StarCraft

StarCraft is a military science fiction media franchise developed by Blizzard Entertainment. The series primarily consists of real-time strategy video games, several spin-off titles and a number of novels, short stories and graphic novels. Set in a distant part of the galaxy in early 26^th century, the series focuses on three species fighting for survival and domination: the enigmatic Protoss, the insectoid Zerg and the adaptable Terrans.

StarCraft (1998)

Arcturus Mengsk: Good day, magistrate. My name is Arcturus Mengsk, and I represent the Sons of Korhal. You're familiar with the Confederate propaganda surrounding my group, but your reputation suggests you'll see past it. It's never been our practice to operate in any one place for long, but these Zerg don't look like they're going to wait. I'm going to make you an offer, magistrate. I'd like to help you out by sending down a number of transports to your colony and evacuating any survivors. You know, of course, that my organization operates outside the bounds of Confederate law. That's why they spread their lies and misinformation. If you decide to accept our help, you'll be branded as an outlaw too. But, it's a chance to save those people. Time to make a stand, magistrate.

Sarah Kerrigan: I'm having doubts about this, Arcturus. I just don't think anyone deserves to have the zerg unleashed on them.

Arcturus Mengsk: I know you have personal feelings about this. But you can't let your past cloud your judgement. Carry out your orders, Lieutenant.

Sarah Kerrigan: Yes, sir.

Sarah Kerrigan: Psi Emitter in place. Just promise me we'll never do anything like this again.

Arcturus Mengsk: We will do whatever it takes to save humanity. Our responsibility is too great to do anything less.

Jim Raynor: Why are you doing this, Kerrigan? Look, I know about your past, I mean I've heard the rumors. I know you were part of those experiments with the Zerg, that Mengsk came and saved you. But you don't owe him this. Hell... I've saved your butt plenty of times.

Sarah Kerrigan: Jimmy, drop the knight in shining armor routine. It suits you sometimes, just... not now. I don't need to be rescued. I know what I'm doing. The Protoss are coming to destroy the entire planet, not just the Zerg. I know that because... well, I just know it. I am a ghost, remember? Once we dealt with the Protoss, we can do something about the Zerg. Arcturus'll come around. I know he will.

Jim Raynor: I hope you're right, darling. Good huntin'!

Arcturus Mengsk: Gentlemen, you've done very well, but remember that we've still got a job to do. The seeds of a new Empire have been sown, and if we hope to reap—

Jim Raynor: Ah, to hell with you!

Arcturus Mengsk: You're making a terrible mistake. Don't even think to cross me! I've sacrificed too much to let this fall apart.

Jim Raynor: You mean like you sacrificed Kerrigan?

Arcturus Mengsk: You'll regret that. You don't seem to realize my situation here. 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! If you try to get in my way—

Adjutant: The fleet is prepped and ready, commander. Awaiting orders.

Jim Raynor: The hell with him. We're gone.

Arcturus Mengsk: Fellow Terrans, I come to you in the wake of recent events to issue a call to reason. Let no human deny the perils of our time. While we battle one another, divided by the petty strife of our common history, the tide of a greater conflict is turning against us, threatening to destroy all that we have accomplished. It is time for us as nations and as individuals to set aside our long-standing feuds and unite. The tides of an unwinnable war are upon us, and we must seek refuge upon higher ground, lest we be swept away by the flood.

The Confederacy is no more! Whatever semblance of unity and protection it once provided is a phantom, a memory. With our enemies left unchecked, who will you turn to for protection? The devastation wrought by the alien invaders is self-evident. We have seen our homes and communities destroyed by the calculated blows of the Protoss. We have seen first hand our friends and loved ones consumed by the nightmarish Zerg. Unprecedented and unimaginable though they may be, these are the signs of our time.

The time has come, my fellow Terrans, to rally to a new banner. In unity lies strength; already many of the dissident factions have joined us. Out of the many we shall forge an indivisible whole capitulating only to a single throne, and from that throne I shall watch over you. From this day forward let no human make war upon any other human, let no Terran agency conspire against this new beginning, and let no man consort with alien powers, and to all the enemies of humanity: seek not to bar our way, for we shall win through, no matter the cost!

The Overmind: Awaken, my child, and embrace the glory that is your birthright. Know that I am the Overmind, the eternal will of the Swarm, and that you have been created to serve me.

The Overmind: Arise, my daughter. Arise... Kerrigan.

Sarah Kerrigan: By your will, father, I live to serve. Let all those who oppose the Overmind feel the wrath of the Swarm!

The Overmind: Well done, cerebrate! What I have wrought this day shall be the undoing of my enemies. Let not a Terran survive!

Jim Raynor: Mother of God... Kerrigan, what have they done to you? Sarah, is that really you?

Sarah Kerrigan: To an extent. I'm far more than I once was, Jim. You shouldn't have come here.

Jim Raynor: But, the dreams. I dreamed you were still alive, that somehow, you were... calling to me...

Sarah Kerrigan: I was. While I was in the chrysalis, I instinctively reached out to you and Arcturus telepathically. Apparently, Arcturus sent Duke here to reclaim me. But that was then, Jim. I am one of the Zerg now, and I like what I am. You can't imagine how this feels.

Jim Raynor: So? What? Are you goin' to kill me now, darlin'?

Sarah Kerrigan: It is certainly within my power, but you're not a threat to me, Jim. Be smart; leave here now and never seek to confront the Zerg again.

Jim Raynor: Doesn't look like I have much choice.

The Overmind: Now shall the events set into motion so long ago be made complete. For the Protoss, too, were created by the Xel'Naga. They were the first creation, gifted with a purity of form. And we were the second creation, blessed with a purity of essence. Indeed, our two species are but opposite facets of a greater whole. Soon shall our two races be made as one. Thenceforth shall all feel the wrath of the eternal Swarm... For the hour of judgement is come!

Aldaris: Ah, Tassadar, have you fallen so far? To think that you were our brightest hope; our most beloved son. Now you are everything that we are not. You are lost to us. Not only have you damned yourself, but you have damned those who have followed you!

Tassadar: My friends, this is our final hour. Not all of us may survive the coming conflict. Yet, death may be a blessing should we fail here. We seek now to destroy a foe that has ravaged its way across the universe consuming all in its path. And now it has reached the end of its long journey. The Overmind has come to destroy all that we hold dear and assimilate us into itself. And I say to thee, this shall not come to pass! Aiur shall not fall! Executor, I stand ready!

Zeratul: As do I.

Jim Raynor: Well, I guess all I have left is to see this through. The Zerg have taken everything from me: my home, my family, my friends. I know that nothing I do can bring those things back, but I'll be damned if I just sit on my hands and wait for the end. I want a piece of 'em, all right. I'm in.

Aldaris: Executor, Tassadar... This comes too late to you, but the conclave has witnessed your defeat of the cerebrate. They know now that they cannot deny the necessity or the valiancy of your actions. We sought to punish you, while it was we who were in error. You represent what is greatest in us all, and all our hopes go with you. En Taro Adun, brave sons of Aiur!

Jim Raynor: Wow. Does that mean they're gonna send some backup for us?

StarCraft: Brood War (1998)

Alexei Stukov: So, Gerard... I suspect you have a good reason for pulling me away from my...duties.

Gerard DuGalle: Your vodka can wait, my good Alexei. Come, stand here. You need to see this.

Alexei Stukov: I know all about the Zerg, Gerard. We've all seen the tapes a hundred-

Gerard DuGalle: [grasps Stukov's shoulder, knocking the cigar out of his mouth] You've seen nothing! Dissecting a dead Zerg in a lab is one thing; unleashing them on men is another! You must go into this with both eyes open. Once started, there is no going back. [stomps Stukov's cigar out] Are you prepared to go all the way with this, Alexei?

Alexei Stukov: [looks down, then pulls a fresh cigar out of his coat] Yes... yes, I am prepared to go all the way, my good admiral.

Gerard DuGalle: Good... good, I knew I could count on you.

Malmsteen: [over intercom] Admiral, the colonists' base will be overrun in a matter of minutes. Shall we intervene?

Gerard DuGalle: Take us into orbit, Mr. Malmsteen. We've seen enough.

Aldaris: You believe me to be a traitor, but it is you and the matriarch who will usher our race to oblivion!

Zeratul: It is finished, Judicator. Surrender your remaining forces, and join us in eradicating the Zerg.

Aldaris: I would sooner die, dark one, than tarnish the memory of Aiur by joining with you!

Edmund Duke: Well now, I don't know which militia you all are from, but I advise you all to back down now! I'm General Edmund Duke of the Dominion Armada. And in the name of Emperor Mengsk, I order you to surrender your forces immediately and unconditionally.

Alexei Stukov: Ah, General Duke. I had expected your forces to arrive sooner. You must know that we do not represent one of your rag-tag peasant militias, but the combined might of the United Earth Directorate.

Edmund Duke: Earth Directorate!? Er... You mean to tell me that you came all the way out here from Earth?

Alexei Stukov: That is correct, General. We have been sent here to take control of this sector for the betterment of mankind.

Edmund Duke: Over my dead body... I don't care where you're from, son, no one pushes around the Terran Dominion on my watch! All units, fire at will!

Samir Duran: Uh, excuse me, Admiral... but I'd like to introduce someone to you.

Gerard DuGalle: Duran! You son of a bitch, what's the meaning of this?!

Sarah Kerrigan: Admiral DuGalle, I've heard a lot about you.

Gerard DuGalle: Who the... what the hell are you?

Sarah Kerrigan: I am Kerrigan. The Zerg you have killed here, and the Overmind which you've come to collect, are mine. As is our mutual friend Lieutenant Duran. You see, Admiral, there are several groups in this sector who feel your presence here causes certain... complications. I am here to make sure your reign is short-lived.

Gerard DuGalle: You may find that difficult, you abomination, seeing as how I have the means to disrupt your control of the Zerg.

Sarah Kerrigan: Ah yes, you're referring to your vaunted psi disruptor. It won't last you forever. Sooner or later, I'll destroy it. Then I'll show you what the Zerg are really capable of. Oh, and by the way, Admiral, your friend Stukov was twice the man you are. I'm glad you saved me the trouble of killing him.

Edmund Duke: Do your worst, then, girl. You ain't takin' Edmund Duke without a fight.

[after Kerrigan kills Duke]

Arcturus Mengsk: Kerrigan, you murdering bitch! We had a deal.

