Terran history

Terran history, and that of humanity as a whole, is long and fractured with strife.

Origins
According to Samir Duran, terrans are a "product of the failed cycle".

Early History
Humans evolved on Earth over millions of years, slowly advancing themselves through trial and error. They developed an international power structure defined by military superiority, as well as the acquisition of capital.

The Decline of Western Civilization
During the twentieth century, the development and exchange of technology and culture spread rapidly. By the end of the twenty-first century, radical new technologies offered increased access to advanced computers and informational databases to even the most destitute nations. Nuclear weapons quickly became available in abundance following the eradication of Communism from the eastern nations. Third-world nations challenged the economic and military might of the world's superpowers, blasting apart the international power structure.

Militant humanist factions and hard-line religious groups challenged the rights of private interest corporations who profited from genetic experimentation as cybernetics, cloning and gene-splicing rose steadily into the public forum. Many of the fundamental humanist factions panicked as multitudes of people were augmented with cybernetic implants while others manifested slight physical mutations ranging from heightened senses to advanced telepathy.

As technology continued to evolve and spread, world leaders sought ways to stem the growth of their nation's inhabitants. Despite this, Earth's population grew to an estimated twenty-three billion by 2301. Pollution and a lack of natural resources and affordable fuels added to the fire. As overpopulation and genetic alteration swept across Earth, popular sentiment held that it was plummeting towards an inevitable catastrophe.

Many core international economic systems folded in upon themselves and shut down as tensions rose regarding the use and capitalization of cybernetics and genetic mutations. Acts of terrorism and violence erupted between the corporate sector and the humanist factions, resulting in forced police actions across Earth. Civil chaos was already rampant in many of the larger countries, but media coverage of the police actions spurred it. The precarious balance of world power ultimately exploded into international pandemonium.

The United Powers League
On November 22, 2229, the United Powers League was founded upon the basis of 'enlightened socialism'. It accomplished that which the now defunct United Nations never could by unifying humanity. It encompassed and controlled close to ninety-three percent of Earth's population. Only a few volatile countries in South America remained outside its fold. The UPL often resorted to fascist police actions to maintain the public order. With its control lasting for nearly eighty years, the UPL sought to unify the various cultures of humanity. It went to great lengths to eradicate the last vestiges of racial separatism and designated English as the common language of Earth, banning many ancient languages in their native countries.

Project Purification
The Unitariate Commissions officially banned religions, but the UPL held an almost zealous belief in the supposed 'divinity of mankind', which called for the immediate eradication of any non-vital prosthetics or mutations amongst the pure-strain human gene pool. Hard-line UPL proponents and scholars argued that genetic alteration, cyber technology, and the use of psychoactive drugs all led to humanity's eventual degeneration.

The UPL leaders set Project Purification in motion. UPL troops scoured every nation, rounding up dissidents, hackers, synthetics, the cybernetically enhanced, tech-pirates and criminals of every kind. Nearly four hundred million people were executed, but the world-media was under the UPL's strict control and downplayed the violence, keeping the general populace of Earth unaware.

The UPL reopened fields of research that had lain dormant for decades, including the American and Russian space exploration programs which had previously been abandoned due to drastically reduced budgets and incessant political sabotage. The coupling of cryogenic hibernation with the ability to travel through warp space ushered in a forty-year period during which the UPL founded colonies on Earth's moon and many of the other planets within the Solar system.

During this period, Doran Routhe became obsessed with founding colonies on the outlying worlds, convinced that the discovery of new minerals and alternate fuel sources would make him one of the most influential men on Earth. He used his political connections and personal fortune to secure fifty-six thousand prisoners that were slated for mass execution under the edict of Project Purification.

The prisoners were transported to Routhe's private laboratories, where he had his science crews prep them for long-term cryogenic hibernation. He catalogued their various mutations and cybernetic enhancements, then input all of the data into ATLAS, which processed this genetic information and predicted which of the prisoners should be able to survive the rigorous conditions. The forty thousand who were deemed viable were loaded onto four supercarriers loaded with enough supplies, rations and hardware to aid them once they arrived at their destination. The navigation computer was then programmed with the coordinates of Gantris VI.

As these ships were intended for colonization, they included technology such as frozen fertilized eggs and embryos, cloning technology, food processors, etc.

The Long Sleep
"Long ago our ancestors were cast out from their home-world, deemed unfit for civilized society. They packed our forebears into spaceships and gave them the dubious honor of colonizing a barren swath of the galaxy. They probably thought we'd be wiped out by the dangers of the universe, but they underestimated us. We're survivors. We're winners. We're Terran. And we intend to bend the universe to our will."

- An anonymous terran.

Around 2231, ATLAS was installed into the Nagglfar. The Argo, the Sarengo and the Reagan were programmed to follow the Nagglfar as it was launched toward Gantris VI. It was scheduled as a one-year trip. ATLAS continued to monitor the prisoners in stasis over the course of the journey. Evaluating the numerous mutations and enhancements found within their gene pool, ATLAS became aware of a powerful mutagenetic strain that existed in the DNA of less than one percent of the prisoners and seemed to augment the latent psionic potential within the human brain. ATLAS calculated that many of the prisoners might benefit from this psionic mutation within only a few generations should they survive in their new environment. These findings were recorded and relayed straight into Routhe's logs.

The prisoners were unaware that the UPL was recording their every move, content to observe them without directly interfering in their affairs.

At some point during the journey the navigation systems linked to ATLAS shut down, erasing the coordinates of Gantris VI and Earth. The supercarriers barreled blindly through warp space for twenty-eight years until their warp-drive engines reached critical meltdown.

The supercarriers emerged into real space in the Koprulu sector. With their engines destroyed and their life-support batteries nearly exhausted, the ships engaged their emergency protocols and plummeted toward the nearest habitable worlds.

The Reagan and the Sarengo crash-landed on Umoja. The Sarengo suffered massive systems failures during its atmospheric descent and smashed into the planet, killing all of its eight thousand passengers. The Reagan made a controlled descent and landed safely. The 'cold sleep' chambers were deactivated and the passengers slowly awakened. They attempted to discern where they were and how long they had 'slept', but found that ATLAS had somehow erased all knowledge of their journey from their computer banks.

The Argo landed on Moria, and all information regarding their current status was erased. The Nagglfar landed on Tarsonis. Its passengers accessed ATLAS directly and confirmed their growing suspicions that they would never see Earth again. Even though ATLAS had suffered many critical failures, it was vital to giving them a head start when it came to establishing themselves.

The New World
Thinking they were the only survivors of the Long Sleep, the inhabitants of each planet worked to survive in what they termed 'the New World', making do with whatever meager resources they could find. In an attempt to find refuge in their new surroundings, the surviving exiles stripped their wrecked ships of essential materials. The colonial populations grew quickly during the first three generations. For the first five or six generations there was social pressure to have as many children as possible. They also used reproductive assistance technology carried by the supercarriers (stores of fertilized eggs and frozen embryos, along with cloning technology), but this began to break down after 50 years since the equipment to maintain it was unavailable. The Tarsonians expanded quickly to establish cities and industry over much of the planet's surface. As the Umojans spread across the planet, they quickly adopted a method of fair and democratic governance that later became known as the Umojan Ruling Council. It had a philosophy of leaving nothing to waste.

In a relatively short amount of time, all three colonies spread to other worlds and developed their own prosperous, self-supporting economies.

