Mar Sara

"Mar Sara: Shake and Bake Colony"

- A welcoming billboard on Mar Sara.

Mar Sara is a planet in the Sara system.

Early History
The xel'naga set foot on Mar Sara. Some of their relics still remain.

Mar Sara was catalogued by freelance terran prospectors and colonized by an expedition from Tarsonis several years later. Mar Sara formed the eighth of the thirteen core worlds of the Terran Confederacy. Although Mar Sara was always a backwater colony compared to its more prosperous sister planet, Chau Sara, its mining industry was seen as a key strategic asset.

Mar Sara's populace consisted of a mix of former prospectors and soldiers, along with a couple of religious types who didn't agree with the Confederacy's limits of tolerance for other faiths.

The Zerg Invasion
"The Confederacy has quarantined this entire planet, and we'll proceed with the lock-down within 48 hours. You're to relocate your core colonists to the outlying wastelands."

- Edmund Duke to the Colonial Magistrate

In 2499, Mar Sara was one of the first planets to be infested by the zerg when they appeared in the Koprulu sector. Arcturus Mengsk claimed that the Confederacy deliberately sacrificed the planet in order to test the psi-emitter. However, Sons of Korhal agent Merdith Jernic claimed that she stole and activated a psi emitter in order to attack or denigrate the Confederacy.

After the protoss incineration of Chau Sara on December 8, the Koprulu Expeditionary Force approached Mar Sara. The Confederacy launched a clumsy counter attack as Executor Tassadar commanded his ships to pull away and withdraw, for he couldn't bring himself to destroy Mar Sara or the fleet that had come to protect it. At the same time, the Confederacy sent a new Colonial Magistrate to safeguard the colonists and keep their state of panic from escalating any further.

The Confederacy quarantined the entire planet. Forty-eight hours before they were to proceed with a lock-down, General Edmund Duke sent the core colonists to the Wasteland. They were escorted by Marshal Jim Raynor. Soon, Backwater Station was attacked by the zerg and a distress beacon was activated. Instead of waiting for Confederate reinforcements, Raynor saved Backwater Station with the help of local militia forces sent in by the Magistrate. Duke subsequently arrested Raynor and his men on the pretext of violating standing colonial law by destroying Confederate property. Sixteen outland stations reported sightings of the zerg, but the Confederates continued to avoid action against them. Three stations fell to the zerg before the Sons of Korhal intervened and evacuated thousands of colonists.

In truth, the Sons didn't believe they could evacuate the city in time, and made the offer for the propaganda value. However, the 417th Confederate Marine Platoon was involved in a mission which would unexpectedly buy the Sons the time they needed. The platoon was seeking the psi-emitter which Sons of Korhal-affiliated engineer (and minor psychic) Merdith Jernic had activated. They arrested her, but the Confederacy attempted to destroy them with a nuke. Upon discovering the truth, the remnants of the platoon used the emitter to lure the zerg to their position, keeping the majority of the airborne zerg away from Mar Sara City by sacrificing themselves.

At the same time, the Sons of Korhal released Raynor and his men from the Confederate prison ship. Edmund Duke refused to fire on the fleeing civilians.

Three hours after colonial evacuation, Mar Sara was almost completely overrun by the zerg and both the Confederacy and the Sons of Korhal abandoned it. Before leaving, Raynor and a group of his men liberated secret information from the Jacobs Installation.

Thirteen hours after the evacuation of Mar Sara, the protoss fleet incinerated the planet from orbit, extinguishing all life upon the surface.

Recolonization
"They come at night...mostly."

- Anonymous comment on the zerg of Mar Sara

Prospectors from the Kel-Morian Combine found that minerals on Mar Sara had acquired unique properties due to the protoss bombardment. Shortly thereafter, the KMC staked a claim to mining and salvage rights over the planet. In 2502, independent and indentured contractors terraformed Mar Sara and soon began strip-mining the planet of its resources. Due to the influx of miners with too much spare time on their hands, numerous shanty towns have sprung up with little enforcement of law.

Many of the original colonists returned in order to terraform the planet. Burrowed dens of zerg continued to be found out in the wastelands years after the incineration, allowing for the Annual Hydralisk Derby to occur. The zerg may have reinfested the desolate world some time after the protoss bombardment.

