Empatojayos Brand

Empatojayos Brand

Empatojayos Brand(Pronunciation (help·info)) was aJedi Knight and survivor of theGreat Jedi Purge. APadawan ofJedi MasterYaddle, Brand graduated to Knighthood after theBattle of Naboo in32 BBY. He served theJedi Order andRepublic in the followingyears, and in22 BBY wassent to negotiate an end to thedecades-longSepan Civil War, albeit unsuccessfully. Within months theClone Wars began, and Brand flew aDelta-7Aethersprite-class light interceptor as part of aJedi strike team in theFirst Battle of Geonosis that opened the war. Brand became aJedi General during the war, leading hisclone troopers to victory in theBattle of Bassadro.

When the Clone Wars ended, however, the Jedi weredeclared enemies of the Republic and Brand was hunted down byDark Lord of the SithDarth Vader. Brand'sship was damaged by Vader near themoonNar Shaddaa, and the grievously injured Brand was left todie. However, he was rescued by the nearby and technologically primitiveGanathan people. They fitted him with aprosthetic body, and Brand became theKing ofGanath.

In10 ABY, a damaged ship called theMillennium Falcon arrived inGanathan Space. Brand learned from its passengers,Han Solo and hiswifeLeia Organa Solo of theNew Republic, that Vader had beendefeated, but thewar continued to rage againstEmperorPalpatine, who had discovered a way to cheat death bytransferring his consciousness betweenclone bodies. Brand also learned that Leia's brotherLuke Skywalker was building aNew Jedi Order, and so he accompanied theSolos back to their safeworld ofNew Alderaan. After anImperial attack, Brand joined Skywalker and the New Republic in their flight from the Empire. Brand eventually accompanied Skywalker in a last-ditchattempt at stopping Palpatine on the world ofOnderon. Though injured by Palpatine in the fight, Brand was able to capture his opponent'ssoul, which fled its body after being shot by Han Solo, and upon dying Brand carried it to theNetherworld of the Force, where the former Emperor would be heldprisoner by all departed Jedi for eternity.

Biography[]

Life as a Jedi[]

Empatojayos Brand was amale member of theJedi Order, thePadawan ofJedi MasterYaddle. Brand passed theJedi Trials and became aJedi Knight after theBattle of Naboo^[5] in32 BBY.^[1] He would be Yaddle's last apprentice.^[5] Brand received some of histraining in the ways ofthe Force from MasterYoda as well,^[7] including that oftelekinesis.^[6] In22 BBY,^[8] Brand wasdispatched along with fellowJediBultar Swan andChellemi Chuovvick to theSepan sector to negotiate a peace to the long-runningSepan Civil War between the worlds ofDimok andRipoblus. During themonth-long negotiations, hostilities came to a halt, but upon the Jedi's return toCoruscant fighting flared up again.^[9]

Only months later,^[10] war broke out on the planetGeonosis, as Jedi and theGalactic Republic's newclone troopers were dispatched to that world to rescue the captured JediObi-Wan Kenobi fromCountDooku, leader of the secessionistConfederacy of Independent Systems. Brandflew aDelta-7Aethersprite-class light interceptor into battle with astrike team led by MasterMace Windu. Upon arriving at Geonosis, Brand joined with MasterAdi Gallia'sZeta Squadron to stopCavik Toth, an ally of Dooku, from deploying a chemical weapon calledtrihexalon, or "hex," onto the surface of Geonosis. Brand and his wing intercepted Toth'sfleet above Geonosis. Between Brand and the other Jedi thesquadron was able to destroy Toth'sHex Deployers, then defeat theSabaoth Destroyers that Toth brought in as reinforcements. ThepirateNym and alliedships arrived shortly thereafter in support of the squadron; with their help, Toth's plans were waylaid and Gallia was able tokill him.^[4]

