StarCraft: Shadow of the Xel'Naga

StarCraft #2: Shadow of the Xel'Naga is the second StarCraft novel, written by author Gabriel Mesta, a pseudonym for Kevin J. Anderson and his wife, Rebecca Moesta Anderson.

The action revolves around a colony planet called Bhekar Ro, where one of the frequent and very violent storms uncovers an ancient Xel'Naga artifact. This Temple calls both, the Zerg and the Protoss, while the colonists call the Terran Dominion for help. All these events cause a great confrontation on the normally placid world.

The story acts as an interquel between StarCraft and Brood War.

Back of Book Description
Far in the future, 60,000 light-years from Earth, a loose confederacy of Terran exiles are locked in battle with the enigmatic Protoss and the ruthless Zerg Swarm. Each species struggles to ensure its own survival among the stars in a war that will herald the beginning of mankind's greatest chapter -- or foretell its violent, bloody end.

Bhekar Ro: a bleak, backwater world on the fringe of the Terran Dominion, where every day is a struggle to survive for its handful of human colonists. It is a veritable wasteland -- one speck of dust among many in the vast, dark sea of space. But when the most violent storm in recent memory unearths an unfathomable alien artifact, Bhekar Ro becomes the greatest prize in the Terran Sector -- the Holy Grail of the Zerg, the Protoss, and Humanity alike -- as forces from the three great powers converge to claim the lost secrets of the most powerful species the universe has ever known. Shadow of the Xel'Naga An original tale of space warfare novels set in the world of the bestselling computer game!

Plot
Two orphaned two siblings, Octavia and Lars Bren, inhabitants of the backwater planet of Bhekar Ro, were trying to harvest. Courtesy of tectonic tremors, they discovered a mysterious object from inside a mountain. However, Lars got too close to it and is absorbed by it. The object then sendt a beam of light into space. Octavia went into Free Haven, the only human settlement on the face of the planet, and told everyone what happened but few are willing to believe, including Bhekar Ro's vespene gas supplier, Rastin.

Out in space, Executor Koronis commanded of a Protoss fleet sent by the Conclave to locate and capture Dark Templar as well as find any relics of the Xel'Naga. After several centuries, he had had found nothing. Judicator Amdor, Koronis's supervisor, was far from happy at this failure and the fleet was ready to return to the now-ruined Aiur. They then detected the powerful artifact at long range. They identifed the source as a Xel'Naga creation and set course for Bhekar Ro. Meanwhile on Char, Infested Kerrigan, also sensed it and dispatches the newly formed Kukulkan Brood to the planet. A Dark Templar scholar named Xerana, who had found evidence of the Xel'Naga on a forgotten planet, studied the signal from her entire collection of ancient history.

An old Missile Turret from Free Haven detected and destroyed a cloaked Observer drone sent by the Protoss to scout the planet. This convinced the town mayor, Jacob "Nik" Nikolai to contact the Terran Confederacy, only to find out the Terran Dominion had replaced it instead. Emperor Arcturus Mengsk sent General Edmund Duke with Alpha Squadron to help the colonists though mainly because Mengsk wanted to keep Duke as far away from him as much as possible.

When the Protoss received the last images the Observer sent, Koronis decided to take thing carefully, despite Amdor's protests that the Terrans posed no threat. Once they arrived at Bhekar Ro, the Zerg had already set up base at Rastin's home and infested many of the colonists. Koronis managed to secure the artifact while his space forces fought the Zerg. Duke also arrived at the same time, finding the Battle of Bhekar Ro in full swing. Managing to break through the space battle, Alpha Squadron staved off the Zerg. Not wasting any time, Alpha Squadron quickly rebuilt Free Haven into a fortress. Duke personally questioned Octavia Bren about the artifact, thinking it as a was a way to destroy both aliens as well as terminate enemy vehicles. He sent Lieutenant Scott and small troop of Marines and Goliaths to secure it. However, they were absorbed by it and the artifact was nearly ready for its awakening.

Meanwhile, Ms. Bren managed to escape from Free Haven, hearing something or someone calling her. When she reached the spot where she was called, Xerana appeared to her. They then become allies, intending to warn both of their people of the artifact's dangers. As she told Duke, his entire ground force was decimated in the huge ground battle with the Zerg and Protoss. At the same time, the Protoss refused to listen to a "heretic", Xerana and held her prisoner. She escaped using her powers to temporarily put dams in the Khala, causing the Protoss to wail in confusion.

With few options left, Duke decided to destroy the artifact. He assigned the Ghost, MacGregor Golding to paint the target. Once the object was nuked, the creature inside emerged as a phoenix-like creature, absorbing all Protoss and Zerg in its wake. It even destroyed the remaining Battlecruisers in space for their energy after they attacked it. By then, it had changed the climate of the planet (enhancing the life force of the vegetation) as well as rejecting the Terrans it absorbed into physical form, as it has no use for them. Octavia was reunited with Lars. Xerana left unnoticed, looking forward to find more of the phoenix creatures. Duke and his surviving forces was stuck on Bhekar Ro for months without long-range communications until the Dominion picked him up. The entire Protoss expeditionary force and all of Kukulkan Brood was wiped out as well.

Meanwhile, on Char, Kerrigan licked her wounds and prepared for the upcoming Brood War...

Characters in StarCraft: Shadow of the Xel'Naga

 * Amdor – Judicator
 * Lars Bren – colonist
 * Octavia Bren – colonist
 * Edmund Duke – General of Alpha Squadron
 * Arcturus Mengsk – Emperor of the Terran Dominion
 * Infested Kerrigan – Queen of Blades
 * Koronis – Protoss Executor
 * Jakob "Nik" Nikolai – mayor of Free Haven
 * Rastin – Vespene supplier
 * Scott – Alpha Squadron officer
 * Xerana – Dark Templar scholar

Accuracy and Canon
Shadow of the Xel'Naga generally adheres to canon and doesn't contradict it in any major way. However, there have been discrepancies;


 * When General Edmund Duke first saw the Protoss and Zerg fighting over Bhekar Rho, he assumed they had struck an alliance. This mistake is very out-of-character for Duke, as it was very unlikely that the Protoss and Zerg would make an alliance.


 * Duke reflected how the Zerg and Protoss invasions of Chau Sara and Mar Sara cost the lives of millions of colonists. However, Chau Sara only had a population of 400,000 and had a larger population than Mar Sara.


 * Kerrigan reflected at the end of the novel that she has control over the Tiamat and Baelrog Broods. However, Daggoth, master of the Tiamat Brood was still alive (and an enemy of hers) with control of half of the Zerg while the Baelrog had lost its Cerebrate in combat on Aiur.

Excerpt
Starcraft: Shadow of the Xel'Naga (Starcraft). Simon & Schuster. Accessed 2007-11-25.