Dewell Bronk

"It's not in my nature not to trust."

- Bronk worries about his trusting nature leading to his arrest.

Dewell Bronk was male Kedorzhan who served as a senator in the Galactic Senate of the Galactic Republic during the Clone Wars. Bronk was best known for his desire to help others, a fact that the Empire eventually used when attempting to track him down. Toward the end of the war, Bronk was one of many senators who, as part of the Delegation of 2000, signed the Petition of 2000, a document condemning the Supreme Chancellor Palpatines misuse of emergency powers and the formation of the new office of Moff. In 19 BBY, after the Clone Wars had ended, Bronk attempted to flee the Galactic capital planet of Coruscant, where he had worked, in an attempt to escape the persecution that many members of the delegation were facing from the newly formed Galactic Empire. During his journey off-planet he encountered the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, who was also fleeing with the infant Luke Skywalker. Kenobi, whom Bronk didn't recognise, saved Bronk from a pair of Clone troopers who attempted to arrest the Kedorzhan, and then revealed the reality of life in exile to the senator, persuading him to try and return to Coruscant and falsely announce his support for the new Empire, better enabling him to help others without fear of persecution.

Biography
During the Clone Wars, a conflict fought between 22 BBY and 19 BBY by the Galactic Republic and Confederacy of Independent Systems, Dewell Bronk served as a senator in the Galactic Senate, the ruling body of the Republic. Within the Senate, Bronk represented his species, the Kedorzhans, who hailed from the planet Kedorzha in the Senex sector of the Mid Rim. While working as a senator, Bronk lived on the Republic's capital world of Coruscant, where he owned an apartment and was protected by several bodyguards. Due to his helpful nature, while living in his senatorial apartment Bronk was a three time recipient of an award from the Coruscant Benevolent Society named the Good Neighbor of the Year award. As the Clone Wars progressed, one of Bronk's seven children, Tyloor Bronk, who was fighting for the Republic, was killed in action and his body was not recovered from the battlefield where he fell. The loss of his son along with several other factors contributed to the senator joining a faction known as the Delegation of 2000, all of whom signed the Petition of 2000, a document stating their dissatisfaction with the actions of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine during the war, particularly the formation of the office of Moff. They presented the document to the Chancellor shortly before the end of the war in 19 BBY. After the end of the Clone Wars and the declaration of the New Order, the political system of the newly formed Galactic Empire, many members of the Delegation of 2000 were arrested, with some, such as Nee Alavar, even being executed. In fear of persecution, many of the remaining members withdrew their signatures from the petition, but Bronk refused to, fleeing from Coruscant for his own safety instead. Leaving his bodyguards behind, the Kedorzhan boarded a Tallaan Clipper transport named the Space Slug, which was headed off-world. While on board, he tried to remain inconspicuous, but was horrified to see a pair of Devaronians harassing and robbing and elderly Twi'lek female. Bronk attempted to tell the thugs to stop, but was too fearful for his own safety to succeed. Giving up hope, he was surprised to hear another passenger, a young Human with an infant child, warn the Devaronians to leave the woman alone. Bronk suspected this would lead to the man being beaten but was shocked to see the Devaronians leaving the woman, who then fled. Bronk then gave advice on looking after the infant to the young man, who unbeknownst to the senator was in fact Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi fleeing Coruscant himself with Luke Skywalker, the newly born son of Bronk's fellow senator and delegation member Padmé Amidala. Bronk aided Kenobi in looking after the baby, informing him that it was hungry when it started crying, a possibility that had escaped the Jedi.

The pair then disembarked the transport, after it arrived at a planet where the passengers were required to transfer to a new ship in order to reach the Outer Rim Territories. Whist trying to reach Pad 560, where his next transport was located, Bronk ran into a Ortolan janitor being physically harassed by a pair of Clone troopers. The Kedorzhan stepped forward and struck one of the troopers with a bag of his possessions, telling them to leave the janitor alone, which they did, allowing the Ortolan to flee. The troopers however recognised the senator, as they were searching the planet for him specifically, and attempted to arrest him. Bronk didn't resist, but as he prepared to be taken away, the troopers were attacked from behind and incapacitated by Kenobi, who used the janitor's equipment to temporarily blind them and then pushed them into a maintenance area. The senator thanked the stranger and lamented that he would have to live the rest of his life fearing such occurrences, with Kenobi pointing out that the troopers had been using Bronk's known desire to help others as a way to find him, by harassing the Ortolan. The Jedi also confessed that he suspected that the Devaronians on the Space Slug had been informants trying to draw Bronk out as well. Kenobi then pointed out that the senator had options other than a life on the run, and Bronk realised that his best option was to return to Coruscant, feigning support of the Empire and continuing his work in the Senate. He and Kenobi then parted ways with the Jedi leaving for the Outer Rim and Bronk heading back the way he came.

Personality and traits
"Strength! I'm afraid of every bright light and loud noise."

- Bronk admits his fear to Kenobi.

Bronk was a male, brown-furred Kedorzhan with black eyes, who stood one meter tall and had a relatively pudgy stature. He also had a broad nose, which he twitched when disdainful of something. As a Kedorzhan, the Senator was almost blind in brightly lit environments, seeing others as little more than blurry shapes, but he refused to wear a visor to protect his eyes as he believed in looking others in the eye when speaking to them. He was well known for his loud authoritative voice, and, as his predecessors had before him, had a tendency to fight for those who could not defend themselves. His desire to help others was what lead him to win the Good Neighbour of the Year award multiple times, as well as signing the Petition of 2000. Bronk felt that many of Palpatine's actions in no way aided the war and arbitrarily removed aid for the weak, which the Kedorzhan opposed. The death of his son also contributed to Bronks signing of the Petition, which he did despite the protests of his advisers. His small size caused him to fear few would listen to him outside of the Senate, and fear for his own safety prevented him from helping others in need after he fled from Coruscant, although he overcame the fear when he saw Clone troopers attacking an innocent Ortolan. Bronk's helpful and trusting nature defined him so much that the Empire used it to try and capture him, setting up situations where he would show himself while trying to aid others. The Kedorzhan was able to aid Kenobi as he looked after the infant Luke Skywalker as he had experience in parenting from raising his own children, although Bronk wished he had spent more time with his offspring and was unaware of where all bar Tyloor were at the time of his escape.

Behind the scenes
Dewell Bronk first appeared in "Incognito", a short story by author John Jackson Miller and illustrated by Chris Scalf, which was published in Star Wars Insider 143 in 2013. The story served as a tie in to Jackson's upcoming novel Star Wars: Kenobi, which was set to be released later that year.