Alexei Stukov

"Protoss Commander, I am Admiral Alexei Stukov of the United Earth Directorate. We are here to take control of the Terran Dominion and all of its outlying colonies. You are in direct violation of Terran space and have openly attacked Terran troops. Lower your shields and power down your weapons systems. The UED will be taking custody of your ships and whatever spoils you have garnered from this planet."

- Stukov confronts the Protoss over Braxis' space platform

Alexei Stukov (also spelled Alexi Stukov) is a human from Earth. He was a Vice Admiral in the United Earth Directorate (UED).

Stukov was murdered in tragic circumstances, then mysteriously revived as an Infested Terran by the Zerg to make use of him for their own deeds. He was later rescued by Jim Raynor and the Protoss, who used a nanotech serum to turn him back to normal.

Introduction
Stukov is 52 years old, and is a lifelong friend of Gerard DuGalle. Both were competitive in their youths and still played at getting the best of each other. He has four children. Stukov enjoys smoking and a little vodka. He is apparently from Russia.

His primary role involved research, especially into technology and physical theory, and more recently into the Zerg and Protoss. While a brilliant tactician, he did not contest Admiral DuGalle's leadership of the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Force to the Koprulu Sector.

Stukov is represented in the game by the Terran Ghost unit and may indeed have been psychic.

War Action
Shortly after arriving in the Koprulu Sector, Stukov and DuGalle witnessed a demonstration of the Zerg attacking the base of a Terran Dominion colony. DuGalle had released the Zerg onto an unsuspecting colony to "observe" them in warfare. Stukov was appalled, but DuGalle forced him to watch, claiming that the live demonstration would instill a resolve within the Vice Admiral that recorded dissections could not.

Stukov tried to blockade Braxis when the Protoss visited, for reasons unknown to him. The Protoss were able to penetrate the blockade, and eventually Stukov had to give up the chase.

The Iron Fist
Stukov ordered a fleet Captain, newly awakened from cold sleep, to assault Braxis and take control of its capital city of Boralis. Unfortunately, the attacking forces are hampered by a lack of Vespene gas. When the UED met the Confederate Resistance Forces, its commander, Lieutenant Samir Duran offers his services and skills in return for amnesty. Stukov is initially suspicious, but when Duran says he can show an alternate route that leads to the rear of Boralis, Stukov replies, "Very well, Lieutenant. Consider yourself and your men the first colonial conscripts of the United Earth Directorate."

"Ah, General Duke. I expected your forces to arrive sooner. You should know that we represent not one of your rag-tag peasant Militias, but the combined might of the United Earth Directorate."

- Alexei Stukov greets General Duke as battle brews.

Stukov accompanied the UED fleet when it attacked the Dylarian Shipyards. Duran warned him and DuGalle of the impending Dominion counterstrike. The UED forces stole the shipyard's Battlecruisers and escaped.

When a Confederate Psi Disrupter was discovered on Tarsonis, Duran convinced DuGalle of the need to destroy the device. Stukov however, believed the Disrupter to be a useful tool to the UED and sent his personal guard to relieve Duran after he had secured it. Without telling DuGalle, he had the Disrupter secretly dismantled, transported to Braxis, and reassembled.

While the UED pursued James Raynor and Arcturus Mengsk to Aiur in their campaign against the Terran Dominion, Stukov became increasingly perturbed at the increasing number of allies that Mengsk was able to bring to bear against them. When a massive wave of Zerg attacked the UED just in time to allow Mengsk to escape their grasp once again, Stukov was horrified. Not only had Raynor and the Protoss joined forces with the Terran Dominion, but the seemingly mindless Zerg had done so as well.

When the Vice Admiral realized that Duran had moved his forces out of place so as to allow the Zerg to pass, Stukov finally grasped that their inconspicuous ally had not only been playing them from the start, but likely had been infested by the Zerg as well. With this new revelation, Stukov immediately fled back to Braxis, where he activated the Psi Disrupter.

The Traitor
"I mean no offense, Admiral. But perhaps Stukov's loyalties are not as strong as you once believed."

