Arcturus Mengsk

"Arcturus Mengsk. There's a name that is synonymous with terror, betrayal and violence. A living example of the ends justifying the means. The assassin of the Confederacy of Man. The hero of the blasted world of Korhal IV. King of the universe. A savage barbarian who never let anything or anyone get in his way. And yet, he is charming, erudite and intelligent. When you're in his presence you feel that he's really listening to you, that your opinions matter, that you're someone important if you agree with him. It's amazing. I have often wondered if men like Mengsk don't carry around their own reality-warping bubbles, and all who fall in are suddenly transported to another dimension where the hellish things he says and does suddenly make sense. At least, that's the effect he always had on me."

- Michael Liberty

Arcturus Mengsk is a terran from Korhal IV. He was the leader of the anti-Confederate group, the Sons of Korhal, and the founder and emperor of the Confederacy's successor, the Terran Dominion.

Early Life
Arcturus was born in 2461 to Angus Mengsk, a Confederate Senator for Korhal. Arcturus dismissed early dreams of great leadership and enlisted in the Confederate military where he attained the rank of colonel. With the changing political climate he resigned his commission after deciding he was no longer fighting for what he believed in and became a successful Confederate fringe world prospector.

Revolutionary
"Arcturus Mengsk...he had overcome a tragic event in his life, and now it had changed him, forever molded him into a being of single-minded purpose and unshakable determination. Lesser men would have been broken by the tragedy. Lesser men would have just given up. But lesser men did not take their place in the proud annals of Terran history."

Arcturus was alarmed when Korhal declared independence from the Confederacy, and somewhat embarrassed to find the effort was led by his estranged father. Initially he kept his distance from the affair. However the brutal assassination of his father, mother and sister by Confederate agents roused an outraged Arcturus to return to Korhal to aid the rebellion his father had started.

Arcturus was elected the leader and General of the Rebellion of Korhal with the aid of Ailin Pasteur, the Umojan ambassador, and began rallying the militant groups who had followed his father. With this impressive, if ragtag, army the rebels struck boldly at various Confederate bases and installations. Mengsk moved quickly to protect the life of his son, Valerian, as the Confederacy targeted him for execution.

Over time Mengsk enlarged the size of the rebellion, eventually amassing a "huge" army on Korhal. When the rebellion acquired and repaired a Confederate battlecruiser that had crashed in Umojan territory "well outside the range of Confederate hailing" signals it was Mengsk who renamed it the Hyperion and took it as his flagship.

Sons of Korhal
The Confederacy could not accept the success of the Korhalian insurrection for it could encourage other worlds to revolt. With rumors spreading of a secret alliance between Korhal and the Umojan Protectorate the Confederacy decided to decisively end the revolt. A thousand nuclear missiles were launched at Korhal, killing over four million people.

Unfortunately for the Confederacy, Mengsk was not on Korhal at the time. News of the strike reached Mengsk at a secret base within the Umojan Protectorate. With Mengsk as their head the survivors formed the Sons of Korhal and pledged to overthrow the Terran Confederacy and build a new government that would benefit all terrans within the Koprulu Sector. The Sons of Korhal quickly became the sector's most wanted fugitives as they struck silently and swiftly, winning countless victories over the Confederacy.

Some time later he performed a raid on a small Confederate research installation called the Fujita Facility on Vyctor 5 when he discovered Sarah Kerrigan, a ghost. Rescuing her from the Confederate scientists that were performing experiments upon her involving zerg, he eventually made her second in command of the Sons of Korhal. His purpose for visiting the facility was that he discovered that one of the three ghosts who had murdered his family was present.

Shortly afterwards, Kerrigan killed one of these ghosts after Mengsk lured him aboard the Hyperion.

Mengsk took Sarah Kerrigan to Tarsonis in order to attack the primary Ghost Academy (which would create much publicity for his fledgling organization). He also wanted Kerrigan to eliminate one of those ghosts as well. The attack was a disaster as the very small Sons of Korhal was nearly wiped out. However, Sarah Kerrigan did manage to kill Major Rumm, her former instructor who had tormented her; she also capture the ghost Mengsk sought and the Academy was destroyed. Mengsk promptly killed the captured and nearly helpless ghost in cold blood. He told Kerrigan she was the third ghost, and the most important one - the one who had cut off his father's head. Yet he found her useful and kept her as a loyal member of the Sons of Korhal. Kerrigan's loyalty to him increased.

The attack created publicity for the Sons of Korhal; the attack was subject to a report by Michael Liberty. Heralded by radicals as a visionary and a patriot, Mengsk was portrayed as a madman and a terrorist by the Confederate-controlled media.

