Battle.net

Some theorize that this exposure to the bureaucracy of life and death may have influenced the direction of his career. Records have never been found to corroborate the rumors collected among scattered Tarsonian refugees that Warfield was abused as a child, but there are enough disconnected pieces of information to warrant the possibility. His older brother and sister both moved into careers in the medical field, and there have never been solid explanations regarding exactly why young Horace Warfield decided to enlist in the Confederate Marine Corps or how his family reacted to the decision. Tragically, all other members of the Warfield family were on Tarsonis during the first zerg invasion; there is no evidence of their having escaped the planet, and they are assumed dead.

Warfield rose through the ranks of the Confederate military with surprising speed, earning commendations from his superiors for valor, tactical brilliance, and decisive leadership in his squad. He served two tours in the Guild Wars and was promoted to lieutenant colonel as the engagement neared its end. It was at the start of his career, on the embattled planet Sonyan, that Warfield met Arcturus Mengsk. Mengsk was a captain in the 33rd Ground Assault Division, where Warfield first saw combat, and the captain recognized the quiet, cool-headedness of the recruit as a reflection of Mengsk's own strategic abilities. During a closely fought battle in the South Kreen Mines, Warfield led a charge into an enemy bunker, taking three bullets in the shoulder as he cleared a vital position. Warfield was quickly made first lieutenant under Mengsk, and veterans from the 33rd still speak of the easy camaraderie the two men formed over the course of that first year. Near the conclusion of the Guild Wars, Mengsk chose a separate course from the military path that Warfield was loyal to, but both men stayed in contact.

In the following years, Warfield was assigned tasks that dealt less with warfare and more with Confederate "peacekeeping." His distaste for the Confederacy grew until the bombardment of Korhal: he was in the Sara system when he heard of the genocidal attack, and witnesses say that he called in his resignation at that very minute. His command ship, the battlecruiser Iron Justice, cut off all contact with the surrounding military network and went silent. The crewmembers had been handpicked by Warfield from his most loyal officers; they followed their leader into the darkness.

Records of Horace Warfield are hazy after that. Labeled a deserter by Confederate forces, Warfield was hunted throughout the Sara system and beyond. Nobody is quite sure when or how he renewed contact with Arcturus Mengsk, but within the first few months of the formation of the Sons of Korhal, Horace Warfield was quietly directing the rebels' brazen attacks against the Confederacy. His intimate knowledge of the government's military strength, position, and movements was invaluable to the success of the rebellion. Some say that it was his intel that led to the securing of the psi emitter on Mar Sara - as well as its use on Tarsonis.

As the Dominion took hold over the sector, the now-general Warfield was seen as one of the more trusted advisors to the new emperor. Mengsk trusted Warfield with his most crucial tasks, stratagems, and missions. Before his death on Korhal, General Edmund Duke is said to have referred to Warfield as "the emperor's other brat," insinuating that Warfield wasn't in Augustgrad helping fight against the zerg threat due to his privileged status in their leader's eyes.

Warfield retired in 2501, having served in some of the most historic battles in the terran occupation of the Koprulu sector. But his military days were not over. Recent movements by the zerg in Dominion territory have alarmed Emperor Mengsk enough to reactivate his old comrade. General Horace Warfield is now in command of the entire Dominion armed forces, and the history books stand to bear his name once again.