Sarah Kerrigan : Warrior Bio

Sarah Kerrigan: 


Background: Color Scheme, Brief History, Downfall and Greatest Battle

             (A Starcraft 2 Theme song and music video  with images of Kerrigan in action to serve as a reading song.  Credit goes to  Vercingetorix712 for the idea)

  First up is the ruthless empire builder, the self-styled  Queen of Blades Sarah Kerrigan.




Color Scheme: Green and Purple

The symbol for the Zerg Swarm. Chosen by Kerrigan.

  For Sarah, I have selected Purple and green to be her primary colors.  When a Terran is infested their skin turns a deep shade of green, making it the obvious first choice. Green is also associated with Nature, which is the perfect given that the Zerg are a completely biological race that rely on assimilating other species to advance.  Green does have some negative connotations, and in some places it is associated with death and decay. Various types of sickness, such as nausea, are associated with green and given Kerrigan's infestation (which can be considered a sickness) it is isn't hard to see how this aspect applies. 


 Purple is equated with Royalty, and has been ever since Roman times (one of the reason the Liberatores were freaked out by Caesar were because he started wearing Purple). Kerrigan fashioned herself into the Queen of Blades, so it isnt hard to imagine how this color could symbolize her. Other important symbolisms  purple include magic , which Kerrigan employs frequently, and mystery, which Kerrigan is even to herself. In a practical sense purple is the color of both the race symbol and her armor. 

The Queen of Blades with Hydralisk minion

Brief History (up to Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty): 

 Sarah Louise Kerrigan was born on the planet of Tarkossia in the year of 2473. At the tender age of eight she demonstrated her extreme psionic power, in a tragic accident that left her mother dead (in the words of her father "her head just came apart") and crippling the brain of her father, Patrick Kerrigan.  She was swiftly seized by agents of the government in power at the time, the Confederates, and forcibly conscripted into the Ghost Program, which was a government-sanctioned assassin's school for Psionics. There she scored so highly on the evaluation tests that they actually had to readjust the "Psi scale" for her (on a scale that ended at "10" she was designated a "12" ). Ghost instructor Rumm took her as his prime protégée , which was the worst thing that could have been done to a young, traumatized Kerrigan.

    Lieutenant Rumm was an exceptionally cruel man, and he soon took to drastic measures to force the reluctant Kerrigan to demonstrate her psionic powers to his superiors. At first he injected a kitten with a tumor inducing virus, and ordered Kerrigan to either destroy the tumor or kill the kitten with her powers. She refused, although later that night he found that his pistol that he had been threatening the kitten with  had been destroyed from the inside. He could not  prove  to his superiors that this was the result of her powers or the result of improper gun maintenance, though he always knew the answer...

  Getting desperate now, Rumm repeated his earlier experiment; except this time instead of using a kitten he used her father, Pat Kennedy. Angrily Sarah lashed out at her captors; saying that she would use her powers, but only to kill herself and her father so that the confederacy could never use either of them again. Rumm quickly knocked her unconscious and embedded within her a experimental neural-adjuster, which he initially did not want to do. With the implant she was now fanatically loyal to the Confederate cause.

Sarah as a Ghost

  Exact details of her early training are sketchy at best, and this author has been forced to rely on a more generalized account, supplied from other ghosts such as Nova(which will be described in Sarah's training section). Upon completing her training, Sarah was designated as Ghost no. 24 and assigned to assassinate various enemies of the Confederacy, including Angus Mengsk and most of his family. She was selected to participate in the "Xenomorph (i.e. early zerg contact) " experiments on Vyctor 5, where it was found she was able to successfully communicate and control them. There she was kidnapper (or "rescued" ) by Acturus Mengsk's soldiers, who removed her neural inhibitor. She helped him kill the ghosts that killed his family(although Acturus made a show of forgiving her), infiltrated and destroyed numerous Confederate bases, and formed an incredible partnership with Jim Raynor, the latter of whom she developed feelings for. Yet Acturus was not the populist hero she had come to believe him to be, and was really as power-crazed as any other dictator in history...

    With the Confederacy crippled by blows from all sides (the Zerg swarm, Protoss and Acturus had all been disemboweling it in a massive free-for-all) Acturus planned to deploy his coup-de-grace, and seize control of humanity. He ordered Kerrigan to deploy a psi em-miter on Tarsonis, the capital of the Confederacy. This device was designed to lure in  Zerg  in the same manner that chum would with sharks. Despite her serious misgivings, Kerrigan did as she was told, fighting off the both the remaining Confederate forces AND the Protoss commander Tassadar, who had been moved out of compassion to try to save the inhabitants of that planet instead of glassing it as was the official Protoss policy. In the end she succeeded, and the remnants of the Confederate government were destroyed.  Mengsk, satisfied and desiring revenge on one last person, left her to die to the swarm.

Infested Kerrigan in all of her glory

  Enter the Overmind. The big brain behind all of the Zerg's movements saw Kerrigan's potential, both as a weapon and as a eventual successor. He infested her and she became his greatest weapon, though a self-serving one. She was obsessed with maximizing her full potential (as was the Overmind, though none save him knew this) and she began acquiring Protoss powers such as the Psi storm, while retaining Zerg and Terran ones as well. When the Overmind was destroyed by Tassadar in a suicidal attack, she assumed control of her own brood and through trickery and ruthlessness wiped out all possible rivals, such as the cerebrates (lieutenants of the Zerg swarm). In the process she made many enemies, as she would routinely betray her allies, and as a result almost every major power in her sector ganged up on her giant one giant, climatic battle. Demonstrating her superior tactical mind, Kerrigan managed to defeat all of them, completely destroying the United Earth Directorate and scattering the rest, including the Protoss and Mengsk's new Dominion.

