Raynor's Raiders

Raynor's Raiders are a unit of Terran troops led by Jim Raynor. The group frequently included Protoss among its number, especially when Fenix was a part of the group. The group formed after Raynor felt betrayed when Sons of Korhal leader Arcturus Mengsk abandoned Sarah Kerrigan to the Zerg, and its core includes former residents of Mar Sara.

Raynor's Raiders is an independent pirate group that makes its home in the Koprulu Sector, possessing no one headquarters of operation; rather, the group operates from its flagship, the Hyperion, a Behemoth-class battlecruiser captured and refitted by the Sons of Korhal before StarCraft and then hijacked by Jim Raynor at the end of StarCraft Episode I.

Upon its breakaway from the Sons of Korhal, Raiders armor and vehicles/ships displayed a blue color scheme. As of this point in time however, this appears to have changed to red.

Formation
The origins of the Raiders are to be found in the Mar Sara Colonial Militia, whom many Raiders originate from. However, with the Confederacy having left Mar Sara for dead, the Militia joined the Sons of Korhal, forming a group known as Raynor's Rangers. In time, this group would form the core of what would become known as Raynor's Raiders.

Rebellion against the Sons of Korhal
After the debacle over Tarsonis, Sons of Korhal Captain James Raynor left the terrorist organization after feeling betrayed and used by its dissembling leader Arcturus Mengsk. Many others felt the same way.

Raynor was picked up by the former Confederate battlecruiser, the Thunder Child, on his way to safety.

Arcturus Mengsk and Alpha Squadron General Edmund Duke returned to the orbital platforms over Tarsonis to punish the Raynor's Raiders. The Raiders were heavily outnumbered. In order to escape from Tarsonis's space platforms, Raynor's Raiders had to destroy the powerful Ion Cannon which had been activated by General Duke. The Cannon would destroy Raynor's forces as they fled. With a daring thrust against the Sons of Korhal, Raynor was able to destroy the Cannon, and then make good his escape. However, he left with more troops than expected, and didn't have sufficient transport, so he traveled to the shipyards of Dylar IV to steal the Sons of Korhal ships docked there. Mengsk had foreseen the move, sending General Duke there to stop Raynor, but in the cramped confines of the shipyard the Raiders got the upper hand and stole the Hyperion along with several other ships before they escaped.

Conflict with the Zerg
The small armada found its way to Char after its leader, Raynor, was psychically called to the burnt-out world. Alpha Squadron General Edmund Duke was also in the area, acting as a Terran Dominion enforcer. The two confronted each other but did not do battle.

Both had been lured there by psychic emissions produced by Sarah Kerrigan, who had been encased in a cocoon by a new Zerg Brood, where she was undergoing a metamorphosis into a special Infested Terran. Duke attacked the new Zerg Brood, but was defeated in a disastrous battle. He was pursued by the Tiamat Brood.

Raynor's forces landed on Char, avoiding Duke's forces. The Hyperion remained in orbit under the command of Matt Horner. The Raiders ground force quickly came into conflict with the Zerg. During the battle, Infested Kerrigan emerged from the cocoon and heavily defeated his forces. Kerrigan allowed Jim Raynor to leave her presence alive.

Infested Kerrigan wished to removed Ghost conditioning blocks on her mental powers. She personally led a force against the Dominion Science Vessel, the Amerigo, in order to access its Ghost files. Her other forces attacked both the Dominion and Raiders fleet. Protoss forces under Executor Tassadar arrived, attacking both of their fleets and destroying many of their ships due to the presence of the Zerg. The Raiders suffered heavy casualties, but the Hyperion managed to escape by jumping blindly into warp space.

Alliance with the Protoss
The Raiders were stranded on Char, at least until the Hyperion returned. While there Jim Raynor encountered both Tassadar and the Dark Templar Prelate Zeratul. He eventually befriended both of them, and comforted members of his crew, such as Lieutenant Deke Cavez, who had problems dealing with them.

The three allied forces clashed repeatedly with the Zerg. The remnants of Raynor's Raiders fled to an orbital station over Char.

The other three forces were eventually rescued by a Protoss force, ironically sent to Char in order to arrest Tassadar. Instead, Tassadar took on a leadership role. The three forces traveled to Aiur.

Raynor witnessed the beginning of the rebellion by the Templar Caste against the Judicators. During the battle to rescue Tassadar from the Judicator Caste, Raynor provided assistance from the Hyperion, although the rest of his forces did not assist. This was the first time Raynor fought alongside Praetor Fenix, a respected Protoss hero. The two quickly became friends.

Raynor provided major assistance in the final battle against the first Zerg Overmind. His forces maintained a base on the northwest flank of the Zerg forces, while Tassadar, Fenix and Zeratul attacked from the southeast. Together their pincer attack drove the Zerg into disarray. Unfortunately, the Dark Templar could not approach the Overmind to assassinate it, and Tassadar's Carrier, the Gantrithor, was heavily damaged. Tassadar drew upon his Dark Templar training to destroy the Overmind in a suicidal attack.

Raynor's Raiders in the Brood War
From Aiur the group would continue to serve alongside Protoss warriors under the direction of Captain Raynor, and helped defend the flank of refugee Khalai as they used a Warp Gate to abandon their homeworld for the Dark Templar homeworld of Shakuras. After the evacuation of the Protoss, Fenix refused to leave Aiur, and Raynor remained with him. Raynor and Fenix closed the Warp Gate on their side to prevent the Zerg from flooding Shakuras through it.

