StarCraft Chronicles Episode 21: The Day We Seize the Emperor's Broadcast

This is a new fan narrative based on the events of the original game. The characters' emotions, dialogues, and scene atmospheres have been reconstructed, and it contains major spoilers.

The Raiders Search for Evidence Against Mengsk's Propaganda and Tyranny

The bridge of the Hyperion was filled with a cold silence. Jim Raynor stared at the arrogant face of Arcturus Mengsk filling the screen, stroking his chin. The reality of the tyrant's universe-deceiving speeches airing daily brought him a bitter sense of helplessness. Blue holographic light flickered over Raynor's worn combat suit.

Matt Horner approached with a grim expression and handed over a data pad. It was the decrypted data of the old Confederacy Adjutant from Tarsonis, finally secured after a fierce dispute with the notorious hacker Orlan in Deadman's Port. Excitement and tension were palpable in Horner's voice, for this was the decisive weapon that could shake Mengsk's empire to its very foundations.

Inside the Adjutant's memory lay the horrific truth of what had transpired on Tarsonis. It contained the recorded voice command of Mengsk ordering the deployment of psi emitters, throwing billions of citizens to the Zerg as bait. With every cold, mechanical playback of Mengsk's ruthless instructions, the air on the bridge grew heavier.

Raynor clenched his fists. The screams of Sarah Kerrigan, who had to be left behind alone on Tarsonis that day, seemed to echo in his ears once more. A mixture of guilt and anger tore sharply at his chest. Even with the evidence of the massacre in his hands, the irreversible sense of loss from the past offered him no comfort.

Horner emphasized that they had to broadcast this data across the entire Dominion to end Mengsk's false heroic act. However, the Dominion's media control network was ironclad, making it impossible to hijack the frequencies through ordinary hacking. They had to launch a direct strike on the UNN headquarters' broadcast towers in the heart of the planet Korhal to overwrite the data.

The problem was Korhal's defenses. For a small group of Raiders to infiltrate the heart of the Dominion and seize the broadcast network was a suicide mission. Horner proposed a daring plan to steal the Odin, the Dominion's next-generation colossal weapon being secretly developed at Valhalla Base. The Odin's firepower would be enough to breach Korhal's defensive walls.

The core of the operation was to approach the Odin undetected and seize its cockpit. They needed someone skilled in handling massive, destructive weapons, someone who could run wild without hesitation in the middle of enemy territory. Raynor silently picked up his communicator and called an old friend who had been holed up in a corner of the ship.

Tychus Findlay appeared on the bridge with his trademark heavy steps and lit a cigar. Raynor assigned him the mission to infiltrate Valhalla Base and steal the Odin. Tychus grinned and nodded at the prospect of taking and wrecking a giant toy. The Dominion's new weapon was now poised to choke its own creators.

Tychus Infiltrates and Steals the Odin Weapon

The Valhalla research facility was a fortress of the Dominion's cutting-edge technology. At its center stood the Odin, a massive monster forged of steel, boasting an imposing presence. Tychus sneaked in through the ventilation shafts and looked up at the giant machine's legs in awe, acrid smoke drifting from the tip of his cigar.

Dominion guards patrolled leisurely around the invincible weapon. They seemed unable to even imagine that rebels could have infiltrated this ironclad base. Tychus, moving with an agility that belied his massive frame, slipped into the shadows and searched for an approach path to the cockpit.

Rory Swann's urgent yet excited voice came through the communicator. It was the signal that the security systems were disabled and now was the chance. Tychus lightly knocked out a technician blocking his path, shoved him into a corner, and quickly climbed up the Odin's outer armor. His heart was beating faster.

Opening the heavy cockpit hatch and stepping inside, Tychus cheered at the sight of the array of instrument panels and controls. He entered the startup codes as Swann had instructed and powered up the main engines. A heavy vibration surged through the massive chassis, sending a thrill through his entire body. The monster had finally awakened.

The red light of the Odin's forward optical sensors flickered on, and its heavy gun barrels began to rotate. Dominion soldiers, noticing the anomaly, sounded the alarm and rushed forward, but it was already too late. Tychus gripped the controls and slammed down on the weapon fire button. With an ear-splitting roar, the peace of Valhalla Base was shattered.

Tychus's mad laughter echoed across the entire Raiders' communication network. The Odin's overwhelming barrage tore through defensive turrets and armored vehicles like paper. He rained down shells indiscriminately, turning the base interior into a wasteland, while the Dominion forces crumbled helplessly before the very weapon they had created.

