The Starcraft Archive: An Anthology

1101 Pages·2007·7.53 MB·English

by  Jeff Grubb

®
A R C H IV E
THE FOUR ORIGINAL TALES SET IN THE UNIVERSE OF
BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT’S STELLAR GAME SERIES
•
JEFF GRUBB GABRIEL M ESTA
•
TRACY HICKM AN M ICKY NEILSON
ARCHIVE

Jeff Grubb • Gabriel Mesta
Tracy Hickman • Micky Neilson

POCKET BOOKS
NEWYORK LONDON TORONTO SYDNEY SINGAPORE
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and
incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used
fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons
living or dead is entirely coincidental.

POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

Liberty’s Crusade copyright © 2001 by Blizzard Entertainment
Shadow of the Xel’Naga copyright © 2001 by Blizzard Entertainment
Speed of Darkness copyright © 2002 by Blizzard Entertainment
Uprising copyright © 2000 by Blizzard Entertainment

© 2007 Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved. Starcraft
and Blizzard Entertainment are trademarks and/or registered
trademarks of Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., in the U.S. and/or
other countries. All other trademarks referenced herein are the
properties of their respective owners.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or
portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address
Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY
10020

ISBN-13: 978- 1-4165-4929-1
ISBN-10: 1-4165-4929-3

POCKET and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon &
Schuster, Inc.

Cover art by Glenn Rane
CONTENTS

Liberty’s Crusade by Jeff Grubb 5

Shadow of the Xel’Naga by Gabriel Mesta 306

Speed of Darkness by Tracy Hickman 607

Uprising by Micky Neilson 895
LIBERTY’S
CRUSADE

JEFF GRUBB
Dedicated to the fans of StarCraft, in particular my co-workers
who have spent countless man-hours perfecting the zergling
swarm assault
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This novel is set in the heart of the StarCraft universe,
which would not exist without the hard work of the
talented designers, artists, and programmers at Blizzard
Entertainment.
ANTEBELLUM

THE MAN IN THE TATTERED COAT STANDS IN A
room of shadows, bathed in light. No, that is wrong: the
figure is not illuminated by the light, but rather is light
incarnate, light folded and curved in on itself in a
holographic replica of its originator. The man speaks to
the dimly lit room, unknowing and uncaring if there is
anyone present beyond the limits of his own radiance.
Phantom smoke, equally luminous, snakes up from the
cigarette in his left hand.
He is a shard of the past, a bit of what had gone
before, frozen in light, playing to an unseen audience.
“You know me,” says the shining figure, pausing to
take a drag on his coffin nail. “You’ve seen my face on
the Universe News Network, and you’ve read the reports
under my byline. Some of those were even written by
me. Some others, well, let’s say I have talented editors.”
The light-starred figure gives a tired, almost amused
shrug.
LIBERTY'S CRUSADE

The recording presents him as a small mannequin, but
he looks as if in real life he would be of normal height
and proportions, if a little lanky. His shoulders slope
slightly from exhaustion or age. His dirty-blond hair is
spattered with lighter striations of gray and is swept back
in a ponytail to hide an obvious bald spot. His face is
worn, a bit craggier than would be permitted for a
traditional newscast, but still recognizable. It remains a
famous face, a comfortable face, a well-known face
across human space, even in these later war-torn days.
But it is his eyes that demand attention. They are
deep-set, and even in the recording seem to reach out. It
is the eyes that create the illusion that the shining figure
can truly see his audience, and see them to the core of
their beings. That has always been his talent, connecting
with his audience even when he was light-years away.
The figure takes another pull on his cancer stick, and
his head is bathed in a holy nimbus of smoke. “You may
have heard the official reports of the fall of the
Confederacy of Man and of the glorious rise of the
empire called the Terran Dominion. And you may have
listened to the stories of the coming of the aliens, the
hordes of Zerg and the inhuman, ethereal Protoss. Of the
battles of the Sara system and the fall of Tarsonis itself.
2
JEFF GRUBB

You’ve heard the reports. As I said before, some of those
reports had my name on them. Parts of them are even
true.”
In the darkness beyond the light someone shifts
uneasily, unseen. The holographic projector lets out only
stray bits of light, rogue photons, but the audience
remains for the moment a mystery. Somewhere behind
the darkness-shrouded audience there is the sound of
dripping water.
“You read my words, then, and believed them. I’m
here to tell you, in those broadcasts, that most of them
were grade-A cow patties, massaged by the powers that
be into more suitable and palatable forms. Lies were told,
both small and large, lies that have led us in part to our
present sorry situation. A situation that is not going to
improve unless we start talking about what really
happened. What happened on Chau Sara and Mar Sara
and Antiga Prime and Tarsonis itself. What happened to
me and some friends of mine, and some enemies as
well.”
The figure pauses, drawing itself up to its full height.
It looks around, its sightless eyes sweeping the darkened
room. It looks into the core of its audience’s soul.
3