Sons of Korhal

"Let it be known that freedom will not perish; that we will fight until the very last man to topple the Confederacy and that we are responsible for the destruction at the Tarsonis Ghost Academy. We are the Sons of Korhal"

- Arcturus Mengsk's declaration of the rebel group to the media.

The Sons of Korhal were a military organization founded after the destruction of the colony world of Korhal. They were branded as terrorists by their enemy, the Terran Confederacy.

History

 * Main article: Rebellion of Korhal

The roots of the Sons of Korhal was the foundation of colonies by the Terran Confederacy, based on Tarsonis. Korhal IV, one of the colonies, became the jewel of the Confederacy.

Senator Angus Mengsk, scion of the Old Families, turned against the Confederacy, publicly and politically, as well as secretly funding a movement against the Confederacy with the assistance of Umojan ambassador Ailin Pasteur.

Mengsk declared the independence of Korhal at the end of the Guild Wars in 2489 and the people rioted against the Confederates. Martial law was imposed, but the revolt did not stop. The Confederates sent three assassins to kill Angus Mengsk in the capital, Styrling. His head was never found.

Arcturus Mengsk, Angus's 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 returned to Korhal to continue the rebellion. With the assistance of Ailin Pasteur, an Umojan diplomat whose life had been saved by Angus Mengsk and later became a part of the rebellion's Ruling Council, Arcturus Mengsk was put in charge 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. He also struck up an alliance with Umoja, which distrusted the Terran Confederacy. When a Confederate battlecruiser crashed near Umojan territory, well out of the range of Confederate hailing frequencies, Mengsk pressed it into the service of his rebellion. Its captain, Pollock Rimes, and crew also joined the rebellion.

When Mengsk was gone to visit Umoja, the Confederates fired a thousand Apocalypse-class nuclear missiles at Korhal, killing millions of people.

Foundation of the Sons of Korhal
"You men are gathered here today because you share common beliefs and a common desire. Among the beliefs you share is the tenet that no man or body of government should have authority to treat you unjustly; the desire you share is the pursuit of independence. Make no mistake, men-these are the ideals that wars are made of. The least of the troubles that lie ahead of you is a live of forced seclusion, of being branded as seditionist by the very government that would impose her unfair laws on you. The worst of what you may face-of what we all face-is death."

- Arcturus Mengsk addressing new recruits.


 * Main article: StarCraft: Uprising

The attack on Korhal wiped out the majority of the rebellion, but a small number of outraged recruits from Umoja and even the Fringe Worlds joined Arcturus Mengsk's organization. Mengsk called his rebellion the Sons of Korhal. He also renamed the captured battlecruiser the Hyperion.

One of the rebellion's first missions was to infiltrate a facility on Vyctor 5, called the Fujita Facility. It was hidden in a stable and violent weather formation called the Fujita Pinnacle. The planet's security was formidable. Nonetheless, Mengsk's daring tactics enabled the rebels to destroy the facility's defenses and raid it. Within, they discovered a young psychic named Sarah Kerrigan, a scientist, Dr. Flanx, and xenomorphs, the latter slain by Pollock Rimes. Kerrigan's memory had been wiped, and her psychic abilities restrained like those of most other ghosts', but she quickly became a valuable member of Mengsk's team, to the irritation of Rimes.

Mengsk was annoyed at the Confederate coverup of his attack, however. The media reported that terrorists had attacked an "environmental facility", and did not name the attackers.

Mengsk's hidden information sources led him to openly appear in the space of the Terran Confederacy in the Hyperion. As he did so, he told Kerrigan that he hadn't retrieved her because of the secrets of Vyctor 5, but because she knew the layout of the Ghost Academy on Tarsonis. Kerrigan's memory was returning, and soon she would remember how to get through it and perform a special mission for Mengsk.

A mole within the Sons of Korhal drew the attention of Edmund Duke, a high-ranking Terran Confederacy military officer commanding his battlecruiser, the Norad II. Duke expertly blocked the Hyperion from exiting into warp space and sent a detachment of marines onto the Hyperion.

The Hyperion attempted to escape, and inside Mengsk laid the plans for an ambush of both the marines and the Norad II. In the end, the marines were slain, Dr. Flanx was dead, the Norad II was heavily damaged and the Hyperion had escaped.

Duke had sent a ghost secretly onto the Hyperion, however, which started to kill rebels. Sarah Kerrigan took Mengsk's sidearm and fought the ghost. She eventually killed them with a large knife. When informing Mengsk of this development, she was able to read some of his thoughts. He believed it was "one of the three", but carefully blanked his mind, preventing Kerrigan from reading anything else.

Public and Covert Actions
"Freedom is not free. Fight for our future!"

- Sons of Korhal slogan

With the assistance of a mining guild, Arcturus Mengsk planned an attack on the Ghost Academy on Tarsonis. He told his rebels the primary purpose of the attack was to draw media attention, hopefully creating support for his group. While many people were opposed to Terran Confederacy policies, they didn't know of any outlets for their frustrations.

