LEGO: STARCRAFT Terran Marine All Voices in 360 degrees!
LEGO: STARCRAFT Terran Marine All Voices in 360 degrees!
The Terrans
We humans are about the most ornery cusses in the galaxy. We could not unite under one banner or even form a coalition. In fact, every time there was a chance for that, one faction or another did something to enhance the advancement of their own political agenda over the other factions. Often at the expense of the rest of humanity. Long ago our ancestors were cast out from their home-world, deemed unfit for civilized society. They packed our forebears into spaceships and gave them the dubious honor of colonizing a barren swath of the galaxy. The universe never gave us a chance, but we're still alive and kicking. We got tossed to the far end of the galaxy, dropped smack dab between two ugly alien armies. For some time, our beautiful worlds have been under attack from enemies at all sides: the zerg vermin that want to consume us; the invading protoss who serve their own sinister, alien agenda; and worst of all, the human traitors who have cast their lot with anti-Dominion terrorists. And we're not all dead yet? Tell me that don't say something about us. We're too dumb to die. A smart species would've given up ages ago. They probably thought we'd be wiped out by the dangers of the universe, but they underestimated us. We're survivors. We're winners. We're Terran. And we intend to bend the universe to our will.
— Red Quinton, The Art of StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm
| Terran | |
|---|---|
| StarCraft race | |
.png) A Terran marine, as depicted in the concept art for StarCraft II | |
| First appearance | Starcraft |
| Information | |
| Quadrant | Koprulu Sector |
| Home world | Earth |
| Base of operations | Koprulu Sector (Dominion / Kel-Morian / Umojan) Orion Sector (UED) |
| Type | Augmented humans |
| Affiliation |
|
The Terrans are a fictional future version and evolved species representative of humanity in the StarCraft series. The Terrans are the most splintered of the StarCraft species, consisting of multiple factions and nations that not only fight the other races but each other as well. Considered an adaptive and mobile species "too stubborn or stupid to know when to give up" when faced with existential threat, the Terrans are noted in the lore of the series for their ability to quickly access and drain a planet's resources. The Terrans have been dedicated a full campaign in each real-time strategy video game installment to date, and are defined in-game by their specialization of units and tactics of defense, tanking, mobility, and overwhelming concentrated firepower. In the series' storyline, the Terrans are usually displayed as being caught in the conflict's crossfire between the Protoss and Zerg; they are forced to fight superior alien powers on two-front war at tremendous technological and evolutionary disadvantage, each determined to destroy the other, while also dealing with frequent internal strife, civil wars and revolutions.
Attributes
Society
The Terrans are depicted as diversified, individualistic and fragmented, with multiple factions vying for dominance over each other. Numerous factions are used throughout the series, ranging from national governments and corporations to rebels and criminals, although only four "Government" factions exhibit any major influence on the overall story arc.
The Koprulu sector—nicknamed the "Terran Sector"— is a fictional star cluster in space colonized by terrans that infringes upon Protoss imperial territory, with frequent incursions from the Zerg. It is situated on the galactic fringe of the Milky Way, 60,000 light years from Earth. The sector is further subdivided into at least five "zones". Most of its star clusters and planets are inhospitable to life, lacking any "Gaia worlds" that rivals Earth's biodiversity. Terran settlements are sparsely populated being riddled by chaos and anarchy; law and order are concentrated within the sparse few capitol worlds able to support dense population centers numbering in the billions. Still, the sector offers a vast range of natural resources. War in the sector is a brutal affair; every week there's another skirmish, insurgency, sortie, planned offensive, counter strike, police action, border conflict or plain old-fashioned war breaking out. Life expectancy for terran soldiers are measured in mere seconds.
