About

Before Infestation

Early Life

Young Sarah Kerrigan's latent powers were demonstrated during an incident on TarKossia where she accidentally killed her mother (causing her head to "come apart") and damaged the brain of her father, Patrick. She was quickly taken in hand by Confederate agents and conscripted as a child into the Ghost Program. At eight years of age she scored highly on all phases of the psi-evaluations.

During ghost training, her most hated instructor was Lieutenant Rumm. Rumm attempted to break her sense of right and wrong and persuade her to demonstrate her psionic powers to prove to his superiors that she was psychic. Kerrigan refused, unwilling to relive what happened to her parents.

To coerce her into using her powers Rumm injected a kitten with a tumor-causing chemical, then ordered Kerrigan to use her powers to destroy the tumor or euthanize the kitten. Still unsuccessful Rumm threatened to shoot the kitten himself. Kerrigan refused once again and Rumm decided not to shoot, leaving the kitten to die slowly and painfully. Rumm later discovered his pistol's firing mechanism had been destroyed. However, the malfunction could be plausibly attributed to non-psionic factors, and so could not be treated as incontrovertible proof of her psionic powers.

A technician recommended the use of a neuro-adjuster, a device which would weaken a ghost's psionic powers and ensure their loyalty to the Confederacy. Rumm refused as a neuro-adjuster could kill the patient.

Sarah was taken to another room and strapped to a chair with a needle against her skin. In another room, she could see her brain-damaged father, similarly strapped to a chair. Rumm's scientists were about to inject her father with the same substance that caused the growth of a tumor in the kitten unless Sarah cooperated with the Confederacy. Instead, Sarah said she would kill herself and her father rather than use the power for the Confederacy. She was injected with the needle and quickly lost consciousness. Rumm felt he had no choice now but to employ the neuro-adjuster.

The neural processing treatments left her a withdrawn and introverted young girl. Kerrigan would spend a year undergoing mental torture at the hands of Lieutenant Rumm.

Secret Missions

Kerrigan was designated Ghost No. 24 following the successful completion of training. As a Confederate agent she murdered many of the Confederacy's enemies, including Angus Mengsk. She became a legend within the program, according to Gabriel Tosh. Kerrigan later participated in the xenomorph experiments at the Fujita Facility on Vyctor 5. The creatures were found to respond to telepathic commands when drugged and isolated.

Arcturus Mengsk, leader of the recently-formed Sons of Korhal and son of Angus Mengsk, discovered Kerrigan was at Fujita through Umojan sources. He organized a raid on the facility to retrieve her, although the rebel soldiers were not told of Kerrigan's significance or presence. By this time Kerrigan was the only experimental subject left; the remainder, unable to illicit as strong a response from the xenomorphs, were killed to maintain secrecy. The rebel raid was successful and an unconscious Kerrigan, defecting Confederates, and research materials, were conveyed to the rebels' base of operations, the battlecruiser Hyperion. There Kerrigan's neural inhibitor was removed. A number of cybernetic implants were left; years later, Kerrigan suggested this was to prevent the onset of insanity by inhibiting her ability to read thoughts.

Sons of Korhal

"You are on board the Hyperion, a battlecruiser under my command. You are here as a guest of the Sons of Korhal. My name is Arcturus Mengsk."
―Kerrigan is greeted upon awakening.

Upon awakening in Hyperion's sickward, Kerrigan was greeted by Arcturus Mengsk and Somo Hung. While Hung was smitten from the outset, she sensed the Mengsk's animosity. However, Mengsk assured her she was a guest with full access to the ship.

Over the following intervals Kerrigan regained fragments of past memories. She welcomed the frequent visitations by Hung but always declined his invitations to "hang out." Kerrigan was privy to the Sons of Korhal xenomorph investigation, and helped to spread rumors about the creatures amongst the troops to harden resolve against the Confederacy. The Fringe Worlds where the xenomorphs were first found had been depopulated by Confederate bio-chemical weapons to keep the aliens secret. Kerrigan's decision to join the rebels was aided by the knowledge that Hung's parents were among those killed.