After sixty years, the Tarsonians developed second-generation subwarp engines which allowed their ships to make contact with Moria and Umoja. Tarsonis was the most technologically advanced and prosperous of the three colonies. Once reunited, the three colonies benefited from mutual trade and commerce treaties. A mining and manufacturing boom took Moria by storm. Dozens of small family-run guilds scrambled to claim as much land as possible, and soon hundreds of refineries, factories, and mining facilities sprouted up on Moria, Vito and Brutus. Over time, the larger guilds used a variety of shady tactics to eliminate competition until the Morian Mining Coalition and the Kelanis Shipping Guild came to dominate Moria's economic activities, gradually gaining political influence over Moria and its associated operations on nearby planets, moons, and asteroids.

Tarsonis repeatedly pushed Moria and Umoja to join in a conglomerated government, but the two colonies steadfastly refused, as they were faced with the likely pre-eminence of Tarsonis in such an arrangement. The Old Families responded by expanding their military and colonizing more aggressively. Because of its metal-poor geological makeup, Shiloh was ignored by settlers who wanted to focus on planets that could sustain industry and a space-faring commerce.

The Confederacy
Having founded prosperous colonies on seven other worlds, Tarsonis' military might grew by leaps and bounds. Tarsonis and its colonies founded the Terran Confederacy, which began extending its influence to other worlds. The Umojan Ruling Council was immediately wary of this. One of the first "planned" worlds of the Confederacy was Tyrador VIII, which became famous for its centers of higher learning, its orderly streets, and its sanitary parks.

Korhal gained recognition for its advanced science and research facilities and contributed to many key military and technological advances of the Confederacy.

In theory each Confederate planet had its own senators, but in every meaningful way, the Confederacy was ruled from Tarsonis City. Because of this, the Confederacy's most potent defenses were over Tarsonis. Three primary orbital platforms served as staging areas for the Confederate fleet. The central platform was defended by Omega and Delta Squadron troops. The primary defensive weapon was the Ion Cannon. Over time, these defenses were engaged in over thirty major battles. Now that the richer core worlds had been mapped out, colonized, and established, Shiloh began to draw a unique combination of wealthy landowners, agriculturalists, and younger families looking to escape the increasingly hectic urban lifestyle that was predominant on most of the core worlds. Large swathes of the fertile river basin territory were quickly taken by those individuals and organizations with the money and power to grab them. This left the remaining settlers scrabbling for the best patches of what remained. Many small family farms broke themselves on the harsh land and moved back to the core worlds with whatever possessions they had left. The few settlers who were able to subsist in these times were united in their struggles. This led to the birth of a uniquely rural culture promoting strength, tenacity, and independence. Soon, Shiloh became known as an idyllic corner of the fringe worlds. Three attempts were made to establish a mining colony on New Folsom, which met with disaster. However, the Confederate government was determined to establish a foothold on the richest source of the catalytic elements required to forge neosteel. It conscripted a team of experts, materials specialists, and terraforming engineers for this task. The team spent long months designing a platform system that would flex and shift with New Folsom's volatile crust while providing a habitat that was "minimally survivable" for a human workforce. The New Folsom Confederate Mine was constructed on one of the stabler lava lakes. Soon, it was producing the materials necessary for the Confederacy to begin building a new fleet of battlecruisers. Not long after the mine's completion, freelance prospectors catalogued the Sara system and discovered those same catalytic elements. Confederate financial analysts were unwilling to let such an expensive investment sit unused for long, so the mine was easily transformed into New Folsom Prison. Enemies of the Confederacy who were too valuable (or popular) to kill were sent there and used to work the mine's machinery. Requiring only a minimal guard staff and robotic sentries, New Folsom served as an inexpensive source of unrefined ore and minerals.

Several years later, Chau Sara and Mar Sara were colonized by an expedition from Tarsonis. Twelve major settlements were established on Mar Sara, and its mining industry was seen as a key strategic asset. However, it was always a backwater colony compared to Chau Sara, which was more prosperous. Doctor Bernard Hanson terraformed the relatively barren fringe world of Agria and founded a colony there. It became one of the Confederacy's primary botanical reserves, boasting a wide range of cutting-edge research and terraforming equipment. With Hanson as its chairman, Agria remained relatively safe and prosperous over the years.

The Guild Wars
Securing the rights to exploit the mineral fields on Redstone III was the flashpoint for conflicts between different mining guilds.

The Morian Mining Coalition and the Kelanis Shipping Guild began to fear that the Confederacy might attempt to move in and use its military strength to regulate their lucrative operations. The two organizations merged to form the Kel-Morian Combine, which pledged military aid to any mining guild that was threatened by Confederate policy. From that day forward, the thin line that had once existed on Moria between commercial entities and independent government vanished. Char was settled to exploit its fantastically rich reserves of heavy metals to fuel the rapidly growing Confederate economy. Although Char earned a place among the thirteen core worlds of the Confederacy, it became a source of friction between the Confederacy and independent mining guilds operating out of Moria. In 2485, these disputes escalated into open conflict. The Guild Wars were fought on Char, Sonyan, Artesia Prime and Turaxis II.

Umojan volunteers fought for the KMC as unofficial combatants, most of whom reveled in the chance to battle the Confederacy. The KMC hired a mercenary outfit to protect valuable mining outposts.

The Confederacy relied heavily on Shiloh's agricultural output during the wars, and there were hard times when the government was slow in remunerating the overtaxed farmers. These conditions were eased somewhat by the Farm Aid program, but they created lingering resentment among the settlers.

The Guild Wars ended in 2489 with a skewed peace agreement whereby the KMC retained its autonomy but nearly all of its affiliated mining guilds were annexed by the Confederacy. Seeing this as utterly abusive, the Umojan Ruling Council held an emergency sitting and formed the Umojan Protectorate, which would openly oppose a number of Confederate encroachments on its territories. In the final analysis, the wars assured the Confederacy's supremacy in the sector, which would be unchallenged for the next decade.

The might of the Confederacy continued to grow as its prospectors claimed world after world with their reckless expansionism while the KMC became the largest non-Confederate organization operating within the sector. Equipped with thousands of armed troops and hardware, the KMC strictly enforced its myriad territorial operations. It was rumored that the KMC actually supplied the Confederacy with fuels and resources. Their political influence was so great that the Confederate forces were banned from prosecuting the KMC for any potentially criminal action.

The Confederacy's presence on Char was limited to a few maintenance teams for automated mining sites. All personnel lived on Char Aleph, which was built in near orbit over the planet. At the height of the Confederacy's power, huge quantities of money and materials were shipped into Tarsonis from the colonies on a daily basis. The economic boom dwarfed that of any other terran world in the sector, and the population of Tarsonis grew exponentially until it was one of the most densely populated planets in the sector. As the Old Families built their personal fortunes and vied for more power, they became more avaricious and corrupt. Discontent and outright insurgency built up as the divide between rich and poor became ever wider. The Old Families responded with increasingly violent measures to keep the colonies in line.

The Rebellion of Korhal

 * Main article: Rebellion of Korhal

Tensions rose on Korhal, and agitators called for outright secession from the Confederacy. The citizenry instigated numerous riots against the local Confederate militia. The Confederates responded by declaring martial law throughout Korhal, but it only agitated the populace even more, and the already rampant civil chaos was escalated. The Confederates, fearing that their most treasured and pampered colony turning against them might instigate other colonies to revolt, decided to end the crisis on Korhal by any means necessary.

