Koprulu Sector

The Koprulu Sector (from Turkish köprülü, meaning bridged) is the main setting for games and books about the fictional StarCraft universe. This sector of space was colonized by Terrans, near the edges of Protoss space. It is situated on the galactic fringe of the Milky Way, 60,000 light years from planet Earth. The events in this sector are triggered by an exodus of human beings from Earth. There were roughly nine to thirteen important Confederate colony planets in the sector by the 25th century. However, war broke out with the Zerg invasion and subsequent clashes with the Protoss at the dawn of the 26th century.^[1] During the Guild Wars, the sector was divided into at least five zones.

The locations featured here have been featured prominently at one time or another in the StarCraft universe, whether as a battlefield within the games or as a significant part of the contextual background of the story.

Aiur

Aiur is the homeworld of the Protoss in the fictional StarCraft universe.^[1] A lush jungle world, the Protoss are the only intelligent life to have evolved on the planet, though the process was enhanced and sped up by the Xel'Naga. When the Protoss turned on their Xel'Naga teachers and initiated the Aeon of Strife the planet suffered tremendous damage, though with the conflict's resolution the Protoss were able to rebuild and use the planet to expand outwards, colonizing other worlds.^[1]

Prior to and during the events of StarCraft Aiur was the political, military and industrial center of the Protoss Empire. It was the site of the Judicator Assembly, the legislative body of the Empire, and the Conclave, which ruled over the Assembly. Structures were built on Aiur and transported to their interstellar destinations via Warp beacons planted by robotic Probes. Troops were trained and ships built on Aiur and sent to fight on distant planets by traveling through Warp portal buildings constructed on the battlefield.^[1] Aiur was also the source of a great psionic energy matrix, the result of Khaydarin crystals left behind by the Xel'Naga, which was used to power their far-flung military bases and outposts.^[1]

It was during Episode II that the Zerg invaded the planet and ravaged its surface. By the end of the Episode the Overmind succeeded in embedding itself in the planet's crust.^[2] It was only through the efforts of Protoss forces in Episode III and the noble sacrifice of Executor Tassadar that the Overmind was destroyed. With the Overmind's death the Zerg on Aiur reverted to their natural instincts and began attacking any and everything, including each other. What was left of the Protoss leadership attempted to evacuate as many survivors as they could to Shakuras, though some were left behind. In the end, 70% of the planet's population and the entire Conclave was destroyed by the Zerg invasion.^[3]

As of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty Aiur is still a desolate world. The Zerg still roam the surface of the planet, though they have ceased attacking each other and now travel in packs, while the remaining survivors cling to existence amidst the broken ruins of their once great cities.^[4]

Antiga Prime

Antiga Prime was a colony of the Terran Confederacy during the events of the first game; however, the colonists had become disillusioned by the Confederacy, and with help from the Sons of Korhal initiated a rebellion. Lieutenant Sarah Kerrigan and Marshall Jim Raynor succeeded in destroying Confederate forces garrisoning the colony and established a base for the Sons of Korhal.^[2]

When a large Confederate attack force landed near their base, the rebel leader Arcturus Mengsk ordered a psi emitter be used to lure the Zerg into attacking the Confederates. Raynor and Kerrigan objected to this plan, but were overruled. The ploy succeeded, and as the Zerg swarmed over the Confederates — and subsequently the entire planet — the rebels escaped. The Protoss fleet led by Executor Tassadar later arrived and incinerated all life on the world.^[2]

Bhekar Ro

Bhekar Ro is a fringe planet in Terran space with unpredictable weather.^[5] It was colonised by a group of refugees fleeing from the Terran Confederacy, settling on the planet in hope of living independently and self-sustaining. Bhekar Ro houses a Xel'Naga temple, the first to be discovered by Terrans after a severe storm and an earthquake revealed it. This artifact became the focus of a major battle between a Protoss expeditionary force, the Zerg Kukulkan Brood and the Dominion Alpha Squadron after the temple was accidentally activated by one of the colonists.

The only settlement on the planet is Free Haven, built by the first colonists who came to Bhekar Ro to escape from the Terran Confederacy.

The weather on Bhekar Ro is described as unpredictable with no identifiable storm season. The storms are described as having thunders with sonic boom intensity and laser lightning that sears down from the clouds like luminous spears, combined with incidences of hailstorms in the planet. The planet has a massive supply of Vespene gas, with the violent weather regularly unearthing more geysers.

