Male
Race: Human
Relationship: Raynor's Raiders
Alive

James Eugene (Jim) Raynor - main character and one of the series' protagonists computer games and StarCraft novels.

The character's creators are game designers Chris Metzen and James Finney. In all games in the series, Raynor was voiced by Robert Clotworthy. There is no official translation of Starcraft and Starcraft: Brood War into Russian; in StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty he is voiced by Vsevolod Kuznetsov.

In the original game and Brood War, Raynor appears as a supporting character; in StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, he is the main protagonist.

Description from the official website

Jim Raynor was the Confederate sheriff on Mar Sara when the zerg first attacked the planet. In battles with alien aggressors, he managed to save many lives. However, after the battle at the Dalnyaya base, Raynor was taken into custody: the Confederate government charged him with the destruction of government property. He was released from prison by the revolutionary group “Sons of Korhal” under the leadership of Arcturus Mengsk. Raynor decided to join her.

Mengsk's lust for power and unscrupulousness soon began to trouble the former sheriff. When Arcturus betrayed his own comrade in arms, Lieutenant Sarah Kerrigan, and unleashed the zerg on several Confederate planets with no regard for civilians, it became clear that he was no better than the dictators he sought to overthrow. These actions of Mengsk forced Raynor to organize a rebellion within the ranks of the Sons of Korhal. Capturing a small fleet, including Mengsk's flagship Hyperion, he attempted to rescue Sarah Kerrigan from the zerg planet Char. There he first came into contact with the Protoss and earned the respect of the valiant Executor Tassadar. Raynor's sincerity helped him mend the relationship between Tassadar and the Dark Templar Zeratul.

Maybe it won't happen today, my dear. While I have a whole army looming behind me, it’s unlikely. But rest assured: one day I will destroy you with my own hands. We will meet again!

Raynor's men fought alongside the Protoss in several more campaigns. Without them, the Protoss would never have been able to defeat the army of the United Earth Directorate. By a strange whim of fate, Raynor is once again a short time became friends with Arcturus Mengsk and the Queen of Blades, the creature into which Sarah Kerrigan was transformed by the Zerg Overmind. Mengsk and the Queen of Blades were briefly united by hatred of a common enemy, but the alliance of two tyrants is a fragile thing. Kerrigan was the first to turn against yesterday's ally. Her betrayal cost the lives of many of Jim Raynor's comrades.

Raynor himself managed to escape; he swore an oath to take revenge at all costs. However, his chances of withstanding the Zerg Swarm and the Queen of Blades, who had powerful psionic abilities, were slim. Exhausted by the unequal struggle, Raynor returns to the Terran-controlled part of the sector, where the Dominion under the leadership of Arcturus Mengsk is gaining strength. Raynor becomes the leader of the resistance movement. Year after year, his efforts do not bear any fruit: Mengsk has powerful tools at his disposal - oratory, the media and other forms of propaganda.

Raynor's raiders are still considered the main enemies of the state in the Terran Dominion. As long as Raynor lives, Mengsk sees him as a constant threat to his power. On the other hand, Raynor’s death would automatically elevate him to the rank of “martyr,” which would be extremely disadvantageous for the authorities. Therefore, for now, Mengsk adheres to an intermediate line: to poison and persecute Raynor and his comrades, without giving them the opportunity to regain their strength.

Over many years of exhausting skirmishes with the infinitely superior forces of the Dominion, Raynor's fighters turned into a pale imitation of themselves. To provide themselves with the basic necessities, Raynor's raiders more than once had to work as mercenaries. Apparently, such work cannot be abandoned in the future: the soldiers need supplies and weapons. Freedom is not given for free.

Today Raynor seems to be broken. He has lost faith in everything, drinks bitters and blames himself for the fact that Sarah Kerrigan was captured by the zergs. He is consumed by a fierce hatred of Mengsk. First Officer Matt Horner still believes in his captain and is committed to the ideas of the revolution, but the doubts that plague Raynor have already begun to eat away at the ranks of his associates. Horner is trying his best to maintain morale among the Raiders. He firmly believes that sooner or later Raynor will remember his past glory and lead the rebels to victory.

Raynor never studied military science, but this does not prevent him from being a good commander and an excellent tactician. All his knowledge is based on rich life experience, so he never follows the “rules of the book.” Deep analysis is not his element. He rarely plans far ahead, but is excellent at improvising and turning the situation to his advantage, acting according to the circumstances.

Raynor has a troubled past. Everyone knows that among his closest associates is the famous criminal Tychus Findlay, now serving a prison sentence. They were brought together by their service in the 321st Colonial Ranger Battalion, the Sky Devils, during the war between the Confederacy and the Kelmorian Syndicate. They met at Fort Howe on the planet Turaxis II after Findlay served a three-month sentence in an army colony for assaulting a superior officer.

Only bastards like you can fight for the Confederacy.

As the Guild War drew to a close, Raynor and Findlay were accused of friendly fire during a failed mission on Turaxis II. In fact, the tragic outcome of the operation was solely a mistake of the command, but the two friends understood perfectly well that they would not see a fair trial if this could harm the reputation of the highest ranks. They spent several years on the run, subsisting on robbery. Tychus was then arrested by the Confederates and sentenced to life in cryogenic imprisonment. How Raynor managed to avoid a similar fate and subsequently become sheriff on Mar Sara remains a mystery.

Story

Jim Raynor was a senior Confederate officer on Mar Sara during the first zerg invasion of that world. Although he bravely fought the alien aggressors and saved many lives, he was arrested under the pretext of destroying Confederate property at Backwater Base. When he was subsequently freed by the Sons of Korhal - a group of anti-Confederate revolutionaries led by Arcturus Mengsk - Raynor decided to fight on their side.

Also before last mission For the Protoss, he tells Tassadar that the zerg killed his family. In the book Liberty's Crusade, Raynor's child was taken into the Wraith school and died in an accident.

StarCraft

When the player first meets Raynor, he is 29 years old and serving as sheriff of the colonial militia. Under orders from the Confederate High Command, he escorts the colonists of Mar Sara to the wastelands, preparing for their eventual evacuation from the planet, which is under attack by the zerg.

While guarding the colonists, he receives a distress call from the Confederate outpost Backwater Station.

General Edmund Duke, commander of Alpha Squad, orders the Colonial Magistrate not to intervene as he will send help himself, but Raynor believes Duke will be too late. He and the militia attack the zerg, save the outpost and at the same time destroy the infected Command Center. Confederate forces arrive and arrest him on charges of destruction of Confederate property. Arcturus Mengsk, leader of the Sons of Korhal, frees Raynor from the prison ship, and Jim decides to go over to Mengsk's side. He convinces the Colonial Magistrate to join him. Along with the Sons of Korhal, Raynor participates in many battles against the zerg and the Confederacy. He falls in love with Sarah Kerrigan, Mengsk's second-in-command, and she reciprocates his feelings. The Confederacy suffers a crushing defeat at the hands of the Sons of Korhal on their home world of Tarsonis.

However, at the end of the first episode of StarCraft, Mengsk gives Sarah Kerrigan to be devoured by the zerg on a space platform above Tarsonis. Raynor breaks up with Mengsk because of this betrayal. Mengsk and Edmund Duke attempt to thwart Raynor by activating the orbital ion cannon. Raynor's raiders destroy the cannon and escape in Mengsk's former headquarters cruiser, the Hyperion. Having lost his homeworld and allies, Raynor begins to act on his own.

In the second episode of StarCraft, Raynor appears on the planet Char, lured there by psionic signals from the infected Kerrigan. His base was destroyed by the zerg, but the Queen of Blades (as Kerrigan is now called) leaves him alive, since he alone is not dangerous to her. Raynor was shocked to see what Sarah had become. It subsequently turned out that he escaped from Chara along with the Protoss Executor Tassadar, who was also attracted by Kerrigan's psi waves.

In the third episode of StarCraft, Raynor joins Tassadar on a space platform above Char. Tassadar is also in a very difficult position - he needs reinforcements from Aiur to save Praetor Zeratul and other dark templars. The Protoss Conclave does send forces, but only to arrest Tassadar. The Dark Templars are blocked by Kerrigan's forces inside a captured human factory.

Tassadar attacks the plant and frees Zeratul and the Dark Templars. After this, Raynor, Aldaris (a judge from the Conclave), Tassadar and Zeratul return to Aiur, where they meet Phoenix, who joins them. The Protoss Conclave does not want to have anything to do with the dark templars and declares that cooperation with the dark ones is heresy. Tassadar is forced to rebel against the Conclave, but later surrenders to stop civil war. Executor (player), Raynor and Phoenix escape. Zeratul and the Dark Templars disappear. Raynor, in command of the Hyperion, helps Phoenix and the Executor free Tassadar from prison.

At the very end of the third episode of StarCraft, Raynor and his raiders, along with Tassadar, Zeratul and other protoss, destroy the Overmind, while Tassadar sacrifices himself by sending the aircraft carrier Gantrithor directly to the Overmind.

StarCraft: Brood War

Temporarily left without a leader, the zerg take over Aiur, killing most of the inhabitants. The survivors, led by Zeratul, Aldaris and the new praetor Artanis, are evacuated through the Warp Gate to Shakuras, the homeworld of the Dark Templars. Phoenix and Raynor defend the Gate so the Protoss can escape. This was the beginning of a friendship between Raynor and Phoenix.

During the fifth episode of StarCraft, Raynor appears only to save Arcturus Mengsk from capture by the United Earth Directorate, and then escapes with him through the Warp Gate.

