Deception

Deceptions
Deceptions is a Blizzard Map of the Month, a series of free maps released by Blizzard Entertainment for StarCraft. However, it leads up to the secret mission Resurrection IV.

The mission starts onboard the Kimeran Juggernaut. Captain Buzan of the Kimeran Pirates discusses the upcoming mission with three space pirates (represented by Terran Ghosts).

The three pirates are to be sent on an information hunt into a Terran Confederacy remnant science facility. They will be teleported into the installation's cargo bay and will roam the facility, downloading information from their computer terminals.

The Kimeran Pirate scientist/mechanic, Velichek, has performed work on their Moebius reactors, allowing them to cloak for a longer period of time.

Buzan cautions them not to kill the people there, as that draws attention and brings no profit for them.

Two of the pirates have their call names revealed: Manic and Twitch. The third pirate is likely Velichek, who doubles as the ship's mechanic.

Inside the Facility
The pirates open the first door out of the cargo bay into the interior by hacking into the computer system. The next room has automated traps, which fire at them. The pirates wonder if someone knew they were coming.

Some of the computers they hack into have interesting information, such as files on reconstructing injured humans using Protoss Dragoon technology, Zerg/Human genome manipulation, a case study on Dark Templar cloaking fields, and how to transfer brain data into terabyte holodrives.

As the pirates roam the facility, hacking into various computers, they find three prison cells in the main laboratory. One contains Zerg, another contains Protoss, and the last imprisons a single mutate named Morik. Morik tells them that he's a prisoner here, and they have been performing terrible experiments on him. He directs them to the computer terminal which will free him. When the Ghosts do so, all the prisoners are released.

The pirates find their way blocked by a locked door with no computer terminal. Unable to find a way through, they wonder if they could ask a prisoner for assistance. Morik quickly arrives, shouting "Kill!" repeatedly as he destroys the door, then hurries through.

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

Shortly thereafter, as the pirates find themselves at the edge of a huge pit, the computer announces that the Protoss and Zerg prisoners have escaped.

Inside the pit, Protoss and Zerg are fighting each other. They are also hostile to the pirates.

The pirates wonder if releasing Morik was a good idea, as he moves so quickly they can't keep up with him. By now, he's long gone.

The Teleport Pad
The pirates sneak by, hack into more computers, and find a teleport pad. Unfortunately the pad is guarded by elite opponents, such as well-trained Ghosts. The computer there has 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 teleport (Top Secret #1), or take the obvious one.

Using the obvious transporter sends the three pirates to a medical bay, where the friendly medic treats some of their injuries. Unfortunately, she quickly runs out of medical supplies.

The first three computers in the room have some interesting information on them, such as data files entitled "Saving Human Mental Faculties In Zerg/Human Hybridization Experiments" and files on advanced combat training: Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu (from Rurouni Kenshin) and "The Origin of the Species." (Charles Darwin's magnum opus) The fourth computer lets them out.

The player now has more choice about where to go. One of the computers they locate have startling data files on them: "Reanimation Using Zerg Infestation Techniques." Another has information on the Skullder Unit 001 Goliath design.

The Shadow Pirate
Believing they have run into extreme opposition, the pirates can enter the telecommunications system room and request backup from Captain Buzan. Buzan will send a medic to help them via transporter, along with a Shadow Pirate (a Dark Templar).

The Arena
Heading westwards, the Kimeran Pirates find Zerg and Protoss fighting in an arena. Station security guards are firing indiscriminately at the former prisoners. Further to the west is Top Secret #2.

Hot Zone
As the Kimerans move further along, they find an energy recharging station, which they can use to power up their reactors. However, the station begins to shake, and the pirates suspect Morik of this act.

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

In order to get there, the pirates have to pass through a series of low tunnels, where they find yet more Zerg and Protoss prisoners fighting each other.

Along the way, they (barely) see cloaked Wraiths enter the station from the outside and fire upon its security guards.

The pirates, frightened, leave the area and find two more energy recharge stations. They request Buzan to transport them again, but since the transponders have been knocked out, he can't honor their request.

The pirates believe someone saw them come in, but Buzan says that is impossible; he believes no one can track the Kimeran Juggernaut.

In another series of low tunnels, they evade more Protoss and Zerg prisoners, and find some corpses of security guards. They wonder what killed them when explosions rock the area. The explosions continue, and the pirates have to carefully make their way through the area in order to escape alive. They crawl into a tunnel, hoping to find a safe way to the docking bay.

Finally they find themselves at the engineering section. Unfortunately, it's full of plasma explosions, and the pirates can't stop the chaos from there.

The Docking Bay
Carefully easing their way out of the engineering section, the pirates find themselves in the docking bay. Morik is pacing around nervously. When asked, Morik denies setting the station's power core to overload.

When Buzan moves in to pick up his crew, he notices Morik there as well. The pirates explain 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 leave, the installation explodes. The pirates wonder if they're being followed by cloaked Wraiths... (The Wraiths only appear if the stealth rating is poor.)

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.)

Miscellaneous Data Files
You can find two more interesting data files among the computers: "Polarity Shifting Energy Shields Using Battlecruiser Technology" and "Manipulating Tau Particles Into Stable Orbits."

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

Top Secret #2
Near the arena, the pirates see a Terran dropship land, and from it emerges a familiar figure ... Alexei Stukov, who is obviously infested. He doesn't see the Kimerans, and moves off into the distance.

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

Many fans believe Stukov, who may have been working with the Confederates, set the explosions himself.

When the Wraiths attack, there is a trigger entitled "Wraiths firing on their own", suggesting the pilots of the Wraiths work for the Confederates (and/or Stukov) as well.