Antares Draco

"Do you understand?''" "''No, sire. But I will obey."

- Roan Fel and Antares Draco

Antares Draco was the human leader of the Imperial Knights during the reign of the Fel Empire by 137 ABY. A descendant of a member of Emperor Palpatine's Inquisitorius, Draco was known to be a formidable lightsaber duelist and an ace pilot, and was extremely loyal to Emperor Roan Fel, who had been his master. His most trusted friend was Ganner Krieg, a fellow Imperial Knight.

Sith-Imperial War
Like the rest of the Imperial Knights, Draco was forbidden by Emperor Roan Fel to participate in the Sith-Imperial War, a conflict between Fel’s Empire and the Galactic Alliance that raged from 127 ABY to 130 ABY. Instead, the Imperial Knights served as a personal bodyguard to the Emperor. Following the Battle of Caamas, which saw the defeat of the Galactic Alliance and the end of the war, Draco and fellow Imperial Knight Mohrgan Fel accompanied the Emperor to his private chambers on Coruscant as Fel prepared for a meeting with the Moff Council. Fel planned to arrest Grand Moff Morlish Veed, whom he suspected had disobeyed him by ordering the Massacre at Ossus. Fel instructed Draco and Mohrgan to kill Veed if he made any suspicious moves, and to watch Director of Imperial Intelligence Nyna Calixte closely. At that moment, Calixte revealed herself to be in the room with them and eavesdropping, and after being held against the wall by Mohrgan’s use of The Force, revealed that the Sith were planning to kill Fel. Draco advised his master not to trust her, but Fel bid her explain herself, prompting her to point out that his survival was in her interests in addition to his own.

Mohrgan volunteered to lead a contingent of Imperial Knights and accompany Fel's double in appearing before the Moffs, a ruse which ultimately allowed Fel and Draco to flee the planet. Darth Krayt, the leader of the Sith, appeared at the Moff's meeting, and slew Mohrgan's entire contingent before striking down Fel's decoy and declaring himself the new Emperor of the galaxy. Concurrent with these events, Fel and Draco were making an underground escape from Coruscant through Sublevel 12. As the two took out guard droids that attempted to halt them, Draco felt the deaths of his fellow Knights in the Force. Fel told him that they would honor their sacrifices by escaping. Displaced from his throne, Roan Fel and his Imperial Knights were now in exile.

Rescue at Vendaxa
"That the person I cared about more than my vows as a Knight, than my fealty to your father, more than my loyalty to the Empire was in danger. I was thinking of you. I love you, Sia.''" "''I know."

- Draco and Marasiah Fel

After seven years of conducting hit-and-run tactics on Krayt’s Imperial fleets, Roan Fel returned to the Imperial stronghold of Bastion, which Krayt had claimed shortly after the conclusion of the war. Draco accompanied Fel as he arrived on-planet, along with fellow Imperial Knights Sigel Dare and Draco's trusted friend Ganner Krieg. After securing the loyalty of the Imperial forces stationed on the planet, Fel believed that his Empire could now become a more potent threat to Krayt, though Draco cautioned him that Krayt would now know where to find him. Fel was then informed by General Oron Jaeger that Elke Vetter, an Imperial Knight and the bodyguard of Fel’s daughter, Princess Marasiah Fel, had been killed on Socorro, and that Marasiah was missing. Draco immediately volunteered to take three knights to Socorro to rescue her, but was forbidden to do so by Fel, who would not allow his new base to be discovered yet. A distraught Draco told Fel that he did not understand, but would obey. Nevertheless, he continued his attempts to convince the Emperor to mount a rescue mission, proclaiming that he would die before giving up the news that they had retaken Bastion. Reminded by Krieg that they had sworn an oath of loyalty to the Emperor, Draco wondered if loyalty was the same as obedience.