Sarah Kerrigan: Oh, come on, Arcturus. Did you really think that I would allow you to come into power again? You practically fed me to the Zerg on Tarsonis, you're directly responsible for the hell I've been through. Did you honestly think that I would let you get away with that?

Arcturus Mengsk: But you said revenge was secondary to defeating the UED!

Sarah Kerrigan: I lied. I liberated this planet because it was the UED's primary staging point, not because I was under any obligation to you. I used you to destroy the psi disrupter and now that I've got my broods back, you're no longer necessary for my plans. I think I'll leave you here, Arcturus, among the ashes of your precious Dominion. I want you to live to see me rise to power and I want you to always remember, in your most private moments, that it was you who let me loose in the first place.

Fenix: This is a betrayal most foul, Kerrigan. We were fools to have gone along with this charade!

Sarah Kerrigan: You're right, Fenix. I used you to get the job done, and you played along just like I knew you would. You Protoss are all so headstrong and predictable. You are your own worst enemies.

Fenix: That's ironic. I can remember Tassadar teaching you a very similar lesson on Char.

Sarah Kerrigan: I took that lesson to heart, Praetor. Now, are you prepared to die a second time?

Fenix: The Khala awaits me, Kerrigan, and though I am prepared to face my destiny, you will not find me easy prey.

Sarah Kerrigan: Then that shall be your epitaph.

[Fenix is killed]

Jim Raynor: Fenix! No!

Sarah Kerrigan: What are you worried about, Jim? He died the way all Protoss hope to: in combat!

Jim Raynor: He died because you betrayed him! How many more noble souls do you need to consume before you're satisfied?! How many more innocent people have to die before you realize what you've become?!

Sarah Kerrigan: You don't even know what you're talking about, Jim.

Jim Raynor: Don't I? I'll see you dead for this, Kerrigan! For Fenix, and all the others who got caught between you and your mad quest for power!

Sarah Kerrigan: Tough talk, Jimmy, but I don't think you have what it takes to be a killer.

Jim Raynor: It may not be tomorrow, darlin', it may not even happen with an army at my back. But rest assured: I'm the man who's gonna kill you one day! I'll be seeing you!

Kerrigan: It is done, Cerebrate. They've all been destroyed. Let us return to Tarsonis to rest. For the first time since my transfiguration I am... wearied of the slaughter.

Sarah Kerrigan: I can hardly believe this! You've killed your own matriarch!

Zeratul: Better that I killed her than let her live as your slave, Kerrigan.

Sarah Kerrigan Well, I have misjudged you, warrior. You are worthy indeed. You are free to go.

Zeratul: What?

Sarah Kerrigan: I said you are free to go. I've already taken your honor. I'll let you live because I know that from now on your every waking moment will be torture. You'll never be able to forgive yourself for what I've forced you to do. And that, Zeratul, is a better revenge than I could have ever dreamed of.

Zeratul: You will regret this decision, Kerrigan. We shall meet again.

Samir Duran: I am a servant of a far greater power: a power that has slept for countless ages, and is reflected in the creature within that cell.

Zeratul: Have you any conception of what you've created here? Do you have any idea what this... this hybrid is capable of?

Samir Duran: Of course I do. This creature is the completion of a cycle. Its role in the cosmic order was preordained when the stars were young. Behold the culmination of your history.

Zeratul: All I behold is an abomination.

Samir Duran: Your violence, young prodigal, is typical. As is your inability to comprehend the greater scheme of things. You can destroy all of the specimens here; it will do you no good. For I have seeded the hybrid on many, many worlds. You will never find them all before they awaken. And when they do, your universe will be changed... forever.

Sarah Kerrigan: Once again, I stand atop the broken bodies of my enemies, victorious... but not unscarred. The Earth-borne Directorate has been destroyed, and the Overmind lies dead and trampled beneath the ashes of Char. As for my unlikely allies, I think that I shall allow them a reprieve... for in time I will seek to test their resolve, and their strengths. They will all be mine in the end, for I am the Queen of Blades! None shall ever dispute my rule again.

Gerard DuGalle: Dearest Helena, by now the news of our defeat has reached the Earth. The creatures we were sent here to tame are untameable, and the colonies we were sent here to reclaim have proven to be stronger than we anticipated. Whatever you may hear about what has happened out here, know this: Alexei did not die gloriously in battle. I killed him - my pride killed him. And now my pride has consumed me as well. You will never see me again, Helena. Tell our children that I love them, and that their father died in defense of their future. Au revoir.

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty (2010)

Arcturus Mengsk: They say a man never really knows himself until his freedom's been taken away. I wonder, how well do you know yourself?

[a large door opens to reveal Tychus Findlay in shackles]

Computer: Prisoner, step forward onto the platform.

Mengsk: Convict 626. Murderer. Pirate. Traitor. Today, you go free. But as you'll soon learn, even freedom has a price.

[machines start to put on a combat Marine suit on Tychus]

Computer: Combat suit sealed and locked.

Mengsk: You'll carry your prison with you. That armor will be your new cell. Make no mistake. War is coming. With all its glory, and all its horror. Mr. Findlay, your freedom awaits...

Tychus Findlay: Hell, it's about time!

Mengsk: Jim Raynor represents a clear and present threat to this Dominion. He is an unscrupulous, lawless, revolutionary bent on spreading fear and dissension across the sector. He and his rag-tag band of miscreants have instigated open rebellion across the sector... [gets blurred as Jim focuses his attention on a photo of Sarah Kerrigan]...I assure you, this criminal will be brought to justice, very soon.

[Raynor points a pistol at the television]

James Raynor: It ain't over 'til it's over, you son of a bitch. [fires into the television] Adjutant, are my troops ready, yet?

Adjutant: Your forces are prepared, and awaiting your orders, Commander. Uploading tactical data, now.

Raynor: Good. 'Bout time we kicked this revolution into overdrive.

Findlay: You know, for the most wanted man in the sector, you ain't that hard to find. I had to see it for myself. Little Jimmy Raynor, the people's hero.

Raynor: [takes a drink] Tychus Findlay. Nice suit.

Findlay: Pays to be prepared.

Raynor: I heard they put you on ice. Life sentence. What, they give you time off for good behavior?

Findlay: That's right, old buddy. I'm a model citizen now.

Raynor: So to what do I owe the pleasure?

Findlay: Just a friendly business proposition. Do you even know what the Dominion are doing out here?

Raynor: I'm guessing you're about to tell me.

Findlay: Digging up alien artifacts, old buddy. Your boy Mengsk has gone crazy for them. But I got a contact that will pay top dollar for every artifact we...liberate from the Dominion.

Raynor: I guess I can hardly pass that up now, can I, Tychus?

Findlay: Partners then. 60-40.

Raynor: 70-30. My way. [chuckles] Feels like old times already.

Findlay: Old times.

[The Raiders' flagship Hyperion prepares to escape from Mar Sara, under attack by the Zerg]

Findlay: [entering the bridge, seeing its opulence] Damn, Jimmy, you've been holdin' out on me.

Raynor: Cuttin' it pretty close there, Matt.

Matt Horner: Never left you hanging before, sir.

Raynor: Fair enough. Just get us the hell out of here.

Horner: All batteries, concentrate forward firepower. Spin up drives two and six. All hands, brace for warp jump on my mark...

[Horner glances at his watch, while Tychus braces himself for the jump.]

Horner: Mark!

[The Hyperion jumps to warp away from Mar Sara, and emerges further into the system.]

Raynor: What the hell happened? We ain't seen the Zerg in years. Why attack Mar Sara now?

Horner: It's not just Mar Sara. You need to see this.

[Horner activates a nearby console, bringing up the UNN newsfeed.]

Donny Vermillion: The Zerg Swarm launched a full-scale attack --

Female Reporter #1: Devastation spread throughout all outer rim planets --

Female Reporter #2: -- sustained heavy losses --

Male Reporter: Casualties in the billions.

Female Reporter #3: Minutes ago, the Zerg attacked a Dominion military research facility...

[An explosion knocks out the feed, and presumably kills the news crew.]

Findlay: Sweet mother of mercy...

Female Reporter #2: New exclusive video footage confirms: The Queen of Blades is in fact leading the Swarm!

[The picture zooms in on Kerrigan's face as she looks towards the camera, which then fades to static. Raynor sits heavily in his chair, absorbing the news.]

Horner: We always knew she'd be back... but what's she after?

Raynor: She's come to finish the job.

[Raynor suddenly awakens in the cantina onboard the Hyperion, knocking over a whiskey bottle - which is caught by Horner before it can crash to the floor. Raynor moves to pour another drink; Horner holds fast to the bottle for a moment, then lets it go.]

Horner: I've been cleaning up after you a lot lately.

Raynor: Leave it alone, Matt.

Horner: [pulls up a seat and sits next to Raynor] Same dream?

Raynor: [firmly] I said, leave it alone.

Horner: What happened to Kerrigan wasn't your fault.

Raynor: Which part? Where she got left behind, or where she murdered eight billion people?

Horner: [disgusted] Same old bullshit. You ain't gonna listen. [sets something on the table in front of Raynor, then stands and heads to the door...stopping to look back] Man, do you even see what you're becoming?

Raynor: [pours himself another glass] We are who we choose to be, Matt.

Horner: When you figure it out, let us know. We're waitin' on ya.

[Raynor looks at the object left on the table - his old marshal's badge, reading "Confederate Marshal - Mar Sara" along the edge. He looks up at Horner, who silently leaves.]

[On the observation deck of the Dominion flagship Bucephalus, Raynor holds a pistol to the man standing there, listening to a record player.]

Raynor: Turn around, Arcturus. I want you to see this coming.

Valerian Mengsk: You won't find my father here, Commander. [lifts the needle from the record player, silencing it] I am Valerian Mengsk...and I own the Moebius Foundation. Through them, I own you as well.

Raynor: Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now.

Valerian: Because I can offer you what you've always wanted. [turns to face him] A chance to rescue Sarah Kerrigan.

Milo Kachinsky: You boys gotta wake up! Raynor's sold us out! I joined this outfit to fight the Dominion, not work for them!

Rory Swann: Everybody simmer down! We trusted the Commander before, we should trust him now.

Findlay: [drunk] You can't trust that drunk. Jim Raynor's nothin' but a spineless coward.

Swann: You've been nothin' but poison since you got on this crate. [turns away]

Findlay: That right? [grabs Swann by the shirt, who struggles to escape] Pathetic. Only person you can trust is, yourself. As soon as you peons figure that out-

[Raynor enters the Cantina, smoking a cigar]

Raynor: Heard about enough of this.