At the beginning of the sixth episode of StarCraft, Kerrigan asks Raynor and Phoenix to give her Mengsk. It gives all three the impression that they are united against a common enemy - the UED. Kerrigan uses them to destroy the Psi-Distructor (this device could create waves to bring chaos to the ranks of the zerg) and to capture Korhal. After, no longer needing them, Kerrigan kills Phoenix and Edmund Duke. Raynor realizes Kerrigan's duplicity and vows to kill her. He does not appear in Brood War again. After the final mission, the player is told that Raynor and Zeratul have gone their separate ways.

Other StarCraft Campaigns

Raynor appears in the StarCraft 64 map, "Resurrection 4", which takes place after Brood War. "Resurrection 4" takes place on the planet Braxis, where he rescues the zerg-infected Alexei Stukov and returns him to human form using nanotechnology.

StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty

Four years after the end of the Zerg War, Jim Raynor continues to raid and resist Dominion forces, leading uprisings in 12 colonies. The media trashes Raynor's Raiders, and Raynor drowns his sadness over Kerrigan with whiskey at Joray's on Mar Sara. One day, his old friend, Tychus Findlay, comes to him and offers to earn credits by mining rare artifacts. Raynor agrees and, without knowing it, works for the emperor's son, Valerian Mengsk and his Mobius Foundation.

Flying around on Hyperion different planets with the support of his friends, Raynor collects the artifact, and also helps the colonists led by Ariel Hansen and meets with the runaway phantoms led by Gabriel Tosh (depending on the choice offered in the company, the colonists can be destroyed, and together with the “ghost” of Nova against Tosh’s troops, in which case there will be “ghosts” in Raynor’s army).

At the same time, he meets Zeratul, who gives him his Ichon Crystal, which contains the dark templar's memories of his journey and the prophecy of the return of the fallen xel'naga, Amun, who will gather a huge horde of zerg and destroy the universe along with the zerg themselves, and only Sarah Kerrigan can stop Armageddon. After several meetings with the Queen of Blades, impressed by Zeratul's memories, Raynor becomes increasingly depressed and drunk, and Matt Horner finds a way out for him, reminding him of his responsibility over the Raiders and the Koprulu Sector with the help of his old Confederate Sheriff badge.

Raynor continues his rebellion, culminating in the dissemination of incriminating evidence on Arcturus Mengsk on the official television channel.

Finally meeting with Valerian, Raynor learns that the artifact they collected belongs to the xel'naga, and with its help it is possible to return Sarah Kerrigan to her former human state. Raynor's Raiders, joining forces with the Dominion fleet led by Valerian Mengsk and General Warfield, launch a desperate attack on Char. During the battle, the artifact releases a powerful psionic charge, destroying the zerg and returning Kerrigan to her human form. Then it becomes known that all this time Tychus was working for Mengsk Sr. with the mission to kill Sarah. The Emperor placed Findlay in a Marine suit that could shut down all vital organs if he went against the mission. Tychus shoots at Kerrigan, but Raynor covers her with himself, and then fires the bullet he saved for Mengsk at his old friend. At the end, he takes Kerrigan to the Hyperion.

• Horner in the secret mission "Heart of Darkness" calls Raynor's middle name - Eugene.
• In the in-game video "Betrayal", which represents Jim's memories, he briefly flashes in his classic appearance - with short hair and no beard.

StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm

After Chara, Raynor brings Sarah Kerrigan to the Umojin Protectorate research center. Valerian Mengsk continues experiments on Sarah's psionic abilities, but Jim demands that all experiments stop and is going to take his beloved away from the war. On the day of their departure, the base is attacked by Dominion special forces, under the command of Nova Terra, the tame “ghost” of Mengsk, who has a grudge against Raynor because of his refusal to surrender Gabriel Tosh. Raynor is captured and imprisoned, although he is officially declared dead. News of Jim Raynor's death forces Kerrigan to reassemble the Zerg Swarm against Arcturus Mengsk. When Sara becomes a Terran-Zerg hybrid, Mengsk contacts her and threatens to kill Jim Raynor if the Swarm attacks Korhal. Through the efforts of Raynor's Raiders, Kerrigan and Roy attack the prison ship. Seeing that Sarah has once again become the Queen of Blades, Jim does not hold back his emotions and reminds of all those whom she and her Swarm destroyed. In response, Sarah Kerrigan gives Raynor his Colt. Raynor shoots all the bullets into the wall, and says that "it's over", despite Sarah's declaration of love. He later arrives on Korhal with Valerian to evacuate the civilian population, and then enters into battle with the Zerg Swarm against Mengsk. When Arcturus Mengsk tries to kill Sarah with a xel'naga artifact, Raynor, wearing a battle suit, breaks the emperor's arm and throws him to the other side of the office. Jim is about to shoot him, thereby avenging everyone who was killed by the Sons of Korhal and the Dominion, including Tychus Findlay, but at the last moment he gives this honor to Sarah Kerrigan. In the end, Jim stands in the wake of Mengsk's destroyed office, watching as his lover, Sarah Kerrigan, "rises" above the ruins of Korhal City along with her zerg. Finally, serenity is found in Jim Raynor's soul.

StarСraft 2: Legacy of the Void

According to rumors, Raynor will play one of the main roles along with Zeratul, Selendis, Artanis and Kerrigan. He will seek information about the End of the World and about the ancient xel'naga deity - Amun, and will also participate in the war with his army. Along with this, there is information that a new and incredibly powerful fleet of the United Earth Directorate is arriving in the Koprulu sector with an unknown superweapon capable of sweeping away entire planets with their satellites, controlling gravity and creating it “artificially”.

Critical perception

The character of Raynor was generally well received by critics and fans. Gaming's Edge describes Raynor as "an almost archetypal action hero figure" with a "healthy dose of arrogance" who, despite constantly trying to do the morally right thing, invariably ends up with "the worst possible outcome" due to circumstances beyond his control. The article also puts forward the point that "it would be difficult not to admire Raynor, if for no other reason, then for his perseverance" in the face of abandonment, isolation and betrayal. In a review of StarCraft for GamePro magazine, the reviewer noted that the character's portrayal was so good that he felt like he was "actually talking to me" and noted that he began to feel an emotional attachment to Raynor's plight, commenting: "When is the last time you could say that about a character in a strategy game?” In a GameSpot poll, readers voted Raynor one of the top ten video game heroes, praising the character for his humanity, his resilience in the face of successive losses, and his progression from backwater marshal to galactic hero. GameSpot also gave additional praise to the quality of the character's voice acting, performed by Robert Clotworthy.

« It's no secret that Jim Raynor is almost the face of StarCraft and the character with the most deeply developed lore. I will do my best not to overload you with information and convey to you everything you need.» .

Farmer, Soldier, Bandit, Marshal

James Eugene Raynor was born on the farming world of Silon in the Terran Confederacy and enjoyed a quiet country life. But the Confederacy was later embroiled in a conflict called the Guild Wars, pitting it against the neighboring Kel-Mori Syndicate. As a result of the war, the residents of Silon began to experience economic problems. One day, Raynor was visited by a Confederate recruiter who spoke about the benefits of serving and supporting the families of Confederate Marines. Hoping to help his family and leave Silon, Raynor enlisted with several of his classmates as soon as he graduated from high school.

Soon after completing the course basic training Raynor was sent to real hell - the area of ​​\u200b\u200bfierce fighting on Turaxis II. Quite quickly, Raynor proved himself to be a capable leader, maintaining his sanity even as his friends from Silon died one after another. Jim was then assigned to the 321st Colonial Ranger Corps, led by the corrupt Javier Vanderspool, who was profiting from the conflict. It was here that Raynor met Tychus Findlay. The two were initially hostile to each other, as Raynor caught Tychus stealing supplies. But when his platoon fought off an attack by the Kel Morians and discovered that Vanderspool was stealing supplies, Tychus persuaded Raynor to steal them themselves and return one truck in order to become the good guys in the public eye. Raynor agreed, but he spent his share on helping civilians.

Vanderspool found out about the theft of supplies, but could not punish the culprits, since the command saw them as heroes. Instead, he transferred them to an elite unit, the Special Operations Squad, because he hoped they would die on one of the missions. However, the friends advanced in their careers, winning victory after victory. Raynor personally led a raid on the Kel-Mori military prison, infiltrating there in order to free a hostage, but was captured. Despite the torture, Raynor could not be broken, and the platoon began an assault. The group also took part in an attack on the town of Pride of the Regiment, in which the unit turned the tide of the battle. For numerous victories, the detachment was deservedly nicknamed “Heavenly Devils” and all its fighters got tattoos with this name. She can be seen in all of Tychus' bare-chested appearances.

Tired of the squad's plans to make money from the war constantly being thwarted, Vanderspool decided to create sabotage by damaging their power armor, but this information reached the squad mechanic. Upon learning of this, Tychus, Raynor, and many of the Sky Devils attacked Vanderspool, who was attempting to collaborate with the Kel-Morians and high-ranking Confederate officers to remove a valuable cargo of minerals. The battle was very difficult, and in the end only Raynor, Tychus and the squad's sniper Rick Kidd survived. Tychus shot Vanderspool and left him for dead, after which the trio fled the Confederacy, taking with them the crystals that Vanderspool had tried to steal. Thus, the Sky Devils turned from a legendary group of marines into bandits who would terrorize the Confederacy for several years. But Raynor did not know then that Vanderspool did not die in that battle.

