Matt Horner

Matthew "Matt" Horner is Jim Raynor's second-in-command and captain of the Raynor's Raiders' flagship Hyperion.

Horner has strong moral principles. He has a desire to make the universe a better place and thus is opposed to the murder and torture of innocents. He is not only a fair combatant but is also an excellent ship pilot and a decent starship tactician.

The Sons of Korhal
Matt Horner, the second son of a minor Tyrador IX merchant, lived a boring and safe life, all the while yearning for something more. Horner found that something in the tales of a trader working for the Sons of Korhal, actively recruiting new members. He spoke of the "evil empire" that was the Terran Confederacy and gave praise to those who plotted its downfall. Intelligent, but bored, youthful and idealistic, Horner was the perfect target and he found himself supporting the SOK's cause, wanting "to make a difference."

Following the rebel group's advice, Horner enlisted in the Confederate Navy, where he excelled as a pilot. After graduating with honors, he deserted the Confederacy and joined the Sons of Korhal full time. He was posted on the Cormorant, a merchantman converted for blockade running. The vessel enjoyed a great deal of success in its evasion of Confederate patrols and its transport of men and material between star systems, earning Horner a reputation of being clever and dependable.

A New Calling
By the time Mar Sara entered its dying days as the Great War raged, Horner had become the Cormorant's first officer. The vessel was called to the Fringe World to assist in the evacuation carried out by the Sons of Korhal, rescuing citizens the Confederacy had left to die. Horner was assigned to work with Arcturus Mengsk's newest recruit, Captain Jim Raynor. Horner quickly grew to admire the former marshal's bravery and loyalty. However, with Mengsk's use of psi emitters to lure the zerg en masse to Tarsonis, resulting in the deaths of many innocents, Horner was disgusted – it seemed to him that one tyrannical regime had merely been replaced by another, one with Arcturus Mengsk at its head. Jim Raynor, also disgusted at Mengsk's genocidal actions and his betrayal of Sarah Kerrigan, broke away from the SOK, many of his men following him. Of those who followed, Horner was among the first.

Raynor's new armed force, Raynor's Raiders, seized Mengsk's flagship, the Hyperion at the Dylarian Shipyards. Horner was assigned to run the ship and eventually become the captain.

Char
"Matt, I need a planet. Sir? Yessir! A new base of operations! A launching point for the revolution! A rallying ground for the-... No, just a planet."

- Jim Raynor and Matt Horner

Two months after the Fall of Tarsonis, Horner found himself over the planet of Char, following Raynor's command. Horner stayed behind on the Hyperion while the bulk of the Raiders descended to the surface. However, Horner was unable to wait for them to return, as zerg under a now Infested Kerrigan's direction had hijacked a number of shuttles in order to board the terran ships in orbit, the Hyperion included. Unable to prevent the shuttle from docking, Horner, as per Raynor's orders, was ordered to perform an emergency warp jump, despite the dangers such a reckless action entailed. However, Horner was able to make the jump with minimal damage to the ship. After several months of repairs, Horner managed to return to Char, providing transport for the remaining Raiders.

Dark Times
Over the years, Horner took control of the Raiders' small fleet and many military aspects of Raynor's campaigns. Horner became hardened by his experiences, but his ideals and resolve remained undimmed, even in the face of Dominion propaganda. Despite Raynor's doubts spreading to his crew, Horner kept faith in his commander and his belief that Raynor's innate heroism would resurface and lead the rebels to victory. To that end, he tried to act as Raynor's conscience while keeping him focused and "firing up" the Raiders.

During this period, Horner made a stop at Deadman's Port, taking part in a poker game. What he didn't know was that the "prize"was actually a wife&mdash;Mira Han. Horner had no interest in being a married man and didn't pursue the relationship and made little effort to stay in touch.

Wings of Liberty
By 2504, Horner still served as Raynor's XO. Now in his early twenties and his demeanor far more formal than it was previously, events repeated itself at Mar Sara, with the zerg returning to the Koprulu Sector. Horner brought the Hyperion down to the planet, rescuing Raynor and his men from the Swarm and making a successful escape. He subsequently briefed his superior on the greater zerg invasion of the sector.

Horner was distrustful of new arrival Tychus Findlay, a convict and an old friend of Raynor. Raynor assured Horner there was nothing to worry about, but Horner's suspiscions remained, such as when he found Findlay accessing the Hyperion's archive without permission.

Spectre of Unease
After a mission on Bel'shir, Horner received an anonymous transmission explaining terrazine was used to enhance ghosts into spectres. It also claimed Gabriel Tosh, a crew member and seemingly a ghost, was a threat to Raynor. Tosh admitted to being a spectre, but claimed the transmission came from Mengsk in an attempt to divide them. Raynor agreed to let the matter pass, but wasn't sure if he could trust Tosh.

Later, Horner received a transmission from a highly crypted source which was revealed to be a Dominion assassin. Nova told them that spectres were mentally unstable, and Raynor was forced to choose between trusting Tosh or her.