[Findlay throws Swann onto the table]

Findlay: You got 'em all fooled, don't ya, Jimmy? But the first sign of trouble, you'll just duck and run. It's what you do, ain't it? Me. Them. That pretty little girlfriend of yours.

[Raynor flicks his cigar at Findlay, who picks up a nearby table in a rage and throws it at Raynor, who evades it. A short brawl continues, with Raynor avoiding all attacks. Findlay reaches up and grabs the jukebox]

Raynor: Don't do somethin' you're gonna regret, Tychus.

[Findlay ignores him and rips the Jukebox off the ceiling, and hurls it at Raynor, who avoids it, and grabs the cable it was connected to and electrocutes Findlay, disabling his armor.]

Findlay: That ain't fair...

Raynor: You think he's right? I'm just gonna run out on you?

Kachinsky: You got us workin' for the Dominion, now, Commander. Takin' us back to Char. It's like you're gone already.

Raynor: [helping Swann to his feet] This ain't about the Dominion. Our war's always been about savin' lives. If the Zerg wipe everyone out, it's all been for nothin'. So I'm goin' back to Char. If you're with me, it's your choice. Just like it's always been.

Kachinsky: [to another soldier] Now that's the Commander I've been waitin' on.

Swann: Satisfied?

Kachinsky: [chuckles] Let's get back to work, boys.

[Raynor rolls Findlay over and leans in on him]

Raynor: I don't wanna have this conversation again. [looks over at his ruined jukebox] And fix my damn jukebox! [walks out]

Findlay: (weakly) Uh... a little help here...? Anybody...?

(After defeating the Protoss fleet and saving the colonists at Haven)

Swann: Man did you see the size of that Protoss ship? Don't matter how often I see them, those guys always come out with something that makes your jaw drop. Know what I'm saying?

Raynor: I'd be more impressed if they were using all that power against the Zerg. It's stupid to be killing Protoss when we should be teaming up with them against Kerrigan.

Swann: Listen, they deserved it. And you did the right thing. Friends don't let friends massacre civilians, Jim. I'm proud of you for standing up to them.

Horace Warfield: Char. If Hell ever existed, this is it. Oceans of fire, tectonic storms, and an atmosphere that'll burn a man alive. But we've planned for all of that.

Raynor: You can't plan for the Zerg, General! They ain't gonna fit into your nice clean time table!

Warfield: I've led five separate invasions against the Swarm! I held the line while you and your terrorist friends hid under a rock-

Valerian: We're all aware of your victories, General. I've invited Commander Raynor here to assist us ... with any unforeseen contingencies.

Raynor: Well, it sounds like you've got it all figured out, Junior.

Valerian: I've invested far too much in this undertaking to see it fail. Speaking of which, you may particularly enjoy this next step. [turns on a holotransmission of Arcturus Mengsk]

Arcturus: Valerian! I've just received a report that you've taken half of the fleet! Care to explain yourself, boy?

Valerian: Father, I am about to accomplish that which you never could. Today I will defeat the Queen of Blades, and secure peace throughout the Dominion. By this act, the people will finally know that I am a worthy successor to you.

Arcturus: I love your gumption, son, but you're in way over your head. What makes you think you have the experience to-

Raynor: [pushes Valerian aside] He ain't alone, Arcturus!

Arcturus: Raynor. I don't know what gutter my son fished you out of, but even you've got to realize that treacherous bitch cannot be saved... and neither can you.

Raynor: We'll see about that. And when this is over, you and me got a score to settle.

Warfield's position is close to being overrun. He fires his gauss rifle at a swarm of incoming zerglings, before it runs out of ammo.

Warfield: Shit! [He deploys his rifle's bayonet and impales a zergling leaping at him, then has to leap aside to avoid being strafed by a trio of Mutalisks.]

Dominion Marine: Fall back! We're cut off!

Warfield: Belay that order! Stand your ground!

[Before they can obey, the Marines are all cut down by Hydralisk spines. A Hydralisk bursts out of the ground right in front of Warfield and fires its spines. He blocks with his right arm, screaming in pain as they penetrate his armor. The Hydralisk lunges at him, but he punches back with his one good arm. It raises its arm to gore him... then its arm is blown off by a heavy armor piercing round, followed by its head, which bursts. Raynor stands above him with a heavy rifle, and ejects the shell casing.]

Raynor: [chuckles] Heard you boys needed some help. We came as fast as we could.

Findlay: Ain't no time to be lyin' down on the job, General.

[Findlay pushes the Hydralisk corpse off Warfield, and Raynor hops down and pulls Warfield to his feet.]

Warfield: You magnificent son of a bitch! You're the last man I expected to see!

Findlay: Boys, I hate to interrupt, but, uh... the natives are getting restless.

[The ground trembles as a fresh swarm of zerglings charges at them.]

Warfield: Thanks for the rescue, but I hope it ain't just the two of you.

Raynor: General, you know I've always got a card to play.

[A flight of bombers streaks overhead, strafing the zerglings. Raynor salutes them as they fly past. Warfield pulls a Hydralisk spine out of his armor with a grunt, then drops it to the ground.]

Warfield: You might be a damn pirate, Raynor, but whatever happens, you saved my boys today. And I won't forget that.

Raynor: All in a day's work, General.

Warfield: The Xel'Naga artifact's been assembled. I hope to God it does, what we think it does.

Findlay: Damn straight. Betting our asses on some alien piece of crap don't sit right with me.

Raynor: I hear you, Tychus, but if I was banking everything on that, I'd be quit already. 'Cause here we are in the mouth of hell, and we made it this far by leaning on each other.

Warfield: Whether it's blind luck, or damn fool courage, in all my years, I've never seen anything like what you two jokers have pulled off.

Raynor: That thing may be the key to stopping the Queen of Blades. [Dominion troops turn up their radios, as Raynor's voice is heard over their comm channels and loudspeakers] But it's our sweat and blood that will make it happen. After everything that we've been through, past all the fire and fury, the one thing I know is that we can count on each other to get the job done. Or die trying, if that's what it takes. Because some things are just worth fighting for.

[Just before the Xel'Naga artifact is activated.]

Adjutant:Class 12 psionic wave form detected. The Queen of Blades has returned.

Infested Kerrigan:This has gone on long enough! Time to die.

[Kerrigan is defeated for the last time in the mission.]

Infested Kerrigan:You will pay for this treachery!

Sarah Kerrigan: Don't give up!

Raynor: I hear Sarah...

Zeratul: James Raynor. I bring tidings of doom.

Raynor: Zeratul...

Zeratul: I have pierced the veil of the future and beheld only... oblivion.

[Zeratul slumps to his knees, and Raynor kneels next to him.]

Zeratul: Yet one spark of hope remains. You will hold her life in your hands. And though justice demands that she die for her crimes... only she can save us.

Raynor: [surprised] Wait a second, you're talking about... Kerrigan! [gets to his feet] It's been four years, you show up outta nowhere and-

Zeratul: [grabs Raynor's arm, pulling him back down] Time is short, you must understand!

[Raynor looks down in his hand to see the device Zeratul has given him - an ihan crystal.]

Zeratul: The answers you seek lie within. Study it well. The fate of creation hangs in the balance.

[Zeratul vanishes into the darkness, leaving Raynor behind.]

Raynor: Nice to see you too...

[Protoss Preservers discuss the dark future with Zeratul]

Protoss Preserver: It begins with a great hunger. It ends in utter darkness.

Zeratul: I returned to our ruined homeworld of Auir. The Zerg infestation still covered much of our beloved world. The desiccated remains of the Overmind were still there. A grim reminder of battles lost... And battles won.

[After James Raynor completes Zeratul's prophecy]

Matt Horner: Auir... What was he looking for?

Raynor: He was trying to find out why the Overmind made the Queen of Blades in the first place.

Matt Horner: She's the one that's going to destroy the universe?

Raynor: No, that's just it... I think she's the only one that can save it.

Gabriel Tosh: Zerg. Protoss. These are strong races. How terrible... How powerful is something that plays with their fates?

[Different newsflash channels pass over the Hyperion Cantina's television, but all show one thing: Mengsk's scandal and his involvement with the Tarsonis invasion event during the first Starcraft period.]

Keno: These shocking revelations-

Liberty: Veritable firestorm of anti-Mengsk sentiment-

Vermillion: The Emperor held a news conference earlier today.

[The television shows Mengsk's press conference.]

Female Reporter: Emperor, how do you respond to these allegations of genocide? Of using aliens to-

Mengsk: [interrupting] I assure you, these slanderous attacks against the Throne are baseless and irresponsible.

[Kate Lockwell raises her hand for the next question.]

Lockwell: Sir, do you still stand by the sentiment that selfless devotion to the people is the basis of your rule?

Mengsk: [confidently] Well, of course! I was called upon to serve the greater interest of humanity. Personal power was never my goal.

Lockwell: Than how would you characterize... this statement?

[Plays a recording of the same answer Mengsk gave to Raynor regarding the event, also during the first Starcraft period.]

Mengsk: I will not be stopped. Not by you, or the Confederates, or the Protoss, or anyone! I will RULE this sector, or see it burn to ashes around me!

[Turmoil builds up amongst the other reporters and witnesses in the conference. Mengsk himself shows a varied sign of confusion, fear and anger.]

Mengsk: I... I won't stand for this! You jackals think you can come in here and question ME?! This interview is over!

[The Emperor leaves the conference, frustrated.]

[In orbit around the Dominion prison world of New Folsom, after the Raiders liberated the imprisoned Spectres]

Raynor: Fifty years, and no one's ever escaped from New Folsom... but we broke it open in an afternoon.

Horner: I can hardly believe we pulled it off.

[Suddenly, Gabriel Tosh decloaks behind them, whirling his balisong.]

Tosh: You guys did good. Now me and my Spectres'll finish the job. We'll kill Mengsk... and burn his Dominion to the ground.

Horner: Overthrowing Mengsk is just the start. This is about building a better tomorrow. [brings up the prisoner manifest] Don't you see? We just released every scientist, philosopher and free-thinker that ever challenged Mengsk's rule. That was our real victory today.

[Tosh hurls his knife, sticking in the wolf-head corner of the display console.]

Tosh: You really that naive? Tomorrow, there'll be a new Mengsk, and another one after that. Your great shining dream of the future is just an illusion.

[Raynor pulls the knife out of the console, and folds it up]

Raynor: So if it's all so bleak, why are you here, Tosh? What do you get out of all this?

Tosh: Same thing as you, brother. I don't quit 'til Mengsk is dead.

