Forest Keel
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- "My mother, may she rest easy, used to say there wan't nothing worth living fer that wan't worth dyin' fer."
- ―Forest Keel introduces himself to Arcturus Mengsk[src]
| Forest Keel | |
|---|---|
| Biographical | |
| Died |
Late 2491 |
| Physical | |
| Race | |
| Gender |
Male |
| Political | |
| Affiliation | |
| Occupation |
Siege tank crew member, sergeant |
Forest Keel was a Umojan citizen, Sons of Korhal soldier and siege tank crewman.
He had a wrinkled face and a gap-toothed grin. His white hair surrounded a bald dome.
Keel seems to have been a "party animal" who was raised on a farm. He liked to drink when he was off-duty, and had a funny dance which looked like a "a cross between a bird imitation and a cardiac arrest". Sarah Kerrigan compared his mind to an overgrown garden. Unlike many Umojans, he was not prejudiced against Fringe Worlders.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Forest Keel claimed to have served as a soldier for "seven cycles" during the Guild Wars (despite the war lasting almost four years). He joined the Rebellion of Korhal during a recruitment drive run by Arcturus Mengsk shortly before the destruction of Korhal IV. Mengsk renamed the organization the Sons of Korhal. Its headquarters was the battlecruiser Hyperion.
[edit] The First Item
- "Aaallrighty. Here goes the farm."
- ―Keel while en route to the Fujita Facility[src]
Keel was taught the workings of a siege tank by Sons of Korhal Lieutenant Sela Brock. He seemed very enthusiastic, and enjoyed the Lieutenant's company, calling her "little lady."
He was promoted (a surprise to him) to Sergeant by Arcturus Mengsk. He would participate in a raid on the top secret Confederate Fujita Facility on the planet Vyctor 5. He would drive a siege tank, with its heavy gravity device activated, through the Fujita Pinnacle, a powerful wind formation which surrounded the facility. The tank would also carry Lieutenant Pollock Rimes and three other soldiers. Once inside, Keel would attack the facility's Missile Turrets while the soldiers would fight the detachment of Marines guarding it. The Sons of Korhal troops would be outnumbered; however, dropships carrying reinforcements would reach them after the Turrets were destroyed.
The attack nearly derailed, however, because the siege tank's engine seized, preventing it from getting close enough to one of the Turrets to destroy it. However, Sela Brock used her Wraith to occupy the Turret so the dropships would land (at great cost to herself). The siege tank's engine came online long enough to bring it onto a Dropship and return to the Hyperion.
A few weeks after the attack, the ship returned to Umoja, the rebels using the opportunity for R&R. For Forest, this involved drinking a bottle and a half of Scotty Bolger's Old No. 8 Whiskey by himself, ensuring that Umojan medical staff had their hands full.
[edit] The Second Item
The Hyperion was caught off guard by unexpected arrival of the Confederate battlecruiser Norad II, commanded by Colonel Edmund Duke. The new arrival was directly in the path of the Hyperion and made an immediate escape into warp space impossible. To buy time to reposition the ship for warp, Mengsk ordered Keel to take a siege tank to one of the lateral docking bays. Once the ships were side-by-side the docking hatch was opened and the Norad II found itself under fire from the tank's shock cannon. By the time the Hyperion repositioned itself and made the warp jump Keel had caused significant damage to the opposing battlecruiser; Norad II went away with four large hull breaches on the port side that would take months to repair.
[edit] The Third Item
Keel took part in another Sons of Korhal mission, directed against the Ghost Academy on Tarsonis. He disguised himself (along with the rest of the assault team) as miners from the Fringe World of Pridewater. Once on Tarsonis "blended in" by dancing at the Starlite-Starbrite bar and meeting much younger women.
When the time for the operation came, he followed the other troops into the Ghost Academy. At its Armory, he equipped himself with a harness which he packed with as many fragmentation grenades as he could carry.
The operation was a disaster, as the Confederates had been warned by a mole within the Sons of Korhal. The rebels got into a firefight and were later ambushed by ghost officers. Keel led the men into a hallway, which led to the power reactors. Only Keel made it in. The Ghosts didn't want to fire due to the hazardous nature of the reactors. Keel waited for the Ghosts to uncloak and pulled out a pair of grenades. He looked each one in the eye so he could see their fear, told them he was about to meet his dead mother "with open arms" and blew up the reactors.
Keel's sacrifice freed Sarah Kerrigan from a trap which had been set by Ghost Academy Post Commander Major Rumm. Kerrigan was able to kill Rumm and complete the mission.
[edit] References
Neilson, Micky (December 18, 2000). StarCraft: Uprising. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 0-7434-1898-0 (eBook).
