StarCraft Episode VI

StarCraft Episode VI is entitled "the Queen of Blades". It covers Kerrigan's attempts to defeat the United Earth Directorate's Psi Disrupter and take control of the Zerg. In this campaign, the player takes the role of a Cerebrate forced to work for Kerrigan. It is not known if this is the same Cerebrate from Episode II

The Queen of Blades
At the beginning of Episode VI, Infested Kerrigan is hiding out on Tarsonis, former (and now empty) capital of the Terran Confederacy with a very small Swarm. She has taken control of at least one Zerg Cerebrate, a necessary link in the Zerg chain of command. Her forces are weak because the United Earth Directorate has activated the Psi Disrupter, interfering with her control of Zerg.

Duran interrupts her ruminations, telling her that visitors have arrived. Jim Raynor and Fenix are there to see her. Kerrigan contacted the two of them on Aiur in Episode V and alerted them to the United Earth Directorate's plans - to take control of the Zerg Overmind. Raynor and Fenix don't trust her, but are willing to work with her to defeat the UED. She convinced Raynor that the UED will enslave them all, the way the United Powers League ruled Earth with an iron fist.

Duran interrupts the conversation, saying the Psi Disrupter has caused many of Kerrigan's Zerg to leave her control over the past few hours and run amok. Raynor mocks her on this point, while Kerrigan and Duran get to work.

The new Cerebrate takes control of Kerrigan's few remaining Zerg minions and, with the use of superior tactics, slowly defeats the rebel Zerg, recovering Hives as it does so. Unfortunately, the Hives do not respond to the Cerebrate's orders, and so the associated larvae cannot be transformed into new Zerg minions.

Kerrigan's Zerg move from Hive to Hive, taking them from the rebels. Each time, some of the rebels join Kerrigan's side. Kerrigan recruits a number of Hunter Killers this way. Eventually, Kerrigan puts down the revolt and claims victory.

Kerrigan holds another conference with Raynor, Fenix ... and Terran Dominion Emperor Arcturus Mengsk, who had been kept in cold sleep until then. Mengsk is very unhappy about his treatment, which only makes Kerrigan and Raynor happy. Both of them have reasons to hate him due to his actions at the end of Episode I, and make these reasons well known.

Kerrigan unfroze him because she needs the use of his psi-emitters. Mengsk had been frozen for quite some time, and did not know that the UED had found and activated the Psi Disrupter. With his emitters, she could gather enough Zerg to destroy the Psi Disrupter and confront the UED. In return, she will help him retake Korhal, his throne world, currently being occupied by the UED.

Mengsk wants to know how he can trust her, and she responds that if he doesn't cooperate, he can remain Emperor of an eight by eight cell for the rest of his life. Mengsk is "persuaded" to join Kerrigan's alliance by this kind of talk.

Jim Raynor and his Raynor's Raiders descend upon Braxis, home of the Psi Disrupter and a number of UED troops. Raynor's forces, including Terran Ghosts and Siege Tanks, destroy the poorly defended fusion reactors powering the Psi Disrupter.

The Psi Disrupter sits on a well-defended hilltop, but is now inactive. As Raynor's forces retreat, Mengsk sends down an SCV carrying a psi-emitter to the surface of Braxis. The SCV pilot quickly finds a small number of uncontrolled Zerg which the UED allowed to roam the world. The psi-emitter attracts the Zerg, enabling Kerrigan to take control of them. The SCV pilot ropes in Zerg Drones (capable of constructing a Hive Cluster), Zerglings, Hydralisks, and even special Zerg breeds (the Devouring One, a powerful Zergling, the Hunter Killer, a powerful Hydralisk, and the Torrasque, a powerful Ultralisk), tangling with UED outposts along the way. When these Zerg have all been added to Kerrigan's Swarm, the SCV requests and gratefully receives transport away from the Zerg.

Kerrigan quickly builds up a strong force and sends an aerial attack force to the UED base built around the Psi Disrupter. Despite the well-designed UED defenses, the Zerg Swarm defeats them and destroys the Psi Disrupter.

Defeating the Terrans
As the Hyperion, Raynor's command cruiser, lies in orbit over Moria, Fenix, Jim Raynor and Arcturus Mengsk discuss Infested Kerrigan some more ... Fenix fears that Kerrigan will turn on them now that the Psi Disrupter has been destroyed. However, Raynor is sure she's serious about defeating the UED, and will work with her towards that end. It's Kerrigan turning on them afterwards that has them worried. Mengsk says she's completely untrustworthy, but he'll work with her to take Korhal back from the UED. Raynor is angered, as it is Mengsk's fault that Kerrigan was infested in the first place.