Downfall:

Sarah's lover and eventual downfall, Jim Raynor

      The following years were spent perfecting her form and the power of her swarm. For four years an uneasy peace covered the sector, although this would prove to be short lived... Four years later war would again erupt and Kerrigan would find herself in a race with her old friend/lover  Raynor to collect pieces for a mysterious and dangerous artifact. This artifact was a super-weapon, capable of destroying whole hordes of them in a single blast of energy.  After losing this race she soon found herself besieged by a force led by Valerian Mengsk (son of Jim's arch-rival Acturus) ,  Horace Warfield and Jim Raynor. Despite some not to subtle animosity between the three, they were able to work together to defeat her using the Zerg vanquishing power of the artifact, which de-infested her albeit at the cost of heavy causalities for all parties. Raynor wasn't going to let her die however(both for personal and galactic reasons) , and defeated an assassination attempt instituted by a pawn of Mengsk. 

                                                              (Warning: Spoiler Alert!)
 This wasn't the end for Kerrigan however, and within a few months she would rise to become even more powerful then before....

 Full biography here

Greatest Battle: The Battle over Char(Omega)

Fought on Orbital Platforms such as these

 "At this point, I'm pretty much the Queen Bitch of the Universe. And not all of your little soldiers or space ships will stand in my way again." 
-Sarah Kerrigan upon discovering the vast array of armies stacked up against her


Sarah had made a lot of enemies by the close of the Brood War through her manipulations, tendency to betray allies, and sheer amount of power she controlled.  Eventually the threat of her overwhelmed all other grievances  and three most powerful factions in the sector all put aside their differences to gang up on here.   The Terran Dominion, United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Force remnants (she had spent the good part of the previous year butchering this organization), and the Protoss all descended upon an orbital station above Char, separating Kerrigan from all but one of her broods.  


   The first faction, led by her old boss Acturus, possessed Siege tanks and ghosts quipped with nukes.  The second faction used the remains of its power fleet against her, including gigantic Battle-cruisers and cloaked Wraiths.  Finally the Protoss brought devastating psionic attacks to the battle, as well as cloaked Dark Templars and their own powerful fleet.   


 After a long and difficult battle in which she was vastly outnumbered and out-gunned she defeated all three factions, becoming the most powerful force in the galaxy and eradicating the UED, as well as crippling the other two. Yet even while basking in the triumph of her greatest victory she couldn't help but feel there was an even greater threat on the horizon....

                      ( The ending cinematic of Brood War, as narrated by Sarah Kerrigan.)


Offensive Categories: 

                 (Suggested Reading Music: 4/6 of the Zerg Theme songs. Pause this when you reach another video) 


Close range:Her Body (seriously) 

Concept Art of the Wings

 For close range Sarah uses no weapon that aren't attached to her, relying instead on her own  formidable natural arsenal, the most prominent of which are her skeletal  "Wings" . They resemble that of a bird's but without the feathers, skin or membrane. They have been hardened over time, and are as sharp as any carbon steel sword.  Each wing has three blades sprouting from it, and there are two wings which are both about as long as Kerrigan herself and connect at her lower back. In battle she is known to have use these deadly instruments to skewer and even rip opponents apart. Following up with her wings is her talon-like claws; ten deadly six  inch instruments of death.  While the wings would naturally get first use she is capable of using these to render flesh from bone or rip out throats , though they are still nimble enough to be used on a computer keyboard, and shouldn't have a problem wielding a gun. Kerrigan loves to get up close and personal, and she has been observed absent-mind-idly  licking her (bloody) fingers in anticipation for the coming fight. 

    (Kerrigan using her Wings and Claws, as well as her mid range attack, to destroy her Protoss enemies. Protoss are naturally heavily armored and equipped with shields , so her two-shotting them shows how much damage she is capable of doing). 


  As I will detail in the martial arts section, Kerrigan has had years of training that make her martial art skill impeccable; in a noteworthy incident she killed a Terran officer with a powerful blow to the neck with her leg. Spikes protrude from much of her body, and under the right circumstances these could become emergency weapons. Both of these are minor advantages compared to the rest of her body, but advantages none-of-the-less as the image of Zeratul in pain on the first page will attest. 

The Queen of Blades and her natural blades. 

  When coupled with her psionic speed and years of close combat training these weapons are fast and undeniably lethal. Her Zerg regeneration has evolved to the point where she can regrow lost limbs in mere seconds, and so it will be impossible for Anakin to permanently disarm her short of killing her(which he won't have any moral qualms with doing). She is a very experienced fighter, leading her troops into battle from the front and was a noted knife fighter even before infestation, carrying one on her person at all times. While in the games this is a bit understated,  in the novels she is also an accomplished duelist, taking on Jim Raynor and the  two Protoss Zeratul and Tassadar at once and winning. She is also has the option of attacking with her wings and claws at once, making it much harder for even an agile opponent like Anakin to dodge.  In the Starcraft universe, there are perhaps no better melee fighters then Kerrigan, though she does have some notable weaknesses... . 


   Her blood-lust could be her own undoing in this fight, as she prefers melee combat above all other forms and won't hesitate to charge right in should the opportunity present itself, possibly forgoing her incredibly powerful  psionic powers.  While her arsenal is formidable and regenerative, in a direct contest with a light-saber her limbs are getting severed as her recent confrontation with Zeratul proved.  Sure she'll regenerate it, but by then it may be too late.