Senator Angus Mengsk became the voice of the secession movement. His efforts culminated in a senate vote to declare war on the Confederacy if Korhal's demands for greater autonomy were not satisfied. The Umojan Ruling Council secretly pledged to aid Mengsk, whom it had close personal ties to. He whipped the Korhalians into a volatile, patriotic frenzy and captured all of the Confederate outposts on Korhal. Mengsk garnered the respect and admiration of many other struggling colonies when he declared that the Confederacy no longer held any claim over Korhal.

The Confederacy pulled its forces from Korhal and withdrew their fleet from its skies in an effort to contain the situation. Believing that they had won their independence, Mengsk and the other leaders of the revolt celebrated their victory.

The Confederacy sent Sarah Kerrigan and two other ghosts to Korhal. They infiltrated Mengsk's towering, fortress-like headquarters and assassinated him along with his wife and young daughter, taking his head with them.

Arcturus Mengsk returned to Korhal from the fringe worlds and rallied the various militant groups that had followed his father against the Confederacy. They struck at various Confederate bases and installations, costing the Old Families billions of credits in men, machines and equipment. Mengsk formed an alliance with the Umojan Protectorate. When rumors of this reached the Confederate government, Korhal was obliterated with a salvo of one thousand Apocalypse-class nuclear missiles. Mengsk witnessed the destruction of Korhal from the Spy Deck and renamed his group the Sons of Korhal. Public outrage brought an endless stream of support and volunteers.

Mengsk's Uprising
In the Sara system, Lieutenant Colonel Horace Warfield called in his resignation the very minute he heard of the attack. The Iron Justice cut off all contact with the surrounding military network and went silent. Warfield was labeled a deserter by Confederate forces and hunted throughout the Sara system and beyond. Within a few months, he was quietly directing Mengsk's attacks. His intimate knowledge of the Confederacy's military strength, position, and movements was invaluable to the success of the rebellion. The Sons of Korhal quickly became the most wanted fugitives in the sector as they won countless victories over the Confederacy with methods and tactics that ranged from harsh to nefarious. The Universal News Network, under Confederate control, portrayed Mengsk as a terrorist and a madman. Most colonies refused to house or provide services to anyone affiliated with the Sons of Korhal. Despite this, they continued to confound Confederate enforcement agencies.

Graven Hill and Remy Harris provided mercenaries to both sides of the conflict. This came to an end after Confederate forces captured a group of mercenary-backed rebels and discovered their source. The Confederacy then raided their business headquarters.

The Cormorant was converted for blockade running and enjoyed a lot of success dodging Confederate patrols as it transported supplies and troops between star systems for the Sons of Korhal.
 * Main article: Sons of Korhal, StarCraft: Uprising

Eventually the Sons resolved to assault the Fujita Facility on Vyctor 5. The installation was located within a complex weather system known as the Fujita Pinnacle. The combination of hazardous meteorology and active defenses had thus far prevented illicit access to the facility. With the battlecruiser Hyperion and a small strike force, Mengsk succeeded in infiltrating the installation. Inside Fujita they stumbled upon elements of the Confederacy's top secret zerg research program and a ghost, Sarah Kerrigan, who was participating in the research. Kerrigan was a poignant find for Mengsk, as he had been searching for her for reasons unknown even to his allies. Not knowing what to make of it, the Sons killed the zerg specimens and took the scientists and Kerrigan with them.

Shortly afterward, Mengsk, Kerrigan, and a Sons assault group attacked the primary Ghost Academy on Tarsonis. The operation was a disaster and most of the Sons were killed, though Mengsk and Kerrigan escaped.

First Contact
The Confederacy knew about the imminent arrival of the zerg by 2498 and experimented with captured specimens in the Jacobs Installation. They planned to use them to put an end to their rivals. Chau Sara, Brontes and Dylar IV were infested by the zerg in 2499. On December 8, Chau Sara was incinerated from orbit by the Koprulu Expeditionary Force. As the protoss fleet made its way towards Mar Sara, the Confederacy launched a counterattack commanded by General Edmund Duke and sent a new Magistrate to safeguard the colonists and keep their state of panic from escalating any further.

This event caused widespread panic throughout the UPL and brought the dissident countries into its fold, thus expanding its powers and causing it to be renamed the 'United Earth Directorate'. The UED took a more proactive, militaristic stance in regards to alien affairs and bent all of its considerable resources towards studying the aliens and their maneuverings. They spent the next several months monitoring the protoss and zerg, gathering data on their strengths and weaknesses.

The Umojan Protectorate sought a truce with the protoss while the KMC went to great lengths to stay out of the conflict.

Confederate traffic increased substantially within the Sara system in the four days after the incineration of Chau Sara. The Confederacy quarantined Mar Sara. Forty-eight hours before they were to proceed with the lock-down, Duke sent the core colonists to the Wasteland. They were escorted by Marshal Jim Raynor. The Confederacy deliberately sacrificed Mar Sara in order to test the psi emitter. Confederate headquarters was alerted when Backwater Station came under attack by the zerg, but the station was saved by Raynor and local militia forces sent in by the Magistrate. Duke subsequently arrested them on the pretext of violating standing colonial law by destroying Confederate property. Soon, sixteen outland stations reported sightings of the zerg, but the Confederates continued to avoid action against them. Three stations fell to the zerg before the Sons of Korhal intervened and evacuated thousands of colonists.

Three hours later, Mar Sara was almost completely overrun by the zerg. The Sons of Korhal liberated Raynor and his men from the Confederate prison ship and Mengsk became aware of the Jacobs Installation via Warfield's intel. The chaos of the Confederate evacuation allowed Raynor to raid the facility, access the Confederate network and steal secret information on data discs.

The Antigan Revolt
"The Confederacy is falling apart, Duke. Its colonies are in open revolt. The Zerg are rampaging unchecked."

- Arcturus Mengsk

With the Confederacy's grip on the fringe worlds weakened, Antiga Prime was ready to begin open revolt against them. Aware of this, the Confederates stationed a large detachment of Alpha Squadron troops there. Mengsk sent Kerrigan and Raynor to free the colony and show their good intent to the Antigan people. Kerrigan infiltrated the Antigan command center and killed the Confederate officer, stirring up a full-scale revolt that sent the Confederacy into a state of panic.

The Norad II was attacked by the zerg and crash-landed on Antiga Prime. Mengsk sent Raynor to save Duke, whom he convinced to join forces with him.

The Confederacy discovered the Sons of Korhal position and sent a large strike force to establish a base camp within their defensive perimeter. Two hours later, Mengsk ordered Kerrigan to plant a psi emitter in the Confederate base camp. The zerg descended upon the unsuspecting Confederates and annihilated them, allowing the Sons of Korhal to make their escape.

The Fall of Tarsonis
"Families ripped apart -- literally -- when the savage zerg arrived. Mountains of dead bodies, deserted cities..."

