Spectre

"Spectres. Tell me: Have you ever seen a spectre? No? Because they don't exist."

- Gabriel Tosh, rumored to be the first spectre, speaking to Cyb Roche of the Umojan News Network. Roche disappeared a week later and has not been seen since.

Spectres are elite ghost agents which have been exposed to the psionic reagent substance terrazine. They were created as part of Project Shadow Blade, previously led by General Horace Warfield.

Overview
Spectres are the product of Project Shadow Blade, which uses terrazine gas to transform ghosts into spectres – shadowy superhuman beings bent on executing the will of their "true master". They have been described as "subservient super-soldiers".

The Terran Dominion discovered and used terrazine gas, a potent psionic reagent, after the Brood War. Scientists consider the side effects of terrazine enhancement to be "unpredictable". Creating a spectre also requires the use of the element jorium, and activating them requires the use of a psionic waveform indoctrinator.

Nova claimed that spectres always become psychotic. Dr. Ariel Hanson disagreed, believing that Nova had lied.

History
Some spectres, under Gabriel Tosh, operated as independent anti-Dominion agents. By 2504, a number had been captured and deactivated by Nova, ending up in New Folsom Prison. During the Second Great War, Tosh sought to hire Raynor's Raiders to rescue the prisoners, and acquire jorium and terrazine to reactivate them.

Tosh's plans were discovered by Nova, a Terran Dominion ghost. Nova attempted to dissuade Raynor from raiding New Folsom by claiming spectres were psychotic killers.

Jim Raynor was unwilling to trust a Dominion agent. Though the prison was alerted by Nova, the breakout succeeded. As promised, Tosh and the spectres agreed to help the Raiders in the revolution against the Dominion. As a precaution, Raynor also extracted a promise from Tosh that only volunteers would undergo the spectre creation process.

Nova made a persuasive argument. Together the agent and the Raiders attacked Avernus Station where Tosh and his group were creating new spectres. The spectre base was destroyed, and Tosh assassinated personally by Nova.

StarCraft: Ghost storyline
Spectres will play a key role in the plot of the StarCraft: Ghost novel, StarCraft: Ghost: Spectres, where their backstory is expected to be revealed.

Game Unit
In the Wings of Liberty campaign, spectres are available as an alternative to ghosts, granted if Jim Raynor sides with Gabriel Tosh. They are superior to ghosts in dealing with massive units due to their psionic lash and bonus damage against armor. While still not very effective against massed zerg, spectres have ability to stun a group of units in a small radius, allowing time to either retreat or to wait for reinforcements.

Known Spectres

 * Gabriel Tosh
 * Spectre No. 15

Brain spectre
Brain spectres, cybernetically-enhanced overlords, have been discovered in StarCraft: Ghost concept art. Their connection with spectres is unknown.