Despite their orders, Draco and Krieg made their way in two stolen Predator-class fighters to Vendaxa, where Marasiah and her companion Astraal Vao had been picked up by the bounty hunter Cade Skywalker, and had rendezvoused with Jedi Knights Wolf Sazen and Shado Vao. Arriving at the site of Skywalker's grounded ship, the Mynock, their fighters were shot down by a Sith Fury-class fighter, but Draco and Krieg managed to escape the flaming wrecks of their ships. They arrived on the scene simultaneously with Darth Talon, Darth Nihl, and a legion of other Sith, who had been pursuing Marasiah since her escape from Socorro. With his hood up, Draco appeared to the Sith to be Fel himself, but revealed his identity and told them to run while they still had the chance. Along with the Jedi and the princess, Draco and Krieg engaged the Sith in combat. Despite seven years of tension between the Jedi and Roan Fel’s Empire, the Jedi and Imperial Knights were fighting side-by-side against their common enemy, the Sith. Marasiah was angered by Draco’s attempt to rescue her, which she suspected had been forbidden by her father. Draco’s reasoning was that he loved her, to which her response was simply: "I know." She was soon after cut down by a Zabrak Sith while protecting a derelict Skywalker.

Believing that the person they had sworn to protect had been cut down, Krieg and Draco fought the Sith with renewed vigour. Draco cradled what he believed to be Marasiah's corpse in his arms, until faint signs of life led him to rush her to the Mynock while Sazen covered him. When Sazen attempted to return to the battle, Draco held him back, insisting that Marasiah’s life was more important than anyone else’s. Frantic, he revealed that the Massacre at Ossus had happened against the Emperor’s orders, and convinced Sazen to do whatever he could to heal her. Draco rushed back outside of the ship, only to find that it was taking off, with everyone but the Sith aboard. As Talon leapt onto the ship’s closing hatch, Draco Force-shoved her off, allowing the Mynock to leave the surviving Sith behind and escape.

On the bridge, Draco pressured Jariah Syn and Deliah Blue, the ship's pilot and mechanic, to set a course for Bastion, and bid them get there as fast as they could, else he would kill them. When Krieg told Draco that Marasiah was on her way to death, a very reluctant Skywalker, reminded of his healing powers, offered to help, but was met with a punch to the face by an emotionally heated Draco. An intervening Shado Vao prevented a fight from ensuing, and his sister Astraal convinced Draco and Krieg to let Skywalker heal Marasiah. After Skywalker used his powers to bring her back from the edge of death, the Mynock safely arrived at Bastion.

Mission to the Wheel
Shortly after Skywalker and the Jedi departed Bastion in the Mynock, Fel summoned Draco and Krieg, and berated them for having disobeyed a direct order, accusing Draco of putting his love for the princess before the needs of the Empire. As the Sith had likely tracked the Mynock to Bastion, Fel believed that he now had a stalemate with Krayt’s Empire. Draco, ready to receive any punishment the Emperor wished to hand them, was shocked when Fel told them that they would be receiving medals. He was retroactively approving their mission to Vendaxa, rather than having news of their insubordination undermine his authority. Draco and Krieg’s punishment was thus that they were being declared the Empire’s foremost heroes, and thenceforth being tasked with its most dangerous missions. Fel then told Draco to forget about the idea of marrying his daughter, and sent the two on their next mission --- escorting Captain Mingo Bovark to the Wheel, where Bovark would be discussing a possible alliance with Admiral Gar Stazi of the Galactic Alliance Remnant Fleet. Fel needed allies, and having met Sazen and Vao, doubted that he could find them among the Jedi. Draco and Krieg's mission was to ensure Bovark's safety at all costs, and to see that the negotiations went smoothly.

Aboard the Wheel, Stazi and Bovark met in a conference room, with each's set of guards required to wait outside. Draco and Krieg, despite having been required to leave their lightsabers aboard their ship, smuggled them aboard the space station. Draco told Krieg that he didn't trust the Galactic Alliance guards that they were staring down, and vowed to win back the Emperor's trust.

While the talks were happening, Imperial Spies Morrigan Corde and Jor Torlin, also aboard the station, managed to cause the Imperial shuttle to fire on Stazi's ship using a Command Override Limpet Droid, causing Stazi to believe that Roan Fel had betrayed him. Angry, Stazi drew a vibro-shiv on Bovark, while outside in the hallway, a firefight erupted between the Imperial Knights and the Galactic Alliance guards. Krieg held off the guards with his lightsaber while Draco burst into the room to retrieve Bovark, Force-pushing Stazi away from his charge. Wheel Administrator Pol Temm and several security guards arrived, and called on the Imperial Knights to surrender their weapons immediately. Draco refused, and Temm ordered the Imperials off of the Wheel, declaring the station off-limits to all of Roan Fel's forces. Bovark wondered why the Imperial shuttle had fired, and Draco suspected sabotage. He vowed to find and kill whoever was responsible, as they had set off a chain reaction of events that had resulted in Krieg and Draco taking great steps to alienate their Empire from both the Wheel and the Galactic Alliance.

