Brandei

"@%#$!"

- Brandei, when ambushed by Talon Karrde's forces during the Katana Fleet skirmish

Brandei served in the Imperial Navy during the Galactic Civil War.

Biography
Brandei was born on Mantooine in 45 BBY during the last decades of the Galactic Republic. As a cadet from an Outer Rim Territories world, he had to struggle to overcome discrimination; even exemplary work gained him only marginal notice from his professors and superiors. Nonetheless, his academy training&mdash;perhaps on Raithal&mdash;imbued him with a definite air of purpose and confidence, and he made his mark in the Imperial military in spite of this initial prejudice.



Brandei spent much of his career aboard the Star Destroyer Judicator, assigned to the area of the Core Worlds embracing Garos IV. By 5 BBY, he held the rank of Senior Lieutenant, and it was at his suggestion that his old friend Tork Winger, an administrator on Garos IV, adopted a Rebel orphan, the girl later known as Alex Winger.

By 3 ABY, Brandei had been transferred aboard the Star Dreadnought Executor, where he performed bridge duty as a Technical Services Officer with the Fleet Support Branch, holding the title of commander and the overall responsibility for the up-keep, maintenance, and combat readiness of the ship's twelve TIE squadrons. Shortly after the Battle of Hoth, however, he received notice of a transfer back the Judicator, aboard which he apparently served at the Battle of Endor. Although he now held a senior position aboard the Star Destroyer, it is not clear whether he was yet her captain: by 6 ABY, New Republic Intelligence believed that he had received a further promotion soon after Endor, and his rise to command may have occurred at this time.

Brandei's assignment as captain of the Judicator allowed him to renew his acquaintance with the Wingers, but beginning around three years after Endor, he made several further visits to Garos IV with a more driven mission: overseeing the shipment of a Garosian ore for use in Imperial cloaking device projects. At around this time, he also made an intense study of what he still regarded as the Rebellion, attempting to understand his enemies in order to defeat them. He came to believe that while Rebels would fight fiercely if they had no other option, they were ultimately driven by an ill-thought-out compassion, often prepared to abandon their mission and their cause to save their immediate friends. Ultimately, he thought, they wanted an easy life, rather than to fight for the greater good, and that understanding this was the key to defeating them.

During Grand Admiral Thrawn's campaign against the New Republic in 9 ABY, Brandei remained commanding officer of the Judicator and was part of Thrawn's personal armada. He led a successful assault on the planet Nkllon in the Athega system, with the objective of capturing mole miners from Lando Calrissian's Nomad City, though the operation caused extensive damage to the Judicator that required lengthy repair work. He was also present at the New Republic's discovery of the Katana fleet. There, he personally witnessed the destruction of the Star Destroyer Peremptory at the 'hands' of a slave-rigged Dreadnaught-class cruiser when it collided with the Star Destroyer, causing Brandei much anger for which he would later be reprimanded by Thrawn.

Brandei was last known to have participated at the Battle of Bilbringi, but most likely remained loyal to Gilad Pellaeon and the Chimaera after Thrawn's death. Alex Winger had what may have been a Force vision of her interrogation by him aboard the Judicator, and if this did eventually take place as she foresaw, it implies that Brandei was still in command of the Star Destroyer after she had become an X-wing pilot with the New Republic&mdash;although it is not certain that this dream was absolutely accurate. Alex's early dreams of climbing the Tahika Cliffs on Garos IV with Luke Skywalker may have evolved into more accurate visions of her eventual meeting with him on Sarahwiee. So while her dream of an interrogation offers a strong probability that Brandei remained in command of Judicator for some time after Bilbringi, it cannot be taken as conclusive proof in the absence of other evidence.

Appearances

 * Turning Point
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars: Rebellion
 * A Glimmer of Hope
 * Mission to Zila
 * Heir to the Empire
 * Dark Force Rising
 * The Last Command