Terran Dominion

"Peace. Law. Order."

- Dominion slogan

The Terran Dominion, sometimes simply known as the Dominion, is a terran government.

History
"The time has come, my fellow Terrans, to rally to a new banner. In unity lies strength; already many of the dissident factions have joined us. Out of the many, we shall forge an indivisible whole, capitulating only to a single throne. And from that throne, I shall watch over you! From this day forward, let no human make war upon any other human. Let no Terran agency conspire against this new beginning. And let no man consort with alien powers. And to all the enemies of humanity, seek not to bar our way, for we shall win through, no matter the cost!"

- Arcturus Mengsk

As planet after planet appealed to the Sons of Korhal for aid after the collapse of the Terran Confederacy, Arcturus Mengsk announced that a new government was necessary to protect these worlds. Promising victory over the zerg and the protoss, he formed the Dominion and crowned himself emperor. One of his first decrees was to begin reconstruction of Korhal, electing to make it the throne world of the Dominion.

General Horace Warfield was seen as one of Arcturus' more trusted advisors. Mengsk trusted Warfield with his most crucial tasks, stratagems, and missions.

Over time, the Dominion's heavy-handed tactics began to resemble those of the Confederacy, and it became increasingly oppressive. Even though many of the Dominion's founders from the Sons of Korhal spent hard time in New Folsom Prison during their rebellion against the Confederacy, the Dominion continued to use it.

Mengsk reinforced the armies of the Dominion by forcefully conscripting the remaining Confederate warriors, then set out to fortify the various worlds under his care. A permanent defense force was stationed on Agria, which became one of the Dominion's principal botanical and wildlife preserves. Dreaming that Sarah Kerrigan was alive and calling to him, Mengsk sent General Edmund Duke to Char to flush out the zerg. However, Duke was defeated by the zerg and forced to fall back.

The Amerigo was infiltrated by Kerrigan, who accessed the Dominion network and located records of the Ghost Program, allowing her to learn about their mental conditioning that kept her psionic powers in check.

When Tassadar violated Dominion air-space and endangered human lives in an attack against the zerg, Duke ordered Tassadar to withdraw his ships immediately or he would open fire upon his vessels. Upon receiving what he assumed was a hostile response, Duke sent in his fleet and was defeated by Tassadar.

Alpha Squadron was also dispatched to deal with notorious smuggler Alan Schezar and his Scavengers, leading to further mysteries when the Dominion discovered that Schezar could somehow control zerg. The detachment broke away, disobeying orders in order to assist the protoss in putting an end to Schezar's zerg threat, but Schezar escaped.

After the fall of Aiur, Alpha Squadron was dispatched to aid the colonists of Bhekar Ro. The squadron suffered heavy losses fighting over a xel'naga temple against both the protoss and zerg and was cut off from the Dominion for months afterward.

The Terran Dominion was also involved in a war to retreive a powerful xel'naga artifact, the Argus Stone from the planet Aridas. The Dominion intended to use it as a military weapon. Although the planet was technically a Terran Dominion outpost, the arrival of protoss and zerg forces made things complicated. Jenson Archimedes was in charge of the Dominion expedition that clashed against the protoss and zerg, and after various battles the Dominion managed to retreive the Stone from a protoss stronghold on the planet. However, in an effort to recover the Stone, the Zerg Crusaders destroyed Archimedes' battlecruiser escort, then pursued him through multiple Dominion bases. The zerg captured some of his allies, infesting them in order to gain information on Archimedes' whereabouts. The zerg eventually stole the Stone from Dominion forces, who allied with the protoss and followed the zerg all the way to Char, only to be defeated.

The Brood War

 * ''Main article: Brood War

The Dominion's defenses guarding the Uraj crystal on Braxis were overcome by a protoss army assisted by Kerrigan.

Boralis was assaulted by a United Earth Directorate strike force. Although the city was well defended, the command center was destroyed after Lieutenant Samir Duran of the Confederate Resistance Forces showed them an alternate route that led to the rear of Boralis. Soon, the Dominion's primary datanet was accessed by the UED.