Horner: Vengeance doesn't factor into this. Our revolution's about freedom.

Raynor: [puts a hand on Horner's shoulder] You'll see that better future, Matt. [looks over at Tosh] But it ain't for the likes of us.

[Raynor holds out the knife to Tosh, who takes it, before walking off the bridge; "Eternal Father, Strong to Save" plays in the background. Tosh looks over at Horner and smirks as he cloaks again.]

[On Char, Raynor, Findlay, and a number of other Marines enter Kerrigan's main hive, finding the now-former Queen of Blades - a slight greenish tinge to the skin, and the dreadlocks remain, but completely human. Raynor's visor rises, as he cradles Kerrigan in his arms.]

Raynor: Sarah...

[Behind him, Findlay's visor raises, a cloud of cigar smoke shrouding his face for a moment...as he speaks to someone on the other line.]

Findlay: You readin' all this?

[Findlay's suit display begins blinking red, an alarm indicating the failsafe is active - the suit could kill him at any moment.]

Mengsk: You have your orders, Mr. Findlay. Carry them out.

[Findlay spits out his cigar and raises his rifle, the _targeting light centered on Kerrigan's forehead.]

Raynor: Tychus... what have you done?

Findlay: I made a deal with the devil, Jimmy. She dies... I go free.

Raynor: We all got our choices to make. [unsnaps the catch of his pistol holster]

Findlay: Damn shame...

[As Findlay's finger tightens on the trigger, Raynor suddenly blocks the shot with his shoulder armor, then turns and shoots Findlay in the head with his pistol, killing him. The screen fades to black...]

Kerrigan: ...Jim?

Raynor: It's okay. I gotcha.

[Raynor carries Kerrigan out of the hive cluster into the sunlight, as the Dominion-Raider fleet is seen in the skies above.]

StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm (2013)

[Opening cinematic: A squadron of Terran Dominion Vikings flies towards a massive Zerg leviathan hovering over the city of Augustgrad on Korhal.]

Sarah Kerrigan: [voiceover] I am the Swarm.

[The leviathan begins dropping its organic drop pods onto the city.]

Sarah Kerrigan: [voiceover] Armies will be shattered. Worlds will burn.

[On the ground, marines begin firing at the creatures rushing from the drop pods as they land; a siege tank races through the streets firing at an Ultralisk, and a Viking deploys into its ground mode only to be swiped aside by the Ultralisk's kaiser blade. The swarm of Zerg approach a line of marines and tanks deployed in siege mode, which begin firing...but the Swarm overruns them, toppling a great statue of Emperor Mengsk in the process.]

Sarah Kerrigan: [voiceover] Now, at last, on this world, vengeance shall be mine...

[A Dominion battlecruiser is brought out of the sky, crashing into the city. Standing atop the toppled statue of Mengsk, Kerrigan watches the Swarm rush across the city.]

Sarah Kerrigan: [voiceover] ...for I am the Queen of Blades.

[As Kerrigan watches, the image transitions...to a mostly de-Zerged Kerrigan awakening in a science lab.]

My father will sacrifice any piece on the chessboard to take the queen...

[On the bridge of the Hyperion, making the escape from the research lab]

Sarah Kerrigan: Jim? Jim... where's Jim?

Valerian Mengsk: [hesitantly] We... couldn't get him out.

Sarah Kerrigan: Valerian... [lashes out with her psi powers, strangling Valerian] You left him behind?!

[Two Marines arm their weapons, moving in; Kerrigan immobilizes them with her powers.]

Matt Horner: Stand down! Let him go, Kerrigan! Valerian is helping us.

Sarah Kerrigan: There is no "us"!

[Kerrigan hurls both Marines across the room.]

Hyperion crewman: [klaxons ring] IFF negative! Multiple hostiles inside the perimeter!

[A Dominion fleet comes out of warp space and opens fire on Hyperion and her escorts.]

Matt Horner: Scramble tac response squads three through nine! Defensive manuever delta-four! Prep all stations for jump!

[Hearing this, Kerrigan releases Valerian, who collapses, gasping, to the floor.]

Sarah Kerrigan: No one is going anywhere until I see Jim!

Matt Horner: [on commlink] Dominion fleet, this is Hyperion! Cease fire! Crown Prince Valerian is aboard!

Valerian Mengsk: My father will sacrifice any piece on the chessboard to take the queen...

Matt Horner: We have to jump now! We'll lead them away and circle back for Jim. [Kerrigan storms away towards the door] Sarah... we need to work together!

Sarah Kerrigan: Do what you want. I'm going to find Jim.

[Kerrigan's drop ship lands at the rendezvous point.]

Sarah Kerrigan: Jim? Are you on this frequency? Jim, are you out there? I´m at the rendezvous, it´s all clear here.

[Silence.]

Sarah Kerrigan: I've been thinking about what you said. There´s something dark in me, Jim... I need you. I need you to hear me right now.

[A footstep is heard. Kerrigan grabs her rifle and aims it at the doorway. A zergling walks in and she aims the rifle at the zergling´s forehead. After a few seconds the zergling retreats.]

Kate Lockwell: [on screen] We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you this news: Notorious rebel Jim Raynor was captured in a daring raid yesterday. He was briefly interrogated, and summarily executed. Emperor Mengsk had this to say...

Arcturus Mengsk: Proud Dominion citizens, at long last our nightmare is over! The lawless terrorist Jim Raynor... is dead! With his death comes a new era of peace...

[Kerrigan screams, causing a burst of psionic light inside the ship, then collapses.]

Arcturus Mengsk: The protoss have retreated from our Dominion, and the zerg threat has been removed. Their Swarm is shattered and leaderless. Soon we will eradicate every last zerg on Char. In short, we have won.

[The Zergling approaches Kerrigan, and she looks up, staring into its eyes.]

Arcturus Mengsk: Our peace and security is assured. Good night, my faithful subjects.

Sarrah Kerrigan: ...Mengsk.

[She wipes away her tears, jumps into the pilot's chair and enters a new destination.]

Adjutant: Navigation online. Destination: zerg space. Confirm?

Sarah Kerrigan: Confirmed.

[On Kaldir, after Harvest of Screams.]

Izsha: The hunt goes well, my Queen?

Kerrigan: It's bloody.

Izsha: Those Protoss would kill you if they could. They are not Zerg. That means they are the enemy.

Kerrigan: Is it that simple?

Izsha: For the Zerg, it is. Whatever my Queen has lost, think what she has gained. Purity of essence. You are the will of the swarm.

[On Kaldir, after Harvest of Screams.]

Lasarra: We are only colonists, and you are killing us.

Kerrigan: Yes. And if I let you live, you'll call down your Golden Armada, and they will kill me.

Lasarra: Kill thousands to save yourself. Is that how you justify this?

Kerrigan: I justify nothing. There is no moral high ground here. Your people have killed billions of Zerg. We're all covered in blood. There may be more on my hands than yours, but in the end, we are both killers.

[On Char, General Warfield lies wounded in his command post, impaled through the chest by a support beam.]

Horace Warfield: Lieutenant, get the wounded to those shuttles.

Dominion Lieutenant: We're almost there! Should I send a team to get you?

Horace Warfield: I'm... fine, Lieutenant. Just see to those wounded. I'll get out another way.

[Warfield attempts to pull the beam out of his chest, screaming in pain as the metal moves... and stops as he is approached by a Zergling.]

Dominion Lieutenant: General! There's too many Zerg! We're not gonna make it!

[The Zergling roars and moves aside...showing Kerrigan standing over him.]

Horace Warfield: Kerrigan. You listen to me. I have three shuttles packed with men to injured to ever be a threat to you. Husbands, fathers. You let those shuttles go. You hear me?

[Kerrigan coldly stares him down.]

Dominion Lieutenant: General, we're surrounded. There's no way out!

Horace Warfield: You bitch. You're not even human anymore. You betrayed us all. For what? Petty revenge? How many innocents have you killed? How many more have to die? What if Raynor could see you right now?

[In a fit of psionic rage, Kerrigan rams the support beam deeper into Warfield's chest, killing him.]

Dominion Lieutenant: General, we're surrounded! We're not gonna make it!

[Kerrigan appears to soften, and silently communicates with her swarm.]

Dominion Lieutenant: General, the Zerg pulled back. It's a miracle! We're going to make it! General! ...General?

[As Kerrigan walks away, the power in Warfield's armor fails, and the lights flicker and die.]

[The zergling next to Kerrigan growls, sensing... ]

Sarah Kerrigan: Zeratul.

[Kerrigan leaps at Zeratul, battering him across the room.]

Sarah Kerrigan: What do you want?!

[Zeratul reaches out and grasps Kerrigan's face before she can deliver the final blow.]

Zeratul: Believe.

[Zeratul awakens a vision in Kerrigan's mind: A lush world of primeval jungles, beyond known space.]

Zeratul: Kerrigan... I have been to the beginning. Behold - Zerus. Birthplace of the zerg. Here, the zerg evolved... and here, the Dark One altered them.

[A zerg-like creature is hunted by a larger beast.]

Zeratul: Those left behind are the primal zerg. They fight... they kill... they evolve.

[The larger creature kills and consumes its prey, and begins to take on aspects of the smaller creature, as the vision fades.]

Zeratul: Just as you must... if you survive.

[Kerrigan hunts the demented scientist Emil Narud in a ruined temple beneath Skygeirr Station.]

Sarah Kerrigan: Face me, Narud. It's over.

Dr. Emil Narud: It is only beginning. Amon whispered of this from the stars. He told you of his return. He told you of ruin... extinction. The end of all things.

Sarah Kerrigan: Your god is dead, and he's never coming back.

Dr. Emil Narud: [voice changes] Is that what you think?

[Kerrigan lashes out with a wing-spike - nearly impaling - Jim Raynor?]

Sarah Kerrigan: No...

Jim Raynor: Sarah...

["Raynor's" eyes glow red, and he psychically brings down the roof on Kerrigan - who is unharmed.]

Sarah Kerrigan: No... you're not him.

[Kerrigan flings "Raynor" across the room, riding a giant burrowing worm; "Raynor" lashes out with red energy, causing an explosion. Kerrigan lands on his chest, punching him in the face.]

Sarah Kerrigan: You're not Jim! You're nothing!

[Narud shifts again - into the human form of Kerrigan!]

False Kerrigan: I am everything you lost.

[Narud/Kerrigan impales the real Kerrigan with a psi-blade.]

False Kerrigan: I am everything you never had.