Geonosis turned out to be the opening battle ofthe galaxy-wideClone Wars,^[1] and in the war Brand became aJedi General.^[11] Nine months after the Battle of Geonosis,^[1] Brand and his clonetroopers went toBassadro, a mineral-rich world that the Confederacy had occupied. TheBattle of Bassadro lasted twelvedays and was ended when Brand led hisbattalion to the dormantvolcanic ranges that offered cover for the Separatist forces commanded byMajorDomb Treetor. Brand orderedconcussion missile strikes against the rock formations, removing the Separatists' cover and creating a storm of shrapnel that sliced through themining village ofAgao-Nir, destroying many of thebattle droids stationed there,^[11] as well as four hundred unaffiliated miners.^[1] Treetor surrendered, and Bassadro was retaken for the Republic.^[11]

Flight to Ganath[]

In19 BBY,Supreme ChancellorPalpatine declared the Jedi enemies of the Republic andordered their extermination, thentransformed the Republic into aGalactic Empire with himself asEmperor. His newapprenticeDarth Vader set abouthunting down the Jedi,^[1] and Brand was one of the last that Vader pursued.^[12] He fled in a ship, but Vader followed,^[3] and the two ships engaged inbattle.^[13] Brand lost, and his vessel was destroyed nearGanathan Space, an isolated pocket ofspace within theOktos Nebula. Brand's body was ruined, and the Jedi fell through theradioactivegascloud in apressure suit until he was rescued by theGanathans, a race of people with limited space-faring capability who powered their technology with steam.^[14] To keep him alive, Brand was outfitted with acyborg body made of Ganathan technology^[3] but of his own design,^[15] hislegs replaced withrepulsorlifts and his arms with prostheses.^[3] Seeing that the Ganathan people needed a strong ruler, Brand ascended to the position ofking, attempting to keep theJedi creeds alive in his rule.^[12]

Brand believed that Vader had killed all the remaining Jedi and gave up hope.^[14] With no contact of the outside world, he remained unaware of Vader's eventualdeath, or of Palpatine's death andreturn in aclone body, and assumed that Vader had become a powerfulwarlord in charge of manystar systems.^[3]

Return to the fight[]

In10 ABY,^[1] another ship penetrated the gas cloud: aNew Republic vessel called theMillennium Falcon, carryingHan Solo, hiswifeLeia Organa Solo, his copilotChewbacca, and Jedi Purge survivorVima-Da-Boda, all fleeing thebounty hunterBoba Fett. Upon entering the cloud, the damagedFalcon nearly ran into the GanathanbattleshipRobida Colossus, which towed them back to Ganath. While they were en route, Ganathan Tower Command contacted Brand, presuming he would be interested to know of the outsiders. Brand met them at thespaceport, and immediately recognizing Leia and Vima-Da-Boda as Jedi, ordered the guards surrounding them to lower their guns. Brand identified himself to them as Jedi and the two women confirmed it through the Force.^[3]

TheFalcon was given repairs, and Brand oversaw the replacement of the vessel'smissiles with a Ganathanlightning gun, which he believed to be a superior weapon. Joining the crew of theFalcon for a test run of the ship's new systems, Brand spoke with his fellow Jedi about the changes that had taken place in his absence fromgalactic events, including the presentfight between the New Republic and the reincarnated Palpatine. When he heard of Leia's brotherLuke Skywalker, a Jedi who intended to rebuild aNew Jedi Order, Brand decided to contribute to the return of the Jedi Knights. He contacted his men, leaving theGanathan space fleet in the hands ofCaptainUssor and having Ussor relay news of his departure to the council. TheFalcon left Ganathan Space and moved into the gas cloud, only to emerge right in front of Fett'sSlave I. TheFalcon's new lightning gun made quick work ofSlave I, shorting out its systems and sending it spiraling into the cloud as theFalcon made thehyperspace jump to the safeworld ofNew Alderaan.^[16]

On New Alderaan, Han acquainted Brand with starships in service to the New Republic, including theX-wing andY-wing starfighters. It was not long after their arrival that Brand sighted an unidentified ship entering New Alderaan'satmosphere.^[14] For security reasons, it did not broadcast any comm signals, making it impossible to identify until it entered firing range. Brand rushed to warn Leia and her friendWinter, but Leia soonsensed that it was Skywalker returning. Skywalker, several Jedi recruits in tow, informed them that theirbase at the moonDa Soocha V had beendestroyed by Palpatine'ssuperweapon, theGalaxy Gun; not knowing that theNew Republic leaders had been evacuated beforehand, he believed them to be dead. Despite the perceived tragedy, Skywalker pushed to continue training the next generation of Jedi, entrusting that ofJem andRayf Ysanna, twoForce-sensitive youths he had found on the planetOssus, to Brand. Brand showed them the arts of telekinesis that he had learned from Yoda by lifting large rocks and teaching them to do the same. Skywalker later showed all the Jedi information that he had retrieved from Ossus on the art ofbattle meditation.^[6]