- United Earth Directorate
The first faction referred to in the backstory of the series is the United Earth Directorate (UED), headquartered within the Orion Arm's Local Bubble of the Milky Way galaxy. A unified government representing nearly all nations of Earth and associated colonies both within and outside the Solar System, the UED claims to operate under a policy of "enlightened socialism" but is noted for its harsh methods of public order and media censorship.[25] It is also seen as an advocate for eugenics, resulting in the mass murder of millions and exile of other unwanted criminals and genetic mutants for colonization of the distant Koprulu Sector of the galaxy in which the series takes place. The UED remains outside the events of the series until Brood War, where it takes interest in the discovery of the Protoss and Zerg, the first contact between humanity and aliens. The player controls the UED faction in Episode V of Brood War.[26]
- Confederacy of Man
The exiled prisoners from Earth form the Confederacy of Man in the Koprulu Sector. A de facto plutocracy,[27] the Confederacy's inner workings are elaborated on in the novels Liberty's Crusade, Speed of Darkness and Nova. Taking the role of the primary antagonistic faction in StarCraft's Episode I, the Confederacy is shown as the most powerful faction in the sector at the beginning of StarCraft; in the novels, it is depicted as being brutal toward the public and corrupt at the highest levels on its capital Tarsonis.[28] The player gets to control a division of the Confederate Security Forces in the prequel shareware campaign for StarCraft. Due to the brutality of the regime, it is opposed by a variety of rebel groups and is eventually overthrown by the Sons of Korhal. The Sons of Korhal, a rebel group led by Arcturus Mengsk that the player controls during Episode I of StarCraft, form the Terran Dominion to replace the destroyed Confederacy, with the planet Korhal IV as the capital. The Dominion is an autocracy with Mengsk as its emperor.[29] The Dominion's operations are built on in The Dark Templar Saga series of novels. Although Mengsk sees himself as a benevolent dictator, he is shown to be just as harsh as his predecessors.[30]
Mengsk's actions during his campaign against the Confederacy make an enemy of Jim Raynor, one of the Sons of Korhal commanders. After Mengsk betrays other members of his command staff and reveals his real objectives of obtaining ultimate power, Raynor deserts and forms a resistance movement to the Dominion, labeled Raynor's Raiders. Described in the novels as a small army primarily consisting of members from Raynor's former colonial militia, the Raiders use the hijacked former flagship of the Sons of Korhal, the Hyperion, as their base of operations. In Queen of Blades, the group is described as being amongst the most wanted fugitives and rebels of the Dominion. The player assumes the role of Raynor in leading the group in StarCraft II Wings of Liberty.[31]
Terran worlds
The "Koprulu Sector" has a radius of 2000-9000LY. It lies somewhere on the galaxy rim cca 60 000 light years far away from the Sol System. Terran worlds are in the sector known as Koprulu. The main capital worlds (Tarsonis, Korhal, Umoja and Moria) lies not far from each other. Chau Sara and Mar Sara were recently founded border colonies, located between Antiga and Charr (as mentioned in one of the pre-briefings). All remaining Terran worlds are within the sector. Travel time between worlds average 10 days from "core worlds" to border colonies.
The superluminal speed of the UED supercarriers that transported 40,000 people from the Earth was 2143*c (i.e. they overcame the distance of 60 000 LY in 28 years). The UED expeditionary fleet, that was sent to take control over the Koprulu sector, were capable of covering 333LY per day (manual indicates the UED flight took 6 months); meaning that Earth engine technology improved 28-168 times by the start of the Great War and Brood Wars.
In prologue of the original Zerg campaign, Zerg destroyed nine of thirteen pre-existing Terran worlds. This forced billions of displaced Terran refugees to found new colonies on frontier worlds previously considered uninhabitable; the current number of terran worlds is unknown. Except for Earth and Gantris VI, the following planets are all situated in Koprulu sector, relatively close to each other.
- Earth: Gaia world. Terran homeworld. United Earth Directorate (UED) capitol world.
- Gantris VI: UED colony. The original destination of the Terran supercarriers Nagglfar, Argo, Sarengo and Reagan, it is situated some 2143 LY from Earth between the Earth and the Koprulu sector.
- Chau Sara: Savannah world. Terran Confederacy colony. First known occurrence of the Zerg. First known destruction by the Protoss.
- Mar Sara: Savannah world. Terran Confederacy colony. Overran by the Zerg. Destroyed by the Protoss.
- Korhal IV: Desert world. Terran Dominion capitol world. Former prosperous Terran Confederacy colony, destroyed by nuclear weapons during the rebellion.
- Tarsonis: Jungle world. Terran Confederacy capitol world. Assaulted by the Sons of Korhal and overran by the Zerg.
- Moria: Savannah world. Kel-Morian Combine capital world. Very rich resource deposits.
- Antiga: Savannah world. Former border world of the Terran Confederacy. Former Sons of Korhal base of operations. Overran by the Zerg. Destroyed by the Protoss.
- Braxis: Arctic world. Former Protoss colony, now populated by Terrans. At least one habitable moon.
- Umoja: Gaia world. Umoja Protectorate capital world.
- Char: Terran Dominion border world with orbital platforms. Annexation by the Zerg.
Depiction
The Terrans are displayed as standard humans, the scrappy improvisers of StarCraft, relying on cobbled-together technology and a resilient spirit to spread southern hospitality around a cold and unfeeling universe. Rambunctious outcasts from a dignified civilization, they roam the fringes of the galaxy armed with over-the-top weaponry: flamethrowers, rocket launchers, and whatever other explosive devices they can get their mitts on.
