Alpha Squadron

"First in, first out."

- Alpha Squadron motto.

Alpha Squadron, also referred to as the Blood Hawks, was a Terran Confederacy military unit commanded by General Edmund Duke. Consisting of multiple divisions, Alpha Squadron units wear white. It was described as the most efficient wing of the Confederate armed forces. Once based on Chau Sara, the Squadron survived when the protoss and zerg wiped out all life on the planet, even confronting the protoss which attacked that world.

Onuru Sigma

 * Main article: Battle of Noranda Glacier

Captain Edmund Duke of Alpha Squadron brought a unit of Alpha Squadron marines and goliaths to Onuru Sigma. He met with 33rd Ground Assault Division commander Brantigan Fole and promising young captain Arcturus Mengsk. Fole was ordered to combine active squads, and attached the 33rd's Dominion section to Duke's own troops. Duke would hold command authority and would evaluate Dominion section's performance. They were to attack a Kel-Morian Combine-operated mining facility at the Noranda Glacier.

The battle turned into a trap. The dilapidated refinery was a carefully hidden series of strongpoints, and Duke's aggressive tactics resulted in him and his forces being trapped. Mengsk took over command, calling in Wraith fire to strafe the complex before his forces rushed into the complex and rescued Alpha Squadron. The two formations were forced to retreat as a massive Kel-Morian force approached. The Guild Wars were declared as a result of the battle.

Insurgency
In 2491, Alpha Squadron members under Duke engaged with the battlecruiser Hyperion, under the command of the newly formed Sons of Korhal rebel group. Those who boarded the craft were repelled and the Norad II was fended off, allowing the rebels to escape.

Sara System Actions
Eight years later, Alpha Squadron was summoned to Chau Sara to deal with an attack by Sons of Korhal insurgents. They were instructed to take no prisoners. There they encountered xenomorphs and Cerberus Recon Squad during the assault. Alpha Squadron found itself following Cerberus' orders and defending the planet from the xenomorphs. Duke himself led Alpha Squadron in its defense of the city of Los Andares, fighting from a siege tank. They successfully defended the city and were then ordered to attack the main xenomorph hive cluster in the planet. The attack was a success. However, these efforts only delayed the inevitable and could not stop the zerg taking control of the planet.

Alpha Squadron moved towards Mar Sara and clumsily "repelled" the powerful protoss invasion force led by Executor Tassadar. In reality, Tassadar simply identified himself and his species, then left, as he was unwilling to sterilize Mar Sara until the humans had time to flee.

On Mar Sara Alpha Squadron took control of the planet in order to fight the zerg infestation, moving colonists to concentration points in the wastelands and eventually arresting the colonial militias. However, it avoided action against the zerg, didn't defend the core city and wouldn't even help the civilians to escape. Instead, it seemed more interested in defending scientific installations being used to study the zerg. The Squadron evacuated the majority of its troops although several units, such as the troops guarding the Jacobs Installation were left behind and killed.

Change in Loyalty
Alpha Squadron left before Mar Sara was sterilized and traveled to Antiga Prime to put down a Sons of Korhal-sponsored rebellion. Over the planet, General Edmund Duke's battlecruiser, the Norad II, was attacked by the zerg and crash-landed on the planet. Alpha Squadron attempted to rescue him at some point as they were heavily outnumbered by the zerg presence. Arcturus Mengsk ordered his forces to rescue the general and as a result Duke defected to the Sons of Korhal. The rest of Alpha Squadron followed suit. As part of the Sons of Korhal the squadron fought six more months against Confederate reinforcements and zerg before breaking out and departing for Tarsonis.

Alpha Squadron led the assault on Tarsonis, driving Delta and Omega Squadron forces from the planet's central space platform and breaching the defenses for a landing planetside. The Squadron's troops were then ordered by General Duke to activate the psi emitters, much to the shock of Kerrigan, Raynor, Liberty and many others. Due to the genocidal actions caused by Mengsk and Duke, a number of the Alpha Squadron's troops deserted, joining Raynor's Raiders They later on also helped to secure the orbiting Ion Cannon. However, they were unable to prevent Jim Raynor and his disillusioned followers from destroying the cannon and forcing their way off world.