The Empire, meanwhile, had learned the location of New Alderaan byinterrogating one of their captives, New Republic MajorNtthan. Astrike force led byExecutorXecr Nist wasdispatched to the world, its goal to retrieve the Force-sensitivechildren of the Solos,Jaina andJacen. As Nist and a number of otherDark Side Adepts converged on the building where the Solo children slept, Brand, Rayf Ysanna, and Jedi KnightKam Solusar intercepted them and engaged in aduel oflightsabers andForce prowess. As Brand fought off multiple enemies at the sametime, Solusar dueled Nist, and the attack was successfully repelled, though thedarksiders' secondary mission against Skywalker left Jem Ysanna dead. The victory was short-lived, though, as a number ofAll Terrain Armored Transports soon joined the fight, laying waste to the New Republic settlement. The New Alderaan populace was evacuated, Brand and a number of others escaping in thecargo vesselStarhook Ten. Their destination wasNespis VIII, an abandonedcity in space. There, the New Alderaan evacuees rendezvoused with the escaped Republic leadership. Skywalker, Brand, Ysanna, and Solusar convened to discuss their plight, and Brand encouraged the others not to give into despair. They were interrupted by the announcement of thebirth of Leia's third child,Anakin Solo.^[6]

The end of Palpatine[]

Brand later oversaw the removal of the lightning gun from theFalcon, as Chewbacca wanted his missiles back. Unfortunately for the Republic, not long after, their location was betrayed to the Empire by an Imperialspy, who was posing as atechnician namedJenks. When Brand and Han confronted Jenks, he fired hisblaster pistol upon them, hitting Brand, but the Jedi was saved by his suit's backup system.^[17] Before an evacuation could be issued, aparticle disintegrator warhead came out of hyperspace near Nespis VIII, fired by the Galaxy Gun. Fortunately for them, it was a dud, and the evacuation was pulled off before a second missile arrived anddestroyed the city. Once in deep space, the Jedi and Republic leaders gathered to discuss their next phase of operations. Skywalker decided that he, Brand, Solusar, and Ysanna would go to Ossus to scout it as a possible location for a base, while the Solos and Vima-Da-Boda would find a safe hiding spot. The Jedi arrived in orbit of Ossus to findImperial ships leaving; landing, the Jedi learned that the Empire had kidnapped members of the Ysanna tribe, and Solusar'ssensor readings pointed them toVjun, a world whereDarth Vader had once owned a personalfortress calledBast Castle.^[18]

Arriving on Vjun, the Jedi sent Solusar'sI-7 Howlrunner starship ahead onautomated systems to crash into the wall of the castle, opening the way for the Jedi. Disembarking from Skywalker's ship, theJedi Explorer II, the Jedi did battle with Nist and the dark side warriors who swarmed to meet them. Skywalker eventually ended the fight by using the Force to topple a gigantic statue of Vader onto the darksiders. They found the captured Ysanna frozen incarbonite; Nist, the only survivor among theDark Jedi, told them that only Palpatine knew how to free them, and Skywalker was determined to find the Emperor and end the fight against him for good.^[18]

In11 ABY,^[1] Palpatine was on his way to theOnderon system in pursuit of the Solos. With his clone bodies deteriorating, the Emperor needed a new vessel to contain hissoul and decided on Anakin Solo. Though the Solos escaped an ambush by Palpatine'sflagship, theEclipse II, nearOnderon, they had to land theFalcon on the surface of the planet, while theEclipse II tookorbit around the world. Chewbacca and Vima-Da-Boda later left Onderon in theFalcon, hoping to serve as a decoy while the Solos took refuge in the Onderonian wilderness. Brand and the other Jedi returned to theRepublic fleet transportVindicator, where they met Chewbacca and Vima-Da-Boda and learned of Palpatine's whereabouts. A fleet was assembled to hit theEclipse II and bring down the Emperor.^[2]

