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^(src)

Braxis
Astrographical
Region	Dominion Space
Sector	Koprulu sector
Sun(s)	1 star
Moon(s)	1 – Edis
Physical
Diameter	9,480 km
Climate	+/- -60º Centigrade (-76 Fº), very low humidity
Axial Tilt	24.3 degrees
Gravity	0.82 standard
Tileset(s)	Ice
Geography	3 continental glaciers 43 mountain chains (4 volcanic) 4 oceans (3 frozen) Named locations Blizzard landform Ursadon Flats
Species
Dominant	Protoss (formerly) Terrans (formerly) Zerg (formerly?)
Indigenous	Ursadon (reintroduced)
Societal
Affiliation	Protoss Empire (?–Discord) Terran Confederacy (?–2500) Terran Dominion (2500–September, 2504) United Earth Directorate (September, 2500)New Swarm Terran Dominion (?–late 2504/early 2505) Zerg Swarm (2504/early 2505–)
Population	24,000+ terrans (2504)
Capital	Boralis (formerly?)
Settlements	1 major terran settlement 3 minor terran settlements 10 minor protoss settlements (destroyed) 2 ancient protoss temples (destroyed) Named locations Glacier Bay Mountain Stronghold Psi Disrupter (destroyed)
Major space platforms/stations	Yes (formerly?)
Imports	Food Military equipment Personnel
Exports	Refined minerals Vespene gas

Braxis is an ice world in the Koprulu sector.

Overview

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. After the planet was purified by the protoss, the planet refroze, and became a jagged landscape of mountain sized ice formations.

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

Like Earth, Braxis has an easterly rotation.

History

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."

- Dark Prelate Zeratul tells Sarah Kerrigan about Braxis^(src)

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 seized control of Braxis.

The Brood War

Main article: Brood War

Braxis in 2500

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

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.

Boralis before the UED attack

The UED assaulted Boralis so as to secure Braxis as a staging point. Their landing site lacked vespene gas and Boralis was well defended. Progress was slow until UED forces made contact with the Confederate Resistance Forces, who became new recruits of the UED after Lieutenant Samir Duran explained that they had sworn to overthrow Emperor Arcturus Mengsk. Duran showed the UED forces 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.

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.

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 Mengsk. They tore down the disrupter.

The following section contains information from Heroes of the Storm that is ambiguously canonical.

After the disrupter's destruction, one of the UED's slave broods turned on their former masters. A group of soldiers were forced to fight their way to an extraction point.

Purification

Stukov's base

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. This was noticed by Artanis, who assembled a force to stop the zerg ad rescue Stukov. 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, albeit temporarily. The terran and protoss forces were able to evacuate, and purification from Artanis's fleet 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^(src)

The ruins of Braxis

Because of the protoss's purification of the world, every drop 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 crystalline 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 more solid 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.

The following section contains information from StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm that is ambiguously canonical.

The planet acted as a hub for training members of the Dominion Armed Forces.

Second Great War

Zerg and Dominion forces engage

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 for a counterattack or a retreat. The action was successful.

Known Locations

"Compared to Braxis, Char is paradise."

- A marine veteran of the Brood War^(src)

Landforms

An abandoned base on Braxis

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

Other

• Ursadon Flats
• Boralis (capital, destroyed)
• Psi Disrupter (destroyed)

Notes

Nova on Braxis

• Braxis was set to feature in StarCraft: Ghost as a multiplayer environment and seemingly in singleplayer as well.

• There is another similarly named planet called Braxis Alpha, but its relationship to Braxis is unclear.

• Braxis was going to feature in Heart of the Swarm as part of the Destruction of Worlds mechanic. The player could send Ryloth to conquer the planet as an alternative to the Dylarian Shipyards. It would be the used to train Dominion forces.

References

Important Worlds in the StarCraft universe v • e
Frequently Visited Aiur Braxis Char Korhal Mar Sara Shakuras Tarsonis Other Earth Moria Umoja Zerus