In the Aeon of Strife in the fictional StarCraft universe, Protoss warriors created warp gates to travel great distances instantaneously. The knowledge involved in their creation has been lost, but on some planets, these gates still remain. When these sites are discovered, they spawn some of the most violent battles as great powers try and control these ancient places of power. Aiur had a single Warp Gate which survived the Aeon of Strife, but it was destroyed by the Protoss during the attack of the United Earth Directorate on Aiur. Note that the Dark Templar left Aiur after the Aeon of Strife, so it’s interesting that Shakuras had it’s own Warp Gate. Perhaps it had been built by Xel'Naga? Or perhaps the Dark Templar rediscovered the technology?

In any event, it’s doubtful that the Warp Gate on Aiur was set to the Shakuras Gate by the Protoss before Zeratul ordered a retreat to Shakuras. This suggests that one Gate can connect to any other Gate of a similar design, provided you know the coordinates or code.

Warp Gates should not be confused with the Gateway and the Stargate, which are effectively inferior forms of that technology.

References

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