Meanwhile, Tychus and Raynor became a formidable criminal duo. Raynor was the brains of the team, and Tychus was the force in the flesh. They robbed Confederate trains, banks, and supply lines, making them legends in the criminal underworld. Whenever possible, Raynor sent money to his parents, but he did not know at the time that his parents refused to accept his “blood money.” The duo soon settled on the planet New Sydney, where they plundered the Shell Express railroad tracks. By then, Vanderspool, hooked up to life support 24 hours a day, hired a bounty hunter named Ezekiel Doone to kill the surviving Sky Devils.

Doon foiled many of the crime duo's robberies, forcing Tychus and Raynor to seek protection. They met with the sector's most notorious kingpin, Scatter O'Bannon, who offered them refuge in exchange for doing some work. They agreed immediately, but Doon was cunning. He knew that while they were under the protection of O’Bannon, he would not be able to reach them, so he had to attack while they were doing their next dirty job. Doon's intervention led to many failures, and gradually O'Bannon became disillusioned with his new henchmen. He gave them one last chance at redemption - to rob the Bank of New Covington.

Meanwhile, Raynor briefly escaped to visit family on Silon, only to find that his father had passed away and his mother was bedridden. Thanks to the tape left by his father, Jim learned that his parents did not accept his money and that they were ashamed of the path Jim had chosen. His contact and friend, Miles Hammond, offered him a job on the frontier world of Mar Sara to clear his record. Raynor considered the offer, but knew he couldn't agree while he was working for O'Bannon.

Our criminal duo went to work with the best person O'Bannon, broke into the bank and took hostages with the help of nano-spiders. However, Raynor soon discovered that part of the money they had stolen was intended for the farmers of his home planet. Regretting the damage done and the hostages killed by O'Bannon's man, Raynor decided it was time to leave, and Tychus shot their temporary partner. The pair took off running, bumping into Doon along the way, but a lucky shot from Raynor ended the bounty hunter. They approached the evacuation point, but there was only one set of reactive armor there. Tychus wanted to do something good for his friend for once and told him that Jim should take the armor and start new life. At first, Raynor was against it, but then he finally agreed.

Raynor, now no longer associated with the criminal underground, decided to carry out his last task. He entered Vanderspool's hideout, knowing that he would not rest as long as he lived, and despite the crippled officer's pleas, he killed him. After this, Jim contacted Hammond and accepted his offer to work as a lawman on Mar Sara.

There Raynor met a woman named Liddy. Soon they got married and settled in a small house. Raynor initially had difficulty adjusting to the role of sheriff, as his colleagues still saw him as a criminal, but his sense of justice and belief in second chances allowed him to fulfill his duty with honor. Liddy and Jim had a child named Johnny, but it soon became clear that he was a psionicist, and all psionicists were taken for training in the Confederate army. Jim was against it because he didn't trust the Confederates, but Liddy saw it as the best opportunity for her son. They sent Johnny away, but soon received notice that Johnny had died in a shuttle crash. Heartbroken, Liddy fell into a deep depression because she did not listen to Jim. She soon fell ill and subsequently died.

Jim threw himself into work to cope with his grief. And although his life had already been difficult up to this point, fate had big plans for the former bandit who became a sheriff.

The Great War and the Fall of the Confederacy

The Terran Confederacy encountered the alien race of Protoss, which burned out all life from Mar Sara's sister planet, Chau Sara. The Confederacy sealed off the planet and Raynor was tasked with rounding up refugees and civilians. He worked with the new colony magistrate (who we play as in the SC1 campaign) and UNN correspondent Michael Liberty to gather colonists, but was attacked by a beetle-like race of zerg. Raynor drove out the zerg and burned down an infected outpost, but was later arrested by Confederate forces under the command of Edmund Duke.

Soon, the Magistrate, Liberty and the extremist group "Sons of Korhal" freed Raynor. In return, Jim helped them attack a Confederate outpost to find out their plans before leaving the planet. Raynor learned that the confederation was conducting experiments on the zerg. After this, Jim left Mar Sara before the Protoss, under the command of Executor Tassadar, burned out the planet that was Raynor's home.

Raynor and Mengsk flew to the planet Antiga Prime, where they defeated Edmund Duke's troops and began a revolution against the Confederacy. There, Raynor met a female psionicist named Sarah Kerrigan. They fell in love with each other quite quickly and after several joint operations started dating. However, their relationship became strained when Mengsk recruited General Duke and discovered that Raynor had stolen a psi emitter capable of luring in the zerg. Mengsk used the emitter to break out of Antiga Prime's blockade while the Confederates were distracted by a zerg attack. Raynor felt that Mengsk was going too far, while Kerrigan, although openly expressing doubts against Mengsk, still defended him.

Shortly thereafter, Mengsk launched an attack on the Confederacy's capital, Tarsonis. Raynor and Kerrigan led the ground operation while Duke led the capture of the orbital platform. It was there that Duke activated the psi emitters, luring billions of zerg. Tassadar and the Protoss under his command arrived on the planet, but this time they were ordered to kill only the zerg. Mengsk sent Kerrigan to destroy the Protoss as they were helping the Confederates escape, she landed on the surface and attacked the Protoss landing zone. But when the Zerg forces began to outnumber the Terran forces and Kerrigan requested evacuation, Mengsk gave the order to leave Tarsonis orbit, leaving Kerrigan and her forces to fend for themselves.

Angry at Mengsk for betraying Kerrigan, Raynor, as well as Michael Liberty, a former Magistrate of Mar Sara, and a pilot named Matt Horner left the Sons of Korhal and vowed revenge on the dictator for what happened on Tarsonis.

They gathered as many of Jim's loyalists and surviving Confederates as they could and broke the blockade of the planet. During the battle, Raynor reflected on how Arcturus used to be an idealistic rebel, but now he is the law and they are criminals, and regretted helping him and allowing Kerrigan to go alone. Subsequently, Liberty and the Magistrate went their own way, and those who remained with Jim formed the Raynor's Raiders detachment and chose as their goal the overthrow of the Dominion, which now included all Terran factions. The Hyperion, which was returned in battle, became their headquarters.

Among the Protoss

Soon the uprising began to gradually fade away, since due to the war with the protoss and zerg, strategically important objects lost their importance. At this time, Raynor began to have distinct dreams about the distant volcanic planet Char, to which someone was inviting him. He ordered his squad to conduct reconnaissance, and then, arriving there in person, discovered General Duke, the Dominion and many zerg on Char. After this, the Protoss, along with Tassadar, also came to the planet, trying to prevent the departure of the Terrans. Hyperion disappeared, and Raynor remained trapped on the planet.

The same strange call led him to the caves, but there the zerg were already waiting in ambush. It was then that Jim learned that it was none other than Kerrigan, changed by the zerg, who lured him here. She destroyed almost all of his troops, but allowed Raynor himself to leave, advising him never to confront the Swarm. Shocked by what he saw, Jim ran. He wandered around Char until he came across the Protoss driven by the zerg under the leadership of Tassadar. The common danger in the form of Kerrigan forced them to unite. In their travels, they met the dark Templar (that is, who left the protoss society to which Tassadar belonged) Zeratul, who, using his psionics, killed one of the zerg cerebrals. He joined Raynor and Tassadar, but did it more out of necessity, since he did not particularly trust them.

Killing the cerebral unexpectedly helped the Zerg Overmind obtain data on the location of the protoss home planet of Aiur, where the troops went, and Kerrigan remained on Char to track down Raynor’s squad. By that time, the trio had dealt with the last cerebral (the one we played as in the zerg campaign) and said goodbye to Zeratul, who went his own way, and the Hyperion and the Artanis fleet returned to Char, the purpose of which was to arrest Tassadar for ignoring the orders of the Conclave on destruction of the Terrans. However, Tassadar persuaded Artanis to join forces and find Zeratul. With Raynor's help, Tassadar infiltrated the infected Dominion base where the Dark Templar was hiding and pulled him out. Hyperion and the Protoss set off to defend Aiur from the zerg.

Upon arrival on Aiur, the Conclave demanded that Tassadar surrender and hand over Zeratul to them for execution. A battle ensued, resulting in the death of most of the Conclave, and Tassadar, unable to watch his kin kill each other, surrendered. However, Raynor, Artanis and another Protoss Phoenix did not follow his example and disappeared. During the operation to free Tassadar, Zeratul took a more cunning route: he lured Judge Aldaris into a trap and convinced him to give Tassadar the opportunity to fight the Overmind. Zeratul and Phoenix, with targeted attacks on the cerebrals, paralyzed the Overmind and made it vulnerable for a short time.

Raynor's Raiders cleared the northern sector and launched an attack. Although they caused some damage to the outer shell of the Overmind, the zerg reformed and pushed the terrans and protoss back. In a desperate move, Tassadar combined the Void energies of Zeratul and Khala and rammed the Overmind with his ship. By sacrificing his life, he destroyed the enemy, but Roy was not finished yet.

Brood War

After the fall of the Overmind, the cerebrals took command. With Aiur on the verge of destruction, Zeratul, Artanis and Aldaris transported the survivors to the Dark Templar planet Shakuras. Raynor and Phoenix desperately defended the portal, but were eventually surrounded by zerg.

Kerrigan unexpectedly came to their aid, freed from the power of the Overmind and bringing the news that a new one was growing on Char, which would again take possession of her as soon as it reached maturity. As if this were not enough, the United Earth Directorate (the faction of Stukov and Lieutenant Morales) arrived from Earth in order to establish control over the sector. The heroes decided to unite against him and the zerg.