            (Zeratul's confrontation with Kerrigan. Note the use of Psionic powers and her quick regeneration) 
Mid-Range: Psi Blast

Kerrigan about to launch a powerful Psionic Blast. 

   When an enemy is out of her reach of her wings  or hovering in the air above her, she will deploy a sudden burst of Psionic energy known as the "Psi Blast" . Summoning forth a large amount of psionic energy , she blasts it towards her enemy, ignoring their shields and armor and shredding their flesh. This attack also seems harder to dodge then her others  and can be cast at a fairly rapid rate. 

                                              (Kerrigan being used in Starcraft editor to kill marines) 

  In the campaign, the Psi blast is capable of one shotting all Terran infantry, even upgraded, as well being quite damaging to vehicles such as tanks. I can see this attack being extremely deadly to the stormtroopers accompanying Anakin. Anakin himself is going to have some trouble dealing with this attack, given how fast it moves. In my mind I see this as being one of Kerrigan's more powerful attacks,  though there are two glaring factors that may limit its effectiveness. The Force may provide a lucky Anakin with some defenses, while Kerrigan'a passion for close range may lead to this being used less. She is not stupid and won't forgo this attack completely for close combat , its just that she might not utilize it for as long as she should. 

                         (Warning: Last Mission of Starcraft 2. Psi Blast can be seen around 6:30 and 10:20 in) 
Long Range: C-10 MK. VI 

The weapon of choice for Pre-infested Kerrigan

  In a past life, this weapon would have been Kerrigan's best friend, and its not hard to see why. Unlike previous rounds which relied on high explosive rounds, the bullets that this gun fires are charged with energy, and could actually destroy Siege Tanks from the inside. It had a collapsible stock and a scope which allowed for enhanced zoom. It is also equipped with a flashlight,  EMP rounds, and a low frequency targeting laster that can be used to guide nukes down to their location.


 The C-10 was deemed to be unwieldy by normal Terran; fortunately Kerrigan is not a normal human (even pre-infestation). A trained ghost could use this as a anti-personal weapon to take out a target from a mile away, and should the ghost find herself surrounded   she could switch it to full auto, making mince meat of everything around the operative.

Sarah Opening fire on some charging Protoss Zealots

 The pure range  of this weapon will certainly cause Anakin some grief. The pure amount of power behind one of these rounds will prove too much for even stormtroopers armor to stop ,and their armor was designed to stop projectile weapons. In Star Wars  lore, "slugthrowers" (I.e. guns ) were employed as an Anti-Jedi weapon, as their rounds were impossible to see and deflect completely.Kerrigan also has years of training and experience backing up her use of this weapon, so using it should come second nature to her.  It can hold about twenty rounds in a clip.


  Although there are few disadvantages, one of the more prominent ones will be the difficulty of this rifle in hitting the fast moving Anakin. Anakin via his force sense and jump with surely prove a hard target for even the most trained sniper. 

 (Pre-Infested Kerrigan's last stand after she was betrayed by her boss, Acturus Mengsk. In this video she uses her sniper rifle to brutally dispatch many Zerglings and Hydralisks before succumbing to despair. Also note her cloaking in the beginning.)  


Special :Psionic Powers (Offensive only):

Sarah Kerrigan standing amidst the flames. Clever Artwork or a Pyrotechnics show put on  by Kerrigan?

  This is going to be a gigantic category consisting of short descriptions and videos, and finally a short synopsis of how I think each will affect the fight.Wash, Rinse and Repeat.  I must apologize in advance for I know I won't be able to supply a image/video for every description. 


Psychic Attack: 

Suffering an attack from Kerrigan wouldnt be as funny as this. 

 One of her most powerful attacks, and ironically the first one ever used, the Psychic attack directly the brain of the target. Kerrigan first used this technique accidentely on her mother and father, crippling the latter and causing the former's head to "just come apart". Years later as an adult, , Kerrigan used this power to brutally execute her childhood tormentor Lieutenant Rumm, a fitting end to the man who had tried to bully her into giving a live demonstration of this power(well he got his wish ) .   Arguably her greatest anti-personal attack. 


 While it may have done superbly against a normal Terran (which caused her trauma for years to come), against a force user it face some difficulties. Namely Anakin could perhaps use the Force to block out some of its effects, though he would have to really focus to be able to do this as this move is at least as powerful as his grip. Alternately he could take the offensive with another force move and force her to abandon the attack.  The Psychic attack is also limited to one person at a time, so she will not be able to wipe out an entire squad instantaneously with it, nor will she want to for blood-lust reasons. 


Telekinesis: 

Kerrigan's Telekinesis makes this girl's look normal

Telekinesis, or the ability to move objects with one's mind, is a power available only to the highest level psionics (8+)  in Terran society. The power goes beyond throwing around simple objects though, as both Kerrigan and another ghost named Nova proved. In the final mission titled "All In" Kerrigan  was actually able to lift Battle-cruisers up and implode them, while simultaneously showering marines with Psionic blasts.   The ghost Nova, though  two points lower on the Psionic scale then Kerrigan, was able to take down a skyscraper in a fit of rage, killing hundreds of people. Kerrigan can also use her Telekinesis to disable guns from the inside, as she did with Rumm as a child. 


 Though Anakin also possesses Telekinesis, it would take him a lot of focus and effort to do anything close to what Nova did. In this battle I see Telekinesis as being a significant advantage for Kerrigan, as she will be able to throw men and objects around with ease.  While I have some doubts about her ability to deactivate a lightsaber from the inside due to intricate construct behind the device, I have no such doubts about the Clone's rifles. 