Sara's Zerg
"It would be easy to declare that Arcturus Mengsk was a master manipulator, which he was, or that he regularly deceived others, which was true as well. But it would be a mistake to deny all personal responsibility in falling into his web. It seems now the height of folly ever to have dealt with the man, but think of the situation when the Sara System died. You had the mindless beasts of the zerg on one side. and the unholy fire of the Protoss on the other. And in the middle you had the criminal bureaucracy of the old Confederacy of Man, which was willing to write off the population of two planets in order to learn more about its enemies. With such a surplus of devils in the universe, what did it matter if there was one more?"

- Michael Liberty

Mengsk's troops attacked Chau Sara in November 2499. However, Alpha Squadron drove his forces away.

In December 2499, shortly after the protoss destruction of Chau Sara, Mengsk's Sons of Korhal showed up on Mar Sara; the Colonial Militia defeated one of their minor incursions.

The Confederacy avoided action against the zerg and even arrested the Colonial Militia forces. Mengsk quickly found himself in demand as the only force there willing to face the zerg. Mengsk and Kerrigan made contact with Universe News Network reporter Michael Liberty, whom Mengsk would later use as a propagandist. Mengsk endeared himself to the Colonial Magistrate of Mar Sara by assisting in the evacuation of the Mar Sara Colony, something the Confederates refused to do. Liberty's duties included spreading the word of Mengsk's rescue.

Before leaving Mar Sara, Mengsk and Liberty rescued Colonial Marshal James Raynor from a Confederate prison ship and used him to lead a strike force against the Jacobs Installation. He believed secret Confederate military technology was concealed inside. Within Raynor discovered zerg being imprisoned, but Mengsk had seen Confederate experiments with zerg before. Raynor retrieved a data disk. The Mar Sara Colonial Militia became part of the Sons of Korhal under the command of Captain Jim Raynor and the former Colonial Magistrate, who is referred to as the Commander. Raynor's own band of troops were known unofficially as Raynor's Rangers.

A Gift of a General
Mengsk's next destination was Antiga Prime, where the colonists were ready to begin open revolt against the Confederacy. However, the Confederates, aware of this as well, stationed a large detachment of Alpha Squadron troops there to suppress the nascent revolt. To free the Antiga Prime colony, Mengsk sent a task force with Raynor and Kerrigan (the latter sneaking in and assassinating the Confederate officer in charge). Michael Liberty announced the defeat of the Confederates to the colonists. The Antigan rebels and Sons of Korhal then defeated the Alpha Squadron detachment.

Alpha Squadron's General Edmund Duke was unable to respond to this event because his flagship, the Norad II, was attacked by the zerg in high orbit over Antiga Prime; it crash-landed in a position surrounded by the zerg. Mengsk was determined to rescue General Duke, over the objections of Jim Raynor and Sarah Kerrigan. He sent Raynor and his troops to save Duke, whom he convinced to join him by offering him a position in his cabinet. Even more important than the acquisition of Duke's tactical skill, and his Alpha Squadron, was the decoding of the Jacobs Installation data discs, which contained designs for a Transplanar Psionic Waveform Emitter, or psi-emitter.

The Confederates discovered Mengsk's position and send a large Delta Squadron strike force, which established a base camp within his defensive perimeter, along with a massive Army and Colonial Fleet blockade. Mengsk decided to test the new emitter technology and break the Confederate blockade. Sarah Kerrigan infiltrated the Delta Squadron base camp and activated the device; however, she expressed doubts about unleashing the zerg against anybody, even the Confederates. Soon, the zerg homed in on the signal, breaking Delta Squadron's blockade and allowing the Sons of Korhal and allies to escape.

Sometime afterwards the protoss arrived, wiping out all life on the surface of the planet. The Confederate force was forced to retreat and redeploy to Halcyon.

Great Power... and Betrayal
"I will not be stopped. Not by you, or the Confederates, or the Protoss or anyone! I will rule this sector or see it burnt to ashes around me."

- Arcturus Mengsk ranting at Jim Raynor.

In order to win the conflict against the Confederacy, Mengsk had to strike against Tarsonis. (He did manage to strike against various symbolic targets on Tarsonis, such as the Palombo Valley plant operated by Old Family patriarch Constantino Terra.) While Tarsonis had been invaded in the past, it had never fallen. Fortunately for Mengsk, General Duke had defended Tarsonis in over 30 major battles and so knew its defenses inside and out.

