Mothership

"But the fact is, not much else on the battlefield compares to the mothership. With its ability to warp the fabric of space and time itself, this monster of a ship really is a weapon without equal."

- Jim Raynor

The mothership is a powerful protoss capital ship.

Overview
"By the heart of Aiur!"

- Protoss mothership commander

Motherships are mighty Protoss support vessels. At the heart of each mothership is a huge khaydarin crystal infused with an incredible amount of psionic energy. By tapping into this energy, a mothership can warp or crack the very fabric of space-time itself. The devastating power of a mothership can wipe out squadrons of enemy ships in the blink of an eye or lay waste to entire planets. Other aspects of a mothership's interior include a waking chamber for its commander, crew quarters and a med-bay. A number of escape pods are also featured.

A single crew member can pilot the ship for simple warps. More complex operations require a crew.

History
The motherships were designed by Juras, and constructed during the protoss Golden Age of Expansion as deep space exploration vessels. The Templar Caste successfully petitioned for modifications; the final design included weapons and some were eventually converted into military command ships.

The surviving motherships were not recalled at the end of the Golden Age. Most were left at the farthest reaches of protoss exploration as titanic monuments and holy shrines, commemorating an honored way of life and a proud period of history. The crews were placed in stasis, although it was expected the ships would not be needed again.

High templar Rihod's mothership remained active. Its crew assisted lower-technology aliens who had been struck by a disaster.

The Fall of Aiur
The zerg attack on Aiur during the Great War reversed forced a re-evaluation. The motherships were recalled to service by high templar Erekul. However, it was too late for the ships to alter the course of the war.

Amongst the reactivated ships was Moratun, the original mothership and crewed solely by Juras. Moratun rescued zealots from a besieged colony before traveling to Aiur. The ship, and other empty motherships, arrived in Aiur's star system only after the Khalai evacuation to Shakuras. The ships were forced to find the Dark Templar homeworld by themselves. The fleet was manned by the few survivors that could be found. Rihod's mothership was not brought to Aiur, for fear it could be lost in combat.

The motherships were reunited with the protoss during the Interbellum and taken over by the Templar Caste.

Game Unit
The mothership is a high-value support unit. Only one may be deployed at a time.

It behaves like the Arbiter: it cloaks and recalls friendly units, and may temporarily disable units. The ship's long ranged attack allows it to contribute firepower from behind the front; it may also fire on the move. The mothership is the only unit able to survive a direct hit from a nuke.

Vikings, corruptors, and void rays, are effective counters. It may also be hijacked by the infestor's neural parasite.

The mothership's use in multiplayer is curtailed by its high cost, position on the tech tree, vulnerability to focus firing, low mobility, and relatively low damage output.

Heart of the Swarm Changes
In Heart of the Swarm, the mothership will be cut from multiplayer.

Quotations

 * See: StarCraft II Mothership Quotations

Known Motherships

 * Moratun
 * Purifier
 * Shield of Aiur
 * Tal'darim Mothership

Known Commanders

 * Hierarch Artanis
 * Executor Nyon
 * Commander Rihod
 * Juras