Tassadar

Template:Infobox charactersmall Tassadar was a Protoss High Templar and commanded the Gantrithor, a Protoss Carrier.

In StarCraft, Tassadar is voiced by Michael Gough.

Tassadar the Executor

Tassadar, aged 356 years, bore the title of "Executor" until he was removed from his position by the Conclave for directly disobeying their orders by attempting to spare the Terrans and by consorting with the Dark Templar. Unlike Judicator Aldaris, Tassadar believed in the need to respect the lives of the Terrans on planets such as Chau Sara in the Protoss' quest to eradicate the Zerg.

Tassadar's Expeditionary Force made first contact between the Protoss and the Zerg when he discovered organic probes floating in deep space. He had them brought aboard a ship for study, and eventually subjected them to an analysis with Khaydarin Crystals. He was horrified by what he discovered: not only did they naturally react to the crystals (revealing their Xel'Naga origin) but he could read their vague thoughts, "Find Humanity ... Assimilate ... Learn ... Evolve".

This was reported to the Protoss on Aiur, who ordered him to remove the xenomorphic threat immediately. Tassadar approached Chau Sara, a Terran planet and the first to fall in the Zerg invasion. The Zerg had almost completely covered the planet in Creep, killing or infesting all of its inhabitants. Tassadar reluctantly brought his lumbering vessels into low orbit and attacked, sterilizing the planet's surface.

Unfortunately, other nearby planets had also been infested, and Tassadar was ordered to sterilize them as well. The nearest such planet was Mar Sara. Upon his approach, he was met by a hesitant Terran Confederacy fleet, but instead of attacking them, Tassadar announced himself and withdrew.

Spoiler Warning: Plot or ending details follow.

Eventually, the Terrans did evacuate the planet, and only then did Tassadar attack and again sterilize a planetary surface. Tassadar proceeded to do the same at Antiga Prime, where the psi-emitter was first used by the Sons of Korhal.

Finally the Sons of Korhal arrived on Tarsonis, the capital planet of the Terran Confederacy, and activated a number of psi-emitters, luring a massive army of Zerg to the planet in order to eliminate the Confederates.

Tassadar moved his fleet into position to destroy the Zerg. He might have been successful, save for the actions of a Sons of Korhal detachment led by Sarah Kerrigan. Kerrigan believed (due to her mind-reading abilities) that the Protoss were there to destroy all life on Tarsonis, not just the Zerg. In what was ironically their first confrontation of many to come, her forces defeated his but were overwhelmed in turn by the Zerg as she was betrayed and left to die by the treacherous, power-hungry Arcturus Mengsk.

Break with the Conclave

The Zerg secretly captured Kerrigan and transported her to Char, fleeing the blasted world of Tarsonis. Tassadar was ordered to return to Aiur. However, Kerrigan subconsciously sent psychic messages to her former allies, Arcturus Mengsk and Jim Raynor, and her psychic calls also attracted the attention of Tassadar and the Dark Templar Zeratul as well. Tassadar disobeyed his orders and travelled to Char while Aldaris returned to Aiur.

On Char, Tassadar encountered the Dark Templar Prelate Zeratul, who convinced him to join forces with the Protoss outcasts in order to defeat the Zerg. Zeratul believed the Zerg were controlled by agents of the Overmind called Cerebrates, and that only his Dark Templar psionic energies could permanently slay one, due to these energies' similarities to those used by Cerebrates and the Overmind. Zeratul also began teaching Tassadar how to use the Dark Templar's Void-based psionic energies, a task that was considered both impossible and blasphemous by Artanis.

Tassadar proceeded to challenge Infested Kerrigan to a duel in order to distract her and the Zerg, but Zasz noticed something odd or different about Tassadar (most likely his ability to wield Dark Templar energies in addition to those of the Khala).

Tassadar did not actually duel Kerrigan, using an illusion to distract her while Zeratul assassinated Zasz. This temporarily disabled the Zerg Overmind, forcing the Zerg to eradicate Zasz' now-insane Garm Brood.

