Brood War Story Line
The Ashes of AiurOnly days have past since the Protoss hero, Tassadar, sacrificed himself in order to destroy the nefarious Zerg Overmind. In the wake of the Overmind's apocalyptic destruction, the Protoss homeworld of Aiur was left devastated and fallow. Many of the mindless Zerg who survived the horrendous battle began to rampage unchecked across the blackened fields of Aiur. The Conclave, which had ruled over the Protoss Tribes for many thousands of years, was eradicated along with nearly seventy percent of Aiur's population. Thus, only a handful of Protoss heroes remained to watch over the beleaguered survivors of their world. The Judicator Aldaris, Praetor Fenix, the Dark Templar Zeratul, and their human companion James Raynor banded together in order to unite and lead the scattered survivors. Yet the Zerg, still bent on their genocidal rampage, continued to slaughter every Protoss they encountered. Though fate had conspired against them, and nearly everything they cared for was lost, the stalwart Protoss heroes never gave up hope that their deliverance would come.
The Emperor and His Dominion
As the titanic battle between the Protoss and the Zerg reached the boiling point upon the planet Aiur, Arcturus Mengsk took steps to consolidate his own power within the newly formed Terran Dominion. Having crowned himself Emperor of the Dominion, all of the Terran colonies within the Koprulu Sector were united under one sovereign rule for the first time. With General Edmund Duke by his side, Mengsk was unopposed by any of the major Terran Militias within the Sector. Having reinforced the armies of the Dominion by forcefully conscripting the remaining warriors of the defunct Terran Confederacy, Mengsk set out to fortify the various worlds under his care. As the final battle concluded on Aiur and the Zerg reeled in disarray throughout the Sector, Mengsk was left to wonder what ever became of his former Lieutenant, Sarah Kerrigan, the self-styled Queen of Blades.
The Terminal Agenda
Light years away, far removed from the epic struggle between the Protoss and the Zerg, the custodians of the planet Earth watched and waited. Unknown to the wayward Terrans in the Koprulu Sector was the fact that their every move had been recorded since their exile from Earth. The United Powers League, the vast bureaucratic institution that ruled the Earth and it's sister worlds, had studied the slow advancements and hostile infighting of the Koprulu colonies for generations. The UPL had borne silent witness to the founding of the Terran Confederacy and the myriad conflicts between the various Terran Militias. Overall, the UPL was content to observe their unwitting colonists without directly interfering in their affairs. It was only upon the discovery of alien species within the Koprulu Sector that the UPL finally committed to decisive action. Never before had humanity encountered alien species of any kind. Thus, this unprecedented event caused a widespread panic throughout the UPL. Regardless of what happened to the expendable Koprulu colonies, the UPL could not afford to let aliens invade Earth. The momentous occasion brought many dissident countries into the UPL fold, thus expanding the powers of the organization and causing it to be renamed the 'United Earth Directorate'. Taking a more proactive, militaristic stance in regards to alien affairs, the UED bent all of its considerable resources towards studying the aliens and their maneuverings. After monitoring the Protoss and Zerg for several months, the UED gathered data on the strengths and weaknesses of the two races. Believing that they were capable of countering any of the aliens' attacks, the UED formed a military expeditionary force to put an end to the Koprulu conflict by any means necessary. The expeditionary force, led by the brilliant Admiral Gerard DuGalle, had a secondary objective as well. Admiral DuGalle was ordered to take control of the Zerg Broods and use them to pacify Protoss activity in the Sector. In so doing, he would assure the survival and prosperity of Humanity throughout the galaxy.