Sarah squeezed his hand one last time. To Jim’s surprise, it was he who had a hard time letting her go. He watched, silent, as she stepped forward into the bubble. As it pulled back, sealing her in, she began to float, weightless in its interior. She turned over, slowly, and moved toward Jim, placing her hand on the bubble’s surface.
Swiftly, he pressed his hand against hers, feeling it through the thin layer.
Down Sarah and the bubble floated. Jim watched, pulling back his hand, as she grew smaller and smaller, drifting farther toward the bowels of the station, past levels of busily working scientists who, if they spared her a glance at all, only looked at her with curiosity either detached or hungry. She wasn’t Sarah Kerrigan to them, with all her anguish and joy, laughter and brokenness. She was a test subject. Something to poke and prod and research. For all Valerian’s claims that they would help her, and Jim believed him, the path to Sarah’s healing would be a cold and impersonal one.
But at least she had that chance. Arcturus had tried to take it away from her—using Tychus as his tool. Tychus was gone, by Jim’s own hand. There was no chance now of redemption, or camaraderie. Jim felt a small, sad smile curve his lips as he recalled Tychus’s headstrong, bluff, take-no-bullshit attitude. It didn’t hurt so much anymore. Jim could have done nothing else and have been who he was. He wasn’t even angry at Tychus. Just at the man who had used his best friend.
He thought of Annabelle, lying broken and bleeding. She had been such a cheerful soul, reliable, intelligent, devoted to the Raiders. Her idea had saved them—and Sarah, uncontrolled, had killed her. Jim felt Annabelle’s loss most keenly, but there were so many others. Each one of the . . . yes, billions . . . of victims had a story. And a life that had been cut short because of the Queen of Blades.
But not because of Sarah Kerrigan. Sarah, whom he loved, whom he knew bone-deep. Sarah, the assassin who grieved. Sarah, who had trusted him to bring her here—to be tested, probed, analyzed.
“Oh, darlin’,” he said softly, “I’m sure hoping I did the right thing.”
* * *
There was nothing in the chamber but Sarah. No thoughts of others, about waffles or terror, a loose thread in a jacket or the rapture of love. Just her. Alone. Completely alone.
No, not quite. She had brought her memories with her, her choices every step of the way every moment of her life. Her decisions to refuse or cooperate, to be yielding or stubborn. To kill or to spare.
She knew that during the course of this “testing,” if that was truly all it was, she would have to face each of those moments, those choices. Jim hadn’t understood that. He was an intelligent and . . . good man, but there was so much he didn’t understand. Couldn’t understand.
But she loved him. And she knew he believed, and so she believed in him. Part of her did hope that he was right, that Valerian would help restore her to her old self—as much as anyone who had undergone what she had could be restored. She recalled her words to Zeratul, bitter and resigned: “Fate cannot be changed. The end comes. And when it finds me, I shall embrace it at last.”
Maybe she had been wrong.
Firmly she pushed the hot anger, the electric-shock memories, and the cold, sick guilt aside. Even the revenge, like a savage animal she held to her heart that ripped at her even as she clung to it, could wait. She would have to face all these things but not yet. Not just yet. For now, she kept her gaze locked with Jim Raynor’s, remembering the first time he had kissed her, the first time their bodies had joined in lovemaking. The tenderness of his touch, and the stunning purity of his soul beneath all the things he had done and the things that had been done to him. She clung to that purity, letting it calm her. Letting herself believe for a moment that there could indeed be a way out of this.
Jim’s bearded, beloved face drew farther and farther away. And then Sarah Kerrigan was alone with her thoughts and memories of love.
Of love and the desire for revenge.
And she could not have said which one was the sweeter.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As always, I’d like to thank my editor, Ed Schlesinger; my agent, Lucienne Diver; and the good Blizz folks: Cameron Dayton, Micky Neilson, and Sean Copeland, among many others.
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. His parents are 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 Ran
gers 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 Kel-Morians’ 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 with 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 an indulgent, self-destructive lifestyle 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 had 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 Sons 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—with assassinating 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 the murder of her parents and her brother. 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 has been 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 and launches an invasion of the planet.
(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)
Juras, the brilliant inventor of the protoss mothership, awakens from a centuries-long sleep to discover that Aiur is under threat from the zerg. Not knowing the zerg’s true intentions or the reasons for their assault, the scientist struggles to decide whether or not to attack the strange aliens.
(“Mothership” by Brian Kindregan at us.battle.net/sc2/en/game/lore/)
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.
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 group fights to claim the strange artifact.
(StarCraft: Shadow of the Xel’Naga by Gabriel Mesta)
The United Earth Directorate (UED), having observed the conflict among the terrans, the zerg, and the protoss, dispatches a military expeditionary force to 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 succeed, 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 forge a hybrid, a creation that Duran ominously prophesizes will change the universe forever.
Starcraft II: Flashpoint Page 26
