Tassadar

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StarCraft character
Tassadar
Tassadar, moments before his death.
Species	Protoss
Affiliation(s)	Protoss Fleet
Position(s)	Executor (lapsed)
Voiced by	Michael Gough

Tassadar is a fictional character in the StarCraft universe. He was a Protoss High Templar and piloted the Gantrithor, a Protoss Carrier.

In StarCraft Tassadar is voiced by Michael Gough.

Contents 1 Tassadar the Executor 2 Break with the Conclave 3 Stirring Rebellion 4 Final Battles 5 Trivia 6 References

[edit] Tassadar the Executor

Tassadar, aged 356, bore the title of Executor, a senior Templar rank, until he was ostracised by the Judicator Caste for disobeying the orders of Aldaris, a member of the Protoss Conclave and a religious and military leader of the Protoss people. Unlike Aldaris, Tassadar believed in the need to respect the lives of the Terrans on Chau Sara in their quest to eradicate the Zerg.

Tassadar's Expeditionary Force made first contact between the Protoss and the Zerg when he discovered organic space probes floating in deep space. He had them brought aboard a ship for study, and eventually subjected them to an analysis with Khaydarin Crystals. He was horrified by what he discovered - not only did they naturally react to the crystals (revealing their Xel'Naga origin) but he could read their vague thoughts - Find Humanity ... Assimilate ... Learn ... Evolve.

This was reported to the Protoss on Aiur, who ordered him to remove the xenomorphic threat immediately.

Tassadar approached Chau Sara, an infested Terran planet. The Zerg had completely covered the planet in Creep, killing or infesting all of its inhabitants. He reluctantly brought his flagship and his fleet into orbit and with their powerful capital ships systematically destroyed all life upon the planet, leaving it a virtual husk of a formerly lush planet.

Unfortunately, other planets had been infested, and Tassadar was ordered to sterilize them, too. The nearest infected planet was Mar Sara. Upon his approach, he was met by a clumsy Terran Confederacy fleet, but instead of attacking them, Tassadar announced himself and withdrew.

-At this point the game begins where the player plays a high ranking official on the planet of Mar Sara

Eventually the Terrans evacuated the planet, and only then did Tassadar attack, once more sterilizing a planetary surface. Because of the clumsy way the Terran Confederacy handled the evacuation, the player of the game decides to defect to a militant organisation called the Sons of Korhal.

The player encounters Tassadar and his fleet again on a planet called Antiga Prime. This planet was infested by the zerg as well, and after the player had fled from the planet with the Psi-emitters( devices used to lure the Zerg towards them), Tassadar's fleet sterilized the surface of Antiga Prime.

Finally the Sons of Korhal( played by the player) brought psi-emitters to Tarsonis, the capital planet of the Terran Confederacy and activated them, luring massive amounts of Zerg to the planet in an effort to destabilize the confederate's enough to take over power.

Tassadar once again moved his fleet in to destroy the Zerg. Perhaps he would have been successful in this, but the Sons of Korhal( played by the player), fearing that the confederate's would get away, actually defeated Tassadar's fleet in order to protect the Zerg.

The Sons of Korhal detachment was led by Sarah Kerrigan, who believed (due to her mind-reading abilities) that the Protoss were there to destroy all life on Tarsonis, not just the Zerg. However, at the moment the Protoss fleet is defeated by the forces of the Sons of Korhal, their main base is attacked by a huge wave of Zerg, who rapidly overrun the defenses. The player's friend, Jim Raynor (who has a love interest in Sarah Kerrigan), immediately orders a retrieval of the forces. The leader of the Sons of Korhal, Arcturus Mengsk, decides however it would be too risky to retrieve the forces, and instead abandons them, along with Kerrigan.

Jim Raynor is so angry at this decision, that he decides to leave the Sons of Korhal. The player, as a good friend, goes with him.