The Dominion
The Terran Dominion also showed a renewed interest in Mar Sara and established outposts there. The KMC claimed that these outposts were established at their invitation due to security issues with piracy and mining camp revolts. The Dominion restricted access to these sites, sometimes turning them into dead spots and putting information on them under level Black censoring. One of these sites was raided by renegade Thor pilot Sandin Forst.

In 2504, the Dominion annexed Mar Sara, and its Repopulation Commission began a public relations campaign to boost local support. However, its heavy-handed military tactics upset the locals, creating a fear of an uprising. For months, Dominion engineers excavated a piece of the Keystone at White Rock Base. The Dominion forcibly shipped citizens there from Backwater Station to dig it up.

Dominion forces set up a logistics headquarters in Backwater Station, which become the hub for all operations on Mar Sara. The people of Backwater Station were anti-Dominion. But they lacked weapons and organization. After the Dominion pulled troops out of the city, Raynor and his marines destroyed the logistics headquarters with help from the locals. Raynor then seized weapons and distributed them to the local populace, inciting an open revolt against Mengsk.

At Joeyray's Bar, Tychus Findlay informed Raynor of the artifact, which the Dominion was getting ready to move off-world. The Dominion attacked a rebel base south of the dig site, but Raynor's marines intervened. The rebels returned the favor by helping them destroy White Rock Base. The Dominion deployed hellions to stop them, but they were unsuccessful. The base was destroyed and Raynor's Raiders seized the artifact. In the meantime, news of the unrest on Mar Sara began tricking through to the Dominion public.

When the zerg landed at the abandoned dig site, Raynor had his marines man bunkers and hold two bridges at Backwater Station. They held out long enough to be extracted by the Hyperion. The attack was once again part of a larger zerg invasion of terran space, this time led by Sarah Kerrigan.

Three years later, Mar Sara had been recolonized.

Geography
Although Mar Sara was mainly covered by hard-baked mud and scrub, irrigation techniques such as waterfarms enabled agriculture to develop and there was significant potential for mineral exploitation. The planet's sky is a dusty orange and it has two moons. At night, sandstorms often sweep across the planet's surface. Canyons can be viewed on the planet's landscape.

In ancient times, it is likely that a significant portion, if not all of Mar Sara's surface was covered in iron-rich oceans. By the time of terran settlement however, these oceans had mostly receded, leaving behind a rust ingrained surface, courtesy of oxidation (similar in principle to the ancient oceans of Earth and Mars). A significant portion of the planet was still covered in water however, the planet possessing oceans and a main continent in distinction. Due to the spread of zerg creep and the protoss bombardment, these oceans appear to have been vaporized.

Establishments

 * 'Big Daddy' Browder's Gas & Guns!
 * Dillings
 * Grand Hotel
 * Janine's
 * Joeyray's Bar
 * Pappy's Café

Installations

 * Dominion Shipment Center
 * El Indio Prison
 * Mar Sara Marshal's Office
 * Mar Sara Starport
 * Vespene Refinery BF 1138 (actually a terrazine refinery)
 * Vespene Refinery BF 1138 (actually a terrazine refinery)

Landforms

 * Arid Plateau
 * Backwater Gulch
 * Basin
 * Dust Bowl
 * Mount Jacobs
 * Perdition's Crossing
 * Sand Canyon
 * Silent Dunes
 * Stonewall Peaks
 * Molly's Nipple
 * The Boneyard
 * Turtle Island

Military Bases

 * Backwater Station
 * Blue Base
 * Bunker Complex 3847
 * Camp McIntyre
 * Fire Base Chimera
 * Jacobs Installation
 * Mar Sara Base
 * Red Base
 * White Rock Base

Regions

 * Blistering Sands
 * Diamondback Wastelands
 * Hinterland
 * Out Country
 * Salvage Survey 3R-122V
 * Salvage Survey 11-4A
 * Salvage Survey 11-4C
 * Wasteland

Settlements

 * Anthem Base
 * Mar Sara City
 * Oasis Station
 * Riksville

Other Appearances
Mar Sara was to play a role in StarCraft: Ghost.

The Terran Dominion established a secret terrazine refinery there. To disguise its true function, it was designated "Vespene" Refinery BF 1138.

The refinery came under zerg attack. A Dominion Marine Corps force accompanied by a black ops team (including a ghost named Nova) was sent to investigate, engaging in battle with the zerg.

During the conflict, two opposing terran factions waged an important battle in the barrens of Mar Sara. The resources of both sides were all but depleted, and a single unclaimed mobile factory stood to turn the tide.