Raynor's forces, waiting on the outskirts of the base, took advantage of the chaos to move in quickly. They focused on clearing the path behind Tychus's rampage and securing an escape route for the Odin. While Marines and Marauders suppressed the remaining forces, Tychus advanced, crushing the surviving defensive structures. The operation went perfectly.

Finally, the main facilities of Valhalla Base were destroyed, and all resistance was completely silenced. Standing tall amidst the smoking ruins, the Odin was a symbol of terror in its own right. Raynor commended Tychus on his successful capture and ordered the Odin to be quickly loaded onto a transport. Now, it was time to strike at the heart of Korhal.

The Operation to Broadcast Evidence of Mengsk's Past Massacre

The Dominion capital of Korhal was lavishly decorated with propaganda praising Mengsk's greatness. The soaring transmission towers of the UNN headquarters were massive arteries carrying the tyrant's voice to the entire universe. In the middle of this splendid city, a massive parade was underway to celebrate the unveiling of the new weapon.

Amidst the cheers of the crowd, the massive Odin made its appearance. No one knew that a rebel was sitting in the cockpit of the weapon packaged as the proud symbol of the Dominion. Tychus looked down at the enthusiastic citizens and the escorting Dominion Guard, placing his finger on the trigger of the controls. A calm before the storm hung in the air.

It was an unannounced surprise attack. The Odin's guns spat fire, turning the nearest Dominion escort tanks into scrap metal in a single blow. The once-splendid parade ground instantly turned into a scene of chaos, and the streets became paralyzed with screaming citizens and panicked, scrambling Dominion soldiers. Korhal's defenses collapsed from within.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Raynor's Raiders landed in Korhal's plaza via drop pods. From orbit, Horner transmitted the data upload coordinates to seize control of the broadcast towers. Raynor led his forces and rushed to the first transmission tower, beginning to feed the data containing the truth of Tarsonis into the main server.

The Dominion forces, having regained their senses, launched a counterattack. Mengsk's elite infantry and Siege Tanks converged from all directions to retake the transmission tower. The Raiders' Marines set up barricades and desperately established a defensive line. Although Tychus held off the enemy's armored divisions with his immense firepower, the relentless onslaught was suffocating.

Raynor fired his Gauss rifle continuously, encouraging his soldiers on the front lines. Medics treated fallen Marines to hold the line. Even amidst the hail of bullets and the roar of exploding shells, Raynor's gaze remained fixed solely on the terminal displaying the data upload progress. So much blood was spilled for a single percentage point.

Finally, the screen glowed green, signaling that the upload had reached 100 percent. Horner's urgent yet relieved voice came through the comms. He reported that they had penetrated UNN's main broadcast network and completely neutralized its security firewalls. Raynor wiped his blood-stained helmet and looked up at the sky. It was time for the truth to be exposed.

Donny Vermillion's news broadcast, which had been blaring from large screens across Korhal, was suddenly cut off. The screens flickered and went black, only to be replaced by the cold, mechanical hologram of the old Adjutant. The voice recording of Mengsk's command to drop psi emitters on Tarsonis and lure the Zerg began broadcasting live to the entire universe.

The Public Learns the Truth, and the Dominion's Image Shakes

From the shabby bars of Mar Sara to the ultra-luxurious residential sectors of Korhal, every citizen of the Dominion stopped in their tracks and stared at the screens. The shocking truth that Mengsk had thrown billions of Tarsonis citizens into the jaws of the Zerg to bring down the Confederacy struck their eardrums. Shock, disbelief, and gradually, anger welled up in the eyes of the people.

Mengsk's mad voice continued to flow from the broadcast. It was an arrogant declaration that neither the Confederacy nor the Protoss could stop him, and that he would rule this sector. The mask of the savior and benevolent emperor of the Dominion, which he had worn for so long, was shattered to pieces. The citizens realized they had been deceived by a horrific mass murderer.

The crowd that had filled Korhal's plaza was no longer running away. They began to express their fury by throwing rocks and trash at the Dominion Guard. Riots broke out in the streets, and massive statues and propaganda of Mengsk were burned and defaced by the angry citizens. Cracks began to form in the prestige of the Dominion, which had once seemed completely unbreakable.