After New Folsom Prison was broken out, Horner and Tosh disagreed on motivations. He believed the Raider's cause was one of freedom, not wanton destruction or revenge. In this he contrasted with Tosh whose goal was simply to "kill Mengsk and burn his Dominion to the ground."

The Revolution
"One broadcast. It won us a greater victory than a hundred battles."

- Matt Horner

A rebel informant discovered the Dominion has found something unusually valuable in their continuing excavations of Tarsonis. Horner passed this on to Raynor, who approved a raid to steal it. The Raiders attacked a number of trains and found the object in question: an old Confederate adjutant. The Raiders hired Colonel Orlan to decrypt it.

The adjutant contained information proving Mengsk's war crimes during the Great War. Orlan decided to betray the Raiders and sell the information to the Dominion. Horner and Raynor became suspicious as Orlan delayed. This was confirmed by Mira Han; Mira's Mercs were hired by Orlan to prevent the Raiders from interfering with his new deal. However, Han was more inclined to cooperate with Raynor and Horner, and offered to allow the Raiders to buy out her contract with Orlan. The Raiders agreed and with Han's assistance recovered Adjutant 23-46. The reunion with Han was awkward for Horner and he abstained from speaking with her, despite her willingness. Raynor was amused by Horner's discomfort.

With the decrypted information on hand, Horner formed a plan to broadcast it throughout the Dominion. Using information given by Han, he proposed raiding the Dominion's Valhalla installation and stealing Odin, a prototype heavy assault walker, and using it to seize the UNN Studios on Korhal. The war machine was duly commandeered by Tychus Findlay and the immediate Dominion presence suppressed to keep the heist a secret.

The Raiders travelled to Korhal with Odin. The Dominion thought the walker was still under their control and intended to unveil it in a massive public relations demonstration. Piloted by Findlay, Odin led the attack on the defenses surrounding the UNN Studios and allowed the Raiders to broadcast the adjutant's incriminating information using the local broadcast towers. The results were entirely satisfactory. Dominion citizens expressed their moral outrage through demonstrations and riots against the emperor. For Horner, this marked the true beginning of the revolution after years of frustration.

Working With Valerian Mengsk


Horner continued to be concerned with Raynor's poor psychological state. After fighting Infested Kerrigan on Tyrador VIII to assist the, Horner tried again to counsel his friend to let go of the misplaced guilt over Kerrigan's infestation. Raynor refused to listen, as expected, and continued to find solace in alcohol. Raynor was presented with his old colonial marshal's badge as a reminder of what he was capable of; Horner assured him the crew still had faith in him and that they needed his leadership.

That faith was sorely tested after the recovery of the fourth xel'naga component from Typhon XI. The Raiders were unaware that the Foundation was owned by Prince Valerian Mengsk. When the Foundation arranged to meet the Raiders after Typhon XI, the prince went to meet the Raiders personally, aboard the Dominion flagship Bucephalus complete with an escort of battlecruisers.

The Raiders were alarmed by the arrival of the Dominion fleet. Raynor immediately ordered Hyperion to go along side Bucephalus for a boarding action. Horner thought this unwise. Furthermore, he sensed something was amiss as the enemy warships had not raised their shields. Nonetheless, he was unable to persuade the rebel commander to reconsider. Ultimately, Raynor confronted Prince Mengsk aboard Bucephalus. Mengsk convinced Raynor to join forces for a strike on Char, aimed at using the xel'naga device to deinfest Kerrigan.

Horner believed an assault on Char was suicidal, the alliance with the Dominion unethical, and a trap. He feared the recent momentum against the Dominion would be lost in an operation he saw as aimed solely to assuage Raynor's personal demons. In a heated exchange, Raynor demanded either Horner's obedience or resignation. Horner uneasily let his commander have his way.

Other crew members were equally apprehensive, and things came to a head after recovering the last component from a xel'naga worldship in the Sigma Quadrant. Faith was generally restored in Raynor's leadership after he beat a drunk Findlay in brawl in Hyperion's. The rebel leader was finally able to convince his followers that the alliance was temporary and removing the Queen of Blades from her position was for every terran. With the intra-Raider belligerence fading, Horner was willing to allow Valerian Mengsk to prove himself, rather than assume he was the same as his ruthless father.

During the assault on Char, Horner provided advice and support for Raynor on the front lines.

Personality and Abilities
The yin to Tychus Findlay's yang, Matt Horner is a focal point for decency and freedom. Calm and reserved, he speaks the truth and rarely anything but the truth, and is a staunch believer in his leader's cause and ideals even if Raynor himself lacked faith. Despite his immense dislike for both the Dominion and it's emperor, he never let these emotions affect his better judgment.

A brilliant captain and decent strategist, it is not without reason he was put in charge of Hyperion, easily able to fend off and evade the zerg assault on Mar Sara in a short time.

Trivia
When designing Horner, Blizzard Entertainment wanted him to be "very military". To represent this, inspiration for his attire was taken from historical fascist uniforms. This would help distinguish him from the game's other major characters. In terms of personality, he is the opposite of Gabriel Tosh.