Piercing the Shroud

Piercing the Shroud is the secret StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty mission. It is accessed by destroying the science facility in Media Blitz and obtaining the secret documents within.

Raynor's Raiders investigated a secret Terran Dominion facility and discovered the Dominion was experimenting with hybrids.

Background
The Raiders recovered secret Dominion documents during a a raid on Korhal. The Raiders decided to investigate. The documents contained the location of a research installation orbiting Castanar, and an order to liquidate its personnel. The Raiders became suspicious, and decided to investigate.

Unsettling Discovery
Raynor and a marine team infiltrated the facility using security overrides. Upon reaching the science lab they discovered a hybrid cloned several times. Raynor decided to destroy the facility by blowing up the reactor. However, the explosion released a very powerful hybrid reaver and the rebels were forced to flee. The Raiders barely managed to escape by stealing a Dominion Hercules dropship.

Aftermath
Jim Raynor suspected that Arcturus Mengsk had his hand into the "end of the world". Since the technology used was too complex for terrans, Matt Horner suggested that the Dominion had help.

Jim Raynor had no idea what the hybrids were. Matt Horner suggested that Arcturus Mengsk was creating an army of alien super soldiers, and had more than one lab.

Beacon Options and Items
The mission is divided into two parts. The first is to destroy the fusion reactor and release a powerful hybrid, and the second part is fleeing from it. In the first part, beacons give options to help surmount obstacles. These are good places to save and try out the different options.

There are four types of items throughout the mission.
 * Hand grenades - Use against clusters of weaker enemies and barricades
 * Plasma gun ammo - Use against single powerful enemies
 * Chrono-rift device - Use to temporarily stop the hybrid when it gets too close, second part only
 * Health and energy restores - Restores health and energy of all units, best used only when needed

The hand grenades, plasma gun ammo and chrono-rift devices each give Raynor a new ability when acquired. Each ability has limited ammunition; additional pick ups give additional ammunition. Save the weapon abilities for the second part.

Part 1: Heading In
The initial force consists of Raynor, 5 s, and 2 medics. Use Raynor's blasting charge on the door, but stand back since they deal splash damage. The first beacon gives a view of the next room with enemy and the option to activate one type of friendly gun turret to activate there. The second beacon reveals another room with more enemy units than the first, with the option of unleashing either 40 zerglings, 16 zealots, or 1 ultralisk. The prisoners may not be controlled and are in fact hostile to the player as well as the Dominion units. The third beacon reveals a room with explosive barrels defended by enemy vehicles and infantry, and gives an option to activate an A.R.E.S. robot with either anti-vehicle, anti-infantry or general purpose weaponry, or leave it deactivated. Leaving the robot deactivated may help achieve the "Monster Mash" later. The final beacon summons reinforcements: 8 marines, 3 medics and 3 marines, 3 marauders, or 4 firebats.

Before the reactor room is a room with a brutalisk; see the 'Not so Brutalisk" achievement for strategies. Once the reactor is destroyed, the hybrid is released and the second part of the mission starts.

Part 2: Heading Out
The hybrid will pursue Raynor relentlessly. It cannot be killed, only delayed. Immediately begin moving once control is regained. Pick up the chrono-rift device in the next room; use it to temporarily stop the hybrid. Throughout this part there will be battles between enemy zerg, protoss and terran units. Ignore these battles when possible. The hybrid will be delayed further when it stops to wipe out the combatants.

There is another A.R.E.S waiting on the other side of the brutalisk room. It will delay the hybrid for a short time. In the room beyond the A.R.E.S is a chrono-rift device behind some rubble and enemy marines; destroy the marines and rubble with a grenade. Use another grenade to destroy the next barricade. In the next room a protoss relic is "guarded" by a protoss and zerg battle.

The next room has more barricades, protoss and zerg. Use grenades on the barricades and the plasma gun on anything else that gets in the way. There are two paths from this room. The path to the top is longer, narrower, and has fewer enemy units; it is easier to slow the hybrid on this path. The path to the right is shorter but has more enemy units. The hybrid will temporarily stop pursuing in the corridor beyond with the health and energy pick ups.

The next room has pygalisk cocoons, pygalisks (miniature ultralisks) and feederlings (unselectable units). Move quickly to avoid them. The hybrid will return on the other side. Run for the Hercules dropship to end the mission.

Easter eggs

 * During the first part of the mission in the "brutalisk room", the vats contain a Metroid and a tauren marine. Outside is Grunty on an asteroid and a flying outhouse.


 * When the hybrid starts his rampage, if one goes in the room where it has to destroy some rubble to attack you, there will be a screen angled away from the player's view. If the camera is angled with the (insert) key, the player can see what is on the screen: people moving furniture, most likely at Blizzard headquarters. In the background is a Queen Of Blades statue. It seems to be taken by a security camera.


 * If one goes down on the map one can find another monitor with another video loop. It seems to be outside some type of convention with a lot of people and some people with passes leaving a building cheering. This video seems to be filmed with a larger camera. It is one of the last rooms before the Hercules dropship.

Trivia

 * At various points, the player can view security camera feed. However, not only is each camera labeled as "Security Cam 3," but displays the date as "Stardate 282-5837-73." This dating system harkens back to Star Trek