This is when Kerrigan shows up. After admonishing Raynor and Mengsk to be nice to each other, she discusses their next moves. She isn't ready to attack Korhal yet, due to a lack of resources. Moria is one of the richest planets in terms of resources in the Koprulu Sector, and if she can raid the planet, she can build up her Swarm large enough to defeat the UED. However, Moria is defended by the Kel-Morian Combine, which was part of the Terran Dominion until the Dominion was defeated by the UED. Fenix comments that it is surprising the Combine is not attacking the UED; most likely the Combine is bribing the UED to leave them alone. Kerrigan's Swarm will have to evade these defenses to succeed.

Fenix is such an enthusiastic supporter of the attack on Moria that he leads the attack himself. In private, Kerrigan discusses the situation with Samir Duran. She believes her temporary allies are too smart to believe her, but they don't know just how much they will lose by allying with her.

Fenix and the Zerg coordinate an attack on a mining center, where a Zerg Hive Cluster is set up. Kerrigan orders her forces to advance on the Morian mines, defended by the Kel-Morian Combine, and to infest as many Terrans as possible to create Infested Terrans as soldiers.

Liberation of Korhal
After acquiring enough resources, Kerrigan moves on to the main event on Korhal, taking any Infested Terrans with her.

Once they reach Korhal, Mengsk impatiently plots the attack on Augustgrad, capital city of Korhal. Kerrigan will take on the center of the city, while her allies will take on the outskirts.

Shortly after establishing herself just outside Augustgrad, the UED sends their own Zerg to attack Kerrigan. Kerrigan defeats them, and notices that the UED sent only a small number of Zerg. She believes they are having trouble controlling the Zerg Overmind.

Despite the Zerg and UED defenders, Kerrigan and her allies retake Korhal, dealing a heavy defeat to the UED. Kerrigan tells Mengsk the planet is his, to which Mengsk replies she shouldn't be snide. Kerrigan then tells him she hopes he makes the most of his reign.

True Colors
Kerrigan discusses her next steps with Samir Duran. With the UED's power broken on this world, only their forces on Char pose a threat to her, and believes the time to eliminate her allies has come. She orders an immediate attack. Duran replies that the Protoss and Terrans will be able to respond to an attack in "about six minutes" and so Kerrigan orders her minions to immediately strike against Mengsk and Fenix's forces. As they recover, Kerrigan builds up her forces and hurls them against her enemies. As she destroys their bases, Terran Dominion General Edmund Duke and Praetor Fenix make personal appearances on the battlefield. Duke tells her she has a lot to answer for, and Fenix admits he was a fool to trust her.

Kerrigan's forces kill Duke, as she says she wanted him dead for a long time, and she feels excited about it. Mengsk calls her a murderer, and points out they had a deal. Kerrigan asked how he could expect her to keep his word when he practically fed her to the Zerg, and he was "directly responsible for the hell I've been through!". Kerrigan says she will leave him among the ashes of his Dominion, letting him see her rise to power. He will remember that he turned her loose in the first place.

Kerrigan's forces also kill Fenix. Raynor is, of course, angered at the murder of his friend. Raynor asks her how many people need to die before she sees what she has become. When Kerrigan says he doesn't understand, Raynor promises to kill her for what she did to Fenix and everyone else caught between her and her quest for power. Maybe not tomorrow, and maybe not with an army at his back, but he swears he will kill her.

After defeating her former allies, Kerrigan orders her Cerebrate to return to Tarsonis to rest, as for the first time since her transfiguration she is tired of slaughter.

Experiment in Progress
Kerrigan's peace on Tarsonis is short-lived, however, as a huge wave of Zerg appears in orbit over Tarsonis and hundreds of Zerg landed on the planet and began to attack her outposts. Duran offers to rally the troops.

Kerrigan loses four of her five primary Hive Clusters - only the center one survives, and it is nearly surrounded by the UED-controlled Zerg. As Kerrigan slowly fights back, Duran notices a UED Science Corps outpost at the rear of the landing zone. There are a number of Terran scientists and genetic engineers (medics) there, along with a number of Zerg locked up in pens. Kerrigan comments that the UED's control of the Overmind is tenuous and the UED cannot directly control the Zerg on Tarsonis. These "scientists" are needed to coordinate the attack. The scientists are possibly psychic, and the genetic engineers may have been modifying Zerg to be easier to control.

Duran orders the Cerebrate to attack the scientists instead of wiping out the attacking Zerg. The UED outpost had inadequate air defenses, and Kerrigan's Swarm slowly fought its way past the UED's Zerg and killed the scientists. At this point, the imprisoned Zerg fled from their pens...

The aftermath of this battle is not shown, but most likely the renegade Zerg fell under Kerrigan's control and slaughtered the few UED forces on Tarsonis.

