Xander Drax

"You are remembered for the rules you break."

— Xander Drax

Xander Drax is veteran Imperial officer and TIE pilot who served the Empire and later the Emperor's Hammer He had been in Imperial service for nearly a quarter century before he was forced to leave the Emperor's Hammer under the threat of death. Following many decades away from Imperial Service, he once again answered the call and returned to duty in 32 ABY taking the rank of Captain and a position once more in Thunder Squadron.

Character History

Early Life - 16 BBY to 1 BBY

Xander was born on the factory world of Fondor in 16 BBY. As his parents were both workers at the orbital shipyards, Xander grew up surrounded by the ships of the Imperial Navy. While his parents wanted him to join the family business and become a shipyard worker, he had already decided to move on to bigger and better things. With the help of several dock pilots, Xander began to train on the yard's shuttle simulators in order to acquire the knowledge needed to apply to the Imperial Academy.

By his sixteenth birthday, Xander was ready to submit his application to the Imperial Academy when news of the destruction of Alderaan and then the Death Star arrived on Fondor. Fully accepting the Imperial position that Alderaan had been destroyed due to Rebel sympathies amongst its populace, Xander was doubly motivated to join the Imperial ranks. His application was forwarded to the Academy and he was accepted, undergoing his training at the Prefsbelt IV Naval Academy. While initially trained as a shuttle pilot, Xander showed sufficient aptitude by the end of his third year to be assigned to the elite starfighter training track. Xander graduated in the upper half of his class with both starfighter and shuttle certifications, and he was assigned to the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Allecto.

Imperial Service - 1 ABY to 5 ABY

Drax upon his graduation

Xander was first assigned as a Sub-Lieutenant to the 136th Imperial Fighter Wing aboard the Allecto, as a member of the 3rd squadron. The 3/136th was one of the most proficient squadrons aboard the Allecto, having the best fit-reps and combat statistics. The squadron's senior staff helped shape Xander from a raw recruit into a proper officer. One of his earliest combat operations saw the 136th assigned to support the famed 181st Fighter Group in what would become known as the Battle of Derra IV. Though tasked with a tertiary role, Xander hoped before the engagement that there would be enough action for all of them. When they arrived in-system the Imperials and Xander alike were overjoyed to see that they had underestimated the size of the Rebel convoy.

Battle of Derra IV

During the engagement, Xander and pilots of the 136th were responsible for the destruction of several starfighters and two transport vessels, while the 181st scored the lion's share of the victories. With the death of the 136th's commander during the battle at the mercy of the X-wing fighters, Xander was promoted to full Lieutenant and given command of one of the flights within the 3/136th. He served throughout the campaigns against the Rebellion.

Upon their return to Coruscant, the 136th was decommissioned as a unit and its few remaining pilots assigned to other squadrons. Xander was assigned to the 2/54th as its commanding officer with the rank of Lieutenant Commander, stationed planetside. After years of shipboard and backwater assignments, Xander found his time on Coruscant exhilarating. The large city planet reminded him of his home on Fondor, and he began to see the appeal of the Imperial Center. All of this changed, however, less than two years later.

The final collapse of the Empire at the Battle of Jakku and the Galactic Concordance that finally ended the Galactic Civil War left Drax without the home he had known almost his entire adult life. The Imperial Navy was no more, and he and his squadron mates were ordered to hand over their starfighters and muster out.

Emperor's Hammer - 5 ABY to 15 ABY

The EH Strike Fleet in orbit of Aurora Prime.

Like many officers after the final defeat of the Empire, Xander was unsure of any central Imperial Authority. Hearing about how the rival Sector Governors had quickly degenerated into squabbling factions even before Jakku, Xander and those under his command were left without purpose.

Several weeks after the fall of the Empire, Xander and those pilots still with him were approached by an officer of the Emperor's Hammer Strike Fleet. The officer explained that there was another of the Emperor's Grand Admirals still alive, and in a position to strike at the heart of the rebellion from his holdings on the edge of the Unknown Regions. After several days of negotiations, Xander brought himself and his pilots into the Hammer's service. Xander would be assigned to Zayin Squadron aboard their flagship, the lead ship of the Sovereign-class. He would serve the squadron for four years in various roles, including that of her commander. He would also see a single tour assigned to Thunder Squadron aboard the Challenge.

