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The Battle over Char was the largest and most important engagement of the Brood War, where the outcome of the war was to be finally decided. Fought between a conglomerate of a Dominion fleet, the UED remaining fleet and the protoss fleet against Kerrigan's Zerg Swarm on the space platform Char Aleph in high orbit over the planet Char, it signified the end of all UED major resistance in the sector, as well as a serious decline for both Dominion and protoss military capabilities, ensuing in the ascension of Sarah Kerrigan, the self-proclaimed Queen of Blades, as the undisputed ruler of the zerg swarms on the Koprulu Sector.
History[]
Background[]
Shortly after Kerrigan's victory against the protoss dark templar forces on the surface of Char, three separate fleets converged on Char Aleph,[1] the infested orbital platform used as a staging area for the zerg. This came at a bad time for Kerrigan. She was aboard but Samir Duran had vanished and most of the broods were on the planet's surface. Only a single cerebrate and its brood were positioned to defend the platform.
Arcturus Mengsk contacted Kerrigan to gloat. When asked how the Dominion has assembled a force so quickly after its recent defeat, Mengsk revealed he had "called in a few favors" and "made a few concessions" to other parties in the sector interested in seeing Kerrigan defeated. Kerrigan replied that Mengsk's three fleets did not frighten her, but he claimed to have no knowledge of the other two.
Artanis then contacted Kerrigan from his fleet. He was there to take revenge for the deaths of Fenix, Matriarch Raszagal, and all other protoss who had been killed by her zerg. Kerrigan replied with a human expression: "When it rains, it pours." Mengsk, tuning in to the conversation, laughed at Kerrigan, asking if she could guess which faction directed the third fleet.
Kerrigan guessed it was Admiral DuGalle and the United Earth Directorate fleet, and DuGalle replied that she was correct. He gave her one last chance to surrender to the authority of the UED, but Kerrigan said she would rather massacre his troops now and watch DuGalle die in agony. DuGalle said that she vastly underestimated him, but Kerrigan's reply was... impolite.
The Battle[]
Mengsk's forces established their base to the west of the zerg main hive cluster, using mainly siege tanks and nuclear missiles to strike at Kerrigan. Artanis' protoss forces used the typical protoss psionic attacks, operating from the south side of the platform, while DuGalle's UED forces used whatever remaining resources they still possessed, establishing a large base on the north and sending their spacecraft to assault the zerg. However, all three forces had suffered heavy defeats in the past and were only shadows of their former selves. One by one, Kerrigan's zerg defeated each of the three fleets.
Before withdrawing, Mengsk "congratulated" the Queen of Blades but warned that the Dominion would be waiting when she made a mistake. Similarly, Artanis vowed the protoss would also be watching, and would not forget her transgressions against them. Despite the implicit threat of future conflict, Kerrigan allowed the Dominion and protoss survivors to withdraw.
It was the defeated UED Expeditionary Fleet, which had caused so much trouble for Kerrigan and the zerg, that received no quarter. DuGalle's attempt to offer terms of surrender were rebuffed by the Queen of Blades. Instead, she challenged the DuGalle and his remaining troops to flee to Earth, just to see how far they would get before the zerg caught up to them. No prisoners would be taken.[2]
Aftermath[]
- Sarah Kerrigan, undisputed ruler of the Zerg Swarm, sole victor of the Brood War.(src)
As the UED fleet attempted to flee to Earth, DuGalle committed suicide in his quarters. Shortly afterwards, Kerrigan's forces caught up with the UED fleet and annihilated it. No UED vessel made it back to Earth, although small pockets of UED troops remained scattered across the sector.
Mengsk and his defeated fleet returned to Korhal, where Mengsk began planning the reconstruction of the Terran Dominion.
Artanis and the other protoss returned to Shakuras to rebuild their once glorious civilization.
Kerrigan was now the dominant power in the sector. She resolved to eventually conquer the rest of her enemies and that none would ever oppose her rule again. Nevertheless, she felt a great threat looming over the horizon and could only wonder if she had merely achieved a hollow victory.
Trivia[]
The word Omega was a letter of the ancient Greek alphabet, often used to denote the last, the end, or the ultimate limit of a set.
References[]
- ↑ 2008-6-17. Char. Official StarCraft II Website. Accessed 2008-6-17.
- ↑ StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Omega (in English). 1998.