Having safely returned to the bridge of the Hyperion, Raynor watched the anti-government protests spreading like wildfire across the universe on the screens. A bitter satisfaction washed over him, as if the knot that had been tied in his chest for so long was finally loosening a bit. He had finally achieved his first act of vengeance for the lost souls of Tarsonis and for Kerrigan, who had been abandoned there.

Horner approached and reported on the movements of the Dominion fleet. Mengsk's main fleets stationed on the fringe worlds were hastily returning to Korhal and other major planets to suppress the internal rebellions. As Mengsk's power base shook, the Dominion's military pressure weakened noticeably. The Raiders could finally breathe a sigh of relief and move toward their next objective.

But before they could fully savor the joy of victory, an alarm blared on the Hyperion's radar, warning that a massive Dominion Battlecruiser was approaching alone. Horner immediately ordered battle stations, but the vessel showed no hostile intent and instead established a communication link. What appeared on the screen was not Arcturus, but the interior of the Dominion's flagship, the Bucephalus.

In the center of the transmission screen stood a young man who closely resembled Arcturus Mengsk but looked much younger and more delicate. It was Valerian Mengsk, the Crown Prince of the Dominion. Setting aside any hostile attitude, he politely requested Raynor to come aboard his flagship to talk. As this unexpected figure appeared alone with his ship to propose negotiations, all the crew members on the bridge could not hide their bewilderment and wariness.

Raynor glared coldly at Valerian on the screen, tilting his chin up. The very fact that Mengsk's bloodline was asking him for a peaceful dialogue felt like a sick joke. Yet, in Valerian's eyes, there was a firm sense of purpose, quite different from his father's. Though suspicious of a trap, Raynor decided to board his flagship, the Bucephalus, to face him in person.

Valerian Negotiates with Raynor, Providing Forces for Char

As Jim Raynor and his elite Raiders breached the bridge doors of the Dominion flagship Bucephalus and entered, a tense standoff ensued with the waiting Dominion Guard. Raynor's rifle was aimed directly at Valerian Mengsk, but the Crown Prince remained completely unfazed, welcoming them with an attitude that was proud to the point of arrogance.

Raynor approached Valerian without lowering his weapon. Anger surged within him at the fact that the son of the enemy who had ruined his life was standing right before his eyes. Suppressing the urge to put a bullet through the young prince's head right then and there, he harshly demanded to know the real purpose behind summoning them here.

Without flinching, Valerian looked straight into Raynor's eyes and revealed a shocking truth. He was the true owner of the Moebius Foundation, which had been commissioning the Raiders to collect Xel'Naga artifacts. He explained that the artifacts Raynor had gathered were not mere ancient ruins, but the only key to turning the Queen of Blades back into a human.

Valerian's proposal was clear. He would provide half of the Dominion fleet under his command to ally with Raynor's Raiders and invade Char, the Zerg homeworld. There, they would use the completed Xel'Naga artifact to purify Kerrigan, and he would prove his capability as the true heir of the Dominion to the universe. It was an incredibly bold bargain.

Raynor was struck with a shock that felt like a hammer blow to the head. The claim that Sarah Kerrigan could be turned back into a human was the single miracle he had long resigned himself to and buried deep within his heart. Doubt and hope clashed violently in his mind. He could not trust Mengsk's son, but the terms offered were a temptation Raynor could never refuse.

Upon returning to the Hyperion, Raynor was met with fierce opposition from Matt Horner. Horner raised his voice, arguing that trusting anyone from the Mengsk family was suicide, and that this was merely a clever trap designed to wipe out the Raiders on Char. Other crew members on the ship agreed with Horner, expressing deep distrust toward an alliance with the Crown Prince.

But Raynor's mind was already made up. He dismissed Horner's objections with a heavy gesture. If it meant saving Kerrigan, he was prepared to make a deal with the devil himself. With a bitter expression, Raynor formalized the alliance with Valerian, and a heavy silence and ominous tension settled over the bridge of the Hyperion.

Valerian smiled with satisfaction and promised to assemble the forces for the invasion of Char. Thus, a bizarre alliance was forged between the Dominion's rebel and its Crown Prince—the most unlikely pair in the universe. Raynor stared at the virtual image of Char burning red on the holographic screen. The irreversible wheel of fate had finally begun to roll toward the land of ruin.