While in Zayin, Xander participated in numerous engagements as the Hammer carved out it's foothold in the Unknown Regions. However, as the Sovereign rarely left Hammer-controlled space and mainly stood in orbit of Aurora Prime, the Hammer's homeworld, these actions were few and far between. In the year 10 ABY, Xander transferred to the Imperial-class Vanguard in order to see more combat. It was also at this time that Xander would serve on detached duty for some months with the Brotherhood in command of Sapphire Squadron in Clan Naga Shadow. Having discovered his Force abilities, the Brotherhood brought him over to help shape their new squadrons, their houses having recently changed organization. While there, Xander lightly developed his Force sense, but his time was more consumed with pilot training then training himself. Shortly thereafter, he returned to the Vanguard.

The Vanguard was primarily assigned to border patrol missions, so she came into contact with raiding forces, be they New Republic, Pirate, or other Imperial factions. After a particularly nasty engagement in the next year, the Vanguard was dry docked for significant repairs. As a result, Xander requested a transfer to the ISD Relentless. This would be a significant action in hindsight, as it would eventually lead to Xander leaving the pilot corps.

Xander in his pilot gear.

Not even two months after being assigned to the Relentless, Xander was shot down in combat against new Republic squadrons and forced to eject from his fighter. He had to stay in space for several hours while the engagement raged around him, and he was finally picked up by a rescue shuttle. He was immediately given several bacta treatments and barely lived through the ordeal. However, he was temporarily stood down from flight status as a result of injuries received during the ejection.

Xander was then assigned as a staff officer under the command of High Admiral Ari, a member of the Command Staff of the Hammer. He would remain under Ari's command for nearly two years, with a short term as a temporary Wing Commander aboard the SSD Avenger in 12 ABY. In the year 13 ABY, Xander would be promoted to the Command Staff himself on the recommendation of Ari. Given the position of Logistics Officer, he was also elevated to the rank of Vice Admiral.

The Logistics Office was not what it would appear to outsiders, as it was not concerned with fleet logistics, which were, in reality, handled by the Flight Office. The Logistics Office was a deceptive name for the office that was in charge of maintaining the Hammer's archives and official records. In this position, Xander had access to an incomplete copy of the Imperial Archives that had been given to Ronin, the Hammer commander, by the Emperor. This, along with a significant amount of information collected from other sources, constituted the charge of the Logistics Office.

In the year 15 ABY, the Hammer's Executive Officer would launch an attack on the Bounty Hunters' Guild headquartered in the Lyarna System. This operation was aimed at removing the leadership of the Guild, whom Astatine had personal issues with regarding actions and authority. Common wisdom at the time was that Astatine feared the Guild breaking with the Empire, much as the Brotherhood had done previously. Xander, as a member of the Command Staff. was privy to this information, and as an ardent supporter of the Guild, he passed the information along to their leaders through his contact with the senator then assigned to Ravouin, Dakkon Blackblade. He and Senator Blackblade, along with Blackblade's Senate Guard and several members of the Hammer's Fist Stormtrooper Legion, even journeyed to the Lyarna System during the attack, with Xander personally coordinating the defenses of the moon Cuerno and the surrounding space. The attack was repelled, and Xander's compatriots returned to their duties with the Hammer.

The Battle of Lyarna.

Xander, however, retired from his duties as Logistics Officer directly following the operation. He felt that the leadership of the Hammer was deteriorating and saw retirement as the only option left to him. Before he officially stepped down, however, Xander did copy the entire database under his care for his own personal use. He retired to the world of Kidriff 5, a planet known for its similarities to Coruscant, however less developed it may have been.

A year later, upon the request of the commander of the TIE Corps Battlegroups, BubbaX, Xander returned to the Hammer to command the Star Destroyer Colossus. However, Astatine, now Fleet Commander, finally uncovered evidence that linked Xander to the failure of the Lyarna operation, and the theft of a copy of the Hammer archives. Xander, tipped off by his superior Executive Officer Khameir Sarin (himself fleeing Astatine's tyranny), learned that Astatine had issued a death warrant for Xander as a traitor to the Empire. Xander immediately left the Command Center on Aurora Prime and procured an unmarked craft from the Intel impound yard. Taking a light freighter, the first ship he saw, Xander fled the Hammer Territories mere steps ahead of the Intel agents that had come to arrest him.