During an engagement between the Confederate battlecruiser Norad II and Hyperion, Ghost No. 24506 boarded the rebel ship. Kerrigan detected and killed the ghost. The dead ghost's hostile environment suit was set aside for Kerrigan's use.

After a return and second departure from Umoja, Kerrigan began a relationship with Hung, almost simultaneously getting on worse terms with Lieutenant Pollock Rimes. He was already frustrated at the level of confidence she possessed in Mengsk's graces and defending Hung from his verbal abuse only made matters worse.

As part of the Sons of Korhal, she was involved in a nearly suicidal attack on the Ghost Academy on Tarsonis. She found Rumm, who had been promoted to Major, and took her rather messy revenge.

Rebel Yell

By December 2499, knowledge of the xenomorphs, now known as zerg, was no secret, nor was the presence of a second alien race called the protoss. During this time, Kerrigan was on Mar Sara stirring anti-Confederate sentiments, meeting UNN reporter Michael Liberty in the process.

Kerrigan resurfaced on Antiga Prime, whose colonists had become very tired of the Confederacy's heavy handed policies. She reported that Antiga Prime was ready to openly revolt against the Confederacy. However, the Confederacy was aware of this, and locked down the revolt with General Duke's Alpha Squadron, whose troops seemingly took over the Antigan revolutionary military base. Kerrigan scouted out the area, then linked up with new Sons of Korhal recruit Jim Raynor and troops under his command. The meeting didn't go well. Kerrigan infiltrated the military base and assassinated the Confederate officer in the command center, placing the base under the control of the Sons of Korhal. The combined forces then descended upon Alpha Squadron's own base, destroying it.

General Duke's battlecruiser, the Norad II, was shot down by the zerg over Antiga Prime. Duke called for help from his position in the crippled vessel. Arcturus Mengsk ordered a rescue, prompting a sarcastic response from Kerrigan; she wanted to know if Mengsk had lost his mind.

The Confederacy's Delta Squadron launched a major assault against the Sons of Korhal. Mengsk called a meeting of his commanders to discuss the situation. He had access to the plans for the Transplanar Psionic Waveform Emitter, or psi emitter, which his forces had stolen from the Confederates. The devices could attract the attention of zerg from across worlds. Mengsk told Kerrigan to plant the emitter in the Confederate base, which would lure the zerg to their position.

As Kerrigan undertook the mission, she told Mengsk that she didn't think anyone deserved to have the zerg unleashed on them, but Mengsk seemed to believe her past was influencing her.

Kerrigan planted the emitter within the Confederate base, but again expressed her revulsion at the idea. She asked Mengsk never to do so again, but he told her he would do "whatever it takes" to save humanity.

New Gettysburg

Mengsk's revolutionary movement had reached Tarsonis, the Confederate capital world. General Duke planned to assault the primary space platform, enabling a small force to penetrate to the surface of Tarsonis. His forces successfully defeated the Confederates, but his next move surprised and dismayed Kerrigan and Jim Raynor; his forces planted psi emitters.

Billions of zerg were lured to Tarsonis, laying waste to the Confederacy's defenses. The protoss followed, descending upon the zerg's primary hive.

Kerrigan was ordered to protect the primary zerg hive from the protoss Expeditionary Force. This action would prevent the Confederates from escaping. Jim Raynor, angered that she would be going down there without backup, had pleaded with her not to go to the surface, but she insisted that she had to, and Raynor wished her luck. Upon completing her mission the terran position was overwhelmed with zerg, and Kerrigan issued a desperate plea for extraction. Ignoring her, Mengsk ordered the entire Korhal fleet to disengage from the Tarsonian system, and (to Raynor's horror) left Kerrigan and her men to die on Tarsonis. This caused a rift in the Sons of Korhal, as Raynor and his men left the faction.

Infestation

Aftermath of New Gettysburg

Unknown to either Mengsk or Raynor, the Zerg Swarm had captured Kerrigan. The Overmind had sensed Kerrigan's formidable psychic powers and wanted to use her against the protoss. Kerrigan was contained within a chrysalis and taken to Char, where she used her telepathic power to reach out and contact Jim Raynor and Arcturus Mengsk. The psychic link with Raynor would persist.

Arcturus Mengsk sent General Edmund Duke of Alpha Squadron to Char in order to investigate the situation. Duke was repelled by zerg forces.