The UED captured the capital of the Dominion, Korhal, and Mengsk, who tried to escape, was captured. The Hyperion and a small Protoss fleet broke the blockade and teleported the remnants of Arcturus' fleet to Aiur. However, the Directorate did not give up, went in pursuit and defeated Phoenix's zerg and Raynor's command center. Despite this, with the help of Kerrigan's spy, Samir Duran, they were still able to leave the planet.

The UED had at their disposal the Overmind and a weapon called a psi disruptor, which blocked Kerrigan's control over the zerg. Raynor and Mengsk destroyed it, and Sara retained power over the packs she had left. Having accumulated enough resources, Raynor and Kerrigan attacked Korhal, destroying the UED forces and their zerg. However, the Queen of Blades had her own plans for new allies. She killed Phoenix and General Duke, and allowed Mengsk and Raynor to escape. Jim went to Shakuras, and the ships of the UED, Artanis and Mengsk were destroyed in the final attack on Char. Kerrigan, instead of declaring power over the Koprulu sector, laid down her arms. There was a temporary lull.

Growing fame

It is not known for certain how the battle with Kerrigan went, but its result was so devastating that Raynor decided to focus on Mengsk and the Dominion. For this purpose, he began collecting recruits throughout the sector, including mercenaries and people who had lost loved ones due to the dictator's brutal rule. Having Matt Horner on the team won several battles that would have ended in defeat without him, and over time the Raiders became folk heroes. However, victories were still not so easy, and combat losses, Mengsk's propaganda and attacks on Jim's allies seriously affected the morale of the fighters. Raynor became heavily addicted to alcohol.

After Mar Sara was captured by the Dominion, Jim went there to remember his old life and reclaim his homeland. In the process, he met his old friend Tychus, who, in exchange for release from prison, was supposed to obtain a fragment of some alien artifact for a research organization called the Mobius Foundation. The foundation also pledged financial support to Raynor's Raiders. Together with Raynor, they found him on Mar Sara, but then Kerrigan appeared on the radar again, attacking worlds throughout the Dominion. A new war has begun.

Raynor tried to wisely distribute the available resources so that they would be enough to confront the zerg, save lives, fulfill contracts and fight against Mengsk. He saved a colony called Agria under the leadership of Ariel Hanson and transferred its inhabitants to Protoss territory, but after an incident with infection and an attempt by the Protoss Executioner, Selendis came into confrontation with the colonists. former allies. In addition, Raynor entered into an alliance with the renegade ghost Gabriel Tosh, who helped fill the ranks of the Raiders with phantoms - powerful psionic warriors, despite all Nova's attempts to prevent this. Jim discovered evidence of Mengsk's involvement in the zerg attack on Tarsonis and, having stolen the Odin war machine, was able to report this to the entire Dominion via mass broadcast. This caused a huge commotion and uprisings broke out.

In search of fragments of the Artifact, Raynor fought the Tal'darim, and during one of the missions he met Zeratul again, who told him that Kerrigan was the only way to stop the return of the fallen xel'naga - the creatures who created the protoss and zerg and were going to destroy all life. It also turns out that the Mobius Foundation is headed by Valerian Mengsk, son of Arcturus. Raynor accepted his offer to return and heal Kerrigan, although Tychus was very angry and tried to dissuade his friend. And yet Raynor was adamant and went to Char. On the surface, Jim, Tychus, engineer Rory Swann and scientist Egon Stetmann collapsed the tunnels and cut off the zerg from possible reinforcements. As a result, the mission was a success: with the help of the xel'naga artifact, most of the zerg were killed, and Kerrigan received serious injuries, but returned to human form. And then Tychus admitted that all this time he had been working for Arcturus Mengsk and that his suit had a bomb built into it that would go off if he did not kill Sarah. Raynor finished off his friend with a bullet that he was saving for Mengsk himself. Together with Kerrigan, they left Char.

Fall of the Dominion

The situation was far from normal: although the zerg were mostly killed, they still attacked the Dominion forces, forcing them into orbit, which allowed Raynor to escape with Kerrigan. Meanwhile, Arcturus Mengsk sent a fleet to kill Raynor and Kerrigan, despite Valerian's demands to stop. A large battle soon began between troops loyal to Mengsk and the combined forces of Raynor's Raiders and Valerian's forces, but Valerian's forces were exhausted during the Battle of Char and the survivors simply boarded the first available ships and flew away, being pursued by Mengsk at every turn.

They traveled to a criminal haven called Deadport, but Mengsk soon began launching his attacks even in this inaccessible territory. Valerian was the owner of the Mobius Foundation and contacted its overseer, Emil Narud, in order for their group to take Kerrigan and the Key to a secret base. But they did not know that Emil Narud was Samir Duran, a xel'naga werewolf who worked for the fallen xel'naga Amun. He collaborated with Mengsk to create Zerg-Protoss hybrids. Duran unleashed them on Valerian and Mengsk's forces in an attempt to kill them while Mengsk's forces were arriving. But Raynor’s ingenuity allowed him to escape with Kerrigan to the secret laboratory of the Umojan Protectorate (they were in a state of cold war with Dominion).

There they conducted tests on Kerrigan to find out the percentage of the remaining infection, but Raynor insisted that after testing them, they would leave, forget about revenge on Mengsk and live together for the rest of their lives. It was naive to think so, because Mengsk soon found them and attacked the laboratory. Raynor and Kerrigan were forced to flee, but Jim was cut off and captured by Nova. Nova shot him in the head, wounding him, and then took him to Mengsk, who sent Raynor to a prison ship called Moros, announcing throughout the Dominion that the criminal Jim Raynor was dead.

Months later, Kerrigan returned with the Zerg Swarm, having infected herself in order to take revenge on Mengsk. She helped Valerian and Matt Horner track down Raynor and attack the prison ship, freeing Jim. Raynor was shocked that Kerrigan had turned into a zerg again, claiming that she was back to being the killer she had been before.

Raynor refused to talk to Kerrigan, but she soon revealed her plan, which was to attack Korhal and kill Mengsk. But now she was working with Valerian to reduce civilian casualties. To do this, she landed her Swarm outside the city. Raynor was shocked by this act, and began to see in her the Kerrigan he once loved.

Soon the attack began. During the final assault on Mengsk's palace, Raynor, having taken Hyperion, flew to Kerrigan's aid. This attack penetrated the emperor's elite troops and destroyed the palace gates. Kerrigan personally went to kill Mengsk, but he used the Key against her, which was capable of stunning and overwhelming her with energy. But at the last moment Raynor appeared. He broke the artifact's control panel and threw Mengsk to the other end of the room. Kerrigan killed Arcturus, finally ending their long campaign against him. Kerrigan went to war against the fallen xel'naga Amon, leaving Raynor, Horner and Valerian to rebuild the Dominion.

New beginning and end

Valerian Mengsk became the head of the Dominion, and with the support of Raynor and Matt Horner, he set out to build a more just government. Raynor took over the position of commander of the Dominion forces and ensuring a smooth transition between the old government and the new.

But barely a year had passed before a new war overtook the Terrans. Amon, the fallen xel'naga, has returned with an army of protoss-zerg hybrids. Soon, these hybrids attacked the Dominion, using the Mobius Corps to attack Korhal. Raynor tried to hold off the onslaught, but was nearly defeated by the Mobius Corps. Fortunately, Artanis, who arrived on Korhal in search of the Key Stone to defeat Amun, saved the Terran army. Artanis helped prevent the orbital platform from falling onto Augustgrad. Jim then helped Artanis attack Port Bennett and take the Key Stone. The combined forces of Terrans and Protoss were victorious, but the cost was high. Raynor said that it would only get worse, and if Zeratul believed that Artanis was able to defeat Amun. Raynor shook hands with Artanis and noticed Zeratul's psionic blade. Then he realized that his old friend was gone. In parting, Raynor said: “Give them some heat.”

Soon Artanis will be able to finish off Amun and send him into the void. Two years later, Kerrigan called Artanis and Raynor and reported that a voice was calling her into the void and that Amon was still alive. In order for peace to reign in the sector, Amun had to be killed. Raynor and Artanis agreed to this and sent their forces to assist the Zerg Swarm. Together they killed Samir Duran and found a xel'naga named Ouros, who gave messages to Zeratul in the guise of the ghost of Tassadar. He needed to turn Kerrigan into a new xel'naga. Raynor was against another infection, but Kerrigan knew she had to do it.

Raynor, Artanis, and Zagara protected Kerrigan during the absorption of the essence, and although Amon tried to stop them, she still managed to become a xel'naga and took the form of a flaming angel. The three factions stood together in last battle against Amun. After his defenses fell, Kerrigan struck the decisive blow. Amon was defeated and Raynor disappeared in a stream of white light.

Later, we are shown Raynor in a familiar bar on Mar Sara, drinking whiskey and reminiscing about his dead friends, Tychus and Zeratul. Soon the door opens and the figure that appears turns out to be... Kerrigan in the form of a man, when asked if Raynor was ready to get out of here, he responded with the famous phrase of Tychus: “Damn, it’s about time.”

Raynor has not been seen since then. Some say that the last scene was just a dream, others say that Kerrigan took him with her into the Void. Be that as it may, Raynor transformed from an ordinary guy into one of the most powerful Terrans in the StarCraft universe, whose sense of justice determined the fate of the sector for years to come.

Original

Translation:

In part two of our series, Brian Kindregan, co-lead writer for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty and lead writer for Heart of the Swarm, answers questions about the game's story that are of most interest to our community.