Confederate Resistance Forces officers Samir Duran and Angelina Emillian used this information to plot an assassination attempt on Arcturus Mengsk while he was visiting Umoja. Mengsk was hampered by Umojan distrust; they demanded he keep his capital ships beyond the outer shipping markers, forcing him to descend in an obsolete gun cutter. The Confederates used a Cassandra scrambler to cut Mengsk's communications off from his fleet and an EMP net to cut off communications with local Protectorate defense forces. However, the assault was a failure, in part because Dominion Fleet leader Edmund Duke disobeyed Umojan instructions to stay away when communications were cut off. Mengsk learned the term "UED" but did not learn what it stood for. Not knowing how the Confederates were able to target him so effectively, Arcturus Mengsk believed the Umojans were complicit in the attack. The bulk of the Dominion's battlecruisers were commandeered by UED soldiers at the Dylarian shipyards. Duke led a Dominion fleet against them from the Norad III, but was defeated by the their newly acquired fleet. The Dylarian shipyards were destroyed and Duke withdrew his forces from the quadrant. The UED conscripted the remaining Dylarian defense forces.

After a fierce battle, Augustgrad was besieged by the UED, and Mengsk was forced to contact the UED fleet from the Norad III requesting a parlay with Admiral Gerard DuGalle. He was rescued by Commander Jim Raynor and they escaped via dimensional recall to Aiur.

Kerrigan offered to help Mengsk reclaim Korhal from the UED if he loaned her his psi emitters. On Braxis, the psi emitter was carried by a Dominion SCV and helped Kerrigan to gather up nearby zerg, which she used to tear down the psi disrupter.

After the UED forces occupying Augustgrad were overwhelmed by Kerrigan's zerg, a jubilant Mengsk sent Duke to establish his base of operations in Augustgrad. The next morning, Duke's base was attacked by multitudes of zerg while most were asleep and unaware. The base was destroyed and Duke was killed. Warfield wasn't present due to his privileged status in Mengsk's eyes. Mengsk denounced Kerrigan for her treachery, but she responded that her actions were well-justified revenge and left him on Korhal.

Mengsk scraped together a new fleet and attacked Kerrigan's base of operations on Char Aleph alongside the remainder of the UED fleet and a protoss armada. Facing imminent defeat, Mengsk withdrew early in the battle, telling Kerrigan to watch her back because he would be lying in wait for her, ready to strike when she inevitably made a mistake.

Reconstruction
"For only together shall we succeed. Only together shall we triumph. Only together shall we overcome. That is why we fight."

- Arcturus Mengsk's propaganda, following the Battle of Artika

Following the Brood War, the Dominion's military was still weak. It was unable to deal militarily with problems such as the New Trinidad Pirates, eventually resorting to hiring mercenaries to destroy them. Still, at least according to propaganda, the Dominion was quickly able to (re)establish its military and economic might. By the next war, the Dominion had time to build several large fleets with more advanced technology, as well as increased its knowledge of the zerg.

Although Warfield retired in 2501, the Dominion rose again to become the most powerful force among the terran factions. It took over almost all of the original Confederate worlds, including Braxis, where it rebuilt its fortifications. Over the next four years, the Dominion extended its influence throughout the Koprulu sector.

Vast fortunes were lavished on the cleanup and rebuilding of Korhal, although portions of the irradiated desert were left untouched in honor of those who died in the Confederate bombardment. The planetary defenses were massively increased, and Mengsk turned Korhal into the most heavily fortified planet in the sector. The second most heavily defended location in Dominion space was Skygeirr Station, where the Dominion had help from Doctor Emil Narud in combining protoss and zerg DNA were to create hybrid creatures of immense power. A bio-weapons lab orbiting Castanar on a captive asteroid was also used to breed the hybrid.

Raynor led a resistance movement against the Dominion, and Mengsk used the media and propaganda to marginalize his efforts. Vast amounts of Dominion weapons and hardware were stolen by Raynor's Raiders. Mengsk spent trillions on keeping them constantly hunted and harried, denying them any chance to gain a respite and build their strength. Shiloh came under noticeably increased surveillance by Dominion military forces, which only heightened the agitation of the colonists. It was unclear whether the Dominion was trying to flush out potential seditionists like Raynor or presenting a show of force to discourage any imitators.

Cognizant of the fact that the Umojan Protectorate remained ideologically opposed to the Dominion and was widely considered a safe haven for individuals seeking refuge from persecution by Mengsk's forces, the Dominion took measures to undermine the sovereignty of Umoja and its affiliated worlds by imposing trade embargoes and making assassination attempts against dissidents pursuing asylum in Protectorate territory. In 2503, Dominion marines engaged a heavily armed group of pirates on Agria to protect its valuable hi-tech scientific equipment, carelessly slaughtering colonists who were caught in the crossfire.

Dominion scientists in at the Tyrador III research facility were assigned to create elite, cybernetically enhanced military units. Egon Stetmann sabotaged the facility and made his escape amid the confusion and smuggled himself off Tyrador III aboard a merchant ship.

The Dominion engaged in an economic conflict with the Combine. The latter would sabotage Dominion operations. In an attempt to "simplify" relations, Mengsk sent ghosts to kill Victor Kachinsky.

The Ghost Program
The Ghost Academy was moved to Ursa from Tarsonis. Arcturus Mengsk ordered half of his government's ghosts eliminated as part of an "overhaul" of the Ghost Program.

The Dominion would eventually become involved in a public relations clash with the Umojan Protectorate over the fate of its ghost recruits. Senator Corbin Phash of Maltair IV secretly harbored a psychic son, Colin. The secret was revealed when the planet was attacked by the zerg. Only the two Phashes survived. Corbin Phash took shelter with the Protectorate, but Colin was captured and inducted into the Ghost Program. The Protectorate found itself under a Dominion economic blockade, raising the price of food. The Dominion even tried to assassinate Corbin Phash, but Phash survived the attack.

The Dominion turned to public relations to defend its use of ghosts in order to counter propaganda made by former Senator Phash and spread by the Protectorate.

The Dominion's most significant military development project since the end of the Brood War was Project: Thor, a (formerly) secret superweapon system. Umojan agent Ulli Trey infiltrated the testing facility, bringing the information to the Umojan Protectorate. The Protectorate planted evidence, blaming the attack on the anti-Dominion faction, the Koprulu Liberation Front.

The Dominion ordered the destruction of minor terrorist groups.

In 2501, the Dominion closed down Project Shadowblade, a ghost-enhancing program which used terrazine, a psionic reagent, to enhance the powers of ghosts. The results were called spectres. However, numerous problems arose, causing the project to shut down.

Shadowblade survivor and Nova Squadron commander Jackson Hauler, under the guise of General Cole Bennett, hatched a plot with spectre Gabriel Tosh, AI Lio Travski, the Umojan Protectorate, and some "lesser" players suchas Michael Liberty. They intended to use the spectres to kidnap Arcturus Mengsk and place the Dominion under Hauler's command. The revolution failed, however, and Hauler and most of the spectres were killed.

The Heir Apparent and the Search for Artifacts
The Dominion fought the zerg and the protoss over a xel'naga temple at Artika and attempted to purchase xel'naga artifacts from the Kel-Morian Combine.

Arcturus Mengsk's son, Prince Valerian Mengsk, was secretly named the "Heir Apparent" to the Dominion. Valerian commanded high authority over the few who knew his true identity. The prince became interested in an alien artifact on the dead world of Nemaka, and hired an archaeologist, Jake Ramsey, to look in on it. Ramsey discovered a secret there, but when Valerian's marines on the Grey Tiger imprisoned him, Ramsey fled with R.M. Dahl to the world of Dead Man's Rock, which was outside of Dominion space. The zerg attacked shortly afterward, drawn by Ramsey's discovery. Arcturus Mengsk considered this invasion as an attack on the Terran Dominion. The Dominion temporarily came into possession of a protoss treasure trove as a result of the conflict.

Conflict with Raynor and Mar Sara
Dominion official Tamsen Cauley, however, in part of a scheme to increase his own power, recruited a band of outlaws, the War Pigs, to assassinate Raynor. He formed an army which was "not Mengsk's. Not the Dominion's" &mdash; the Cerberus Program, which he would use to kill the War Pigs once they murdered Raynor. (The War Pigs had been a Confederate team which Cauley used in those days to try to kill Arcturus Mengsk.) Raynor managed to escape Cauley's wrath.

The Dominion showed a renewed interest in the Sara system and established several outposts there. For months, Dominion engineers excavated an alien artifact at White Rock Base. The Dominion forcibly shipped citizens there from Backwater Station to dig it up. Mengsk made it illegal to trade in alien goods. Dominion forces set up a logistics headquarters in Backwater Station, which become the hub for all operations on Mar Sara. Not long after the Dominion pulled troops out of the city, Raynor destroyed the logistics headquarters with help from the locals, inciting an open revolt against the Dominion. Meanwhile, Satellite 1 reported unusual activity in the Char system. The Dominion Fleet was put on alert.

As the Dominion was getting ready to move the artifact off-world, Raynor's marines destroyed White Rock Base and seized the artifact. Mengsk declared that anyone found in possession of the artifact would be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law.

The Zerg Invasion
In response to Kerrigan's invasion of terran space, Mengsk pulled the Dominion Fleet back to the protect the core worlds, abandoning the fringe worlds, including Agria. Mengsk declared new austerity measures and reactivated Warfield, who began 'Operation Burnout' to clear the Sara system. The core worlds were fortified and the First Fleet engaged the zerg in the Sara system. Conscription stations opened across the core worlds

The Dominion held firm under zerg aggression. Its industrial complex stepped up production on all fronts, enlistment rates rose within the penal system, and the Dominion Marine Corps was soon ready to start pushing the zerg back.

The Second Fleet regrouped at the Dylarian shipyards following Kerrigan's attack on Tyrador VIII. Meanwhile, rationing was extended to utility items.

The Dominion placed Tarsonis under strict quarantine while its salvage teams sifted through the rubble for any Confederate technologies and military secrets that may have survived the zerg assault. They restored power to the old rail network and ran a large number of supply trains with minimal security. They found Adjutant 23-46, but as they transported it to the processing station, their trains came under attack by Raynor's Raiders. The Dominion responded by sending escorts to protect the trains, attacking Raynor's base, constructing a series of bunkers to protect the tracks, patrolling the tracks with large groups of marauders and boosting their trains' speed. However, they failed to keep Raynor's troops from retrieving the adjutant. Meanwhile, the First and Second Fleets combined to defend the core worlds.

The Odin was commandeered by Tychus Findlay in the testing facility on Valhalla. Communication with Korhal was blocked long enough for all Dominion bases in the area to be taken out by Raynor's Raiders. The Dominion unveiled the Odin at the UNN Studios and were confused when it fired on the studio guards. The Dominion switched to a secure channel so that Captain Matt Horner could not track their positions. Warfield sent strike teams Alpha, Bravo and Charlie after Raynor's Raiders, but they were unable to prevent them from broadcasting proof that Mengsk used psi emitters on Tarsonis. This caused rioting in the streets of Korhal. Citizens set fire to government buildings to express their shock and anger at the revelations. Bountiful declared independence. Before Kate Lockwell could begin a ten part expose on corruption in the Dominion government, the newscast was terminated by order of Dominion Security. Crown Prince Valerian Mengsk was scheduled to speak at the launch of the White Star, but he instead rendezvoused with Raynor aboard the Bucephalus and revealed himself as the owner of the Moebius Foundation.

Valerian and Warfield left half the Dominion Fleet to Char, accompanied by Raynor's Raiders. The zerg launched a spoiler attack and the few battle-groups that made it to the surface scattered all over the place. Warfield's ship took terrible, terrible damage and crashed. Raynor rallied the survivors, secured a landing zone and rescued Warfield.

The xel'naga artifact was assembled and the engineer corps moved it to the base of the primary hive cluster. Raynor and Warfield entrenched the last of their defenses all around it before using it to make Kerrigan human again.

Heart of the Swarm
For the next three weeks, Mengsk's forces carried out a relentless hunt for Kerrigan. Nova Terra led a raid on Research Station EB-103. Dominion insertion teams were held off by Umojan marines while the facility was evacuated. Nova's forces captured the security hub and put the facility on lockdown, but Kerrigan and Raynor managed to reach the shuttle bay, where the Archangel was deployed. It was destroyed by Kerrigan, but Nova managed to capture Raynor. He was taken to the Moros, and Mengsk took every precaution to ensure that no one reached him.