General Warfield and Raynor's Differing Methods Clash

The Dominion fleet promised by Valerian and Raynor's Raiders gathered at the staging area on the outskirts of Char. The spectacle of countless Battlecruisers filling the void of space was overwhelming. Command of this massive allied fleet was held by General Horace Warfield, a battle-hardened veteran of the Dominion. He was a loyal servant of Mengsk and a man renowned as a strict disciplinarian.

In the flagship's briefing room, General Warfield outlined the plan for the descent onto Char. His plan was a traditional, full-scale assault, using overwhelming firepower and massive forces to break straight through the Zerg defensive lines. On the holographic map, red arrows were drawn in straight lines toward the primary Zerg hives. It was a textbook-perfect but inflexible operation.

Raynor, staring at the holographic map with his arms crossed, could not help but interject. He warned that the atmosphere of Char, the Zerg homeworld, was thick with countless aerial forces and Spore Crawlers, meaning a frontal entry by a massive fleet was like moths flying into a flame. He proposed a guerrilla tactic of dispersing and infiltrating via small drop pods as an alternative.

General Warfield dismissed Raynor's opinion, making no effort to hide his displeasure. He claimed that the survival tactics of a mercenary who had never even received formal military education were meaningless before the overwhelming firepower of the Dominion's elite fleet. Emphasizing discipline and control, he made it clear that the operation would be executed without a single error under his command. The old general's stubbornness was as hard as stone.

The air in the briefing room froze cold. The doctrine of the regular army and the survival instincts of the rebels were like oil and water, completely unable to mix. Raynor clenched his teeth, sensing that Warfield's arrogance would lead countless soldiers to a pointless death. The tense battle of wills between the two commanders foreshadowed that the battle on Char would be a fight not only against the Zerg, but also against internal distrust.

Horner stepped in and tried to mediate, but the bruised egos of the two men could not be mended. Ultimately, it was decided to push ahead with General Warfield's original plan. Raynor left the briefing room, unable to shake off his ominous foreboding. He instructed his forces to hasten their own independent descent preparations in anticipation of the worst-case scenario.

Finally, the allied fleet began its entry into the red atmosphere of Char. However, Raynor's warning manifested as a horrific reality. Before they could even descend through the clouds, an immense swarm of Mutalisks and Scourges descended upon the fleet as if a nest had been stirred. From the ground, spore sacs flew up relentlessly, melting the armor of the ships. The entire sky was the maw of the Zerg.

From the bridge of the Hyperion, Raynor watched the tragedy of the Dominion's massive Battlecruisers being torn apart helplessly by the Zerg onslaught. Warfield's proud elite fleet scattered, unable to maintain formation, and burning wreckage rained down onto the surface of Char like a meteor shower. Amidst the foretold disaster brought on by arrogance, the descent into hell was beginning.

Zerg Attacks During the Landing on Char and Warfield's Rescue

Taking advantage of the collapse of the Dominion fleet, Raynor's Raiders calculated their own descent trajectory and hurtled toward the surface of Char. Outside the drop pod windows, burning fragments of Dominion ships and Zerg flyers flashed past in a blur. The heat of atmospheric friction made the interior of the pods swelter like a sauna, and the soldiers breathed heavily, gripping their weapons tightly. The gates of hell were wide open.

With a deafening crash, the pods slammed into the ash-covered earth. The moment the hatches opened, the stench of sulfur and intense heat rushed in, piercing their lungs. The surroundings were covered in boiling rivers of lava and grotesque Zerg creep, and swarms of Zerglings, bursting relentlessly from the ground, rushed toward the Raiders. Raynor fired his rifle wildly, ordering his men to quickly establish a defensive formation.

Amidst the hail of gunfire, Horner's urgent transmission broke through the comms. He reported that the flagship Helena, carrying General Warfield, had failed to withstand the Zerg anti-air defenses and crashed deep within enemy territory. Although a weak survival signal was being picked up, it was only a matter of time before they were wiped out if a rescue team did not arrive. The pride of the regular army had been dragged through the mud.

Without hesitation, Raynor gathered his scattered forces and ordered an advance toward General Warfield's crash site. Although they had clashed in the briefing room, he could not abandon an ally in the middle of hell. Marines and Marauders took the lead, clearing the way by burning the Zerg creep with flamethrowers. With every step forward, countless Zerg carcasses piled up like mountains.

