The Great Fleet[1] is a protoss military organization and a cornerstone of protoss military might, boasting a variety of powerful ships.[2] It is operated and protected by the Auriga Tribe.[1]
Carriers serve as the Great Fleet's flagships, though some terrans have speculated that this position may be replaced by the void ray.[3]
History
Fleet of the Protoss Empire
The Great Fleet was the core aerospace force for the Protoss Empire, allowing the protoss to extend their reach across the stars. Their carriers and arbiters were operated by the Auriga Tribe, who took a central role in caring for the fleet. The capital ship of the Great Fleet was the carrier.[4]
The Great War
First Contact
When protoss observers discovered the incursion of the Zerg Swarm into terran space, the Conclave dispatched a section of the Great Fleet under Executor Tassadar named the Koprulu Expeditionary Force to halt the zerg incursion and purify the infested terran worlds. The Great Fleet purified the surface of Chau Sara, halting the rampant zerg infestation there, and moved on its sister world Mar Sara. However, Tassadar held his fleets back to ensure that the terran population had a chance to evacuate before he incinerated this planet.[4] After the population had been evacuated, the Great Fleet cleansed Mar Sara of all life.[5]
A contingent of the Koprulu Expeditionary Force known as 7th Fleet under Executor Andraxxus moved to destroy the zerg infestation in the Brontes System. Andraxxus was concerned with the potential loss of terran lives, but his advisor, Judicator Syndrea had no qualms about such a conflict.[6] When Syndrea's schemed to see the death of Demioch and his daughter Edullon, and when Edullon criticized her strategies as being harmful to the terrans she was branded as a traitor. A civil war erupted among 7th Fleet, with Demioch and Edullon being forced to ally with the New Dresdin Outlaws and kill the archon Aedus/Xerxes.[7] However, soon the Zerg Swarm came in force, capturing Syndrea[8] and prompting Andraxxus to take rash actions.[9] Using a parasite implanted in Black Morgan, the Zerg Swarm tracked down the last holdout of 7th Fleet, killing Andraxxus and the remainder of the Great Fleet's presence in the system.[10]
Meanwhile, Tassadar's fleets moved on the Zerg Swarm on Antiga Prime, brought down on the planet en masse by Arcturus Mengsk using a psi emitter. This time, Tassadar deployed ground troops to buy the terrans time to evacuate. Afterward, the Great Fleet again purified the planet of all life.[11]
Finally, the Great Fleet moved on the Terran Confederacy capitol of Tarsonis, which had been brought under the heel of billions of zerg after Arcturus Mengsk activated multiple psi emitters. However, Tassadar opted not to purify the planet, and instead engage the zerg in a conventional battle. However his forces were defeated by the Sons of Korhal, lead by Sarah Kerrigan at the Battle of New Gettysburg, and Tassadar was forced to withdraw.[12] In the aftermath, the remaining forces of the Great Fleet continued to battle across Tarsonis, and attempted to block the exodus of the zerg from the planet, though they were unsuccessful.[13]
A contingent of the Great Fleet was sent to rescue Judicator Kizrath and the Argus Stone on Aridas. However, they were ordered to remain and engage the zerg rather than rescue the stone.[14] Eventually, these forces were wiped out by the zerg.[15]
The Fleet Splinters
After their defeat on Tarsonis, Tassadar ordered all remaining ships to return to Aiur, but took the Gantrithor to investigate a psionic call on the planet Char.[16] Later, the Zerg Swarm discovered the location of Aiur, and launched a massive invasion of the planet. The Great Fleet attempted to mobilize to defend the planet, but the zerg manifested the Overmind on the surface of Aiur.[17] The fleet, under Executor Artanis now, fought a back and forth battle with the swarms before being ordered to retrieve Tassadar from Char.[18] However, on arriving there, Artanis and his fleet sided with Tassadar over the Conclave and aided him in rescuing the dark templar Zeratul, who the Conclave wanted dead.[19]
Upon returning to Aiur, the portion of the Great Fleet under Artanis and Tassadar were branded as traitors and renegades. The Protoss Civil War erupted, and the Great Fleet turned on itself, resulting in the loss of Khor-shakal. Tassadar refused to allow any more bloodshed, and surrendered to Judicator Aldaris.[20] His fleet continued to fight on however, and assaulted his stasis cell where he awaited trial. Due to the intervention of the dark templar, Tassadar was saved, and given a chance to strike at the Overmind and its cerebrates.[21] The strike on the cerebrates was successful, and the fleet moved on the stunned Overmind. However, the Great Fleet encountered resistance at the Overmind, necessitating Tassadar to crash the Gantrithor into the creature. Tassadar's sacrifice destroyed the Overmind, but at a great cost.[22]
In the aftermath, the Great Fleet had been all but destroyed by the zerg.[23] Remnants of the fleet evacuated to Shakuras, where they were absorbed into the Fleet of the Matriarch,[24] while others fought alongside Praetor Fenix and Jim Raynor.[25]
Reconstruction
After the defeat of the Fleet of the Matriarch at Char Aleph,[26] the protoss set about rebuilding their Great Fleet. By 2504, the Great Fleet had been effectively restored, and had developed new combat ships such as the void ray.[2] The protoss also began construction of the Golden Armada, the largest group of protoss ships ever assembled, though the strain of such a task lead to tensions between the Khalai refugees on the planet and the Nerazim.[27]
Second Great War
With the outbreak of the Second Great War, the Great Fleet mobilized to the edge of protoss space, though took very little action in the early stages of the war.[28]
This article or section contains information from the optional Colonist Missions in StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty.