The Dominion Fleet attacked the Hyperion above Phaeton, refusing to cease fire even when Horner told them that Valerian was aboard, as Mengsk was willing to sacrifice anything to kill Kerrigan. A Dominion ground team set up a Drakken pulse cannon on the surface with orders to eliminate any stragglers as they warped in. They found Kerrigan in a zerg base, but she held them off until Broodmother Naktul arrived. The cannon was destroyed by Kerrigan and Naktul's brood, at which point the Dominion troops fled to their ships. When Broodmother Zagara attempted to bring her brood through the Bone Trench, Warfield brought in a Gorgon which strafed them repeatedly. However, Warfield lost control when Kerrigan brought down the Gorgons by awakening scourge nests. When Warfield's compound on the Dauntless Plateau came under assault, he activated his nuclear arsenal. Kerrigan survived the blast and proceeded to destroy the fortress. Although Kerrigan killed Warfield, he convinced her to let three shuttles packed with wounded men go.

The Dominion launched thousands of two-way communicators at Kerrigan's leviathan. Mengsk used one to contact Kerrigan and reveal that Raynor was alive. He told her to keep her Swarm away from Korhal or Raynor would be killed. Colonel Orlan hacked the Dominion's deep-encryption security network and found out where they were holding Raynor. When the Moros stopped at Atlas Station for resupply the next day, it was boarded by Kerrigan. In response, Mengsk set the bridge to explode. The Moros then began tearing itself apart as Kerrigan reached the prison deck, but Dominion soldiers were unable to prevent her from getting Raynor out.

Kerrigan was drawn to Skygeirr Station by Alexei Stukov and the garrisons on the platorm were infested. The Dominion vented gas onto the platform to kill the infested terrans, then attacked the virophages. Once their gas reserves ran out, it required time to synthesize more gas and they came under renewed attack by the zerg. The entrance to the facility was breached and Dominion forces inside failed to prevent Kerrigan from destroying the laboratory.

With zerg leviathans assembling above Korhal, Mengsk called upon his forces to defend it. Dominion fleets converged on Korhal and troops arrived from all over the sector, but they were held off by a blockade of leviathans under Broodmother Kilysa. On the surface, Mengsk sent the Sons of Korhal and the Night Wolves to eliminate Kerrigan, but they were unsuccessful. The Drakken defense network was destroyed by bile launchers and Dominion forces were driven into Augustgrad.

The Dominion deployed a Psi Destroyer and launched a diversionary assault. However, it was destroyed by Kerrigan and Dehaka while the zerg under Zagara pushed the Dominion into the Imperial sector.

The Dominion's elite attempted to defend Mengsk's palace from the zerg and Raynor's Raiders. Mengsk sent Sky Fury Squadron, Alpha Squadron and the Odin to destroy the Hyperion, but they were unsuccessful. Inside the palace, Mengsk caught Kerrigan off guard with the xel'naga artifact, but Raynor intervened and saved Kerrigan, allowing her to kill Mengsk.

A New Beginning
"The days of military oppression, forced labor, and unlawful conscription are coming to an end. I have already begun establishing new regulations and limitations for the senate to weed out corruption and ensure that it stands as a clear and unwavering voice of the people. Our military will be re-purposed to protect the people instead of proscribing them.This new order of rule, this new Dominion, shall be maintained by liberty and justice to the citizens of mankind, those courageous pioneers who have fought through horrors unimaginable to become stewards of this distant end of the universe. Never again will fear, greed, or alien threats force us from our rightful place in the Koprulu sector, or from the sacred human desire for freedom."

- Valerian Mengsk

Following the death of his father, Prince Valerian assumed the throne. He set out to rebuild the Dominion and pledged to abolish the oppressive laws that had existed under his father's reign. Most of his time was spent trying to reign over a Dominion that had fallen into chaos.

While going through his father's records, Valerian came across the existence of Project Blackstone. He dispatched a battlecruiser and the science vessel Brin to the Blackstone facility to rescue the surviving scientists. He offered them continued (and paid) service for the project, using the science vessel as their mobile base. He conversed with Dr Talen Ayers and wanted to make him head of he project. He promised to do what he could to find Ayers's missing daughter.