Psionic Bolt:

Kerrigan using the Psionic bolt

 The Psionic bolt is a concentrated blast of Psionic energy directed at a single target; Kerrigan used this against Zeratul in his epic  duel with him. While in the cinematic it just stopped him mid air, in the books and game enough bolts or a powerful enough bolt could be fatal.  


 While powerful and able to completely stop someone in its tracks this power does have two significant drawbacks; its lack of initial lethality and its singular use, meaning it can only be used against one person at once. 


Ensnare: 


  For fast-moving enemies, there is no spell that works better then "ensnare" . The caster shoots forth a slimy green substance, which halves movement speed and reduces attack speed. Ensnare will also reveal any cloaked units caught in the spells effects. Utilized by Kerrigan in the first game, she is likely to have retained knowledge of this highly useful spell. Cannot kill on its own. 


  As mentioned above the only real weakness for this spell is that it cannot kill by itself. This spell is designed to set up the enemy for a secondary finishing blow. For example if Anakin were to be covered by this slime then he will find himself extremely vulnerable to a psi or razor storm, which he wouldn't be able to get out of the way of. Though he could probably, with some time and effort, cut himself free with his light saber, his men won't be able to. 

                                (Ensnare spell can be seen around 20 seconds in)


Implosion: 


 One of Kerrigan's more powerful spells, the implosion spell Creates a localized gravity well that telekinetic-ally   crushes and quickly kills the target. One of Kerrigan's most powerful spells, she can use this to crush enemy vehicles, all the way up to the enormous Battle cruiser. 


 The problem with this power is that it's only meant for mechanical units, and is useless against biological. I am sure she could destroy guns with this power and maybe Anakin's lightsaber (i'll have to look up the exact construct) but other then that this power doesn't have any targets. Except for Anakin's metallic hand and Auto Turrets of course. 


(Video for Implode will be shown in the next section) 
Razor Storm: 


 One of Kerrigan's two most powerful abilities, the Razor Storm summons forth a mass amount of energy barbs, and then unleashes  them over a wide area. Flying in a crazy-eight pattern (thanks for this description Master of the Boot!) , the barbs proceed to tear apart whatever is in the area of effect.  The barbs have the ability to ignore armor, so storm-trooper armor is useless against such an attack. In the campaign this power  can even utterly destroy buildings. 


 The only way to avoid dying from this attack is to immediately move out of the area affected, something Anakin will have to do ASAP if he wants to survive. The Stormtroopers will be screwed if Kerrigan casts either of these last two spells are cast on top of them, as their heavy armor precludes fast movement. 

  (Psi blasts, Implosion and Razor Storm can all be seen around 2:40 and 6:20.) 

Psionic Storm: 

The Psionic Strom is a POWERFUL anti-infantry weapon

      Kerrigan, through an immense amount of training, has taught herself the Protoss's most powerful Psionic Attack, the Psionic Storm. These storms send out psychic "ripples" that are disruptive to everything in a targeted area, frying the brains of everything that is in the storm's path. Like its partner the razor storm it ignore armor, though it does nothing to buildings nor those garrisoned in buildings. 

   Against a powerful attack such is this there is only one defense; get out of the storm's area of effect as quickly as possible. Should Anakin fail his brain will quickly fry, resulting in a quick end to the fight. 

                            (Psionic storm being used in the Beta) 


Explosive!!: Baneling

The Explosive "Expert" of the Zerg Swarm. Too bad he's only available for action once..

 This unique strain of Zergling was created once Kerrigan learned of a native mold on the planet of Cask that had explosive properties; after months of manipulating the gene pool she created Banelings, which she used to eradicate a nearby settlement as a final "test" . The  legs have been  drastically shortened, and large sacks of mold cover its  body.  It does not walk or run to its foes rather is tucks itself into a ball and rolls. Once in range or shot enough times  it will detonate, spewing acid on all those unfortunate enough to be around it. The Baneling has some armor to stop small arms fire  from killing it prior to its arrival at its destination. 


 Tactically, this little guy can also be used as a mine; remaining burrowed until the enemy is right on top of it. In the game the baneling is primarily a anti-infantry destroyer, which does not bode well for the 501st or Anakin. Unlike any conventional explosive such as the Detonator, this guy actively seeks his own targets and due to his surprising speed there is no way anyone save Anakin will be able to outrun him.  This is the one foe that Anakin WILL NOT want to use his lightsaber against. Should he slay the baneling in close range it will simply result in him getting covered with acid; should he throw his light saber at the beast then his saber may not survive the encounter. ..

                                         (Game Winning Banelings)
  The weakness of the Baneling is that it can't sustain many shots before exploding in a messy pile of acidic goo. Thus in order to be used effectively it almost has to be used in a ambush, which Anakin may be able to sense. In addition the  Animal Befriend may change the Baneling's allegiance, resulting in a significant depletion of Zerg forces...

                            (Humorous Justin Beiber parody of Banelings. Includes great action scenes) 




Please read this short story by Blizzard, which describes the fascinating story of how the Banelings were first created. Story can be found here
Allies: Hunter-Killer Hydralisks 

The Hydralisk on the left is off the regular strain, while the guy on the right is a Hunter-Killer.  In addition to being larger then their brother, the Hunter-Killer's projectiles are deadlier, and he possesses more armor.

