Deception

Deception is a Blizzard Entertainment Map of the Month, a series of free maps released by Blizzard for StarCraft. Deception is notably one of the few story-based singleplayer scenarios released through the monthly series. The featured story is followed by Mercenaries II and leads up to the secret mission Resurrection IV found in StarCraft 64.

The Mission
On board the Kimeran Pirate battlecruiser The Kimera, Captain Buzan briefed his space pirates on details regarding a new potential venture. It promised to be very profitable and would earn them all a month of shore leave. The details were as follows: The three pirates were to be sent on an information hunt into a Science Facility controlled by the remnants of the Terran Confederacy. They were to be teleported into the installation's cargo bay and would roam the facility, extracting information from computer terminals as they went.

Prior to the mission, the Kimeran tech Velichek rigged up a new cloaking field reactor which enabled the pirates to cloak for a longer period of time. Buzan also provided them with special energy-saving lockdown charges they recently stole. However, he cautioned them to avoid bloodshed as that spelled unwanted attention and brought no profit to them.

Inside the Facility
The Space Pirates opened the first door into the facility's interior by hacking a nearby computer terminal. The next room had automated traps and sentries, which fired at them. They wondered if they were expected...

As the pirates roamed the facility, the computers they hack into contain fascinating information. Studies had been conducted on human reconstruction using protoss dragoon technology, Zerg/Human genome manipulation, dark templar cloaking fields, and transferring data from brain cells onto terabyte holodrives.

Further into the facility, they encountered the prison block. One cell held zerg, another protoss, and the last one is occupied by a single infested terran named Morik. Morik told them that he was a prisoner there and they had been performing terrible experiments on him. He wanted to be released from captivity and so he directed them to the control room with the terminal that controls his cell door. Three terminals were found, each controls one cell door.


 * The player is free to choose which cell door(s) to open with corresponding effects seen later. If Morik's cell door isn't opened, the pirates find their path blocked by a locked door with no nearby computer terminal. As a result, the player must free Morik.

Morik quickly arrived at the locked door shouting "Kill!" repeatedly as he destroys it explosively, after which he hurries through.

Beyond the door, a computer yielded up the data file entitled: "Maintaining Discipline In Rampant AI." (This line is a reference to the computer game Marathon.)

Shortly thereafter, the computer announced the escapees. The pirates wondered if releasing Morik is a good idea, as he moved so quickly they can't keep up with him. By now, he's long gone.


 * The exact announcement depends on whether the zerg, protoss or both were released by the player.

The Teleport Pad
The pirates sneaked by, hacked into more computers, and found a teleport pad. Unfortunately the pad was guarded by elite guards. The computer there had a data file: "Biological Energy Weapon Limb Replacement Technology."


 * Up to this point, the player of the mission has had little choice about where to go. Now they can attempt to find a hidden doorway (Top Secret #1), or take the obvious path through the teleporter.

The pirates used the teleporter, ending up in the medical bay where a friendly medic healed them of any injuries. Unfortunately, she quickly ran out of medical supplies. The first three computers in the bay had a wealth of physiological information on them, such as data files on "Saving Human Mental Faculties In Zerg/Human Hybridization Experiments", files on advanced combat training: Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu (a reference to Rurouni Kenshin) and "The Origin of the Species" (a title very similar to "The Origin of Species", Charles Darwin's magnum opus). The fourth computer unlocked the medical-bay door.


 * The player now has more choice about where to go.

One of the computers further down had startling data files: "Reanimation Using Zerg Infestation Techniques." Another had information on the Skullder Unit 001 mecha design.

The Shadow Pirate

 * Thinking they have run into heavy opposition, the pirates have the option to enter the telecommunications system room and request backup from Captain Buzan. If they do so, Buzan sends a medic via teleport along with a dark templar Shadow Pirate to help them. He cautions them to keep her safe as she is ill-equipped for stealth missions.

The Arena
Heading westwards, the Kimeran Pirates found zerg and protoss fighting in an arena (if the zerg and protoss prisoners were released). Station security guards were firing indiscriminately at the former prisoners. Further to the west was a computer containing information on polarity shifting energy fields using battlecruiser technology, as well as Top Secret #2.

Hot Zone
As the Kimerans moved further along, they found an energy recharging station, which they could use to power up their reactors. However, the station began to shake, and the pirates suspected Morik of this act.

