Raynor's Raiders

"It's funny. It seems like yesterday Arcturus was the idealistic rebel crusader. Now he's the law and we're the criminals."

- Jim Raynor.

Raynor's Raiders are an independent terran military formation led by Jim Raynor. It has a history of cooperation with the protoss thanks in part to Raynor's personal connections. Upon their creation the core of the Raiders were from Raynor's Rangers; the Rangers left the Sons of Korhal after Arcturus Mengsk abandoned Sarah Kerrigan to the zerg.

The Raiders' base of operations is Hyperion, a former Confederate Behemoth-class battlecruiser. The ship served as the Sons of Korhal's base before the Great War before being hijacked by the Raiders following the Fall of Tarsonis.

Once the Raiders ceased being Raynor's Rangers of the Sons of Korhal, the primary color in their paint scheme changed from red to blue.

Formation
The origins of the Raiders are to be found in the Mar Sara Colonial Militia, whom many Raiders originate from. However, with the Confederacy having left Mar Sara for dead, the Militia joined the Sons of Korhal, forming an elite unit within the Sons known as Raynor's Rangers. In time, this group would form the core of what would become known as Raynor's Raiders.

Rebellion against the Sons of Korhal
After the debacle over Tarsonis, Sons of Korhal Captain James Raynor left the terrorist organization after feeling betrayed and used by its dissembling leader Arcturus Mengsk. Many others felt the same way.

Raynor was picked up by the former Confederate battlecruiser, the Thunder Child, on his way to safety.

Arcturus Mengsk and Alpha Squadron General Edmund Duke returned to the orbital platforms over Tarsonis to punish the Raynor's Raiders. The Raiders were heavily outnumbered. In order to escape from Tarsonis's space platforms, Raynor's Raiders had to destroy the powerful Ion Cannon which had been activated by General Duke. The Cannon would destroy Raynor's forces as they fled. With a daring thrust against the Sons of Korhal, Raynor was able to destroy the Cannon, and then make good his escape.

Upon their escape the Raiders numbered some 300, more than Raynor expected. Not all were originally members of the unit; some were Confederate and Sons of Korhal soldiers evacuated from Tarsonis and at least one was from Alpha Squadron. Yet 300 was still beyond what existing resources could handle. The Raiders travelled to the shipyards of Dylar IV to acquire more transport by stealing Sons of Korhal ships. Mengsk foresaw this and sent General Duke to stop them. However in the cramped confines of the shipyard the Raiders got the upper hand and stole Hyperion and several other ships.

Conflict with the Zerg
The small armada found its way to Char after its leader, Raynor, was psychically called to the burnt-out world. Alpha Squadron General Edmund Duke was also in the area, acting as a Terran Dominion enforcer. The two confronted each other but did not do battle.

Both had been lured there by psychic emissions produced by Sarah Kerrigan, who had been encased in a cocoon by a new Zerg Brood, where she was undergoing a metamorphosis into a special infested terran. Duke attacked the new Zerg Brood, but was defeated in a disastrous battle. He was pursued by the Tiamat Brood.

Raynor's forces landed on Char, avoiding Duke's forces. Hyperion remained in orbit under the command of Matt Horner. The Raiders ground force quickly came into conflict with the zerg. During the battle, Infested Kerrigan emerged from the cocoon and heavily defeated his forces. Kerrigan allowed Jim Raynor to leave her presence alive.

As Infested Kerrigan wished to remove ghost conditioning blocks on her mental powers, she personally led a force against the Dominion Science Vessel, the Amerigo, in order to access its Ghost files. Her other forces attacked both the Dominion and Raiders fleet. Protoss forces under Executor Tassadar arrived, attacking both of their fleets and destroying many of their ships due to the presence of the zerg. The Raiders suffered some 50 casualties, but Hyperion managed to escape by jumping blindly into warp space.