[Kerrigan grasps her doppelganger and impales her with her wing spikes.]

False Kerrigan: You've already... lost... [voice shifts back to Narud] Amon... lives. You will... see him... soon...

[Narud/Kerrigan collapses, dead, to the floor; Kerrigan also collapses, wounded.]

[Jim Raynor is imprisoned in a Dominion prison ship, looking up to hear fighting outside his cell. His cell door is smashed open to reveal...]

Jim Raynor: Sarah? [realizes that Kerrigan has reverted to Zerg form] No...

Sarah Kerrigan: I had to get you out.

Jim Raynor: What have you done?

Sarah Kerrigan: What I... had to.

Jim Raynor: [angrily] Tell that to Fenix! Tell it to the millions you butchered!

[Kerrigan raises Raynor's pistol in his hand, pointing it to her head.]

Sarah Kerrigan: You swore you'd kill the Queen of Blades. You were the only one who ever believed in me. Do you still... believe in me?

[Raynor struggles with himself, then fires several times into a nearby wall; Kerrigan is unharmed.]

Sarah Kerrigan: I love you, Jim. Never forget it.

Jim Raynor: [grimly] We're done.

Valerian Mengsk: Jim is doing well. He's in the med-bay. But I don't think he wants to talk to anyb...

Sarah Kerrigan: I'm here to talk to you, Valerian. You understand that I'm going to Korhal soon?

Valerian Mengsk: I do. You plan to kill my father.

Sarah Kerrigan: He's had this coming for a long time. I need to know where you stand.

Valerian Mengsk: I stand for my people. I've accepted that my father is beyond redemption, and must be removed from power.

Sarah Kerrigan: I'm glad we understand each other.

Sarah Kerrigan: I'm going to Korhal. It's time.

Matt Horner: Why are you telling us this, Kerrigan?

Sarah Kerrigan: There will be ruin, destruction, millions could die amid the chaos. Valerian, your people will need a leader.

Valerian Mengsk: You're right, Kerrigan, they will. If I am to be that leader, I'll ask only one thing of you. Bring your Swarm down outside the city. That will give us time to evacuate.

Sarah Kerrigan: Korhal is going to be the most difficult battle of my life, and you're asking me to make it harder.

Valerian Mengsk: I am...

[small pause]

Sarah Kerrigan: I was wrong about you, Valerian. You're not like your father. I'll give you your chance. Make the most of it.

[Kerrigan enters Mengsk's inner office in his palace on Korhal; he has a cigar in his teeth and what looks like a lighter in his hand as he turns to face her.]

Arcturus Mengsk: Hello, Kerrigan. I've been waiting for you.

Sarah Kerrigan: [smirking] I'm surprised you haven't tried to escape.

Arcturus Mengsk: Escape? [chuckles] My dear, I'm afraid you've got it all wrong.

[Mengsk reveals the "lighter" to be a control switch, as the Xel'Naga artifact raises from a compartment in the floor; he presses the control, blasting Kerrigan with energy.]

Arcturus Mengsk: Really. Did you think I'd keep an animal like you close to me without some kind of insurance policy? [gives Kerrigan another jolt] Clearly, you are my greatest failure. Now, at long last... you will die!

[Mengsk is grabbed from behind by a power-armored Jim Raynor, the switch in his hand crushed as he's lifted off the floor.]

Jim Raynor: [raising his visor] Change of plans.

[Raynor hurls Mengsk across the room and draws his pistol, but steps back as Kerrigan advances on the fallen emperor, impaling him against the wall with her wing-spikes.]

Sarah Kerrigan: You can never suffer enough for all the lives you've ruined, Arcturus.

Arcturus Mengsk: [through clenched teeth] I made you into a monster, Kerrigan!

Sarah Kerrigan: You made us all into monsters.

[Kerrigan reaches out with one hand, unleashing a spike of psionic energy into Mengsk's head. Mengsk screams as the power explodes within him, vaporizing him and destroying his office. Remarkably, Raynor and Kerrigan are unscathed.]

Sarah Kerrigan: [gazing up at the swarm in the sky] Thank you, Jim... for everything.

[Kerrigan levitates into the air to join the swarm.]

Jim Raynor: My pleasure, darlin'. [smiles] Always was.

[The scene goes to space, approaching a deep blackness in the void.]

Sarah Kerrigan: [voiceover] I now see my true enemy. He waits for me in the void, wielding powers I cannot imagine. I go to face him, having renounced everything: My humanity. My identity. The man I love. But I will not face this enemy alone. I am the Swarm.

StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void (2015)

[Opening cinematic: The ruins of Aiur, the Protoss homeworld.]

Artanis: [voiceover] The Swarm brought ruin to our world. Our proud people became refugees.

[Outside a ruined Nexus, a group of Protoss warriors approaches a pack of Zerglings.]

Artanis: [voiceover] And yet, they could not shatter our unity.

[The Zerglings attack, and time slows, showing energy coursing through the nerve appendages from the back of each Protoss warrior's head.]

Artanis: [voiceover] For we are bound by the Khala, the sacred union of our every thought and emotion.

[The Protoss zealots engage their psi blades and begin slaying Zerglings, while a Probe opens a warp gate to summon a structure. One of the Zealots is overwhelmed by the acid explosion of Banelings, while a High Templar unleashes psionic storms against a group of Zerglings, then lashes out and kills another that has injured a comrade. As an Ultralisk bursts through the earth and attacks, the two High Templar merge their essences, becoming an Archon.]

Archon: Power... overwhelming.

[The Ultralisk pins the Archon against a ruined structure; the Archon slashes off one of the beast's kaiser blades, but the Ultralisk continues to fight. The Archon channels energy through itself and implodes, taking the Ultralisk and part of the ruined structure with it. Only one Protoss remains, the one-eyed warrior Kaldalis, as the Zerg begin approaching through the smoke. Behind him, the structure summoned by the probe materializes - a pylon, acting as a beacon for reinforcements, as a large army of Protoss warriors teleport in and charge the Zerg forces.]

Artanis: [voiceover] Today, we retake our homeworld... and with it, our legacy.

[Aboard the protoss command ship in high orbit above Aiur, platforms packed with zealots wait to be teleported to the surface. On a high platform above them, Hierarch Artanis addresses the troops, accompanied by his lieutenant, Executor Selendis, and his honor guard.]

Artanis: Templar! At long last, we stand at the threshold of destiny! For today, we will restore the glory of our legacy! Today, we will retake what we have lost, and reclaim our homeworld!

Zealots: For Aiur!

Artanis: [to himself] And may the Khala's light guide us...

Selendis: The invasion fleet stands ready. We await only your command, Hierarch.

Zeratul: You must halt this invasion at once!

[Zeratul appears behind Artanis in a cloud of smoke.]

Artanis: Zeratul...

Selendis: Templar, arrest this traitor!

[Selendis and the honor guard ignite their psi-blades and surround Zeratul.]

Artanis: No! [steps through the ring of zealots] We will hear him out.

Zeratul: The end war has come! Amon, the Dark One, has returned!

Selendis: This heretic cannot be trusted!

Zeratul: This invasion is a distraction from the battle ahead! Amon's fury will engulf the entire galaxy!

Selendis: Do not forget that it was his interference that brought ruin to Aiur!

Zeratul: And that burden weighs heavily upon me... Artanis, I have found a way to stand against the coming darkness. You must believe me!

Artanis: We have been through much together, Zeratul... but far too many have sacrificed in the hopes that this moment could come to pass. [Zeratul looks away grimly] Executor, commence the invasion!

[The assembled warriors on the platforms all begin teleporting to the surface.]

[Artanis collapses to his knees, overcome by Amon's essence, struggling to maintain his control.]

Artanis: I... I can hear his... whispers...

Zeratul: Fight, Artanis! Do not let Amon consume you!

Artanis: Unending... hatred...!

Zeratul: He has corrupted the Khala! Your nerve cords chain you to his will... they must be removed!

[Zeratul ignites his warp blade and charges at Artanis, but his strike is blocked at the last second by Artanis' psi blades, now red, infused with Amon's shadow energies.]

Artanis: [deepening voice] No.

Zeratul: [Quickly realizing] Amon.

[Zeratul evades Artanis/Amon's attacks by alternately blinking away and leaping across the ruins. Artanis/Amon leaps at him, but Zeratul leaps over him, his warp blade coming within inches of his nerve cords. As he lands, Artanis/Amon grabs him by the throat.]

Amon: This body... all Protoss... are mine.

[Artanis/Amon hurls Zeratul against a wall, and blasts him with bolts of red lightning, knocking Zeratul to the floor.]

Amon: I will shatter this corrupt cycle. [Zeratul comes to his feet] You shall not stand against me!

Zeratul: My life... [ignites his warp blade] ...for Aiur!

[Artanis/Amon ignites his psi blades, and both charge at one another, each striking, then coming to a stop. Zeratul's warp blade fades as he falls to his knees. As Artanis/Amon turns, Zeratul's strike has proven to be true, as Artanis' severed nerve cords detach and fall to the floor. Severed from the corrupted Khala, Amon's essence leaves Artanis' body, and the Hierarch collapses. Artanis, now in control of himself again, shakes his head to clear it.]

Zeratul: The Keystone... will lead you... to the Xel'Naga...

[The light in Zeratul's eyes fades as he falls dead to the floor.]

Artanis: Zeratul...

[Artanis limps over to his fallen friend and kneels, cradling Zeratul's body in his lap. Zeratul's body disintegrates; his distinctive face mask flies off into the stormy sky.]

Artanis: ...forgive me.

[Artanis stands, holding Zeratul's warp blade bracer in his hands. He discards one of his original Psi-Blade bracers to put it in, signaling a vow to avenge him.]

[Augustgrad, Korhal IV, capital of the Terran Dominion - after the attack by Amon's forces, a Dominion marine collapses in the street as Admiral Matt Horner watches grimly; a pair of crewmen from the Hyperion move to the marine's aid. Looking behind him, Horner watches as Emperor Valerian Mengsk, kneeling next to the body of a dead Hyperion crewman, closes the man's eyes with his hand. The Emperor meets Horner's gaze with an anguished look of his own as he stands. On a ridge above them, Jim Raynor plants a rifle into the grave of its owner, the soldier's dog-tags hanging from the stock, as Artanis watches.]

Artanis: Did you know this warrior?

Raynor: No. But I know his story. I know all their stories. None of 'em ever think it'll end like this. Reports been comin' in from all over: Dominion worlds overrun. Outposts destroyed. Lot more dead boys out there. [lets a bit of falling ash fall from his armored gauntlet] Warriors.

