StarCraft II: Devils' Due (36 page)

lemonade. It had to have been back on Shiloh, some

hot summer’s day when his mother had come out to

the field with a cooler ful of food and a vacuum flask

of lemonade. Jim had been sweaty, exhausted,

sunburned, and, he realized, probably happier than he

had ever been since.

“Don’t like it?” The voice of the wheat-haired angel

brought him back to the present. He realized he’d just

been sitting, holding the glass since he’d taken the

first sip.

“Oh … yeah, love it, actual y. Just … brought back

memories. I grew up on a farm.”

She looked at him for a moment, then slipped into

the chair beside him. Sticking out a hand that looked

cal oused and strong, she said, “I’m Lidya. But

everyone cal s me Liddy.”

Jim’s fingers closed around her hand, and he

shook it. She had a good grip—firm, friendly. “Nice to

meet you, Liddy. That’s a pretty name. I’m Jim

Raynor.”

“Nice to meet you, Jim Raynor.” She tucked her

legs up underneath her and leaned on the chair arm,

chin on her hand, eyes bright with curiosity. “What do

you do around these parts?”

Jim

thought

about

Myles

Hammond,

his

impassioned words about the decency of people on

this world, and simply smiled.

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, cal ed 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 wil 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 wil 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 McNeil )

StarCraft: Liberty’s Crusade
by Jeff Grubb)

StarCraft: Uprising
by Micky Neilson)

2464

Tychus Findlay is born. He wil later become

good friends with Jim Raynor during the Guild Wars.

StarCraft: Heaven’s Devils
by Wil iam C. Dietz)

2470

Jim Raynor is born to Trace and Karol Raynor,

farmers on the fringe world of Shiloh.

StarCraft: Heaven’s Devils
by Wil iam 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 Sevil a)

StarCraft
monthly comic #5–7 by Simon Furman

and Federico Dal occhio)

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 McNeil )

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 Wil iam C. Dietz)

StarCraft: I, Mengsk
by Graham McNeil )

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 Wil iam C. Dietz)

Jim Raynor meets fel ow 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 Wil iam C. Dietz)

StarCraft
monthly comic #6 by Simon Furman

and Federico Dal occhio)

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 McNeil )

After nearly four years of war, the Confederacy

“negotiates” peace with the Kel-Morian Combine,

annexing almost al of the Combine’s supporting

mining guilds. Despite this massive setback, the Kel-

Morian Combine is al owed 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 rebel ion

in Korhal and wages a gueril a war against the

Confederacy.

StarCraft: I, Mengsk
by Graham McNeil )

2491

As a warning to other would-be separatists, the

Confederacy unleashes a nuclear holocaust on Korhal

IV, kil ing mil ions. 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 Sevil a)

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 Sevil a)

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 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—to

assassinate Arcturus Mengsk. The attempt on

Mengsk’s life fails.

(StarCraft
monthly comic #1 by Simon Furman

and Federico Dal occhio)

November “Nova” Terra, a daughter of one of the

Confederacy’s powerful Old Families on Tarsonis,

unleashes her latent psionic abilities after she

telepathical y 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 fal s 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 wil come to be known as

Raynor’s Raiders. He soon discovers Kerrigan’s true

fate: instead of being kil ed 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.