Keystone


 * Note: The title of this article is based on conjecture

"I just wish the damn thing came with an instruction manual. For all we know we could be upsettin' the entire space-time continuum!" "Easy Tychus, this ain't science fiction."

- Tychus Findlay and Jim Raynor discussing the artifact.

The xel'naga device was one of the major catalysts of the Second Great War. Its effects were harmful to the zerg.

Overview
The xel'naga device was not inert even when separated. The individual components could be located by their radiation emissions.

While stored in Hyperion's, Egon Stetmann noticed that as more components were collected and stored together, the more power the containment field required. Also, the battlecruiser's crew began experiencing hallucinations.

The devices draw energy like a "dry sponge". They react that way with devices such as an ihan crystal. They can drain the energy out of a protoss, who can be killed simply being in close proximity to it. The device can also generate a powerful "energy nova" that is lethal to zerg. The nova pulses on a subsonic frequency harmless to terrans.

The device is unique in xeno-archeological terms in that by the early 26th century, it was only a few thousands years old, while most relics are millions of years old.

Antiquity
The device was divided into five components and stored separately in and around the Koprulu Sector. By the Second Great War, one was buried on Mar Sara, two were in protoss-guarded shrines on Monlyth and Typhon XI, another was sealed in a xel'naga temple on Xil, and the final piece was stored in a vault aboard the abandoned xel'naga worldship stranded in the Sigma Quadrant.

Pawn of Power
After the Great War, the terrans, protoss, and zerg took an interest in the device.

Prince Valerian Mengsk of the Terran Dominion covertly sought the device through the. He intended to use it to deinfest the Queen of Blades, and strike a decisive victory against the zerg. The prince expected such a feat to end any question of his abilities, and his suitability to succeed his father, Emperor Arcturus Mengsk. The Foundation's research effort was based on Tyrador VIII.

Kerrigan was also interested in acquiring the device. The Queen of Blades was driven by a greater understanding of the forces at work in the galaxy and the coming of the Dark Voice and its hybrids. The zerg prepared to launch a massive Sector-wide invasion to search for and recover the device.

Of all the interested parties, it was the Tal'darim, a protoss sect, who were actually familiar with the locations of most of the components. They viewed the components as holy relics and appointed themselves guardians against all thieves.

Stealing from the Dominion
An officially sanctioned Dominion expedition completed excavating the Mar Saran component just before the Second Great War after months of digging. The hired Jim Raynor and Raynor's Raiders, through Tychus Findlay, to obtain the components, starting with the Mar Saran piece. This was in contravention to an official Dominion ban on the trade of alien artifacts.

The Raiders retrieved the component just ahead of the Swarm's attack on the Dominion dig site at the start of the war. The Raiders escaped aboard the battlecruiser Hyperion. The component, and those subsequently retrieved, were stored in the.

Antagonizing the Tal'darim
The directed the Raiders to Monlyth and another component. The Tal'darim were already guarding the approaches. This time the zerg, overseen by Kerrigan, arrived slightly before Raiders. With the protoss' attention divided, the terrans again beat the zerg to the component.

A Foundation expedition detected another component inside a xel'naga temple on Xil and moved to excavate it with a Drakken laser drill. They were discovered and wiped out by the Tal'darim. Raynor's Raiders were brought in and they finished the job. The Tal'darim Executor identified the thieves and were most displeased.

The Last Components
Kerrigan determined the Möebius Foundation as the source of the Raiders success, and attacked their headquarters on Tyrador VIII. The Foundation's public leader, Doctor Emil Narud, summoned the Raiders to destroy the data cores and deny the zerg access to the Foundation's research data. With this done, the Foundation evacuated.

The Foundation quickly set down roots elsewhere and sent the Raiders to Typhon XI. The Tal'darim had not been idle; they established themselves near the component in anticipation of the terrans' arrival. The operation was complicated by the imminent supernova of the local star. The Raiders kept ahead of the planetary firestorm to abscond with the component.

Afterward, the Raiders met with the Möebius Foundation's true leader, Prince Valerian Mengsk, and learned of his plans for the device. Despite misgivings amongst his crew, Raynor agreed to join Mengsk against the Queen of Blades.

The final component was located on the derelict xel'naga worldship in the Sigma Quadrant. Once again, the Tal'darim were waiting; this time they brought in a mothership to defend the vault. The Raiders destroyed the vault holding the artifact. At last, all the components were brought together.

The Battle of Char
Bringing the device into range of Kerrigan required the terrans to invade Char. Prince Mengsk assembled half the Dominion fleet and placed General Horace Warfield in command. The Raiders joined the battle group. The terrans suffered heavy casualties. Eventually they brought the device to the base of the main zerg hive; the remaining troops dug in around it against the inevitable onslaught. The Queen of Blades personally led the attack; it was an opportunity to acquire the device after having failed to do so earlier in the war. However, the terran defenses held and the fully charged device eliminated the zerg in the immediate area and at least partially de-infest Kerrigan.

Game Effect
The artifact is usable in the final mission of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, All In. It is capable of unleashing an energy nova that eradicates all hostile zerg within its radius. A recharge time exists between each usage. Raynor's Raiders must protect it from zerg attacks; if it is destroyed, the mission ends. After it fully recharges, it unleashes a devastating blast, destroying all zerg in the area.