Jim Raynor brought his Raiders to attempt to rescue Kerrigan from the zerg. Kerrigan emerged from her cocoon as the Raiders attacked the zerg around her.

Adopting the name "Queen of Blades," Kerrigan confronted Raynor and allowed him to leave.

Shortly after hatching from her cocoon, Kerrigan revealed that the ghost conditioning which had been inflicted on her was still hampering the full potential of her psionic abilities. She wished to infiltrate the Amerigo, a terran science vessel, which held the secrets to breaking the conditioning, but cerebrate Zasz was opposed to this action. Kerrigan disliked Zasz so much she threatened to kill him (even though such a death wouldn't be permanent). Zasz appealed to the Overmind, only to discover that it wished for Kerrigan to maintain her original spirit.

Kerrigan infiltrated the Amerigo with assistance from senior cerebrate Daggoth, who offered her a pair of powerful Hunter Killers.

Kerrigan quickly developed her psionic abilities after discovering the secrets of the conditioning. She developed numerous abilities, including the psionic storm.

Kerrigan was now able to sense the presence of the protoss Tassadar on Char, and ignored Zasz's warning that something was strange about this Templar. She challenged him to a duel, defeating his forces in order to get to him. It turned out to be a distraction of a "weapons test" - Tassadar's ally Zeratul believed that his Dark Templar energies would enable him to permanently slay a cerebrate such as Zasz, and he was correct. Kerrigan showed no remorse upon the death of Zasz, but was annoyed that Tassadar had so easily tricked her.

Kerrigan was later ordered to take revenge on the Dark Templar. Kerrigan destroyed the protoss base and drove Tassadar and Zeratul into hiding. As she searched for them, the Overmind took the majority of its forces to Aiur as part of its campaign to assimilate the protoss. Kerrigan remained on Char, where she would keep hunting down the Dark Templar, Tassadar's forces and the remains of Raynor's Raiders.

During the running battles, she tormented Jim Raynor through the mental link, giving him pleasure and then guilt in his dreams. However, this untrained link also let Raynor interpret zerg communication, which he and his allies to put good use. After weeks of evading Kerrigan's brood, taking out a few bits at a time, they came up with a plan to take her down. Finding a secure location, they allow Kerrigan's overlord to see the protoss and then killed it, leaving her blind to their changing positions. Tassadar, who had spent time with Zeratul learning Dark Templar powers, killed the cerebrate under Kerrigan's command, driving the brood wild. She was able to take control of a small number of forces and fought Raynor and the two protoss commanders. However, reinforcements from Aiur forced her to retreat, swearing an eventual reckoning.

The "reinforcements" had come to Char to arrest Tassadar, and during the heated conversation Zeratul vanished. The zerg later captured Zeratul and a number of Dark Templar in a terran installation, which had stolen from Alpha Squadron. However, Tassadar eventually emerged from hiding, striking an alliance with the terrans trapped in the installation and rescuing the Dark Templar.

Ascension

"I do not join. I lead."
---Infested Kerrigan

The final battle on Aiur ended when the Overmind was destroyed by Tassadar which left the zerg Swarms scattered.

During this time, Kerrigan had spent her time covering Char with creep and created the Kukulkan Brood. She felt a psionic pulse coming from a recently-activated xel'naga structure on Bhekar Ro. She sent the Kukulkan brood to take control of the structure, but it came into conflict with protoss who had also felt the signal as well as Alpha Squadron, which had been sent to help the colonists. However, the structure turned out to be a trap: it was actually a chrysalis who required the energy and DNA of both protoss and zerg to complete its transformation. The whole Kukulkan Brood was wiped out by the phoenix creature. Kerrigan considered this an acceptable loss.
The Brood War

Afterward, many zerg cerebrates, commanded by Daggoth, merged into a new Overmind for the Swarms. However, Kerrigan, now in charge of approximately half of the zerg Swarm, began a campaign aimed at eliminating these cerebrates in order to rule over the Swarms by herself.

As part of her plan, Kerrigan took control of the Dark Templar Matriarch, Raszagal, even before she arrived on Shakuras, homeworld of the Dark Templar.

