Ghost Program

"The way of the warrior is the path of shadow. The gift of the warrior is to perceive that which cannot be seen. The spirit of the warrior is to strike in a single moment. The destiny of the warrior is balance in all things. And when balance is lost, all that is left, is the reckoning..."

The Ghost Program was a project for the training and use of terran ghosts. Originally created by the Terran Confederacy, it was later adopted by the Terran Dominion.

Ghosts are feared terran covert operatives. They are known for their skill, psionic powers and ability to cloak.

Overview
Ghosts are chosen from psychically-gifted individuals who were quarantined by the Terran Confederacy and trained from infancy to channel their psionic energies to augment their natural physical strength and endurance. Conscripts who successfully completed the Ghost Program's rigorous training and augmentations then served as commandos and assassins.

Ghosts are lightly armored and can hide their presence with a cloaking device. Ghosts are generally trained as commandos and assassins, appearing and striking suddenly and silently. In addition, ghosts direct nuclear missile strikes against enemy targets. Their stealth abilities make them extremely valuable for this role.

Standard Confederate practice was to implant psychic dampeners into all ghosts as a precautionary measure, acting on the principle of neural resocialization; however these implants could be removed. While active, the implants reshape a ghost's memories, weaken their powers and enforce loyalty. As a result, few ghosts under the program have any memories of their former lives or even their names. Since the defection of Sarah Kerrigan, memory wipes became SOP (Standard Operating Procedure).

For the most part, ghosts are simply numbers or names. Under the Confederacy, all ghosts, regardless of whether they "graduated" or not, were assigned a standard number or agent number (an alpha-numeric code). The Dominion has retained this system, though has included the use of codenames.

All ghosts possess a personal file, though the contents are restricted.

History
The history of terran psionic abilities began on Earth even before the existence of the United Powers League. At the end of the twenty-first century, private firms had developed biotechnology which granted human subjects abilities which included advanced telepathy. Unfortunately, Earth erupted in a civil war, partly as a result of these genetic manipulations. By the year 2229, most of the Earth was under the grip of the United Powers League.

The UPL launched "Project Purification" to remove mutations and unnecessary cybernetic prosthetics from the human population. UPL troops scoured the globe, killing over 400 million people and throwing many more into prison. The scientist Doran Routhe, who lived during this period, began a colonization project. He intended to send thousands of prisoners to the world of Gantris VI to mine new resources which could be found there. Many of these prisoners were prey to the mutations that had spanned the human species.

The prisoners were put into cold sleep and loaded into four supercarriers, then sent on a journey. The lead vessel contained ATLAS, a revolutionary artificial intelligence. During the journey, ATLAS discovered something unusual about the prisoners - a relatively high proportion of them had a mutation leading to psionic potential. While currently weak, it would manifest in only a few generations. This information was logged and sent back to Earth. The prison ships missed their target, ending up in the Koprulu Sector. There they founded three colonies, with Tarsonis being the most technologically advanced. Tarsonis founded an interstellar government which they called the Terran Confederacy.

The Confederacy's New Power
About twenty years before the war sparked by the destruction of Chau Sara, the Terran Confederacy had already created a fledgling Ghost Program. One of their subjects, eight-year-old Sarah Kerrigan, was brought to their attention after her powers erupted in spectacular fashion. The girl appeared to possess telekinetic abilities, but the Confederacy appeared unsure about the existence of this power and demanded incontrovertible proof of this ability. Even when the girl destroyed her trainer's gun, it wasn't considered acceptable proof. At this time, "neuro-adjusters" were routinely inserted into the heads of uncooperative ghost subjects.

Years later, ghosts used their special abilities to assassinate Angus Mengsk, the father of Arcturus Mengsk, in order to shut down the rebellion of Korhal IV. Angus Mengsk's head was never found.

Shortly after this incident, the Rebellion of Korhal created an alliance with Umoja. The Confederates feared the alliance and fired a barrage of nuclear missiles at the planet, nearly wiping out all life. Millions of Korhalian colonists were killed, although the rebel movement still survived - with very small numbers. As a political consequence of this extreme action, the Confederates limited their use of nuclear weaponry to tactical nukes. These nukes would be guided to their destinations by ghosts.

The Confederacy discovered a species of strange xenomorphs among their Fringe Worlds. They conducted experiments with them on the world of Vyctor 5, which was home to the secret "Fujita Facility". The Confederate scientists discovered that the aliens were sensitive to psionic abilities and could even be controlled. Ghost Agent Sarah Kerrigan had the best control over them, and was the only subject allowed to work with them after a point (the rest of the ghost subjects were killed). Unfortunately for the Confederates, Arcturus Mengsk and his Sons of Korhal rebel movement raided the facility, discovered the existence of the aliens and rescued Kerrigan. The Sons of Korhal removed her neuro-adjuster, enabling her to recover her memories. Kerrigan led the Sons of Korhal in an attack on the Ghost Academy, the primary ghost training center, on Tarsonis, destroying it. The Confederates feared that more ghosts might defect, so in order to prevent their memories from being used by their enemies, they started memory wiping the ghosts, a technique that is (at least theoretically) unbreakable.