Question: Before meeting Kerrigan, Jim Raynor already had a family, a wife and a son. How does it happen that Sarah Kerrigan is “the only and beloved” for him?

Answer: We didn’t talk about the fact that she is Jim’s only one.

For several years, Jim was doing just fine, but he lost everything. It began in his life new stage(or rather, everything returned to normal), and he again took up the weapon. The life of a soldier is full of difficulties, and the intensity of passions is simply frantic. Jim had strong feelings for Sarah, even loved her, but this did not change his attitude towards his family. People mourn the loss, but life goes on...eventually.

Question: At the end of Wings of Liberty, Arcturus Mengsk's empire was on the verge of collapse. The Zerg absorbed most of the outlying worlds and systematically approached the key planets. Raynor revealed to the citizens of the Dominion the truth that it was Mengsk who committed genocide on Tarsonis. Riots and uprisings began to flare up, people took to the streets of all major cities, including Augustgrad. The son of Arcturus then commandeered half the entire space fleet, desperately hoping to put an end to the Queen of Blades. How did Mengsk manage to maintain control of the Terran Dominion despite endless hostilities?

Answer: Mengsk maintained his power through fiendishly intricate intrigue, cruelty, and good old-fashioned cunning. The threat to his empire had not passed by the time of Heart of the Swarm, but he was not short of ingenuity, and he still had many ways to retain power. If the Swarm had started a full-scale war with the Terrans, or the Kelmorian Syndicate had been able to muster enough forces to attack, the Dominion would not have survived. Note that the Swarm attacked planets only in order to search for an artifact, and after the disappearance of the Queen of Blades, its unity was disrupted. As for the Kelmorians, they had a very hard time at that time.

Question: How did it happen that Jim Raynor was indifferent to the events of StarCraft and Brood War? Why doesn't he want to kill Kerrigan (after all, he knows about the atrocities she committed)? Did Jim fall in love with her?

Answer: First of all, you need to understand Jim's attitude towards Kerrigan. Of course, Horner, Tychus and the entire Hyperion crew saw her only as a terrible monster and wanted revenge for the crimes she had committed. For them there was no difference between Kerrigan and the Queen of Blades, and quite for a long time Jim did not see this difference either. But as soon as Valerian told him that Sarah could be saved, Jim began to have doubts. Maybe in the heart of the ruthless alien queen, who destroyed entire worlds, there is still something left of the “old” Sarah, who destroyed her opponents in cold blood, but did not enjoy killing? Is it possible? Jim didn't know for sure. He had already seen the Queen of Blades betray her allies more than once, and he did not rely entirely on Valerian’s idea. So Jim, as always, had to rely on his instincts. He had a choice to make: give in to his hatred of Mengsk and the Queen of Blades, or grasp hope and try to change everything. His instinct did not let him down, and he chose the latter.

Jim has lost too much in his life, much more than anyone else. That's why he was so attracted to the opportunity to save Kerrigan. He lost his family, friends, ideals, could not prevent the death of doomed worlds and thought that Kerrigan was also irrevocably lost to him. But then Jim learned that there was a chance to save her. For the first time he had the opportunity to make up for the loss, for the first time he could fix something, and not just try to do everything possible so as not to make it worse.

Question: How are units like the Mutalisk and Banshee able to move in a vacuum?

Answer: Another great question that we discussed among ourselves. The discussion was usually accompanied by fights using furniture. In general, mutalisks produce a specific gas that allows them to use jet thrust when discarding part of its own mass. Thus, mutalisks can move even in a vacuum due to the thrust created by the gas exhaust. Although they cannot perform complex maneuvers, mutalisks are capable of changing the direction of movement.

In the atmosphere of planets, mutalisks simply use their wings, and the gas is intended exclusively for flight in space. Are you wondering why they keep flapping their wings even when there is no air? It's all about instincts. In the same way, a dog twitches its hind legs when you scratch its belly.

As for Terran and Protoss units, the answer is even simpler. Their equipment is additionally equipped with standard rocket engines designed exclusively for flights in airless space.

Raynor never studied military science, but this does not prevent him from being a good commander and an excellent tactician. All his knowledge is based on rich life experience, so he is never guided by “book rules.” Deep analysis is not his element. He rarely plans far ahead, but is excellent at improvising and turning the situation to his advantage, acting according to the circumstances. Raynor has a troubled past. Everyone knows that among his closest associates is the famous criminal Tychus Findlay, now serving a prison sentence. They were brought together by their service in the 321st Colonial Ranger Battalion, the Sky Devils, during the war between the Confederacy and the Kelmorian Syndicate. They met at Fort Howe on the planet Turaxis II after Findlay served a three-month sentence in an army colony for assaulting a superior officer.
As the Guild War drew to a close, Raynor and Findlay were accused of friendly fire during a failed mission on Turaxis II. In fact, the tragic outcome of the operation was solely a mistake of the command, but the two friends understood perfectly well that they would not see a fair trial if this could harm the reputation of the highest ranks. They spent several years on the run, subsisting on robbery. Tychus was then arrested by the Confederacy and sentenced to life in cryogenic imprisonment. How Raynor managed to avoid a similar fate and subsequently become sheriff on Mar Sara remains a mystery.

Starcraft

Jim Raynor - Sheriff of the planet Mar Sara, arrives on orders from the Confederacy to gather and evacuate the colonists to safe areas. Returning to the command center, Raynor reports that all colonists and refugees are in a safe place. An hour later, the adjutant reports that a message has arrived from the Dalnyaya station. She is under attack by unknown organisms. Raynor, without waiting for reinforcements from the Confederacy, goes to help people. Having protected people and destroyed the infected station, he is reprimanded. For the destruction of buildings and unauthorized decision-making, General Edmond Duke is going to place Raynor and his people under arrest, offering to voluntarily surrender and give up their weapons. After some time, he was freed by the "Sons of Korhal" - a group of revolutionaries led by Arcturus Mengsk.

Returning to the base, Raynor receives a message from Arcturus himself (the representative and head of the Sons of Korhal organization) in which he says that he is ready to help Raynor evacuate people from Mar Sara, but he will have to disobey the Confederacy or see people die. Without thinking, Raynor chooses to save people. Mengsk's ships arrived and saved the inhabitants. Three hours after the colony was evacuated, Raynor was removed from his position as sheriff and began to be investigated for his actions. Then they, together with Arcturus, decide to attack the Confederation outpost, take away weapon drawings and valuable information. Having taken what they needed, Jim and his people went to the exit. Thanks to the chaos caused by the Zerg invasion, the Sons of Korhal escaped with the stolen data disks.
Arriving at the border colony of Antiga Prime, the Arcturus faction began planning their next decisive step against the Confederacy. Thirteen hours after the evacuation of Mar Sara, warships The protoss entered orbit around the colony and launched a massive bomb attack. All life on the surface was destroyed.
Returning to the Sons of Korhal base, Raynor and Kerrigan receive a task from Mengsk, sent to Antiga 1 to liberate the colony from Confederate troops and agree on cooperation. Upon returning to base, the Adjutant intercepted a distress signal in which General Edmond Duke was surrounded by zerg after a plane crash. Arcturus orders Raynor and Sarah to go to the aid of Duke, showing the strength of the "Sons of Korhal". Having destroyed the zerg and freed the general from encirclement, Mengsk offers him to work in the ministry under his rule. He agrees. Later they learn that the main Federation troops have arrived at Antiga 1. Using weapons that lure the zerg, they leave the ring of the Federation army.

The next steps they take are to go to Tarsonis, using Duke's knowledge of the weaknesses of the cities' defenses. Using a psi emitter, Mengsk sent an army of zerg against Tarsonis to destroy Confederate bases. Raynor and Kerrigan did not like this idea. Suddenly, the Protoss arrive on Tarsonis and fight the Zerg. Fearing that the Confederacy will slip away, Mengsk sends Kerrigan to destroy the Protoss and prevent the Confederate forces from escaping. Sarah agrees and goes to carry out the order. Raynor tries to dissuade her, but she justifies this by saying that the Protoss want to destroy the planet along with the people.
Having destroyed the Protoss bases, Kerrigan's camp is attacked by a huge army of zerg, she asks for evacuation, but Mengsk refuses to help her and leaves her to die. Raynor understands that he cannot help Kerrigan. Because he (Mengsk) abandoned Kerrigan, Raynor hated him and stopped helping him. By destroying the psionic weapon, Jim Raynor became an enemy of the new Confederacy called the Dominion. Jim Raynor and his men split from the Sons of Korahal. Along with the colonists and some former Confederate fighters, they fled Tarsonis and raided the Dilarian shipyards, stealing the Hyperion. After this, they created a new military group - Raynor's Raiders.

Raynor spent rescue operation on Gittesberg in search of Kerrigan, finding nothing there but ruins. During his forays on the planet Char, Raynor meets a protoss named Tassadar (High Templar). The Protoss saved Raynor and his people, and together they destroyed the zerg. Subsequently, the Protoss accepted Tassadar as a traitor, and they began to look for him. On the planet Char, they tried to capture Raynor and Tassadar. Having broken through the defenses, Raynor flies away, and Tassadar goes to free Zeratul and is captured by the protoss. A little later, Raynor, having learned about this, wants to repay the debt and save Tassadar before the Judges execute him. Raynor with Phoenix (Praetor of the Protoss Defense Army) and Zeratul break through the defenses and save him. The time has come to destroy the Supermind. Raynor, Zeratul, Phoenix and Tassadar are sent to destroy evil. Thanks to Tassadar's valiant sacrifice, the Overmind was destroyed and the Zerg Swarm was scattered and crushed.