Some time later, while on Bastion, Draco felt a Disturbance in the Force, and rushed to the Pellaeon Gardens, where he found Emperor Fel standing over the corpse of the Sith Lord Darth Kruhl. Kruhl had arrived on-planet aboard the Star Destroyer Dauntless, whose crew had been sent by Darth Krayt under the guise of defecting to Fel’s Empire; the ruse allowed Kruhl to make an attempt on Fel’s life. Fel shook off Draco’s concerns over his master’s wellbeing, and informed him that he would be sending Krayt a message back. Every crew member of the Dauntless was then killed, save for its Governor, Vikar Dorn, who was spared in order to deliver the message.

Journey to the Hidden Temple
Over the next several weeks, acting on the orders of the Emperor, Draco kept mainly to himself, avoiding Marasiah Fel in particular as she completed her training and became a full-fledged Imperial Knight. As the Emperor prepared to send Marasiah, Draco, and Krieg on a mission, Draco sat sulking in the gardens of Bastion’s royal greenhouses and was approached by Marasiah. Worried about her safety, he intended to counsel the Emperor to replace her on the mission with another Imperial Knight. Marasiah surprised him with a kiss, telling him that she had no intention of letting her father run her personal life. Nevertheless, Draco had doubts that the two could pursue a relationship.

The three Imperial Knights were sent to the Iego system, where their fellow Knight, Azlyn Rae, had been sent on a mission to locate Cade Skywalker. Undercover, Rae confronted Skywalker as he visited his uncle, Nat Skywalker, on Iego, and claimed to be a bounty hunter. Owing to her status as a former Jedi and a childhood friend of Skywalker's, Rae was able to learn of the existence of the Jedi’s Hidden Temple. As she prepared to follow the Mynock to the temple in her ship, she relayed its coordinates to Draco, Krieg, and Marasiah, who waited nearby in a ship of their own. Although both Draco and Krieg suspected that she might be setting them up, the three Imperial Knights set a course for the Hidden Temple on Taivas.

Cloaking their ship, the Imperial Knights followed the Mynock to the Hidden Temple and landed at the base behind their quarry. Draco, Krieg, and Marasiah disembarked just as the Mynock’s crew was being greeted by Wolf Sazen and Shado Vao, Draco and Krieg with their lightsabers drawn in an effort to protect the princess from any potential danger. Misinterpreted as hostility, the move prompted Vao and Skywalker to draw their own weapons and engage the two Imperial Knights in duels; Draco dueled Cade in defense of what he perceived as an attack on Marasiah. Furious that they had hitched a free ride on his ship, and realizing Rae's true identity as an Imperial Knight, Skywalker Force-pushed both Draco and Krieg across the hangar. In response, Marasiah ignited her own lightsaber, informing Skywalker that the Imperial Knights had come on a mission of peace. Draco stood by as she told Sazen that they had come to open discussions with the Jedi about a possible alliance between them and Roan Fel’s Empire, and then told them himself that they had relayed the coordinates of the Hidden Temple to Bastion.

After tensions between the Imperial Knights, the Jedi, and the crew of the Mynock had died down, the Imperial delegation was permitted to see the Jedi Council. Accompanied by Skywalker, they appeared before Jedi Masters K’Kruhk, Tr'a Saa, and Tili Qua; Saa believed that the Force had allowed them to come to the Hidden Temple for a reason. Draco stood by as Marasiah gave a long speech, revealing that her father had not ordered the massacre of Ossus, and calling on the Jedi to open talks with him so that they might cooperate against their common enemy, the Sith. Skywalker chimed in, revealing knowledge of Darth Krayt and the One Sith that he had learned during his time as their captive, and proposed a plan of his own: Assassinate Darth Krayt. Although the Jedi Council were taken aback by Skywalker's proposal, the Imperial Knights were impressed by it --- Draco thought that it was the first thing Skywalker had ever said that he liked. Ultimately, the council did not support the mission, but Skywalker decided to proceed without their assistance. Marasiah assigned Draco, Krieg, and Rae to accompany him on his mission; she would stay behind to continue negotiating an alliance with the Jedi. Skywalker’s astromech droid, R2-D2, opened the cargo bay doors of the Mynock and allowed Draco and Krieg to load their TIE Predators into the ship’s hold. With their predators already aboard his ship, Skywalker reluctantly allowed them to join him on the mission. Vao joined the strike team as well, as the sole representative of the Jedi.