Ghosts of War
The Terran Confederacy lost their colony of Chau Sara to a sudden attack by a species of technologically advanced aliens, the protoss. Shortly thereafter, another species, the zerg, were spotted on Mar Sara. At the secret Jacobs Installation, the Confederates experimented with a new piece of psionic technology, the psi-emitter. The technology amplified a psychic's powers so the zerg could detect them from far off - the rebel Sons of Korhal movement would later claim that this technology drew the zerg to Mar Sara.

The Confederates found themselves facing off against the zerg, protoss and Sons of Korhal and were losing ground in the war. Ghosts suffered a high mortality rate. Ghost Program Director Ilsa Killiany believed that the ghosts were the only thing keeping the Confederacy alive, and went out of her way to acquire powerful psychics for the program. She even sent an agent to track down a fifteen-year-old scion of the Old Families on Tarsonis in order to forcibly recruit her into the program - by this point, the Confederate knowledge of psionics had expanded; they had psionic detection equipment and could "rate" psychic power on a "Psi Index" from 0 to 10. The teenaged girl, November Terra, was retrieved just as the Sons of Korhal defeated the Confederacy at Tarsonis; ironically, the rebels used the psi-emitter technology to lure zerg to the world and do their dirty work for them. The Confederacy imploded and the Sons of Korhal, renaming itself the Terran Dominion, gained control over many Terran colonies. The Dominion took control of the Ghost Program. The young girl was rescued and taken to the world as part of the new Ghost Program.

Sarah Kerrigan had played a large role in the Sons of Korhal victory, but because she displayed a greater morality than its leader, Arcturus Mengsk, she was abandoned to the zerg on a space platform over Tarsonis. She didn't die, but was infested. She resurfaced on the world of Char as Infested Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades. One of her first actions was to attack the Amerigo, a science vessel. Despite her infested state, the Confederacy's old "ghost conditioning", another method used to dampen a disloyal ghost's powers, was still active. She was able to steal the information on the conditioning from the Amerigo's computers and finally break the conditioning.

The Next Generation
The Dominion took over the Ghost Program following the defeat of the Confederacy, relocating the Ghost Academy to Ursa and putting Director Kevin Bick in charge of the program.

The next generation of ghosts were trained in several new psionic techniques and given access to new technology. In addition to their previous abilities, they could combine psionics and technology to do things such as greatly increase their speed and reflexes and see through objects with heat vision. They also began using protoss-derived technology such as the psyblade.

Nova was the Ghost Academy's star pupil for the new generation. She graduated from ghost training after only two-and-a-half years instead of the usual four years. The Dominion ordered a new graduation exercise component to the program, and Nova was the first to undergo one. She was ordered to terminate a rebel movement using only the power of her mind. She succeeded.

Dominion ghosts are often used in interrogation. Despite this however, they have achieved a mythical status, few terrans believing that ghosts or mind-reading even exist.

Approximately three years after the Brood War, Arcturus Mengsk ordered fully half (282 minus one) of his government's ghosts killed in a controlled environment as part of an "overhaul" of the program.

Ghost Enhancement Projects
Following the, the Dominion discovered terrazine gas, a potent psionic reagent, at locations such as Mar Sara.

Project Gestalt

 * Main articles: Project Gestalt, Gestalt

In 2502 Dominion Intelligence Section devised Project Gestalt, in which Dr. Stanley Burgess spliced ghosts with protoss organs. The first resulting gestalt was codenamed Gestalt Zero. The next year, Zero captured a high templar and some of its higher-quality nerve cords were added to him, creating a warrior with a PI of over 7 who fought at 187% of the effectiveness of the typical ghost without any of the "unpredictable" side effects of terrazine enhancement. The project ended in disaster, however.

Project Shadow Blade

 * Main articles: Project Shadow Blade, Spectre

Four years after the Brood War, Dominion general Horace Warfield was in charge of Project Shadow Blade. The project exposed ghosts to terrazine, transforming them into spectres, shadowy superhuman beings bent on executing the will of their "true master".

Ghost Training
The harsh training regimen under the Terran Confederacy was further modified when the Terran Dominion took over. Under the Dominion failed trainees were "eliminated" and were required to complete a practical assignment before graduating.

Conscription
Theoretically all ghosts were trained from infancy. It was mandatory for children born within the Confederacy to have a Psi Aptitude (PA) Profile taken within nine months of birth. A score of 250 or higher resulted in recruitment into the program. Naturally the ideal of universal testing was impossible and it was possible for Fringe World children to escape detection. In rare cases, children with socially powerful parents could also escape. Cover stories were invented to obfuscate the fate of conscripted children. Some parents were informed their children were being taken to "special schools", and sometimes this was followed by reports the child had "died in an accident."

Wranglers
PA Profiles aside, telepaths who could be useful to the terran armed forces (either as ghosts or performing other roles) are usually tracked down by "wranglers", mildly psionic agents whose powers are generally only useful for finding other telepaths at close range. They can use equipment to help them in their search, but the equipment is itself limited.