The colony was devastated by the spore plague which killed many of the colonists, including the parents of the main character of the novel "Shadow of The Xel'Naga".

The battle resulted in the complete annihilation of the Protoss and Zerg force, leaving only a handful of surviving Alpha squadron, and their leader who had not participated in the battle, Duke. The world is also rid of its violent thunderstorms, and earthquakes as the world's energy is stabilised after being absorbed by the released Xel'Naga creation. The "energy of life released" by the phoenix-like creature also made the planet much more habitable and arable than it once was.

Braxis

The planet Braxis is a planet of snow and ice located on the edges of the Koprulu Sector. Prior to the events of StarCraft the planet was a Protoss colony named Khyrador, and housed many Protoss artifacts, including the Uraj crystal. Escalating strife with Dark Templar and the sudden appearance of mysterious psionic storms forced the Protoss to abandon the planet and its treasures.^[6] The planet was later colonized by the Terran Dominion.^[6]

The Protoss, needing the Uraj crystal to activate the temple that would rid Shakuras of Zerg, traveled to Braxis in search of the artifact. With reluctant help from Kerrigan, the Protoss located the crystal and rescued it from Dominion hands. However, before they could leave the Protoss were stopped by the arrival of the United Earth Directorate invasion force. The UED fleet put a blockade around the planet, but Artanis and the Protoss were able to escape.^[6]

The UED invaded Braxis and attempted to capture the capital city of Boralis. What could have been a long, drawn-out battle was averted by unexpected help from Samir Duran and his resistance fighters, who showed UED forces a mountain path that allowed them to avoid the city's defenses and capture it easily. As the UED continued their conquest of the Koprulu Sector, Admiral Stukov became convinced that Duran was a traitor working for the Zerg, and returned to Braxis to reconstruct the Psi Disruptor. Though Stukov was killed by Duran, Admiral DuGalle realized the truth and was able to save the Psi Disruptor from being destroyed, using it to enslave the newborn Overmind.^[2]

However, before the UED could finally cement their control of the Sector, an alliance of Emperor Mengsk, Jim Raynor, Fenix and Kerrigan destroyed the Psi Disruptor, enabling the Queen of Blades to regain control of the Zerg Swarm.

Brontes

The Brontes system was a core Confederate system.^[1] It has one colony on the world of Brontes IV, with a small orbital platform for space traffic in orbit of the planet.^[7] Unlike most planets in Terran space, Brontes IV has a more diverse environment, ranging from the typical wastelands of Terran colonies through highly volcanic areas to large jungles. Several areas of the planet have large valleys rich in mineral deposits.

The colony was attacked in the initial Zerg invasion of the Koprulu Sector, but the combined efforts of the colonial militia and a detachment of Tassadar's expeditionary force prevented the invasion from achieving immediate success. The actions of the Protoss and a rebel Terran group known as the Fist of Redemption led to the Swarm losing control of Incubus Brood to Atticus Carpenter, the leader of the Terran rebels.

Following a long war of attrition against the Protoss and the colonists, the Zerg were able to overrun and destroy their adversaries, ending the campaign with the culling of the renegade Incubus Brood. The status of the planet since the end of the Brood War is not known.

Char

Char is an unstable volcanic ashworld that supports little native life. It was colonized by the Zerg during the events of the first game, to act as a safe birthing ground for the transformation of Sarah Kerrigan into the Zerg's Queen of Blades.^[2] There were several battles on the surface of Char between the Zerg, Protoss and Terrans. The fighting continued until the Zerg Overmind discovered the location of Aiur with Zeratul's assassination of Zasz. Thereafter the Overmind left Kerrigan behind on Char to deal with the remaining enemy forces while it traveled to the Protoss homeworld.^[2]

During the events of the Brood War Char again came into focus as the new home of the reborn Overmind. The United Earth Directorate succeeded in invading Char and capturing the Overmind for their use, but were subsequently driven off and the Overmind was killed by Kerrigan, who assumed command of the entire Zerg Swarm.^[6] Char is still under Zerg control at the time of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty and remains their primary base of operations.