 The Hydralisk is the most well known and popular of all the Zerg strains, and they are arguably  the best suited of the Swarm for ranged attacks. The average Hydralisks  are about 8 feet in height, weigh 390 kg and are 5.4 meters long. Natuarlly the Hunter-Killer breed is a couple sizes bigger in each of the aforementioned categories. Originally mutated from the peaceful herbivore Slothien, the Hydralisk has emerged from its evolution to become one of the most viscous of the Zerg Swarm. With their armor piercing spines or their scythe-like arms, Hydralisks are capable of utterly destroying a marine force within seconds of contact. They possess great range, though they suffer in movement speed. Hydralisk's have over 4,000 muscles compared to a human's 629, most of which go towards propelling their main armament to ridiculously far lengths. 

                                                            (Hydralisk Close-up!)


   The Hunter-Killer is a unique, bigger strain of Hydralisk that serves as the Praetorian Guard of the Queen. Perhaps as much 1.5 times larger and longer then an ordinary Hydralisk, since their conception they have escorted Kerrigan everywhere and were present in her final battle against Jim Raynor and his coalition forces, as well as her fight with Zeratul.  


Primary Weapon: Spines

One of hundreds of deadly spines

 The principle armament of the Hydralisk is its spines.  Originally the Slothien's defense against predators, the Zerg have since given this power a more sinister use, and are on of the greatest anti-armor weapons of the Zerg arsenal . Stored in its upper carpeice plates and covered in flaps, each Hydralisk has literally hundreds of them . These pertinent weapons are capable of piercing both Protoss shields and the strongest of Terran steel.  The Hunter-Killer's spines are even stronger, and capable of punching much deeper then a regular Hydralisk. Both variants spine's contain poison, further increasing their lethality. 

 Zerg commanders(Overmind, cerebrates or Kerrigan)  use Hydralisks both as an anti-air and anti-infantry, and although they work best with cannon fodder running ahead of them they are still capable of holding their own in a fight. 

                           (Hydralisks being used against a mixed Terran force that includes both ground and air) 

  The Spines of the Hydralisks are almost as fast as a bullet, and although Anakin may be able to destroy the first couple of spines with his light-saber he will need to quickly move out of the way or to deal with the source of spines lest he perish or exhaust himself under an unending and brutal  barrage. The Spines are armor-piercing, and thus will be able to get past storm-trooper armor, though it will give some protection. They also have relatively the same range as the weaponry of the 501st, with the exception of the sniper rifle. 

 The Hydralisk's due have one huge glaring weakness when it comes to unloading their arsenal; they have to rear themselves up to do it, which will take a couple of seconds or two. This gives Anakin and co. time to prepare and perhaps even take a couple out before spines start flying everywhere. Also vulnerable to infighting if Anakin utilizes his Animal Befriend. 

                                (Every Marine that dies on-screen during this video is from Hydralisk spines. Also you may see some of the characters from this video again... ) 

Secondary weapons: Scythe-like arms, teeth

Someone who I would prefer not to get in a brawl with

 Like most of the Zerg, the Hydralisk possesses two scythe-like arms, as well as razor sharp teeth. These blades are apparently able to penetrate Terran armor, and once the Zerg succeeds in penetrating said armor they descend upon the unfortunate marine in a frenzy. Given the great strength that the Hydralisk possess, any blow that they inflict would catastrophic.

 Of course this was only used as a weapon of last resort; such as if they ran out of ammo or the enemy appeared right next to them. Against Anakin expect to see this fail on arrival, as his light-saber and agility will allow him to effortlessly dodge the blade and eviscerate the Hydralisk. Against the Trooper's this will only offer mixed success, as they are both trained in melee combat and have armor to slow the blades down. 

(In the first couple of seconds you can see a Zergling brutally tearing into a unlucky marine with its claws).

And now I (and you) have finished the exhaustive Offensive and Allied weapon categories it is time for a new track. Presenting Heaven's Devils, a theme song for the campaign of Starcraft 2


Allied Defense: Zerg Carpace, Burrow

The Ultralisk, the biggest, baddest brawler of the Zerg Swarm. Luckily Anakin will not be facing him. The brown that covers his body is Zerg Carpace.  

 The Zerg Carpace was a flexible suit of armor designed  for a fast-moving, flexible force, traits which personify the Zerg force. Zerg Carpace gives its wearer some protection from the small arms fire of the Terran, as well as an extra layer that the opponent must puncture through before getting to the insides. Its exact composition is unknown, though given the nature of the Zerg it is likely of biological origin.   Zerg carpace that has been fully upgraded possesses an extra two layers, as well as spikes bursting from the cracks. 

An icon of a fully upgraded  Zerg Armor

 Though in some videos(which shall be linked below) the Zerg armor is able to completely deflect bullets, in the latest game (Starcraft 2) it is shown as much weaker then it was in the original. This isnt completely fair to the armor however, as most of the weapon that succeed in destroying it (psy-blade, sniper rifle) are designed to penetrate armor  much more formidable then anything the Zerg possess. In my view it has been unfairly treated in a Terran-centric game, and in my match-up I will opt for middle ground, where its not terrible but not par-excellence either. 

                         (Demonstrates the full strength of Zerg Carpace. Also one of my favorite Starcraft 1 scenes) 

    Zerg Carapce offers the greatest mobility possible for both the Hydralisks and the Baneling, and both will be able to easily move  when they have to. Though it doesn't nearly offer the same amount of protection that the 501st armor does the carpace is no pushover either, and will give some resistance to low-setting blaster fire. The Carpace will offer no defense to anything that Anakin uses, and will be taken out of the equation when dealing with him.  In addition blasters on higher-power setting may force the Hydralisks to...