- Samir Duran to Gerard DuGalle

DuGalle was livid, especially since Duran was goading him. He ordered Duran to execute Stukov for treason against the UED, a task Duran gladly accepted. Stukov's personal forces resisted the UED, but eventually Duran located Stukov and shot him, possibly with a small pistol. Duran promptly vanished.

With his dying breath, Stukov told Admiral DuGalle that Duran had been manipulating him from the beginning, was almost certainly infested by the Zerg and may have been for a long time. Stukov's last words were punctuated when the outer walls of the Psi Disrupter were breached by a massive wave of Zerg, triggering alarms and possibly setting off the Disrupter self-destruct sequence. At DuGalle's request the remainder of Stukov's personal forces assisted the UED forces in their efforts to recapture the Psi Disrupter from the Zerg.

Legacies
Stukov's coffin was launched into space, possibly near Char. His body wasn't necessarily inside, however, given that the video was primarily designed as UED propaganda (for example, it claimed that Stukov had died gloriously in battle against the Zerg).

DuGalle took Stukov's death personally. Impressed with Stukov's realization that the Zerg had joined forces with the Protoss and Terrans, and his taking the initiative to activate the Psi Disrupter, Kerrigan personally taunted Admiral DuGalle on Char while lauding that Stukov was "twice the man you are."

Reanimation
"Now you will taste the vengeance of the New Swarm. Destroy them!!!!"

- Stukov defies Taldarin and Jim Raynor

Stukov made a comeback, however. He was resurrected and infested by the Zerg Cerebrate Kaloth as an experiment in terms of infesting humans as leaders.

The Kimeran Pirates, while raiding a remnant Terran Confederacy installation, observed an obviously infested facility. According to data acquired by the pirates from the facility, the Confederates were studying how to revive Terrans using Zerg reanimation techniques. When the Pirates left, they were followed by cloaked Wraiths...

Stukov hired mercenaries to destroy enemies of his who had conveniently settled on the same dark planet, including the Kimeran Pirates. The Kimerans were mostly or completely wiped out by Stukov's mercenaries.

Stukov's most recent appearance was on Braxis. Artanis called upon his old ally Jim Raynor for help in dealing with this threat. Artanis revealed to Raynor that Kaloth had reanimated Stukov, who was now in charge of his own Zerg Brood on Braxis. The Protoss had invented a nanite serum which could reverse Stukov's infestation. Raynor would travel to the surface of Braxis, along with an old Dragoon, Taldarin, and a small number of Terran and Protoss forces. There they fought large numbers of Terran and Zerg forces.

Stukov was weak, which was reflected in what little power he had of the Brood. His Infested Terrans were especially weak; they only exploded for one tenth the normal damage).

Even a weak brood is not to be underestimated, however, as it was able to wipe out the Terran civilians on the planet (at least enough to prevent warnings from being sent out to factions like the Terran Dominion).

Stukov's forces were not completely with him, and many of them felt he had gone insane. Many of them decided to join forces with Raynor, helping him free the Protoss prisoners Stukov was keeping on Braxis. Eventually the heroes cornered Stukov and fought a heavy battle; the heroes prevailed and Stukov was injected. Stukov was freed from the Zerg long enough to escape with Raynor and Taldarin, but was somewhat bitter about this.

In orbit over Braxis, the Protoss burned its surface of all life as they had previously done with Chau Sara, Mar Sara, and Antiga Prime.

Loyalties
Infested Stukov claimed allegiance to the New Swarm when Raynor and Taldarin cornered him. He worked with Cerebrates (such as Kaloth, who had reincarnated him) and several Cerebrates physically present on Braxis. Infested Kerrigan had destroyed most or all of the Overmind's Cerebrates and doesn't appear to have any of her own.

Blizzard Entertainment Comments on Infested Stukov
Blizzard Entertainment employee Andy Chambers stated that Infested Stukov was an experiment by the Zerg.

Andy Chambers: "There's a fascinating subject in the realm of infestation. It's something that gets touched on with Kerrigan. It's kind of interesting to investigate it with other characters. So Stukov is kind of ... that was an experiment really, for the Zerg in terms of infesting other humans as leaders."

Chris Metzen later stated clearly that Infested Stukov and Resurrection IV are canon.