Chau Sara

Chau Sara was a bleak, hard world, one of the fringe colonies created by the Terran Confederacy. Prior to the events of the game Chau Sara was one of the first of the Terran worlds invaded by the Zerg, who seeded its atmosphere with toxic spores and spread its warriors and organic Creep across the surface. In a demo released by Blizzard to advertise for Starcraft, the player commands an invasion to clear the Zerg from Chau Sara. General Duke is present in the third and final demo mission. Confederate response to the invasion was ineffectual in stopping the Zerg, until the sudden arrival of a Protoss fleet led by Executor Tassadar. The planet was sterilized of all life through orbital bombardment.^[2]

Dark Moon

The Dark Moon is an unknown moon controlled by Samir Duran. It is here where he conducted experiments to unite Protoss and Zerg into hybrids. During the Brood War, Zeratul landed upon the moon to discover the source of Protoss signatures he had been sensing. He and a small group of his followers explore the moon, discovering and killing the researchers. The Protoss also discovered stasis cells powered by Protoss technology. Zeratul discovered what was being created and destroyed the most of the cells, freeing some of the Protoss captives. Zeratul, however, was unable to stop the last hybrid from being completed. Soon after realizing this, Duran appears, claiming that he works for a greater power and that his creation will bring order to the sector. Zeratul then leaves the moon, believing that there are other hybrids seeded on other unknown planets.

Dylar

The Dylarian system is a core Terran system in the Koprulu Sector.^[1] The colony on Dylar IV formed one of the key worlds of the Terran Confederacy, housing the base of operations for Omega Squadron. The colony was attacked by the Zerg and presumed infested in the initial stages of their invasion of the Sector. The status of the colony after the end of the Brood War is not known.

The Dylarian system also housed a large orbital shipyard facility. These shipyards were vital to the Confederate fleet and later became the property of the Terran Dominion. It is at these shipyards that Jim Raynor's troops managed to commandeer a small fleet of combat vessels for his new rebel organisation after the fall of Tarsonis, even managing to hijack Arcturus Mengsk's flagship, the Hyperion, from the command of General Duke.^[8] During the early stages of United Earth Directorate's invasion of the Sector the shipyards were raided again, this time by UED forces to capture a large number of Dominion battlecruisers for use in their campaign. General Duke attempted to defend the shipyards in the new flagship Norad III, but his forces met defeat at the superior firepower of the UED fleet.^[6]

Korhal

The planet of Korhal IV was one of the core colonies of the Terran Confederacy and considered one of its most treasured and pampered worlds.^[1] However, anti-Confederacy sentiment was widespread among the populace, culminating in a rebellion against Confederate authority led by Senator Angus Mengsk. The Confederacy's response of assassinating Angus and his family resulted only in Arcturus Mengsk taking his father's place as leader of the rebellion. Fearing that Korhal's secession from the Confederacy might result in other worlds breaking away, the Confederacy fired one thousand Apocalypse-class nuclear missiles from Tarsonis and obliterated the surface of Korhal, killing over four million Terrans.^[1] The rebels who survived by being off-world, Mengsk included, renamed themselves the Sons of Korhal and continued their campaign of terrorism against the Confederacy.

Ten years later, during the events of StarCraft with the fall of the Confederacy, Mengsk declared himself Emperor of the new Terran Dominion and Korhal as his Throne World.^[2] The planet was still devastated from the nuclear bombardment, reduced to little more than a smoldering desert. Radiation levels, however, were low enough to support the capital city of New Augustgrad and other settlements.

Four years later, during Episode V of the Brood War, a commander in the invasion force of the United Earth Directorate, captured Korhal IV for the UED, though Mengsk escaped with help from James Raynor.^[6] By Episode VI the planet was once again conquered, this time as a Cerebrate under the Queen of Blades' control, which was part of a deal with Mengsk to return the planet to him in exchange for psi emitters.^[6]

A vast amount of resources were spent into rebuilding the once ravaged world, and Korhal IV still remains the capital of the Terran Dominion as of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, with Mengsk as the reigning Emperor.

Mar Sara

Mar Sara was a core colony of the Terran Confederacy^[1] and the setting of the first missions in StarCraft. As at Chau Sara the Zerg began infesting the planet by seeding its atmosphere with their spores. However when the Protoss arrived to cleanse Mar Sara they held off attacking; the Confederacy had mounted a clumsy counter-attack to protect the planet from them, and Executor Tassadar did not wish to kill any more Terrans than was necessary.^[2] Instead of attempting to rescue the population from imminent destruction, though, Confederate forces concentrated on evacuating their own equipment and personnel from the planet.

