StarCraft Wiki
Register
Advertisement
StarCraft Wiki
"At some point, we will falter. We will. It is mathematically irrefutable. We dream of the protoss empire standing for all of eternity. But we know—we know—that we cannot eliminate every hidden flaw. We have been considering how to deal with the consequences of individual disasters. We have not considered how to deal with the day when the Firstborn face extinction. Maybe it will come from us; maybe it will come from an enemy. But the day will come. The arkships. They are still the solution."

The arkships (a.k.a. ark vessels) were a trio of[1] massive protoss starships[2], larger than even the zerg leviathans, that were constructed by order of the Conclave[3] long prior to the Great War[2], during the "Lost Age" of protoss history[4], when the Protoss Empire was at its height[5]. They were built for the purpose of sustaining the protoss species should it near extinction.

By 2506, only one arkship remained,[1] the other two having been lost during the fall of Aiur.[6]

Overview[]

SpearofAdunCarrier SC2 Phys1

An arkship, with a carrier added for scale

The inspiration to create the arkships came about between the three grand preserver sisters Orlana, Rohana, and Shantira. An oversight in the operation of two motherships led both craft to be destroyed by a neutron star, killing over eight thousand protoss. The sisters wished to avoid such a tragedy happening again, and thus would make preparations to safeguard the protoss should a great disaster fall on their species. The arkships were the result of their efforts; the ships were named for large ancient protoss searfaring vessels designed to offer shelter to smaller ships from storms they could not endure alone.

The preservers advised that three arkships be built; while one would be a mighty vessel alone, if something should happen to it, the protoss would have others they could use, another system of failsafes in case of an unforeseen crisis. Construction of the first arkship was not completed until several centuries after the initial mothership disaster. The ship was christened the Spear of Adun by Judicator Mardonis and Templar Adun. Over the centuries after, two more, the Memory of Nezin and the Pride of Altaris, were constructed.

At this time, the grand preservers considered all their memories, and realized their efforts were misdirected. Eventually, inevitably, the protoss would face a disaster so great the arkships would not be enough to save their race, and the arkships would be lost attempting to fight in such circumstances. They determined the arkships should be used to help restore the protoss after such a disaster occurred, not to attempt to stop it. The three arkships were buried around Aiur in massive launch bays cradled in three of Aiur's cities, each with thousands of templar warriors in stasis. The grand preservers themselves also entered stasis aboard the ships, to offer their guidance to whatever protoss commander would uncover the arkships when the protoss needed their power.[7]

However, with the advent of the Great War and the fall of Aiur to the zerg, the dormant Memory of Nezin and the Pride of Altaris were destroyed by the zerg. Only the Spear of Adun beneath Khor-shakal remained intact. During the Reclamation of Aiur, Hierarch Artanis sought to reclaim the last arkship to herald their victory, but with the return of Amon and the corruption of the Khala, Artanis was forced to use the arkship to take what Khalai he liberated and escape the planet[8]. From the Spear of Adun, Artanis ran a running conflict with Amon and his forces from the arkship, eventually amassing a force large enough to reclaim Aiur and banish Amon to the Void[9]. Two years later, Artanis once again used the arkship in an assault on the Void, defeating Amon once and for all.[10]

AlliedCommanders SC2-LotV Art1
This article or section contains information derived from Co-op Missions, and should not be considered part of the official StarCraft storyline.

During the End War, Amon took control of a number of phase-smiths, and used them to construct a fourth arkship. He used it to assault his enemies from orbit.[11]

Capabilities[]

SpearofAdun SC2-LotV Art1

An arkship

The arkships were designed to be the ultimate failsafe to weather the protoss through any disaster they might face. Each was capable of storing thousands of protoss in stasis for a time when they were needed, and were large enough that entire planets of colonists could live aboard the ship if they needed to be evacuated for whatever reason. Squadrons of scouts could be manufactured every day, and each arkship could wage a prolonged war by itself. The ships are powered by the solar core, where a synthetic star is kept that generates enough energy to power the arkship for centuries, even thousands of years. Every system in the ships has several redundancies and back-ups, to ensure they will continue to function in spite of potential mechanical failures.[7]

Known Arkships[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Cinematic: Arkship. (in English). 2015.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2014-11-08, LotV: Campaign Panel Overview. Team Liquid, accessed on 2014-11-11.
  3. Spear of Adun, Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed on 2015-04-18.
  4. 2014-11-17, BlizzCon 2014 – Opening Ceremony Transcript. Blizzplanet, accessed on 2015-03-02.
  5. Rob Zacny. 2014-11-08. How Starcraft 2: Legacy of the Void makes your Protoss fantasies come true. PC Games N. Accessed 2014-11-11.
  6. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Rohana (in English). 2015.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Brooks, Robert. "It Will End in Fire" (Nov. 4, 2015). Blizzard Entertainment. Story: It Will End in Fire Accessed 2015-10-01.
  8. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void. Vivendi Games. Mission: The Spear of Adun. (in English). 2015-10-10.
  9. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Salvation. (in English). 2015-10-10.
  10. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Amon's Fall. (in English). 2015-10-10.
  11. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Co-op Missions Mutator, Spear of Your Doom (in English). 2016-07-04.
Advertisement