Artanis: Death is the fate of all warriors... a fate we, too, may soon embrace.

Raynor: Fate ain't written, Artanis. Way I see it, if Zeratul believed you could make a difference in all this, then this fight's just begun.

Artanis: It is your custom... to shake the hand of a friend, is it not?

[Artanis holds out his hand, and Raynor shakes it firmly. He turns it to see it's Zeratul's Warp Blade bracer. He only faces Artanis sternly.]

Raynor: Give 'em hell, Artanis.

[As Raynor walks away, Artanis teleports back to the Spear of Adun, leaving Korhal to rebuild itself.]

[Following the confrontation at the planet Glacius, the Daelaam manage to recover samples and technology of the Purifier program, amongst them a prototype warrior. Karax calls Artanis to the Solar Core concerning this.]

Artanis: You wished to see me, phase-smith?

Purifier Warrior: Artanisǃ It is good to see you young Executorǃ

[Artanis is struck with awe. It's a very familiar voice and personality, which he quickly identifies as...]

Artanis: Fenix!? How... How can this be!?

Karax: It was his cloned personality that was used for the Purifier prototype. Given your friendship with the... Source personality... I thought... Well... [Draws Artanis up close] He believes he was brought from stasis and made a Dragoon...

[Still shocked, Artanis turns and tries to cope with the turn, trying to ask as normally as possible.]

Artanis: Why are you here, Fenix?

Fenix: I was given a directive by Aldaris himself to come to Glacius and serve the Templar.

Karax: It is the last recollection from his memory-web. The great Templar were still encoded by order of the Conclave...

Artanis: Do you know about the experimentation done on Glacius? Why Aldaris gave you this order?

Fenix: I am a warrior, old friend, you know this as well as any. It is not in my place to question the order of a Judicator...

Karax: [Returns to analyze 'Fenix'] His construction is highly advanced. An adanium shell composed of a trillic compression mesh. It appears he was to be the first in a revival of the ancient program...

Fenix: ENOUGH! [Breaks free of Karax's grip] I have fought far too long for the will of the Conclave to be examined like some specimen. I am Templar! And I am reunited with the dearest of friends. Is this not a glorious day?

[Artanis and Karax glance at one another for a second, deciding to go along with it.]

Artanis: You are right, of course. Karax, these tests are no longer needed. Fenix, welcome aboard the Spear of Adun.

[Inside the xel'naga temple on Shakuras, Artanis approaches the khaydarin crystal core, setting it to overload in order to destroy the planet, killing all of Amon's zerg on the surface. Suddenly, a nydus worm breaks through the wall, as endless waves of zerglings pour forth.]

Zeratul: [voiceover] Alone... it is said that those of our kind suffer, separated from the glory of the Khala.

[Artanis ignites his blades - one a standard psi blade, the other Zeratul's warp blade - and charges, slashing his way through the hordes of zerglings, and blocking the spine attacks from hydralisks before charging and slashing through them as well. Despite his efforts, he is overwhelmed by a pack of zerglings.]

Zeratul: [voiceover] But none of us are ever truly alone.

[Artanis impales a pair of his foes, and disperses the rest with a burst of psionic energy. He raises his hands, channelling power.]

Zeratul: [voiceover] For our warrior hearts are bound by honor, tradition. Battle is waged in the name of the many... the brave, who, generation after generation, choose the mantle of... Dark Templar!

[The crystal plummets, heading for the planet's core. Upon impact, the crystal explodes, unleashing its stored energy, and causing the crust of Shakuras to crack. Artanis is teleported back to his ship just as the planet explodes in pieces.]

[Inside the xel'naga sanctum-world of Ulnar, Artanis uses Zeratul's warp blade to light his way, just as Zeratul did finding the prophecies on Ulaan. He sees a carving nearby, recognizing the depicted form as...]

Artanis: Zeratul... [looking at the carvings further] Shakuras... [now sees another, the familiar form of Kerrigan] The Queen of Blades...

[A hybrid smashes through a wall and collapses dead on the floor. It suddenly begins to move, as something underneath it throws it aside. It is none other than Kerrigan herself, looking somewhat worse for wear.]

Artanis: Kerrigan... [ignites his psi blade as well]

Kerrigan: Artanis, wait! I am not your enemy... I have come seeking the xel'naga --

Hybrid: ALL... SHALL... SUBMIT!

[The hybrid leaps at Kerrigan, who holds it briefly at bay; the creature stabs her in the shoulder, and grabs her wings, snapping them, as she tries to attack with them. Kerrigan tries to channel psionic energy, but the hybrid grabs her, smashes her several times into the floor, and then tosses her across the room. Artanis, having stood back and watched throughout, levels the tip of his warp blade at Kerrigan, then charges at the hybrid, blinking out of its path and severing its appendages while Kerrigan channels primal energy to heal her broken wings. Just as the hybrid grasps Artanis, Kerrigan impales it with her wings and lifts it off the ground, then - with an enraged scream - tears the hybrid in half.

Artanis: [disengaging his blades] It seems fate has drawn us together... you should not tempt it further.

[Kerrigan and Artanis, having everything been set, head further into the sanctum.]

[Later, Kerrigan and Artanis enter the inner sanctum of the xel'naga on Ulnar...]

Kerrigan: Something's not right here.

Artanis: The xel'naga...

[Artanis blinks forward, seeing the corpse of a xel'naga, crushed by fallen debris.]

Artanis: No...!

Kerrigan: [looking around, seeing more xel'naga corpses] They're dead, Artanis.

[An ethereal whisper begins to echo in the room...]

Amon: Artanis...

Artanis: Amon.

[Amon's energy lifts Artanis off the ground, filling his mind with visions of his work on the hybrid, one of which is a form unlike any seen before.]

Amon: Artanis... Now you see. With the essence of the Great Betrayer, your people fulfill their purpose. My host body is forged. With it, I bring an end to the Cycle - an end to the infinite suffering.

[The temple doors begin to open...]

Artanis: My will... is not so easily broken, Amon! The Firstborn shall fear you no longer!

[Aboard the Spear of Adun, in orbit of Ulnar; Matriarch Vorazun of the Nerazim commands while Artanis searches the temple.]

Zealot: Matriarch, there is a massive output of void energies spiking from the temple below.

Vorazun: _target the epicenter of the --

[In a sudden flash of light, a Protoss warrior with glowing red eyes and dark armor appears on the bridge - A Tal'Darim fanatic. The Zealot charges him, but is swiftly knocked aside. Vorazun charges with her warp scythe, but the warrior resists her charge, blocks her following attack and disarms her.]

Alarak: I do not come as your enemy, Dark Templar.

[Alarak throws Vorazun's warp blade to the ground and walks towards her. Constantly watching him, she activates a stasis field around him, freezing him in place.] You must listen to me, Matriarch. Amon's trap is sprung; your leader is in grave danger.

Vorazun: You think us fools!?

Alarak: Yes, but that is irrelevant. What is relevant is that Amon has opened a gateway to the Void. Dark energies pour from within, and they will consume your precious leader, and any who oppose Amon. I can guide you to Artanis before this fate befalls him; if we are bold, we can stop the Dark God's assault.

Vorazun: [As she slowly picks her warp scythe up] Am I to believe that the moment you are released, your blade will not be in my back?

Alarak: You waste time. [Breaks out of the stasis field in a burst of psionic energy, as warriors come to support Vorazun.] Lower your blades. I am Alarak, First Ascendant of the Tal'Darim. [Walks towards her.] Amon has betrayed my people. Retribution will be claimed for this, and if your Hierarch survives, he will aid in it. Make your decision.

[Vorazun looks up at Alarak, then out the viewport at Ulnar... and lowers her blades.]

Vorazun: You will take us to Artanis.

Alarak: Most wise...

[On the Spear of Adun, Artanis walks to greet Alarak, whom helped Vorazun in Ulnar, in exchange for an audience.]

Alarak: Artanis, Hierarch of the Twilight Council, Warlord of the Templar... I had expected so much more...

Fenix: Arrogance! Watch your words, or my blade will watch them for you!

Alarak: Oh, that's hardly a way to speak of one whom saved your master's life...

Artanis: [dryly] You care little for my survival, Alarak. What is the true reason you've come to me?

Alarak: Our god broke his ancient covenant... and cast us low.

Fenix: These are lies, Artanis!

Alarak: [shrugs] I am the liar? Are you not but a lie incarnate, Machine Protoss?

Artanis: Speak your piece, Alarak.

Alarak: The Tal'Darim death fleet amasses at Slayn, awaiting the start of a full scale invasion. I come with an offer - You will aid me in invoking a challenge for the right to rule my kind as Highlord, and in return, I will grant you a cessation of hostilities between our people.

[Artanis considers this offer for a brief second. Then...]

Artanis: Fenix, rally my advisors. It appears we have much to discuss...

[After a brief confrontation at Slayn, Artanis confronts Alarak, on the fact he was swayed on eliminating _targets supposed to be important, when they weren't.]

Artanis: I am going to make this clear: The Templar are not a weapon you can wield as you wish! We are not here to slay your enemies under false pretenses! Deceive me again, and this "alliance" of ours comes to an end!

Alarak: [As he consumes an orb of Terrazine gas] Slaying Ma'lash's guardians fulfilled more than one purpose - Once the Highlord lies dead at my feet, none will challenge my rule. [Clearly altered, walking around Artanis like a vulture] After all these years, my victory is nearly at hand... I feel his concern, Artanis, he knows that I'm coming for him...

Artanis: Ma'lash?

Alarak: No. Amon. Through the Breath of Creation, I peer through the veil. [Delighted] Oh, yes, I feel his rage washing over me, he knows I no longer fear him, he knows that the Tal'Darim have no "Khala" for him to control! I will turn the Chosen against him...

Artanis: [Warning] Do not assume you are already victorious, Alarak. Do not let the Terrazine cloud your judgment. You have a battle to win first!

Alarak: The battle is already won. In my mind's eye, I have delivered the killing blow, in a thousand ways...

Artanis: From *my* experience, overconfidence is your opponent's greatest ally. Do not let yours aid Ma'lash.

Alarak: [Glances at Artanis] Spoken as one whom welcomes defeat...

[During the ritual duel of Rak'shir in Slayn, Alarak is moments close to defeating Ma'lash]

Ma'lash: Our master has already won, Alarak. You will lead our people to their doom.

Alarak: You are right about one thing, Ma'lash - I will lead them!

