Raynor's Raiders are an independent terran military formation led by Jim Raynor. It has a history of cooperation with the protoss thanks in part to Raynor's personal connections.[2]

The Raiders were formed from Raynor's Rangers and scattered troops from other factions during the Great War; the Rangers left the Sons of Korhal after Arcturus Mengsk abandoned Sarah Kerrigan to the zerg at the Battle of New Gettysburg.[1][3] Once the Raiders ceased being Raynor's Rangers of the Sons of Korhal, the primary color in their paint scheme changed from http://www.broncosnflofficialproshop.com/Nike-Britton-Colquitt-Jersey.html red to blue.[4]

The Raiders' flagship and base of operations is Hyperion,[5] a Behemoth class battlecruiser. The Sons of Korhal captured it from the Confederacy and used it as their base before the Great War.[6] It was subsequently hijacked by the Raiders following the Fall of Tarsonis.[1]

Upon formation the Raiders operated as an anti Dominion rebel group.[7] After the Brood War the Raiders were marginalized by Dominion propaganda, and enjoyed little success.[5][7] They were revitalized by the Second Great War and aided the Zerg Swarm to depose Emperor Mengsk.[8][9]

When the Confederacy abandoned Mar Sara at the beginning of the Great War, the Mar Sara Colonial Militia joined the Sons of Korhal to survive. The Militia formed the nucleus of the elite Raynor's Rangers. Arcturus Mengsk's ruthless and callous behavior during the fall of Tarsonis alienated Captain James Raynor[3] and many of the Rangers. Matt Prater Womens Jersey Raynor and many Rangers left the Sons of Korhal[10] to form Raynor's Raiders.

Raynor was picked up by the former Confederate battlecruiser, the Thunder Child, on Terrance Knighton Womens Jersey his way to safety.[3]

Rebellion against the Sons of KorhalEdit

"Our revolution began that day the day Mengsk murdered a whole planet and called it justice."

The Raiders fought an immediate action against the Sons of Korhal over Tarsonis. The Sons of Korhal sought to punish the Raiders and used the Ion Cannon to prevent the Raiders from escaping the orbital platforms. Although heavily outnumbered, the Raiders struck and destroyed the Cannon and made good their escape.[10]

Upon their escape the Raiders numbered some 300, more than Raynor expected. Not all were originally members of the unit; some were Confederate and Sons of Korhal soldiers evacuated from Tarsonis and at least one was from Alpha Squadron. To sustain even this small force the Raiders raided the Dylar IV shipyards for shipping. Mengsk foresaw this and sent General Edmund Duke to stop them. However, the Raiders gained the upper hand in the cramped confines of the yard and made off with Hyperion and several other ships.[1]

Conflict with the ZergEdit

CharAdded by Meco

The small armada found its way to Char after its leader, Raynor, was psychically called to the burnt out world. Alpha Squadron General Edmund Duke was also in the area, acting as a Terran Dominion enforcer.[11] The two confronted each other but did not do battle.[1]

Both had been lured there by psychic emissions produced by Sarah Kerrigan, who had been encased in a cocoon by a new zerg brood, where she was undergoing a metamorphosis into a special infested terran.[11] Duke attacked the new Zerg Brood, but was defeated in a disastrous battle. He was pursued by the Tiamat Brood.[12]

Raynor's forces landed on Char, avoiding Duke's forces. Hyperion remained in orbit under the command of Matt Horner.[1] The Raiders ground force quickly came into conflict with the zerg. During the battle, Infested Kerrigan emerged from Matt Prater Jersey the cocoon and easily defeated his forces. Kerrigan allowed Jim Raynor to leave her presence alive.[11]

As Kerrigan wished to remove ghost conditioning blocks on her mental powers, she personally led a force against the Dominion science vessel, the Amerigo, in order to access its ghost files.[13] Her other forces attacked both the Dominion and Raiders fleet. Protoss forces under Executor Tassadar arrived, attacking both of their fleets and destroying many of their ships due to the presence of the zerg. The Raiders suffered some 50 casualties, but Hyperion managed to escape by jumping blindly into warp space.[1]

The Raiders were stranded on Char, at least until the Hyperion returned. While there Jim Raynor encountered both Tassadar and the Dark Templar Prelate Zeratul. He eventually befriended both of them, and comforted members of his crew, such as Lieutenant Deke Cavez, who had problems dealing with them.[1]

The three allied forces clashed repeatedly with the zerg.[1] The remnants of the Raiders fled to Char Aleph with the protoss. Eventually they were rescued by a protoss fleet from Aiur sent to arrest Tassadar.[14] By this time only 40 Raiders remained.[1] The Raiders accompanied the protoss back to Aiur.[15]

The Hyperion at AiurAdded by Meco

Raynor witnessed the beginning of the rebellion by the Templar Caste against the Judicators. During the battle to rescue Tassadar from the Judicator Caste, Raynor provided assistance from the Hyperion, although the rest of his forces did not assist. This was the first time Raynor fought alongside Praetor Fenix, a respected protoss hero.[16] The two quickly became friends.[17]

Raynor provided major assistance in the final battle against the first zerg Overmind. His forces maintained a base on the northwest flank of the zerg, while Tassadar, Fenix and Zeratul attacked from the southeast. Together their pincer attack drove the zerg into disarray. Unfortunately, the Dark Templar could not approach the Overmind to assassinate broncosnflofficialproshop.com/Nike-Rahim-Moore-Jersey.html it. Tassadar was forced to destroy the Overmind by suicidally channeling the energies of the protoss through Gantrithor.[18][19]

Raynor's Raiders in the Brood WarEdit

Brood War iconographyAdded by Meco

From Aiur the group would continue to serve alongside protoss warriors under the direction of Captain Raynor, and helped defend the flank of refugee Khalai as they used a warp gate to abandon their homeworld for the Dark Templar homeworld of Shakuras. After the evacuation of the protoss, Terrance Knighton Orange Jersey Fenix refused to leave Aiur, and Raynor remained with him.[17] Raynor and Fenix closed the warp gate on their side to prevent the zerg from flooding Shakuras through it.[20]

The Raiders had come to an agreement with Kerrigan. She offered assistance in combating the United Earth Directorate, which had entered the Koprulu Sector and was conquering the Terran Dominion. Arcturus Mengsk, Emperor of the Dominion, had been deposed by the UED on the Throne World of Korhal IV. The Raiders, with the assistance of protoss forces and flying the Hyperion, rescued Mengsk.[21] He was placed in stasis. The Raiders then fled to Aiur, where the protoss maintained a small outpost near the planet's warp gate.

The United Earth Directorate arrived on Aiur seeking Mengsk for execution. They discovered the warp gate, which was protected by a small protoss outpost. It appeared to be all the protoss had left on Aiur. Raynor's outpost was a short distance away the majority of his forces weren't present there, and Hyperion was nowhere to be seen. The gate was surrounded by several dormant zerg hive clusters. When the gate was activated, these zerg started attacking the protoss and the UED. Despite these odds, the UED destroyed the protoss outposts, along with Raynor's command center.

Kerrigan provided aid to the Raiders using her secret agent, Infested Duran, supposedly a special advisor to the United Earth Directorate, to create a hole in the UED's defenses. A wave of zerg drove the UED away from the warp gate, allowing Raynor and Mengsk to escape again. The gate was destroyed which prevented pursuit.[22]