This created a perfect propaganda opportunity for the Sons of Korhal, who arrived with transports to save as many civilians as they could. They were thus able to gain the loyalty of the local Colonial Magistrate and Marshall James Raynor, both of whom joined the rebels. The Sons of Korhal were also able to break into the Jacobs Installation and discovered that the Confederacy was responsible for the Zerg attack, having created psi emitters to lure them to the planet. The rebels managed to escape Mar Sara just before the Protoss eradicated all life on the planet.^[2] According to the official website for StarCraft II, the Zerg were believed to have recolonized Mar Sara following the Protoss sterilization. The website also reveals Mar Sara has two moons, Pyramus and Thisby (named after the two lovers of Shakespeare's play within the play A Midsummer Night's Dream).

Moria

Moria is the capital world of the Kel-Morian Combine. This red, mineral-rich planet was one of the first three planets originally settled by the Terrans, along with Tarsonis and Umoja. Separated from its sister worlds by vast distances, Moria developed in isolation for sixty years until contact was made with exploration ships from Tarsonis. Communications and trade were opened up between the three worlds, though efforts by Tarsonis to unite their worlds under one government were resisted by the Morians.^[1]

With the formation of the Terran Confederacy, Moria began to fear the Confederacy might attempt to move in and regulate their lucrative operations. In response, two powerful organizations, the Kelanis Guild and the Morian Mining Coalition, formed the Kel-Morian Combine, a shady, corporate partnership led by Gen Mah Sakai that promised military aid to any Mining Guild oppressed by the Confederates. The resulting increase in tension led to the Guild Wars between the Confederates and Combine, which was resolved after fours years of fighting by a "negotiated" peace settlement. The Combine retained its autonomy but lost almost all of its Mining Guilds to Confederate control.^[1]

When the Confederacy was overthrown and replaced by the Terran Dominion, Moria rallied to Mengsk's banner and joined the new administration.^[3] The invasion of the United Earth Directorate during the Brood War weakened Dominion power, allowing Moria to break away and become independent again. Moria also came under attack when the Zerg raided the planet for resources for Kerrigan's planned invasion of Korhal.^[6]

As of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty Moria is still an independent power, spending its still-vast resources preparing for the inevitable war with the Dominion, the Zerg, or both.

Nemaka

Nemaka is a small, lifeless planet in Dominion space.^[4] It once had an atmosphere but this was believed to have been destroyed due to a meteor strike, leaving the surface a rocky wasteland. While it had been surveyed for Confederate archive purposes, it was thought to be a place of little importance until a Xel'Naga temple, similar to the one on Bhekar Ro, was discovered there a number of years after the Brood War. Unlike the temple on Bhekar Ro, this temple was no longer occupied by a Xel'Naga creature.

Under orders from the Heir Apparent of the Dominion, Valerian Mengsk, a number of archeological teams were sent to analyse the temple, culminating with Doctor Jacob Ramsey successfully opening the inner core of the temple and having the mind of the Protoss preserver Zamara forced upon him before her corporeal death.

Shakuras

Shakuras is the twilight homeworld of the Dark Templar. Exiled from Aiur, the Dark Templar were Protoss who rejected the teachings of the Khala and branded as heretics. Instead of executing them as at first ordered by the Judicator Conclave, Executor Adun gave them abandoned Xel'Naga ships and ordered them to never return.^[1] After wandering the stars the Dark Templar eventually settled on Shakuras and began rebuilding their lives. The capital city of Shakuras is Talematros.^[3]

During the Brood War survivors from the destruction of Aiur attempted to resettle on Shakuras, but they were followed by Zerg forces.^[6] The two sides came together to fight this threat, and activated an ancient Xel'Naga temple that wiped out all Zerg presence on the world. Despite working together, the long history of hatred between the two factions resulted in open strife, which Kerrigan was able to manipulate to her advantage.^[6]

As of StarCraft 2 Wings of Liberty, Shakuras is still the home of the Dark and Khalai Protoss, the latter having founded their own city of New Antioch. Though the two factions have come to work more closely together, feelings of hate and suspicion still simmer beneath the surface, with many of the Khalai preaching for a reconquest of Aiur.