Government
"I've always felt the best form of government to be benevolent despotism."

- Arcturus Mengsk

Under Arcturus Mengsk, the Dominion was an absolute monarchy, though this was a fact that he tried not to reinforce. The Dominion possesses a nobility with great wealth. Like the Confederacy, the Dominion maintains a senate of elected planetary representatives. Internally, the Dominion rules through oppression, fear and surveillance and makes extensive use of propaganda in order to control its citizens. It has outlawed "crimes" such as hitchhiking and squatting, has banned the airing of "subversive" music, and is somewhat corrupt. Externally, as Mengsk once put it, "tyrants can only survive by presenting a greater tyrant as a threat." The Dominion maintains a somewhat aggressive stance towards its neighbors. Groups such as the Umojan Protectorate and the UED Expeditionary Fleet remnants are labeled as "racial traitors" in propaganda and the zerg and protoss are portrayed as distinct threats. The Dominion claims that it is the only effective defense against the Swarm; a force that during the years after the Brood War, it claimed was dormant, though many within its military structure knew otherwise. The Dominion's predecessor, the Terran Confederacy, is also demonized. For the citizens of the Dominion, anything alien is a threat to be reported to the authorities.

Administrative

 * Emperor Arcturus Mengsk (former head of state, deceased)
 * Emperor Valerian Mengsk (current head of state)
 * Finance Minister Aldeo Cistler
 * Senator Corbin Phash (defected to the Umojan Protectorate)
 * Planetary Representative Strong

Military

 * General Edmund Duke (Alpha Squadron, Dominion Fleet, deceased)
 * General Horace Warfield (commander of Dominion Armed Forces, deceased)
 * Director of Internal Security Tamsen Cauley
 * Colonel Garr (deceased)
 * Colonel Jackson Hauler (later went rogue)
 * Head Counsel Jenson Archimedes

Territories
The Dominion controls the majority of terran colonies in the Koprulu sector. Dominion territory falls within Dominion Space. Their territories include: {{scroll box
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Controlled Systems

 * Brontes system
 * Korhal system
 * Sara system
 * Torus system
 * Tyrador system

Controlled Worlds

 * ''Main article: Terran Dominion worlds

Core Worlds

 * Brontes
 * Dylar IV
 * Korhal IV (capital world)
 * Canis
 * Ursa
 * Nephor II
 * Tyrador VIII (invaded by the zerg)
 * Tyrador IX

Fringe Worlds

 * Braxis
 * Demon's Fair
 * Halcyon
 * Maltair IV
 * New Sydney
 * Pridewater
 * Shiloh

Unknown/Other

 * Abaddon (shared with other factions)
 * Altara
 * Anselm
 * Aridas
 * Atticus Minor
 * Bacchus Moon (seemingly)
 * Braxis Alpha
 * Brokas Hur
 * Castanar
 * Choss
 * Helios
 * Lakius
 * Marlowe
 * New Folsom
 * Roxara
 * Roxara's moon
 * Sigmaris Prime
 * Valhalla
 * Tarsonis (influence)
 * Torus
 * Turaxis II
 * Tyrador III

Former Planets
}}
 * Agria (lost to the zerg)
 * Astrid III (possibly lost to the zerg)
 * Bountiful (declared independence)
 * Calus (possibly lost to the zerg)
 * Candore (at least partially depopulated)
 * Char (briefly claimed during the Second Great War)
 * Cruxas III (possibly lost to the zerg)
 * Gohbus (destroyed)
 * Gohbus Moon (probably destroyed)
 * Jontur II (lost to the zerg)
 * Mar Sara (lost to the zerg, possibly reclaimed)
 * Mistaff IV (possibly lost to the zerg)
 * Phaeton (lost to the zerg)
 * Scoria (possibly lost to the zerg)
 * Sorona (lost to the zerg)
 * Tiria (lost to the zerg)
 * Vygoire (sterilized to prevent an outbreak)
 * Zenn (sun failed)

Trivia
The Terran Dominion is probably named after Arcturus Mengsk's former unit in the Confederate Marine Corps: Dominion section, part of the 33rd Ground Assault Division. He chose the name because he thought it was "appropriately grand".