Blackmailing the Protoss
Infested Kerrigan, having recovered from the attack on Tarsonis, moved forward with her plan. She took Samir Duran and a Zerg Brood to Shakuras, informing Duran that she needed to recover Matriarch Raszagal to advance her plan.

Raszagal was located in the Dark Templar capital, Talematros, which was built on a tall hill with five heavily-defended ramps to get inside. A large number of light Protoss had also moved into the city, augmenting its defenses with troops and technology. One of the light Protoss upgrades was a defense system consisting of Khaydarin Crystal-based Pylons, which generated a powerful electro-magnetic field, capable of preventing Zerg from maneuvering through the air nearby. As a result, Kerrigan could only send ground-based minions, except Overlords, anywhere near the capital.

She needed a distraction to retrieve the Matriarch, and her servant Samir Duran provided one. He knew quite a bit about Protoss technology, enough to spot a vulnerability in the city's defenses. If he could plant explosives on the five special Pylon clusters and detonate them simultaneously, he could overload the Pylons, creating a huge distraction. Of course, he still had to lead the Zerg up the city's five ramps, which were defended by both light and dark Protoss.

Duran was successful in planting the explosives and setting them off. The entire city exploded, as all of its structures were connected to the Khaydarin Crystal-based power grid. In the confusion, Kerrigan was able to spirit away the Matriarch and escape.

The Xel'Naga Temple was not activated during the battle, for reasons unknown.

Slaying the Beast
Kerrigan travelled to Char with the Matriarch as her prize, with the purpose of finally defeating the United Earth Directorate and slaying the second Zerg Overmind with her secret weapon. Duran reminded her that the Overmind could only be killed by Dark Templar attacks, but Kerrigan said her "secret weapon" would arrive on time. Duran said he still did not understand, when he received a transmission from an unidentified Protoss carrier. (At this point, an electronic-sounding beep is heard.)

"That's what I love about the Protoss...they're so punctual." said Kerrigan.

Zeratul was commanding the Carrier, and demanded to know why Kerrigan had stolen the Matriarch. Kerrigan was actually more interested in Zeratul. She needed him and his brethren to slay the Overmind for her. In return, she would allow the Matriarch to return to her people. Zeratul, needless to say, is suspicious, but Matriarch Raszagal appears, telling him that the Overmind is their common enemy, and he must destroy it on behalf of their people. Zeratul reluctantly agreed.

Other Protoss had also arrived at Char, including Artanis, but they are not seen until Omega.

Kerrigan's initial forces on Char were accompanied by a small number of Dark Templar and Gateways to summon them. A huge battle erupted, as the United Earth Directorate defended itself with the aid of its captive Zerg. So close to the enslaved Overmind, the UED was having no trouble controlling their own Zerg minions.

Eventually, Kerrigan's forces and Zeratul cleared away the Overmind's defense forces, and Zeratul personally slew it. Zeratul then demanded the return of the Matriarch. Kerrigan asked the Matriarch if she wanted to return to Shakuras, but the Matriarch said no.

Zeratul was astounded. Matriarch Raszagal was clearly not herself. Kerrigan admitted that she had enslaved the Matriarch on Shakuras long before she met Zeratul there. The Matriarch had underestimated Kerrigan's psionic powers and fell under her control. She bragged that, by enslaving the Matriarch, she had been able manipulate the Protoss into doing her bidding.

Zeratul says "we shall see" and is transported away by an Arbiter. However, Raszagal is taken away by the recall rift as well.

The Reckoning
Six hours later, Samir Duran gave Kerrigan a report. With the Overmind and its Cerebrates destroyed, virtually all the Zerg in the Sector now fell under Kerrigan's control. The United Earth Directorate fleet had fled the planet, and he did not know how many ships they had left. Kerrigan's primary Hive Clusters were moved to an orbital platform over Char.

Zeratul had somehow bypassed the Zerg defenses and spirited the Matriarch away. He and his brethren had collected with a group of Protoss survivors and clustered on the surface of Char. They had imprisoned Matriarch Raszagal in a Stasis Cell, and would be able to initiate dimensional recall to Shakuras in only half an hour.

Kerrigan then ordered all of her Broods (indicating that many Cerebrates still lay under her control) to descend to the surface of Char and capture the Matriarch and Zeratul. The rest of the Protoss could die.

Believing the Protoss intended to take Raszagal back to Shakuras, Kerrigan said it was a pity that Raszagal could not be redeemed.

The Zerg had to quickly concentrate their forces and move them against the Protoss. In their way, the remnants of the United Earth Directorate stood, but these were quickly defeated. Eventually the Zerg reached the small Protoss base, killing all the Protoss and destroying all the structures except for the Stasis Cell.

