Resurrection IV

Resurrection IV was a post-Brood War episode of uncertain canon status in which Jim Raynor and the ancient protoss dragoon Taldarin tracked the infested Alexei Stukov to Braxis and cured him of his zerg infestation. Originally a secret two-player mission in the Nintendo 64 version of StarCraft, it has an uncertain place in canon, though later official material picks up parts of it, including the protoss cure for Stukov's infestation and the purification of Braxis. (StarCraft 64; StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm; Koprulu Sector Systems: Braxis)

The resurrected Stukov#

United Earth Directorate Vice Admiral Alexei Stukov had been killed in the Raid on the Psi Disrupter, reportedly dying bravely on Char, and his coffin had been launched into space. He was later resurrected by the cerebrate Kaloth, who recovered his body and regenerated his cells, bringing him back to life as an infested terran. The now-infested Stukov came to command his own secret zerg brood and allied with remnants of the old Terran Confederacy. (StarCraft: Brood War; StarCraft 64)

Artanis's appeal to Raynor#

Some time after the Brood War, Artanis contacted Jim Raynor and told him that Stukov had returned to finish his original plans, which posed a grave danger to terrans and protoss alike. Raynor, who had already heard rumours of Stukov's reappearance, found it hard to believe the admiral would sell out to the zerg, but Artanis affirmed that Stukov had had no choice in the matter, having been infested by the cerebrate Kaloth. (StarCraft 64)

Artanis explained that Raynor had been summoned not to kill Stukov but to save him. The protoss scientists had developed a nanotech serum capable of reversing the infestation process, and they had tracked Stukov to Braxis. In place of Zeratul, Artanis offered the aid of the ancient protoss warrior Taldarin, one of the first protoss dragoons, who was so old that he remembered Adun personally and whose body had been preserved in stasis until the invention of the dragoon's life-support systems. (StarCraft 64)

Braxis and the cure#

On the icy surface of Braxis, Raynor and Taldarin fought through forces of renegade terrans and zerg loyal to Stukov, gathering allies and equipment as they pressed toward his nesting ground. The infested Stukov had fortified the site with a giant cocoon, four cerebrates, nydus canals, and heavy zerg defenses. As the two heroes closed in and destroyed the bunkers guarding the cocoon, it burst open to release Stukov himself along with a swarm of zerg. (StarCraft 64)

During the final battle, one of Raynor's medics reached Stukov and injected him with the serum, which rapidly reconstructed his cells. Stukov was not grateful for being uninfested, telling Raynor he would never understand the clarity he had lost, but he agreed to flee as the zerg turned against him. The three escaped to a nearby starport aboard a dropship. (StarCraft 64)

Purification and aftermath#

With the heroes clear of the surface, an adjutant gave Artanis approval to begin the purification of Braxis. Explosions rocked the whole planet, instantly melting the ice on its surface, throwing vast amounts of water into the atmosphere, and killing all life. The water would settle back over the following years, forming massive mountain-sized formations across the refrozen world. (StarCraft 64; Lost Vikings; Koprulu Sector Systems: Braxis)

Stukov was later handed over to Emil Narud and his Moebius Foundation to research the protoss cure. Unknown to those who delivered him, Narud was secretly the same Samir Duran who had killed Stukov the first time, and Stukov was instead experimented upon for the benefit of a covert hybrid breeding program as the protoss cure slowly failed. (StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm)