StarCraft II: Devil's Due

by Christie Golden

  STARCRAFT TIMELINE

  c. 1500

  A group of rogue protoss is exiled from the protoss homeworld of Aiur for refusing to join the Khala, a telepathic link shared by the entire race. These rogues, called the dark templar, ultimately settle on the planet of Shakuras. This split between the two protoss factions becomes known as the Discord.

  (StarCraft: Shadow Hunters, book two of the Dark Templar Saga by Christie Golden)

  (StarCraft: Twilight, book three of the Dark Templar Saga by Christie Golden)

  1865

  The dark templar Zeratul is born. He will later be instrumental in reconciling the severed halves of protoss society.

  StarCraft: Twilight, book three of the Dark Templar Saga by Christie Golden)

  StarCraft: Queen of Blades by Aaron Rosenberg)

  2143

  Tassadar is born. He will later be an executor of the Aiur protoss.

  StarCraft: Twilight, book three of the Dark Templar Saga by Christie Golden)

  StarCraft: Queen of Blades by Aaron Rosenberg)

  c. 2259

  Four supercarriers—the Argo, the Sarengo, the Reagan, and the Nagglfar—transporting convicts from Earth venture far beyond their intended destination and crash-land on planets in the Koprulu sector. The survivors settle on the planets Moria, Umoja, and Tarsonis, and build new societies that grow to encompass other planets.

  2323

  Having established colonies on other planets, Tarsonis becomes the capital of the Terran Confederacy, a powerful but increasingly oppressive government.

  2460

  Arcturus Mengsk is born. He is a member of one of the Confederacy’s elite Old Families.

  StarCraft: I, Mengsk by Graham McNeill)

  StarCraft: Liberty’s Crusade by Jeff Grubb)

  StarCraft: Uprising by Micky Neilson)

  2464

  Tychus Findlay is born. He will later become good friends with Jim Raynor during the Guild Wars.

  StarCraft: Heaven’s Devils by William C. Dietz)

  2470

  Jim Raynor is born to Trace and Karol Raynor, farmers on the fringe world of Shiloh.

  StarCraft: Heaven’s Devils by William C. Dietz)

  StarCraft: Liberty’s Crusade by Jeff Grubb)

  StarCraft: Queen of Blades by Aaron Rosenberg)

  StarCraft: Frontline, volume 4, “Homecoming” by Chris Metzen and Hector Sevilla)

  StarCraft monthly comic #5–7 by Simon Furman and Federico Dallocchio)

  2473

  Sarah Kerrigan is born. She is a terran gifted with powerful psionic abilities.

  StarCraft: Liberty’s Crusade by Jeff Grubb)

  StarCraft: Uprising by Micky Neilson)

  StarCraft: Queen of Blades by Aaron Rosenberg)

  StarCraft: the Dark Templar Saga by Christie Golden)

  2478

  Arcturus Mengsk graduates from the Styrling Academy and joins the Confederate Marine Corps against the wishes of his parents.

  StarCraft: I, Mengsk by Graham McNeill)

  2485

  Tensions rise between the Confederacy and the Kel-Morian Combine, a shady corporate partnership created by the Morian Mining Coalition and the Kelanis Shipping Guild to protect their mining interests from Confederate aggression. After the Kel-Morians ambush Confederate forces that are encroaching on the Noranda Glacier vespene mine, open warfare breaks out. This conflict comes to be known as the Guild Wars.

  StarCraft: Heaven’s Devils by William C. Dietz)

  StarCraft: I, Mengsk by Graham McNeill)

  2488–2489

  Jim Raynor joins the Confederate Marine Corps and meets Tychus Findlay. In the later battles between the Confederacy and the Kel-Morian Combine, the 321st Colonial Rangers Battalion (whose membership includes Raynor and Findlay) comes to prominence for its expertise and bravado, earning it the nickname “Heaven’s Devils.”

  StarCraft: Heaven’s Devils by William C. Dietz)

  Jim Raynor meets fellow Confederate soldier Cole Hickson in a Kel-Morian prison camp. During this encounter, Hickson teaches Raynor how to resist and survive the Kel-Morians’ brutal torture methods.

  StarCraft: Heaven’s Devils by William C. Dietz)

  StarCraft monthly comic #6 by Simon Furman and Federico Dallocchio)

  Toward the end of the Guild Wars, Jim Raynor and Tychus Findlay go AWOL from the Confederate military.

  Arcturus Mengsk resigns from the Confederate military after achieving the rank of colonel. He then becomes a successful prospector in the galactic rim.

