StarCraft Episode I
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StarCraft Episode 1 is part of the StarCraft storyline -- the history of the in 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 I starts in early December, 2499 and is entitled "Rebel Yell". It covers the actions of the Terrans of Mar Sara after the fall of the colony Chau Sara. Note: More time passes in between missions than shown in cinematics (for example, Raynor and Kerrigan were said to have been more missions together than shown, before New Gettysburg).
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[edit] The Infestation of Mar Sara
The technologically advanced alien fleet which had attacked Chau Sara now moved toward Mar Sara.
The Terran Confederacy staged a desperate and clumsy counterattack in order to protect Mar Sara. The alien leader introduced himself as "High Templar and Executor Tassadar" of the Protoss fleet and simply withdrew. This information may have been kept secret from the general Terran Confederacy population.
[edit] A New Magistrate
In the midst of the crisis which befell Chau Sara, a new Colonial Magistrate was named for Mar Sara, Chau Sara's sister planet, on December 12th, 2499. It emerged quickly afterwards that Mar Sara had fallen under attack by another intelligent alien species, different from the ones who attacked Chau Sara. The Magistrate was ordered by Confederate High Command to relocate core facilities and colony personnel to "concentration points" out in the wastelands of Mar Sara. A small group of colonial militia were sent to seek out a local Colonial Marshall named Jim Raynor to help relocate the colonists. After the relocation, the Colonial Magistrate received news from Backwater Station, a Confederate outpost that has been besieged by the Zerg. Alpha Squadron General Edmund Duke told the Magistrate not to interfere, as he would send help, but Raynor, who held a deep contempt for the Confederates, believed Duke would take too long. Raynor volunteered to lead colonial troops to rescue the station, and in the process destroyed an infested Confederate Command Center. As a result of interfering and destroying the installation, Raynor and his militia were arrested by an unsympathetic General Duke, but the magistrate was named the new magistrate of Korhal.
[edit] Desperate Alliance
General Duke had no patience for the Colonial Magistrate's protests over his treatment of Raynor. The Magistrate had a report on Confederate tactics made for him. According to the report, most of the Confederate outposts had been destroyed by the Zerg, while the Confederates refused to openly face the alien menace and even arrested most of the militias who had dared to face the Zerg. Because of the Confederates' seemingly cowardly lack of action, the core city and spaceport on Mar Sara was left virtually undefended and with the Zerg converging from all sides the remaining citizens were unlikely to cope with the threat for long. The only military group actually willing to face the Zerg in the open were the Sons of Korhal.
Arcturus Mengsk struck a deal with the Magistrate; he would evacuate the residents of the core city in exchange for the Magistrate's cooperation. Meanwhile, the Confederates showed no interest in saving the civilians on Mar Sara, instead beginning to evacuate all Confederate "assets" from the planet. Left with little choice, the Magistrate accepted Mengsk's help. The remaining colonial militia was able to hold the capital city from the Zerg long enough for the Sons of Korhal to arrive and rescue the colonists.
[edit] Information Gathering
With the evacuation of the colonists underway, both the Confederates and the Sons of Korhal were planning to withdraw from the planet. The Colonial Magistrate was suspended, pending an investigation into his connections with the Sons of Korhal. Now in danger from the Confederates, the Magistrate teamed up with the Sons of Korhal.
During the chaos of the Confederate evacuation, a squad of Sons of Korhal troops were able to infiltrate and free Raynor and the incarcerated colonial militia from an orbiting prison ship. Mengsk wanted Raynor's and the former Magistrate's assistance in raiding primary Confederate installation on Mar Sara for any information or technology they could find. The Jacobs Installation was under the control of Alpha Squadron, but its defences were minimal due to the evacuation. Raynor led the Sons of Korhal team inside where they downloaded encrypted disks containing critical data. However, during the mission Raynor's squad encountered Zerg captured and under observation by the Confederates. Raynor was very surprised, but Mengsk replied by stating this was not the first time he had witnessed the Confederacy experimenting with Zerg, presenting a possible theory that the Zerg were actually being bred by the Confederates. With the data disks in hand, the Sons of Korhal team quickly exitted from the installation and rejoined the flagship Hyperion.
