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- Kel-Morian Combine slogan(src)
The Kel-Morian Combine (KMC) is a terran business conglomerate that serves as the government of Moria and its colonies, and the center of its various mining guilds. It is one of the three major terran nations of the Koprulu sector.
History[]
The Kel-Morian Combine was formed when the Morian Mining Coalition and the Kelanis Shipping Guild merged out of fear that the Terran Confederacy might attempt to move in and use its military strength to regulate their lucrative operations. This shady, corrupt corporate partnership pledged military aid to any mining guild that was threatened by Confederate policy.[1][2] Led by General Mah Sakai, the two groups also banded together in order to maximize their ability to drain the resources from the numerous worlds within the Koprulu sector.[1] The line between corporation and government vanished.[2]
The KMC faced and defeated a rebellion in the form of the Kel-Morian Mining Revolts, and the KMC deployed a number of goliath combat walkers, showcasing how effective even a small number of the mechs could be in urban combat.[1]
Tensions heated up as the Confederacy continually stole Kel-Morian mining operations from locations such as the Paladino Belt and the world of Sonyan, actions internally justified that the Combine was composed of pirates and other criminals.[3] The Combine planned on war with the Confederacy so it could control all the scarce resources.[4] The Combine became increasingly antagonistic towards the Confederacy over its actions.[3]
The Guild Wars[]
- Foreman Oleg Benson(src)
- Main article: The Guild Wars
The war started when the Confederacy tried to steal the Noranda Glacier vespene operation on Onuru Sigma. The Confederates feared the Kel-Morian Combine had planned something big there.
Alpha Squadron captain Edmund Duke and Dominion section captain Arcturus Mengsk led an attack force, which fell into a carefully prepared ambush. The Confederates destroyed the complex when brigade-sized ground forces and battlecruisers descended onto the field of battle, forcing their retreat. This marked the official beginning of the Guild Wars.[3]
For nearly four years,[1][2] the KMC battled the Confederacy on Char,[5] Sonyan,[6] and Turaxis II.[7][8] Kel-Morian forces rippers scored a large victory on the planet of Feronis, with the battle of Hegeron becoming a rallying cry for the years to follow.[4]
During the war, Kel-Morian soldiers, known as rippers, continually made raids on Confederate bases, often more interested in plunder than in military victory.[4] Victor Kachinsky led a guerrilla squad in surgical strikes against the Confederacy on Artesia Prime, using spider mines to soften up Confederate forces before an ambush.[9]
The KMC developed the cerberus mine during its siege of New Austin.[10]
As the war drew on, it became obvious that the Combine couldn't last.[3][4]
In 2489, the Guild Wars ended with a skewed peace agreement whereby the KMC retained its autonomy but nearly all of its affiliated mining guilds were appropriated by the Confederacy.[1][2]
Aftermath of the Guild Wars[]
The KMC became the largest non-Confederate organization operating within terran space. Equipped with thousands of armed troops and hardware, the KMC strictly enforced its myriad territorial operations. It was rumored that the KMC actually supplied the Confederacy with fuels and resources. So great was their political influence, the Confederate forces were banned from prosecuting the KMC for any potentially criminal action.[1] Nonetheless, the Combine was effectively a shadow of what it once was; it was strength that even over a decade later, they were not able to regain.[11]
Servitude and Independence[]
Following the discovery of the zerg and the protoss in December 2499, the KMC went to great lengths to stay out of the conflict.[2] In 2500, Moria came under the rule of the Terran Dominion.[12] The Dominion Engineering Corps, an arm of the Kel-Morian Combine, assisted the Dominion by constructing a number of space stations for them.[13][14]
During the Brood War, the KMC continued to operate while the United Earth Directorate dominated the sector, which Fenix found a surprising example of terran greed.[15] The zerg under Sarah Kerrigan weakened some of Moria's defenses and destroyed a number of military and manufacturing facilities as they pilfered ten thousand minerals before departing.[2][16]
After the Brood War, the KMC adopted the medivac dropship.[17]
