Introduction to StarCraft Episode I

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.

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 "Executor Tassadar" and simply withdrew. This information may have been kept secret from the general Terran Confederacy population.

A New Magistrate

In the midst of the crisis which befell Chau Sara, a new Colonial Magistrate is named for the nearby world, Mar Sara on December 12th, 2499, which had fallen under attack by another intelligent alien species, different from the ones who attacked Chau Sara. His early orders include taking the colonists to "concentration points" out in the wastelands of Mar Sara. A small group of these colonists and troops is sent to seek out a local Marshall, named Jim Raynor, to help relocate the colonists. After the relocation, the Colonial Magistrate receives news from Backwater Station, a Confederate outpost that has been besieged by the Zerg. Alpha Squadron General Edmund Duke tells the Magistrate not to interfere, as he will send help, but Raynor, who despises the Confederacy, believes Duke will take too long. Raynor volunteers to lead colonial troops to rescue these Confederates (and is successful at doing so), but after destroying an infested installation he is sent to prison. However, Arcturus Mengsk, who leads the Rebel group Sons of Korhal, frees him.

Desperate Alliance

General Duke has no patience for the Colonial Magistrate's protests over his treatment of Raynor. The Magistrate has a report on Conderate tactics made for him. According to the report, most of the Confederate outposts have been destroyed by the Zerg, the Confederates refuse to openly face the alien menace, and have arrested most of the militias who had dared to face the Zerg. Because of the Confederates' cowardice, the core city on Mar Sara is left virtually undefended, with the Zerg attacking it, and the remaining citizens unable to cope with the threat for long. The only military group actually willing to face the Zerg in the open are the Sons of Korhal.

Arcturus Mengsk strikes a deal with the Magistrate; he will evacuate the residents of the core city in exchange for the Magistrate's cooperation. Meanwhile, the Confederates show no interest in saving the civilians on Mar Sara. Left with little choice, the Magistrate accepts Mengsk's help. He fends off the Zerg long enough for the Sons of Korhal to rescue the colonists. The Confederacy responds by firing him until they could finish their investigation. Despite his spirited defense of the colonists against the Zerg, he has dared to ally with a terrorist group.

Information Gathering

With the destruction of the core city, both the Confederates and the Sons of Korhal are planning to evacuate the planet. The former Colonial Magistrate is fired, pending an investigation into his connections with the Sons of Korhal.

However, after freeing Raynor from a prison ship, Mengsk wanted the former Magistrate's assistance in raiding the last Confederate outpost on Mar Sara for Confederate technology. This base, Jacobs Installation, is operated by Alpha Squadron. Raynor leads the Sons of Korhal team inside where they steal an encrypted disk containing critical data. During the mission, Raynor encountered Zerg confined within. Raynor is very surprised, but Mengsk said this is not the first time he has witnessed the Confederacy experimenting with Zerg.

The interior of the base is difficult to navigate. In order to get to the sensitive areas, the Sons of Korhal team must use transporter pads to move around.

Eventually they make it to the main computer, which is defended by a large number of troops, including a Terran Ghost. However, with Raynor's assistance, the "terrorists" win the firefight and retrieve a number of data disks. Raynor asks for transports to be waiting for them for when they leave the installation.

The Flight to Antiga Prime

In the chaos of the Zerg attacks on Mar Sara, the Sons of Korhal escape with the data disks. They travel to a secret staging area on the second moon of Antiga Prime.

Thirteen hours after the Sons of Korhal leave Mar Sara, a Protoss fleet descends upon the planet. All life on the surface is exstinguished.

At the staging area, Jim Raynor speaks to the former Colonial Magistrate of Mar Sara, who has been named a commander in the Sons of Korhal. Raynor says that headquarters has begun analyzing the data on the disks retrieved from the Jacobs Installation.

Arcturus Mengsk and his second in command, Lieutenant Sarah Kerrigan, report, but are not present in the same location as Jim Raynor and the former new commander. Mengsk believes the efforts of the Sons of Korhal have weakened the grip of the Terran Confederacy on the fringe worlds.

Kerrigan says that on the planet, the colonists are ready to rebel against the Confederacy. However, the Terran Confederacy has become aware of this and has sent Alpha Squadron, under the command of General Edmund Duke, to stop it. Kerrigan is sent to the surface first, as a scout, and will deal with Duke's officers.

The Sons of Korhal force on Antiga Prime is led by Jim Raynor. As he travels towards his objective, he meets with Sarah Kerrigan, Mengsk's second-in-command. A Terran Ghost and telepath, Kerrigan reads his toughts and calls him a pig.

Raynor responds "What? I haven't even said anything to you yet."

Getting down to business, Kerrigan leads Raynor to the Antigan military base. It is surrounded by Alpha Squadron troops, and worse, is overseen by a Confederate officer within it's command center. The Sons of Korhal fight their way past the Confederates, and Kerrigan slips into the command center, assassinates the Confederate officer, and turns the base over to the Antigans. With the assistance of the Antigans, the Sons of Korhal clear the area around the Antigan base of Confederate forces.

Unfortunately, the main Confederate base is across a large body of water, and they are planning an attack. Using an Antigan spaceport, the Sons of Korhal construct Wraith space fighters and dropships (troop transports) in order to launch their own attack. The rebels get the drop on the Confederates, defeating them in battle.

Seizing an Opportunity

Later, the Norad II, flagship of Confederate general Edmund Duke, head of the Confederate Alpha Squadron is shot down by the Zerg, who had arrived at the planet for reasons unknown. Duke makes an uncoded priority one distress call, asking for immediate backup. Raynor is quite happy at this turn of events.

