Braxis

"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

Braxis is a planet in the Koprulu sector.

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.

The permafrost allows little in the way of plant life and winter storms constantly sweep across its plains. The planet is home to the ursadon.

Like Earth, Braxis has an easterly rotation.

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."

- Zeratul tells Sarah Kerrigan about Braxis

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 then seized control of Braxis.

The Quest for Uraj
During the Brood War, a protoss army assisted by Sarah Kerrigan overcame the Dominion defenses and retrieved the Uraj.

UED Assault
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. The UED landing site lacked vespene gas. While looking for a geyser, UED forces met Lieutenant Samir Duran of the Confederate Resistance Forces, who showed them an alternate route that led to the rear of Boralis, allowing them to destroy the command center and cripple Braxis' primary defenses.

The UED transformed Braxis into a heavily fortified stronghold.

Dark Vengeance
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.

The Psi Disrupter
Vice Admiral Alexei Stukov had the psi disrupter reconstructed on Braxis. He went there to activate it but was killed by Duran, 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.

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 Emperor Arcturus Mengsk. They tore down the disrupter.

Purification
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. 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. The cost was high; most of the attacking troops perished and the subsequent protoss purification destroyed all life on the planet surface. 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.

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

Because of the protoss's purification of the world, every scrap 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 crystaline structures formed due to the weathering processes. The planet froze over and returned to its original state in the following years, though the ice was solider 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.

Second Great War
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 a counterattack. The action was successful.

Locations
"Compared to Braxis, Char is paradise."

- A marine veteran of the Brood War

Landforms

 * Blizzard landform
 * Glacier Bay
 * Grendel Mountains
 * Mountain Stronghold

Regions

 * Ursadon Flats

Settlements

 * Boralis (capital, destroyed)

Structures

 * Psi Disrupter (destroyed)