The Raiders had come to an agreement with Infested Kerrigan. She offered assistance in combating the United Earth Directorate, which had entered the Koprulu Sector and was conquering the Terran Dominion. Arcturus Mengsk, Emperor of the Dominion, had been deposed by the United Earth Directorate on the Throne World of Korhal IV. The Raiders, with the assistance of Protoss forces and flying the Hyperion, rescued Mengsk. He was placed in stasis. The Raiders then fled to Aiur, where the Protoss maintained a small outpost near the planet's Warp Gate.

The United Earth Directorate arrived on Aiur seeking Mengsk for execution. They discovered the Warp Gate, which was protected by a small Protoss outpost. It appeared to be all the Protoss had left on Aiur. Raynor's outpost was a short distance away - the majority of his forces weren't present there, and the Hyperion was nowhere to be seen. The Gate was surrounded by several dormant Zerg Hive Clusters. When the Gate was activated, these Zerg started attacking the Protoss and the UED. Despite these odds, the UED destroyed the Protoss outposts, along with Raynor's Command Center.

Kerrigan provided aid to the Raiders - using her secret agent, Infested Duran, supposedly a special advisor to the United Earth Directorate, to create a hole in the UED's defenses. A wave of Zerg drove the UED away from the Warp Gate, allowing Raynor and Mengsk to escape again.

The Psi Disrupter and Kerrigan's Weakness
Despite Infested Duran's best efforts, the United Earth Directorate activated the powerful anti-Zerg weapon, the Psi Disrupter, revealing Duran as an Infested Terran. They also captured the second Zerg Overmind, putting themselves in control of most Zerg in the Koprulu Sector. Infested Kerrigan herself could barely keep her own Zerg in line on Tarsonis, where she was hiding out.

In return for destroying the Psi Disrupter, she promised Jim Raynor and Fenix that she would topple the United Earth Directorate fleet in the Koprulu Sector. To do this she needed the help of Arcturus Mengsk. Mengsk was "defrosted" and offered a choice - work with Kerrigan, or perpetual imprisonment in stasis.

Fenix and Raynor agreed to work with Kerrigan (and Mengsk had no real choice in the matter), but they believed Kerrigan would betray them. Jim Raynor felt the United Earth Directorate was a greater threat than Kerrigan - he knew something of Earth's history.

Kerrigan's plan called for an attack on Braxis, where the Psi Disrupter had been relocated by Vice Admiral Stukov of the UED. Raynor's Raiders would destroy the Disrupter's fusion reactors, which were poorly guarded, while one of Mengsk's SCVs would carry a psi-emitter to lure the uncontrolled Zerg in the area. These Zerg would fall under the control of Infested Kerrigan, enabling her to rebuild her forces once the Psi Disrupter was destroyed.

The Raiders' attack shut down the Disrupter, and with her tiny reinforcements, Kerrigan's Zerg Swarm quickly grew large enough to destroy the UED forces guarding the Disrupter. Finally, she destroyed the Disrupter itself.

True Colors
The Raiders, Terran Dominion and Infested Kerrigan's Zerg Swarm cooperated in an attack against Korhal. The United Earth Directorate only had a small number of Zerg forces on the planet to assist them. The coalition defeated the UED, driving them from the planet.

This was when Kerrigan turned on her former allies - while they were resting from their attack on the UED. Her forces fell upon the Protoss contingent of Raynor's Raiders, defeating them and killing Fenix. The Raiders lost most if not all of their Protoss support. Raynor swore revenge for the killing of his friend Fenix, and left the region destitute of any speculation of his whereabouts.

Aftermath
Raynor's Raiders did make a reappearance in Resurrection IV. The Raiders worked with the Protoss, Artanis and Taldarin, to right a terrible wrong on Braxis.

StarCraft II
Four years after the Brood War, the Raiders have become a mercenary/freedom fighter group that fight against the Terran Dominion. They are the most wanted criminals in the Sector due to Arcturus Mengsk's media control, oratory and propaganda. The battle against the Dominion is not going well and the group is running out of money and belief. Jim Raynor himself may be drinking heavily. His doubts are spreading to his crew, but Matt Horner still has faith in Raynor's innate heroism.

The group has associated itself with the secret Moebius Foundation, which is paying it to retrieve alien artifacts from worlds such as Mar Sara and Jotun.

Other Apperances
Raynor's Raiders appear as one of the main factions in StarCraft the Board Game.

Known Raiders
The Raiders numbered slightly over 300 soldiers following the their estrangement with the Sons of Korhal. On Char their numbers were reduced to about 40 by the time the Protoss forces led by Aldaris and Artanis arrived.

Known Raiders include;

Command

 * Captain James Raynor (leader of the Raiders)
 * "The Commander" (lapsed)
 * Lieutenant Matt Horner (second in command)
 * Lieutenant Abernathy (lapsed?)
 * Lieutenant Deke Cavez (lapsed?)
 * Tychus Findlay

Engineers

 * Chief Engineer Swan
 * Engineer's Mate Aaren Ruth
 * Chitsny

Troopers

 * Lieutenant Physon
 * Sergeant Lisa Mannix
 * Private Deslan
 * Private Gina Elani
 * Private Ling
 * Private Lance Messner
 * Private Non
 * Ari Patel
 * Melinda Squire
 * Belloc
 * Fedders
 * McMurty
 * Sanchez
 * Warriton