[edit] The Flight to Antiga Prime
With as many colonists as possible to rescue, the Sons of Korhal escaped Mar Sara and withdrew to a secret staging area on the second moon of Antiga Prime to analyse the data disks. Thirteen hours after the Sons of Korhal left Mar Sara, Tassadar's expeditionary fleet took up position over the planet and proceeded to burn the surface away. All life on the surface was extinguished.
At the staging area, Jim Raynor and the former Magistrate were given positions as Commanders in the cabinet of the Sons of Korhal, both reporting directly to Mengsk. Mengsk himself believed that their efforts had weakened the Confederacy in the fringe worlds, and was planning the revolution of the Antiga colony with his second in command, Lieutenant Sarah Kerrigan. The Confederacy seemed to be aware of this revolution, and sent General Duke's Alpha Squadron to deal with any insurgencies.
Kerrigan proceeded to the primary Confederate outpost ahead of the main force to scout out the area. Soon after, a small combat group under Raynor was inserted to support Kerrigan's infiltration into the outpost. Upon entering the Confederate Command Center, Kerrigan proceeded to assassinate the Confederate Magistrate, sparking the revolution. However, Alpha Squadron began to move onto the outpost, whose militia forces had turned on the Confederate guards and slaughtered them. With the assistance of the Antigans, the Sons of Korhal were able to repel the attack and destroy the major Alpha Squadron staging ground on Antiga.
[edit] Seizing an Opportunity
Later, in high orbit above Antiga Prime, the Norad II, flagship of General Edmund Duke caught in a battle with Zerg airborne forces and forced to crashland Antiga. The Zerg's presence was unknown until this, as on other planets their arrival was slow and unnoticed. Duke made an uncoded priority one distress call, asking for immediate backup as the Norad II was coming under heavy attack from Zerg ground forces. Raynor, quite happy at this turn of events, was prepared to leave Duke to his death, but Mengsk ordered him to move in and rescue the ship and a nearby Alpha Squadron outpost, a decision that caused protest from other members of the cabinet but was reluctantly followed.
In order to rescue the Norad II, Raynor's forces had to team up with the Alpha Squadron outpost to fight through the Zerg to the crash site. The Alpha Squadron troops did not object and were successful in breaking a hole through to the Norad II. Mengsk offered the General an ultimatum: take a position in the Sons of Korhal cabinet against the Confederacy to save Humanity from the Zerg, or return to the Confederacy to lose and die. Duke reluctantly agreed, albeit over protests from Raynor, claiming that the General could not be trusted.
[edit] The Psi Emitter
Duke presumably helped Mengsk to decrypt the data disk his men had stolen on Mar Sara - it contained the information necessary to create a psi-emitter. This device could amplify the psionic energy produced by a psychic Terran and attract the Zerg to it. With this information Mengsk made an amazing discovery: the Zerg were lured in by the Confederacy. The psi-emitter lured them into disclosed areas and used the invaders against its enemies. Mengsk stated that nobody would expect the Confederates to have drawn the aliens and thus would be hailed as heroes for defeating them, adding in that the destruction of Chau Sara and Mar Sara were the results of a Confederate-controlled Zerg weapons test.
With the defection of Alpha Squadron, an enormous loss to the Confederacy, The Confederacy sent a massive force from Delta Squadron to destroy the Sons of Korhal. Due to recent losses, the combined Sons of Korhal and Alpha Squadron could not hope to defeat them in open battle, and could not escape the planetary blockade. Instead, Mengsk resorted to trickery; he ordered Sarah Kerrigan to infiltrate the main Delta Squadron base and activate the psi-emitter in there. Shortly after the activation, a myriad of Zerg flooded the area, destroying the Confederate base and armies.
A hidden mission on the StarCraft game CD occurs after these events.
The Sons of Korhal proceeded to evacuate as many colonists as possible and depart the planet, as once again the Protoss fleet arrived to eradicate the infestation by destroying the planet.
[edit] Downfall of the Confederacy
Arcturus Mengsk called a meeting to order aboard his battlecruiser, the Hyperion. The time for the final strike on the Confederates had now come, but Tarsonis, the capital world, was heavily defended.