Mission to Assassinate Darth Krayt
Skywalker formulated a plan to lure Krayt to the planet Had Abbadon. En route, Draco and Krieg watched Vao practice lightsaber technique against a Remote in the ship’s cargo hold, before the Mynock was drawn out of hyperspace by the interdiction field of the Star Destroyer Iron Sun, which Old Republic Jedi Celeste Morne had commandeered ten years before and kept dormant in the Deep Core. Draco observed that there were no TIE Predators meeting them, and that the Star Destroyer's hull had taken fire damage from the inside. After the Mynock was locked in a tractor beam, and Vao and Skywalker sensed the presence of a Force-user on the ship, the crew set out to explore the derelict vessel. Skywalker ordered Draco and Krieg to explore the corridors connected to the hangar bay, where they found several bones, some of which had been gnawed on. Following an attack on Skywalker, Rae, Vao, and Jariah Syn by Rakghouls, Draco contacted Deliah Blue on the Mynock, suggesting that Skywalker was dead and that the mission be called off. Blue ignored him and rushed into the interior of the ship, followed by Draco and Krieg. The trio located Syn and Vao in front of a locked door, along with several tame-seeming Rakghouls, beasts that Morne was able to control with the power of the Muur Talisman, an ancient Sith amulet that housed the spirit of the Sith Lord Karness Muur. As Draco and Vao attempted to force their way into the door, it opened suddenly, revealing a weary Skywalker and Rae. Morne followed, and, having just been impressed by Skywalker’s healing abilities, decided to join them on their mission.

With Morne as their newest passenger, the Mynock arrived at Had Abbadon, a planet that was under the control of Krayt’s Empire. In a ruse, Draco and Krieg piloted their TIE Predators after Shado Vao's TwinTail Fighter, and blasted gounded TIE pilots before they could get to their ships, helping to rid the base of its Imperials. With the base clear, Draco accessed the Holonet and informed Roan Fel of the Muur Talisman. Realizing its power, Fel told Draco to obtain the Talisman. With his new instructions, Draco interrupted a tender moment between Krieg and Rae, and got into a verbal quarrel with the two of them, both of whom questioned Fel’s new order. After Rae stormed off, Draco told Krieg that he would have to kill her if she disobeyed their Emperor, and was met with a heated rebuke from his trusted friend: He would have to kill Krieg first. Tension mounted between the two as they argued over their primary duties as Imperial Knights, and Krieg walked away.

Lured to Had Abbadon by the bait of the Muur Talisman, Darth Krayt arrived along with four of his most trusted Sith Lords: Darths Stryfe, Wyyrlok, Talon, and Maladi. Four of the five Sith Lords confronted Morne and Skywalker, before Draco, Krieg, Rae, and Vao emerged from hiding, having managed to conceal themselves in the Force. The six members of the strike team attacked the Sith, along with Morne's army of Rakghouls, who ended up cutting the Imperial Knights off from the battle. Draco, wanting to ensure both the death of Krayt and the obtainment of the Talisman, ordered Krieg and Rae to take care of Krayt while he confronted Morne. Rae protested, but was angrily Force-pushed away by Draco, who was in turn physically restrained by Krieg. A frustrated Krieg bid Draco go confront Morne while he and Rae dealt with Krayt. Draco cut his way through several Rakghouls and confronted Morne, who engaged him in lightsaber combat, taunting him and telling him that the Emperor was not worthy of the Talisman. Morne easily Force-pushed Draco away, causing him to hit his head and lose consciousness.