Alliance with the Protoss
The Raiders were stranded on Char, at least until Hyperion returned. While there Jim Raynor encountered both Tassadar and the Dark Templar Prelate Zeratul. He eventually befriended both of them, and comforted members of his crew, such as Lieutenant Deke Cavez, who had problems dealing with them.

The three allied forces clashed repeatedly with the zerg. The remnants of the Raiders fled to Char Aleph with the protoss. Eventually they were rescued by a protoss fleet from Aiur sent to arrest Tassadar. By this time only 40 Raiders remained. The Raiders accompanied the protoss back to Aiur.

Raynor witnessed the beginning of the rebellion by the Templar Caste against the Judicators. During the battle to rescue Tassadar from the Judicator Caste, Raynor provided assistance from the Hyperion, although the rest of his forces did not assist. This was the first time Raynor fought alongside Praetor Fenix, a respected protoss hero. The two quickly became friends.

Raynor provided major assistance in the final battle against the first zerg Overmind. His forces maintained a base on the northwest flank of the zerg, while Tassadar, Fenix and Zeratul attacked from the southeast. Together their pincer attack drove the zerg into disarray. Unfortunately, the Dark Templar could not approach the Overmind to assassinate it. Tassadar was forced to destroy the Overmind by suicidally channelling the energies of the protoss through Gantrithor.

Raynor's Raiders in the Brood War
From Aiur the group would continue to serve alongside protoss warriors under the direction of Captain Raynor, and helped defend the flank of refugee Khalai as they used a warp gate to abandon their homeworld for the Dark Templar homeworld of Shakuras. After the evacuation of the protoss, Fenix refused to leave Aiur, and Raynor remained with him. Raynor and Fenix closed the warp gate on their side to prevent the zerg from flooding Shakuras through it.

The Raiders had come to an agreement with Infested Kerrigan. She offered assistance in combating the United Earth Directorate, which had entered the Koprulu Sector and was conquering the Terran Dominion. Arcturus Mengsk, Emperor of the Dominion, had been deposed by the United Earth Directorate on the Throne World of Korhal IV. The Raiders, with the assistance of protoss forces and flying the Hyperion, rescued Mengsk. He was placed in stasis. The Raiders then fled to Aiur, where the protoss maintained a small outpost near the planet's warp gate.

The United Earth Directorate arrived on Aiur seeking Mengsk for execution. They discovered the warp gate, which was protected by a small protoss outpost. It appeared to be all the protoss had left on Aiur. Raynor's outpost was a short distance away - the majority of his forces weren't present there, and Hyperion was nowhere to be seen. The gate was surrounded by several dormant zerg hive clusters. When the gate was activated, these zerg started attacking the protoss and the UED. Despite these odds, the UED destroyed the protoss outposts, along with Raynor's command center.

Kerrigan provided aid to the Raiders - using her secret agent, Infested Duran, supposedly a special advisor to the United Earth Directorate, to create a hole in the UED's defenses. A wave of zerg drove the UED away from the warp gate, allowing Raynor and Mengsk to escape again.

The Psi Disrupter and Kerrigan's Weakness
Despite Infested Duran's best efforts, the United Earth Directorate activated the powerful anti-zerg weapon, the Psi Disrupter, revealing Duran as an infested terran. They also captured the second Overmind, putting themselves in control of most zerg in the Koprulu Sector. Infested Kerrigan herself could barely keep her own zerg in line on Tarsonis, where she was hiding out.

In return for destroying the Psi Disrupter, she promised Jim Raynor and Fenix that she would topple the United Earth Directorate fleet in the Koprulu Sector. To do this she needed the help of Arcturus Mengsk. Mengsk was "defrosted" and offered a choice - work with Kerrigan, or perpetual imprisonment in stasis.

Fenix and Raynor agreed to work with Kerrigan (and Mengsk had no real choice in the matter), but they believed Kerrigan would betray them. Jim Raynor felt the United Earth Directorate was a greater threat than Kerrigan - he knew something of Earth's history.