- Kate Lockwell on the day Tarsonis fell

Alpha Squadron assaulted the central platform above Tarsonis. Duke planted psi emitters there. Adjutant 23-46 intercepted a transmission of Mengsk revealing to Kerrigan and Raynor that he authorized the use of psi emitters. Despite bitter fighting, the planetary defenses were overrun and Tarsonis' major cities and industrial centers were devastated by the zerg. Upwards of two billion people were estimated to have been killed. Refugees from Tarsonis were absorbed into other colonies. When protoss ground forces were deployed to engage the primary zerg hive at New Gettysburg, Mengsk sent Kerrigan with a strike force to stop their interference. They neutralized the protoss, but with a wave of zerg advanced on their position, Kerrigan called for immediate evac. Not wanting to run the risk of having a powerful weapon like Kerrigan running loose after she'd called him out on using the zerg against Tarsonis, and unable to resist the chance to claim some long overdue vengeance for his father, Mengsk ordered the fleet to move away from Tarsonis, abandoning her to the zerg. Raynor rushed to New Gettysburg to save Kerrigan, but found no trace of her.

Raynor deserted Mengsk. Duke successfully activated the Ion Cannon, but it was destroyed by Raynor's Raiders, who then escaped from Tarsonis and seized the Hyperion and a small fleet of ships in a battle at the Dylarian shipyards.

The Reign of Arcturus Mengsk
"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

With the collapse of the Confederacy, the Sons of Korhal became the primary military force opposing the alien invaders and most survivors quickly pledged allegiance to them. As planet after planet appealed to the Sons of Korhal for aid, Mengsk announced that a new government was necessary to protect these worlds. Promising victory over the aliens, he formed the Terran Dominion and crowned himself emperor. One of Mengsk's first decrees was to begin reconstruction of Korhal, electing to make it the executive seat of the Dominion.

The Umojan Protectorate rallied to the Dominion's side. Over time, however, its heavy-handed tactics began to resemble those of the Confederacy, and the Protectorate distanced itself from the Dominion as it became increasingly oppressive.

Even though many of its founders from the Sons of Korhal spent hard time in New Folsom Prison, the Dominion continued to use it. Every scientist, philosopher and free thinker that challenged Mengsk's rule was incarcerated there.

Mengsk reinforced the armies of the Dominion by forcefully conscripting the remaining warriors of the Confederacy, then set out to fortify the various worlds under his care. A permanent defense force was stationed on Agria. Warfield became a general and was seen as one Mengsk's more trusted advisors. Mengsk trusted Warfield with his most crucial tasks, stratagems, and missions.

While in the chrysalis, Kerrigan instinctively reached out to Raynor and Mengsk telepathically. Mengsk sent Duke to Char to flush out the zerg. However, Duke was defeated by the zerg and forced to fall back.

Raynor's Raiders went to Char but were prevented from getting near the chrysalis as it opened Kerrigan emerged as the Queen of Blades. She allowed Raynor to leave.

The Amerigo was then infiltrated by Kerrigan, who accessed the Dominion network and located records of the Ghost Program, allowing her to learn about their mental conditioning that kept her psionic powers in check.

Raynor forged a bond with Tassadar and helped him break though the zerg which surrounded them. When Tassadar violated Dominion air-space and endangered human lives in an attack against the zerg, Duke ordered Tassadar to withdraw his ships immediately or he would open fire upon his vessels. Upon receiving what he assumed was a hostile response, Duke sent in his fleet and was defeated by Tassadar. Raynor's troops helped Tassadar find Dark Prelate Zeratul.

On Aiur, Raynor used the Hyperion to help Tassadar's followers secure his release from Judicator Aldaris. Raynor's Raiders also helped weaken the Overmind before Tassadar sacrificed himself to destroy it.

The Brood War

 * Main article: Brood War

After the Khalai survivors retreated to their last functional warp gate and traveled to Shakuras, Raynor's Raiders remained on Aiur with Fenix and shut the gate down to keep the zerg from sending more reinforcements to Shakuras. The UED Council received word that a new Overmind was growing on Char and formed an expeditionary force under Admiral Gerard DuGalle with orders to enslave the Overmind and use it to overthrow the Dominion and pacify protoss activity in the sector. However, DuGalle was uncomfortable with the prospect of 'using' the zerg to achieve victory, feeling that they represented an unnecessary risk. He would therefore employ more conventional tactics in taking control of the Dominion. The Dominion's defenses guarding the Uraj crystal on Braxis were overcome by a protoss army assisted by Kerrigan.

Viewing Braxis as a vital step toward dominating the sector, the UED surrounded it with an orbital blockade, but the protoss slipped through unscathed.

Undeterred by the failure of the blockade, the UED assaulted Boralis. Progress was slow until UED forces made contact with the Confederate Resistance Forces. After Lieutenant Samir Duran explained that they had sworn to overthrow Mengsk, he and his men became new recruits of the UED. Duran showed them an alternate route that led to the rear of Boralis, allowing them to destroy the command center and cripple Braxis' primary defenses. Soon, the UED had access to the Dominion's primary datanet and moved on to the Dylarian shipyards, where the bulk of the Dominion's battlecruisers were docked. The Captain's forces struck swiftly and commandeered the ships. From the Norad III, Duke led a Dominion fleet against them, but was defeated by the UED's newly acquired fleet. Duke withdrew his forces from the quadrant as the UED destroyed the Dylarian shipyards and conscripted the remnants of the Dylarian defenders. The UED research team uncovered the psi disrupter on Tarsonis. Duran convinced DuGalle to have it destroyed. DuGalle charged Duran with finding the disrupter and securing it. Vice Admiral Alexei Stukov sent in ghosts to disassemble the disrupter. They relieved Duran and reconstructed it on Braxis.

After a fierce battle, The UED laid siege to Augustgrad, forcing Mengsk to contact the UED fleet from the Norad III requesting a parlay with DuGalle.

On Aiur, Raynor and Fenix were contacted by Kerrigan, who asked them to rescue Mengsk from the UED and bring him to her. Raynor was galvanized by the threat of an emergent Overmind in the hands of the UED and temporarily put aside his hatred of Mengsk and agreed to Kerrigan's plan.

Accompanied by a small protoss fleet, Raynor went to Korhal aboard the Hyperion, arriving just as the UED was preparing to take Mengsk into custody. They escaped via dimensional recall.

The UED tracked Mengsk and Raynor to Aiur, where they attacked Raynor's command center in the middle of Fenix's base. However, the zerg intervened, forcing the UED to retreat back to the fleet while Mengsk and Raynor escaped through the warp gate in a dropship.

Stukov took control of a large contingent of troops and returned to Braxis to activate the psi disrupter. Duran killed Stukov and set the disrupter's power core to overload, but UED troops reached the manual override terminal and shut the reactor core down. DuGalle ordered the disrupter kept on full power around the clock and left a garrison to protect it as well.

The disrupter's signal hampered the zerg's communications to one another. This caused the swarms over Char to scatter in disarray, allowing the UED to penetrate to Char's surface and overcome the Overmind's defenders. Once the UED troops had reached the Overmind, a team of specially trained medics administered powerful neurostims to pacify it.

As Project Black Flag got underway, memorial services for Stukov were held aboard the Aleksander and his coffin was shot into space. He was captured by the zerg, who resurrected and infested him. Stukov was cured by the protoss and given to the Moebius Foundation to research the cure and was instead experimented on at Skygeirr Station as the cure slowly failed.

The disrupter's signal reached Tarsonis and shattered the unity of Kerrigan's broods just as Raynor and Fenix arrived. Traveling to Braxis, Raynor's Raiders disabled the disrupter's primary power generator, allowing Kerrigan to gather up nearby zerg with the help of a psi emitter loaned by Mengsk. The UED garrison was destroyed and the disrupter torn down.