[Delivers the final blow, pushing Ma'lash deep into the Pit of Sacrifice and to his death. Alarak steps forward as the Tal'Darim congregate.]

Alarak: Tal'Darim! By the rite of Rak'shir, I am your Highlord! Listen and obey! Ma'lash promised you lies - There is no ascension. The Tal'Darim will never be uplifted and become hybrid! Amon betrayed us, and for that... he must die!

[The Tal'Darim roar upwards in war cry. Afterwards, in the Spear of Adun, he reunites with Artanis.]

Artanis: Alarak.

Alarak: The Tal'Darim have yielded to my authority and the death fleet is under my command. I will use them both to avenge Amon's betrayal.

Artanis: Do your people believe in this cause, as you do?

Alarak: What they believe is of little consequence. What matters is that they obey.

[Artanis ponders this as he walks with Alarak past a corridor]

Artanis: You choose to rule differently than I, Alarak... Despite this, we may not only end the violence between our kind, but forge a powerful alliance.

Alarak: Can we now? My people are vastly different than yours, Hierarch...

Artanis: We both desire vengeance, and we are both Protoss. Is that not enough?

Alarak: Hmm, very well. Submit to my absolute authority, and we may indeed unite our forces...

[Artanis faces him, clearly offended at the defiance]

Artanis: Do not test me, Tal'Darim! Amon is a mighty foe, your people cannot hope to stand against him. You will side with me, and together we will send him back to the abyss!

Alarak: [Chuckles] So you *do* understand my culture, after all! Let us say that, for now, we have struck another bargain...

[Artanis addresses the combined forces of Templar, Nerazim, Tal'Darim, and Purifiers under his command before the final strike against Amon's new host form on the surface of Aiur.]

Artanis: My brethren, hear me, for there is little time left. All that remains of our race, our civilization, are those that stand beside you now... and those corrupted on the surface below. Our kind once stood as stewards of a galaxy full of promise. In our pride and division, we failed that sacred charge, and fell into ruin. The Khala, designed to bring unity, ultimately only aided those divisions. Its hope was a lie. Today, that lie must come to its end, and with it, our prejudice and arrogance must become a thing of the past. For now we fight for the belief that our kind has not seen its end; that we Protoss can stand bound by a belief in unity; and that we Protoss will forge a great and mighty new civilization! Trust each other in the fight ahead! Strike as one will! Let our last stand burn a memory so bright that we will be known throughout eternity!

[Artanis addresses his army on the battlefield.]

Artanis: Amon will bring the full might of the Great Fleet to bear against us, of that there is no doubt. But we shall not break. We are the Daelaam, united as never before. En taro Adun! En taro Tassadar! En taro Zeratul!

[Ending cinematic of the main campaign: On the surface of Aiur, Artanis' troops fight the corrupted Khalai Templar, led by Selendis, who slashes through several of Artanis' Zealots and charges at him.]

Artanis: Selendis! Hear me!

[The Keystone pulses with energy, pulling the red void energies out through the nerve cords of the corrupted warriors; Amon lets out a primal scream as his essence is entrapped within the stone.]

Artanis: Selendis... Templar! Rid yourselves of Amon! Sever your nerve cords!

Amon: NO! [void energy lashes out from the Keystone, which now glows red] WE ARE ONE IN THE KHALA! [the zealots around Artanis and Selendis scream and hold their heads in pain]

Selendis: Without the Khala... what will we become?

Artanis: Free.

Amon: LIES!

[Selendis looks up at Artanis, uncertain...]

Artanis: Believe.

[Selendis ignites her psi blade... and with a scream, severs her nerve cords, collapsing to the floor. Artanis holds out his hand to help her up; she takes it, coming to her feet, igniting her blade again and raising it high.]

Selendis: En taro Artanis!

[Spurred on by her action, the other zealots sever their own nerve cords. Amon screams in defeat as the Keystone suddenly implodes in on itself and releases a burst of dark energy, blasting into the skies of Aiur and into the space beyond, and then... silence. The scene shifts to sunrise...]

Artanis: The Dark One has been banished back into the Void. For now... we are free. All of this because of you.

[Artanis stands on a cliff, laying Zeratul's warp blade bracer on a grave marker marked with the sigil of Zeratul's ship, the Void Seeker.]

Artanis: I will bring our great dream of a unified Protoss to bear.

[The scene fast-forwards, as a Protoss city is rebuilt, and ships carrying survivors arrive through warp gates.]

Artanis: We will gather the survivors, rebuild our cities. We will reject our old divisions, and forge a new society. Together, we will shape our destiny... amongst the stars.

[Post-credits, leading into the epilogue campaign - Karax is on the bridge of the Spear of Adun, seeing something odd...]

Karax: How can this be... Hierarch, we are receiving an unauthorized transmission. It is from --

Artanis: Ulnar! [looks up, out into space] It is Kerrigan.

[Epilogue campaign: The Spear of Adun, accompanied by the Hyperion and its fleet, and a pair of Zerg Leviathans, approaches Ulnar. Artanis, Selendis, and Jim Raynor stand on the bridge, waiting.]

Selendis: We have waited long enough within this accursed realm. If the Queen of Blades truly wishes to speak, she would be here now.

Raynor: She ain't gonna stand us up, Selendis. If she says it's important, you'd better believe it is.

Selendis: Trusting this deceiver is not an act I am accustomed to, Commander.

[Kerrigan enters at that moment.]

Kerrigan: Such little faith for a Templar. [looks over at the others] Artanis... Jim.

Raynor: So what's goin' on, Sarah? What's so urgent, you got us all here for?

Kerrigan: Amon lives. His hatred festers in the Void... and he already plans to return. Even now, I hear a voice calling me...

Selendis: This may be the Great Enemy's trickery.

Kerrigan: This voice is not his. There's something else in there. Something tormented and desperate... but it's benevolent. Amon's strength grows by the moment. He may not return during our lives, but he will return.

Artanis: And what is it you suggest we do, Kerrigan?

Kerrigan: There is a gateway to the Void within Ulnar. I intend to go through it and destroy the Fallen One once and for all.

[Selendis glances uncertainly at Artanis. Raynor studies the hologram, and comes to his own decision.]

Raynor: Sarah's right. We can't kick this can down the road; this burden is ours, like it or not.

Artanis: Zeratul foresaw this day would come. You have our blades, Kerrigan.

[Outside, Ulnar opens up, revealing a portal into the Void. The Spear of Adun, the Hyperion and her escorts, and the Zerg Leviathans fly into it.]

[Within the Void, as Artanis and his warriors fight through the rifts summoning Amon's minions...]

Tassadar: Go forth... purge the corruption...

Artanis: That voice! It is my former master... Tassadar!

Kerrigan: Do as he says.

[After Artanis and his forces close the rift, Tassadar speaks further.]

Tassadar: I called to you in dire need. Now you have come to this realm. Here, I am prisoner. You must free me from his grasp.

Kerrigan: Whose grasp?

Narud: Ahhh... the Queen of Blades. What a pleasant surprise.

Kerrigan: Narud. I thought you were dead.

Narud: Without form, we, the xel'naga, return to the Void. Here, I live on. But you... will not be so fortunate.

[After the combined forces break through and attack Narud, the zerg-corrupted Alexei Stukov steps forward]

Stukov: Hello, Duran. Do you remember what you did to me?

Narud: Stukov. You have come to gloat, haven't you?

Stukov: No. I've come to say good night, you son of a bitch.

[Stukov lashes out with a burst of psionic energy, killing Narud once and for all. With his destruction, the voice of Tassadar speaks again...]

Tassadar: Artanis. You must come to me.

[Artanis enters Narud's temple, and stops at seeing Tassadar floating before him.]

Artanis: It is Tassadar, my mentor! How can this be? Honored One, to see you brings such joy to my...

[Artanis stops as the form of Tassadar shimmers, fades, and expands... revealing the gargantuan form of a xel'naga.]

Ouros: Tassadar. A form I chose to inspire action in the one called Zeratul... in you. The prophecies Zeratul followed, the result of my psionic extension into the minds of primitive beings.

Kerrigan: You are xel'naga... the one who called to me! Who are you?

Ouros: Ouros. Last shepherd of the Cycle. Enemy of Amon. He is one with the Void; it is an extension of his will, binding me as prisoner.

Kerrigan: Why have you summoned us here?

Ouros: The Cycle must not be broken. The merging of purity of essence and purity of form must continue. You, the one called Kerrigan, can merge with my essence. Now, fulfill your destiny. Ascend as xel'naga. Continue the Infinite Cycle.

Raynor: Xel'naga? You want to change her... into one of you? No, dammit... Sarah, no!

Ouros: Only a xel'naga can defeat the Fallen One.

Raynor: Sarah... you don't have to do this. You don't have to let yourself be mutilated again. Together we'll --

Kerrigan: No, Jim. With all I've done, the lives ruined... worlds destroyed... there's blood on my hands. I need to cleanse it. This... is my destiny.

[Kerrigan floats before Ouros, who releases his life-force, which begins to swirl around her.]

Ouros: With the last of our essence, a new eternity dawns. The Infinite Cycles have come to their end.

[Artanis kneels, while Raynor watches as Ouros' essence takes hold in Kerrigan's body, transforming her into a glowing angelic figure.]

Artanis: She is... xel'naga!

[Kerrigan and Raynor's eyes meet, as Raynor finds himself in a state of white nothingness. From it, the human figure of Kerrigan approaches him, and takes his hand.]

Kerrigan: These moments together... they will always be with me.

[Kerrigan kisses Raynor, then embraces him.]

Raynor: Darlin'... I...

Kerrigan: We have to go now, Jim.

[Back in the "real world", Raynor looks up at the angelic Kerrigan.]

Raynor: End this thing... once and for all.

[Kerrigan turns, and rushes into the dark storm where Amon dwells.]

[Within the Void, the ascended Kerrigan blasts Amon, now in his true form, with her energies. She closes her eyes, and raises her arms as Raynor is blinded by a great flash of light.]

Kerrigan: Go, Jim... go.

[It fades to black, with a text printing "Two Years Later". Raynor is right back where he began in Wings of Liberty: At Joeyray's Bar on Mar Sara, listening to the news. He holds his old Confederate Marshal's badge, and appears lost in thought.]

Kate Lockwell: Today marks the third anniversary of the fall of the Arcturus Mengsk regime. To memorialize this milestone, Emperor Valerian Mengsk held a monumental celebration in the capital wing of Augustgrad, heralding a new age of peace and prosperity within the Terran Dominion. On the Senate steps, Admiral Matthew Horner reaffirmed the military's support of the new Dominion government and expressed his optimism at the latest rounds of peace negotiations with the unified protoss...