  StarCraft: I, Mengsk by Graham McNeill)

  After nearly four years of war, the Confederacy “negotiates” peace with the Kel-Morian Combine, annexing almost all of the Combine’s supporting mining guilds. Despite this massive setback, the Kel-Morian Combine is allowed to continue its existence and retain its autonomy.

  Arcturus Mengsk’s father, Confederate senator Angus Mengsk, declares the independence of Korhal IV, a core world of the Confederacy that has long been at odds with the government. In response, three Confederate ghosts—covert terran operatives possessing superhuman psionic powers enhanced by cutting-edge technology—assassinate Angus, his wife, and their young daughter. Furious at the murder of his family, Arcturus takes command of the rebellion in Korhal and wages a guerilla war against the Confederacy.

  StarCraft: I, Mengsk by Graham McNeill)

  2491

  As a warning to other would-be separatists, the Confederacy unleashes a nuclear holocaust on Korhal IV, killing millions. In retaliation, Arcturus Mengsk names his rebel group the Sons of Korhal and intensifies his struggle against the Confederacy. During this time, Arcturus liberates a Confederate ghost named Sarah Kerrigan, who later becomes his second-in-command.

  StarCraft: Uprising by Micky Neilson)

  2495

  After living indulgent, self-destructive lifestyles as outlaws, Jim Raynor and Tychus Findlay are cornered by authorities, and Raynor’s criminal years come to an end. Although Tychus is apprehended, Raynor manages to escape. Raynor retires on the planet Mar Sara and marries Liddy. Their son, Johnny, is born shortly after.

  StarCraft: Devils’ Due by Christie Golden)

  StarCraft: Frontline, volume 4, “Homecoming” by Chris Metzen and Hector Sevilla)

  2496

  Jim Raynor becomes a marshal on Mar Sara.

  2498

  Despite Jim’s reservations, Johnny Raynor is sent to the Ghost Academy on Tarsonis to develop his latent psionic potential. In the same year, Jim and Liddy receive a letter informing them of Johnny’s death. Unable to cope with her grief, Liddy wastes away and dies soon afterward.

  StarCraft: Frontline, volume 4, “Homecoming” by Chris Metzen and Hector Sevilla)

  2499–2500

  Two alien threats appear in the Koprulu sector: the ruthless, highly adaptable zerg and the enigmatic protoss. In a seemingly unprovoked attack, the protoss incinerate the terran planet Chau Sara, drawing the ire of the Confederacy. Unbeknownst to most terrans, Chau Sara had become infested by the zerg, and the protoss carried out their attack in order to destroy the infestation. Other worlds, including the nearby planet Mar Sara, are also found to be infested by the zerg.

  StarCraft: Liberty’s Crusade by Jeff Grubb)

  StarCraft: Twilight, book three of the Dark Templar Saga by Christie Golden)

  On Mar Sara, the Confederacy imprisons Jim Raynor for destroying Backwater Station, a zerg-infested terran outpost. He is liberated soon after by Mengsk’s rebel group, the Sons of Korhal.

  StarCraft: Liberty’s Crusade by Jeff Grubb)

  A Confederate marine named Ardo Melnikov finds himself embroiled in the conflict on Mar Sara. He suffers from painful memories of his former life on the planet Bountiful, but he soon discovers that there is a darker truth to his past.

  StarCraft: Speed of Darkness by Tracy Hickman)

  Mar Sara suffers the same fate as Chau Sara and is incinerated by the protoss. Jim Raynor, Arcturus Mengsk, the So
ns of Korhal, and some of the planet’s residents manage to escape the destruction.

  StarCraft: Liberty’s Crusade by Jeff Grubb)

  Feeling betrayed by the Confederacy, Jim Raynor joins the Sons of Korhal and meets Sarah Kerrigan. A Universal News Network (UNN) reporter, Michael Liberty, accompanies the rebel group to report on the chaos and counteract Confederate propaganda.

  StarCraft: Liberty’s Crusade by Jeff Grubb)

  A Confederate politician named Tamsen Cauley tasks the War Pigs—a covert military unit created to take on the Confederacy’s dirtiest jobs—to assassinate Arcturus Mengsk. The attempt on Mengsk’s life fails.

  (StarCraft monthly comic #1 by Simon Furman and Federico Dallocchio)

  November “Nova” Terra, a daughter of one of the Confederacy’s powerful Old Families on Tarsonis, unleashes her latent psionic abilities after she telepathically feels her parents and brother being murdered. Once her terrifying power becomes known, the Confederacy hunts her down, intending to take advantage of her talents.