The KMC continued to operate while the UED dominated the sector. Moria was raided for for its rich mineral stores. Some of Moria's defenses were weakened in the assault and Kerrigan's zerg destroyed a number of military and manufacturing facilities as they pilfered ten thousand minerals before departing.

The UED sent enslaved zerg to reinforce their troops on Korhal. However, their control of the Overmind was tenuous, so not many were sent. Raynor and Fenix struck at the more outlying fortification while the UED forces occupying Augustgrad were overwhelmed by Kerrigan's zerg. A jubilant Mengsk sent Duke to establish his base of operations in Augustgrad.

The next morning, Duke's base was attacked by multitudes of zerg while most were asleep and unaware. The base was destroyed and Duke was killed. Mengsk was left on Korhal and Raynor's Raiders escaped.

Two days after Kerrigan returned to Tarsonis to rest, the UED sent hundreds of zerg to Tarsonis, which was too remote for them to maintain direct control, so they sent thirty scientists to coordinate their attack from a small facility towards the rear of their landing zone. The attack failed when the scientists were killed.

The UED forces on Char were defeated by Kerrigan's zerg and Zeratul's Dark Templar. The remnants of the UED fleet fled Char.

Mengsk scraped together a new fleet and attacked Kerrigan's base of operations on Char Aleph alongside the remainder of the UED fleet and a protoss armada. Facing imminent defeat, Mengsk withdrew early in the battle. DuGalle offered terms of surrender when it became clear that he could not hope to overcome Kerrigan at her full strength. The UED fleet was allowed to flee in the direction of Earth with a reasonable head start. The fleet was soon overtaken by Kerrigan's forces and eradicated. No UED ship made it back to Earth to report the events that had taken place in the Koprulu sector. A few isolated pockets of survivors remained hidden in the Koprulu sector. UED goliaths became the Spartan Company.

Reconstruction
Although Warfield retired in 2501, the Dominion rose again to become the most powerful force among the terran factions. It took over almost all of the original Confederate worlds, including Braxis. UNN reported that the retaking of Braxis was a "valiant" military action, despite the fact that there was no opposition. Over the next four years, the Dominion extended its influence throughout the sector. Most of the Dominion populace accepted Mengsk's rule, believing him to be the only leader capable of protecting them from the aliens. Mengsk asserted that humanity's only chance to survive the dark days ahead was to be united under his leadership, whether by choice or by force.

Vast fortunes were lavished on the cleanup and rebuilding of Korhal, although portions of the irradiated desert were left untouched in honor of those who died. The planetary defenses were massively increased, and Mengsk turned Korhal into the most heavily fortified planet in the Koprulu sector. The second most heavily defended location in Dominion space was Skygeirr Station, where the Dominion had help from Doctor Emil Narud in combining protoss and zerg DNA were to create hybrid creatures of immense power.

Hybrids were also bred in a bio-weapons lab orbiting Castanar on a captive asteroid. Mengsk planned to terminate everyone who ever worked there. Raynor led a resistance movement against Mengsk, who used the media and propaganda to marginalize his efforts. Raynor's Raiders instigated open rebellion across six separate worlds and stole vast amounts of Dominion weapons and hardware. Mengsk spent trillions on keeping them constantly hunted and harried, denying them any chance to gain a respite and build their strength.

Shiloh came under noticeably increased surveillance by Dominion military forces, which only heightened the agitation of the colonists. It was unclear whether the Dominion was trying to flush out potential seditionists like Raynor or presenting a show of force to discourage any imitators.

The Umojan Protectorate remained ideologically opposed to the Dominion and was widely considered a safe haven for individuals seeking refuge from persecution by Mengsk's forces. Cognizant of this fact, the Dominion took measures to undermine the sovereignty of Umoja and its affiliated worlds by imposing trade embargoes and making assassination attempts against dissidents pursuing asylum in Protectorate territory. The Umojan Ruling Council was fully aware of the Dominion's unparalleled military might and embarked on a more covert route to uphold its independence. Over a few years, the Protectorate funneled resources into advanced technological research, established a far-reaching network of anti-Dominion separatists, and stationed elite espionage agents throughout the sector to keep tabs on the Dominion. The Ruling Council's members debated whether or not the Dominion would ever make more forceful moves against Umoja or its allies. Regardless, they unanimously agreed to continue their subversive activities and were prepared to take any action necessary to preserve the freedom of Umoja and other Protectorate worlds. Umojan caution about Dominion influence and intrusion was most pronounced in scientific research and development.

The KMC retained control over Moria, which was still considered a productive trading, manufacturing, and mining hub, and focused on building up its commercial empire. The rise of the Dominion caused concern among the KMC leaders over the safety of their far-flung mining operations. Nonetheless, they were intent on claiming more worlds for plunder. Their prospectors found that minerals on Mar Sara had acquired unique properties due to the protoss purification. Shortly thereafter, the KMC staked a claim to mining and salvage rights over the Sara system. In 2502, independent and indentured contractors began strip-mining both Mar Sara and Chau Sara of their resources.

Intent on stealing Agria's hi-tech scientific equipment, a heavily armed group of pirates stormed the colony in 2503. Dominion marines engaged the pirates to protect these valuable assets, carelessly slaughtering colonists who were caught in the crossfire. Tavish Kerr bribed Kel-Morian officials into levying higher and higher taxes on Rory Swann's mining operation on Meinhoff. This prompted Swann to declare his operation's independence from Kel-Morian control, and the Combine responded by sending a military contingent to seize all of Swann's assets. The Kel-Morians began slaughtering the miners, who sent out a distress signal. Swann was saved by Raynor's Raiders.

When Victor Kachinsky was killed by Dominion ghosts in an attempt by Mengsk to "simplify" relations, the KMC was in no place to mount any sort of military retaliation, so its response was angry but reserved. Kelanis Guildmaster Abraham Kachinsky made a speech about working toward peace with the Dominion. Dominion scientists in at the Tyrador III research facility were assigned to create elite, cybernetically enhanced military units. Egon Stetmann sabotaged the facility and made his escape amid the confusion and smuggled himself off Tyrador III aboard a merchant ship. Stetmann spent the next few months in Deadman's Port, which was remote enough to retain its independence despite antagonizing every major terran power. There, he joined Raynor's Raiders. Crown Prince Valerian Mengsk used the Dominion's vast resources to scour the sector for xel'naga artifacts. Through his Moebius Foundation, he sought to construct the Keystone that would make Kerrigan human again as a means of proving that he would be a better emperor than his father.

The Dominion showed a renewed interest in the Sara system and established several outposts there. The KMC claimed that these outposts were established at their invitation due to security issues with piracy and mining camp revolts.

For months, Dominion engineers excavated a xel'naga artifact at White Rock Base. The Dominion forcibly shipped citizens there from Backwater Station to dig it up. Mengsk made it illegal to trade in alien goods.

Wings of Liberty
Dominion forces set up a logistics headquarters in Backwater Station, which become the hub for all operations on Mar Sara. Although the Dominion used holo boards to flood the town with propaganda, the people of Backwater Station were anti-Dominion. But they lacked weapons and organization. After the Dominion pulled troops out of the city, Raynor destroyed the logistics headquarters with help from the locals. Raynor then seized weapons and distributed them to the local populace, inciting an open revolt against Mengsk.

Satellite 1 reported unusual activity in the Char system. The Dominion Fleet was put on alert.

