The United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet (a.k.a. UED Expeditionary Force)[1] was a human strike force dispatched to the Koprulu Sector in order to bring the sector under UED control during the Brood War. The fleet was commanded by Admiral Gerard DuGalle with Vice Admiral Alexei Stukov as his second-in-command.[2] The UED Expeditionary Fleet was destroyed by the zerg Swarm which was temporarily backed by the protoss and several terran groups.[3] Afterwards, the scattered and minor remnants of the UED kept a low profile in the Koprulu Sector.[4]
History[]
The United Powers League became aware of the existence of the zerg and protoss races in the Koprulu Sector. Fearing that a possible attack on Earth could occur, it resulted in the formation of the UED, which dispatched a large fleet that was tasked to:
- Conquer all of the "rogue" terran colonies, and capture Arcturus Mengsk, the Emperor of the newly formed Terran Dominion.
- Take control of the entire Zerg Swarm by capturing the new Overmind with psychics and powerful drugs.
- Use the captured zerg Swarm to pacify all protoss activity within the sector.[2]
The fleet leaves Earth
The UED fleet arrived in the sector after the Great War. One of the fleet's first actions was to conduct a "weapons test" in which Admiral DuGalle observed a battle between zerg forces that he had unleashed onto an unsuspecting Dominion colony.[5]
Another early action was at Braxis, as the UED sought to take control of the planet from the Dominion. The UED blockade of the world was forced by the protoss escaping with the Uraj Khaydarin Crystal.[6] Although the protoss managed to escape, the fleet proceeded to assault Boralis, the capital city, and capture the planet. In the process the UED recruited Lieutenant Samir Duran and elements of his Confederate Resistance Forces.[7]
UED ships within the Dylar system
The UED fleet continued to attack the Dominion, such as capturing the Dylarian Shipyards and destroying a Dominion Armada counterattack led by General Edmund Duke.[8] The fleet also found and located the Psi Disrupter on Tarsonis, despite heavy zerg presence on the world. But the Admiral ultimately decided to destroy the device as he feared that the Psi Disrupter could fall into the hands of Arcturus Mengsk and his Dominion, which he viewed as too large a threat.[9]
Conquest of the Dominion[]
The fleet besieged Korhal, the Dominion throne world. Despite the Dominion's superior numbers and strong defenses they failed to stop the invaders. The UED conquered the planet and destroyed Mengsk's palace in Augustgrad. However, due to the intervention of Raynor's Raiders and a small protoss fleet, the Emperor was able to escape, just as he was about to be taken into custody.[10]
The "Betrayal" of Alexei Stukov[]
The fleet's next battle would be at the world of Aiur, where Mengsk and Raynor had escaped to. There, the fleet encountered a huge protoss refugee base that was located on the planet, which had a functional warp gate and worse; multiple zerg broods surrounding the base. The Expeditionary Fleet was able to destroy one zerg brood with relative ease, after the brood's defeat they constructed and secured a base from which they launched a large-scale attack against the protoss base. Though by then, the warp gate had been activated which triggered the zerg to swing into full action. Despite this, the fleet's forces were able to rout the protoss defenders and destroy Raynor's command center. With the fugitives Mengsk and Raynor attempting to escape, the UED followed them in hot pursuit. The mission would have been successful were it not for a huge wave of zerg that descended upon them from the north-east, forcing the fleet to fall back. They did not realize however, that Samir Duran had betrayed them by withdrawing his troops from the area.[11]
A UED marine
Alexei Stukov left the debacle on Aiur and secretly reconstructed the Psi Disrupter on Braxis. When DuGalle realized that the Psi Disrupter hadn't been destroyed, he ordered that the fleet was to be redeployed to Braxis. DuGalle sent a commando force under the command of Duran in order to "terminate" Stukov's command. Duran then managed to locate and kill Stukov, who, with his last words, revealed to DuGalle that Duran was a traitor and that he was possibly infested as well. He convinced DuGalle that the Psi Disrupter was crucial to success of their mission. Shortly thereafter, a large wave of zerg invaded the Psi Disrupter's inner structure, while someone had set the power core to self-destruct. The UED forces were able to defeat the zerg and save the Psi Disrupter.[12]
Zerg Slaves[]
UED Expeditionary Fleet at Char
Perhaps the last major victory of the UED fleet's was upon Char, where it was deployed in full force with the objective to enslave the second Overmind and its minions after activating the Psi Disrupter. Initially, the fleet came across many difficulties thanks to three specialized cerebrates; one that seemingly gave sunken colonies invincibility, one that kept spawning Torrasques, and the another which was guarded by vast numbers of infested terrans. However, these cerebrates were eventually destroyed and the Overmind was captured at last, effectively giving the UED's Expeditionary Fleet a huge boost in numbers through control of the zerg, which made them the dominant power of the Koprulu Sector.[13] A victory report was sent back to Earth, though much of it was exaggerated. For example, Stukov was reported to have died heroically in action on the planet Char.[14]
Downfall of the UED Invasion[]
The fleet's heavy-handed actions rallied the inhabitants of the entire sector against it. An unlikely and uneasy, but powerful, alliance was formed between the Queen of Blades, Raynor's Raiders, protoss forces under the control of Fenix, and the remnants of the Terran Dominion which jointly rallied against the UED's forces. In essence, the UED fleet's doom slowly began after the alliance managed to destroy the Psi Disrupter.[15] Making things even worse, the alliance attacked the fleet's garrison, which were backed up by zerg slave broods from Korhal. Although the fleet lost the battle,[16] the alliance crumbled due to Kerrigan betraying her allies.[17]