They are portrayed in-game in powered combat suits and with other war machines such as futuristic tanks and space battlecruisers in use by their militaries. Some Terrans are displayed with cybernetic implants.[32] Human behavior in the fictional history presented in StarCraft's manual also points to the Terrans having the ability to access and deplete a planet's natural resources at an "alarming" rate.[18] The Terrans are also noted in the backstory of the series as having a developing psionic potential. This psionic potential is what entices the Zerg to attack the Terrans, in hope of incorporating these traits into the Zerg gene pool.[33] This psionic element is shown in Terran military technology through Assassins known as Ghosts. Established as one of the iconic parts of StarCraft, Ghosts are Terrans who are born with ranging psionic abilities—from simple telepathy to advanced powers such as telekinesis or a special ability shown by Nova, where she can kill an entire skyscraper of people in a single thought known as a mind blast. These agents are cultivated by the military after being abducted from their former lives and put through an espionage training regime that can cost them their lives. In-game, the Ghost unit is equipped with a cloaking device and is designed for scouting and designating targets for nuclear strike,[34] and has been developed further through the lore of the series to the extent that the StarCraft: Ghost sub-series was once planned, specifically focusing on the life of a Ghost, Nova.
In-game, Terrans tend to favor traditional modes of warfare, often utilizing combined arms tactics with tanks, aircraft or other combat vehicles in combination with regular infantry. Using light ballistics, large calibre weapons and even tactical nuclear warheads, many Terran units are reminiscent of present-day designs. Terrans are the only race without a dedicated "melee combat" unit. Terrans are more adaptive than the other two races and are able to produce units at an average expense. Primary base structures can even lift off and fly to other locations, allowing players to move buildings for quicker troop deployments, access to new resource locations or to save the structures from destruction by the enemy. Terran buildings and mechanized units can be repaired if damaged, and combat medics can heal wounded organic units.[35]
Appearances
The player is first fully introduced to the Terrans in Episode I of StarCraft. For a number of years before the game begins, the Confederacy is shown to be fighting a slowly losing war against the Sons of Korhal. When the Zerg and Protoss make their existence known, the pace of the war quickly changes. The player, accompanied by Jim Raynor, joins up with Arcturus Mengsk and the Sons of Korhal, and helps bring about the fall of the Confederacy by using Confederate technology to lure the Zerg into destroying the Confederate capital Tarsonis. In the process however, Mengsk abandons his second-in-command, Sarah Kerrigan, to the Zerg on Tarsonis. As a result of the brutal tactics used by Mengsk and his needless sacrifice of Kerrigan to the Zerg, Raynor abandons Mengsk and his newly formed Dominion to search for the lost Kerrigan. When Raynor finally finds her on the planet Char it is revealed that she had been captured and infested by the Zerg Overmind. He then meets Zeratul and Tassadar and consequently becomes an ally to the Protoss. Raynor's forces assist the Protoss in defending their homeworld from the Zerg and in destroying the Zerg Overmind in the game's conclusion.[23]
In Brood War's Episode V, the player takes the role of a captain in a UED expeditionary force, sent to pacify the wartorn sector after news of the discovery of the Zerg and Protoss makes its way to Earth. The UED force meets success in its initial battles, quickly bringing the Dominion to its knees and taking captive a new Overmind growing to replace the one killed by Tassadar. However, the UED fails to capture Mengsk, who allies with Raynor, Kerrigan and the Protoss templar Fenix. The UED is slowly beaten back by this mutual alliance, and although Kerrigan betrays her new allies, her Zerg forces eventually annihilate the UED fleet. Regrouping his surviving forces, Mengsk begins to reconstruct his empire, although he is still opposed by Raynor and his troops.[24]
Raynor is the protagonist and player character of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. Over the course of the campaign Raynor's Raiders (as his army is known) fight the Zerg and Mengsk's empire simultaneously. At the behest of a group known as the Moebius Foundation, the Raiders gather the pieces of a Xel'Naga artifact, until it is revealed that the foundation is actually led by Valerian Mengsk, Arcturus's son. Valerian intends to use the artifact's power to destroy the Queen of Blades, proving to the empire's citizens that he will be a worthy successor to the throne. Raynor begrudgingly finishes assembling the artifact and joins the imperial army in an assault on the Zerg homeworld of Char, but not before uncovering proof of Mengsk's treachery on Tarsonis and broadcasting it across the sector. The Terran forces on Char use the artifact to partially restore Kerrigan's humanity, significantly weakening her, but Raynor refuses to kill her.
After the victory in Char, the increasingly unstable Emperor wanted to destroy Kerrigan and Raynor, which led the former to regain the Zerg powers she lost and gained Primal ability by consuming the first spawn pool's essence, and the latter got imprisoned and faked execution. She rescued her love, and she and Raynor destroy Arcturus once and for all.
After that and Arcturus's son Valerian assumed the Emperor title, they were once again at war, this time against Amon and 'Narud' and their army, from Zerg, to mind-controlled Terran thralls. After repelling the thralls, they joined others to the Void, to end Amon once and for all.
A few years later, an Arcturus Mengsk loyalist tried to foment rebellion, but was crushed.
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