[edit] Break with the Conclave

Instead of killing her, the Zerg captured Sarah Kerrigan and transported her to Char, taking them away from Tassadar's fleet in the process. Tassadar was ordered to return to Aiur. Kerrigan is placed in a cocoon, apparently to become the newest creation of the Overmind. However, while in the cocoon, Kerrigan started sending psychic messages to her former friends, Arcturus Mengsk and Jim Raynor, attracting the attention of Tassadar and Zeratul as well. Tassadar disobeyed his orders and travelled to Char, while Aldaris returned to Aiur.

On Char, he encountered the Dark Templar prelate, Zeratul, who convinced him to join forces in order to defeat the Zerg. Zeratul believed the Zerg were controlled by agents of the Overmind called Cerebrates, and that only his Dark Templar psionic energies could permanently slay one, due to its similarities to his enegies and the energies used by Cerebrates. Any other attacks on the Cerebrates were useless, as the Overmind could simply resurrect the fallen Cerebrate. Zeratul also began teaching Tassadar how to use Dark Templar psionic energies, a task that was supposedly impossible, according to Artanis, and also highly forbidden, being compared to treason by Aldaris. Hence, Tassadar became the only Protoss in the history of StarCraft that was able to use both the energy of a High Templar and the energy of a Dark Templar.

Meanwhile, Kerrigan had been reborn into the Zerg Hive as Infested Kerrigan. Tassadar sensed Infested Kerrigan's presence, and challenged her to a duel to distract her and the Zerg. The Cerebrate Zasz noticed something odd about Tassadar (probably his ability to use Dark Templar energy), but Infested Kerrigan, who had past difficulties with Zasz, decided to ignore his warning.

Tassadar didn't actually duel Kerrigan, only using an illusion to distract her (and all the forces she commanded) while Zeratul assassinated Zasz. This act temporarily disabled the Zerg Overmind, and caused the forces controlled by Zasz to go rampant, forcing the Zerg to destroy Zasz' Garm Brood. However, Tassadar's plan to kill a cerebrate backfired when it was revealed that when Zeratul killed Zasz, his mind came into a brief contact with the Overmind (who is linked to all the Cerebrates). This revealed the location of the Protoss homeworld to the Overmind, and the Protoss were a species that the Overmind was extremely interested in. The Overmind immediately organized an invasion of Aiur.

As the majority of the Zerg travelled to Aiur, Infested Kerrigan was ordered to remain behind and hunt down the Protoss still on Char, preventing as many Dark Templar as possible from escaping. However, both Tassadar and Zeratul successfully fled. Kerrigan later captured Zeratul in a Terran installation, while Tassadar contacted Aiur and alerted his friend Fenix to the capabilities and weaknesses of Zerg Cerebrates. Fenix's attempts to kill Zerg Cerebrate Gorn of the Baelrog Brood were unsuccessful, however, as Dark Templar energy was not at his disposal, and the Overmind reincarnated the creature before his very eyes. Tassadar said that only Dark Templar could permanently slay a Cerebrate.

The Protoss Conclave, who had ordered Tassadar to return to Aiur several times, considered Tassadar's disobedience to be a betrayal, made worse by his "treachery" with Dark Templar.

On Aiur, the Zerg rampaged, overrunning their strongest defenses, and held back only by the efforts of the new Executor and Fenix. Unfortunately, the Zerg managed to mortally wound Fenix, and he was placed into a Dragoon. His continued existence was kept secret from the Protoss Conclave.

[edit] Stirring Rebellion

Tassadar hid out on a platform orbiting Char, along with his Terran friend Jim Raynor (Who had been wandering aimlessly through space for a while) when the Protoss forces under the command of Aldaris came to arrest him. Aldaris said that Tassadar had claimed the Zerg all left Char, but clearly some remained. However, Tassadar convinced the new Executor to work with him. With these reinforcements, Tassadar was able to descend to the surface, rescue Zeratul and flee to Aiur.

Upon landing on Aiur, the Protoss Conclave, who believed they were winning the war against the zerg, ordered the arrest of Tassadar, effectively standing in the way of the true enemy, the Zerg, so Tassadar began a civil war with the help of the Dark Templar. This could not have helped his image, as most Protoss on Aiur were loyal followers of the Khala, but he gained the support of Fenix. His forces attacked near the Protoss Conclave while Zeratul's Dark Templar dealt the final blow, destroying the headquarters of the Conclave. Aldaris led an ambush there, and Tassadar, unable to deal with slaying his own people, surrendered.