Mengsk privately informed Kerrigan that he wanted her to retrieve a specific ghost. Doing so would require her to attack Major Rumm, a figure from her past whom she bore great hatred for.

The attack was something of a disaster. The group did not have enough force to destroy the Academy and fight their way out, and were hindered by a mole. Their most capable soldier was on a separate mission.

Only Kerrigan made it out alive, after the Academy's fusion reactor had been destroyed, with the captive ghost. She was safely retrieved by Mengsk, who quickly escaped the Confederates. Mengsk revealed his private motivations to Kerrigan, who reaffirmed her loyalty to him.

The actions resulted in media coverage of the Sons of Korhal, which were identified as a dangerous terrorist group. By 2497 Mengsk believed the Sons of Korhal could field an army which could match any fielded by the Confederacy.

Sara's Zerg
Late in 2499, Alpha Squadron returned to Chau Sara in order to put down a local uprising by the Sons of Korhal. Its first foes, however, were xenomorphs, which were quickly defeated. Shortly thereafter, Alpha Squadron made contact with the secretive Cerberus Recon Squad, whose leader claimed knowledge of these xenomorphs. The squad assisted Alpha Squadron in destroying the Sons of Korhal base. The Sons of Korhal fled from Chau Sara, and it was later attacked by an unknown alien species under unusual circumstances.

Four days after the destruction of Chau Sara, Mar Sara had been invaded by zerg, and the populace was put under lockdown. The defense of the world was overseen by Alpha Squadron, which had escaped the devastation of its home base on Chau Sara. The Sons of Korhal had soldiers here who fought the Confederates before the infestation was a major problem, but they failed.

Alpha Squadron made little effort to defend the world against the zerg. Indeed, they began to round up local militias that had been attacking the zerg. One of their highest profile prisoners was former Marshal Jim Raynor. The zerg massed against the core city of Mar Sara, and were about to massacre the civilians. The Confederates made no move to assist, and the Magistrate of Mar Sara could only find one military organization which could hold off the zerg - the Sons of Korhal.

Mengsk promised to help the colonists evacuate, although they would have to defend themselves until the rebels could arrive.

Ironically, the aliens were called to this world (or at least this part of it) by a Sons of Korhal agent, Merdith Jernic, using a top-secret psi emitter. She was captured by a band of Confederate marines, who activated the psi emitter, luring many zerg to their position long enough to give the defenders of Mar Sara City a fighting chance.

The colonists were up to the task, and were able to escape. The Sons of Korhal planned to leave the planet soon, and so did the Confederates.

Meanwhile, Jim Raynor had been freed from his prison ship and joined the rebel organization. He was willing to work with the colonists in a raid on the Jacobs Installation, a well-defended Confederate outpost which contained exotic technologies. The Colonial Magistrate had been fired, pending an investigation, and he was quite willing to help out.

Raynor personally led the raid, defeating the Confederates within. He was surprised by zerg being kept captive within the installation, but Mengsk told him that this was not the first time he had seen zerg in a Confederate facility. He said he believed the Confederates might be breeding the things as a weapon against their political enemies. Raynor completed the mission, acquiring the technology, a disk too heavily encrypted for them to decode.

Hours after the final evacuations, the protoss attacked the planet, wiping out all life on its surface.

Rebellion of Antiga Prime
Mengsk's next target were the rebels of Antiga Prime, which were being suppressed by the Terran Confederacy's premier military force, Alpha Squadron. Jim Raynor and Sarah Kerrigan were sent to the surface. They assassinated the Confederate officer in charge of suppressing the rebels and defeated a Confederate strike force which was preparing to take back control of the colony.

Great Gifts
General Edmund Duke, leader of Alpha Squadron, was orbiting Antiga Prime in his battlecruiser, the Norad II, directing a battle against the zerg. The aliens had arrived. The Norad II was heavily damaged during the fighting, and crashed on the planet. It was quickly ringed with zerg, and Alpha Squadron's ground forces were unable to rescue him.

The Sons of Korhal sent their own forces to assist the General, which greatly surprised Raynor and Kerrigan. Alpha Squadron was willing to temporarily ally with their former enemies to rescue their leader. While successful, Duke didn't show any gratitude. Mengsk gave him the choice of joining his cabinet, or a government which was failing as its colonies revolted. Duke grudgingly joined the rebellion.

Delta Squadron was sent to Antiga Prime to put down the rebellion for good, and punish Alpha Squadron after months of fighting between the Sons of Korhal, the Confederate Army and the Colonial Fleet as well as the zerg. The Delta Squadron force was very large, posing a significant threat to the Sons of Korhal, despite the addition of a well-trained military squadron. However, Mengsk had other things on his mind...