The fleetarrived at Onderon and engaged the Emperor's flagship in battle. When Solusar sensed that Palpatine was not aboard the vessel, Skywalker, Brand, Vima-Da-Boda, and Ysanna descended to the planet's surface in theJedi Explorer II, certain that he would have gone there to find the Solos. They landed atIziz Starport and soon located Palpatine'sshuttle. The Jedi were shortly joined by Han Solo, who had returned from theKira Fortress in the wilderness where his wife and children were in hiding to meet Skywalker. The party assaulted the shuttle, fightingstormtroopers and members of theEmperor's Royal Guard, and entered it to find not Palpatine, but one of his darksiders serving as a decoy. Solo realized that Palpatine had gone to the fortress, and they set off in pursuit in theJedi Explorer II.^[2]

Brand and his companions were not fast enough, however; Palpatine had reached the fortress before they did and attacked Leia, attempting to take her child Anakin. In the midst of the struggle, Brand charged in, informing Skywalker, who was following him, that Palpatine was there. Palpatine hit Brand with a blast ofForce lightning, grievously injuring Brand and knocking him to the ground. Rayf Ysanna struck down one of Palpatine's darksider companions,T'iaz, but was in turn killed by another blast of lightning from the Emperor. However, the second attack weakened Palpatine, a fact that Brand made Skywalker aware of. Skywalker gave Palpatine a chance to surrender, but the Emperor instead charged for Anakin Solo, attempting to take the child's body to hold his own soul. Before he could reach Anakin, Han Solo shot the Emperor with hisblaster.^[2]

In his last burst of life, Palpatine's spirit separated from his body and moved towards the child. Brand regained control of his repulsors and launched himself across at Anakin, catching the child and protecting him with thelight side of the Force. Brand grasped Palpatine's spirit and took itprisoner within himself. Being eaten alive by the darkness within him, Brand sensed the despair and anger within Palpatine as he died. Palpatine spoke through the Jedi one last time before he died, cursing theSkywalker bloodline. Brand bade farewell and died, carrying Palpatine's spirit with him to be heldprisoner for eternity by every Jedi who had become one with the Force, never to be resurrected again.^[2]

The next day, Skywalker recorded a message for Anakin Solo telling him of the events of Palpatine's resurrection and defeat. He closed by bidding Anakin to remember Brand and the Ysannas for the sacrifices they had made to ensure that he grow up and live a long life.^[19] Later, Jedi KnightTam Azur-Jamin chronicled Brand in his essayDroids, Technology and the Force: A Clash of Phenomena.^[20]

Personality and traits[]

In his youth, Brand was a vain and confident individual.^[5] Brand ascended to his kingship out of a desire to see strong leadership amongst the Ganathans.^[12] Having heard that those strong in the Force could rule those less powerful, Brand attempted to do just that, hoping that he could do so justly.^[3] Despite the Jedi Order being destroyed, Brand made sure to bring justice in accordance with its tenets.^[12] In his essay, Azur-Jamin proclaimed Brand to be a more just monarch than any other, using him as proof that cybernetics did not reduce one's Humanity.^[20] Brand's own subjects considered him to be a man of honor, particularly because he was a Jedi.^[16]

When the opportunity came to rebuild the Jedi, Brand was eager to do so.^[12] In the wake of the attacks on the Jedi and New Republic, and the deaths of many of his companions, Brand remained optimistic, counseling his fellow Jedi not to give into despair and stressing that that would be the path to the dark side.^[6] Brand fought for the sake of the Jedi and the Solo children several times, ultimately sacrificing his life to preserve Anakin Solo's.^[12] Luke Skywalker considered him to be a hero and a greater Jedi than himself.^[19]

Powers and abilities[]

