Valerian Mengsk

"My face may be unfamiliar to you but my name will not be. I am Valerian Mengsk, son of our glorious Emperor Arcturus."

- Valerian introducing himself to Jake Ramsey.

Valerian Mengsk (a.k.a. Prince Valerian) is the son and Heir Apparent to Terran Dominion Emperor Arcturus Mengsk. Highly intelligent, he wears his hair past regulation length and is considered handsome and arrogant. His great passion is archaeology, especially the study of xel'naga temples.

Early Life
Valerian Mengsk was born to Arcturus Mengsk, then a Confederate marine, and Juliana Pasteur, a paralegal, following their romantic union on Tyrador IX. Mengsk promptly stopped seeing Pasteur.

When Juliana Pasteur realized she was pregnant, she told her father, Ailin that she would not tell the father, as she didn't want to distract him from his combat duties. Instead, she gave up her career and raised him on Umoja. For seven years, she taught her son about what a great man his father was, and he became a budding archaeologist, frequently digging up "fossils" in the family garden. Juliana finally allowed her father to contact Mengsk just as the Guild Wars were ending and he making a great prospecting find.

Arcturus Mengsk was surprised and mainly displeased. He made an effort to connect to his son, but they had little in common. Arcturus disagreed with the way Juliana raised her son, and quickly threw out his books and replaced them with ones he preferred. Arcturus considered Valerian to be weak, and tried to instruct him in how to to "be a man", such as teaching him to shoot. The efforts were a failure, and Valerian felt that his father only noticed the things he couldn't do. The only activity the two could enjoy together was fencing with wooden swords.

Arcturus Mengsk spent a week on Umoja, sending a message to his parents in the newly declared independent Korhal. The returning news was dire – the Confederacy had killed his parents and young sister, and Mengsk realized that his son would be next. He immediately ordered him and his mother sent into hiding.

Over the next eleven years Valerian had to move from world to world, generally in Umojan territory; the Confederates sent assassins against him at least once. As he grew up, Arcturus Mengsk tried to mold Valerian's upbringing to resemble his, starting by hiring his old fencing instructor, Master Miyamoto, to teach Valerian all methods of fighting – martial arts, Japanese swordfighting, combat gear and the use of a gauss rifle – as well as academics. Miyamoto declared Valerian to be his finest swordfighting pupil. Valerian would learn little of his father, as most of the information came from propaganda about the Sons of Korhal. He did acquire a servant, Charles Whittier, although he distrusted this "minder". He was kept in a wealthy lifestyle, due to his father's rich prospecting find.

Valerian chose Van Osten's Moon to hide from the Confederacy because strange alien ruins had been discovered on the planet. However, he had little opportunity to look at them, since his mother was suffering from terminal cancer, and he spent a great deal of time and energy trying to learn about the illness.

Valerian had his second meeting with his father eight years after their first meeting on that world. They connected a little, as Arcturus said he was proud of Valerian, including how he was becoming his own man, and admitted to trying to control him as his own father Angus had tried to control him. He also told Valerian that history would sweep him up and make use of his talents.

During the Great War Valerian was aware of Arcturus Mengsk's psi emitters at Antiga Prime and Tarsonis.

The New Order
On Umoja, Valerian Mengsk's mother, who had become disgusted with Arcturus, warned Valerian not to let his father control him.

Valerian was finally able to see his father again six months after the establishment of the Terran Dominion, when Arcturus made his first official visit to Umoja since his coronation in order to make public Valerian's existence as his heir... after negotiating passage to the surface. Ailin Pasteur insisted the fleet of capital vessels that Arcturus had brought with him stay beyond the outer markers. The emperor had to travel in an obsolete gun cutter with only about a dozen marines and two Wraiths to protect him.

The Confederate Resistance Forces had learned about the visit, and struck at this moment of vulnerability. Their superior air forces severely damaged the cutter, causing it to fall into an underground landing platform and their laser fire killed many people, forcing Valerian to dive to the ground; he was nearly killed. He helped his mother into the safety of the Pasteur home; she had been restricted to a wheelchair by that point. Meanwhile, at least 30 Confederate marines, led by Arcturus' old instructor Captain Angelina Emillian tried to assassinate him, while communication with the Dominion fleet were cut off.

