two Cerebrates lay dead, slain by the Dark Templar Zeratul and could not be reincarnated. One of these Cerebrates, Gorn of the Baelrog Brood, had been attacked by Fenix previously.
Now that the path to the Overmind lay open, Tassadar rallied his forces. Jim Raynor and his Raynor's Raiders vowed to assist. The Judicators witnessed the successful elimination of the Cerebrates and the disarray of the Broods, and so Aldaris apologized to Tassadar. While this came too late to assist Tassadar, it meant the Judicators would not interfere with Tassadar's quest.
The Overmind was protected by two Broods, but neither of those Cerebrates were present on the battlefield. The Protoss and Terran forces maintained separate, but nearby military bases, with Tassadar commanding from his Carrier, the Ganthrithor, and Jim Raynor from the Hyperion. Aided by Raynor's Raiders, the Protoss launched a full scale offensive against the Zerg. Together they carved a path to the Overmind. However, in their initial assault on the Overmind, the Protoss and Raynor were only able to destroy the creature's outer shell when tragedy struck.
The Ganthrithor had become critically damaged by Mutalisks in the battle and was falling apart near the Overmind while the Terran and Protoss forces had already suffered significant casualties. Worse, the Overmind had realized the danger it was in and opened a huge rift into warp space above itself, trying to escape. The Zerg fought a fierce delaying action around the Overmind, trying to protect it long enough to warp away. Time running out and faced with the imminent arrival of hordes of Zerg reinforcements, Tassadar saw only one way of ending this battle - he steered the Ganthritor on a collision course with the Overmind and concentrated all of his psionic energies on the hull of the ship, destroying it and sacrificing himself while transforming into a pulse of destructive Dark Templar energy. This wave crashed into the Overmind, killing it in a giant energy explosion.
But the threat did not die with the Overmind, for another took this opportunity to come to power among the Zerg...
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