Before the Darkness Falls

This book is one of the official StarCraft background novels. Published together with Jeff Grubb's Liberty's Crusade as a single volume under the combined subtitle Liberty's Crusade & Before the Darkness Falls, it belongs to the World Popular Science Fiction Series. The story shifts its focus from grand battlefields to a tactical squad on a special mission: as they push forward with their objectives on an unfamiliar planet, they repeatedly encounter strange occurrences that cannot be explained by standard intelligence—erased records, enemies that should not exist, and evasive orders from their superiors. During one operation, the squad rescues a member of a resistance group, and only then do they piece together the astonishing conspiracy the Federation has deliberately concealed: what they believed was a routine purge has in fact placed them on a much larger chessboard. As the truth is peeled back layer by layer, these ordinary soldiers must decide for themselves where they stand—obey orders, or bear the consequences. In the end, they discover that the fate of the entire planet rests in the hands of this small squad. The author, Tracy Hickman, co-author of the Dragonlance Chronicles, is known for his ensemble casts and character relationships, and this book continues that strength: the focus is not on tactical specifications, but on the trust, suspicion, and choices among the soldiers.