Tychus Findlay told Raynor of the artifact, which Dominion was getting ready to move the artifact off-world. Raynor's marines destroyed White Rock Base and seized the artifact. Kerrigan launched an invasion of terran space, killing billions. Raynor's Raiders held out at Backwater Station long enough to be extracted by the Hyperion under Captain Matt Horner.

Mengsk pulled the Dominion Fleet back to the protect the core worlds, abandoning the fringe worlds in the process.

Agria's planetary defenses were overwhelmed by the zerg. The colonists were evacuated from Larks' Crossing to the nearest starport, but after twelve hours zerg attacks became so intense that Doctor Ariel Hanson sent out a distress call. Raynor's Raiders responded, guarding the highway while the remaining groups were sent through. Mengsk declared new austerity measures and reactivated Warfield, who began 'Operation Burnout'.

Refugee populations from across the sector fled to Meinhoff. The zerg hyper-evolutionary virus started sweeping through the refugee camps. Raynor's Raiders cleared the infestation. The death toll in orbit soared as massive refugee fleets struggled to reach the safety of the core worlds while short on food and water.

The core worlds were fortified and the First Fleet engaged the zerg in the Sara system.

Hanson's people were relocated to Haven. The new colony went well until protoss observers detected a zerg infestation. Investigating the situation, Raynor's Raiders arrived as High Executor Selendis was preparing to purify Haven.

While Hanson evacuated her people to the main base and searched for a cure for the zerg infestation, Raynor's Raiders destroyed the Purifier and drove off Selendis' terror fleets. Haven was subsequently founded as a new sovereign colony.

Refugee fleets decreased as displaced fringe worlders found new planets on which to settle. Like Haven, these new colonies declared themselves independent of the Dominion. Mengsk tightened security measures and food riots took place on the fringe worlds.

Raynor's Raiders purged the infested colonists on Haven.

As refugees continued to flood Dominion space, Mengsk ordered the fleet to turn away refugee ships that entered core-world systems. Conscription age limits were reduced. A major battle took place in the Dylar system. The Umojan Protectorate closed its borders.

The Dominion used jorium and terrazine to enhance ghost powers and create spectres in a classified operation called Project Shadowblade. Gabriel Tosh went rogue.

As losses mounted, the KMC abandoned its outlying worlds, including Redstone III, causing markets to slump. Umoja mobilized and conscription stations opened across the core worlds. Tosh convinced Raynor's Raiders to help him mine minerals from Redstone III. Once this was done, Tosh got them to collect terrazine from Tal'darim alters on Bel'Shir.

Thousands were killed when Dominion weapons plant on Nephor II exploded, causing a chain reaction that took out several housing complexes in a working-class neighborhood.

New Folsom was broken open by Tosh with the assistance of Raynor's Raiders. Hundreds of the Dominion's highest-value prisoners were freed, including rogue spectres and a number of political dissidents. Dominion Security Forces were put on high-alert.

To end the threat of psychotic rampages by rogue spectres, Raynor's Raiders helped Nova Terra destroy Tosh's spectre training facility on Avernus Station. Tosh was executed by Nova, who transmitted the schematics to Raynor's Raiders on how to train ghosts.

Zerg raiders were stopped at Lakius and 'alien awareness' was added to a new school curriculum.

On Monlyth, Raynor's Raiders managed to seize another artifact from the Tal'darim before the zerg. Meanwhile, millions fled as the zerg advanced on all fronts.

The Moebius Foundation sent a specialist team to Xil with access to a Drakken laser drill. After reporting artifact radiation emanating from a xel'naga temple, the team was wiped out by the Tal'darim. Two days later, Raynor's Raiders were able to avoid the other expedition's fate and secure the artifact.

The Dominion held firm under zerg aggression. Its industrial complex stepped up production on all fronts, enlistment rates had rose within the penal system, and the Dominion Marine Corps was ready to start pushing the zerg back.

When the Moebius Foundation's main research campus on Tyrador VIII came under attack by the zerg, three Moebius Security teams were sent to purge the data cores. When none of them reported back, Narud asked Raynor's Raiders to destroy the cores. They were successful in doing so before Kerrigan reached them. Raynor's Raiders and the Moebius Foundation then evacuated.

The Second Fleet regrouped at the Dylarian shipyards. Meanwhile, rationing was extended to utility items.

The Dominion placed Tarsonis under strict quarantine while its salvage teams sifted through the rubble for any Confederate technologies and military secrets that may have survived the zerg assault. They restored power to the old rail network and ran a large number of supply trains with minimal security. They found Adjutant 23-46, but it was intercepted en route to the processing station by Raynor's Raiders.

The First and Second Fleets combined to defend the core worlds. Interplanetary shipping was at a standstill. Raynor's Raiders returned to Deadman's Port and gave Adjutant 23-46 to Colonel Orlan for him to decrypt. Planning to sell it to the Dominion, he attempted to her Mira's Marauders to keep Raynor's Raiders off his back until the Dominion arrived. However, Raynor bought the mercenary contract first and got the adjutant back. Orlan was incarcerated in case Raynor needed to hire him again.

The Dominion's holo board initiative was suspended.

Raynor's Raiders stole the Odin from the testing facility on Valhalla, blocking all transmissions while the Dominion bases were taken out.

Mengsk declared a moratorium on interplanetary travel as authorities impounded all privately owned vessels. Meanwhile, a project to reclaim Deadman's Port was put on hold. Raynor's Raiders used the Odin to spearhead their takeover of the UNN Studios and broadcast proof that Mengsk authorized the use of psi emitters on Tarsonis. The press was outraged and there was rioting in the streets of Korhal. Citizens set fire to government buildings to express their shock and anger at the revelations.

Raynor and a strike team infiltrated the Dominion lab at Castanar. It was destroyed by a revived hybrid, but Raynor escaped.

Bountiful declared independence from the Dominion.

After the Moebius Foundation had gotten themselves set-up again, Raynor's Raiders went on to seize another artifact from a Tal'darim expeditionary force on Typhon XI just before its star went nova. Valerian then rendezvoused with Raynor aboard the Bucephalus.

After the last piece of the Keystone was retrieved from the Tal'darim on a derilect xel'naga worldship in the Sigma quadrant, Valerian and Warfield left half the Dominion Fleet to Char, accompanied by Raynor's Raiders. The zerg launched a spoiler attack. However, Raynor secured a landing zone. The Keystone was assembled. Raynor and Warfield defended it while it charged up, then used it to make Kerrigan human again.

Heart of the Swarm
Raynor's Raiders smuggled Kerrigan to Research Station EB-103, Where Valerian conducted tests to find out how much of the zerg mutagen was left in her system. The Dominion raided the facility, prompting the Umojans to evacuate. Kerrigan and Valerian escaped, but Raynor was captured by Nova.

The Dominion Fleet attacked the Hyperion above Phaeton, forcing Horner to order a jump. A Dominion ground team set up a Drakken pulse cannon on the surface, but it was destroyed by Kerrigan with help from Broodmother Naktul.

Mengsk announced the death of Raynor. In fact, he was taken to the Moros, and Mengsk took every precaution to ensure that no one reached him. Returning to Char, Kerrigan forced Warfield's forces to retreat from the Bone Trench then destroyed Warfield's compound on the Dauntless Plateau.

After receiving a transmission from Mengsk revealing that Raynor was alive, Kerrigan told Valerian and Horner to hack the Dominion's deep-encryption security network and find where they were holding him. Orlan was the only man capable of doing so, but Mira Han would not relinquish him. They used the Hyperion to cripple her prime space station, and Orlan was handed over.