As an older man, the Force was strong in Brand. As a Jedi Knight, he was skilled in the use of telekinesis and was trained in the use of a lightsaber.^[6] He had the ability tocapture and contain the spirit of Palpatine, a skill unknown to Luke Skywalker at the time,^[19] and couldmentally control his robot body parts and use the light side toshield a child from the Emperor's soul.^[2] He had a knowledge of technology, both in ships and cybernetics, and took pride in the abilities of Ganathan technology.^[16] Brand could also fly the Delta-7Aethersprite-class light interceptor.^[4]

Equipment[]

Brand, after reconstruction, was over half machine.^[20] His suit, made by combining Ganathan technology with his own modern technology,^[12] and of his own design,^[15] served as a replacement for his damaged body. Spherical, it lacked legs and was supported by repulsorlifts,^[12] which he controlled mentally.^[2] Brand could not sit while in it, but equipped withmagnetic clamps, the suit could be anchored to a bulkhead when a ship was underway.^[14] The suit could keep Brand alive on the hottest and coldest planets, even allowing him to survive for up to a year in thevacuum of space^[16] without eating.^[14] The suit was equipped with backup systems, allowing Brand to recover fromblaster shots.^[17] However, it could be temporarily disabled with Force lightning.^[2] Both of Brand's regular arms were prosthetic, and one had a lightsaber built into it,^[6] but he could bring out two other arms when necessary. He had sensors built into the suit as well, which could detect lifeforms and even their gender. Brand's suit could also interface with a ship'stargeting computer.^[17]

Behind the scenes[]

Empatojayos Brand was created for theStar Wars: Dark Empire IIcomic book series, byTom Veitch andCam Kennedy, debuting in thefourth issue,^[3] which was published onMarch 21,1995.^[21] The character was featured in the sequel seriesStar Wars: Empire's End and was killed in thesecond issue of that series,^[2] published onNovember 28 of the same year.^[22] Brand was also featured in the audio drama adaptations ofDark Empire II andEmpire's End, in which he was voiced byJoe Hacker.^[23]

OnDecember 8 of1999,^[24] a character greatly resembling Brand also appeared in the background of themarriage scene in thesecond issue of the comic seriesStar Wars: Union,^[25] seteight years after the character's death.^[1] In the2002 video gameStar Wars: Jedi Starfighter, Brand's name is assigned to one of the eponymous Jedi starfighters in the game's final mission, but the character is not otherwise referred to, and he is given no lines.^[4]

Appearances[]

• Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter
• Sepan Civil War Escalates —HoloNet News Vol. 531 #49(original site is defunct)
• "Republic HoloNet News Core Edition 14:2:12" —Star Wars Insider 65
• "CIS Shadowfeed Dispatch 14:3:10 Edition" —Star Wars Insider 66(Indirect mention only)
• Dark Empire II audio drama
• Dark Empire II 4(First appearance)
• Dark Empire II 5
• Dark Empire II 6
• Empire's End audio drama
• Empire's End 1
• Empire's End 2
• Crimson Empire 0(Indirect mention only)

Sources[]

Explore all of Wookieepedia's media for this article subject: Audio · Images The Essential Guide to Characters Star Wars Encyclopedia The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons Star Wars: Behind the Magic The Essential Chronology Star Wars Handbook 3:Dark Empire A Guide to the Star Wars Universe, Third Edition, Revised and Expanded The New Essential Guide to Characters The Official Star Wars Fact File 82PAL 1-4: Resurrection of Palpatine The Official Star Wars Fact File 105YAD 1-2: Yaddle The Official Star Wars Fact File 110SOL 27-30: Han Solo The Official Star Wars Fact File 114SOL 33-36: Anakin Solo The Official Star Wars Fact File 118LEI 49-50: Princess Leia Organa The Official Star Wars Fact File 120PAL 25-28: Emperor Palpatine The Official Star Wars Fact File 132SUR 1-4: Surgical Technology Droids, Technology and the Force: A Clash of Phenomena onHyperspace(article) (content obsolete and backup link not available) The New Essential Chronology Star Wars: The Comics Companion Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia Palpatine in theDatabank(original site is defunct) Vader, Darth in theDatabank(original site is defunct) Yaddle in theDatabank(original site is defunct) Yoda in theDatabank(original site is defunct) The Essential Guide to Warfare Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide: Updated and Expanded

Notes and references[]