Tarsonis

Tarsonis was the capital world of the Terran Confederacy. A temperate planet, its original ten thousand inhabitants were from one of three prison ships to survive the journey from Earth to the Koprulu Sector. Tarsonis became the political and intellectual center of Terran power in the region as its population was the first to rediscover subwarp engines and colonize other worlds, forming the Confederacy.^[1]

By the beginning of the first game, the Confederacy had grown corrupt and proved inadequate at handling threats from the Sons of Korhal, the Protoss, and the Zerg. The defenses of Tarsonis were strong as the planet was protected by three orbital platforms, staging areas for the Confederate navy.^[2] However, the Sons of Korhal succeeded in disabling the central platform and planting a psi emitter at its location. The Zerg Swarm, lured by the emitter, descended upon Tarsonis by the billions and overwhelmed the planet, with further damage done as the Protoss arrived to combat them.^[2]

The Zerg still retained a presence on the planet at the time of the Brood War, and it served as a staging point for Kerrigan's quest to regain control of the Swarm. In StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty Tarsonis is a broken and desolate world where the Dominion currently have several salvage operations.

Tyrador

The Tyrador system lies within Terran space. It contains two colonised planets, Tyrador VIII and Tyrador IX. It is also known as the home of an alcoholic drink, the Tyrador Mindbender.

Tyrador IX was a core Confederate colony.^[1] The planet was a popular tourist destination and was considered a safe zone from threats to the Confederacy by the Old Families.^[9] Little is known of its current state, but it is believed that it escaped Zerg infestation and became a part of the Terran Dominion.

Its sister world, Tyrador VIII, is more sparsely populated. It was used by Cliff Nadaner and his anarchist group to hide from the Terran Dominion.^[9]

Zerus

Zerus was the original homeworld of the Zerg, and is an inhospitable planet that is wrought with severely unstable volcanic activity and was home to several species of giant insectoid creatures that were capable of surviving the harsh atmosphere.^[1]

The Xel'Naga — an advanced cosmic race that sought to create and care for lesser races — journeyed through the universe to create a race with a "purity of essence". The Xel'Naga settled on Zerus, and chose the most insignificant life-form upon the planet to create their new species: a larval creature known as the Zerg.^[1]

They nurtured these creatures, allowing them to affect their surroundings in almost parasitic ways. Eventually, the larvae began infesting the creatures of the planet by burrowing themselves into the spinal cord of the creatures and assimilating their DNA, turning them into monstrosities.^[1] The Zerg spread rapidly across the planet, infesting every living life-form on the surface while rapidly growing in numbers.

The Xel'Naga, remembering that their failure with the Protoss was due to their pushing the evolution of a sentient species too quickly, decided to follow a different path with the Zerg. To counter this problem, the Xel'Naga structured the collective sentience of the Zerg into a hive mind controlled by the only fully sentient Zerg: the Zerg Overmind.

However, the pride of the Xel'Naga was their downfall. The Overmind expanded its forces and eventually became aware of the Xel'Naga's presence. In response, the Overmind severed its psychic link with the Xel'Naga and then launched an attack against them. Most of the Xel'Naga race was destroyed and assimilated by the Zerg assault. In this way, the Overmind gained the knowledge of its masters, including their experiments with evolution, proto-genetics, the use of the Khaydarin crystals, and the existence of the Protoss.^[1] The Zerg eventually abandoned the planet, leaving it completely devoid of life.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s} Underwood, Peter, Bill Roper, Chris Metzen and Jeffrey Vaughn. StarCraft (Manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l} StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: The Big Push (in English). 1998.
3. ^ ^{a b c} Underwood, Peter; Roper, Bill; Metzen, Chris. StarCraft: Brood War (manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998
4. ^ ^{a b} Golden, Christie. StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga: Firstborn. Simon & Schuster Pocket Books, 2007
5. ^ Mesta, Gabriel. StarCraft: Shadow of the Xel'Naga. Simon & Schuster Pocket Books, 2001
6. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. 1998.
7. ^ Insurrection: Campaigns for StarCraft manual. Aztech New Media, 1998
8. ^ Rosenburg, Aaron. StarCraft: Queen of Blades. Simon & Schuster Pocket Books, 2006
9. ^ ^{a b} DeCandido, Keith R. A. StarCraft Ghost: Nova. Simon & Schuster Pocket Books, 2006