Dominion Ghost Program wranglers are paid for each psychic they bring in, and often work with more conventional military forces. They sometimes use zerglings, "lobotomized" to cut them off from the Zerg Swarm, in order to track down psychics.

The Ghost Academy

 * Main article: Ghost Academy

The is the site where Terran Confederacy ghosts trained, along with its successor state, the Terran Dominion. Ghosts spent an average of four years at the Academy.

Psionic Powers
Ghosts have the ability to read minds but generally do not have the ability to block thoughts; ghosts find each other very easy to read. Ghosts and weaker psychics can detect other sources of psionic power.

With the assistance of their hostile environment suit, which ghosts can channel energy through artificial muscle fiber, they can enhance their physical capabilities. A cloaking device and requisite power supply were frequently issued as well; the device requires psionic energy as a component.

The Next Generation
Their abilities have expanded since the end of the Brood War, since the memory wipe technique is seen as superior to the neuro-adjuster.

Exceptional ghosts exist that can tear through walls, run at remarkable speeds, and leap tall obstacles. Excitable media rumors of long-range telepathy, telekinesis, and even mind control or other exotic powers have all added to the grisly reputation of ghosts cultivated by their masters. Some ghosts have demonstrated a wider variety of powers; for instance, Sarah Kerrigan (pre-pre-infestation as well as post) and Nova have demonstrated the ability to damage opponents' brains to the point of death. Nova can even kill multiple opponents while leaving someone in the midst of the attack unharmed and, with the assistance of her hostile encounter suit, can dramatically increase her speed.

Devon Starke has demonstrated the ability to project his thoughts, as well as remote viewing and psychometry. He and some other ghosts have also demonstrated the ability to plant suicidal and homicidal urges into an opponent's mind.

Limiters
The Terran Confederacy decided to limit ghosts through various forms of neural processing, the Dominion following suit.


 * Aggression inhibitors, implants which prevent ghosts from attacking their superiors
 * Ghost conditioning, which weakens a ghost's psionic abilities
 * Psi-screens, a device which can be worn to protect one's mind from mind-reading, also a ghost training device
 * Psychic dampeners (known through various similar names), which reshape a ghost's memories, control them in a manner similar to neural resocialization and weaken their powers.
 * Memory wipe (successor to the psychic dampener)

Combat Training
In physical training, ghosts are trained in target shooting, close-quarters combat (martial arts and possibly other techniques) and vehicular expertise. Ghosts are also trained to move quickly and are desensitized to combat; an example would be Sarah Kerrigan's training, who had a gun placed to her head by a guard and was ordered to kill the guard before he killed her. Kerrigan was subjected to this training at age twelve.

Artificial environments and simulations are also common, which include;


 * Artificial High Gravity Environment
 * Scenario A11-X93: The most popular exercise in the ghost training regimen, commonly referred to by trainees as "Nukes Away". In this scenario, ghosts practice a variety of covert infiltration techniques while gaining the technical knowledge necessary for the proper guidance of field-standard tactical nuclear weapons. Since nuclear weaponry is too expensive to be used in live fire training, the exercise is performed using an extremely lifelike holo-projection simulation. The competition between the teams of ghosts can be extremely intense, and all too commonly recruits are seen spending what little leisure time they have inside the simulation, honing their skills."

Other Faction Ghost Programs
The Kel-Morian Combine and Umojan Protectorate both have a Ghost Program, which are different than the ones operated by the Terran Confederacy and Terran Dominion.

UED Ghost Program
The United Earth Directorate had its own Ghost Program, even though its predecessor the United Powers League tried to wipe out mutants, including psychics. These ghosts played a key role in the assault on the Dylarian Shipyards. Alexei Stukov commanded the loyalty of a number of ghosts.

Directorate psychics were used to control the second Overmind.

The UED seems to have used psychic scientists who had not received ghost training in their efforts to control the zerg.

Ghost Equipment
All ghosts are given a hostile environment suit and may undergo surgery to replace their eyes with ocular implants. Their weapons of choice include:


 * AGR-14 rifle
 * BOSUN FN92 sniper rifle
 * C-10 rifle
 * C-20A rifle
 * E-11 lockdown device
 * Psyblade
 * Torrent SR-8 shotgun

Ghost Units
Ghosts sometimes work in teams on missions, such as the assassination of Angus Mengsk. To date, the only explicitly identified ghost units are "The Shroud" and the Space Pirates.

Non-Ghost Members

 * Director Kevin Bick
 * Sergeant Hartley
 * Agent Malcolm Kelerchian, wrangler
 * Director Ilsa Killiany (deceased)
 * Dr. Reginald Morris (formerly)
 * Major Rumm, Post Commander (deceased)
 * Commander Richard Walker
 * Randall, wrangler (deceased)

Members of Associated Projects and Forces

 * General Leonid Celsus
 * General Horace Warfield
 * Colonel Alexander Davidoff
 * Colonel Jackson Hauler
 * Doctor Stanley Burgess (deceased)

Ghost Members

 * Main article: Known Ghosts