Mengsk tells Jim Raynor and his commander to rescue Duke, a decidedly unpopular idea among his followers. Mengsk says that an entire colony should not suffer because of Duke's cold-heartedness, and a Confederate general could make a powerful ally. Raynor and Kerrigan still disagree, but Mengsk has the authority to order them to do it, so they reluctantly do as they're told.

The derelict ship is surrounded by Zerg, preventing Alpha Squadron from rescuing their general. They accept the offer of help from the Sons of Korhal and team up in order to fight their way past the Zerg.

The Sons of Korhal reach the ship and speak to Duke. Raynor insults Duke, but Mengsk takes over his end of the conversation. He tells Duke that the Confederacy is falling apart due to internal revolts and attacks of the Zerg, and offers to let Duke join the Sons of Korhal as a member of Mengsk's cabinet. Duke refuses, saying he's a general, but Mengsk retorts that he has no army.

Duke says it's a deal, and joins the Sons of Korhal.

The Psi Emitter

Duke presumably helps Mengsk decrypt that data disk his men have stolen on Mar Sara - it contains the information necessary to create a psi-emitter. This device could amplify the psionic energy produced by a psychic Terran (e.g. a Terran Ghost operative, such as Sarah Kerrigan) and attract the Zerg to it.

With the defection of Alpha Squadron, an enormous loss to the Confederacy, Delta Squadron is sent to fight the Zerg and take over the colony. This force, while not as well-trained as Alpha Squadron, is a lot bigger. Due to recent losses, the combined Sons of Korhal and Alpha Squadron cannot hope to defeat them. Instead, Mengsk resorts to trickery; he orders Sarah Kerrigan to infiltrate the main Delta Squadron base and activate the psi-emitter. A myriad of Zerg flooded the area, destroying the Confederate army.

A disabled mission on the StarCraft game CD occurs after these events.

The Sons of Korhal evacuate in time, and the Protoss arrived to destroy the infestation (along with all other life on the surface of the planet).

Downfall of the Confederacy

Arcturus Mengsk calls a meeting to order. The time for the final strike on the Confederates has now come, but Tarsonis, the capital world, is heavily defended.

General Edmund Duke says that he has defended Tarsonis in over thirty major battles, and therefore knows it's defenses inside and out. There are three major orbital platforms that serve as staging areas for the Confederate fleet. By striking the central platform, they could allow a small force to slip through to Tarsonis itself. The platforms are defended by Delta Squadron and Omega Squadron, which Duke claims are no match for his Alpha Squadron.

Duke helps the Sons of Korhal lay siege to the Confederate homeworld of Tarsonis, defeating the forces defending the platform. Duke then announces that they have planted a psi-emitter, which was kept secret until the last minute from Kerrigan and Raynor. The Zerg are attracted to the planet and raze the Confederate installations. A disabled mission occurs at this time.

Unconventional Tactics

The Protoss follow with a fleet of several dozen warshps, landing on a space platform next to the primary Zerg Hive Cluster.

Arcturus Mengsk gives unexpected orders: if the Protoss engage the Zerg, the Confederates may escape. Kerrigan is ordered to take a strike force to engage the Zerg, while Jim Raynor and General Duke will remain on the command ship. Raynor is outraged - not only have the Zerg devastated the planet, killing most of it's people, but now Kerrigan is being sent to the space platform without any backup.

Raynor contacts Kerrigan with his objections as she reaches the platform, but Kerrigan says that she's a Ghost, and can tell that the Protoss are here to wipe out everyone on the planet, not just the Zerg. While successful in her task, Kerrigan also questions Mengsk's morals and strategy, but says she believes he will come around.

After Kerrigan defeats the Protoss, the Zerg attack, overwhelming her force. She calls for backup, but Mengsk orders a retreat from Tarsonis. Raynor is outraged.

As the Sons of Korhal left, breaking contact with the ground forces, Protoss and Zerg forces battled across the core continent of Tarsonis.

A Matter of Idealism

An angry Jim Raynor tells the commander that he's leaving the Sons of Korhal, and the commander should come with him. Arcturus Mengsk contacts them, claiming that they've still got a job to do, and that they've sown the seeds of a new Empire. Raynor cuts him off, however.

Mengsk says it's a mistake to cross him, as he has sacrificed too much to let this fall apart. "You mean like you sacrificed Kerrigan?" retorts Raynor. Mengsk begins 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, cuts off communication with Mengsk again.

General Duke has taken a position on a space platform over Tarsonis and has reactivated the Ion Cannon, a powerful Confederate weapon. Any attempt by Raynor to escape must take place after the Ion Cannon is shut down.

Jim Raynor makes an inspirational speech to his troops. He must take on Alpha Squadron and the Sons of Korhal Elite Guard, which attack him with a wide variety of forces. The Ion Cannon is on a nearby platform, but can only be reached by space transports. Raynor can't defeat them, but he is able to cut a path to the Ion Cannon and destroy it.

The Coronation

In the aftermath of his victory over the Terran Confederacy (and his defeat by Raynor), Arcturus Mengsk unites the Terran factions once under the control of the Confederacy, and forms the Terran Dominion, crowning himself "Emperor". Moria, Umoja, and essentially all other legal Terran organizations join the Dominion as well.

His inaugural address is delivered during the ending video.

• Previous: StarCraft Prequel
• Next: StarCraft Episode II

References

• StarCraft homepage at Blizzard Entertainment
• Battle.net StarCraft Compendium