"Emil Narud" was the name used by a shapeshifter in service to Amon, though had positions of power in the Moebius Foundation and Terran Dominion.
He was viewed as a genius on the zerg biology and an expert on protoss/xel'naga technology. He also has great psionic powers.[3]
Biography
- Alexei Stukov(src)
Narud was the devoted servant of Amon, trying to resurrect him for millennia after his master died.[4] He built Skygeirr Station on top of Amon's temple.[5] There, he combined protoss and zerg DNA to create hybrid creatures of immense power that gathered psionic energy. Narud devised a plan to use a xel'naga device that would make Sarah Kerrigan human again while nearby hybrid gathered the power she wielded as the Queen of Blades, giving him enough energy to resurrect Amon.[6][7]
Alexei Stukov held Narud responsible for his infestation,[8] which was spun on a micro scale not possible for the zerg.[9][10]
The Good Doctor
Dr. Narud
Narud made friends with Valerian Mengsk, an aspiring archaeologist and Heir Apparent to the Terran Dominion. Valerian became convinced that Narud was a genius about the zerg and the xel'naga, the latter a subject of keen interest to Valerian. Together they founded the Moebius Foundation.
The two designed Space Station Prometheus, a secret research laboratory in the difficult-to-navigate Kirkegaard Belt. While there, Narud worked on hybridization experiments. He let Valerian know about them, but not about how far they had progressed.[3]
The Moebius Factor
"Yeah well, that was all a long time ago, Doctor. Looks like you got one heck of a zerg problem here. Where do you need us?"
- Narud greets Jim Raynor(src)
When Kerrigan attacked the Foundation's main research campus on Tyrador VIII, Narud sent three Moebius Security teams to purge the Foundation data cores. When none of them reported back, he asked Commander Jim Raynor to destroy the cores. He warned that if Kerrigan found them and discovered the coordinates of the remaining pieces of the xel'naga artifact, the fate of the entire Koprulu sector could hang in the balance. He gave Raynor control of the Foundation's medivac dropships to transport his men around the city and avoid most of the zerg. Kerrigan claimed that she saw through Narud's "pathetic charade." Once it was confirmed that the final data core had been destroyed, Narud ordered an evacuation and told Raynor why Kerrigan wanted the artifacts.[11]
Narud on UNN
In a statement, Narud credited Raynor's Raiders with keeping Kerrigan from achieving her goal. He was unavailable for comment when the Universal News Network broadcast its report on his run-in with Kerrigan.[12]
Flashpoint
The first phase of the war ended with Kerrigan's defeat and de-infestation at Char. Seeking to keep her out of the reach of Arcturus Mengsk, Raynor and Valerian Mengsk fled to Deadman's Rock in the battlecruisers Hyperion and Bucephalus. Both vessels had taken significant damage. On the way there, the rebels decided to take Kerrigan to see Dr. Narud, due to his reputation as a zerg expert, as well as his expertise about the xel'naga artifact.
Dr. Narud appeared at a meeting with the rebels there. When he wanted to begin examining Kerrigan, Raynor told him that Kerrigan was refusing to be examined. They were interrupted when criminals tried to capture them. Dr. Narud pulled a small pistol. During the battle, rebel commander Matt Horner was injured. Dr. Narud helped treat him.
Dr. Narud and the rebels took Kerrigan to Space Station Prometheus, where Narud was situated. Along the way, his repeated attempts to examine Kerrigan and hide information about the space station annoyed the rebels. Valerian Mengsk even told Narud that he wasn't popular in his sickbay or bridge. In addition, Kerrigan believed his psionic resonance was familiar, but didn't recognize Narud, causing her to wonder if he was disguised.
A frustrated Narud ordered a hostile reception for the rebels, but Valerian talked him down. Kerrigan went to the station's sickbay, where her blood was tested but nothing else was done to her. The xel'naga artifact was also brought the station, where Dr. Narud examined it.
Narud assigned repair teams to their ships and invited the pair to dinner, although these teams were really out to sabotage the vessels. In addition, he had Dr. Chantal de Vries "persuade" rebel scientist Egon Stetmann to visit his laboratories, but it simply enabled Narud's men to capture him.
He invited Raynor and Valerian to a dinner meeting, where he questioned Raynor so thoroughly the latter felt annoyed, as if he were being interrogated. The dinner turned into an ambush, as Narud was revealed to be in contact with Arcturus. In the resulting skirmish, Narud cloaked and fled.
The ambush failed in a sense, in that Kerrigan and her protectors were able to escape Mengsk's grasp and rescue Stetmann, even when Narud released a trio of his hybrids against them. Narud took the artifact to the station's loading bay and put it aboard a warp-transport when Raynor, Valerian, Stetmann and Kerrigan arrived there. One of the hybrids was present, along with many of Narud's troops, and during the battle Narud abandoned the station with the artifact. At the last minute, the Raiders dropship Fanfare, newly armed, arrived. It fired on Narud's transport, but he managed to escape.[3]
Heart of the Swarm
When Kerrigan entered his lab and killed one of his hybrid dominators, Narud told her she was not welcome there. He then proceeded to awaken seven other hybrids, telling them to fulfill their purpose and kill everything. He prattled that the Swarm had served its purpose and was a broken tool fit only for the scrap heap. He asked Kerrigan if she could feel the hybrid's hatred coursing through her mind. Although Narud was surprised that Kerrigan managed to kill several of his hybrid, he told her that she still had no hope.[8]
Narud, powered up, uses a null zone
Narud held his best troops, the Tal'darim, in reserve. When Kerrigan breached the sanctum, Narud drove a null zone towards her, which she tried to hold back. He ordered the Tal'darim to destroy the zerg hive. Narud's strength began to slip as Alexei Stukov deactivated the five temples that were amplifying his power. The null zone left him weakened and vulnerable.[5] As Kerrigan entered Amon's temple, Narud caught her off guard by appearing as Raynor. In the middle of their fight, Narud changed his appearance to that of Kerrigan's human form and impaled her on a psi blade. In response, Kerrigan fatally wounded Narud with her wings. With his dying breath, Narud revealed that Amon was alive and that she would see him soon.[13]
Game Unit
Wings of Liberty
Once a research tree from Hyperion's laboratory is complete, Narud sends a message allowing surplus research points to be sold to the Foundation for credits.[14]
Heart of the Swarm
A campaign portrait for Narud exists in Heart of the Swarm.[15]
Notes
- "Narud" is "Duran" backwards. The two characters possess distinguishing accents. While Duran exhibits an accent typical of Northern Africa, Narud has a European accent. He also possesses the same facial hair style as Samir Duran. Blizzard confirmed a connection between them, but didn't define it.[16]
- "Emil" may be derived from Latin Aemilius, a family name, which means "to rival, to emulate, to copy."
- At BlizzCon 2011, the story panel said that Samir Duran and Emil Narud may be the same character. Upon inquiring on whether he appears in StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, Chris Metzen commented "You might have met him already. You totally did, by the way."[17]
- Unused subtitles in Heart of the Swarm has Stukov referring to Narud as Duran.[18]
References
|