Duke's plan was to assault the central of the three primary orbital platforms, causing enough of a ruckus to allow a small force to break through the planetary defenses.

He would use the Psi Emitters to summon the zerg. Of course, Mengsk did not inform Kerrigan or Raynor of this part of the plan. While successful, causing the destruction of the Confederacy, it alienated both Kerrigan and Raynor.

However, Kerrigan remained loyal and followed his next set of orders... to protect the primary zerg hive from the coming protoss fleet, under the command of Executor Tassadar. Kerrigan knew that the protoss were there to exterminate all life on Tarsonis, not just the zerg, so she agreed to follow the orders. She and her strike force defeated the protoss but, as a wave of zerg advanced on her position, were abandoned as Mengsk ordered the immediate disengagement of the Korhal fleet from the Tarsonian system, despite Raynor's protest.

Following the loss of Kerrigan, Raynor and his men left the Sons of Korhal and formed their own rebel group, Raynor's Raiders. They took Liberty with them, but not before a brawl with General Duke. Mengsk offered a media position to Liberty, but was rebuffed.

Before leaving with Mengsk, General Duke successfully activated the Ion Cannon, a powerful piece of technology, and Tarsonis' primary defensive weapon, which would shoot down Raynor's forces if they attempted to leave. Raynor was forced to destroy the Ion Cannon in order to escape.

Coronation
The successful destruction of Tarsonis caused the fall of the Confederacy. Most Confederate survivors joined the Sons of Korhal, including the remaining Confederate squadrons, which were forcefully conscripted, giving the Dominion military supremacy. The former rebels saved many terran lives, but refused to assist worlds that did not welcome their intervention, as Mengsk remarked that the planet's local government had ultimate authority on that planet.

The Sons of Korhal became the Terran Dominion, Mengsk had himself crowned Emperor of the Terran Dominion and made Korhal his throne world. All of the terran colonies within the Koprulu Sector were united under one sovereign rule for the first time. With Duke by his side, he was unopposed by any of the major terran militias within the Sector.

The New Dominion
Mengsk received a psionic call from Sarah Kerrigan on Char. He sent General Duke there to reclaim her, but Alpha Squadron was defeated by the zerg.

Having reinforced the armies of the Dominion by forcefully conscripting the remaining warriors of the defunct Terran Confederacy, Mengsk set out to fortify the various worlds under his care. He built Augustgrad, the capital city of Korhal which became the most heavily fortified city in all of Dominion space, employing multiple Battlecruisers for his planetary defense and establishing a large cluster of missile silos on the outskirts of Augustgrad.

Meanwhile Mengsk also tried to bring to justice a terran criminal, Alan Schezar.

As the final battle concluded on Aiur and the zerg reeled in disarray throughout the Sector, Mengsk was left to wonder what ever became of his former Lieutenant, Sarah Kerrigan.

Mengsk still did not trust General Duke, despite his oaths, so he sent him and his Alpha Squadron on a seemingly unimportant mission to the world of Bhekar Ro, whose colonists sought his help. The mission ended in disaster for Duke.

The United Earth Directorate
Mengsk had built a powerful defense of Korhal, but when the United Earth Directorate's Expeditionary Force arrived in the Koprulu Sector, it was able to destroy Augustgrad, including his palace. Mengsk tried to escape in the Norad III, but the UED cut off his escape. Mengsk remained unfazed and declared he would throw off the UED just as he had the Confederacy. UED Admiral Gerard DuGalle threatened him with execution, along with the rest of his ranking officers, but Jim Raynor suddenly appeared in the Hyperion (along with a small protoss fleet) and rescued Mengsk.

Mengsk and Raynor fled to Aiur, where Raynor has continued his alliance with the protoss Praetor Fenix, and hid in a command center near a warp gate. Making matters more complicated, there were multiple zerg broods surrounding the protoss base, which remained quiet until the warp gate was activated. In their efforts to capture these men, the UED force attacked Raynor's Command Center. Raynor and Mengsk fled in a dropship through the gate, which then exploded. The destination of the ship was unknown. Worse for the UED, the zerg suddenly attacked and DuGalle had to face possible treachery from two of his subordinates.

Mengsk was put into cold storage, and when he awoke he found himself in the power of Infested Kerrigan, who had struck an alliance with Jim Raynor and Fenix. Kerrigan needed Mengsk for a favor - Mengsk would use his psi-emitters to gather up enough zerg for her to destroy the UED's Psi Disrupter on Braxis and confront the UED. Mengsk agreed in exchange for Kerrigan's help in retaking Korhal from the UED. Kerrigan planned to use the psi emitters to lure uncontrolled zerg on Braxis to her control, then used them to destroy the Psi Disrupter. The ploy worked. This becomes the death knell for the United Earth Directorate's Expeditionary Force in the Koprulu Sector. Mengsk still felt that Kerrigan was completely untrustworthy, but he would with her so long as she helped him retake Korhal.