As the majority of the Zerg travelled to Aiur, Sarah Kerrigan hunted down the Protoss still on Char, preventing as many Dark Templar as possible from escaping. However, both Tassadar and Zeratul were able to escape. Kerrigan later captured Zeratul and incarcerated him in an infested Terran installation, while Tassadar contacted Aiur and alerted his friend Fenix to the capabilities and weaknesses of Zerg Cerebrates. Fenix's attempts to kill Zerg Cerebrate Gorn of the Baelrog Brood had been unsuccessful, as the Overmind had reincarnated the creature before his very eyes. Tassadar stated (correctly) that only Dark Templar could permanently slay a Cerebrate.

A version of these events are portrayed in StarCraft: Queen of Blades.

The Protoss Conclave considered Tassadar's disobedience to be a betrayal, made worse by his "treachery" and "blasphemy" in consorting with the Dark Templar.

On Aiur, the Zerg invaded and ran amok, held back by the efforts of the new Executor and Fenix. Unfortunately, the Zerg managed to mortally wound Fenix, and he was placed into a Dragoon. His continued existence was kept secret from the Protoss Conclave.

Stirring Rebellion

Tassadar hid out on a platform orbiting Char, along with his Terran friend Jim Raynor until the Protoss forces came to arrest him. Aldaris stated that Tassadar had claimed the Zerg had all left Char, but clearly some remained. However, Tassadar convinced the new Executor to work with him. With these reinforcements, Tassadar was able to descend to the surface, rescue Zeratul and flee to Aiur.

Even after Tassadar landed on Aiur and presented the evidence of the Dark Templar's vital power, the Protoss Conclave remained blinded by dogma and refused to let Tassadar and Zeratul assault the Zerg, even in the face of certain defeat. Tassadar had no choice but to begin a civil war against the Judicator Caste with the help of the Dark Templar. In so doing, Tassadar won the support of Fenix. Together, Tassadar, Zeratul and Fenix assaulted the Conclave and broke their power, but Tassadar was distraught by the infighting and surrendered himself to Aldaris.

The Dark Templar vanished, leaving the new Executor and Fenix to continue their rebellion with little support. Worse, much of the Khalai Caste remained loyal to the Judicators, vastly outnumbering the Templar. In this dark hour, help and hope came from an unexpected source: Jim Raynor, leading his Raiders in the Hyperion.

Fenix's forces attacked the Stasis Cell in which Tassadar was incarcerated and was awaiting summary trial and execution. Fenix and Raynor defeated the Furinax and Ara tribes and destroyed the cell, freeing Tassadar. Aldaris then reappeared, leading a last-ditch attack to recapture Tassadar, but he was in turn ambushed by Zeratul and his Dark Templar. Aldaris lost the encounter and retreated back to the remnants of the Conclave, who still refused to side with Tassadar.

Final Battles

Tassadar rested from his ordeal while Zeratul assaulted and slew a pair of Cerebrates, before taking flight in his Carrier, the Gantrithor, to lead the final assault against the Zerg Overmind. Before the battle began, Aldaris contacted Tassadar, and informed that both he and the Protoss Conclave had realized that they had been wrong about him. They had come to believe that he represented what was greatest in them all, and that everyone's hope for a resolution to the conflict now rested on his shoulders.

Aided by Raynor's Raiders, the Protoss launched a massive, full-scale offensive against the now-exposed Zerg Overmind. However, in their initial assault, the Protoss and the Terrans were only able to destroy the Overmind's outer shell. By this time the Terrans and the Protoss had suffered significant casualties and the Ganthritor had become critically damaged. Faced with the imminent arrival of hordes of Zerg reinforcements, Tassadar concentrated his psionic energies, drawn from both the Khala and the Void, into the hull of the Gantrithor and crashed it into the Overmind. The resulting explosion succeeded in destroying the Overmind, throwing the Zerg swarms across the planet into chaos and disarray. Most of Aiur had been rendered a barren wasteland by the Zerg invasion, however, and the swarms were still running rampant across its surface, making it somewhat of a pyrrhic victory.

File:Tasssadar's sacrifice.gif

Tassadar's final act

Due to his selfless sacrifice, Tassadar is considered a great hero by the Protoss. In Brood War his name is invoked, usually by Artanis, in the salutation "En Taro Tassadar", comparable to the traditional "En Taro Adun".

References

• StarCraft homepage at Blizzard Entertainment
• Battle.net StarCraft Compendium
• Underwood, Peter, Bill Roper, Chris Metzen and Jeffrey Vaughn. StarCraft (Manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998.

Cteagory: Heroes