Shortly afterwards Zeratul, Artanis and the protoss survivors of Aiur traveled through the warp gate which connected Aiur to Shakuras. They were closely followed by zerg which included two cerebrates allied with Daggoth's new Overmind. These cerebrates nestled around the xel'naga temple of Shakuras, a powerful artifact capable of wiping the zerg off the planet.

Raszagal informed the newly-arrived protoss of the temple's powers which required the use of the two lost crystals: the Uraj and Khalis, but she ordered the protoss to first slay the two cerebrates around the temple, which was done. Kerrigan made an appearance right after this event, asking to be escorted to their Citadel. She claimed that with the Overmind dead, she was no longer being controlled. However, a new Overmind was growing on Char and when it reached maturity it would take control of her. The protoss, especially Aldaris, didn't trust her, but Raszagal (under her influence) welcomed her.

Kerrigan was unsuccessful in convincing Zeratul to assault the new Overmind but she did garner goodwill with the protoss by helping them acquire the Uraj and the Khalis.

Upon their return to Shakuras, Aldaris was in the midsts of launching an open revolt against Raszagal. He had discovered Kerrigan's influence on her, but he did not attempt to inform Artanis and Zeratul of this until he had been defeated. However, Kerrigan swiftly arrived and slew him as he tried to reveal the secret. A furious Zeratul ordered her to leave for her interference. Kerrigan bragged that she had forced the protoss to slay her enemies, the two cerebrates on Shakuras, before leaving the planet.

Raszagal was not very skilled at hiding the influence Kerrigan still had on her, but she did convince the trusting Zeratul that she was not under Kerrigan's control. Zeratul and Artanis activated the xel'naga temple and destroyed the zerg on Shakuras, but by this time Kerrigan had left. Due to her machinations, the cerebrates who refused to follow her lead were all but destroyed.

Against the Overmind

During the United Earth Directorate invasion of the Koprulu Sector, it acquired the Psi Disrupter, a powerful anti-zerg weapon, but the leader of the UED force, Admiral DuGalle, squandered its use due to the influence and advice of Samir Duran. Vice Admiral Stukov secretly disassembled the device and hid it from DuGalle, which would later spark charges of treason.

The UED conquered Korhal IV, throne world of the Terran Dominion, and attempted to capture Arcturus Mengsk. However, Mengsk was "rescued" by Jim Raynor and Fenix, who transported him to Aiur. The UED pursued. The zerg, with help from Samir Duran (seemingly an infested terran minion working for Kerrigan, who looked just like a regular terran) helped rescue Mengsk and Raynor from the UED. Exploiting the fear of the United Earth Directorate, Kerrigan had put together a coalition with Fenix and Raynor on Aiur. Fenix didn't trust her at all, but Raynor's fear of the UED was strong enough for him to persuade Fenix to fight alongside him and Kerrigan.

After this debacle, UED Vice Admiral Alexei Stukov traveled to Braxis, where he reconstructed the Psi Disrupter. Samir Duran was able to convince UED Admiral Gerard DuGalle that Stukov was a traitor. DuGalle sent Duran into the Psi Disrupter to terminate Stukov. Duran shot Stukov but vanished while Stukov lay dying. Stukov told DuGalle that he believed Duran was a traitor, possibly infested. Shortly afterwards, Duran set the Disrupter's fusion core to self-destruct and a force of zerg invaded the Disrupter itself. The UED was able to prevent the destruction of the Disrupter, but Stukov had died. The Disrupter was left on Braxis, defended by a UED garrison.

DuGalle ordered the Psi Disrupter to be activated, then his force descended upon Char to capture the new Overmind. His forces were successful in their mission. Kerrigan and Duran confronted him shortly after his victory, telling him that all of the zerg, plus Duran, belonged to her, and that she would defeat him despite his Psi Disrupter, with the help of certain allies.

Unlikely Alliance

Kerrigan had contacted Jim Raynor and Fenix on Aiur, alerting them to the new Overmind and the United Earth Directorate's plans on controlling it. Contacting them again on Shakuras, she asked them for help.

