Terran
Jim Raynor
(Biography)
Jim Raynor was a Confederate
marshal on Mar Sara at the time of the first zerg incursions on that world. Despite
bravely fighting the alien aggressors and saving many lives, he was arrested by
Confederacy forces on the pretext of destroying Confederate property at Backwater
Station. When he was subsequently liberated by Arcturus Mengsk's Sons of Korhal,
an anti-Confederate revolutionary group, Raynor chose to fight alongside them.
Mengsk's hunger for power and his growing
lack of scruples soon began to trouble Raynor. Eventually Mengsk's betrayal of his
own lieutenant Sarah Kerrigan and his ruthless manipulation of the zerg to attack
Confederacy-held worlds showed Raynor that Mengsk was no better than the oppressors
he sought to overthrow. Raynor led a revolt within the ranks of the Sons of Korhal
and seized Mengsk's personal flagship, the Hyperion, and a small fleet of ships.
While attempting to rescue Kerrigan from the zerg planet Char, Raynor encountered
protoss there and gained the respect of the valiant Executor Tassadar. Raynor's
bluff honesty enabled him to forge a bond between Tassadar and the dark templar
Zeratul.
Raynor and his troops went on to fight alongside the protoss in several campaigns
and played a key role in battling the United Earth Directorate incursion that followed.
A twist of fate found Raynor temporarily allied with Arcturus Mengsk and the Queen
of Blades, the being reforged from Sarah Kerrigan by the zerg Overmind. Although
these two tyrants fought against a common foe, it was only a matter of time until
their tenuous alliance collapsed. In the end Kerrigan was the one who turned against
her erstwhile allies and struck the first blow, and many of Jim Raynor's comrades
died to her treachery.
Raynor escaped the massacre and vowed to have vengeance at some day in the future.
Even so, against the full strength of the zerg Swarm and the vast psionic powers
of the Queen of Blades, his chances seemed slender at best. Eventually, exhausted
and disillusioned, Raynor returned to terran space to lead a resistance movement
against the spreading power of Arcturus Mengsk's Terran Dominion. Over the years
this fight hasn't gone well. Arcturus Mengsk has used his greatest weapons � oratory,
the media, and propaganda � to marginalize Raynor's efforts.
Raynor's Raiders remain public enemy number one to the powerful Terran Dominion.
Mengsk sees Raynor's continuing existence as a challenge to his authority. However,
Mengsk is also wary of creating a martyr by having Raynor assassinated, and so he
has taken steps to keep Raynor and his followers constantly hunted and harried and
deny them any chance to gain a respite and build their strength.
Years of skirmishing with the inexhaustible resources of the Dominion has whittled
down Raynor's forces to a shadow of their former selves. Raynor has had to resort
to occasional mercenary work just to garner enough funds to repair and rearm in
the short term. Keeping his outfit running means that additional mercenary jobs
will likely be needed in the future. Freedom isn't free.
Today Raynor seems to be losing faith: he's drinking heavily and blames himself
for Kerrigan's being taken by the zerg. His hatred for Arcturus Mengsk has become
a festering wound. Raynor's first officer, Matt Horner, still believes in him and
in the revolution even though some of Raynor's doubts are spreading to his crew.
Horner has done a lot to keep things going over the years, always having faith that
Raynor's innate heroism will resurface and lead the rebels to victory.
Raynor is a good leader and an excellent tactician although he lacks any formal
training or background. He has learned his skills through experience, and so he
is unfettered by preconceived notions of what "the book" says is the right or wrong
approach. Raynor will seldom plan things out in very much depth, but he has an excellent
ability to improvise and turn the tables in a situation by using whatever he has
at hand.
Raynor is also a man with a past. He is a known associate of notorious convict Tychus
Findlay, the pair of them having served together in the 321st Colonial Rangers Battalion
"Heaven's Devils" during the Confederacy/Kel-Morian Guild Wars almost twenty years
ago. Their first meeting was in the brig at Camp McIntyre while serving 30 days
apiece for insubordination.
Both men were listed as missing in action for almost nine months after a reconnaissance
mission into Kel-Morian territory in the latter stages of the fighting on Mar Sara.
Findlay was later turned over to the Confederacy by the Kel-Morians as part of a
prisoner exchange after hostilities ceased. He was promptly incarcerated for desertion
under fire. Exactly how Raynor managed to avoid Findlay's fate and land a job as
marshal is unknown.
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