Braxen

Braxen was an E'roni soldier from the Outer Rim planet E'ronoh who served in his homeworld's military for several years until resigning to labor as a quarry miner when the world was at peace. When E'ronoh restarted their war with their neighbor—the Outer Rim planet Eiram—in 387 BBY, Braxen reenlisted and joined E'ronoh's fleet as a drill ship pilot. On one occasion, the soldier participated in an attack on Eiram's western isles, following orders without hesitation to rain destruction on E'ronoh's enemies.
While aboard the Alif-class Longbeam Paxion for a peace summit in 382 BBY, Braxen served as one of Monarch A'lbaran's guards. During the summit, the E'roni Viceroy Ferrol ordered the soldier to eject himself from one of the Paxion airlocks, claiming his actions would save his homeworld from ruin. Braxen loyally complied, sacrificing himself and dying in space. Meanwhile, the viceroy framed the guard for killing Captain Jerrod Segaru—a crime actually committed by his son, Rev Ferrol, in an attempt to disrupt the peace negotiations. Braxen's body was later recovered from space by Jedi Knight Gella Nattai and Padawan Enya Keen, and the truth behind his framing was eventually confirmed by Princess Xiri A'lbaran weeks later.
==Biography==
===Military service===
The E'roni soldier Braxen lived during the High Republic Era and hailed from the Outer Rim planet E'ronoh in the Eiram system. During his youth, he enlisted in E'ronoh's military to fight against the E'ronoh's neighboring world—Outer Rim planet Eiram—and served for several years. Eventually, when the worlds made peace, Braxen left military service to work as a quarry miner. However, following the death of E'roni Prince Niko A'lbaran during a diplomatic mission to Eiram in 387 BBY,Star Wars: The High Republic Character Encyclopedia dates the start of the Eiram and E'ronoh War to 387 BBY. As The High Republic: Convergence establishes that the diplomatic mission to Eiram's failure was the inciting event of the conflict, it must have occurred that year. Monarch A'lbaran reignited E'ronoh's conflict with their neighboring planet and blamed them for murdering his heir. Braxen reenlisted in E'ronoh's military—as part of their fleet—to pilot a drill ship, a ship once used for mining that had been retrofitted into a destructive weapon of war.
Over the following five years, Braxen grew comfortable with his position as a pilot, preferring the rattling of a drill ship over silence. The pilot engaged in several endeavors against Eiram, struggling alongside his colleagues as the war intensified at the same time as the drought on E'ronoh raged. Braxen consumed siltgrog ale, often brewed on the world in dry seasons, during the drought, becoming familiar with its taste. At some point, he became acquainted with several members of the E'ronoh fleet's Thylefire Squadron, including E'ronoh's princess, Captain Xiri A'lbaran; Lieutenant Jerrod Segaru; and the pilots Kinni, Bly Tevin, and Rev Ferrol. Braxen participated in a mission to Eiram's western isles during the conflict, using his drill ship to rain destruction down on his homeworld's enemies. In 382 BBY, the man returned to the Rook—E'ronoh's capital city—after a mission and learned a cease-fire was brokered between Eiram and E'ronoh by Xiri. Though he wished to stay stationed as a drill ship pilot, medics did not clear him for active duty.
===Death and legacy===
Instead, Braxen was assigned to be one of Monarch A'lbaran's guards and traveled to the Republic Supreme Chancellor Orlen Mollo's Alif-class Longbeam Paxion for a peace summit between Eiram and E'ronoh, aimed at ending the war between them. The soldier traveled with his world's retinue, boarding the Paxion while it was stationed in the Eiram system. During the negotiations, when the Monarch again blamed Niko's death on Adrialla—Eiram's queen—Xiri told those present that her brother had drowned and that none of the fighting in the last five years would bring him back. That evening, after finishing an evening meal aboard the Paxion, Braxen returned to his post guarding Monarch A'lbaran's quarters. As he stood outside the rooms, the man reflected on how full he felt, comparing it to his last several months of hunger. E'roni Viceroy Ferrol—who was secretly organizing the Children of E'ronoh dissident group intent on prolonging the war—approached the drill ship pilot, lying to him that Xiri had been affected by Adrialla's secret weapons. After the viceroy's explanation, Braxen agreed to assist him in any way he required, listening to Ferrol's claims that he—despite only being a guard—was the only one not compromised within the E'roni delegation.
When Braxen suggested that Segaru was still loyal, Ferrol indicated that the newly appointed captain had also been compromised and assured the soldier that he was a true child of E'ronoh. With the viceroy's words ringing in his ears, the guard moved in a stupor to the Paxion hangar. As he walked, the pilot briefly grappled with his internal unrest about the given objective but felt serving E'ronoh one last time at Ferrol's request was worth it. Without hesitation, Braxen ejected himself from the vessel's airlock and died in space, giving one final shout of loyalty for E'ronoh in his dying breath. Around the same time, elsewhere on the Paxion, Ferrol's son—Rev—murdered Segaru, considering him too loyal to Xiri's quest to restore peace between E'ronoh and Eiram. Meanwhile, the Jedi traveling aboard the Paxion felt a faint disturbance in the Force upon Braxen's passing but decided not to investigate.
After discovering Segaru's body the next day, Jedi Knight Gella Nattai and Padawan Enya Keen borrowed the Eventide starship and flew around the immediate vicinity of the Paxion. The pair found Braxen's body floating in space and transported it to the Paxion morgue. Afterward, everyone aboard the Alif-class Longbeam assumed the guard had killed Segaru and considered the incident unfortunate, rendering Ferrol's coverup of his son's actions complete. Weeks later, when Rev and a group of his father's Children of E'ronoh took Xiri hostage, she reflected on the blame assigned to Braxen for Segaru's death to give the captain's family closure. After confronting her captor for framing the guard, he confirmed participating and revealed he was helped by his father.
==Personality and traits==
The E'roni man was extremely loyal to his homeworld and Monarch, willing to keep fighting for his homeworld despite the rough conditions of military service. He felt strongly that E'ronoh's enemies deserved no mercy and executed orders his superiors gave without hesitation, including launching vicious attacks on Eiram when piloting his drill ship. Braxen was well-acquainted with his peers during his service and had several friends he felt compelled to protect.
Although the pilot felt uneasy when receiving his final orders from Ferrol, he hid his emotions out of loyalty to his superiors and completed his last given objective—to exit the Paxion airlock and sacrifice himself—without complaint, having been told his actions would save E'ronoh from ruin. Having spent much time in his ship during the war, Braxen despised being in environments he felt were too quiet. By 382 BBY, the soldier had an aged appearance.
==Skills and abilities==
As a drill ship operator, Braxen was competent in maneuvering the vessels during military engagements and efficiently eliminating targets. By the time of his death, he was a seasoned and experienced soldier who had spent a large portion of his life fighting.
==Equipment==
Like every E'roni soldier, Braxen owned a ceremonial bane blade he kept strapped at his hip. While part of E'ronoh's fleet, he also donned the standard red uniform worn by his world's military and operated a drill ship during missions.
==Behind the scenes==
Braxen appeared in Convergence, a 2022 novel written by Zoraida Córdova as part of the Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia project's Phase II.
==Appearances==
*The High Republic: Convergence 
==Notes and references==
Category:E'ronoh's fleet personnel
Category:Guards
Category:Individuals of unspecified gender
Category:Individuals of unspecified species
Category:Individuals with he/him pronouns
Category:Pilots