Korhal

Korhal, often referred to simply as Korhal IV, was the fourth planet in the Korhal system and one of the wealthiest worlds of the Koprulu sector. Once a lush, temperate planet and a core world of the Terran Confederacy, it became the cradle of the Rebellion of Korhal led by the Mengsk family, a rebellion the Confederacy answered by reducing the surface to radioactive black glass with a thousand nuclear missiles. Arcturus Mengsk rebuilt the world as the executive seat of the Terran Dominion, turning it into the most heavily fortified planet in the sector and the capital from which he ruled until his death.

A Confederate jewel#

Korhal was colonized by settlers from Tarsonis in the early expansion years, who wrote a constitution shortly after arriving that formed the basis of law on the planet thereafter. It soon became one of the thirteen core worlds of the Terran Confederacy and gained recognition for its advanced science and research facilities, contributing to many key military and technological advances. Despite steady industrial growth, Korhal remained a verdant world through investment in renewable energy and stringent air quality laws, making it one of the few Confederate planets that was both a hub of trade and a pleasant place to live.

The relationship between Korhal and the Confederacy was not mutually beneficial. The planet's wealth fueled Confederate puppet corporations while local industries withered, and Korhal remained a vassal to the Confederacy and the corrupt Old Families. Tensions rose over time until agitators called for outright secession.

The Rebellion of Korhal#

Senator Angus Mengsk was a well-known anti-Confederate figure who in 2478 created a secret revolutionary movement with the assistance of Umoja after the Confederacy tried to murder him. His anti-Confederate Close of Session speech at the Senate's Palatine Forum drew Confederate surveillance. The Confederacy feared the loss of Korhal above all, since it was their crown jewel used to persuade rivals of the benefits of joining them.

At the close of the Guild Wars in 2489 Angus Mengsk publicly declared the independence of Korhal, and the Confederates retaliated with martial law. The unrest only escalated as Mengsk captured Confederate outposts and the Confederate fleet withdrew. Believing they had won, the leaders of the revolt celebrated. In response Sarah Kerrigan and two other ghosts infiltrated Mengsk's fortress-like headquarters and assassinated him along with his wife and young daughter. Arcturus Mengsk returned to Korhal to succeed his father and led the Rebellion of Korhal against the Confederacy. Two years later, in response to rumors that Mengsk had allied with the Umojan Protectorate, Korhal was bombarded with a salvo of roughly a thousand Apocalypse-class nuclear missiles, annihilating most life on the planet.

The Dominion capital#

In 2500, one of Mengsk's first decrees after overthrowing the Confederacy was to begin the reconstruction of Korhal and make it the executive seat of the Terran Dominion. Not long after the world was terraformed, the United Earth Directorate laid siege to the capital, Augustgrad, forcing Mengsk to request a parlay with Admiral Gerard DuGalle from aboard the Norad III before being rescued by Jim Raynor aboard the Hyperion and a small protoss fleet. The UED later sent enslaved zerg to reinforce their troops on Korhal, but Raynor's Raiders and protoss under Fenix struck the outlying fortifications while Kerrigan's zerg overwhelmed the occupiers in Augustgrad. The following morning Kerrigan turned her zerg without warning on the bases of Duke and Fenix, leaving only Mengsk alive before the Swarm departed.

Vast fortunes were lavished on the cleanup and rebuilding of Korhal, though portions of the irradiated desert were left untouched in honor of the dead. Mengsk massively increased the planetary defenses and turned Korhal into the most heavily fortified planet in the sector. During the Second Great War, Raynor's Raiders broadcast proof from the UNN Studios in Korhal City that Mengsk had authorized the use of psi emitters on Tarsonis, provoking riots and the burning of government buildings.

The fall of Mengsk#

Crown Prince Valerian Mengsk and Captain Matt Horner evacuated civilians as Kerrigan brought her Swarm down outside Augustgrad. The Dominion's Drakken defense network destroyed most of the bile launchers in orbit, but enough got through that the zerg broke the city's defenses and flooded inside, destroying the defense cannons and driving the Dominion back into Augustgrad. The Dominion deployed a Psi Destroyer and launched a diversionary assault, but with the aid of Broodmother Zagara, Alexei Stukov, and the primal pack leader Dehaka, Kerrigan destroyed the central hub. Raynor's Raiders intervened to help topple Mengsk's elite troops, and Kerrigan broke into the palace. When Mengsk caught her off guard with the Keystone, Raynor saved her just in time, allowing Kerrigan to kill Mengsk and complete her revenge before taking the Swarm and leaving Korhal.

During the End War Korhal was attacked by Moebius Corps, which overran the orbital platform Sky Shield and later raided the palace to seize the Keystone. A protoss army led by Hierarch Artanis helped Raynor's and Valerian's forces stabilize Sky Shield and reclaim the Keystone, though the Dominion suffered enormous casualties. Amon's forces attempted to plant void shards before Korhal Palace to destroy the city, but they were destroyed before Augustgrad could be devastated. Valerian afterward held a celebration in Augustgrad to mark the third anniversary of the fall of his father's regime and the dawn of a new age of peace for the Dominion.