Terran Confederacy

"Guess you wouldn't be a Confederate if you weren't a complete pain in the ass."

- Jim Raynor

The Terran Confederacy, also known as the Confederacy of Man, the Confederacy and coloquially known as the Confederates, was an interstellar confederation set up by the terrans of the Koprulu Sector. The home planet of the Confederacy was the colony of Tarsonis, one of the three original terran colonies in the Sector.

The Confederate flag was based on the Confederate Battle Flag/Navy Jack, chosen from the databanks of ATLAS. Its anthem was To the Eternal Glory of the Confederacy.

History
Doran Routhe of the United Powers League of Earth organized a colonization project in order to further his own power. He loaded 40,000 prisoners on four supercarriers, sending them to the planet Gantris VI. The lead ship, the Nagglfar, housed an advanced AI called ATLAS, which studied the passengers' genetics. The Nagglfar housed navigation systems, with the other three ships following it. During the journey, the guidance computer failed, and the four ships barreled blindly through warp space for twenty eight years. As their warp drives began to melt down, they emerged in a habitable star system in 2259.

The Nagglfar landed on the world of Tarsonis. The colonists enjoyed a technological advantage over the people of the other two original colony worlds, Moria and Umoja, due to their possession of ATLAS. ATLAS contained much technological information from Earth.

Even so, it took the Tarsonis colonists sixty years to build second generation subwarp engines and explore the rest of the system, discovering the other two colonies.

Tarsonis attempted to convince the other two colonies to join in a conglomerate government (they refused) even as its prospectors helped to create seven new colonies within the system, which greatly enhanced its military power. Tarsonis and its colonies formed an interstellar government which they called the Terran Confederacy in 2323.

The government of the Confederacy came to be dominated by the "Old Families", descendants of the commanders of the Nagglfar. The government also included a Senate, which was considered corrupt by many of its colonies, and a Council, which did not have a mandate from the people.

The Guild Wars

 * Main article: The Guild Wars

The Confederacy came into conflict with Moria as the Morian government believed the Confederates would try to "regulate" its rich mining industry. The Morians founded the Kel-Morian Combine in order to protect itself.

By 2478 the Confederacy routinely stole Kel-Morian-associated mining claims such as the Paladino Belt and Sonyan, frequently claiming the mines were illegal or one of the miners was a criminal before moving their troops in. To make matters worse, rebellions and riots were becoming increasingly common, Korhal serving as a prime example. The Confederacy was rotting from the inside and its leaders were willing to do whatever it took to keep themselves in power.

Tensions with Moria broke into open war at the Battle of Noranda Glacier, Onuru Sigma, in 2485.

During the war, Confederate taxes and recruiting goals increased, while the Old Families made much money from war profiteering and even corruption.

The war lasted four years. The Guild Wars, as the conflict was called, resulted in bitter defeat for the Combine. The Confederates annexed the Combine's supporting guilds, but allowed the Morians to maintain their independence. As a result of this war, Umoja formed its own military body, the Umojan Protectorate, in order to defend itself from the Confederacy. Since the defeat, Moria founded new mining colonies and provided the Terran Confederacy with so much money that they were effectively immune to Confederate laws. The Confederacy entered an economic boom as the result of the war. Meanwhile, Confederate prospectors founded many new colonies while Confederate enforcement agencies abused the colonists, causing many rebel groups, such as the Colonial Liberation Army, to rise up against the Confederates. These groups were rarely any match for the Confederate forces.

Rebellion of Korhal

 * Main article: Rebellion of Korhal

Korhal IV, one of the oldest Terran Confederacy colonies, was a world of affluence.

Korhal Senator Angus Mengsk, who had noted anti-Confederate views, had created a secret rebellion against the Confederacy with assistance from Umoja in 2478. The struggle became public as the Guild Wars ended in 2489, when Mengsk declared Korhal to be independent.

The citizenry revolted against the local Confederate militia. Realizing that success for Korhal could influence other colonies to revolt, the Confederacy became determined to stamp out the rebellion. The Confederates imposed martial law, but the revolt continued. The Confederates decided to withdraw their military from the planet, while three covert assassins called ghosts slew Angus Mengsk, his wife and youngest child. Angus Mengsk's head was never found. This did much to weaken the revolt.

However, it would also start a chain of events that would ultimately lead to the Confederacy's total destruction: Arcturus Mengsk, Angus' son, a former Confederate colonel and prospector, was embarrassed by his father's actions, and while aware of Confederate corruption, was generally uninterested in Koprulu Sector politics. However, he was outraged by the death of his family and took control of the rebellion. He rallied the militant groups that had followed his father and created an army which struck at various Confederate bases and installations. Two years later, when he was gone to visit Umoja, the Confederates enacted a final solution&mdash;they sent a fleet of battlecruisers to Korhal that fired a thousand Apocalypse-class nuclear missiles at the planet, wiping out nearly all life on the surface.