The data disk stolen from the Jacobs Installation had been deciphered. They contained plans for the psi-emitter, a device which used psionics to attract the attention of the zerg. Lieutenant Sarah Kerrigan was ordered to take the emitter to Delta Squadron's base and activate it. When Kerrigan did so, waves of zerg approached the location and destroyed the Confederate army there.

The Sons of Korhal fled. The protoss arrived and once again sterilized a terran world.

Seeds of Empire
The Sons of Korhal moved against the Confederate mining world of Atticus Minor, capturing it, only to fall prey to the zerg. As the terrans and zerg fought, the War Pigs, a band of outlaws used by the Confederacy, attempted to use the chaos to assassinate Arcturus Mengsk. However they were spotted and forced to retreat before large zerg forces.

"I will not be stopped. Not by you, or the Confederates, or the Protoss or anyone! I will rule this sector or see it burnt to ashes around me."

- Arcturus Mengsk ranting at Jim Raynor.

The Sons of Korhal prepared to defeat the Terran Confederacy for good by attacking the capital, Tarsonis. It was still too small to attack Tarsonis directly, however. General Edmund Duke had fought in a number of major battles on the orbital space platforms over Tarsonis and knew its defenses. He masterminded a raid on the central platform against Delta Squadron and Omega Squadron, with the expressed purpose of confusing the Confederates long enough to send a small force to the surface. Sons of Korhal ghosts activated a number of psi-emitters.

No zerg had been observed near the planet, but now they arrived in large numbers. Jim Raynor and Sarah Kerrigan were alienated by this tactic. Raynor accused Arcturus Mengsk of "selling out the planet" to the zerg, and was more vocal about his objections than Kerrigan.

Meanwhile, the zerg landed on the space platforms and reached the surface, devastating the Terran Confederacy. The protoss followed, and Kerrigan believed they were going to destroy all life on the planet, including the terrans still on the surface.

Arcturus Mengsk ordered her, to defend the zerg from the protoss. He didn't want any Confederates to escape, and if the zerg were defeated, that could happen. She was sent with a detachment of the Sons of Korhal to the zerg-occupied space platform. Jim Raynor complained that she didn't have any backup - both himself and General Edmund Duke were ordered to remain on on Mengsk's command ship. Fending off occasional zerg attacks, she defeated the protoss fleet. At this point, the zerg began a massive attack against her forces. Mengsk ordered the Sons of Korhal to leave the system, however, abandoning Kerrigan to a horrible fate.

Jim Raynor took hundreds of people no longer loyal to Mengsk and remained nearby. He wanted to rescue Kerrigan, but it was impossible.

Upon Mengsk's return to the Tarsonis system, he and Raynor sparred, first verbally, then physically. The former magistrate of Mar Sara sided with Raynor, while Duke remained loyal to Mengsk. General Duke took control of the Ion Cannon, a powerful anti-ship weapon which prevented Raynor's forces from escaping.

Raynor was forced to fight the Sons of Korhal, cutting a path to the Ion Cannon and destroying it. Shortly thereafter, his forces escaped from Tarsonis.

Political Transformation
The successful destruction of Tarsonis caused the fall of the Confederacy. Most Confederate survivors joined the Sons of Korhal, including the remaining Confederate squadrons. The former rebels saved many terran lives, but refused to assist worlds that did not welcome their intervention, as Mengsk remarked that the planet's local government had ultimate authority on that planet.

It was during this period that Jim Raynor's Raiders launched a daring raid on the Dylarian Shipyards, hoping to steal enough ships to move far from Mengsk. General Duke had been sent in the flagship, the Hyperion, in order to prevent the assault, but the Raiders prevailed, stealing the flagship and numerous other vessels. Duke was left behind, alive but tied up.

Mengsk announced that a new government, the Terran Dominion, was necessary to keep watch over the terran worlds asking for help. He promised victory over the aliens.

Command

 * General Arcturus Mengsk (leader of the Sons of Korhal)
 * General Edmund Duke (deceased)
 * Unnamed Commander (player character of Episode I and former magistrate of Mar Sara, former member)
 * Captain Jim Raynor (former member)
 * Lieutenant Sarah Kerrigan (second in command, now infested)
 * Lieutenant Pollock Rimes (lapsed, actually a spy for the Confederacy)

Soldiers

 * Sergeant Forest Keel (deceased)
 * Sergeant Lisa Mannix (formerly, deceased)
 * Private Somo Hung (deceased)
 * Private Saunders (deceased)
 * Private Tibbs (deceased)
 * Chuck Ayers (formerly, deceased)

Naval Personnel

 * Lieutenant Sela Brock (Wraith pilot)
 * Lieutenant Matt Horner (formerly)
 * Harley (Wraith pilot)

Other

 * Helek Branamoor (Umojan Protectorate scientist)
 * Merdith Jernic (deceased)
 * Michael Liberty (temporary affiliate)
 * Ailin Pasteur (Umojan Protectorate ambassador)