The next day, Kerrigan attacked the Moros and got Raynor out.

Stukov escaped Skygeirr Station and contacted Kerrigan. They destroyed it together.

With zerg leviathans assembling above Korhal, Mengsk called upon his forces to defend it. Dominion fleets converged on Korhal and troops arrived from all over the sector, but they were held off by a blockade of leviathans under Broodmother Kilysa. The Drakken defense network was destroyed by bile launchers and Dominion forces were driven into Augustgrad.

The Dominion deployed a Psi Destroyer and launched a diversionary assault. However, it was destroyed by Kerrigan and Dehaka while the zerg under Broodmother Zagara pushed the Dominion into the Imperial sector.

While Valerian and Horner evacuated civilians, Raynor's Raiders assisted the zerg in toppling Mengsk's elite troops. Inside the palace, Mengsk attempted to kill Kerrigan with the Keystone. However, Raynor intervened, allowing her to kill Mengsk.

Legacy of the Void
Raynor and Valerian reformed the Dominion with a just government. Valerian officially declared a cease-fire with Hierarch Artanis and the Dominion halted all aggressive actions against the Daelaam. Valerian also made good-faith overtures to the Umojan Ruling Council, hoping to negotiate a mutual security pact that included a technology partnership.

The Moebius Foundation then went dark. The last transmissions were chaotic and crazed as the security details were enslaved by the hybrid. A Moebius facility was destroyed by Kerrigan's zerg while the captive Templar were freed by protoss under Zeratul and Praetor Talis. Calling themselves Moebius Corps, they began striking worlds throughout the sector, leaving few survivors. They overran the Sky Shield space platform and disabled its atmospheric stabilizers, causing it to fall towards Augustgrad. They were cleared out by protoss army led by Artanis while Raynor's forces repaired the stabilizers. Once the platform was stabilized, Moebius Corps retreated and Horner took control of the station.

During the Raiders and Daelaam's actions in stabilizing Sky Shield, however, Moebius Corps raided the palace and took the Keystone. They entrenched themselves at Bennet Port, preparing to transport it off world. The terrans were overwhelmed by the psionic disruption resulting from the hybrid channeling Void energy into the Keystone. Dominion troops, led by Valerian and Raynor were protected by Artanis's army, then pushed Moebius Corps back and reclaimed the Keystone, suffering enormous casualties in the process, though Augustgrad was left in ruins in the aftermath of the attack.

The Keystone was given to the protoss and all data was transmitted to Phase-smith Karax.

Moebius Corps attacked Ulnar, but was defeated by Artanis's army and Kerrigan's Swarm.

When the Spear of Adun came to Revanscar, Moebius Corps boarded it. However, they were repelled by Artanis and his warriors before they could reach the solar core. Their base was destroyed, effectively ending Amon's hybrid breeding operations.

Into the Void
Raynor and Horner led their forces on an expedition into the Void alongside Artanis and Kerrigan. They defeated Narud, protected Kerrigan as she was transformed into a xel'naga and aided her in the fight against Amon.

Valerian held a monumental celebration in the capital wing of Augustgrad to memorialize the third anniversary of the fall of his father's regime, heralding in a new age of prosperity and peace within the Dominion. Horner reaffirmed the military's support of the new Dominion government. Meanwhile, peace negotiations were underway with the Daelaam.

The Keep
Sometime after the End War, the Umojan Protectorate acquired documents linking Emperor Valerian Mengsk to the Moebius Foundation, which bred the hybrid and carried out massacres of the innocents during the conflict. These documents were kept in a nearly inpenetrable space fortress known as the Keep, and Valerian suspected the Umojans would release these documents to disrupt the trust he had gained with the Dominion population. As such, he tasked ghost agent Nova Terra, fresh from an assignment to retrieve a prototype particle disruptor, to raid the Keep and retrieve the files.

Nove approached in a Korhalian light freighter named Charon, which had been made to look derelict. She injected herself with a toxin to fake her own death, that would wear off a few hours. Nova was brought inside, and awoke, moving back to the Charon to retrieve her items. On the way she encountered a shadowguard who recognized her and several black widow drones, but Nova overcame them. Nova retrieved explosives from her ship, and set fake explosives in one of the station's shafts, causing security to evacuate to the nearby defensive sentinel watchtowers. What they did not know was that bomb was fake, and the real bombs were on the evacuation shuttled. They detonated, destroying the watchtowers. Nova moved to the vault containing the disks, and used a particle disruptor to break the walls of the vault. A shadowguard tried to ambush her, but she managed to throw him in the way of the particle disruptor's blast. Nova retrieved the disks, and escaped before Umojan reinforcements arrived.

Nova presented the disks to Valerian, who expressed regret to turning a blind eye to the hybrid breeding program. Nova frankly told Valerian that memories and secrets could be buried, but would not simply go away. Valerian reflected on this, and told Nova she could leave. Later, while Nova was preparing to be mind wiped of the last operation, she heard on UNN that Valerian had gone public with the documents, stating he had failed the people but would strive for honesty and transparency. With that, Nova decided to not mind wipe herself of the last mission.

The Defenders of Man
After a few years of peace, discontent Dominion citizens and officials under General Carolina Davis formed the Defenders of Man, a group bent on removing Valerian and strengthening the Dominion. Using transferred ghost agents Nova Terra and Stone, they planted psi-emitters on Antiga Prime, causing feral zerg to overwhelm the planet. Nova tried to inform the Dominion, but was captured and mind wiped.

Soon more Dominion worlds were attacked by the feral zerg, and though Valerian tried to assure the population, unrest began to grow. Nova and her team escaped from a Defenders of Man facility in Sharpsburg. She was taken to Borea, which was then attacked by the zerg. Captain Jessica Hall sent a distress call to Valerian's fleet. Nova helped defend Horner's base until the Defenders of Man attacked the zerg base, forcing the Dominion troops to evacuate and meet up with Valerian elsewhere.

Valerian put Nova in command of his cover ops crew and sent her to the Defenders of Man base in the ruins of Tarsonis City. As Nova infiltrated the facility, the Defenders of Man activated a psi emitter to scrub the facility, but Nova got through their defenses and discovered that the Defenders of Man's plan to stage a zerg attack on a Tyrador IX and discredit Valerian.

Nova and her crew moved on Tyrador IX, but were too late, as the zerg already began their assault. The Defenders of Man fleet arrived and aided with the evacuation, and Nova began to assault outlying zerg hives. However, the Tal'darim Death Fleet arrived under First Ascendant Ji'nara, and stated she would defeat the Defenders of Man. Nova, knowing the Tal'darim would kill the civilians they were protecting, repelled the Tal'darim, and allowed the Defenders of Man time to regroup and evacuate the civilians.

In response to the attacks, massive protests began in the Dominion, calling for Valerian Mengsk to step down as emperor. Nova made a deal with the Tal'darim Highlord Alarak; he would lead her to terrazine to undo the Defenders' mind wipe and she would lead him to the Defenders of Man. Alarak guided her to Jarban Minor, where she fought both the infested Umojan Protectorate researchers and Ji'nara's forces. Nonetheless, she retrieved the terrazine, and moved to Antiga Prime, where she unlocked the last of her memories. She discovered her mission files regarding the operation on Antiga Prime, as well as the identity of the Defenders of Man leader, General Davis.