Another Betrayal
Kerrigan, with the help of Fenix, Raynor, and an impatient Mengsk, destroyed the main UED base at Augustgrad. After the successful attack, Mengsk sent Duke to establish his base of operations in Augustgrad. However, Kerrigan and Samir Duran launched a devastating surprise attack while the Dominion troops were resting after the victory, destroying both General Duke's and Fenix's bases. In the attack, Duke and Fenix were both killed, leaving Mengsk very bitter.

Recent Actions
Mengsk, by calling in a few favors and making a few concessions, scraped up a new fleet of "special interest groups" interested in killing Kerrigan, and attacked her base of operations on the infested platform over Char, along with the UED and the protoss. His ragtag fleet was beaten and crippled however, but Mengsk, before leaving, threatened Kerrigan. He then fled back to Korhal to lick his wounds and plan the reconstruction of his Terran Dominion.

Interbellum
Mengsk brought his son Valerian off of a remote backwater planet after the end of the Brood War. His son became an active part of the Terran Dominion government and was named his heir, although his status as Arcturus Mengsk's son was still secret following the Brood War. Valerian's status became secret shortly sometime after the re-exploration of the alien artifact of Nemaka.

Mengsk has taken part in the training of the ghost Nova, overseen the use of terrazine to create spectres and led a war against the Koprulu Liberation Front. As part of an "overhaul" of the Ghost Program, he eliminated half of his government's ghosts in a controlled environment.

The Dominion hadn't heard from the zerg for four years and Mengsk considered them too quiet. However, the zerg suddenly attacked Dead Man's Rock, following a fugitive sought out by Valerian. Arcturus Mengsk saw this as an attack on the Dominion, even though Dead Man's Rock was outside of Dominion space. He contacted Valerian, demanding to know what the zerg were after. His son gave him very little information, distracting him with his knowledge that one of his agents really belonged to Arcturus.

Arcturus Mengsk utilizes the Dominion-controlled media, along with oratory and propaganda to marginalize Jim Raynor and his Raiders. While Mengsk refuses to assassinate Raynor for fear of turning him into a martyr, he hunts and harries the Raiders, preventing them from resting or rearming.

Arcturus Mengsk in StarCraft II
"Mengsk is a vicious tyrant, and he needs to be taken down."―Jim Raynorsrc

The developers feel that Arcturus Mengsk's story has already been told through StarCraft and Brood War, as he has gone through his revolutionary phase to a tyrant figure. In some ways he is being replaced by his son, Valerian, for story purposes.

Skills and Abilities
Arcturus Mengsk rose to the rank of colonel in the Confederate Marine Corps before leaving and has demonstrated considerable tactical skill, leading several of his former compatriots to call him a gifted strategist. Admiral Gerard DuGalle referred to him as an "accomplished tactician".

Mengsk has demonstrated the ability to befriend and manipulate people to his benefit. He claims that other people are unfocused in their thinking, and he acts as a "strong center" for them. He is very skilled at oratory and propaganda and has been described as a "media darling".

In addition, Mengsk is very strong-willed. Through careful blanking of his mind, he could prevent telepaths such as Sarah Kerrigan from reading his thoughts.

Trivia

 * Arcturus is possibly named after the star Arcturus, the brightest star in the constellation of Boötes (it forms the left foot) and the third brightest star in the night sky. Arcturus means "bear guardian" because its position in the sky makes it appear to guard the Great and Little Bear constellations.


 * Strangely, Arcturus Mengsk is referred to both as "Emperor Mengsk I" and as "Emperor Arcturus." Normal royal naming conventions would dictate that his name would be "Emperor Arcturus" of the "House of Mengsk."


 * In public, Arcturus Mengsk prefers the term "Mister Emperor".


 * In older versions of StarCraft Mengsk had a battlecruiser called the Leviathan. The unused, incomplete unit can only be extracted by third-party StarEdit programs such as the Emerald Patch.


 * In the early storyline of StarCraft, it appears that Mengsk's role was radically different. He acted as an ambassador to Korhal, delivering an impassioned speech to his neighboring worlds about the threat of the protoss. Below is a transcript;

- excerpts from a recent speech by Ambassador Mengsk of Korhal IV (cd:m P11 - P5)