Kerrigan also struck an alliance with Arcturus Mengsk, contacting them on Shakuras. Together they rescued the remains of the Dominion fleet from the UED. Mengsk was her prisoner, and she told him he could be emperor of his own eight-by-eight cell if he didn't agree to her proposal. The allies destroyed the poorly-defended external power generators for the Psi Disrupter for her, and with the help of psi-emitters provided by Mengsk, she took control of nearby dormant zerg and used them to destroy the Disrupter. In order to enhance her Swarm for the upcoming attack on the UED on Korhal, Kerrigan proposed a resource raid on Moria. Her allies stood aside as she infested Kel-Morian Combine personnel. She led the attack on the UED forces on Korhal, defeating them. However, she and Duran quickly turned against her allies when they were resting from the battle, killing both Fenix and Mengsk's general, Edmund Duke. Raynor and Mengsk were left very bitter about this betrayal, and Raynor swore he would see her dead for it.

To Slay the Beast

Kerrigan managed to repel UED counterattacks on her forces on Tarsonis as she schemed for the destruction of the new Overmind. She traveled to Shakuras and retrieved Raszagal. The Dark Templar had not activated the xel'naga temple.

Kerrigan brought Raszagal to Char, followed by a vengeful Zeratul and Artanis. Zeratul demanded to know why his Matriarch had been taken. Kerrigan proposed a deal - she would allow Raszagal to return if Zeratul agreed to slay the Overmind. Raszagal convinced him to go, saying the Overmind was a threat to both Kerrigan and the protoss.

Zeratul had no choice; though he knew killing the Overmind would only make the treacherous Kerrigan stronger, he consented. His Dark Templar participated beside her forces in the battle, killing renegade zerg and UED troops alike before ultimately destroying the Overmind. They even slew the remaining cerebrates for Kerrigan. Then Zeratul again demanded the return of the Matriarch. Kerrigan agreed ... but Raszagal did not. Under Kerrigan's control, Raszagal said she wanted to stay. This did not fool Zeratul, who spirited her away and fled.

Consolidation of Power

Kerrigan had killed the Overmind's cerebrates, using the Dark Templar she had manipulated, and brought virtually all the zerg in the sector under her control. Kerrigan gave orders to recapture Zeratul and Raszagal. Her forces were almost successful, but Zeratul chose to slay Raszagal rather than allow her to live as a slave to Kerrigan. The surprised Kerrigan let Zeratul leave Char to live with his guilt. Meanwhile, Samir Duran disappeared. Kerrigan has no idea what Duran was planning.

Kerrigan defended her world from a combined attack by the United Earth Directorate, Terran Dominion and forces led by Artanis, leaving her as the ruler of the most powerful force in the universe.

Kerrigan destroyed the remnants of the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Force, but she made no move to attack the protoss, Terran Dominion or Raynor's Raiders, even though Raynor had threatened her with death.

Wings of Liberty

By the end of the Brood War, Kerrigan had become the undisputed ruler of the zerg. In addition, she no longer requires cerebrates since the death of the second Overmind, the Overmind's cerebrates having been destroyed although at least one remained at her side in the war's aftermath. At least four cerebrates survived on Braxis for a time.

Kerrigan pulled back to Char in the aftermath of the war, out of sight, but not out of mind. The Terran Dominion considered the zerg to be "too quiet" and though Kerrigan was the one responsible for the apparent cessation of hostilities, her motives were unknown, although it has been confirmed that it has nothing to do with Samir Duran (only known to Kerrigan herself). She has learned something of Duran's activities and a looming threat.

"We always knew she'd be back...but what's she after?
...She's come to finish the job."
---Matt Horner and Jim Raynor discussing Kerrigan's return

Under Kerrigan's leadership, the zerg were becoming "much, much more", the final metamorphosis having "only just begun." Kerrigan encountered Zeratul on a mysterious planet as he investigated the return of the xel'naga. He slew several of her hydralisk minions, but Kerrigan simply said she knew he'd find his way "here" ... eventually. She asked him "do you hear them Zeratul? Whispering from the stars? The galaxy will burn with their coming."

Kerrigan was later seen via camera leading the zerg against the worlds of the Terran Dominion, marking their official return to terran space. Jim Raynor knew it could only mean one thing: "She's come to finish the job."