Empatojayos Brand (Pronunciation (help·info)) was a Jedi Knight who survived the Great Jedi Purge. He began his Jedi training as a Padawan under the tutelage of Jedi Master Yaddle, and after the Battle of Naboo in 32 BBY, he was elevated to the rank of Knight. During the subsequent years, he dedicated himself to serving the Jedi Order and the Republic. In 22 BBY, he was dispatched on a mission aimed at brokering peace in the Sepan Civil War, a conflict that had persisted for decades; this endeavor, however, proved unsuccessful. A few months later, the Clone Wars erupted, and Brand participated in the First Battle of Geonosis, the opening engagement of the war, piloting a Delta-7 Aethersprite-class light interceptor as a member of a Jedi strike team. Throughout the Clone Wars, Brand rose to the rank of Jedi General, leading his clone troopers to triumph in battles like the Battle of Bassadro.
As the Clone Wars drew to a close, the Jedi were branded as enemies of the Republic, and Brand found himself targeted by Darth Vader, the Dark Lord of the Sith. Near the moon Nar Shaddaa, Vader inflicted severe damage to Brand's ship, leaving the critically wounded Jedi to die. Fortunately, the technologically underdeveloped Ganathan people, who lived nearby, rescued him. They provided him with a prosthetic body, and Brand assumed the role of King of Ganath.
In 10 ABY, the Millennium Falcon, a damaged vessel, entered Ganathan Space. From its occupants, Han Solo and his wife Leia Organa Solo of the New Republic, Brand learned that Vader had been defeated. However, the war against Emperor Palpatine persisted, as the Emperor had discovered a method to evade death by transferring his consciousness into clone bodies. Brand also discovered that Leia's brother, Luke Skywalker, was in the process of establishing a New Jedi Order. Consequently, he accompanied the Solos back to their safe haven, New Alderaan. Following an Imperial attack, Brand joined Skywalker and the New Republic as they fled from the Empire. Ultimately, Brand assisted Skywalker in a final attempt to stop Palpatine on Onderon. Although Palpatine injured him during the confrontation, Brand managed to capture the Emperor's soul after Han Solo shot his body, causing it to flee. Upon his death, Brand carried Palpatine's soul to the Netherworld of the Force, where all deceased Jedi would eternally hold the former Emperor as a prisoner.
Empatojayos Brand, a male individual, was a member of the Jedi Order, having served as a Padawan to Jedi Master Yaddle. Achieving the rank of Jedi Knight following the Battle of Naboo in 32 BBY, Brand completed the Jedi Trials. He was the final apprentice of Yaddle. Brand also received instruction in the Force from Master Yoda, including the skill of telekinesis. In 22 BBY, Brand, along with fellow Jedi Bultar Swan and Chellemi Chuovvick, was sent to the Sepan sector with the objective of negotiating an end to the prolonged Sepan Civil War between Dimok and Ripoblus. During the month of negotiations, hostilities ceased, but resumed after the Jedi returned to Coruscant.
A few months later, war commenced on Geonosis, as Jedi and Galactic Republic's new clone troopers were dispatched to rescue Obi-Wan Kenobi from Count Dooku, the leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Brand piloted a Delta-7 Aethersprite-class light interceptor with a strike team led by Mace Windu. Upon arrival, Brand joined Adi Gallia's Zeta Squadron to prevent Cavik Toth, a Dooku ally, from deploying the chemical weapon trihexalon on Geonosis. Brand and his wing intercepted Toth's fleet above Geonosis. The squadron destroyed Toth's Hex Deployers and defeated the Sabaoth Destroyers that Toth brought as reinforcements. Nym and allied ships arrived to support the squadron; with their help, Toth's plans were thwarted and Gallia was able to kill him.
Geonosis marked the beginning of the Clone Wars, and Brand became a Jedi General. Nine months after Geonosis, Brand and his clone troopers were sent to Bassadro, a mineral-rich world occupied by the Confederacy. The Battle of Bassadro lasted twelve days and ended when Brand led his battalion to the dormant volcanic ranges used as cover by Separatist forces commanded by Major Domb Treetor. Brand ordered concussion missile strikes against the rock formations, removing the Separatists' cover and creating shrapnel that decimated the mining village of Agao-Nir, destroying many battle droids and four hundred miners. Treetor surrendered, and Bassadro was retaken for the Republic.
In 19 BBY, Palpatine, the Supreme Chancellor, declared the Jedi enemies of the Republic and ordered their extermination, then transformed the Republic into the Galactic Empire with himself as Emperor. His new apprentice Darth Vader began hunting down the Jedi, and Brand was one of Vader's last targets. He fled in a ship, but Vader pursued him, and the two ships engaged in battle. Brand lost, and his vessel was destroyed near Ganathan Space, an isolated area of space within the Oktos Nebula. Brand's body was ruined, and the Jedi fell through the radioactive gas cloud in a pressure suit until the Ganathans, a race with limited space-faring capability who used steam-powered technology, rescued him. To save him, Brand was given a cyborg body of Ganathan design, with repulsorlifts replacing his legs and prostheses replacing his arms. Seeing that the Ganathan people needed a strong ruler, Brand became their king, attempting to uphold the Jedi creeds in his rule.