The journey to the rescue was a continuous, brutal bloodbath. Marines fell to the spine-shoots of Hydralisks bursting from the ground, while Medics desperately treated the wounded while dodging showers of acid. Raynor commanded the front lines without even having time to wipe the blood and sweat from his face. They parted the sea of Zerg with the sole, obsessive determination to save their allies.

Finally, they found the Dominion survivors desperately holding a defensive line around the horrific wreckage of the Helena. General Warfield, despite having his right arm pinned and crushed under a collapsed steel structure, was fighting off the Zerg, firing a pistol with his remaining hand. His uniform was stained red with blood and his face was etched with pain, but the fighting spirit of the old veteran, refusing to surrender to the end, shone brightly.

Raynor's Raiders tore through the Zerg encirclement, unleashing fierce firepower from the flank. Just as a massive Ultralisk raised its scythe-like claws toward Warfield, Raynor brought the beast down with a precise shot through its eye. The crew rushed in quickly, cleared the debris, and rescued Warfield. He had escaped a horrific death by the narrowest of margins.

Breathing heavily while receiving emergency treatment, General Warfield looked up at Raynor standing beside him. His stern expression wavered slightly at the fact that the rebel mercenary he had dismissed had saved him from the depths of hell. Enduring the pain, Warfield expressed his gratitude to Raynor in a heavy voice. For the first time, genuine respect shone in the eyes of the once-arrogant old general.

The Raiders Gather Scattered Forces and the Artifact to Prepare for the Final Battle

After General Warfield was evacuated via an emergency rescue ship, the surviving Dominion forces and Raynor's Raiders established a temporary base inside a massive volcanic crater that was relatively easy to defend. This place, thick with acrid smoke and the smell of burning rising from all sides, was more horrific than any battlefield they had experienced in simulations. Dragging their exhausted bodies, the soldiers silently erected defensive walls and checked their weapons.

Not long after, General Warfield, having had his arm amputated and fitted with a cybernetic prosthetic, returned to the tactical command center wrapped in bandages. He stood before the holographic table with a grim expression. His voice was heavily subdued as he acknowledged the painful failure of losing so many of his men due to his own misjudgment. The harsh reality of Char had completely shattered the outdated doctrines of the regular military.

Turning toward Raynor, Warfield declared that he was formally transferring all tactical command of the ground forces to him. It was a painful realization that to survive and win on this hellish planet, they needed Raynor's intuition and guerrilla tactics rather than the methods of the regular army. Raynor nodded silently, willingly taking that heavy responsibility onto his shoulders.

Having assumed command, Raynor immediately issued orders to the engineers. He instructed them to assemble the pieces of the Xel'Naga artifact collected through the Moebius Foundation and hasten preparations for its activation. As Swann and the engineering crew carefully began fitting the artifact pieces together, a mysterious blue light emanating from the ancient device brightly illuminated the dark interior of the tactical command center.

The artifact, nearing completion, emitted a strange energy, standing in stark contrast to the landscape of Char, which was covered in grotesque and horrific Zerg organic tissue. This ancient artifact was the only hope to purify the Queen of Blades' psionic energy and free her from her terrible curse. Staring at the artifact bathed in blue light, Raynor suppressed the trembling rising from deep within his chest.

Beside him, Tychus stood with his arms crossed, looking back and forth between the artifact and Raynor. Though it was impossible to read what emotions were swirling behind his visor, his silence—devoid of even his usual light jokes—created a strange tension. At the edge of Tychus's gaze, the shadow of an inescapable, cruel fate, packaged under the name of salvation, seemed to loom.

Horner approached with hurried steps and reported the latest reconnaissance data to Raynor. The Zerg swarms scattered across Char were gathering around the primary hive cluster like a massive tidal wave. It was clear that the Queen of Blades was gathering all her forces to annihilate the intruders. The Zerg's massive offensive against their final defensive line was imminent.

Raynor pulled back the charging handle of his Gauss rifle and stared out at the wasteland beyond the red-burning volcanic ash. There was nowhere left to retreat, nowhere left to run. Pushing through that horrific sea of Zerg and activating the artifact was the only way to win back Sarah Kerrigan. Biting his firmly closed lips, he silently fixed his gaze on the approaching storm of the final battle.

Verified Sources

Blizzard Official StarCraft Chronicles

StarCraft II Official Campaign Introduction

Developer Lore Q&A: The Connection Between Characters and War

StarCraft II Official Downloads and Campaign/Nova Purchase List