Starcraft: Brood War

After the destruction of the Overmind, the Protoss decide to leave the planet Aiur.

Raynor helps them transport warriors and residents to Shakuras, protecting the teleportation gate from zerg attacks. Sending the Protoss to Shakuras, they destroyed the gate behind them. Having escaped the planet Aiur, Raynor and the Protoss accompanying him stumble upon a meeting between Mengsk and Gerard Du Gall. Oddly enough, Raynor saves Mengsk using the Protoss teleport. Gerard Du Gall's forces tracked Mengsk to his home planet of Aiur. Stukov received an order to seize Arcturus. After arriving on Aiur, Raynor and the protoss again use the teleport to escape from Stukov's army and the zerg, destroying the last portal behind them.

Raynor learns that his beloved Sarah Kerrigan has become the new leader of the zerg. The UED, under the command of Gerard Du Galle, took control of the Thinkers, part of the Overmind's army that controlled the zerg. Having gathered together, Sarah, Mengsk, Raynor, and Phoenix decide to put an end to the remnants of the zerg troops of the Overmind and the UED terrans. The battle took place on the planet Korhal, destroying the troops of Kerrigan, leaving Mengsk at the head of the Terrans on Korhal. Events take place on the outskirts of Augustgrad in which the Queen of Blades betrays and kills Phoenix.

After seeing Phoenix's death, Jim hated the Queen of Blades and said that one day he would return to kill her.

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

Over many years of exhausting skirmishes with the infinitely superior forces of the Dominion, Raynor's fighters turned into a pale imitation of themselves. To provide themselves with the basic necessities, Raynor's raiders more than once had to work as mercenaries. Apparently, such work cannot be abandoned in the future: the soldiers need supplies and weapons. Freedom is not given for free.

Sitting around drinking bourbon and lamenting what happened to Sarah Kerrigan, Jim Raynor wants to start a revolution against Mengsk.

With his first step, he destroys the Dalnyaya station and frees people from the power of the usurper. Residents helped Raynor destroy the guards and the Dalnaya station. Returning from a bar outing, Raynor meets his old friend Tychus Findlay.

He invites him to collect artifacts and sell them for a good price to a certain “Mobius Foundation”. Raynor also talks about the fact that the power of Mengsk will soon come to an end and Tychus, not wanting to remain on the sidelines, joins him.
The first artifact was located on Mar Sara. Having defeated the guards, they take the first part of the artifact. While waiting for evacuation, they are attacked by zerg. After holding out, Matt Horner saves them by flying in on Hyperion.

Seeing on the news that the zerg under the command of Sarah Kerrigan are attacking Terran cities, Raynor goes to Swann's workshop to check the weapons. Having learned that the situation is much worse, Raynor decides to collect other parts of the artifact and get money for them to purchase resources and weapons. On the way to the second artifact, he helps the colonists of the planet Agri. Arriving on the planet Monlith for the second part of the artifact, they encounter resistance from the zerg and protoss, but thanks to new developments by Rory Swann, they destroy the guards and take the artifact. Returning to Hyperion, a signal was received from the phantom Gabriel Tosh. Having agreed with him, they attack the Korovans of Domenion. One of the cargoes contained an old adjutant who contained information about Mengsk’s criminal activities and how he set the zerg against the terran cities. The third part of the artifact is located on the planet Xil. The Protoss defend the temple in which the artifact is located. Using the Dominion's laser installation and destroying the gate, Raynor takes the artifact. Unexpectedly, while flying on the cruiser Hyperion, Raynor meets Zeratul, to whom he revealed terrible truth— the mysterious “Fallen” wants to destroy all life in the Universe, after which the world will plunge into pitch darkness. Zeratul said that the Zerg Overmind was the first to see such a future and found the only salvation in the person of the Queen of Blades.

Doctor Narud (Mobius Foundation scientist) asks to destroy the data storage facilities in which data about other parts of the artifact were found. The next part of the artifact was located on the planet Typhon. Having destroyed the vault, Raynor takes the next part of the artifact. Having obtained the last artifact and arriving at the meeting point with the Mobius Foundation ships, Raynor stumbles upon three Dominion cruisers, including the emperor's flagship. Raynor boards the ship, wanting to meet and kill Arcturus Mengsk, but unexpectedly he meets the heir to the Dominion throne, Prince Valerian Mengsk.


He says that he is the owner of the Mobius Foundation and hired him to search for artifacts. To finally convince Raynor and win him over to his side, Valerian said that he could give Raynor a chance to save Sarah Kerrigan.

Arriving on Char, Raynor rescues General Warfield and his people.

Having collected the artifact, Raynor and his team: Swann, Tychus, Stetmann activate and protect the artifact.

There is a huge impulse that destroys most zerg and returns Kerrigan to human form. Raynor takes Kerrigan, she goes to Valerian Mengsk's headquarters.

StarCraft II: Hearth of the Swarm

After arriving at the Mobius Foundation research station, Raynor goes to talk to Sarah. In the conversation, it is clear that Sarah only wants revenge.

After passing the tests, Raynor talks to Sarah and they are about to fly away on the Hyperion. But not everything is so simple, Dominion warriors are attacking the station.

Raynor and Kerrigan make their way to the exit. On the way to the shuttle, Raynor and Kerrigan are separated. Dominion troops captured most of the station, realizing that he won’t make it in time, he asks Sarah to take his ship and fly away. Meanwhile, he himself is captured by Nova. Mengsk imprisons Raynor in a prison ship called Moros, to manipulate Sarah Kerigan. After some time, the Queen of Blades frees Raynor.

Jim Raynor participates with her in the attack on Korhal and helps kill Emperor Mengsk.

Heroes of the Storm Thanks to his fighting qualities, Jim Raynor is an excellent fighter and will play the role of an assassin. With the help of Swann, Raynor modified the assault rifle, Jim can push opponents away from him with a targeted volley. Using leadership skills can raise the morale of allies. With the help of a combat suit, Raynor receives a dose of adrenaline and restores vital energy. It is supported by a battle fleet, either Hyperion or a small flotilla. Jim Raynor more than once led his friends to victory over the zerg, protoss and other evil spirits. He will appear at Nexus battles key figure, which will checkmate the opposing team on the decisive move.

Female
Race: Human
Relationship: Zerg
Alive

Sarah Louise Kerrigan, the self-proclaimed Queen of Blades, is the main character and one of the protagonists of the StarCraft series of computer games and novels from Blizzard Entertainment.

Kerrigan first appears in the real-time strategy game StarCraft as an officer of one of the warring factions - the Terran race, which is an alternative humanity in the fictional StarCraft universe. As a result of betrayal, she is captured by another game race - the insect-like zerg, who transform her into a terrible evil creature - the Queen of Blades, combining the characteristics of a terran and a zerg. During the development of the plot of the game add-on StarCraft: Brood War, she is freed from the control of her creators and herself seizes power over the Zerg Swarm. In the novelizations Uprising and " Crusade Liberty" details Kerrigan's life before her transformation, while the novel Queen of Blades expands on her character as the Queen of Blades. Her story continues in the game StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, in the finale of which the heroes return Sarah Kerrigan to human form. In the StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm expansion, Kerrigan plays a central role. The events between Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm, including the development of the relationship between Sarah and Jim Raynor, are described in the novelization Flashpoint.

The character's creators are game designers Chris Metzen and James Finney. Kerrigan was voiced by Glynis Tolken Campbell in StarCraft and Brood War, and is voiced by Tricia Helfer in the released sequel StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. In the localized Russian version of StarCraft II, Kerrigan was voiced by Polina Shcherbakova.

As one of the main characters in the series, Kerrigan has received critical praise for her realism and depth of character. She is listed as one of the 50 best female characters in video game history by Tom's Games, and a GameSpot poll ranked Kerrigan as the number one best gaming villain.

Description from the official website

Before the advent of Sarah Kerrigan, no human destiny was so closely intertwined with the Terrans, Protoss and Zerg.

Dark forces united to bring Kerrigan under the influence of the Overmind, but Sarah's courage and cunning as a ghost helped her come to power over the alien entity. Now Kerrigan holds the reins of the Swarm and controls a countless army of monstrous creatures ready to destroy humanity throughout the Koprulu sector.

Sarah Louise Kerrigan discovered her passive psionic abilities as a child. An innocent outburst of childish anger caused by parents became the cause terrible death mother from extensive cerebral hemorrhage. Later, Kerrigan's father only repeated: "I saw her head split into pieces." This terrible event attracted the attention of the Terran Confederacy, and Sarah quickly became a major participant in the fledgling ghost training program. The results of the tests for psi abilities exceeded all expectations, which entailed a reworking of the system: otherwise Sarah’s talent could not be correctly assessed. The girl was deprived of the last signs of humanity and given the name Ghost No. 24601.

After graduation, Kerrigan began working for the corrupt Confederate government as an unstoppable assassin. It was she who killed the independent senator Angus Mengsk. After this, the ambitious son of the murdered man, Arcturus, began to follow Sarah. Initially, he only wanted to avenge his father's death, but later realized that the ghost could be directed against the Confederacy. Arcturus rescued Kerrigan by smuggling her out of a secret experimental facility, removing the neuroimplant that was silencing her personality, and using her memories to fuel righteous anger against the government that was exploiting her. Kerrigan and Mengsk became allies.

