Tassadar

Tassadar is a fictional character in the StarCraft universe. He was a Protoss High Templar and piloted the Gantrithor, a Protoss Carrier.

In StarCraft Tassadar is voiced by Michael Gough.

In Starcraft Map Editor, he appears as the hero version of the Protoss High Templar, greatly differing from the original by having the ability to attack (Psi Assault).

Biography

Tassadar the Executor

Tassadar, aged 356, bore the title of Executor, a senior Templar rank, until he was ostracised by the Judicator Caste for disobeying the orders of Aldaris, a member of the Protoss Conclave and a religious and military leader of the Protoss people. Unlike Aldaris, Tassadar believed in the need to respect the lives of the Terrans on Chau Sara in their quest to eradicate the Zerg.

Tassadar's Expeditionary Force made first contact between the Protoss and the Zerg when he discovered organic space probes floating in deep space. He had them brought aboard a ship for study, and eventually subjected them to an analysis with Khaydarin Crystals. He was horrified by what he discovered - not only did they naturally react to the crystals (revealing their origins as creations of the Xel'Naga) but he could read their vague thoughts - Find Humanity ... Assimilate ... Learn ... Evolve.

This was reported to the Protoss on Aiur, who ordered him to remove the xenomorphic threat immediately. Tassadar approached Chau Sara, an infested Terran planet. The Zerg had completely covered the planet in Creep, killing or infesting all of its inhabitants. He reluctantly brought his flagship and his fleet into orbit and with their powerful capital ships systematically destroyed all life upon the planet, leaving it a virtual husk of a formerly lush planet.

Unfortunately, other planets had been infested, and Tassadar was ordered to sterilize them, too. The nearest infected planet was Mar Sara. Upon his approach, he was met by a clumsy Terran Confederacy fleet, but instead of attacking them, Tassadar announced himself and withdrew.

Eventually the Terrans evacuated the planet, and only then did Tassadar attack, once more sterilizing a planetary surface. Because of the clumsy way the Terran Confederacy handled the evacuation, the colony (in the company of Jim Raynor) decided to defect to a militant organization called the Sons of Korhal. The Sons of Korhal managed to rescue the bulk of the colony before Tassadar returned to sterilize the planet.

The Sons of Korhal then encounter Tassadar and his fleet again on Antiga Prime. This planet was infested by the Zerg as well, and after the militia had fled from the planet, Tassadar's fleet sterilized the planet's surface. In a "lost" mission not included in the game's final copy (and thus non-canon), Tassadar and his fleet descend to the planet surface and assist the Sons of Korhal in evacuating the Antigans before sterilizing the planet.

Finally the Sons of Korhal brought Psi-Emitters to Tarsonis, the capital planet of the Terran Confederacy and activated them, luring massive amounts of Zerg to the planet in an effort to destroy the core of the Confederacy. Tassadar once again moved his fleet in to destroy the Zerg. Against direct orders, he decided to send his fleet to the planet and destroy the Zerg without harming the Terrans. Perhaps he would have been successful in this, but the Sons of Korhal, fearing that the Confederates would get away, battled Tassadar's fleet to protect the Zerg.

The Sons of Korhal detachment was led by Sarah Kerrigan. However, shortly after the Protoss fleet was defeated by Kerrigan's forces, their main base was attacked by a huge wave of the Zerg, who rapidly overrun the defenses. Kerrigan requested assistance, but the leader of the Sons of Korhal, Arcturus Mengsk, decided however it would be too risky to retrieve the forces, and instead abandoned them, along with Kerrigan. The Zerg proceeded to destroy their base as well as decimate Tassadar's fleet, and captured Kerrigan.

Break with the Conclave

Instead of killing her, the Zerg captured Kerrigan and transported her to Char, taking them away from Tassadar's fleet in the process. Kerrigan was placed in a cocoon, apparently to become the newest creation of the Overmind. However, while in the cocoon, Kerrigan started sending psychic messages to Mengsk and Raynor, attracting the attention of Tassadar and Zeratul as well. Tassadar disobeyed his orders to return to Aiur and travelled to Char.

On Char, he encountered the Dark Templar under the command of Zeratul, who convinced him to join forces in order to defeat the Zerg. Zeratul believed the Zerg were controlled by agents of the Overmind called Cerebrates, and that only his Dark Templar psionic energies could permanently slay one, due to its similarities to his energies and the energies used by Cerebrates. Any other attacks on the Cerebrates were useless, as the Overmind could simply resurrect the fallen Cerebrate. Zeratul also began teaching Tassadar how to use Dark Templar psionic energies, a task that was supposedly impossible, according to Artanis, and also highly forbidden, being compared to treason by Aldaris. Hence, Tassadar became the only Protoss in the history of StarCraft that was able to use both the energy of a High Templar and the energy of a Dark Templar.

Meanwhile, Kerrigan had been reborn into the Zerg Hive as the Overmind's "daughter", an Infested Terran who became his most beloved servant. Kerrigan led a raid on the Terran Science Vessel Amerigo, and was able to fully tap into her latent psionic powers. Using these powers, she sensed Tassadar's presence and advanced on his base when he challenged her might. The Cerebrate Zasz noticed something odd about Tassadar (probably his ability to use Dark Templar energy), but Kerrigan, who had past difficulties with Zasz and was arrogant over her newfound powers, decided to ignore his warning.

