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"Hell's supposed to be some kind of torture chamber filled with fire and brimstone, right? Well, after serving a tour of duty in the ice and snow of Braxis, the only difference I see is that at least Hell would be a lot warmer..."

- Corporal Max Redimus(src)

Braxis is an ice world in the Koprulu sector.

Overview[]

Braxis is considered one of the most inhospitable worlds in the sector. Over sixty percent of the rocky planet is covered in ice sheets, some of which are over two miles thick. Glacial erosion has created a network of steep, jagged mountain ranges and valleys over the millennia. Violent gusts of gravity-induced katabatic winds can reach speeds of up to one hundred and fifty miles per hour in these areas.[2] After the planet was purified by the protoss, the planet refroze, and became a jagged landscape of mountain sized ice formations.[1]

The permafrost allows little in the way of plant life and winter storms constantly sweep across its plains. The planet was home to the ursadon before its purification.[3]

Like Earth, Braxis has an easterly rotation.[1]

History[]

Khyrador[]

"Long ago, this world was a Protoss colony called Khyrador. When the strife between our tribes escalated, this planet and the Uraj Crystal were abandoned. These Terrans have come here only recently."

- Dark Prelate Zeratul tells Sarah Kerrigan about Braxis(src)

During the Golden Age of Expansion, the protoss claimed the planet as one of their first colonies and named it Khyrador. Because it was regarded as a symbol of the species' spacefaring achievements, Khyrador became home to the Uraj crystal. The protoss settlers were later driven away when a series of violent psionic storms rocked the planet. It remained deserted for centuries until it fell into the hands of the Terran Confederacy and was renamed Braxis. When the Confederacy collapsed in 2500, the Terran Dominion seized control of Braxis.[2]

The Brood War[]

Main article: Brood War
Braxis SC1 Art1

Braxis in 2500

During the Brood War, a protoss army assisted by Sarah Kerrigan overcame the Dominion defenses and retrieved the Uraj. During the assault, planetside UED forces were wiped out by the protoss.[4]

Viewing Braxis as a vital step toward dominating the sector, the United Earth Directorate surrounded it with an orbital blockade using space platforms and missile turrets. Praetor Artanis scouted ahead and found a way through the blockade. The protoss disabled a number of power generators, shutting down the platform defenses, and opening a way for the protoss to slip through unscathed.[5]

FirstStrike SC1 Map2

Boralis before the UED attack

The UED assaulted Boralis so as to secure Braxis as a staging point. Their landing site lacked vespene gas and Boralis was well defended. Progress was slow until UED forces made contact with the Confederate Resistance Forces, who became new recruits of the UED after Lieutenant Samir Duran explained that they had sworn to overthrow Emperor Arcturus Mengsk.[6] Duran showed the UED forces an alternate route that led to the rear of Boralis, allowing them to destroy the command center and cripple Braxis' primary defenses.[7]

The UED transformed Braxis into a heavily fortified stronghold.[2]

During the UED occupation, Schezar's Scavengers took shelter on the planet, including Alan Schezar himself and powerful anti-protoss technology, along with a number of zerg enslaved by the Dark Templar terrorist, Ulrezaj.[8]

Vice Admiral Alexei Stukov had the psi disrupter reconstructed on Braxis.[9] He went there to activate it but was killed by Duran,[10] who then set the disrupter's power core to overload. The zerg unsuccessfully attempted to keep the UED troops from reaching the manual override terminal and shutting the reactor core down. Admiral Gerard DuGalle left a garrison to protect the disrupter.[11]

Raynor's Raiders disabled the disrupter's primary power generator, allowing Kerrigan to gather up nearby zerg with the help of a psi emitter loaned by Mengsk. They tore down the disrupter.[12]

The following section contains information from Heroes of the Storm that is ambiguously canonical.

After the disrupter's destruction, one of the UED's slave broods turned on their former masters. A group of soldiers were forced to fight their way to an extraction point.[13]

Purification[]

Main article: Resurrection IV
ResurrectionIV Map1

Stukov's base

The cerebrate Kaloth "resurrected" and infested Alexei Stukov. Stukov made his base on Braxis after the Brood War with a combined terran and zerg force. This was noticed by Artanis, who assembled a force to stop the zerg ad rescue Stukov. The protoss and Raynor's Raiders, led by dragoon Praetor Taldarin and Jim Raynor, assaulted Braxis and captured Stukov. They used protoss-devised nanotech technology on Stukov and successfully reversed the infestation, albeit temporarily. The terran and protoss forces were able to evacuate, and purification from Artanis's fleet destroyed all life on the planet surface.[14] This also destroyed the previous terran and protoss structures.

The renegade terrans and zerg had only held Braxis for a brief period, and with its purification, the fighting came to an end.[2]

Reconstruction[]

"Have you seen pictures of how it looked before? Mostly flat and round as a marble, with a mountain range here and there. Pretty standard stuff. Not now, though."
"Yeah. It feels alien, but its beautiful."