Arcturus planned on traveling underground to the gun cutter's new location, since its communication system was strong enough to contact the leader of his fleet, Edmund Duke. He ordered the guests to hide in a safe place, but Valerian, toting a C-14 rifle, insisted on traveling with him. Along with Master Miyamoto, they fled towards the cutter, pursued by enemy marines. While Arcturus operated the communications systems, Valerian and Miyamoto were still outside the cutter, defending it from marines. Miyamaoto was shot down by Captain Emillian, and when Valerian attempted to surrender, she noted his resemblance to his father and tried to kill him. Valerian asked her who she was and why she wanted him dead, and she told him how she had instructed Arcturus as a soldier, when Miyamoto, with the last of his strength, disabled her rifle with his sword. As Emillian drew her knife, Valerian shot her down. As she bled to death, she told them that her new allies, the UED, would attack, but didn't reveal their identity. Shortly afterward, Duke, having disobeyed orders to stay away from Umoja, arrived and destroyed the other marines with battlecruiser fire.

As time passed and Juliana Pasteur continued to sicken, she again told Valerian to be wary of his father, and not let Arcturus control him. Eventually, after many pain-filled months for both of them, she passed away, both Valerian and his father attending her funeral. In the aftermath, Arcturus related the history of Korhal and the Mengsk Dynasty to him, the two coming to respect each other as equals and different individuals. Arcturus again told his son he was happy that Valerian had become someone he could be proud of, and wasn't looking for a "copy" of himself.

Heir Apparent
"I am your father, Valerian, and cheap gibes will not change that. I know you do not love me as a father ought to be loved, but I care little for that. However, if you are to succeed me you will need to be tougher."

- Arcturus Mengsk prepares Valerian for his role as the future emperor of the Dominion.

Valerian was brought to Korhal to be raised as Arcturus' (secret) heir. His existence kept secret from the Dominion as a whole, Valerian began training for the day in which he would become emperor, acquiring the vital leadership skills that he would eventually need. In addition, he was given the authority to give orders to high-ranking military officers who knew his true position and had access to much wealth, mercenaries and low-quality military equipment.

Despite his status, Valerian's relationship with his father was still strained. He respected the man, but their personalities didn't match and his pursuit of archeology was of little interest to Arcturus, who nonetheless pushed his son to make his own way and be his own man. Valerian in turn strove for his own power and to create his own space, but didn't directly challenge his father. From the outset, there was a power struggle of sorts between them, Arcturus believing in the use of fear in being a ruler, while Valerian was not so authoritarian. In contrast, Valerian continued to respect the endeavors of the rebel/mercenary Jim Raynor, despite his "treachery" against his father.

Shortly before Valerian's birthday, Arcturus ordered the deaths of half of his government's ghosts in a controlled environment as part of an "overhaul" of the program. Valerian asked to have one, which Arcturus granted as a 21st "birthday present". Valerian was given a list of 282 ghosts; he chose Agent Devon Starke, Ghost #25876, from the list in part because of his psychometric and remote viewing abilities. Starke's neural inhibitor was removed, granting him his memory back. He was loyal to Valerian as he had been rescued by him from certain death. Valerian intended to retain Starke's loyalty, knowing that a loyal ghost was a valuable asset but to lose control of a ghost was a great mistake; remembering the example of Sarah Kerrigan.

The Discovery of Wonders
Valerian was delighted with reports of the discovery of strange artifacts on several worlds similar to the one discovered on Bhekar Ro. Arcturus did not share Valerian's passion and viewed these artifacts as objectives to be secured by military forces. The emperor also wanted to keep his heir out of danger and, with the events of the Battle of Bhekar Ro still fresh, refused to allow Valerian to investigate personally.