Tassadar's challenge ended when he invited Kerrigan to a duel that was nothing more than a ploy for him to escape. Furthermore, the entire ordeal was a distraction for Kerrigan's Brood while Zeratul slew Zasz. This attack temporarily disabled the Overmind, and caused the forces controlled by Zasz to go rampant, forcing the Zerg to destroy Zasz' Garm Brood. However, Tassadar's plan to kill a Cerebrate backfired when it was revealed that when Zeratul killed Zasz, his mind came into a brief contact with the Overmind. This revealed the location of the Protoss homeworld to the Overmind, while giving the secret of the Zerg's origins to Zeratul. The Overmind immediately organized an invasion of Aiur, but first sent Kerrigan to destroy the Dark Templar fleet and capture Zeratul.

As the majority of the Zerg travelled to Aiur, Zeratul was imprisoned in a Terran compound as Tassadar escaped onto an orbital platform. Tassadar contacted Aiur and alerted his friend Fenix to the capabilities and weaknesses of Cerebrates. Fenix's attempts to kill the Cerebrate Gorn of the Baelrog Brood were unsuccessful, however, as Dark Templar energy was not at his disposal, and the Overmind reincarnated the creature before his very eyes. Aldaris was furious and blamed Tassadar for the attack.

The Protoss Conclave, who had ordered Tassadar to return to Aiur several times, considered Tassadar's disobedience to be a betrayal, made worse by his "treachery" with Dark Templar. Aldaris and the Executor travelled to Char and battled through Zerg that had followed Tassadar to find his camp.

Stirring rebellion

Tassadar was found hiding out with the Terran Jim Raynor when the Protoss forces under the command of Aldaris came to arrest him. Aldaris was amused by Raynor and ordered the Executor to arrest Tassadar. However, Tassadar convinced the Executor to work with him and rescue Zeratul. The two traveled to Char's surface, and Aldaris demanded the Executor return. Tassadar and Aldaris bantered with each other before the Executor sided with Tassadar. Tassadar infiltrated the infested Terran base where Zeratul was kept and rescued him, along with a few stray Terrans. Although Zeratul detested the idea of returning to Aiur to fight the Zerg, he vowed to go with Tassadar and assist in slaying the Overmind.

Upon landing on Aiur, the Protoss Conclave, who believed they were winning the war against the Zerg, ordered the arrest of Tassadar and Zeratul with the intention of executing them. Tassadar and Zeratul retreated to a base headed by Fenix, reincarnated into a Dragoon. The three battled the Conclave's forces, eventually leveling their base. Tassadar, disgusted at the sight of Protoss warriors killing one another, surrendered. Accused of betrayal and heresy against the Conclave, Tassadar declared he had acted for the good of Aiur. The Conclave took Tassadar into custody to stand trial and eventually execution.

Zeratul and the Dark Templar vanished, leaving the new Executor and Fenix to continue their rebellion with little support. Fearing that they had no hope against the Overmind without Tassadar, Fenix and the Executor marched against the Conclave's base where Tassadar was being held. Shortly beforehand, Raynor emerged from orbit beside the their fleet and requested he be allowed to help and repay Tassadar for rescuing him on Char. Fenix and Raynor eventually penetrated the Conclave base and freed Tassadar. However, the Conclave had expected an attack and quickly arrived with reinforcements. This was trumped by Zeratul arriving with more of his brethren. Aldaris bitterly withdrew his forces and let them escape.

Final battles

Tassadar rested from his ordeal in the next battle, in which Zeratul slew two of the remaining Cerebrates. This caused the disarray in the Zerg forces Tassadar had hoped for, and taking flight in his carrier, the Gantrithor, he, together with Raynor and Zeratul, led the final assault against the Overmind. Before the battle began, Aldaris contacted Tassadar, and having witnessed the destruction of the Zerg Cerebrates, concluded that both he and the Protoss Conclave were wrong about Tassadar. Aldaris gave Tassadar words of encouragement and declared he was their last hope before wishing him luck.

Aided by Raynor's Raiders, the Protoss launched a full scale offensive against the Zerg. However, in their initial assault on the Overmind, the Protoss and Raynor were only able to destroy the creature's outer shell. By this time the Terrans and the Protoss had suffered significant casualties and the Gantrithor had become critically damaged. Worse, the Overmind had realized the danger he was in, and he had started preparing to flee the scene of battle. With time running out and faced with the imminent arrival of hordes of Zerg reinforcements, Tassadar concentrated his psionic energies (both High and Dark templar energy) on the hull of the Gantrithor and crashed the ship into the Overmind. The resultant energy explosion killed both Tassadar and the Overmind.

Due to his selfless sacrifice, Tassadar is considered a saint of sorts to the Protoss, especially to the later generations. In Brood War, his name is invoked in the salutation En Taro Tassadar, meaning In honour of Tassadar, by analogy with the traditional En Taro Adun. Zealots in the preview of Starcraft 2 also say En Taro Tassadar, though it is still to be known if the old honoring of Adun is still used.

References

• StarCraft homepage at Blizzard Entertainment
• Battle.net StarCraft Compendium
• Underwood, Peter, Bill Roper, Chris Metzen and Jeffrey Vaughn. StarCraft (Manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998.