- Erik Snabb and Drake discussing a post-purified Braxis(src)

NovaBraxis SC-G Game1

The ruins of Braxis

Because of the protoss's purification of the world, every drop of water on Braxis evaporated. Eventually, the planet cooled, and the excessive vapor in its atmosphere precipitated en masse in the form of snow and hail. Entire oceans' worth of water in solid form was dumped upon the surface, scouring the exposed surface below. Gigantic crystalline structures formed due to the weathering processes.[1] The planet froze over and returned to its original state in the following years, though the ice was more solid in some areas, and weaker in others. The Dominion returned and rebuilt its fortifications. Despite the fact that there was no opposition, the Universal News Network reported that the retaking of Braxis was a "valiant" military action.[2]

The following section contains information from StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm that is ambiguously canonical.

The planet acted as a hub for training members of the Dominion Armed Forces.[15]

Second Great War[]

VikingZergling SC2-HotS Art1

Zerg and Dominion forces engage

During the Second Great War, the zerg made an attempt to take control of Braxis in order to secure its ores. The Dominion arranged for an evacuation and sent vikings to distract the zerg and allow for a counterattack or a retreat. The action was successful.[1]

Known Locations[]

"Compared to Braxis, Char is paradise."

- A marine veteran of the Brood War(src)

Landforms[]

Braxis SC-G Cncpt1

An abandoned base on Braxis

Other[]

Notes[]

NovaBraxis SC-G Game2

Nova on Braxis

  • Braxis was set to feature in StarCraft: Ghost as a multiplayer environment and seemingly in singleplayer as well.[16]
  • There is another similarly named planet called Braxis Alpha, but its relationship to Braxis is unclear.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Forbeck, Matt. "Lost Vikings." (May 16, 2013). Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft Lore: LostVikings Accessed 2013-05-16.
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 Blizzard Entertainment. 2010-07-24. Koprulu Sector Systems: Braxis. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2010-07-24.
  3. 2000-04-07. Ursadon Flats. StarCraft Compendium Map Archive. Accessed 2007-09-08.
  4. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: The Quest for Uraj (in English). 1998.
  5. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: The Battle of Braxis (in English). 1998.
  6. Samir Duran: "Captain, I am Lieutenant Samir Duran of the Confederate Resistance Forces. I've been monitoring your attack against the Dominion, and I'd like to offer you my services and skills in return for amnesty."
    Alexei Stukov: "Intriguing. Lieutenant, you have absolutely no idea as to who we are or what we have come here to do. Why do you wish to side with us?"
    Duran: "Because my men and I have sworn to fight against the Dominion and its Emperor. Seeing as how your forces have been laying into this Dominion base, I figured we were on the same side."
    Stukov: "I see. How exactly do you propose to be of service to us, Lieutenant?"
    Duran: "Well, I possess intimate knowledge of the surrounding area. I can show you an alternate route that leads to the rear of the main Dominion base."
    Stukov: "Very well, Lieutenant. Consider yourself and your men the first colonial conscripts of the United Earth Directorate. Captain, see that the Lieutenant is given our full cooperation. We shall see if he's worth the effort." StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: First Strike (in English). 1998.
  7. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: First Strike (in English). 1998.
  8. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Enslavers: Dark Vengeance bonus campaign, episode IVB: "Turnabout" (in English). 1999-05-28.
  9. Adjutant: "Admiral, our sensors have detected a fully functional Psi Disrupter on the planet's surface directly below our position. It would appear that the Vice Admiral did not destroy the Psi Disrupter on Tarsonis as was ordered." StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Patriot's Blood (in English). 1998.
  10. Duran: "Vice Admiral Stukov, I am here under orders to terminate your command."
    Stukov: "Lieutenant Duran. I'm not surprised. We both know exactly what it is that you're here to terminate. Get on with it."
    Duran: "Say goodnight, Stukov."
    Stukov: "To hell with y- !"
    Gerard DuGalle: "Lieutenant Duran, report your situation immediately!"
    Stukov: "Gerard... old friend. You do indeed have a traitor in your midst... but it's not me. Duran. He has been playing us both from the start... He convinced you to destroy the Psi Disrupter... even though it was our best chance at defeating the Zerg. And then, on Aiur, ...he allowed the Zerg to overrun us even as we had the fugitives in our grasp. I came here... to activate the one hope we have of defeating them... And you killed me for it. Heh, heh... Duran is your enemy Gerard. I suspect... that he may even be infested as well... Use the Disrupter, Gerard... Finish our operation... Let my death have at least some meaning."
    DuGalle: "Alexei! No! What have I done? What have I done? Computer, where the hell is Lieutenant Duran?"
    Adjutant: "The Lieutenant no longer registers on my sensors, Admiral. He appears to have vanished."
    DuGalle: "No." StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Patriot's Blood (in English). 1998.
  11. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Patriot's Blood (in English). 1998.
  12. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Reign of Fire (in English). 1998.
  13. Blizzard Entertainment. Heroes of the Storm. Blizzard Entertainment (in English). June 2, 2015.
  14. Blizzard Entertainment, Mass Media Inc. StarCraft 64. (Nintendo of America, Inc.) Mission: Resurrection IV (in English). 2000.
  15. 15.0 15.1 2014-08-20, Unused HoTS Story Elements. StarCraft Legacy, accessed on 2014-08-29.
  16. The Art of Johnnie H. Estill II, Digital Paintings. Accessed on 2009-06-03.
  17. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm Map Editor. Activision Blizzard (in English). March 12, 2013.
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