Beginning of the End

 * ''Main article: The Sons of Korhal

Arcturus Mengsk named the remnants of his rebels the Sons of Korhal, and again began to strike at the Confederates.

During his raids, he discovered a ghost, Sarah Kerrigan, and some unidentified creatures (known as xenomorphs) at Vyctor 5, where experiments were being conducted with ghosts and the xenomorphs. At the time, these xenomorphs seemed insignificant to him. However, the Confederates had discovered them five years previously and had wiped out the Fringe World colonies they had infested with a disease they claimed was cholera.

His forces were largely ignored by the Confederate-controlled media until he launched a daring attack against the Confederate Ghost Academy on Tarsonis. After this incident, the Confederates declared the Sons of Khorhal to be outlaws and relentlessly hunted them down. Rebellious colonies, however, often secretly allied with them.

Confederate experiments with the xenomorphs continued, often getting out of control. A piece of technology devised by the Confederates, the psi emitter, was used to lure the xenomorphs to several worlds. In addition, more than a year before the outbreak of war, the Confederacy had quietly increased its troop strength through kidnapping of civilians, inflicting neural resocialization on them.


 * Main article: StarCraft: Precursor

One test area was Chau Sara, an important colony and headquarters of Alpha Squadron. The Squadron was recalled when the Sons of Korhal invaded the world, and were posing too much of a threat to the local militia. Alpha Squadron defeated the Sons of Korhal, but encountered the xenomorphs and the mysterious Confederate military/scientific organization, Cerberus Recon Squad, during the battle.

The creatures were the subject of high-level research, but had taken over the Flannum Installation where they were being studied and had surrounded it. Cerberus Recon Squad and Alpha Squadron defeated the xenomorphs and entered the facility. Inside, they discovered evidence that the xenomorphs may have been more intelligent than previously believed (they were holding the scientists prisoner). Nonetheless, the xenomorphs were defeated.

The xenomorphs besieged Chau Sara's capital city of Los Andares, forcing Alpha Squadron to come to the rescue. Once again the xenomorphs were defeated. The Colonial Magistrate believed that establishing a tight perimeter around the city would further protect it, but Cerberus Recon Squad preferred to attack their primary Hive Clusters instead, and, taking over the colony's government, forced Alpha Squadron to cooperate with them. After defeating the xenomorphs, Cerberus Recon Squad instituted a class 7 seal, ordered all witnesses to the battles not to inform anyone else of what had happened. Alpha Squadron and Cerberus Recon Squad left the planet, believing that the threat was dealt with. This occurred approximately one month before the destruction of Chau Sara. .

End of Hegemony
Left to its own devices and unable to call for reinforcements or even warn the other terrans, Chau Sara could not defend itself from the alien invaders. The xenomorphs regrouped and killed virtually all of the terrans on the planet. Its sister planet of Mar Sara was perplexed at the sudden loss of trade and contact with Chau Sara, unaware of the destruction on the planet. At this time, Executor Tassadar and his protoss Expeditionary Fleet searched for the zerg, which they had independently discovered. Discovering the infected planet, his fleet sterilized its surface of life.

The terrans were shocked. This was their first public contact with alien lifeforms. The Confederacy was struck by an economic downturn due to fear of terrorist and alien attacks.

The invaders, now known as zerg, became public knowledge as the infestation of Mar Sara progressed. The protoss fleet arrived in pursuit but retreated after a clumsy Confederate counterattack. The Confederates were interested to learn about, but not fight, the zerg on Mar Sara. The Confederates deployed assets to observe and hide their activities, and used a marine platoon was used to secure and destroy of a classified piece of equipment, a psi-emitter, when they withdrew.


 * Main article: StarCraft Episode I

Without Confederate support Mar Sara was overrun with minimal resistance. The civilian population was callously abandoned to death or infestation. This was capitalized on by the Sons of Korhal; the rebels rescued some survivors for propaganda. Clandestinely, the Sons of Korhal also staged a last minute raid on a Confederate base, Jacobs Installation, and acquired encrypted plans for the psi-emitter as well as discovering captive Zerg.

Tassadar's fleet arrived, several hours after the evacuation, and sterilized the surface of the planet.

The Changing Face of War
"The Confederacy is falling apart, Duke. Its colonies are in open revolt. The Zerg are rampaging unchecked. What would have happened here today if we hadn't shown up?"

- Arcturus Mengsk convincing General Edmund Duke to join him

"There's a sea change coming. The Confederacy is old and corrupt and feeding on itself like some geriatric, dementia-ridden parasite. "Trust me, I have a nose for these things. "It's increasingly likely the Sons of Korhal will end up the new powers-that-be in the Koprulu Sector."

- Tamsen Cauley explains his vision of the Confederacy

The Sons of Korhal subsequently incited an open anti-Confederate revolt on Antiga Prime. The Confederate Alpha Squadron deployed to suppress the rebellion but were repulsed. The Confederates panicked, but their response was hampered by the zerg invasion of the sector which had reached Antiga Prime as well. The Confederate position worsened with Alpha Squadron's defection to the rebels; General Edmund Duke joined the Sons of Korhal after the zerg shot down Norad II and was rescued by the rebels.