Zeratul wasn't there for the attack, but he quickly made an appearance. Cursing Kerrigan, he destroyed the Stasis Cell and stabbed his own Matriarch with his warp blade!

As Raszagal lay dying, she told Zeratul that he had freed her from Kerrigan's control, and that he must watch over her tribe. "Into your hands I give the future." Then she died.

Kerrigan could scarcely believe what she had just seen. Zeratul said it was better that he killed her, rather than let her live as Kerrigan's slave. Kerrigan, impressed, allowed him to leave without attacking him. Besides, she had "taken his honor" and believed he would never be able to forgive himself.

True to her word, Kerrigan allowed Zeratul and a few of his brethren to escape from Char. These battered Protoss set their course for Shakuras, hoping to find Artanis and any other survivors of Kerrigan's attacks.

Dark Origin

 * Main article: Dark Origin

If the Reckoning is beaten in less than 25 minutes, the player can then play the secret bonus map, Dark Origins. In this mission, Zeratul discovers a chilling secret...

Omega
In Infested Kerrigan's base of operations on an infested space platform over Char, Kerrigan detected three separate fleets approaching. This came at a very bad time for Kerrigan as Samir Duran has somehow vanished and most of her Broods were still on the surface of Char. In fact, she only had one Cerebrate ... and one Brood, in a position to defend her.

Arcturus Mengsk contacts Kerrigan from one of the fleets, mainly to gloat about his upcoming attack. When Kerrigan asked how he had so quickly gathered a fleet after his defeat in True Colors, he replied: "I called in a few favors. Made a few concessions. You'd be surprised to see how many special interest groups in this sector want to see you dead." Mengsk's new fleet was rag-tag, befitting its nature, and mainly composed by siege tanks and nuclear weapons.

Kerrigan said that his three fleets didn't frighten her. Mengsk pretended that he had not noticed the other fleets.

Artanis then contacts Kerrigan from 'his' fleet. He is there to take revenge for the deaths of Fenix, Matriarch Raszagal, and all other Protoss who had been killed by her Zerg. Mengsk, tuning in to the conversation, laughed at Kerrigan, and asking if she could guess which faction directed the third fleet. Kerrigan replied using a human expression: "When it rains, it pours."

Kerrigan guessed it was Admiral DuGalle and the United Earth Directorate fleet, and DuGalle replied that she was correct. He gave her one last chance to surrender to the UED, but Kerrigan said she would rather massacre his troops now and watch DuGalle die in agony. DuGalle gallantly replied that she vastly underestimated him, but Kerrigan's reply was ... impolite.

One Brood stood on the space platform against the three fleets. Mengsk's forces used mainly Siege Tanks and nuclear missiles, Artanis' forces used the typical Protoss psionic attacks, and DuGalle's forces used mainly spacecraft. However, all three forces had suffered heavy defeats in the past and were only a shadow of their former power. Kerrigan's Zerg achieved victory against each of the fleets.

When she defeated Mengsk, he said that he would be waiting for her to slip up, but did not specify what he intended to do if and when that happened.

When she defeated Artanis, he told her the Protoss would never forget her treachery.

When she defeated DuGalle, who had caused her particularly grave trouble after arriving in the Koprulu Sector, DuGalle asked for surrender. Kerrigan said that she didn't take prisoners, and that he should flee towards Earth. She said that it would be interesting sport to see how far away they got before they died.

The UED Retreat
The UED had no hope of defeating the Zerg at this point. Admiral DuGalle wrote a letter to his wife, Helena. He stated that news of the defeat of the UED would have reached Earth by the time she received his letter. He also said that the UED couldn't defeat the Koprulu Sector Terrans, and that the Zerg could not be tamed. Finally, he admitted that Vice Admiral Stukov had not been killed in the manner the victory report indicated; DuGalle's pride had killed him.

As DuGalle says this, images of his previous actions show in the background, including the attack on a Terran colony from the Brood War introduction movie.

DuGalle draws a pistol, puts it against his head, and kills himself.

Shortly after the defeat of the UED, the Zerg Swarm fell upon the UED fleet and destroyed it. No ships made it back to Earth.

Epilogue
Kerrigan declares victory, but notes that the recent battles have seriously weakened the Zerg. She said she gave her "unlikely allies" (Raynor, Mengsk and the Protoss) a reprieve, but planned to attack them in the future.

Mengsk fled back to Korhal after his rag-tag fleet had been heavily defeated, where he began rebuilding the Terran Dominion.

Artanis and the survivors of his fleet made it back to Shakuras, where they began rebuilding their once-glorious civilization.

Jim Raynor and Zeratul went their separate ways and have not been seen since.

And Kerrigan stood on her space platform, staring into the void of space. She felt some kind of threat was approaching...