Interbellum Operations[]
- Walden Briggs(src)
Kel-Morian Combine space platform
The Combine achieved independence from the Dominion and competed with it for influence.[18] In the years which followed the end of the Brood War, the KMC focused on building up its commercial empire. Although the rise of the Dominion caused concern among the Combine's leaders over the safety of their far-flung mining operations, they remained intent on claiming more worlds for plunder.[2] Emperor Arcturus Mengsk intended on bringing the Combine back into the Dominion fold.[19]
The Combine frequently came into economic conflict with the Dominion, sabotaging their mining operations with nuclear weapons. Kel-Morian spies were known to arm themselves with nuclear detonators, blowing themselves up if captured.[20] The Combine valued alliance with opponents of the Terran Dominion, and struck an alliance of sorts with Jim Raynor c. 2502. Its leaders spent much time discussing matters with him. Raynor did not remain, however. Afterward the Combine continued to cover for Raynor.[21] Conflict with the zerg was viewed as another inevitability.[22]
Despite its sparring with the Dominion, the Combine was capable of operating with it to an extent. Both Dominion and Kel-Morian citizens dwelt on Meteor Station (albeit with a degree of tension)[23] and both sides cooperated against the Players' Club, a pirate band which attacked both sides.[24]
The KMC staked a claim to mining and salvage rights over the Sara system shortly after its prospectors found that minerals on Mar Sara had acquired unique properties due to the protoss bombardment. When the Dominion established several outposts in the system, the KMC claimed that the outposts were established at their invitation due to security issues with piracy and mining camp revolts.[25] Tensions still existed, the reasons including the Dominion shutting down the Combine's salvaging of the Jacobs Installation, the reasons having been put under Level Black censoring.[26] Things came to a head in 2504, when the Dominion annexed the planet.[27]
KMC officials were bribed by Tavish Kerr into hefting exorbitant taxes on Rory Swann's mining operation on Meinhoff. When Swann declared his operation's independence, the KMC responded by sending a military contingent to seize all of his assets. They crushed the revolt.[28]
After Victor Kachinsky was killed by Dominion ghosts in an attempt by Emperor Arcturus Mengsk to "simplify" relations, the Combine's response was angry but reserved, as it was in no place to mount any sort of military retaliation. Victor's uncle, Kelanis Guildmaster Abraham Kachinsky, made a speech about working toward peace with the Dominion.[9]
The Second Great War[]
As losses mounted during the zerg invasion of terran space in October 2504, the KMC abandoned its outlying worlds,[29] including Redstone III,[30] causing markets to slump.[29]
The KMC denied responsibility for refugee massacres on Meinhoff.[31]
Retired general Martin referred to the Combine as "useless."[32]
The KMC told the Universal News Network that zerg sightings on Moria were a false alarm.[33]
Protoss forces engaged Combine forces on Moria at Remote Mining Station Four. Though it cost the Combine a great number of soldiers, the protoss were eventually pushed back from the outpost.[34]
As events moved forward, the Combine began to play a greater role in Sector affairs.[11] Following the war, the Combine was not viewed as a "viable enemy" to the Dominion and was barely holding together.[35]
Kel-Morian pirates were operating in the asteroid field where the Hyperion battled Mira's Marauders. They had a capital-class ship that was equipped with an electric field generator.[36]
The following section contains information from a previous version of Wings of Liberty which is no longer valid.
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The Combine had some success on a space platform above Braxis Alpha, where its ghosts used nuclear missiles to obliterate both Dominion and protoss forces. The ghosts were subsequently overwhelmed by the zerg however.[37] Meteor Station went the same way, as due to the withdrawal of the Dominion Armed Forces stationed there, the colony was left to the mercy of the zerg. Thanks to Raynor's Raiders however, 800 civilians were able to escape with their lives.[38]
End War[]
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This article or section contains information derived from Co-op Missions, and should not be considered part of the official StarCraft storyline.
