- Admiral Gerard DuGalle(src)
The United Earth Directorate (UED) is the government of Earth.
History[]
Formation[]
The UED Council discussing the Koprulu sector
The United Powers League was reorganized into the "United Earth Directorate" after the discovery of the protoss and the zerg in the Koprulu sector by December 2499, and brought many dissident countries into its fold, thus expanding its sphere of influence. The UED took a more proactive, militaristic stance in regards to alien affairs, diverting all of its considerable resources towards studying the aliens and their maneuvers, as well as formulating plans to seize control of the wayward human civilizations descended from Doran Routhe’s failed colonization project. They spent the next several months monitoring the activities of the sector’s factions, gathering data on their strengths and weaknesses. Believing that they were capable of countering any protoss or zerg attacks, and confident in their ability to overtake any resistance from the local terran factions, the UED formed a military expeditionary force to put an end to the conflict in the Koprulu sector by any means necessary.[1]
The Galactic War for Domination[]
- Main article: Brood War
The ruling council received word that a new Overmind was growing on Char and decided unanimously to send Admiral Gerard DuGalle to enslave the Overmind and use it to overthrow the Terran Dominion[2] and pacify protoss activity in the sector. However, DuGalle was uncomfortable with the prospect of 'using' the zerg to achieve victory, feeling that they represented an unnecessary risk. He would therefore employ more conventional tactics in taking control of the Dominion. The UED justified this act as a means of assuring the survival and prosperity of humanity throughout the galaxy.[1]
The Iron Fist[]
Admiral DuGalle appointed as commander of the fleet
The fleet journeyed to the Koprulu sector with its troops in cryogenic hibernation.[3] Early on, a colony was sacrificed to the zerg so that the UED could observe live zerg in action.[4] Viewing Braxis as a vital step toward dominating the sector, the UED surrounded it with an orbital blockade, and came into conflict with protoss sent to Braxis to retrieve the Uraj crystal. Vice Admiral Alexei Stukov had demanded for the protoss to surrender. Praetor Artanis led an assault force against the blockade and crippled it, allowing the protoss fleet to slip through unscathed and evade the UED's pursuit.[5]
Undeterred by their failure to stop the protoss, the UED assaulted Boralis. Progress was slow until UED forces made contact with Lieutenant Samir Duran of the Confederate Resistance Forces, who became the first colonial conscripts of the UED[6] and aided them in taking control of Boralis.[7]
Admiral Gerard DuGalle
Soon, the UED had access to the Dominion's primary datanet and moved on to the Dylarian shipyards. Striking swiftly, UED soldiers commandeered the bulk of the Dominion's battlecruisers and used them to defeat a Dominion reinforcement fleet under General Edmund Duke.[8] The UED then conscripted the remnants of the Dylarian defenders.[9]
The UED found the psi disrupter on Tarsonis, and Duran convinced DuGalle to have it destroyed.[10] DuGalle charged Duran with finding the disrupter and securing it. Stukov sent in ghosts to disassemble the disrupter, and they arrived just before Duran could plant the explosives on it. They relieved Duran[11] and secretly reconstructed it on Braxis.[12]
After a fierce battle on Korhal,[13] the UED laid siege to Augustgrad, forcing Emperor Arcturus Mengsk to contact the UED fleet requesting a parlay. While the UED was preparing to take Mengsk into custody, he was rescued by Commander Jim Raynor and a small protoss fleet.[14]
The UED tracked Mengsk and Raynor to Aiur, where they destroyed Raynor's command center. However, the zerg intervened, forcing them to retreat while Mengsk and Raynor escaped through the warp gate.[15]
Stukov took control of a large contingent of troops and returned to Braxis[16] to activate the psi disrupter, but Duran killed Stukov[17] and set the disrupter's power core to overload, but UED troops reached the manual override terminal and shut the reactor core down. DuGalle ordered the disrupter kept on full power around the clock and left a garrison to protect it as well.[18]
With the disrupter's signal hampering the zerg's communications to one another, the swarms over Char to scattered in disarray, allowing the UED to penetrate to Char's surface and overcome the Overmind's defenders.[19] Once the UED troops had reached the Overmind, a team of specially trained medics administered powerful neurostims to pacify it.[20]
The Queen of Blades[]
The disrupter was destroyed by the zerg under Sarah Kerrigan with help from Raynor's Raiders and a psi emitter loaned by Mengsk.[21] The UED sent enslaved zerg to reinforce their troops on Korhal. However, their control of the Overmind was tenuous, so not many were sent. The UED forces occupying Augustgrad were overwhelmed by Kerrigan's zerg.[22]
Two days after Kerrigan returned to Tarsonis to rest, the UED sent hundreds of zerg to Tarsonis, which was too remote for them to maintain direct control, so they sent thirty scientists to coordinate their attack from a small facility towards the rear of their landing zone.[23] The attack failed when the scientists were killed.[24]
The UED forces on Char were defeated by Kerrigan's zerg and Dark Prelate Zeratul.[25] The remnants of the UED fleet fled Char,[26] then attacked Char Aleph alongside Mengsk's fleet and a protoss armada under Praetor Artanis.[27] DuGalle offered terms of surrender when it became clear that he could not hope to overcome Kerrigan at her full strength. The UED fleet was allowed to flee in the direction of Earth with a reasonable head start,[28] but it was soon overtaken by Kerrigan's forces and eradicated. No UED ship made it back to Earth to report the events that had taken place in the Koprulu sector.[29]
Post-War[]
"I do. And I will be ready for them."
