Sons of Korhal

The Sons of Korhal is an extremist faction in the StarCraft universe. One of the founding worlds upon which the Terran Confederacy was built, Korhal has been a hot-bed of anti-Confederate sentiment since its inception. As civil violence ensued against the Confederate forces on Korhal, the Confederacy decided to make an object lesson of the Colony. A massive nuclear strike decimated Korhal, leaving the Confederates unchallenged by any other Colony. Arcturus Mengsk, a one-time Confederate Prospector, founded the Sons of Korhal in order to topple the corrupt Confederate institution and build a new system of government that would benefit all Terrans within the Koprulu Sector. Mengsk's methods and tactics range from harsh to nefarious. Heralded by radicals as a visionary and a patriot, Mengsk is seen by the Confederacy as a terrorist and a madman.

Commander: Arcturus Mengsk

Designation: Renegade Activist Coalition

Base of Operations: Mobile

Militia Color: Red

History

Korhal was one of the core Confederate worlds originally settled by Tarsonian colonists. A world of affluence and enlightenment, Korhal contributed greatly to the military and technological advancements of the Confederacy. Although the Confederacy benefited from Korhal's continued productivity, the citizens of the colony resented their forced affiliation with the often-corrupt Confederate Senators. Attempting to retain their independence, the citizenry of Korhal instigated numerous riots against the local Confederate militia. The Confederates responded in kind and declared martial law throughout the colony. This only seemed to agitate the local populace even more, escalating the already rampant civil chaos. The Confederates believed that if their most treasured and pampered colony could turn against them, then all of their other colonies might revolt as well. It was decided that the crisis on Korhal would be ended by any means necessary. Korhal would serve as a chilling example to all of the colonies in the Confederacy.

A dynamic Korhalian Senator by the name of Angus Mengsk took it upon himself to formalize the sentiments of his fellow citizens. Their cry for freedom was undeniable when Mengsk actively declared war against the Confederates. Whipping the people of Korhal into a volatile, patriotic frenzy, the Senator succeeded in capturing all of the Confederate outposts on Korhal. Issuing statements declaring that the Confederacy no longer held any claim over the world of Korhal, Mengsk succeeded in garnering the respect and admiration of many other struggling colonies.

The Confederates, seeking to contain the situation, pulled their forces from Korhal and withdrew their fleet from its skies. Mengsk and the other leaders of the revolt, believing that they had won their independence, celebrated their victory over the Confederacy. The Confederates, knowing that a perceived loss to Korhal might instigate other colonies to revolt, planned to retake the planet though subtler means.

The Confederates sent three of their deadliest assassins, known only as Ghosts, to eliminate Mengsk and his supporters on Korhal. The Senator's decapitated body, along with those of his wife and young daughter, were found the next morning on the private balcony his towering, fortress-like headquarters. Mengsk's head was never found. While the assassination did much to weaken the revolt on Korhal, it also fueled the fires that would eventually forge the greatest enemy the Confederacy would ever know...

Arcturus Mengsk, an accomplished Confederate Prospector and businessman, did not take the news of his family's death well. Having been a Prospector for years, Arcturus knew of the despicable lengths that the Confederacy would go to in an effort to reach its objectives. He was uninterested with greater Sector politics and was even alarmed and somewhat embarrassed by the actions of his estranged father on Korhal. He never dreamed, however, that his family would be killed merely to prove a point. Their deaths stirred something inside the young Arcturus, leading him to forsake his promising future and follow a lonely path of vengeance.

Rallying the various militant groups that had followed his father against the Confederates, Arcturus succeeded in fashioning an impressive, yet somewhat ragtag, army. Mengsk's followers struck boldly at various Confederate bases and installations, costing the Confederacy billions of credits in men, machines and equipment. With rumors spreading of a secret alliance between Mengsk's group and the Umojan Protectorate, the Confederate Government quickly decided on a final solution to their problem. A salvo of one thousand Apocalypse-class nuclear missiles was fired at the planet of Korhal from the distant Confederate capital of Tarsonis. Over 4,000,000 people were annihilated during the savage attack. In a single instant, the prosperous colony of Korhal was reduced to nothing more than a super-heated sphere of blackened glass and stirring phantoms.

The news of the holocaust reached Mengsk at a secret base located within the borders of the Umojan Protectorate. With nothing left save vengeance, Arcturus and those gathered with him on that sorrowful day pledged a sacred vow to bring down the Confederacy at all costs.

Calling themselves the Sons of Korhal, Arcturus and his renegade team of volunteers quickly made names for themselves as the most wanted fugitives in the Sector. Striking silently and swiftly, the Sons of Korhal won countless victories over the Confederacy. But with every battle won in the name of justice, Arcturus was portrayed as a madman and a terrorist by the Confederate-controlled media. Most colonies refused to house or provide services to anyone affiliated with the outlaw group. Yet, despite seemingly overwhelming odds and scandalous public opinion, Mengsk never gave up the fight against the Confederates. The Sons of Korhal continued to confound Confederate enforcement agencies as they worked to bring about their mission of liberation for the Sector.