On Antiga Prime, where Sarah was on a mission, she met Sheriff Jim Raynor, a recruit of the Sons of Korhal. He condemned her activities in the service of the Confederacy, but then the conflict grew into mutual respect, admiration and... even something more. Kerrigan and Raynor completed several secret missions together until revolutionary movement Mengsk did not bring them to Tarsonis. Even Kerrigan, who had never felt this way in the minds of others, was shocked to learn of Arcturus's plan. He wanted to place psi emitters in the capital of the Confederation, on the most densely populated planet in the sector, to lure the zerg. As a result of this operation, there would be nothing alive left on Tarsonis. Sarah voiced her disagreement, however, following Mengsk's orders, she went on an operation to defend the psi emitters from a mysterious new enemy - the Protoss army. Mengsk took advantage of Sarah's devotion and left her to die on Tarsonis when the task was completed. First, he was afraid that he would not be able to keep track of such a powerful weapon as Kerrigan when his new government came to power. Secondly, he was never able to give up thoughts of revenge. Raynor was furious at Mengsk's betrayal. He left the revolutionary movement, vowing to avenge Sarah's death.

Least of all Mengsk suspected that he had just successfully turned the zerg against himself.

The Overmind, the entity that controls the zerg, sensed Kerrigan's outstanding psionic abilities and wanted to turn the girl into a new weapon for the Swarm. Directing all his forces to mutate the genome of a ghost unique in nature, the Overmind transformed Kerrigan into a creature combining psionic power and biological immortality. Thus the Queen of Blades was born.

The Overmind did not want to suppress Kerrigan's intelligence and strategic thinking and therefore left her partial free will so that Sarah would be different from the cerebrals. This is what allowed Kerrigan's ambitions to grow. Soon, the Queen of Blades enslaved the cerebrals and, when the Overmind was killed, stood at the head of the Swarm.

Now Kerrigan leads the zerg into an unknown future. Ancient prophecies predicted its appearance. Their meaning is unclear, but one thing is certain: billions of lives are connected with the fate of Sarah Kerrigan.

Story

StarCraft

The first appearance of Sarah Kerrigan in StarCraft "e occurs in the middle of the first campaign of the game. At the time of meeting the last magistrate (English Magistrate, the highest official) of the planet Mar-Sara (the player), she is a twenty-six-year-old “ghost” girl - a Terran psionicist who has undergone severe training , an expert in the field of intelligence and assassination. On assignment from Arcturus Mengsk, leader of the rebel group Sons of Korhal, she and Jim Raynor organize an uprising on the remote colony of Antiga Prime by assassinating the local heads of the dominant Terran Confederacy. In response, the Confederacy blockades the planet on which at the same time insectoid zerg appear. Mengsk orders a skeptical Kerrigan to use the psi emitter, a stolen Confederate technology that lures the zerg to itself. The hordes he attracts break the blockade, allowing the Sons of Korhal to escape. Near the end of the first campaign, Rebel forces directly attack the Confederate capital world , Tarsonis During the operation, Mengsk, without consulting his officers, uses psi emitters to ensure the complete destruction of the planet. The zerg who arrived in the system are attacked by the protoss, psionically gifted alien race, which tried to stop the conquests and further spread of the Swarm. A squad led by Kerrigan is sent to prevent the Protoss from attempting to thwart the Zerg. After successfully completing the mission, an avalanche of Swarm creatures hits the positions of Kerrigan's troops, and Mengsk orders Kerrigan's requests for evacuation to be ignored, leaving her and her squad to be torn to pieces by the zerg. Raynor and the player magistrate and their soldiers desert Mengsk's forces, believing Kerrigan to be dead. Lieutenant Kerrigan shortly before being infected. A still from a video from StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty.

However, Kerrigan did not die. At the start of the second campaign, the Zerg Overmind orders his newly created Cerebral (the player) to protect the Chrysalis, which he claims contains his greatest creation. After some time, on the zerg-owned planet Char, Kerrigan hatches from a chrysalid, mutated under the influence of a hyperevolutionary virus into a unique creature combining the characteristics of a terran and a zerg. Raynor, drawn to Char by Kerrigan's psychic emanations while in the chrysalis, fails in his attempt to save her. However, the infected Kerrigan spares him because she does not see him as a threat. After infiltrating the Terran research station, she regains the potential of her psionic abilities, which was limited during her training as a "ghost". Thanks to her increased capabilities, Kerrigan senses the presence of Tassadar, the commander of the Protoss fleet, on Char. Tassadar distracts the attention of the Queen of Blades, while his comrade, the dark templar Zeratul, kills the cerebral Zasz using psi energy unfamiliar to the zerg. This leads to a brief mental connection between Zeratul and the Overmind, who manages to learn from Zeratul's memories the location of the Protoss homeworld, Aiur. The Overmind immediately sends the Cerebral player and most of the Swarm there, while Kerrigan lingers on Char to track down Tassadar and Zeratul.

StarCraft: Brood War

In Brood War, Kerrigan plays a more important role, as with the death of the Overmind at the hands of Tassadar in the finale of StarCraft, she gains complete independence and makes every effort to become the sole leader of the Zerg Swarm. Towards the middle of the first campaign (Episode IV), she suddenly appears in the planet Shakuras, owned by the dark Templars of the Protoss, where the survivors of the battle on Aiur fled, and proposes an alliance, which the Protoss accept. Having informed them about the new Overmind growing on the planet Char, she uses the Protoss to destroy the packs of zerg that are interfering with her. Having achieved her goals, Kerrigan intervenes In the conflict between Zeratul and another Protoss leader, Judge Aldaris, who rebelled against him, kills Aldaris, and Zeratul breaks off his alliance with her.

She also gains an ally in the supposedly infected Terran "ghost" Samir Duran, who, under the guise of an alliance with the arriving forces of the United Earth Directorate (UED), is actually trying to prevent their plans to enslave the zerg and establish control over the galactic sector of Koprulu. However, in the second campaign of the add-on (Episode V), the UED troops successfully manage to capture the new Overmind.

In the final campaign (Episode VI), Kerrigan uses the threat of the UED as a compelling reason to form a coalition with Mengsk, Raynor, and his new Protoss allies. Former enemies unite against the invaders from Earth, but the Queen of Blades soon betrays her allies and deals an extremely painful blow to the troops of Raynor and Mengsk, killing including the Protoss praetor Phoenix and the Dominion general Duke. Accompanied by Duran, she returns to Shakuras to kidnap the protoss matriarch Raszagal, and then uses her to blackmail Zeratul. The Dark Templar is forced to destroy the new Overmind on Char, after which all the zerg fall under the control of Kerrigan. Zeratul tries to save Raszagal, but eventually realizes that she has been under the mental control of the Queen of Blades all this time, and decides to kill the matriarch. Kerrigan, surprised by his action, spares his life. After this, Duran leaves it, and the zerg positions on Char come under attack from the Protoss fleet under the command of Artanis, the remnants of the UED expeditionary force led by Admiral Dugall and the Mengsk fleet. Despite the enemy's numerical superiority, Kerrigan inflicts a crushing defeat on his old enemies and destroys the UED forces, thus becoming the main force in the Koprulu sector in the final game.

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

Kerrigan also appears in StarCraft II, as evidenced by her presence in the trailer, wallpaper, and concept art long before the game's release. At BlizzCon in August 2007, Chris Metzen explained that in the years after Brood War, Kerrigan moved to Char, drawing back most of the zerg, and has been quiet since then. She has enough power to destroy all enemies, but instead she created an illusory state of peace in the sector. Metzen also expressed interest in the question of whether there was any humanity left in Kerrigan, or if all hope was long lost. In a special interview for the StarCraft Legacy website, the game designer explained that Kerrigan's retreat back to Char was not related to her suspicions about Duran, who, as it turned out by the end of Brood War, was secretly conducting experiments on creating hybrids of protoss and zerg. The Queen of Blades knows little about him, but after the Brood War she decided to puzzle over his mystery and understand what motives drive him. At BlizzCon 2008, Kerrigan was shown in two videos, the first time during the attack on the Terran city, and the second time in the caves where Zeratul was studying ancient runes; upon meeting, Kerrigan hints that she was waiting for him.

In StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, Kerrigan serves as an antagonist. The player first sees the Queen of Blades in a television report from Terran Dominion journalists about the Zerg invasion. She personally led her troops to attack the Terran colonies. Jim Raynor believes that she has “come to finish what she started,” that is, to take full control of the Koprulu sector. Raynor and his old friend Tychus Findlay soon encounter the Queen of Blades in person. While searching for xel'naga artifacts for scientific foundation Mobius's heroes steal another artifact from under her nose, after which they have to save their employers from Kerrigan's zerg. It turns out that the hunt for alien artifacts is the true reason for her attack on the Terran colonies. Having collected most of the artifacts, the heroes fly to meet the customers, behind whom, to their surprise, is the son of Emperor Mengsk, Valerian Mengsk. According to him, the artifacts found are parts of a single whole, and by collecting them all, you can turn the Queen of Blades back into Sarah Kerrigan.

At some point, Zeratul appears on Raynor's ship and hands him a crystal containing memories of the protoss's recent wanderings. From them, Raynor learns of a prophecy foreshadowing the return of the xel'naga and the subsequent apocalypse. Trying to find some information about him, Zeratul encountered the Queen of Blades, who also learned about the prophecy and, according to her, came to terms with a similar future: “The world is doomed. And when the hour strikes... I will accept my fate." In the end, it turned out that Kerrigan is the only hope for survival of the three races.

