A Sinister Turn

A Sinister Turn is a Wings of Liberty mission. It is told as a flashback of Zeratul's actions, viewed by Jim Raynor through the Ihan crystal.

Background
After much searching, Zeratul discovered the fragments of a prophecy foretelling the end of the xel'naga cycle on Ulaan. The meaning was unclear to him, but he believed preservers would be able to help. Aboard Void Seeker, the prelate journeyed to the forbidden archive world of Zhakul to find some.

Darker forces were already at work on Zhakul. A hybrid destroyer, Maar, had imprisoned the three preservers Zeratul sought and was leeching their energies. It had also subverted some protoss facilities and left others abandoned. When Zeratul arrived he found the planet "strangely silent."

Freeing the Preservers
The prelate reactivated an unpowered base and began to investigate. He only sensed the spirits of the three preservers were imprisoned, but not Maar's presence or activities. When the hybrid appeared, freeing the preservers took on an even more urgent nature.

The hybrid demonstrated remarkable regenerative abilities. When defeated in the field it restored itself with the preservers' energies. Zeratul finally overcame it by freeing the preservers.

Aftermath
The preserver triumvirate examined the fragments. The clarification provided prompted Zeratul to depart in search of the Overmind on Aiur.