Sarah Kerrigan

Who is Sarah Kerrigan?

Sarah Kerrigan is one of the central figures in StarCraft and one of the people most directly responsible for shaping the history of the Terran Dominion. Before becoming the Queen of Blades, she is a powerful human Ghost who serves Arcturus Mengsk and the Sons of Korhal during their war against the Terran Confederacy.

Her relationship with Mengsk becomes one of the defining conflicts of the series.

What happened to Kerrigan on Tarsonis?

During the attack on Tarsonis, Mengsk uses psi emitters to draw the zerg to the Confederate capital. Kerrigan takes part in the operation but is left behind when the zerg overrun her position.

Jim Raynor urges Mengsk to rescue her. Mengsk refuses.

The zerg capture Kerrigan and take her to Char, where the Overmind transforms her into the Queen of Blades. That decision permanently changes the balance of power in the Koprulu Sector and becomes a major reason Raynor turns against Mengsk.

How does Kerrigan affect the Dominion?

Kerrigan repeatedly collides with the Dominion across the original game, Brood War, and StarCraft II. During the Brood War she manipulates alliances among terran and protoss factions while consolidating control over the zerg.

Years later, the Dominion under Mengsk is again a direct enemy. In Heart of the Swarm, Kerrigan rebuilds her forces, returns to Korhal, attacks Augustgrad, and kills Arcturus Mengsk.

That event ends Arcturus’s reign and clears the way for Valerian Mengsk to become emperor.

Is Kerrigan always an enemy of the Dominion?

No. StarCraft repeatedly forces former enemies into temporary alliances. By the final struggle against Amon, Kerrigan, Valerian, Raynor, and Artanis cooperate against a threat larger than their earlier wars.

That is why Kerrigan belongs in a Dominion-focused wiki even though she is not a Dominion character for most of the story: the Dominion timeline is impossible to understand without her.