Nova sent this information to Valerian, and stated she would assassinate Davis. Valerian refused, saying he had a plan and that Nova needed to play her part. Nova reluctantly agreed, and Valerian contacted General Davis, stating that he intended to step down as emperor of the Terran Dominion.

In reality however, Valerian was going to use this speech to lure Davis out so she could be captured. He made his speech on Vardona, but ordered Nova to infiltrate Davis's compound through the sewers. She broke through Davis's security, incapacitated a mind-wiped Stone, and captured Davis. Nova brought her out to the Emperor in handcuffs, and he announed the crimes of the Defenders of Man, and that she would be put on trial. However, as he did that the Tal'darim Death Fleet arrived, seeking revenge for the Defenders of Man's strikes against the Tal'darim. Their fleet strafed the city, killing Dominion soldiers, Defender of Man personnel, and civilians alike.

The Dominion ground forces, Nova's Covert Ops Crew and the Defenders of Man who were unaware of Davis's agenda prepared a defense of the city. They formed a line to hold back the Tal'darim as they came, and wiped out their forces as they attempted to push their lines. Admiral Matt Horner brought the Dominion Fleet with a battlegroup of Gorgon-class battlecruisers, which strafed the attack lanes of the Tal'darim. Though the Tal'darim even attempted to use their motherships against the Dominion, they suffered immense casualties, and were forced to withdraw from the planet. However, in the chaos Davis commandeered the Medusa and escaped the planet. Nova boarded the Griffin and gave chase.

Nova tracked her to the Cerros Shipyards, where she and her last loyal Defenders had set up a base camp and reactivated the Dominion's experimental Xanthos war machine. She sought to use it to destroy Valerian's fleet of Gorgons in drydock, thus crippling his ability to properly maintain control over the Dominion. However, Nova's forces were able to destroy its weapon systems and force the Xanthos back for repairs. Nova and Admiral Horner pushed through the Defender's lines, and began to engage the Xanthos as it was vulnerable for repairs. However, Davis activated a final transformation mode for the Xanthos, and used it and the last of the Defenders of Man loyal to her to try to push back the Dominion. This failed, and the Xanthos was incapacitated. Nova infiltrated the Xanthos, and against Valerian's direct order, killed Davis.

With the Defenders of Man defeated and General Davis removed as a threat, popular opinion began to sway back to Valerian's favor, as the documents he revealed showed the crimes Davis had committed. The people even supported Valerian in using lethal force against Davis. Nova meanwhile was branded as a fugitive for violating orders, but now sought to defend the Dominion her own way, without orders from Valerian. Nova took the Griffin into an asteroid belt, and sped away. Horner asked Valerian what they should do about Nova, and Valerian said to let her go, for now.

The One-Day War
By 2512, the Terran Dominion had been undergoing great hardships in their efforts to rebuild from the wars of the past decade. The devastation had resulted in famine and droughts being widespread among the Dominion due to their destroyed agriculture. The most heavily damaged world's need for heavy economic support began to impact the rest of the Dominion. A great number of physically and psychologically wounded veterans stretched Dominion support efforts to their limit. Due to the stances of Arcturus Mengsk and their cold war years prior, the Umojan Protectorate refused to provide aid until they regarded the Dominion as not a threat. The Daelaam, though on friendly terms with the Dominion, were unable to provide aid due to their own reconstruction efforts being mired with difficulty.

Near the sixth anniversary of the end of the End War, a leviathan approached Korhal with a message from Overqueen Zagara. It asked Emperor Valerian Mengsk to meet her on the planet Gystt, which had been purified by the protoss in the Great War after Chau Sara, and provide aid against a Daelaam force lead by Hierarch Artanis. Valerian was skeptical, but wished to see the offer, and sent a Dominion detachment of eight battlecruisers and one marine squadron with support to aid him should the situation escalate. When he arrived, the Dominion found that the purified planet had been completely regrown into a lush jungle world. Zagara offered to do the same to aid the Dominion and Daelaam, and requested they meet her on the surface. The two agreed, but requested that a survey team be sent to make sure Zagara's claims of peace were true.

Valerian and Artanis met with Zagara, while the survey team noted a strange psionic signature on the planet. They sought to investigate, but were ambushed by zerg. Zagara stated that it may have been them crossing the line between the control of broodmothers, and they continued on, finding the source in a strange structure. There they were ambushed by a new zerg breed named the chitha, which disrupted psionics and communications. The team also found strange creatures in sacs, and thinking they were connected to the chitha, destroyed them.

This sparked a diplomatic situation, as Zagara told the leaders that those sacs contained the adostra, fusion of zerg and xel'naga that could generate life on worlds they were set on. She also told them there were only three nests of them, and that the zerg could not make any more. She and the evolution master Abathur also denied knowledge of the existence of the chitha. Should they be destroyed, there would be war. Valerian ordered the survey team to go to the third nest, while Colonel Abram Cruikshank support the Daelaam under attack by chitha controlled zerg at the second. However, when he arrived he found heavier resistance, he ordered a protoss disruptor be detonated, destroying the zerg but also destroying the nest. Now only one remained.

When a swath of zerg moved on the third nest, Admiral Matt Horner and Valerian Mengsk ordered the use of a psi emitter to lure the zerg away. This succeeded, but in the process this caused mutalisks to grab and pull the dropship containing the survey team. They were able to fight off the mutalisks, and the Dominion ordered the psi emitter be nuked to prevent further risk. The dropship crashed, and the survey team was forced to go on foot.

Cruikshank and the remaining Daelaam forces then made a buffer between the surviving zerg forces drawn to the emitter and the survey team, buying them time. Meanwhile, Zagara sent a sample of the chitha to the Hyperion, allowing them to study the creature and discover its xel'naga roots and its ability to understand verbal communication. When Cruikshank's forces were beginning to be picked away, he came up with a plan; though the chitha could disrupt protoss focus in battle, the terrans were uneffected. He put a terran pilot in a crashed phoenix, and used its ion cannons to provide cover for his and the protoss forces. The plan worked, and the zerg attack was halted.

Meanwhile, the survey team was able to reach and secure the third nest, and discover a communications device that was used to command the chitha. They ascertained that Abathur was likely the one behind the attack, and that he was drawing the Dominion and Daelaam to destroy the adostra. They also figured he was aboard Zagara's leviathan so as to make a quick escape when the conflict started. Zagara and a protoss force arrived to relieve the survey team, and Valerian asked to meet Zagara aboard the Hyperion, which would allow the survey team to investigate her leviathan. The team's ghost, Tanya Caulfield, was outfitted with a fake C-10 rifle that was, in reality, a transmitter that could pierce the communications blackout of the chitha.

The group entered the leviathan, and found Abathur, a queen loyal to Abathur named Mukav, and a large number of chitha. Abathur explained that the swarm thrived on conflict, and the peace between factions was against what the Swarm stood for. In addition, he stated the adostra were an abomination, that the zerg essence should always dominate and not be in equal parts. Infuriated, Zagara attacked. The survey team defeated Abathur's queen, and Caulfield overloaded her neural inhibitor, allowing her to incinerate all of the chitha in the room. Abathur was captured, but not killed.

With the One-Day War resolved without further bloodshed, peace talks between the three races could begin, as well as discussions as to how to use the adostra. The Dominion founded the Zerg Compliance Ground-Force Unit in order to aid in the diplomatic process, which would guard the adostra, hunt down any surviving chitha, and ensure Abathur could not further threaten the peace they had won.