- Alexei Stukov and Sarah Kerrigan discussing the UED's future return(src)
The annihilated UED Expeditionary Fleet
A few isolated pockets of UED remnants remained hidden in the sector.[2][30] Surviving goliath pilots of the Spartan Company survived within the sector as mercenaries.[31]
The UED attempted to discover what had happened in the Koprulu sector,[32] but their spy network returned only incomplete information.[33]
In the following years, the UED turned its attention to internal affairs.[34]
Interest in the Koprulu sector waned but it was not forgotten.[35] The defeat was a temporary setback; the loss of the expeditionary fleet had only a minor impact on UED strength.[36] The UED needed time to plan and assemble political support for a future invasion.[32] The UED's return was expected in the sector.[37][38] As late as 2505, the population of the Terran Dominion still had the suspicion that Earth's government was still out there, observing them.[39]
Years after their invasion, UED sympathizer movements operated in secret across the Koprulu sector, primarily in the hopes that the UED would eliminate the zerg and the protoss when they return.[40]
Military Wings[]
Technology[]
A UED marine
The UED Expeditionary Fleet used nearly identical technology and munitions as the Koprulu Sector terrans.[39] Notable exceptions included infantry arms[41][42] and combat armor.[43]
The terrans of the Koprulu sector developed technology based on ATLAS's databanks after the Long Sleep. As the computer originated on Earth, the two cultures would have a common technological base with similar characteristics. However, it would be more likely for the UED to be more advanced. Chris Metzen speculates that another reason the UED and the Colonials used similar equipment is because the UED left their "big guns" behind and relied heavily on local production and technology, such as the Dylarian Shipyards, the Confederate Resistance Forces of Samir Duran, and the Psi Disrupter. That would also allow the initial UED invasion force to be smaller.[36]
The following section contains information from Heroes of the Storm that is ambiguously canonical.
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The best soldiers within the UED's ranks are given access to experimental ordnance.[44]
Known Members[]
- Main article: UED personnel
UED heraldry
- Admiral Gerard DuGalle
- Vice Admiral Alexei Stukov
- Major Kilbourne
- "The Captain"
- Commandant Miloshek
- Lieutenant Rosa Morales
- Lieutenant Thomas Dufay
- Ed Smith
- Cole
- Harry
- Johnny
- Johnson
- Malmsteen
- Marine 384DTA47631
Known Territories[]
- Main article: United Earth Directorate worlds
Star Systems/Regions[]
- Centauri Colonies
- Koprulu sector (various worlds briefly occupied during the Brood War)
- Solar system
- Tau Ceti system
Worlds[]
- Abaddon (home to UED remnants, shared with other factions)
- Braxis (temporarily occupied by the UED Expeditionary Fleet)
- Char (temporarily occupied by the UED Expeditionary Fleet)
- Earth (capital world)
- Luna (Earth's colonized moon)
- Exgelia IV (formerly?)
- Korhal (temporarily occupied by the UED Expeditionary Fleet)
- Reynif II (formerly?)
- Urthos III (contested by the UED Expeditionary Fleet)
Notes[]
- It appears that the UED may use a different calendar than its terran counterparts, as the year 2500 has been displayed as being in the year 872, making Year 0 1629 AD.[45] However, with the lack of any reference to the nature of this date having been made and that '99 has also been used to depict dates (coinciding with the year 2499),[46] this may be a cinematic error. Heroes of the Storm indicates that the Gregorian calendar is still in use by the people of Earth.[47]
- Chris Metzen had speculated about the nature and level of UED weapons, making an aside about "uber tachyon lasers" and other "big guns" remaining behind in UED territory proper during the Brood War.[36]
- The United Earth Directorate appears to be loosely based on the United Citizen Federation of the movie Starship Troopers. Similarities can be seen at the end of Episode V, during the UED Victory movie.[45]
- The UED appears as an optional faction in StarCraft: The Board Game: Brood War. Players must remove one of the previously existing terran factions (Terran Dominion or Raynor's Raiders) in order to accommodate the UED.[48]
- The orientation of the Earth in the UED symbol changes multiple times during its appearance in the UED Victory Report cinematic, with some appearances showing an Atlantic-centered orientation while others show a Pacific-centered one. In addition, the size of the continents changes between flag appearances, most notably with the African continent.
- In spite of the UPL's policy on banning all languages aside from English, the forces of the United Earth Directorate spoke several different languages, including German and French. In addition, psychic terrans were deployed by the UED, a subgroup that the UPL attempted to eliminate in Project Purification. This may indicate that the government of Earth has laxed in many of its more oppressive policies in the centuries since the Long Sleep.
Story Development[]
- The UED's role in StarCraft: Brood War was effectively the groundwork for plans to further flesh out Earth and the UED in the future of the overall storyline. In early planning of StarCraft II, the UED was going to play a major role in the story, and the conflict in the sector would spiral to the point where the zerg would attack Earth, and the exploration of Earth would be more central to the franchise. However, as development of the game continued, Chris Metzen noted things shifted and the plan was walked back. In the development of the game, the idea of a fourth race/faction "made less and less sense." Furthermore, in the Wings of Liberty portion of the game, it was deemed that the conflict between the Terran Dominion and Raynor's Raiders was sufficient to "define" the first installment without having to bring in the UED. In a 2018 interview, Metzen stated that, while he is no longer a writer for Blizzard Entertainment, he does believe that the potential for the UED, and the exploration of Earth, is still out there.[49]
- Heroes of the Storm presents a different account of the UED's motivations for invading the Koprulu sector, claiming that the terrans of the sector's allegiance to Earth had wavered over time, and that they were a threat to the UED's own sphere of influence.[47] This contradicts the lore of both StarCraft and its expansion, which established that the terrans of the sector never had any contact with Earth, and that it was the discovery of alien species that was the impetus for the UED's formation.[1][50]
References[]
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| Dominant Earth Government | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded By | Duration | Succeeded By |
|
2499– |
Incumbent | |