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)
During a training exercise in the Baker’s Dozen system, Nova and her peers at the Ghost Academy discover that the planet of Shi has been overrun with zerg. Of even greater concern is the fact that several terrans—friends from Nova’s youth on Tarsonis—are trapped on the planet.
(StarCraft: Ghost Academy volume 3 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 enacting his plan, Cauley 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 Hickson, 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 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
When Private Maren Ayers, a Dominion medic, and her platoon are attacked by zerg on the barren mining world of Sorona, they take refuge in a naturally fortified settlement called Cask. Although the area proves to be impenetrable to attackers, Ayers and her comrades soon witness the zerg’s frightening adaptability when the aliens unleash an explosive new mutation to overcome Cask’s defenses.
(“Broken Wide” by Cameron Dayton at us.battle.net/sc2/en/game/lore/)
Dominion scientists capture the praetor Muadun and conduct experiments on him 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.
(StarCraft: Frontline volume 3, “Do No Harm” by Josh Elder and Ramanda Kamarga)
Archaeologist Jake Ramsey investigates a xel’naga temple, but things quickly spiral out of control when a protoss mystic known as a preserver merges with his mind. Afterward Jake is flooded with memories spanning protoss history.
(StarCraft: Firstborn, book one of The Dark Templar Saga by Christie Golden)
Jake Ramsey’s adventure continues on the planet Aiur. Under the instructions of the protoss preserver within his head, Jake explores the shadowy labyrinths beneath the planet’s surface to locate a sacred crystal that might be instrumental in saving the universe.
(StarCraft: Shadow Hunters, book two of The Dark Templar Saga by Christie Golden)
Mysteriously, some of the Dominion’s highly trained ghosts begin to disappear. Nova Terra, now a graduate of the Ghost Academy, investigates the fate of the missing operatives and discovers a terrible secret.
(StarCraft: Ghost: Spectres by Nate Kenyon)
Jake Ramsey is separated from his bodyguard, Rosemary Dahl, after they flee Aiur through a xel’naga warp gate. Rosemary ends up alongside refugee protoss on Shakuras, but Jake is nowhere to be found. Alone and running out of time, Jake searches for a way to extricate the protoss preserver from his mind before they both die.
(StarCraft: Twilight, book three of The Dark Templar Saga by Christie Golden)
A mixed team of dark templar and Aiur protoss journeys to a remote asteroid in order to activate a dormant colossus—a towering robotic war machine created long ago by the protoss. En route to the asteroid, however, their ship comes under assault by the zerg, imperiling the entire mission.
(“Colossus” by Valerie Watrous at us.battle.net/sc2/en/game/lore/)
In the closely guarded Simonson munitions facility on Korhal IV, the Dominion performs testing on its newest terror weapon: the Odin. Unbeknownst to the Dominion, one of the Umojan Protectorate’s elite psionic spies—a shadowguard—has resolved to uncover the military’s secret project at any cost.
(“Collateral Damage” by Matt Burns at us.battle.net/sc2/en/game/lore/)
A team from the Moebius Foundation—a mysterious terran organization interested in alien artifacts—investigates a xel’naga structure in the far reaches o
f the Koprulu sector. During their research the scientists uncover a dark force lurking in the ancient ruins.
(StarCraft: Frontline volume 4, “Voice in the Darkness” by Josh Elder and Ramanda Kamarga)
Kern tries to start his life anew after a career as a Dominion reaper, a highly mobile shock trooper who had been chemically altered to be more aggressive. But his troubled past proves harder to escape than he thought when a former comrade unexpectedly arrives at Kern’s home.
(StarCraft: Frontline volume 4, “Fear the Reaper” by David Gerrold and Ruben de Vela)
A nightclub singer named Starry Lace finds herself at the center of diplomatic intrigue among Dominion and Kel-Morian officials.
(StarCraft: Frontline volume 3, “Last Call” by Grace Randolph and Seung-hui Kye)
When a ragtag group of Dominion marines known as Zeta Squad patrols a mining outpost for signs of Kel-Morian terrorist activity, it comes under attack by an insidious zerg mutation that can take on the guise of terrans, blurring the line between friend and foe.
(“Changeling” by James Waugh at us.battle.net/sc2/en/game/lore/)
2504
A world-weary Jim Raynor returns to Mar Sara and grapples with his own disillusionment.
(StarCraft: Frontline volume 4, “Homecoming” by Chris Metzen and Hector Sevilla)
Isaac White, one of the Dominion’s heavily armored marauders, is ordered to save a group of Kel-Morian miners under attack from pirates. Yet White’s task proves to be more than just a rescue mission: it becomes an opportunity for him to put to rest a terrible memory that has haunted him since his bomb technician years during the Guild Wars.
(“Stealing Thunder” by Micky Neilson at us.battle.net/sc2/en/game/lore/)
After four years of relative silence, the Queen of Blades and her zerg Swarm unleash attacks throughout the Koprulu sector. Amid the onslaught, Jim Raynor continues his struggle against the oppressive Terran Dominion . . . and the restless ghosts of his past.
New York Times bestselling and award-winning author CHRISTIE GOLDEN has written more than forty novels and several short stories in the fields of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Among her many projects are over a dozen Star Trek novels and several original fantasy novels. An avid player of World of Warcraft, she has written two manga stories and several novels in that world (Lord of the Clans, Rise of the Horde, Arthas: Rise of the Lich King, The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm, Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects and Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War). She also wrote StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga (Firstborn, Shadow Hunters, and Twilight) and Starcraft II: Devils’ Due.
Golden is the writer of three books in the major ninebook Star Wars series Fate of the Jedi (in collaboration with Aaron Allston and Troy Denning)—Omens, Allies, and Ascension. She lives in Tennessee, and welcomes visitors to her website: www.christiegolden.com.
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COPYRIGHT © 2012 SIMON & SCHUSTER
© 2012 Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved
www.starcraft.com
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Don’t Miss These Other Tales in the World of
GHOST: SPECTRES
by Nate Kenyon
DEVILS’ DUE
by Christie Golden
HEAVEN’S DEVILS
by William C. Dietz
I, MENGSK
by Graham McNeill
THE DARK TEMPLAR SAGA: BOOK ONE—FIRSTBORN
by Christie Golden
THE DARK TEMPLAR SAGA: BOOK TWO—SHADOW HUNTERS
by Christie Golden
THE DARK TEMPLAR SAGA: BOOK THREE—TWILIGHT
by Christie Golden
GHOST: NOVA
by Keith R. A. DeCandido
QUEEN OF BLADES
by Aaron Rosenberg
LIBERTY’S CRUSADE
by Jeff Grubb
SHADOW OF THE XEL’NAGA
by Gabriel Mesta
SPEED OF DARKNESS
by Tracy Hickman
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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First Gallery Books hardcover edition November 2012
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
ISBN 978-1-4516-5962-7
ISBN 978-1-4165-6004-3 (eBook)
Starcraft II: Flashpoint Page 27