In response, the Confederate Colonial Fleet, Army, and Delta Squadron deployed in force to blockade the planet. They hoped the trapped rebels and zerg would destroy each other, allowing the Confederacy to mop up and retake Antiga. The Sons of Korhal planted a psi emitter in Delta Squadron's base – it used Sarah Kerrigan's psionic energies to lure zerg to the Confederate army and destroy it, allowing the rebels to run the shattered blockade. The zerg swiftly overtook the planet, which the protoss sterilized shortly afterwards.

Confederate forces were deployed to Halcyon to interdict movement from Antiga to Tarsonis while an assassination attempt was made against Arcturus Mengsk at Atticus Minor. It failed.

Crushing Defeat
The Confederate government and military could not defeat the forces arrayed against it, and resorted to desperate and heavy-handed media manipulation to control its citizens and swell the ranks of its military in order to fend off the aliens.

Flushed with the success of their new weapon, the Sons of Korhal moved against the Confederate capital of Tarsonis. With the help of General Edmund Duke, the Sons of Korhal assaulted one of three orbital defense platforms surrounding Tarsonis. They were able to engage the Confederates long enough to activate numerous psi emitters, calling a flood of zerg to the planet. The Confederates were unable to utilize their hidden anti-zerg weapon, the Psi Disrupter.

The protoss fleet arrived, once again, to sterilize a world. However, there were still Confederates alive on the surface, including several members of the Old Families, and if the protoss succeeded in destroying the zerg, the Confederate leadership could escape and rally their forces for a counterattack. Arcturus Mengsk decided to defend the zerg against the protoss until the zerg could destroy the Confederates. The Sons of Korhal were successful in their mission.

The remnants of the Confederates found themselves battling zerg and protoss on the surface of the world. Eventually the zerg were victorious against both these forces, but abandoned the world.

The Remnants
The Confederacy was succeeded by the Terran Dominion, the name of the empire founded by the Sons of Korhal. Much of the remnants of the Confederacy joined the Dominion, willingly or otherwise.

However, pockets of Confederate resistance remain.

One such pocket, calling itself the Confederate Resistance Forces, led by Samir Duran, joined forces with the United Earth Directorate during the Brood War, assisting the UED in striking at the Dominion colony of Braxis and forming an alliance with them and also attempting to assassinate Arcturus Mengsk while he was visiting Umoja. The attempt was a failure.

More Confederates were observed researching zerg, protoss and advanced technology by the Kimeran Pirates. The technology, however, was often too far-fetched or dangerous to actually be useful. They appeared to be working with the formerly deceased United Earth Directorate Vice Admiral Alexei Stukov, who was obviously infested. The facility was destroyed by Stukov's forces, however.

Government
The Terran Confederacy government, based on Tarsonis, consisted of a Senate based out of Nagglfar Hall (which was elected) and a Council. The former had representatives from a number of worlds (Angus Mengsk of Korhal was a Confederate senator). The Senate was generally viewed as corrupt, but so was the Council. The latter is noted for having no mandate from the people. The Old Families also wielded a large degree of political influence.

Colonial magistrates from colonies such as Mar Sara and Chau Sara had links with the Confederate government though were considered expendable.

Economy
The Confederacy maintained control over colonial economies by employing their workers and gaining wealth from them, while allowing local industries to wither. The Old Families would often drive colonial competitors out of business.

Tax revenue was collected by the Confederate Revenue Service. It wasn't uncommon for new taxes to suddenly be levied with little explanation.

Science and Technology
One program dispatched science and exploration vessels to locate extant intelligent life. Only disputed evidence of previous civilizations were discovered.

Systems

 * Antiga System
 * Brontes System
 * Char System
 * Jaandara System
 * Koprulu System
 * Korhal System
 * Sara System
 * Tarsonis System
 * Tyrador System

Planets
Including the thirteen Core Worlds, the Outer Colonies and numerous Fringe Worlds, Confederate-controlled planets included the following:

Other

 * Paladino Belt

Armed Forces
Main Article: Confederate Armed Forces

Administration

 * Councilor Shannon
 * Senator Elliot Canon (assassinated)
 * Senator Westyn MacMasters
 * Senator Angus Mengsk (later rebelled)

Military

 * General Ledbetter (senior armed forces commander)
 * General Edmund Duke (commander of Alpha Squadron, defected to the Sons of Korhal)
 * Major-General Brantigan Fole (deceased)
 * Director Ilsa Killiany (head of the Ghost Program)

Old Families

 * Errol Bennet (Bennet Family patriarch)
 * Arturro Calabas (Calabas Family patriarch)
 * Constantino Terra (Terra Family patriarch)
 * Andrea Tygore (Tygore Family matriarch)