Years Without Purpose -15 ABY to 30 ABY

In the year immediately following his escape from Imperial forces on Aurora Prime, Xander was constantly on the move. Using what contacts he had, he was able to stay one step ahead of intelligence agents tasked with his capture, hiding wherever he could. Finally, in order to evade capture, he returned to the former Imperial throne world Coruscant. As no more than one more former Imperial soldier fallen from power, Xander made entry onto the degenerating city planet with ease and spent most of the two years inhabiting some of its lowest levels. After a year of this, word finally filtered back to him via sources in Hammer-controlled space that he was no longer being actively sought by the Hammer. Apparently, the behavior of Astatine, like so many Imperial warlords before him, had become too much to tolerate. The Fleet Commander had been removed from power and his varios death marks having been rescinded, finally recognized as the frantic overreach of a tyrant

Xander would spend the better part of the next decade as military advisor to the Kidriff government in regards to their defense forces and other related issues, as the central order of the Empire had given way to the more localized responsibilities of the New Republic. While the tides of galactic conflict had long ago left Kidriff behind, the draw-down of the New Republic military led to the kind of disorder that Drax had always feared. The local governments did not have the resources or coordination to maintain control as varios pirate gangs and smugglers would move from system to system, from one jurisdiction to another. The galaxy had spent nearly three decades sliding farther and farther into chaos while the New Republic seemed more and more to be paralyzed by inaction. As stories spread to Kidriff that a new terrorist successor to the Rebellion, the Resistance, had formed and was even being supported by rogue members of the New Republic Senate, Drax knew that he could no longer sit on the sidelines.

Return to the Hammer -31 ABY - Present

Determined to make a return to Imperial service, Xander reached out to contacts within the Emperor's Hammer. Making contact with Kamjin "Maverick" Lap'lamiz and also Turtle Jerrar, having served with the latter during his time on the staff of Ari, Xander arranged to return to active duty with the rank of Captain and with a billet in Thunder Squadron once more. Still in possession of the copy of the Hammer's archives from his time as Logistics Officer after all those years, he was able to return the data to its rightful place and restore some data that had been lost in the intervening years.

Character Information

Physical Appearance

Once having the look of a fit military officer, age and trials have left him somewhat more weathered. His hair has maintained the dark, black color of his youth, but his features show the creases that betray his age. However, while his appearance has aged, he still maintains the same level of physical fitness that he maintained during his earlier military service. His recovery from injuries as a younger man have led to him overcompensating to overcome their nagging effects.

Demeanor

Xander most always moves with a purposeful stride, moving from place to place and rarely dawdling. He rarely sits, preferring to stand in a rigid, upright posture. He speaks in the tight, clipped forms common to many Imperial officers, though in recent times his volume and cadence have both softened somewhat. Most of the time his voice lacks much inflection or feeling, leading people to consider him distant and unconcerned.

Gear

A-180 blaster pistol

Xander's A-180 blaster

Xander carries a A-180 blaster pistol as his primary sidearm. This particular weapon was given to Xander by High Admiral Ari upon the former's elevation to the position of Logistics Officer. The internal workings of the weapon were rebuilt, reinforced, and insulated against shock. In addition the main body of the weapon is forged out of phrik, making it more resistant to damage but omitting the connecting points to convert the weapon into other configurations such as a rifle. The weapon has also been specially balanced and fitted with a custom grip with the Imperial Seal engraved on both sides, so that the weapon is as perfect as possible for Xander's use. The weapon, first more of a ceremonial sidearm, became a functional part of Xander's life in the years since his escape from Astatine's wrath.

Positions Held
Before	Position	After
Thom Zack	Wing XIX Commander Aug 2003-Oct 2003	Daniel Goad
Darknyte	Logistics Officer February 2004-August 2004	Jeron Darkonis Astoris