  StarCraft: Ghost: Nova by Keith R. A. DeCandido)

  Arcturus Mengsk deploys a devastating weapon—the psi emitter—on the Confederate capital of Tarsonis. The device sends out amplified psionic signals and draws large numbers of zerg to the planet. Tarsonis falls soon after, and the loss of the capital proves to be a deathblow to the Confederacy.

  StarCraft: Liberty’s Crusade by Jeff Grubb)

  Arcturus Mengsk betrays Sarah Kerrigan and abandons her on Tarsonis as it is being overrun by zerg. Jim Raynor, who had developed a deep bond with Kerrigan, defects from the Sons of Korhal in fury and forms a rebel group that will come to be known as Raynor’s Raiders. He soon discovers Kerrigan’s true fate: instead of being killed by the zerg, she is transformed into a powerful being known as the Queen of Blades.

  StarCraft: Liberty’s Crusade by Jeff Grubb)

  StarCraft: Queen of Blades by Aaron Rosenberg)

  Michael Liberty leaves the Sons of Korhal along with Raynor after witnessing Mengsk’s ruthlessness. Unwilling to become a propaganda tool, the reporter begins transmitting rogue news broadcasts that expose Mengsk’s oppressive tactics.

  StarCraft: Liberty’s Crusade by Jeff Grubb)

  StarCraft: Queen of Blades by Aaron Rosenberg)

  Arcturus Mengsk declares himself emperor of the Terran Dominion, a new government that takes power over many of the terran planets in the Koprulu sector.

  StarCraft: I, Mengsk by Graham McNeill)

  Dominion senator Corbin Phash discovers that his young son, Colin, can attract hordes of deadly zerg with his psionic abilities—a talent that the Dominion sees as a useful weapon.

  StarCraft: Frontline, volume 1, “Weapon of War” by Paul Benjamin, David Shramek, and Hector Sevilla)

  The supreme ruler of the zerg, the Overmind, discovers the location of the protoss homeworld of Aiur. The zerg invade the planet, but the heroic high templar Tassadar sacrifices himself to destroy the Overmind. However, much of Aiur is left in ruins. The remaining Aiur protoss flee through a warp gate created by the xel’naga—an ancient alien race that is thought to have influenced the evolution of the zerg and the protoss—and are transported to the dark templar planet Shakuras. For the first time since the dark templar were banished from Aiur, the two protoss societies are reunited.

  StarCraft: Frontline, volume 3, “Twilight Archon” by Ren Zatopek and Noel Rodriguez)

  StarCraft: Queen of Blades by Aaron Rosenberg)

  StarCraft: Twilight, book three of the Dark Templar Saga by Christie Golden)

  The zerg pursue the refugees from the planet Aiur through the warp gate to Shakuras. Jim Raynor and his forces, who had become allies with Tassadar and the dark templar Zeratul, stay behind on Aiur in order to shut down the warp gate. Meanwhile, Zeratul and the protoss executor Artanis utilize the powers of an ancient xel’naga temple on Shakuras to purge the zerg that have already invaded the planet.

  StarCraft: Shadow Hunters, book two of the Dark Templar Saga by Christie Golden)

  On the fringe world of Bhekar Ro, two terran siblings named Octavia and Lars stumble upon a recently unearthed xel’naga artifact. Their investigation goes awry when the device absorbs Lars and fires a mysterious beam of light into space, attracting the attention of the protoss and the zerg. Before long, Bhekar Ro is engulfed in a brutal conflict among terran, protoss, and zerg forces as each fights to claim the strange artifact.

  StarCraft: Shadow of the Xel’Naga by Gabriel Mesta)

  The United Earth Directorate (UED), having observed the conflict between the terrans, the zerg, and the protoss, arrives in the Koprulu sector from Earth in order to take control. To accomplish its goal, the UED captures a fledgling Overmind on the zerg-occupied planet of Char. The Queen of Blades, Mengsk, Raynor, and the protoss put aside their differences and work together in order to defeat the UED and the new Overmind. These unlikely allies manage to accomplish their goal, and after the death of the second Overmind, the Queen of Blades attains control over all zerg in the Koprulu sector.

  On an uncharted moon near Char, Zeratul encounters the terran Samir Duran, once an ally of the Queen of Blades. Zeratul discovers that Duran has successfully spliced together zerg and protoss DNA to create a hybrid, a creation that Duran ominously prophesizes will change the universe forever.

  Arcturus Mengsk exterminates half of his ghost operatives to ensure loyalty among the former Confederate agents who have been integrated into the Dominion ghost program. Additionally, he establishes a new Ghost Academy on Ursa, a moon orbiting Korhal IV.

