User:PsiSeveredHead/Speculation

Speculation about the Khala
The Protoss were confused by the "betrayal" of the Xel'Naga during the Aeon of Strife. Khas believed that the Protoss were, in fact, suffering from self-hatred and that the Khala was the necesary cure. The Khala was advanced by the Conclave as the only way to prevent another Aeon of Strife.

The Rogue Tribes did not "go insane" however, despite cutting themselves off from the Khala. They had, like the other Protoss, "gotten over" their self-hatred. The Khala was not needed as a "permanent" cure, just a "one-time" cure for the madness.

The psionic link that the Protoss possessed and Khas re-established was one of the reasons the Xel'Naga became so close to the Protoss, so severing themselves from the link would render the Dark Templar "forbidden" in the eyes of the Conclave (and possibly the Xel'Naga as well). However, the Dark Templar continue to revere the Xel'Naga, to the point of settling the harsh world of Shakuras in order to live near one of their temples.

The New Swarm
The New Swarm is an organization that is almost certainly separate from Infested Kerrigan's Swarm.

It is extremely unlikely that Kaloth works for her. (Furthermore, Stukov's references to the "New Swarm" suggest that Kaloth is part of a splinter Zerg group.)

Duran and the Xel'Naga
Duran's true nature is still unknown, but his knowledge of the Xel'Naga cycle and his connection to their artifacts suggests that the "greater power" that he serves are truly the Xel'Naga.

DuGalle's Mistakes
Despite his tactical brilliance, DuGalle was not very good at proposing long term strategies. In some ways he seemed reckless in his pursuit of his goals. DuGalle was also convinced that the United Earth Directorate would eventually emerge victorious, and this hubris led him to engage in several tactically-risky maneuvers:


 * His first blunder was setting up a base camp on Braxis without scouting for Vespene first. This led him to accept Samir Duran into his forces with few qualms, despite his misgivings.


 * DuGalle polarized the sector by refusing to deal with any outside factions besides the forces of Duran, possibly due to their initial successes and an arrogant assurance of victory. Kerrigan exploited general fear of the UED in order to build her coalition of Protoss and Terran forces.


 * DuGalle underestimated the importance of the Psi Disrupter because of faulty intelligence from Duran, who understood the importance of the Psi Disrupter in controlling the Zerg swarms.


 * DuGalle made no further serious attempts to pursue Mengsk after he escaped with the assistance of the Zerg, allowing Kerrigan to obtain an ally that made her objectives somewhat easier to achieve.


 * He made his final blunder after Sarah Kerrigan destroyed the Psi Disrupter. His fleet possessed the unenviable task of having to occupy Korhal, Char and Braxis all at the same time for tactically sound but very different reasons. He left a planetary garrison to defend the Psi Disrupter, but clearly his preparations were not enough to stave off the Zerg invasion force. DuGalle also failed to realize that Mengsk's psi-emitters could recruit the uncontrolled and docile Zerg that had been allowed to live on Braxis, enabling Kerrigan's Swarms to regroup and destroy the Psi Disrupter. Worse, the fusion generators were located at a distance from the Psi Disrupter and were barely defended at all, and there were no back-up fusion generators to power the Disrupter in case of an emergency.

From that point on the expeditionary force was doomed. Kerrigan inevitably defeated his forces on Korhal and Char, then destroyed his fleet in a titanic battle.

Theories about the Temples
Very little is known about the Temple on Aiur, but the Temple of Shakuras has a few clues:

First was the use of cosmic energy. It appears the Xel'Naga, a race which had at least some psychics (and used psionic technology such as Khaydarin Crystals), but this energy is opposed to the "purity of essence" used by the Khalai. This is the same energy used by the Zerg and Dark Templar.

Through study, the Dark Templar knew that the Xel'Naga Temple could destroy the Zerg, possibly through the use of cosmic energy, but why was the light side of Protoss psionics required as well? Possibly the Temple was supposed to be used by Xel'Naga and Protoss working together to attack the Zerg. The Temple only affected Zerg on the planet, though.

The Temple was not reactivated in Drawing the Web but could be reactivated in Enslavers: Dark Vengeance, which took place before Drawing the Web.