During a raid on a remote Terran outpost in 2498, Mengsk discovered a Zerg within Confederate holding pins and rescued a 25 year old Confederate assassin, named Sarah Kerrigan, from the Confederate scientists. The Confederates had ruined both their lives, and it was a simple matter to convince the young woman to lend her formidable skills to his cause. Kerrigan became 2nd in Command of the Sons of Korhal and was often called upon to be an executioner. Mengsk raided the salvage dumps at some point after that.

In December a year later, Mengsk makes an offer to the Colonial Magistrate of Mar Sara to help him out by sending down a number of transports to the colony and evacuating any survivors of the Zerg infestation. Magistrate accepts their help and, for his affiliation with the Sons of Korhal, gets his tenure as Colonial Magistrate suspended. The Sons of Korhal also free the Colonial Militia from the prison ship. The former Mar Sara Colonial Militia become part of the Sons of Korhal, under the command of Captain James Raynor and the former Magistrate, who becomes known as 'Commander'. Mar Sara is almost completely overrun by the Zerg, Raynor and his men raid Mar Sara's Confederate outpost, the Jacobs Installation. With the chaos of the Confederates' evacuation, they don't have any trouble getting in or out of their installation. Inside, Raynor finds Zerg in the holding pens, and Mengsk reveals what he had seen a year ago. Raynor accesses the Confederate network and downloads the files onto data discs believed to contain weapon designs. In the wake of the chaos resulting from the Zerg invasion, the Sons of Korhal escape with the stolen data discs.

Fleeing to the border colony of Antiga Prime, Arcturus' group plans its next crucial moves against the Confederacy. Their efforts have weakened the Confederacy's grip on the Fringe Worlds. The border colony of Antiga Prime is ready to begin open revolt against the Confederacy. Unfortunately, the Confederates, aware of this as well, have stationed a large detachment of Alpha Squadron troops there. Raynor and Kerrigan free the colony and the Antigans revolt, saying, "We've tolerated these Confederate goons long enough!" The Antigan rebels become part of the Sons of Korhal.

The Sons of Korhal pick up a priority one distress call from Alpha Squadron's commander, General Edmund Duke, from his flagship, the Norad II, which has crash-landed and is being hit hard by the Zerg. Mengsk sends Raynor to move in and save the base. When they arrive, Duke says, "You're about the last folks I expected to show up. What's you angle, Mengsk?" Mengsk tries to convince Duke to join forces with him by offering him a position in his cabinet. Duke agrees and Alpha Squadron joins the Sons of Korhal.

Their position is discovered and a large Confederate strike force arrives on Antiga Prime and establishes a base camp within the defensive perimeter. Two hours later, Arcturus Mengsk calls a meeting where he reveals that the data discs didn't hold weapon designs after all. Kerrigan explains that they contained designs for a Transplaner Psionic Waveform Emitter, or Psi Emitter, which broadcasts the neural imprint of a Ghost, which the Zerg are attuned to, but at a much greater magnitude. Mengsk reveals that the Confederacy used the Psi Emitters to lure the Zerg into isolated containment areas, Mar Sara was one such location. He reveals that their plan was to use the Zerg to put an end to their other rivals and be lauded as heroes for coming in and destroying the Zerg. Mengsk then has Kerrigan plant an Emitter at the Confederate base camp. When the Zerg arrive, they break the blockade for them and they make their escape.

The Sons of Korhal travel to Tarsonis, where Mengsk states, "The time of our final strike against the Confederacy is close at hand. Before we can strike at Tarsonis itself, however, we must break through the Confederacy's most potent defenses." General Duke and his Alpha Squadron assaults the central of Tarsonis' three primary orbital platforms, at the end of which he reports, "the Emitters are secured and online." Kerrigan and Raynor disagree with Mengsk's decision to authorize the use of Psi Emitters. Like a beacon, the combined power of the Psi Emitters reach out to the far corners of the Terran Sector, luring billions of Zerg to Tarsonis. The Zerg, overrunning the Confederacy's best defenses, proceed to lay waste to Tarsonis' major cities and industrial centers.

The Adjutant picks up several dozen Protoss warships descending upon Tarsonis, heading on a direct course to the primary Zerg Hive. Mengsk, fearing that if they engage the Zerg, the Confederates may escape, has Commander send Kerrigan with a strike force to engage the Protoss. Despite Raynor's pleas to her not to go, Kerrigan goes down and neutralizes the Protoss. Then, a wave of Zerg advances on her position and she requests evacuation. Instead, General Mengsk orders the immediate disengagement of the Korhal fleet from the Tarsonian system, despite Raynor's urging to evacuate her. The fleet loses contact with the ground forces at New Gettysburg.

Raynor tells Commander, "I can't believe he actually left her down there! I'm gone, and you'd better come with me, there's no telling who Arcturus'll screw over next." A transmission is received from Mengsk, in which he states, "Gentlemen, you've done very well, but remember that we've still got a job to do. The seeds of a new Empire have been sewn, and if we hope to reap..." Raynor cuts him off and, with Commander, forms a new faction, made up of the former Mar Sara Colonial Militia, called Raynor's Raiders.

Meanwhile, the Sons of Korhal becomes the Terran Dominion, and Mengsk crowns himself Emperor of the Dominion.