Burrow:

Ultralisks emerging from below the Earth in order to slaughter a hapless marine squad. 

   When enemy firepower becomes to much for the Zerg to deal with they will burrow themselves deep into the ground, escaping the hostile surface and entering into the cool dark safe zone of the depths below.  In addition to providing a temporary safe-zone, Zerg regeneration kicks in a greatly increased rate. As I will detail in a let chapter, this is more then a defensive ability and can be used as a superb ambush starter, as ordinary  humans will not be able to see the hidden Hydralisks (or Banelings!). While some Zerg are able to move while burrowed, neither of these two will posses that power (though that's not to say that Kerrigan won't!)

      (Burrowing tactics in Starcraft 2, all of which will be available to the Tactician Kerrigan)


  Anakin is the only weakness of this ability. Through the force he will be able to detect the burrowed creatures and either instruct his men to avoid them or destroy them (a burrowed Hydralisk will have no where to go if a detonator is thrown down its hole).  Hydralisks cannot attack from underground and Banelings have to wait till someone is on top of them to detonate.


Personal Defense: Zerg Carapace(light) and hardened skin, Deep Tunnel and Burrow

Statue at the Blizzard headquarters of Kerrigan in all her glory

   Kerrigan's unique carapace allows for maximum protection, mobility, and flexibility all in one package. Her carapace, though she does not often rely on it, is capable of stopping all but sniper rounds and vehicle shots from punching through, while her hardened  skin furthers adds to the protection value.  Any hand to hand attacks against her will only  result in the attacker having a bruised hand, and at the mercy of a presumably irate queen. Neither skin nor armor inhibits her natural speed and agility in the slightest. 

   In this battle I can see the armor being able to repel low grade blaster shots as well as allowing her to survive some explosions, though anything higher will doubtless punch through. This really isn't a disadvantage for Kerrigan though, as she was able to assault extremely fortified Terran positions and hold her own without heavy armor. Though its still better then Anakin's robes, any of the young Jedi's weapons will burn though her armor and skin  with ease. Should she find her life in danger, she still has one last "vanishing" act up her metaphorical sleeves....

Deep Tunnel and Burrow: 

Kerrigan emerging from the earth, now fully healed

When Kerrigan senses her life is in grave danger she will quickly disappear in a flash of dirt and blood, digging so deep underground that not even Terran scanners or detectors can sense her. Using her Psionics she can move quickly while this far underground and will usually head back to her base, though she could doubtless pop up elsewhere. While underground her health and wounds regenerate even more rapidly then they do above-ground, and when she emerges she is just as capable as she was in the beginning of the fight. Like her minions she also possesses the ability to burrow as part of an ambush. 

 This is perhaps Kerrigan's greatest defense, as her holes are too deep for Anakin's force to detect, and  she can easily move out of the way of a thermal detonator if one was to be thrown down her hole.  Due to the unfairness of having an opponent constantly escaping  and coming back to battle at full health; in this battle I will only allow Kerrigan to utilize this power once. 


Agility and speed: Very agile, Psionic speed

Kerrigan, having scaled some nearby rocks, confronts Zeratul and his fellow Protoss

      Kerrigan agility was second to few in the Starcraft universe, and in the books she  is descried as leaping out of craters and effortlessly dodging another ghost's blows until she was able to plunge a knife into his (cloaked) chest. She was able  to duel and defeat Raynor, Zeratul and Tassadar all at once, a feat which must have required incredible reflexes, reaction time and coordination. In the final mission of Starcraft 2 she personally  assaulted a heavily fortified Terran base 4 times, showcasing her incredible endurance and determination. 

 For speed she has a special power, known rather appropriately as  psionic speed. This power is activated when a powerful psionic channels energy into his/her body, greatly increasing speed and reflexes. Protoss Zealots use psionic speed to charge at blinding fast speeds into their opponents, and can be used to chase down fleeing opponents.  Presumably should Kerrigan find herself in a dangerous situation she could use speed to run the other way.

                                     (Zealots using Psionic speed)

Kerrigan's agility is going to help get out of troublesome situation and can help her stave off many near-defeats, something that is  crucial when your battling someone with a lightsaber.  Her agility and speed will only serve to help her weapon skills, so its pretty hard to talk about disadvantages in this section.


Regeneration/healing: Mastery:
(Unfortunately no pictures was able to be found) 
 Mastery. There is really no other term that can describe Kerrigan's regenerative powers. Whereas it takes other Zerg minutes to fully heal themselves, the Queen of Blades is able to do so in just seconds. In a duel with Zeratul she was able to regrow one of her trademark wings mere moments after it was cut off, which is basically the equivalent of you getting you arm wrenched from its socket then regrowing it seconds later. In the final mission "all In" she was able to regenerate completely just minutes after absorbing the arsenal of an entire army (artillery shells, millions of bullets, high-powered sniper rounds ect) .


 Anakin is really going to have troubles with Kerrigan's regeneration, and will have to strive much harder to kill her then Sarah need to in order to kill him. In most cases he will need to rely on  either his force powers, a constant barrage of blasters, or complete dismemberment via his lightsaber to achieve his kill (though decapitation should also work) .Still the fact that he is requires to go to such lengths in order to achieve a fatality isnt a weakness on behalf of this ability, only a plus. I predict this category will go Kerrigan and she may even net full points! 