Alpha Squadron was sent to Char to retrieve Sarah Kerrigan, who had been sending desperate psychic visions to Arcturus Mengsk as she was being infested. The mission was a absolute disaster. Alpha Squadron encountered heavy resistance from both the protoss and zerg and was unable to retrieve Kerrigan. The ground force was dislodged from their drop zone with over fifty percent casualties. The fleet came under attack by zerg and attempted to withdraw. While the Norad III managed to escape much of the remainder was destroyed by the protoss expeditionary force. A small detachment remained on Char under Duke's command but was also defeated by the protoss and pulled out as well.

The Hunt for Schezar

 * Main article: StarCraft: Enslavers

An element of Alpha Squadron was ordered to attack the notorious smuggling organization, the Schezar's Scavengers, on an unidentified world. The Scavengers were surrounded by zerg which seemed to be cooperating with them, but Alpha Squadron was able to defeat the combined forces. The Squadron then traveled to a larger Scavenger base, where the Scavengers had control of a Cerebrate and also held several protoss prisoner. Mengsk ordered the Cerebrate killed. The protoss praetor Mojo, imprisoned in a Stasis Cell on Aiur, contacted the local commander and asked him to rescue the protoss instead, as Alan Schezar, leader of the Scavengers, could simply acquire another Cerebrate. The Squadron detachment disobeyed orders and eventually traveled to Aiur, rescuing Mojo and working with the protoss.

Bhekar Ro
Despite his services, Mengsk did not entirely trust Duke and sent the squadron on a series of survey missions, mapping potential colony worlds and re-establishing communications with colonies that had fallen on the wayside. This changed with a distress signal from the Fringe World of Bhekar Ro&mdash;the colonists had discovered a xel'naga temple and there were signs of other alien interest. Mengsk, wanting to investigate and knowing that the assignment would still leave Alpha Squadron at arm's length, dispatched them to investigate. The Squadron regarded the mission as trivial.

The Squadron lost a number of battlecruisers to the protoss in the orbital battle with the protoss and zerg. Terran forces landed just in time to save Free Haven, the world's only town, from the Kukulkan Brood. The town was heavily damaged in the fighting and promptly fortified to serve as Alpha Squadron's headquarters.

Duke ordered a general advance on the temple despite heavy protoss and zerg activity in the area. The terran suffered heavy casualties and were repulsed by the protoss. The general ordered the temple to be nuked, believing the protoss and zerg would withdraw if the temple was destroyed. The temple's destruction released an energy creature that absorbed the protoss and zerg. The remainder of the Squadron's fleet in orbit fired on the departing creature with Yamato Cannon, but the creature merely absorbed the fire and destroyed the ships.

In the immediate aftermath Alpha Squadron's few remaining ships were not interstellar-capable and left the survivors temporarily stranded. It was months before anybody thought to check on them.

Second Great War
During the Second Great War, Alpha Squadron saw action on Korhal defending the Korhal Palace from the resurgent Zerg Swarm and Raynor's Raiders. Alpha Squadron launched a counter-attack against the Raiders, but fell before Raynor and the Swarm's combined assault. The attackers penetrated the palace, killing and deposing Emperor Arcturus Mengsk.

Known Members

 * General Edmund Duke (leader)
 * Captain Morrow
 * Captain Ragay
 * Captain Sandler
 * "The Lieutenant"
 * Lieutenant Samir Duran (formerly, at least by his own account)
 * Lieutenant Scott (formerly)
 * Lieutenant Emily Swallow
 * Sergeant Roosevelt Brannigan
 * Ghost Agent MacGregor Golding
 * Chuck Ayers (formerly)
 * Jacobs
 * Malkovitch