Having defended Tarsonis in over thirty major battles, General Edmund Duke knew its defenses inside and out. There were three major orbital platforms that served as staging areas for the Confederate fleet. By striking the central platform, the Sons of Korhal could allow a small force to slip through to Tarsonis itself. The platforms were defended by Delta Squadron and Omega Squadron, which Duke claimed were no match for his Alpha Squadron.
Duke helped the Sons of Korhal lay siege to the platforms above the Confederate homeworld of Tarsonis, defeating the forces at the installations. Duke then announced that they had planted a psi-emitter, which was kept secret until the last minute from Kerrigan and Raynor. The Zerg were attracted to the planet and razed all Confederate installations along the surface.
A hidden mission occurs at this time.
[edit] Unconventional Tactics
The Protoss followed the Sons of Korhal with a fleet of several dozen warships, landing on the New Gettysberg space platform next to the primary Zerg Hive Cluster.
Arcturus Mengsk gave unexpected orders: if the Protoss engaged the Zerg, the Confederates may escape. Kerrigan was ordered to take a strike force to engage the Protoss, while Jim Raynor and General Duke would remain on the command ship. Raynor was angered - not only had the Zerg devastated the planet, killing most of its people, but now Kerrigan was being sent to the space platform without any backup. Lt. Kerrigan said that she couldn't back out now, and that Mengsk knew what he was doing, but Raynor wondered if she's about to become a martyr.
Raynor contacted Kerrigan with his objections as she had reached the platform - he knew that she was involved with experiments with Zerg and that Mengsk rescued her - but Kerrigan said that she's a Ghost, and could tell that the Protoss were here to wipe out everyone on the planet, not just the Zerg. While successful in her task, Kerrigan also questioned Mengsk's morals and strategy, but said she believed he would come around.
After Kerrigan finally defeated the Protoss on the platform, the Zerg attacked, overwhelming her forces. She called for backup, but Mengsk ordered a retreat from Tarsonis, abandoning her. Raynor was outraged.
As the Sons of Korhal left, breaking contact with the ground forces, Protoss and Zerg forces battled across the core continent of Tarsonis.
[edit] Trivia
New Gettysberg is the name of a city on Tarsonis and is featured in Operation Silent Scream, a disabled mission. It is not known if both the city and station bore the name, or if Blizzard liked the name enough to "rescue" it after Operation Silent Scream was removed.
[edit] A Matter of Idealism
An angry Jim Raynor told the commander that he was leaving the Sons of Korhal, and the commander should come with him. Arcturus Mengsk contacted them, claiming that they had still got a job to do, and that they had sown the seeds of a new Empire. Raynor cut him off, however.
Mengsk said it would be a mistake to cross him, as he had sacrificed too much to let this fall apart. "You mean like you sacrificed Kerrigan?" retorted Raynor. Mengsk began to rave: "I will not be stopped. Not by you, or the Confederates, or the Protoss or anyone! I will rule this sector or see it burnt to ashes around me." Raynor, unimpressed, cut off communication with Mengsk again.
General Duke had taken a position on a space platform over Tarsonis and had reactivated the Ion Cannon, a powerful Confederate weapon. Any attempt by Raynor to escape had to take place after the Ion Cannon was shut down.
Jim Raynor made an inspirational speech to his troops. He had to take on Alpha Squadron and the Sons of Korhal Elite Guard, which attacked him with a wide variety of forces. The Ion Cannon was on a nearby platform, but could only be reached by space transports. Raynor couldn't defeat them, but he was able to cut a path to the Ion Cannon and destroy it, allowing him and his followers to escape into space.
[edit] The Coronation
In the aftermath of his victory over the Terran Confederacy (and his defeat by Raynor), Arcturus Mengsk united the Terran factions once under the control of the Confederacy, and formed the Terran Dominion, crowning himself "Emperor". Moria, Umoja, and essentially all other legal Terran organizations joined the Dominion as well.
His inaugural address is delivered during the ending video.
| The previous article in this series is StarCraft Prequel. |  |
| The next article in this series is StarCraft Episode II. |  |