Misc Abilities and passive powers: Sense Psionics, Psionic sight, Extremely powerful Telepathy, Cloaking


Sense Psionics(Detector)  and Psionic sight

A powerful Terran Psionic known as a Specter 

   Kerrigan was arguably the most powerful psionic of the Zerg or Terran races had ever produced, and she could rival many Protoss. Her psionics ability aroused the attention of the Overmind, who was naturally able to locate her due to his sense psionics ability that all Zerg, and most telepathic Terran, possess. Humans with powers such as hers apparently generate alpha waves while using said powers, and the Zerg were able to home in on this like a shark following a blood trail. Prior to her infestation Kerrigan also demonstrated this ability when she was able to detect the presence of another ghost in battle, though she could not pinpoint his exact location without electronic help. 

 Another Psionic ability of Kerrigan's was called Psionic Sight or "heat vision" . In utilizing this power Kerriganwould be able to see through walls and around corners, potentially spoiling a well planed ambush. 

    Together these powers are going to make it much harder for Anakin and his soldiers to successfully ambush Kerrigan. She will be able to sense Anakin from the onset of the battle, though he may also have the same ability...

Telepathy: 

A Terran Telepath

  Broadly speaking, telepathy involves the ability to read minds, sensing emotion/general thoughts, sending psychic messages and accessing the memories of sentient creatures. Kerrigan is an incredibly powerful Telepath, able to read even the advanced Protoss minds, who in turn are able to read almost all Terran's minds. She is so good that the dark Templar  Zeratul, who is immune to the mind reading attempts of other Protoss,  visibly struggled to expel Kerrigan from his mind. Once in her opponent's minds she can learn of their plans, past history, and even their future whereabouts. She can also torment the unfortunate victim with gruesome visions of parts of the past that they do not care to remember. 




 Kerrigan is powerful enough to even peak into Anakin's mind, and will be able to do so, at least initially. With enough force of will non-Psionics in Starcraft are able to block her from entering their minds, and hide their intentions (an example would be Acturus Mengsk) . In this battle Kerrigan will be able to read her opponent initially, but with enough effort on Anakin's part this doesn't have to be a permanent condition, at least for him. She'll be able to read his soldiers as easily as she could tear them apart, which will help spoil any ambushes. 

Cloaking: 

A cloaked ghost observing his handiwork 

     Ghosts in Starcraft possess the ability to render themselves completely invisible to all opponents save the odd detectors . While cloaked they are free to attack at will and cloaked ghosts have felled many a dissident politician in the Starcraft Universe. Ghosts with sniper rifles can be quite deadly in a squad on squad situation, as they will pick people off with near impunity. A melee fighter that uses cloaking will find it easier to sneak up on his victim, who will literally never see it coming.


       While the advantages of cloaking are obvious, the disadvantages should also be mentioned. Terran cloaked units require energy to maintain their camouflage, and will automatically disable their cloak when it runs out. All cloaked units leave a telltale "ripple" in the air when moving, allowing observant players to see them, though a detector is still needed to allow units to attack them. 


 In this battle if Anakin soldiers were to see Sarah's ripple they would presumably shoot, as cloaked personal are not unknown in the Star Wars universe. Anakin , due to his force powers, will likely be able to sense Kerrigan even if he can't see her, thus functioning as a detector of sorts. She won't be able to sneak up on him, though she could still get a surprise shot off from afar.  In short cloaking is a helpful bonus to sniping, not a game winner. 

                 (Guide on how to best use Ghosts tactically in Starcraft 2) 






X-factors: 

                                        (Time for the Classic Starcraft 1 Theme music!) 
Tactics/personality: Ruthless, Brilliant Tactician, Deceptive and manipulative ,  Height of Psionic potential, Hive-mind, led from the front, Psychological warfare, Blood-lust, Brave, Extremely aggressive 

 Kerrigan came to dominate the entire Koprulu sector through genius battlefield tactics, strategic alliances and frequent backstabbing. She was able to manipulate Zeratul to destroy a rival Overmind and  Raynor and Mengsk to help her oppose the U.E.D. After each objective was successfully carried out she betrayed her new-found allies; forcing Zeratul to kill his brainwashed leader and killing Mengsk's top general, Duke. Without so much as a moment's pause she even killed the best friend of her lover Raynor, a Protoss named Fenix, for the sole purpose of reducing the power of all of her future enemies. . Of course this also had effect of pissing off everyone else  in the sector, and  Mengsk , the Protoss and the U.E.D. all formed a temporary alliance with the sole aim of killing her. Though they would have destroyed her if each organization was at their full power; Kerrigan's manipulations and skirmishes had all taken their toll, and each faction possessed only a shadow of their former power. One by one they fell to her genius tactics, designed to take advantage of each of their individual weaknesses , and she emerged the undisputed ruler of the entire sector. 




   Kerrigan is the greatest human psionic the galaxy has ever seen, with only obscure entities (Voice in the Darkness and Dark Voice) being able to match her.  She can enslave the powerful Protoss to her will, she can cast razor storms which rip everything around her to shreds, and she can even  command an ENTIRE race with her mind. Zerg evolved as a hive mind race, naturally telepathic to each other and able to communicate over great distances, and Kerrigan can coordinate battle strategies without ever having to utter a word. 


  Her command style can be described as up-front, leading  in the same aggressive manner Alexander once did eons before her. Kerrigan has a demoralizing effect on enemies and she knows it, and her dialogue is full of creepy quips. She has been known to use her Telepathic powers to taunt her victims, like when she beamed both pleasant and unpleasant images into the head of Jim Raynor.