Kerrigan's plan called for an attack on Braxis, where the Psi Disrupter had been relocated by Vice Admiral Stukov of the UED. Raynor's Raiders would destroy the Disrupter's fusion reactors, which were poorly guarded, while one of Mengsk's SCVs would carry a psi-emitter to lure the uncontrolled zerg in the area. These zerg would fall under the control of Infested Kerrigan, enabling her to rebuild her forces once the Psi Disrupter was destroyed.

The Raiders' attack shut down the Disrupter, and with her tiny reinforcements, Kerrigan's Zerg Swarm quickly grew large enough to destroy the UED forces guarding the Disrupter. Finally, she destroyed the Disrupter itself.

True Colors
The Raiders, Terran Dominion and Infested Kerrigan's Zerg Swarm cooperated in an attack against Korhal. The United Earth Directorate only had a small number of zerg forces on the planet to assist them. The coalition defeated the UED, driving them from the planet.

This was when Kerrigan turned on her former allies - while they were resting from their attack on the UED. Her forces fell upon the protoss contingent of Raynor's Raiders, defeating them and killing Fenix. The Raiders lost most if not all of their protoss support. Raynor swore revenge for the killing of his friend Fenix, and left the region destitute of any speculation of his whereabouts.

Aftermath
The Raiders remained active after the Brood War, fighting against the Zerg Swarm and working with the protoss Artanis and Taldarin, in a secret mission on Braxis.

Raynor eventually returned to terran space, networking and striking alliances with anti-Dominion groups such as the Kel-Morian Combine, even spending time on Moria c. 2502. The group frequently hid out on zerg-infested worlds.

The Raiders became the most wanted criminals in the Koprulu Sector due to Arcturus Mengsk's media control, oratory and propaganda, portraying the Raiders as a terrorist organization. The battle against the Dominion did not go well, the group running out of money and belief. Raynor began drinking heavily, his doubts spreading to his crew, Matt Horner the only noticeable exception.

Wings of Liberty
In 2505, having accepted a "business proposition" from Tychus Findlay, Raynor led the Raiders in an attack on the installation of White Rock on Mar Sara in order to "liberate" an alien artifact from the Terran Dominion. The zerg arrived shortly afterwards, and the Raiders became engaged in a firefight with the invaders. The Raiders were rescued by Matt Horner on the Hyperion. Afterwards, the Raiders were given the choice of rescuing the colonists of Agria from the zerg after they had been abandoned by the Dominion, or harvesting another artifact from the world of Monlyth, which would involve combat with protoss fanatics.

Game Faction
In StarCraft II, Raynor's Raiders will have access to some older technology, such as Wraiths, Goliaths and medics; Raynor's been around for a while and would likely use the older technology.

Other Appearances
Raynor's Raiders appear as one of the main factions in StarCraft the Board Game.

Command

 * Captain James Raynor (leader of the Raiders)
 * "The Commander" (Former Mar Sara magistrate)
 * Lieutenant Matt Horner (second in command)
 * Lieutenant Abernathy
 * Lieutenant Deke Cavez
 * Praetor Fenix (deceased)

Passengers

 * Tychus Findlay (marine)
 * Ariel Hanson (scientist)
 * Gabriel Tosh (arms dealer)

Engineers

 * Chief Engineer Rory Swann
 * Engineer's Mate Aaren Ruth
 * Chitsny

Ship Crews

 * Lieutenant Physon (deceased)
 * Warriton (deceased)

Shuttle Pilots

 * Belloc
 * Sanchez (deceased)

Troopers

 * McMurty (chaplain)

Deceased Troopers

 * Sergeant Ling
 * Sergeant Lisa Mannix
 * Private Deslan
 * Private Lance Messner
 * Private Non
 * Chuck Ayers
 * Ari Patel
 * Melinda Squire
 * Fedders

Medics

 * Private Gina Elani (deceased)