[The newscast fades, as Raynor looks over at a picture of himself and Horner enjoying drinks in the bar, along with a picture of Swann and other members of the Hyperion crew - remembering when they transmitted evidence of Arcturus Mengsk's tyranny.]

Horner: [voiceover] Hearts and minds, man... just like you always said.

Raynor: [voiceover] You know, Matt, someday you're gonna wind up leading this bunch of misfits.

[The focus then goes to a picture of "Heaven's Devils", Raynor's former military outfit - with the big form of Tychus Findlay, front and center.]

Findlay: [voiceover] I made a deal with the devil, Jimmy...

[The focus then goes to a picture of Kerrigan.]

Zeratul: [voiceover] You will hold her life in your hands...

[Raynor looks sadly away, and down at the bar, as the door opens behind him. He turns, surprise lighting up his eyes, as he sees who it is.]

Kerrigan: You about ready to get out of here, cowboy?

Raynor: [smiles, and leaves his badge on the bar as he stands] Hell... it's about time.

Map of the month quotations

Aaren Ruth: It looks like we've finally found a new place to call home. This planet where the dark templar have set up shop is very strange, though. I can get over the fact that everything here is blue—in fact, it's actually kind of relaxing, sometimes. No, the true surrealism of this place is that I have never seen a single plant! No grass, no trees, not even a single bush to break up the landscape. All they do seem to have are lots and lots of rocks. It's damn odd...

Ronald Jackson: I used to think that defeating the Zerg would take precise military maneuvers, clever tactics and strong leadership. I was wrong. You can't out-think the Swarm, you can't out-maneuver the Swarm, and you certainly can't break the morale of the Swarm. I hate to admit this, but I could do my job just as well if I ordered all my men to simply shoot anything that moves.

Aaren Ruth: A funny thing happened today. I watched a Protoss templar doing what he calls "exercises." I was immediately taken back to the birthday party my mother gave me when I turned six years old. All my friends were there and there was more ice cream and cake than I could ever have thought possible. The highlight of the day, though, was the magician my mother hired as entertainment. He pulled a rabbit out of his black top hat and materialized coins out from behind the ears of my friends and, for a brief moment, I believed that magic was real. As an adult, I discovered the magic tricks that had transfixed me as a youth were just bits of misdirection and sleight of hand. I even learned a few of them to show my younger brothers and sisters. They loved those tricks, and I just wish they could see the Protoss. The templar can do things with their minds that can only be described as real magic...

Novelizations

StarCraft: Liberty's Crusade (2001)

Michael Daniel Liberty: I'm Michael Daniel Liberty. I'm a reporter. Call this my most important, perhaps final, report. Call this my manifesto. Call it what you will. I'm just here to tell you what really happened. I'm here to set the record straight. I'm here to tell you the truth.

Michael Liberty: And where did we get the name 'Protoss' Colonel? Is that ours, or theirs?

Colonel Edmund Duke: Mister Liberty!

Mike: And if it's their name for themselves, how come we know it? Didn't we have to know it in advance? Or did they send a warning before they were attacked?

Colonel Duke: Lieutenant Swallow!

Lieutenant Swallow: Yes, sir?

Colonel Duke: Escort Mr. Liberty off the bridge! Now!

Mike: Damnit, Duke, you know more than you're telling. This stinks to high heaven!

Colonel Duke: I said now, Lieutenant!

Michael Liberty: All I know is what I saw. And what I saw was whatever they are, they liquefied the surface of the planet next door, and could be here faster than the Confederacy could react. And we're here at ground zero, playing cards.

Michael Liberty: It's okay. You got them all.

Sarah Kerrigan: I know. I got them all. And as I killed each and every one of them, I knew what they were thinking, Fear. Panic. Hatred. Hopelessness. Breakfast.

Mike: Breakfast?

Kerrigan: One of the techs had skipped breakfast, and he was really regretting not having had waffles. He was about to have his throat slit, and he was worried about waffles. It sucks being a telepath.

Mike: I'll bet.

Michael Liberty: But the emitter will only amplify. You need a telepath to...Kerrigan. You're going to use Kerrigan to bring in the Zerg.

Arcturus Mengsk: Very good.

Mike: You can't do that! You want her to break into a Confederate camp? She'll never make it.

Mengsk: I have a high degree of confidence in the lieutenant.

Mike: You can't do that!

Mengsk: You have your tense wrong. I gave the orders for the operation before we sat down for our first game. The good lieutenant should be picking up the emitter in the shops right about now. If you hurry, you can catch up with her.

Michael Liberty: War is supposed to increase development.

Arcturus Mengsk: Yes, but most people use the guns and armor analogy: one side gets a better gun, the other side gets better armor, which inspires a still better gun, and so on. The truth is that a better gun inspires a chemical counterweapon, which inspires a telepathic strike, which then brings about an artificial intelligence guiding the weapon. The pressure of war does bring about growth, but it is never the neat, linear growth that you learn about in the classroom.

The Liberty Manifesto: Let's not kid ourselves, we got our heads handed to us by the Zerg and the Protoss. Yes, they were like nothing we had ever seen before. Yes, their biology was different. Yes, their technology, or what we would call their technology was advanced than ours in dozens of areas. And of course, they were belligerent and aggressive in the extreme, they knew where we were, and they had the advantage of surprise. But (And this is a rather large but) we humans are about the most ornery cusses in the galaxy. We had been fighting among ourselves for as long as we’ve been in the sector, and we had honed our battle technologies to the point that they were equal in many ways. We had the advantage of interior lines of supply (that's military for "surrounded") and native terrain (that's military for "we're fighting them in our living rooms"). We could have taken them if we had gotten our act together. So what happened? The very thing that made us good warriors-the fact that we had fought among ourselves- also made us horrible at banding together in our hour of crisis. We could not unite under one banner or even form a coalition. In fact, every time there was a chance for that, one faction or another did something to enhance the advancement of their own political agenda over other factions. Often at the expense of the rest of humanity. I can't imagine the hive-minded Zerg or the glowing Protoss falling prey to such basic human drives as greed and power and raw pigheadedness. Of course, those are all basic human drives, and that's why nonhumans were cleaning our clocks.

Michael Liberty: That's it. That's the story of the fall of the Confederacy, of the Zerg and Protoss invasions, of the rise of Emperor Mengsk of the Terran Dominion. The battles are still being fought, planets are still dying, and most of the time, no one seems to know why. When I find that out, I'll get you that information, as well. I'm Michael Daniel Liberty, no longer of UNN. Now I'm a free man. And I'm done.

About StarCraft

The races of Starcraft are now renowned for their balance and distinctive features but all started as being influenced by other science fiction properties and tropes. The Terrans were conceived of as “outlaw cowboys,” who would have a clunky, heavy feel to them, Art Director Sam Didier explains. “We wanted our human race, the Terrans, to be a bit more of scoundrels, rather than the uptight and polished humans of most science fiction stories.”
The Protoss, in contrast, were meant to embody the trope of the little “gray aliens” you see in science-fiction films. They were designed to be the “most intelligent, advanced race in the game, but also the highest evolved warriors,” Didier explains. These “little gray aliens” ended up being seven feet tall and resembling “space samurai” where everything— their buildings, units, and armor— all were “ aesthetically pleasing to the eye.”
The Zerg, finally, were always meant to be these frighteningly adaptive aliens that were heavily influenced by Aliens and Robert A. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers. “They devoured and consumed and then took what was special about you and made it a part of their race. Oh, and they had teeth…lots of teeth,” Didier says.
- Christian Holt, "CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF STARCRAFT: AN INTERVIEW WITH STARCRAFT'S CREATORS", IGN, (29 Mar 2018).

StarCraft, a video game, is often compared to chess: it is strategic and extremely difficult, requiring a mathematical cast of mind, and, unlike many other video games, with their scrolling or first-person vantages, it affords a bird’s-eye perspective of the board, or map. But the analogy breaks down in countless ways. The map changes from game to game. (In this instance, it was called Habitation Station, and shaped somewhat like a butterfly.) Instead of black or white, players choose from among three “races,” called Zerg, Terran, and Protoss, with different strengths and vulnerabilities. In the early stages, players cannot see one another’s armies, and must dispatch scouts to illuminate darkened corners; they must also develop economies, with which to fund the inevitable battles. It’s as if Garry Kasparov had to plot a pawnless endgame while simultaneously harvesting minerals, building fuel extractors, and searching in vain for Spassky’s queen. Academic researchers now use StarCraft II—the “drosophila” of brain science, as one paper suggested—when studying people who expertly perform cognitively complex tasks. Chess may soon be eclipsed as the standard-bearer of competitive I.Q.
“Imagine playing a concerto on a piano, and if you miss one note the entire orchestra stops playing and you’re kicked off and you lose your job,” Sean Plott, one of the official commentators on the Scarlett-Bomber match, told me recently. “That’s what this is like.” The piano reference was not arbitrary; top-level StarCraft requires as many as three hundred actions per minute, or A.P.M.; an élite practitioner’s left hand, as it manipulates the keyboard, can appear almost to be playing Chopin. The right hand, meanwhile, darts and clicks with a mouse, contrapuntally, so frantic that carpal-tunnel syndrome and tendinitis are common side effects.
- Ben McGrath, "Good Game", The New Yorker, (Nov 24, 2014).

The rest of the team was like, ‘I dunno man, space vampires are pretty wack. We want to do something a little broader.
I grew up reading a lot of Thor — which has a Shakespearean component to the language — back from those Stan Lee days, or the Walt Simonson days, my favorite. I gave the Zerg campaign a Shakespeare meets Old Testament kind of vibe. But I needed that that human-like character down the line, and it was toward the end of the Terran campaign like, whoa, what if she becomes — again, we stumbled on those connector points.
At the time it was the big figure-skating to-do with Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan. So we’ll just name ours Kerrigan, after the girl who gets her knee beat in. We thought, aw, that’s so funny! It’s so stupid.
- Chris Metzen, Starcraft: The Past, Present and Future, Polygon, (11/6/2015).

At its peak, in Korea, where w:Esports grew and led the world, there were three cable channels broadcasting StarCraft 24/7. That was both awesome and something that we hadn’t necessarily predicted, forecast.
- Mike Morhaime, Starcraft: The Past, Present and Future, Polygon, (11/6/2015).

External links

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StarCraft

StarCraft series official webpage