In another pit, near the evacuation zone, Buzan informed the pirates that something knocked out the transponders in the installation, and he can't teleport them out. They would have to head to the docking bay in the southwest corner.

In order to get there, the pirates had to pass through a series of low tunnels, where they could encounter yet more zerg and protoss prisoners fighting each other.

Along the way, they saw mysterious explosions kill marines guarding the station.

The pirates, frightened, left the area and found two more energy recharge stations. They requested Buzan to teleport them again, but since the transponders had been knocked out, he couldn't honor their request. Near one of the recharge stations, in a somewhat out of the way place, was a computer terminal containing information discussing tau particles.

The pirates believed someone saw them come in, but Buzan said that is impossible; he believed no one could track the Kimera.

In another series of low tunnels, they could evade more protoss and zerg prisoners, and found some corpses of security guards. They wonder what killed them when explosions rock the area. The explosions continued, and the pirates had to carefully make their way through the area in order to escape alive. They crawled into a tunnel, hoping to find a safe way to the docking bay.

Finally they found themselves at the engineering section. Unfortunately, it was full of plasma explosions, and the pirates couldn't stop the chaos from there.

The Docking Bay
The pirates carefully eased their way out of the engineering section and found themselves in the docking bay. Morik was pacing around nervously. When asked, Morik denied setting the station's power core to overload.

When Buzan moved in to pick up his crew, he noticed Morik there as well. The pirates explained that Morik was a normal human whom the scientists imprisoned and injected with zerg genetic material, turning him into an infested terran.

As the Kimerans left, the installation exploded.


 * The pirates were followed by cloaked Wraiths if the stealth rating is poor.

Aftermath
The Kimerans were tracked to a dark world, where Infested Stukov hired mercenaries to terminate them. Stukov's attackers were successful.

Data Files
There are 13 data files in total to acquire, which are necessary to obtain a 100% rating at the end:
 * 1) "Zerg/Human Genome Manipulation."
 * 2) "Biomechanics - Data Transfer From Brain Cells To Terabyte Holodrives."
 * 3) "Case Study - Dark Templar Cloaking Fields."
 * 4) "The Origin Of The Species."
 * 5) "Advanced Combat Training: Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu."
 * 6) "Saving Human Mental Faculties In Zerg/Human Hybridization Experiments."
 * 7) "Biological Energy Weapon Limb Replacement Technology."
 * 8) "Reanimation Using Zerg Infestation Techniques."
 * 9) "Polarity Shifting Energy Shields Using Battlecruiser Technology."
 * 10) "Mecha Unit Skullder 001 Design and Specifications."
 * 11) "Maintaining Discipline In Rampant AI." (A reference to the Marathon game)
 * 12) "Manipulating Tau Particles Into Stable Orbits."
 * 13) "Utilizing Dragoon Technology For Human Reconstruction."

Top Secret #1
If the pirates took the hidden doorway, they found themselves in a room with a solitary computer. By hacking into it, they found some startling information: a data file titled "Offspring of Infested Humans."

Top Secret #2
Near the arena, the pirates saw a Terran Dropship land, and from it emerges a familiar figure ... Alexei Stukov, who is obviously infested. He didn't seem to notice the Kimerans, and moved off into the distance.

The reference to zerg reanimation is expanded in the map Resurrection IV.

Special Units
The Confederates in the facility had access to special units. These units included defense robots, Specimen Collection Vehicles, tower cannons, observation drones, scientists and elite guards (powerful ghost units).

Score
At the end of the mission, the player receives points based on how many secrets he uncovered (including the two special secrets) and on how stealthy he was. (Killing many opponents warrants an "Ultralisk" rating while killing few warrants a "ninja" rating instead and if you kill none your rating is "Perfect!!!".)

Stealth ratings

 * 0 kills: "Perfect!!!"
 * 1-9 kills: "Ninja"
 * 10-29 kills: "Marine"
 * More than 30 kills: "Ultralisk"

Note: To get a 100% overall rating at the end, it is necessary to get a "Perfect!!!" stealth rating.

Canon Status
Chris Metzen stated that a few of the experiments conducted in Deception might be referenced in the future, but most of the experiments were too ambitious or vague to have any chance of success, including the experiments involving offspring of infested terrans. The existence of Infested Stukov was also confirmed as canon.