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During the End War, a Kel-Morian Combine mining colony, under the command of Guildmaster Debra Greene, came under attack by Amon's Forces and an army of his infested terrans. Initial attack waves were led by a blightbringer, and the Umojan Protectorate eradicators sent to protect the colony malfunctioned. Greene called upon allied commanders to aid in the evacuation of the colony. The commanders successfully defended the evacuation transports as they escaped the planet, holding back both the infested, the hybrid and Amon's forces.[39]
Post-War[]
Years after the End War, the Terran Dominion reformed under Emperor Valerian Mengsk and the Kel-Morian Combine were undergoing new trade negotiations, which looked to being close to approved.[40] KMC scavengers would make a living off of derelicts from the wars, and would on rare occasion illegally operate in Terran Dominion space.[41] After the Battle of Adena, the Kel-Morian Combine began making territory grabs, forcing the Dominion to deploy their forces to counteract their movements.[42]
Government[]
The Combine's logo during the Great War
The Kel-Morian Combine is split into guilds. Each guild's leader is democratically elected, but once in that position, they are difficult to dislodge. The Terran Confederacy claimed the Combine's guild leaders were chosen through heredity, and family retainership was an acknowledged part of life. Each member of Kel-Morian society belongs to an occupational guild.[4]
The Combine's population exceeds that of the Umojan Protectorate.[11]
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This article or section contains information derived from Co-op Missions, and should not be considered part of the official StarCraft storyline.
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During the End War, Dominion propaganda stated that economic collapse within the Combine was imminent.[43]
Military[]
During the Guild Wars, the Combine's military was organized along corporate lines. Soldiers such as rippers and outriders were used, though were effectively irregulars and were more poorly equipped than their Confederate counterparts. Like the soldiers' armor, Combine vehicles were effectively scrapped together from various sources and the Kelanis Shipping Guild functioned as an irregular, albeit effective, naval force. As per tradition stemming back to the days of Moria's first mining guilds, guild affiliation and specialization were inscribed on uniforms. The KMC deployed a specialized infantry named the Guild Guards during the conflict, which specialized in close quarter combat.
The following ranks are known to have existed:[4]
- Overseer
- Assistant Overseer
- Foreman
- Taskmaster
The KMC also had an "Air Wolf" position/rank during the conflict, as well as the rank of "Airman."[4]
Much of the Kel-Morian's forces were taken from mining groups as well as bandit and pirate bands under the KMC's payroll.[3]
Kel-Morian vulture pilots
The Guild Wars nevertheless weakened the Combine's military.[11]
By the Great War, the Combine's militia color was green.[1] By the Brood War, its military was operating under more conventional lines.[16] While weaker than the Dominion, the Combine is stronger militarily than the Umojan Protectorate, though is still not the powerhouse it used to be in the Guild Wars.[11] They employ a well equipped mercenary force,[44] and have been known to hire pirate crews to acquire resources.[36]
The Combine has its own Ghost Program.[45] However, this has been put on hold since the disastrous Guild Wars.[46]
Units[]
Kel-Morian arms convoy
Territories[]
- Main article: Kel-Morian Combine worlds
- Final recorded words of Usagi Hidalgo before the surface detonation of a 20 megaton nuclear device on the planet of Uilila IV.(src)
The Combine currently only holds a couple of planets, having lost many in both the Guild Wars and Second Great War:[11]
Worlds[]
- Boone
- Chau Sara
- Chanuk
- Feronis
- Gamma Dorian (at least temporarily, along with the Confederacy in the Guild Wars)
- Luria IV (contested)
- Moria (capital world)
- Onuru Sigma (at least temporarily)
- Raydin IV
- Uilila IV
- Warrant VI
Other[]
- Meteor Station (at least temporarily)
- Scrap Station
Former[]
Notable Members[]
Main article: Kel-Morian Combine personnel
- General Mah Sakai
- Guildmaster Abraham Kachinsky
- Guildmaster Debra Greene
- Foreman Oleg Benson
- Overseer Hanz Brucker
- Overseer Aaron Pax
- Tavish Kerr (merchant)
- Victor Kachinsky
Notes[]
Kel-Morian Combine slogan
The establishment date of the Kel-Morian Combine is disputed. According to miscellaneous images extracted from StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, the Combine was established in 2376.[47] This date contradicts with the one provided in the timeline of StarCraft II: Heaven's Devils, which lists the Combine's founding as being in 2485.[48] However, that timestamp is contradicted by I, Mengsk. which doesn't state when the Combine was founded, but has it active as early as 2478.[3]
References[]
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