The Dark Templar vanished, leaving the new Executor and Fenix to continue their rebellion with little support. Worse, the Furinax Tribe, a member of the Protoss Khalai Caste, were also willing to fight against them. As the Khalai represent the majority of the Protoss people, this did not bode well. However, they did gain support from Jim Raynor and his Battlecruiser Hyperion.

Fenix's forces attacked the Stasis Cell in which Tassadar had been imprisoned before standing trial (the punishment for treason being death). Fenix and Raynor defeated the Furinax Tribe and Judicator Caste forces and broke the Stasis Cell. Aldaris appeared, leading an ambush to recapture Tassadar, but he was in turn counter-ambushed by Zeratul and his Dark Templar, who had arrived in support of Tassadar. Aldaris lost the encounter.

[edit] Final Battles

Tassadar rested from his ordeal in the next battle, in which Zeratul slew Gorn, for real, this time, and the unnamed Cerebrate who commanded the Grendel Brood. This caused the disarray in the zerg forces Tassadar had hoped for, and taking flight in his carrier, the Gantrithor, he, together with Jim Raynor, led the final assault against the Zerg Overmind. Before the battle began, Aldaris contacted Tassadar, and having witnessed the destruction of the Zerg Cerebrates (something which his forces had been unable to accomplish), concluded that both he and the Protoss Conclave were wrong about Tassadar, that he represented what was greatest in them all, and that everyone's hope for a resolution to the conflict now rested on his men.

Aided by Raynor's Raiders, the Protoss launched a full scale offensive against the Zerg. However, in their initial assault on the Overmind, the Protoss and Raynor were only able to destroy the creature's outer shell. By this time the Terrans and the Protoss had suffered significant casualties and the Ganthritor had become critically damaged. Worse, the Overmind had realized the danger he was in, and he had started preparing to flee the scene of battle. Time running out and faced with the imminent arrival of hordes of Zerg reinforcements, Tassadar concentrated his psionic energies (both High Templar and Dark Templar energy) on the hull of the Gantrithor and crashed into the Overmind. The resultant energy explosion killed both Tassadar and the Overmind.

Due to his selfless sacrifice, Tassadar is considered a saint of sorts to the Protoss. In Brood War, his name is invoked in the salutation En Taro Tassadar, by analogy with the traditional En Taro Adun.

[edit] Trivia

• Tassadar was also given a special unit. Although his outward appearance is still that of a High Templar, he is the only one with an attack (does 20 damage). His model was also the only one to be used as a substitute (for Aldaris) for another character. He is also one of the three heroes to command a capital ship, the Gantrithor (the other two being Jim Raynor in the Hyperion and Edmund Duke in the Norad II).

[edit] References

• StarCraft homepage at Blizzard Entertainment
• Battle.net StarCraft Compendium
• Underwood, Peter, Bill Roper, Chris Metzen and Jeffrey Vaughn. StarCraft (Manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998.

StarCraft by Blizzard Entertainment
StarCraft Universe	Gameplay of StarCraft • StarCraft storyline • Psionic technology
Factions and Organizations	Judicator Caste • Kel-Morian Combine • Khalai Caste • Protoss • Protoss Conclave • Pirate Militias • Raynor's Raiders • Sons of Korhal • Templar Caste • Terran • Terran Confederacy • Umojan Protectorate • United Earth Directorate • Xel'Naga • Zerg • Zerg Brood
Locations	Aiur • Antiga Prime • Braxis • Char • Chau Sara • Korhal • Mar Sara • Moria • Shakuras • Talematros • Tarsonis • Umoja • Zerus
Characters	Aldaris • Artanis • Gerard DuGalle • Edmund Duke • Samir Duran • Fenix • Sarah Kerrigan • Arcturus Mengsk • Nova • Raszagal • Jim Raynor • Alexei Stukov • Tassadar • Zeratul • Zerg Overmind • Minor Characters