                                        ( Kerrigan talking to the player...) 
  Kerrigan seems to   genuinely enjoy the thrills of battle; the rush, the exhilaration you get after so successfully slaying a hated enemy; that she will actuall, in some cases,  rush into battle  ahead of her troops .  She seems to consider herself so powerful that death does not even factor into the equation, or if it does it doesn't effect her actions. She would much rather be in the thick of the battle then sitting on a station somewhere, a thousand miles away, commanding from afar. 




Motivation: Maximizing her potential, Vengeance, unknown looming threat,   lordship over all creation, Blood 
"None shall ever dispute my rule again."

    For her ultimate objectives, Sarah seeks to become  the ultimate life-form that rules over all other lifeforms. Anything that gets in the way of her absolute power will be crushed.  She callously makes and betrays alliances at will, lest her allies benefit from her success.   Kerrigan  also constantly strives to upgrade her abilities.  Even when she was under the control of the Overmind she disobeyed orders in order to raid a science vessel to remove the last vestiges of her ghost inhibitors; this insubordination resulted in the death of a Zerg leader.  She is power-hungry to be sure, yet there is also a secondary reason behind her zealous pursuit of the subject. She can sense, without really knowing what she senses, that there is a looming threat on the horizon that will exceed all previous threats. Her desire to combat the unknown is a significant reason behind her lust for power.


    In the immediate tense though she has two primary desires; vengeance and thrills of battle. Her desire for retribution is primarily against Acturus, who she hates for his betrayal on Tarsonis , though she is easily slighted and not afraid to make a new grudge. The oft-mentioned blood-lust is another one of her motivations, and she looks forward to future slaughters. 




Training/Experience/Quality of enemies: Extensive ghost training, number of assassinations,  leads from the front,fought against every different race/important leader in sector, Quality of enemies: Very High  

   At a very young age Kerrigan was initiated into the ghost program, which was essentially a government sanctioned assassin training school. Ghosts were the black ops of the Stracraft universe, and they were trained to be the best warriors that Terrans had to offer. Their training was also the most brutal of all three races.  In physical training, ghosts are trained in target shooting, close-quarters combat (martial arts and  other techniques such as knife fighting ) and vehicular expertise. Ghosts are also trained to move quickly and are desensitized to combat; an example would be Sarah Kerrigan's training, who at the age of twelve had a gun placed to her head by a guard and was ordered to kill the guard before he killed her. Ghosts were subject to high gravity training and various virtual simulations, such as the "Nukes Away" sim which was evidently so popular that ghosts would spend what little leisure time they had in that simulation. "Nukes Away " demands that a ghost utilize covert infiltration tactics in order to successively nuke the enemy before any rival team were able to do so. 


     Once she "graduated" from her school, Sarah was sent by her Confederate overlords to assassinate dissidents who could prove a threat to the government. She never failed in any of her missions, even succeeding in killing half of the Mengsk family. Eventually Acturus, who despite is hidden rage sensed a valuable asset in her, removed her conditioning and brought her to his side. From then on she was his second-in-command, leading his armies from the  front and scoring victory after victory. This was, of course, before he betrayed her on Tarsonis, whereupon her allegiance merely changed, not her command style nor success rate. With the  Overmind's death she eventually came to control the Zerg, and through her front-line leadership she defeated every foe sent against her.  The list is quite exhaustive; The Dark Templar, Protoss, U.E.D., Raynor's Raiders (initially) , Terran Dominion, Kel-Morian Combine, the various renegade Zerg swarms....she fought against and defeated them  all. 

Martial Arts/fighting style: Extensive martial Art training,  renowned duelist, superb knife fighter

SC 1 Artist rendition of the Queen of Blades

      As mentioned in the close range section, Sarah was heavily trained in various martial arts styles. Some examples of the skill she will bring to this fight include; she  could break a man's neck with a kick, she could wrench a gun from a marine's hand and turn it on its owner in a blink of an eye, and  she could effortlessly snap and silently move on to the next before the body hits the floor. Naturally all of her skills were amplified post-infection, and she was able to time and again defeat the long-lived Protoss in duels. In one duel on Char she defeated Zeratul, Tassadar and Jim Raynor in one giant duel; only the arrival of the Protoss fleet prevented her from finishing off three of the galaxy's most important figures. She would duel Zeratul many more times in the future, each time either beating him or drawing the battle. 


  Her expertise with knives was noted in the Ghost Acadamy, and was demonstrated even before she assumed her title of "Queen of Blades". She always carried at least a combat knife with her, and in a duel with another ghost she was able to disembowel  him while he was cloaked. Her blades skill is a reason that she is able to turn her claws and wings into such regiment shattering weapons.


 She certainly bring enough skill to the table to give Anakin a hard time, but will it be enough to give her the win? 




Personality Weaknesses:  Arrogant, a bit impetuous, Blood-lust, 

      Kerrigan has always been a bit full of herself, even prior to Infestation.  After the success she won during the Brood Wars her arrogance increased ten-fold, and she came to believe herself the ultimate being, born to rule over all others. This arrogance has caused her to underestimate some of her opponents, such as Jim Raynor, which ultimatly helped lead to her downfall. 




 She desires nothing less then the thrills of combat, and will sometimes commit tactical mistakes in her pursuit of her desire. She lost control over an entire brood due to her desire for a duel with Tassadar, who lured her out of her layer and away from her Cerebrate(lieutenant) . Zeratul used the distraction to sneak  in the Cerebrate's lair and slay this creature, resulting in her loss of control for that brood and ultimately her loss of the battle.