In the finale, the combined forces of Raynor, Valerian and Dominion General Warfield attack the central zerg planet of Char. Suffering huge losses, they manage to make their way to the main hive of the Queen of Blades and activate the collected artifact. A wave of enormous energy destroys the surrounding zerg. After the battle, Raynor and Findlay find Kerrigan, who has returned to her human appearance (with the exception of her hair - chitinous outgrowths remain instead). Fulfilling the terms of the deal with Arcturus Mengsk, Findlay tries to kill her, but Raynor blocks Kerrigan from being shot and kills Tychus himself.

StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm

Heart of the Swarm, the first expansion pack for Wings of Liberty, features Kerrigan as the protagonist. In most single-player campaign missions, she is present directly on the battlefield under player control. StarCraft II lead game designer Dustin Browder noted that given Kerrigan's superpowers, her absence from missions would be comparable to "Superman's absence from a Superman game."

After Kerrigan returns to human form, Raynor takes her to a secret research center on the planet Umoja, run by Valerian Mengsk. While conducting experiments to determine the extent to which Kerrigan retained the ability to control the zerg, the center is attacked by Dominion forces. Kerrigan and Valerian manage to escape, while Raynor is captured. Returning to look for him, Kerrigan hears Mengsk's announcement that Raynor has been captured and executed, sending her into despair.

She begins to gather the scattered broods of the zerg in order to reunite the Swarm under her control and take revenge on Mengsk. She is joined by her former closest servants - Izsha (a unique female zerg who serves as the Queen's memory bank and adjutant), the mother of the Zagara pack, the lord of evolution Abathur (who once led Kerrigan's rebirth into the Queen of Blades). During his mission, Kerrigan brutally deals with the Dominion forces on Char, but still spares the retreating wounded at the request of the dying General Warfield.

Kerrigan is soon found by Zeratul, who is looking for an opportunity to prevent the coming end of the world, and convinces her to travel to Zerus, the homeland of the zerg, where the original zerg (the ancestors of the zerg of the Swarm) are still constantly evolving. Arriving on the planet, Kerrigan learns that the once fallen xel'naga Amun stole a large number of zerg from Zerus, changed them and turned them into the Swarm. Kerrigan, risking her life to gain enormous power, places herself in the chrysalis in the first pool of the birth of the zerg, from which she emerges again, becoming the Queen of Blades, even more powerful than she was before, and subjugates all the original zerg on Zerus.

Mengsk contacts her and tells her that Raynor is alive and is being held hostage. He threatens to kill Raynor if Kerrigan starts a war against the Dominion. Wanting to weaken the forces of the Dominion, Kerrigan attacks the secret laboratory of a certain Doctor Narud, in which she is helped by Alexey Stukov, an earthling turned by Narud into a unique infected Terran - who retained free will. Narud calls himself a servant of Amun, claims that Amun will return, and in a mortal battle with Kerrigan, he first takes on the appearance of Jim Raynor, and then herself, before being reborn as the Queen of Blades: “I am everything you have lost.”

With the help of Valerian and Raynor's raiders, Kerrigan frees him, but Jim, despite her protestations of love for him, rejects her, blaming her for the death of Phoenix and millions of innocents. Having regained full control of the Zerg Swarm, Kerrigan launched an attack on the Dominion capital world of Korhal to end Mengsk once and for all, giving Valerian time to evacuate the civilian population. Facing Mengsk face to face, Kerrigan is nearly defeated when he uses the xel'naga artifact that recently returned her to her human form, but Raynor stops him, allowing the Queen of Blades to kill Mengsk. Having defeated the Dominion and made peace with Raynor, Kerrigan bids him farewell and sets out with the Swarm to confront Amon's impending invasion of the Koprulu sector.

Characteristics

Personality

Due to her extremely high psi potential (only three such gifted people are known in the entire history of the Terrans), Kerrigan, as a child, was used by the military of the Terran Confederacy in a program to study psi abilities; the StarCraft user manual says she never had a chance to normal life. Brutal, grueling training and the use of neural implants to control her abilities made her a withdrawn and unsociable woman. Despite this, Kerrigan has repeatedly proven that she is a brave soldier and an experienced tactician. She is shown to be a moral character, exemplified by her negative attitude towards the tactics of using the zerg against the Confederate forces. However, after rebirth, Kerrigan is freed from any moral prohibitions - as well as from those laid down by Confederate scientists psychological barriers, - the dark essence of her soul breaks free. Assessing Kerrigan's behavior, WomenGamers.Com called her "vicious, cruel, cunning, treacherous, mocking and self-confident", which, combined with her innate intelligence, makes her an unusually calculating and cunning schemer. Kerrigan has also become more physically aggressive, her enjoyment of close combat being so great that in one episode of the novel Queen of Blades, she begins absentmindedly licking the blood of her victims from her fingers. Kerrigan's rebirth also affected her communication style. If, as a Terran, she preferred business and conversational styles, then, having become the Queen of Blades, she switched to an elevated style with archaic designs, also characteristic of the Zerg Overmind. Even if she wants to offend her interlocutor (Tassadar), she does not resort to colloquial expressions.

Appearance

Thanks to the efforts of Blizzard artists, the appearance of the Queen of Blades has changed significantly compared to Chris Metzen's original sketches.

Kerrigan, before her infection, is described as a graceful and deadly woman, extremely fast and athletic, with jade green eyes and bright red hair, usually tied into a ponytail. The novel Queen of Blades describes her features as too rugged to be beautiful, but still eye-catching and a perfect fit for her personality. Kerrigan was rarely seen without her armor, a form-fitting protective suit specifically designed for "ghosts" and equipped with a personal cloaking device. When not on duty, she wore a light work T-shirt, faded cotton trousers with a gray leather jacket and high leather boots. But even at such moments it is impossible to imagine Kerrigan unarmed; she always had at least a combat knife with her.

The mutation led to significant changes in Kerrigan's appearance. While maintaining the same height, build and facial features, her skin, according to the description from Queen of Blades, became mottled green and covered with a shiny protective shell. Her eyes changed color from natural green to bright yellow, her hair turned into segmented appendages, like insect legs. The Queen of Blades' fingers are armed with retractable claws. The transformed Kerrigan also grew "wings" consisting of elongated, segmented spikes that reach to the level of her knees. Along with her claws, Kerrigan also uses her wings in close combat, literally tearing her opponents apart with them.

Although the WomenGamers.com article called the infected Kerrigan a monster, some critics and fans called her "pretty" and even "sexy." This is entirely the merit of Blizzard artists, through whose efforts appearance Kerrigan changed from one illustration to another. So for Christmas 1998, Samwise Didier painted the Queen of Blades in a revealing Santa Claus outfit, significantly increasing the size of her breasts, and in the work of another artist, the Queen of Blades sports stylish organic heels. The quintessential development of the character's image was a life-size statue made for the BlizzCon 2008 conference by Steve Wang and his assistants. Kerrigan also mentioned StarCraft II lead designer Dustin Browder as an example of a hypersexual strategy heroine, saying that Blizzard had the intention of creating characters that "looked cool" like in the comics.

Gaming characteristics

In StarCraft, Kerrigan is represented by two units: the unique terran unit Sarah Kerrigan (“Sarah Kerrigan” is a modified “ghost” unit) in the first campaign (available for control in the fifth, seventh, ninth missions), and the unique zerg unit Infested Kerrigan (“Infected Kerrigan”) ") in the second campaign (available for control from the fourth to sixth and eighth missions). StarCraft: Brood War only features the Infested Kerrigan unit. She is controllable only in the fourth mission of the first campaign (Episode IV), but in several missions she appears in story cutscenes as a computer-controlled character.

The Sarah Kerrigan sprite differs from the standard “ghost” in the outline of her figure and long red hair. Combat characteristics have been significantly enhanced relative to the “ghost” (250 health points compared to 45, 250 energy points compared to 200, 30 units of damage compared to 10), like the “ghost”, the unit is capable of attacking ground and air targets. The abilities are standard for this type of units - Cloaking (invisibility) and Lockdown (blocking enemy equipment), but Nuclear strike (targeting a nuclear warhead) is missing.

Infested Kerrigan's sprite is unique. The unit's combat characteristics have been further increased (400 health points, 250 energy points, 50 damage), but there is no ability to attack air targets with a standard attack. Like all Zerg units, Infested Kerrigan regenerates over time. Initially, Infested Kerrigan has the abilities Cloaking (similar to that of Sarah Kerrigan), Consume (absorbing friendly units to restore energy points - similar to that of the Zerg "Defiler" unit), and Ensnare (slowing down enemy units - similar to that of the Zerg "Queen" unit). After the fifth mission of Episode II, acquires the ability Psionic storm (“psionic storm”, damage to the area electric charges- similar to that of the Protoss “High Templar” unit).

In StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, Kerrigan is represented by the unique Zerg hero unit "Queen of Blades", and appears only in the missions "Mobius Factor" and "Bets Are Done" as a computer-controlled character. The Queen of Blades model is unique. The unit's combat characteristics are very high (1000 health points, 250 energy points, maximum 150 damage). Just like the Infested Kerrigan from the first game in the series lacks the ability to attack air targets with a standard attack, the unit regenerates over time. The unit's abilities are not the same as those of Infested Kerrigan, with the exception of Psionic Storm. At the same time, the “Queen of Blades” has the unique abilities Implosion (“implosion” - immobilization and destruction of mechanical units) and Deep Tunnel (the ability to move to attack underground), as well as the ability to “burrow”, like all zerg ground units, and “detector” (detection of invisible units - like the zerg “overseer” unit).