Skirmish on Char (The Reckoning)

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Previous	Battle of Char (To Slay the Beast)
Next	Dark Origin
Skirmish on Char
Conflict	Brood War
Date	2500, six hours after the Second Overmind's death
Place	Char
Result	Kerrigan's tactical victory Zeratul kills Raszagal Kerrigan allows Zeratul to leave
Campaign	The Queen of Blades
Combatants
Kerrigan's Zerg Swarm
Kerrigan's Zerg Swarm
Protoss Warband
Protoss Warband
UED Expeditionary Fleet remnants
UED Expeditionary Fleet remnants
Commanders
Queen Kerrigan Consort Duran The "Cerebrate" Matriarch Raszagal†
Queen Kerrigan Consort Duran The "Cerebrate" Matriarch Raszagal†
Prelate Zeratul
Prelate Zeratul
Admiral Gerard DuGalle
Admiral Gerard DuGalle
Strength
Zerg Forces: Infested Kerrigan Drones Zerglings Hydralisks Lurkers Ultralisks Defilers Mutalisks Guardians Devourers Scourge Overlords Queens
Zerg Forces: Infested Kerrigan Drones Zerglings Hydralisks Lurkers Ultralisks Defilers Mutalisks Guardians Devourers Scourge Overlords Queens
Protoss Warband: Probes Zealots Dragoons High templar Archons Dark Templar Zeratul Raszagal Dark archons Reavers Scouts Corsairs Carriers Shuttles Observers
Protoss Warband: Probes Zealots Dragoons High templar Archons Dark Templar Zeratul Raszagal Dark archons Reavers Scouts Corsairs Carriers Shuttles Observers
UED Remnants SCVs Marines Firebats Medics Vulture bikes Goliath combat walkers Siege tanks
UED Remnants SCVs Marines Firebats Medics Vulture bikes Goliath combat walkers Siege tanks
Casualties
Medium
Medium
Heavy The entire base Raszagal
Heavy The entire base Raszagal
Medium
Medium

The Skirmish on Char took place in the closing stages of the Brood War.

Background

Infested Kerrigan had previously used her psionic powers to enslave the Dark Templar Matriarch, Raszagal, at the beginning of the Brood War.

As the war drew to a close, Kerrigan, her minion Samir Duran and a zerg force kidnapped Raszagal from Shakuras, taking her to Char. Zeratul followed. Kerrigan offered to "allow" the Matriarch to return to her people if Zeratul and his Dark Templar assisted Kerrigan in destroying the second Overmind.

Zeratul did so, but Kerrigan betrayed him. Raszagal was still under her control, and wished to remain with Kerrigan. Zeratul arranged for an Arbiter to recall her, taking her from Kerrigan's grasp.

History

Six hours after the destruction of the second Overmind, Samir Duran gave Infested Kerrigan a report. With the Overmind and its cerebrates destroyed, virtually all the zerg in the Sector now fell under Kerrigan's control. The remnants of the United Earth Directorate fleet had fled the planet, but Duran did not know how many ships they had left. Kerrigan's primary hive clusters were moved to an orbital platform over Char.

Duran then reported that Zeratul and his fellow Dark Templar, who had recaptured Matriarch Raszagal at the end of the previous battle, had somehow bypassed the zerg defenses and escaped with their Matriarch, much to Kerrigan's surprise and anger. He and his brethren had joined up with a group of protoss survivors and were clustered on the surface of Char. They had imprisoned Raszagal in a stasis cell, and would be able to initiate dimensional recall to Shakuras in only half an hour. Believing the protoss intended to take Raszagal back to Shakuras, Kerrigan said Zeratul would be disappointed to find that Raszagal could not be redeemed. Kerrigan then ordered her Cerebrate to mobilize all of her broods to descend to the surface of Char and capture the Matriarch and Zeratul. The rest of the protoss could die.

The zerg had to quickly concentrate their forces and move them against the protoss. The remnants of the United Earth Directorate stood in their way, but these were quickly defeated. Eventually the zerg reached the small protoss base, killing all the protoss and destroying all the structures except for the stasis cell.

Zeratul wasn't there for the attack, but he quickly made an appearance. Cursing Kerrigan, he destroyed the stasis cell and stabbed his own matriarch with his warp blade.

As Raszagal lay dying, she told Zeratul that he had freed her from Kerrigan's control, and that he must watch over her tribe. "Into your hands I give the future." Then she died.

Kerrigan could scarcely believe what she had just seen. Zeratul said it was better that he killed her, rather than let her live as Kerrigan's slave. Kerrigan, impressed, allowed him to leave without attacking him. Besides, she had "taken his honor" and believed he would never be able to forgive himself.

True to her word, Kerrigan allowed Zeratul and a few of his brethren to escape from Char. These battered protoss set their course for Shakuras, hoping to find Artanis and any other survivors of Kerrigan's attacks.

Notes

• In the briefing for this mission, Duran claims that Zeratul secretly bypassed the zerg defenses and abducted Raszagal, surprising Kerrigan. However, this seemingly contradicts the end of the previous mission, which shows Zeratul warping away with Raszagal while Kerrigan watches. While this is likely an oversight on the developers' part, Duran's report and Kerrigan's subsequent reaction could be alluding to the fact that Zeratul was able to smuggle the Matriarch past the zerg defenses and elude capture.
• Completing this mission in less than 25 minutes unlocks the secret mission Dark Origin.
• If the time runs out before the protoss base is destroyed, Duran will tell Kerrigan that the cerebrate was too slow and that the protoss are escaping. The protoss are then shown warping away.