Valerian persuaded Arcturus to send scientists and archaeologists to research a dead temple on the dead world of Nemaka. The information retrieved from the dead temple would enable Valerian to safely visit a live one. Arcturus Mengsk refused to let his son and heir anywhere near even a dead temple &mdash; an argument erupted, but Arcturus would not relent. Valerian would have to send archaeologists to do the work for him.

Valerian Mengsk sent three teams of archaeologists to Nemaka, one after the other, and they all failed. Finally in desperation he tried "maverick" archaeologist Jacob Ramsey, hoping his unconventional methods would succeed where the other researchers failed. He invited Ramsey to see him personally and confided that he was the son of Arcturus Mengsk. He also confided in his theories about the temple – he believed it was created by a third alien race, not protoss or zerg, but perhaps by a progenitor species.

Valerian Mengsk employed several mercenary marines, led by R. M. Dahl and including neurally resocialized marine Marcus Wright, who could guard the scientists. They archaeologists, support staff and mercenaries were transported by am old battlecruiser called the Gray Tiger, which had a complement of resocialized marines.

Dahl believed Valerian Mengsk planned on kidnapping the researchers when they were done researching the temple, employing telepaths to scan their minds and tell him everything there was to know, then kill them.

Ramsey was a good choice. He discovered some of the secrets of the temple, but the secrets changed him. He was accosted by a dying protoss mystic, Zamara, who planted a tremendous amount of memory into his mind. Ramsey was unable to deal with this at first and fell unconscious, requiring medical help, so he couldn't pass the information on to Valerian Mengsk. Dahl secretly kept Valerian up-to-date on Ramsey's progress. When Ramsey awoke, he discovered he had become a telepath, and read about Valerian's plans from Dahl's mind. Dahl and her team took the civilians into custody.

Betrayal
Meanwhile Valerian Mengsk directed Charles Whittier to send the Gray Tiger to pick up the archaeology expedition, in part to save Ramsey's life. However, Whittier sent the mostly resocialized crew another set of secret orders at the behest of Arcturus Mengsk.

The Gray Tiger arrived to pick up the visitors to Nemaka. Dahl was shocked when she and her team were arrested by the Gray Tiger's marines. However the plan didn't work, as Ramsey's abilities had expanded further; he "removed" the neural resocialization of a marine in Valerian's employ, Marcus Wright. Wright began killing the other marines, providing enough confusion for Ramsey and Dahl to escape Valerian's grasp. No one else on the Gray Tiger survived due to the actions of Wright. Valerian was temporarily heart-broken until he learned (from Dominion forces who had boarded the Gray Tiger) that Jake Ramsey had escaped the carnage.

As a result of this betrayal, neither Ramsey nor Dahl bore any trust in Valerian Mengsk. Valerian Mengsk would eventually realize he had been betrayed, but not by whom.

Dahl traveled to the world of Dead Man's Rock; a terran settlement that the Dominion did not control. She planned to meet up with her former lover, ex-mercenary Ethan Stewart.

Valerian Mengsk knew of Dahl's relationship with Ethan Stewart, who wasn't too far from the site of the Gray Tiger incident, and made a call to Stewart. Unfortunately for Dahl and Ramsey, Valerian Mengsk already had a business relationship with Stewart, whom he paid off but would punish severely if he failed to obey orders. Dahl trusted Stewart, which would make it easier for Valerian Mengsk's forces to pick her up.

Ramsey, Zamara (present in his mind as a spirit guide) and Dahl discovered Stewart's betrayal, and in a battle they nearly killed him and attempted to escape. They were nearly stopped by Valerian Mengsk's small military fleet, and had to make a blind warp-jump to escape, distracting the fleet with Ramsey's terran pseudo-Khala ability to do so.

A Frustrating Hunt
Devon Starke explained to Valerian that Ramsey had used the ability as a delaying tactic, rather than an attack. Valerian was unable to talk with Stewart, however, who was seriously wounded and undergoing surgery. Making matters worse, the zerg attacked Dead Man's Rock, abducting Stewart.