The UED then dispatched a large number of its slave zerg against Kerrigan's main hive cluster on Tarsonis. In an attempt to bolster their control over the zerg, the UED performed scientific experiments on them. However, the UED Science Corps still lost the battle.[18] When Kerrigan and her main host attacked Char, the fleet was able to maintain strong control over the enslaved Overmind and its minions. The majority of the fleet was stationed at Char. Kerrigan, along with "assistance" from the Dark Templar, was able to defeat the fleet and its pet zerg swarm, the battle concluded with Zeratul slaying the second Overmind.[19] With the zerg swarms now firmly back under Kerrigan's control, the UED Expeditionary Fleet withdrew from Char, although several remnants were left behind on the planet and were in the vicinity of Kerrigan and Zeratul's final skirmish in which he tried to secure the Nerazim Matriarch Raszagal.[20]
By this point, numerous UED troops had defected, and would end up stranded in the Koprulu Sector.[21]
The annihilated UED Expeditionary Fleet
The remnants of the fleet returned to Char at the same exact time when Terran Dominion and protoss forces converged on the planet. The timing was highly inconvenient for the zerg, as the bulk of their forces were on the planet's surface with just one brood remaining on Char Aleph. DuGalle made a final demand towards Kerrigan for her to submit to his authority, which in turn was met with a suitably defiant response. The battle for the space platform fared badly for the UED, and DuGalle was forced to concede. The Admiral's attempt to parley and negotiate in order to try and spare the lives of his men was rebuffed by the Queen of Blades. None would be allowed to escape, and no prisoners were to be taken.[3] Shortly thereafter the majority of UED Expeditionary Fleet was overtaken and destroyed by the zerg as they tried to retreat to Earth. Not a single vessel ever made it back to Earth.[22][23]
Remnants[]
UED stand-ins in a Dominion training exercise
Remnants of the UED's Expeditionary Fleet managed to survive in the Koprulu Sector, hiding[23] in places such as on Abaddon.[24][4] At least one element of the fleet that was abandoned during the Brood War became the Spartan Company, a band of mercenary goliath pilots.[25] The Spartan Company offered their services as mercenaries to Raynor's Raiders.[26]
The remnants were still viewed as a threat by the Terran Dominion, and along with the Umojans were declared "race traitors".[27] Emperor Arcturus Mengsk vowed to stamp out what he called the "impotent leftovers of a failed campaign" and sent ghost agents to assassinate their leaders and spies.[4]
The UED remnants required a lot of support and generally kept a low profile.[4] In 2503,[28][29][30] they were falsely blamed for attacks which were caused by Project: Shadowblade (such as against Atticus Minor in 2503) by the Terran Dominion, which used the UED remnants as a convenient cover in order to try and hide their involvement of the ongoing kidnapping of ghosts for use in the project.[4]
Even years later, the aftershock of their invasion caused for many UED sympathizer movements within in the Koprulu sector, though they kept a low profile.[31] At least some of these sympathizers had xenophobic beliefs, and they hoped that the UED would one day return in order to wipe out the protoss and the zerg races.[32]
Known Members[]
A UED officer
- Admiral Gerard DuGalle (deceased)
- Vice Admiral Alexei Stukov (deceased, later resurrected)
- "The Captain"
- Lieutenant Thomas Dufay
- Lieutenant Rosa Morales
- Harry
- Johnny
- Malmsteen
- Marine 384DTA47631
Allies[]
- Lieutenant Samir Duran (allied, later defected, deceased)
- Captain Angelina Emillian (Confederate Resistance Forces, deceased)
Military Wings[]
The fleet's aerospace forces
Battle Order[]
The UED Expeditionary Fleet itself was organized into at least two distinct wings:
There were also several specialized organizations within the fleet:
- UED Blockade
- UED Strike Team
- UED Commando Force
- UED Science Corps
- UED Defense Garrison
- UED Planetary Garrison
- UED Battle Fleet
- Stukov's Elite Guard
A UED pilot
The UED Blockade was formed to blockade and besiege planets.[33] The UED Strike Team and UED Commando Force were ground forces that played a role in several of the Directorate's operations. The Science Corps controlled the second Overmind and its zerg minions.[34] The Defense Garrison defended Braxis and the Psi Disrupter.[35][36]
Vice Admiral Stukov himself had an Elite Guard, which used blue as its color. Stukov would actually defy the Directorate orders, although he did so in the Directorate's best interests. But disinformation by Samir Duran, a former member of Alpha Squadron, would lead to the death of Stukov.[36]
During the Brood War, the UED's forces were augmented by "colonial conscripts"[7], and had defeated the Terran Dominion's forces.[8]
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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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The UED Expeditionary Fleet pioneered innovative infantry compositions, which were imitated by Amon's Forces during the End War.[37]
Territories[]
Occupied Worlds[]
- Abaddon (remnants hide here)
- Braxis (Psi Disrupter's emplacement)
- Char (Second Overmind's emplacement)
- Korhal IV (capital world)
Other Worlds[]
- Aiur - The UED pursued Jim Raynor and Arcturus Mengsk from Korhal and attempted to capture them. The fugitives escaped through a warp gate with the aid of unexpected zerg interference. Further pursuit was not immediately possible as the gate self-destructed.
- Dylar IV - Location of the Dylarian Shipyards. An assault captured a large number of Dominion battlecruisers for UED use from the shipyards. Following the attack, the shipyards were demolished and the local Dominion forces were impressed.
- Tarsonis - The dormant Psi Disrupter drew the UED's attention to the zerg-infested world; the device was ultimately moved to Braxis. The fleet returned with zerg slave broods to destroy Sarah Kerrigan's hive clusters. The attack failed when the UED lost control of the slave broods.
Notes[]
- While the UED's attitude was towards the progress and the defense of humanity, DuGalle was willing to use infested terrans against his enemies in the Koprulu Sector.[19]
References[]
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