  StarCraft: Shadow Hunters, book two of the Dark Templar Saga by Christie Golden)

  Corbin Phash sends his son, Colin, into hiding from the Dominion, whose agents are hunting down the young boy to exploit his psionic abilities. Corbin flees to the Umojan Protectorate, a terran government independent of the Dominion.

  StarCraft: Frontline, volume 3, “War-Torn” by Paul Benjamin, David Shramek, and Hector Sevilla)

  The young Colin Phash is captured by the Dominion and sent to the Ghost Academy. Meanwhile, his father, Corbin, acts as a dissenting voice against the Dominion from the Umojan Protectorate. For his outspoken opposition, Corbin becomes the target of an assassination attempt.

  StarCraft: Frontline, volume 4, “Orientation” by Paul Benjamin, David Shramek, and Mel Joy San Juan)

  2501

  Nova Terra, having escaped the destruction of her homeworld, Tarsonis, trains alongside other gifted terrans and hones her psionic talents at the Ghost Academy.

  StarCraft: Ghost: Nova by Keith R. A. DeCandido)

  StarCraft: Ghost Academy, volume 1, by Keith R. A. DeCandido and Fernando Heinz Furukawa)

  Nova encounters Colin Phash, whom the academy is studying in an effort to harness his unique abilities. Meanwhile, four comrades from Nova’s past desperately seek rescue from a zerg onslaught after they become stranded on the mining planet of Shi.

  StarCraft: Ghost Academy, volume 2, by David Gerrold and Fernando Heinz Furukawa)

  2502

  Arcturus Mengsk reaches out to his son, Valerian, who had grown up in the relative absence of his father. Intending for Valerian to continue the Mengsk dynasty, Arcturus recalls his own progression from an apathetic teenager to an emperor.

  StarCraft: I, Mengsk by Graham McNeill)

  Reporter Kate Lockwell is embedded with Dominion troops to deliver patriotic pro-Dominion broadcasts to the Universal News Network. During her time with the soldiers, she encounters former UNN reporter Michael Liberty and discovers some of the darker truths beneath the Dominion’s surface.

  StarCraft: Frontline, volume 2, “Newsworthy” by Grace Randolph and Nam Kim)

  Tamsen Cauley plans to kill off the War Pigs—who are now disbanded—in order to cover up his previous attempt to assassinate Arcturus Mengsk. Before doing so, he gathers the War Pigs for a mission to kill Jim Raynor, an action that Cauley believes will win Mengsk’s favor. One of the War Pigs sent on this mission, Cole Hi
ckson, is the former Confederate soldier who helped Raynor survive the brutal Kel-Morian prison camp.

  StarCraft monthly comic #1 by Simon Furman and Federico Dallocchio)

  Fighters from all three of the Koprulu sector’s factions—terran, protoss, and zerg—vie for control over an ancient xel’naga temple on the planet Artika. Amid the violence, the combatants come to realize the individual motivations that have brought them to this chaotic battlefield.

  StarCraft: Frontline, volume 1, “Why We Fight” by Josh Elder and Ramanda Kamarga)

  The Kel-Morian crew of The Generous Profit arrives on a desolate planet in hopes of finding something belonging to the planet’s former inhabitants that is worth salvaging. As they sort through the ruins, the crew members discover the terrifying secret behind the planet’s missing populace.

  StarCraft: Frontline, volume 2, “A Ghost Story” by Kieron Gillen and Hector Sevilla)

  A team of protoss scientists experiments on a sample of zerg creep, bio-matter that provides nourishment to zerg structures. However, the substance begins to affect the scientists strangely, eventually sending their minds spiraling downward into madness.

  StarCraft: Frontline, volume 2, “Creep” by Simon Furman and Tomás Aira)

  A psychotic viking pilot, Captain Jon Dyre, attacks the innocent colonists of Ursa during a weapon demonstration. His former pupil, Wes Carter, confronts Dyre in order to end his crazed killing spree.

  StarCraft: Frontline, volume 1, “Heavy Armor, Part 1” by Simon Furman and Jesse Elliott)

  StarCraft: Frontline, volume 2, “Heavy Armor, Part 2” by Simon Furman and Jesse Elliott)

  Sandin Forst, a skilled Thor pilot with two loyal partners, braves the ruins of a terran installation on Mar Sara in order to infiltrate a hidden vault. After getting access to the facility, Forst realizes that the treasures he expected to find were never meant to be discovered.

  StarCraft: Frontline, volume 1, “Thundergod” by Richard A. Knaak and Naohiro Washio)

  2503

  Dominion scientists capture the praetor Muadun and conduct experiments to better understand the protoss’ psionic gestalt—the Khala. Led by the twisted Dr. Stanley Burgess, these researchers violate every ethical code in their search for power.