Arcturus Mengsk contacted his son, demanding to know why the zerg would attack "his space" after four years of virtual silence. Valerian distracted him from Ramsey's abilities by wondering aloud who else had Ethan Stewart been serving, such as Arcturus or even Infested Kerrigan. Valerian feared Arcturus would abduct Ramsey for his own purposes.

Devon Starke and Valerian tracked them to Aiur. Valerian created a small fleet to recover Ramsey, a task made more difficult because the Dominion had so many problems it needed the fleet's resources. He relied on the help of Charles Whittier to collect the ships and to keep the fleet a secret from Arcturus Mengsk. The fleet consisted of a battlecruiser, several smaller vessels, and ground forces, all led by Starke. The fleet included the Illustrious, Valerian's personal ship.

The fleet rescued Ramsey, Dahl and their allies from an ambush led by an infested Ethan Stewart, but Dahl hijacked the dropship and fled towards Aiur's warp gate. Forced to choose between letting Ramsey escape through the warp gate or leaving him to be destroyed by Ulrezaj or zerg attackers, he ordered Starke to protect Ramsey. He lost contact with Starke soon afterward. Starke took a hawk to the Illustrious when contact resumed.

The Hunt Successful
Valerian Mengsk's forces followed Ulrezaj to the moon of Ehlna. Arcturus Mengsk lent technologically advanced forces to his son to assist him in the endeavor; capturing the protoss intelligence at the Alys'aril, an ancient shrine. The protoss, zerg and Ulrezaj were all fighting each other when the Dominion forces arrived, but the sudden disappearance of Ulrezaj gave the Dominion the upper hand; the zerg were defeated. Valerian captured the site, including Jake Ramsey and Rosemary Dahl, only to discover that the preserver was gone and Ramsey was suffering from brain tumors. Valerian did manage to acquire some protoss treasures, however. Shortly afterward, a larger protoss force arrived and the Dominion was forced to withdraw.

Without access to the protoss intelligence, Arcturus Mengsk decided to "acquire" Ramsey instead and have his handlers destructively probe his mind. This did not sit well with Valerian, who wished to hide Ramsey. However, he pretended to obey his father as a time-gaining measure. In the end, it was Devon Starke who had the answer. The ghost copied a selection of Jake's memories and made himself a decoy. When Dominion ghosts would attempt to extract the information, Starke would resist them and buy time for Ramsey and Dahl hide. However, he would likely perish from such an act. Valerian's doctors treated Ramsey's brain tumors, and Valerian did hear the story of Jake Ramsey as he had wanted all along, though at the price of his most loyal and useful agent.

Taking Command
By the time the Queen of Blades launched the zerg into a war with the Dominion, Valerian had become known to the general populace in some degree, having recently opened a veteran's hospital. Providing assistance to his father in the conflict Valerian was still "not quite sold" to the Dominion. Unlike his father, Valerian was willing to work with Jim Raynor and his mercenary unit, at least in the short term.

Character Creation
Valerian Mengsk was created by Blizzard Entertainment. They told Christie Golden that they wanted him to be young, blond and have gray eyes, but left much of the rest to Golden. Golden gave him longer than regulation hair, and in his Blizzard-created image he appears the same way.

He was brought in because Arcturus Mengsk's story has already been told. The storyline of StarCraft II will raise questions such as whether Valerian will turn out the same way as his father, will he become more benevolent, and will he learn from his father's mistakes.

Valerian Mengsk's Name
Valerian is the name of two Emperors of Rome: Valerian I and his far less famous grandson Valerian II. The first Valerian was descended from an old noble family at a time when most Roman Emperors came from much lower birth. He met his end facing the Persian Parthian Empire; they captured him at a "friendly" meeting and allegedly killed him by pouring molten gold down his throat. (The same story applied to the extremely wealthy Crassus, who lived and died hundreds of years before Valerian I.)

Valerian Mengsk was previously named Augustus. Augustus is the name of the first Emperor of Rome, who became the heir to the his great-uncle, the politically powerful Julius Caesar, at an early age. The name was later used as one of the Emperors' titles as well.