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During the war, the planet of Haven was settled by refugees from the colony of Agria under Doctor Ariel Hanson. The Great Fleet, under Executor Selendis, detected zerg hive spores infecting the planet, and set out to purify it. Jim Raynor moved in to intervene, and Selendis gave him the choice of either purifying the colony or fighting her forces.[29][30]
Raynor refused to allow the protoss to slaughter civilians when there was a chance to rescue them. Selendis engaged Raynor, deploying a Purifier mothership to purify the colonies. Raynor deployed vikings to fight off the protoss and their terror fleets, eventually destroying the Purifier mothership and pushing them off Haven.[30]
Raynor opted to purify the infested colonies himself, while trying to defend those who remained uninfested. This operation was successful, and though he was forced to kill an infested Ariel Hanson he was given technology from Selendis and deemed a friend of the Protoss.[29]
After the Zerg Swarm's defeat on Char, the Great Fleet began to pull back from the borders of their space.[28] Protoss colonists on Kaldir attempted to summon their fleets after Sarah Kerrigan attacked their colony, but were destroyed before they could contact Shakuras.[31]
The End War
In 2506, the Golden Armada had been constructed, a wing of the Great Fleet and the largest contingent of protoss ships. This was sent to Aiur in an attempt to reclaim it. However, the fallen xel'naga Amon returned to the material universe, and took control of the Khala.[32] All Khalai protoss fell under Amon's control, though Artanis and a small group were able to sever their nerve cords in time. They escaped on an arkship, the Spear of Adun, and set off to rebuild their numbers. The corrupted Golden Armada then set out to do Amon's bidding and destroy all life in the sector.[33]
Artanis's fleet fought a running war with Amon's forces, while the bulk of the Golden Aramda engaged the Terran Dominion,[34] which was weakened from their battles with the Moebius Corps.[35] Artanis recruited the Purifiers and Tal'darim, and retrieved the xel'naga artifact known as the Keystone, and moved to reclaim Aiur and destroy Amon. In order to stall Amon's forces, Artanis destroyed the psionic matrix on Aiur, preventing them from instantly warping back to the planet.[36] When Amon's host body revealed itself, the Great Fleet bombarded it from orbit, utterly annihilating it and leaving Amon to exist only in the Khala.[37] Artanis's forces set up a defense around the Keystone, but the fleet under Amon arrived, and engaged Artanis. Artanis was forced to destroy his own fleet, and was successful in buying enough time to activate the Keystone. This purged Amon from the Khala, and allowed the protoss in the Golden Armada time to sever their nerve cords. With nowhere to subside, Amon was forced back into the Void.[38]
Later, the remainder of the Great Fleet allied with the Zerg Swarm and Terran Dominion to invade the Void and destroy Amon once and for all. They freed the xel'naga Ouros,[39] and defended him and Kerrigan as Ouros channeled his energy into her.[40] The Great Fleet again aided Kerrigan as she assaulted Amon directly, killing him and ending his threat to the universe.[41]
The One-Day War
In 2511, elements of the Great Fleet were called upon to accompany Hierarch Artanis in investigating the planet Gystt, which the Great Fleet had purified in the Great War. When it was discovered the zerg had rebuilt the planet, the detachment prepared to purify it. However, Overqueen Zagara offered a hand of diplomacy, and though the negotiations were disrupted by the machinations of Abathur who sought to see war break out between the terran, protoss, and zerg, and fleet held in orbit and abstained from purifying Gystt once again.[42]
Vision of the Future
In an apocalyptic future foreseen by the Overmind, the remnants of the fleet were rallied to a distant, shadowed world by Admiral Urun; there they were destroyed in the protoss' final stand against Amon and his army of zerg and hybrids.[43]
Known Branches
- Conclave Fleet (possibly separate)
- Fleet of the Executor
- Golden Armada
- Koprulu Expeditionary Force
Known Members
Commanders
Current
Former
- Admiral Urun
- Executor Tassadar
- Judicator Aldaris
- Executor Andraxxus
- Judicator Syndrea
- Praetor Quordas
- Tenzaal
- Commander Feranon
Support
Current
Former
References
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