While Draco lay unconscious, Krayt was stabbed through the chest by Morne, and Force-pushed off of a cliff by Morne, before being killed by his own servant, Darth Wyyrlok. However, the Force lightning produced during the confrontation mortally wounded Rae. After Krayt’s defeat, Skywalker destroyed the Talisman and killed Morne, but could not effectively heal Rae with the Force. As Draco regained consciousness, the crew of the Mynock prepared to depart for Kiffex with Vao and Rae. Skywalker refused Draco and Krieg passage, as he knew that they had tried to secure the Talisman for their Emperor. The Mynock departed, leaving Draco insistent that he and Krieg return to Bastion to report to Fel. After returning to Bastion, the two were joined by Sigel Dare in appearing before the Emperor. Fel was not pleased that they had allowed the Talisman to be destroyed, and, without proof, was not entirely convinced that Krayt had been killed. His sources told him that Krayt was in stasis on Korriban, and, as such, he assigned Draco to discover what was happening on Coruscant.



Personality and traits
"As Imperial Knights, we serve the Emperor's will!"

- Master Draco to Azlyn Rae

Antares Draco was extremely devoted to Emperor Fel. But when Marasiah Fel, who Draco loved, was in danger, he was willing to directly defy the Emperor's orders to ensure she would be safe. His loyalty, however, bordered on blinding, as he was willing to bring Fel the Muur Talisman, even though it was obviously tainted with the dark side of the Force, perhaps in denial that Fel could ever even be tempted to use it with evil intent.

Draco was very critical of both the Jedi and Sith. He saw both orders as inferior to the Imperial Knights. In fact, he said that by simply being a Jedi, Shado Vao was inferior to him and Ganner Krieg, despite Vao's formidable lightsaber skills.

Marasiah Fel
Antares Draco is in love with Princess Marasiah Fel, the daughter of his Emperor Roan Fel.

When Roan Fel had retaken Bastion, they received word that Sia had been attacked by the Sith. While it pained him to do so, Fel chose not to send a rescue team for his daughter to ensure the greater good. Draco, however, would not let Sia go. In direct defiance of his Emperor, Draco and Ganner Krieg went to retrieve the Princess.

After landing on Vendaxa, Draco and Krieg joined forces with Jedi and pirates to protect the Princess. During this time, he confessed his love for her. He was heartbroken when Sia was fatally wounded while trying to save Cade Skywalker, who, in his mind, wasn't worth her sacrifice. He later attacked Skywalker, blaming him for Sia's wounds. But Skywalker was able to use the Force to heal her, saving her life.

Upon return to Bastion, Emperor Fel forbid Draco from being with Sia. Sia, however, didn't intend to allow her father to run her personal life. She showed Draco that she loved him by kissing him, and insisted to Draco that they could be together.

Behind the scenes
Antares is a star in real life, and the heart of the constellation Scorpius&mdash;the name is Greek, and means "counter to Mars", in reference to this star's striking red color&mdash;appropriate for a red-armored Imperial Knight. In other languages, Antares has also historically been known as "the heart of the scorpion".

"Draco" is the Latin word for "dragon," and gives its name to a constellation of the northern sky. Draco was also the name of an Athenian ruler, supposedly of the seventh century BC, whose association with a harsh early penal code gave rise to the word "draconian," meaning "severe."

An action figure of Antares Draco was released in 2008 as part of Hasbro's Comic Pack line, along with Ganner Krieg and a reprint of part five of Broken.

The publication of the 2009 Legacy Era Campaign Guide&mdash; a Wizards of the Coast supplement to the Star Wars Roleplaying Game&mdash;has introduced the possibility that Antares Draco is the descendant of Valin Draco, an Inquisitor of the Galactic Empire ruled by Emperor Palpatine. While the Legacy Era Campaign Guide does not explicitly state the familial bond, the entry for Antares Draco notes that an ancestor of Antares was a member of the Imperial Inquisitorius.

Jan Duursema has indicated that "Draco was about 17-18 at the time of the Massacre on Ossus and deposing of Krayt. So that makes him 24-25 within the story now. A good question is why he is leader of the IK at such a young age--and it's a question we have not addressed within the story yet, but we have some ideas."

Appearances

 * Star Wars Legacy 8: Allies
 * Star Wars Legacy 3: Broken, Part 3
 * Star Wars Legacy 6: Broken, Part 5
 * Star Wars Legacy 7: Broken, Part 6
 * Star Wars Legacy: Trust Issues
 * Star Wars Legacy 13: Ready to Die
 * Star Wars Legacy: Loyalties
 * Star Wars Legacy: The Hidden Temple
 * Star Wars Legacy: Vector
 * Star Wars Legacy 35: Storms, Part 2