Brand believed Vader had killed all remaining Jedi and lost hope. With no outside contact, he remained unaware of Vader's eventual death or Palpatine's death and return in a clone body, and assumed Vader had become a powerful warlord in charge of many star systems.
In 10 ABY, another ship entered the gas cloud: the Millennium Falcon, a New Republic vessel carrying Han Solo, his wife Leia Organa Solo, his copilot Chewbacca, and Jedi Purge survivor Vima-Da-Boda, fleeing Boba Fett. Upon entering the cloud, the damaged Falcon nearly collided with the Ganathan battleship Robida Colossus, which towed them back to Ganath. Ganathan Tower Command contacted Brand, assuming he would be interested in the outsiders. Brand met them at the spaceport, and immediately recognizing Leia and Vima-Da-Boda as Jedi, ordered the guards to lower their weapons. Brand identified himself as a Jedi, and the two women confirmed it through the Force.
The Falcon was repaired, and Brand oversaw the replacement of its missiles with a Ganathan lightning gun, which he considered a superior weapon. Joining the crew for a test run, Brand spoke with his fellow Jedi about the changes since he had been away, including the fight between the New Republic and the reincarnated Palpatine. When he heard of Leia's brother Luke Skywalker, a Jedi who intended to rebuild a New Jedi Order, Brand decided to help restore the Jedi Knights. He contacted his men, leaving the Ganathan space fleet to Captain [Ussor] and having Ussor relay news of his departure to the council. The Falcon left Ganathan Space and entered the gas cloud, only to emerge in front of Fett's Slave I. The Falcon's lightning gun quickly disabled Slave I, sending it spiraling into the cloud as the Falcon made the hyperspace jump to New Alderaan.
On New Alderaan, Han showed Brand the New Republic's starships, including the X-wing and Y-wing starfighters. Soon after their arrival, Brand sighted an unidentified ship entering New Alderaan's atmosphere. For security, it did not broadcast comm signals, making it impossible to identify until it entered firing range. Brand rushed to warn Leia and Winter, but Leia sensed that it was Skywalker returning. Skywalker, with several Jedi recruits, informed them that their base at Da Soocha V had been destroyed by Palpatine's superweapon, the Galaxy Gun; believing the New Republic leaders dead, he pushed to continue training the next generation of Jedi, entrusting Jem and Rayf Ysanna, two Force-sensitive youths from Ossus, to Brand. Brand showed them telekinesis he had learned from Yoda by lifting rocks and teaching them to do the same. Skywalker later showed all the Jedi information he had retrieved from Ossus on battle meditation.
The Empire had learned the location of New Alderaan by interrogating New Republic Major Ntthan. A strike force led by Executor Xecr Nist was sent to retrieve the Force-sensitive children of the Solos, Jaina and Jacen. As Nist and other Dark Side Adepts converged on the building where the Solo children slept, Brand, Rayf Ysanna, and Kam Solusar intercepted them and engaged in a duel of lightsabers and Force prowess. As Brand fought multiple enemies, Solusar dueled Nist, and the attack was repelled, though the darksiders' secondary mission against Skywalker left Jem Ysanna dead. The victory was short-lived, as All Terrain Armored Transports soon joined the fight, destroying the New Republic settlement. The New Alderaan populace was evacuated, Brand and others escaping in the cargo vessel Starhook Ten. Their destination was Nespis VIII, an abandoned city in space. There, the New Alderaan evacuees rendezvoused with the escaped Republic leadership. Skywalker, Brand, Ysanna, and Solusar discussed their plight, and Brand encouraged the others not to give into despair. They were interrupted by the birth of Leia's third child, Anakin Solo.
Brand later oversaw the removal of the lightning gun from the Falcon, as Chewbacca wanted his missiles back. The Empire was betrayed to the Republic by an Imperial spy, a technician named Jenks. When Brand and Han confronted Jenks, he fired his blaster pistol, hitting Brand, but the Jedi was saved by his suit's backup system. Before an evacuation could be issued, a particle disintegrator warhead came out of hyperspace near Nespis VIII, fired by the Galaxy Gun. Fortunately, it was a dud, and the evacuation was pulled off before a second missile arrived and destroyed the city. Once in deep space, the Jedi and Republic leaders gathered to discuss their next phase of operations. Skywalker decided that he, Brand, Solusar, and Ysanna would go to Ossus to scout it as a possible location for a base, while the Solos and Vima-Da-Boda would find a safe hiding spot. The Jedi arrived in orbit of Ossus to find Imperial ships leaving; landing, the Jedi learned that the Empire had kidnapped members of the Ysanna tribe, and Solusar's sensor readings pointed them to Vjun, a world where Darth Vader had once owned a personal fortress called Bast Castle.
Arriving on Vjun, the Jedi sent Solusar's I-7 Howlrunner ahead on automated systems to crash into the wall of the castle, opening the way for the Jedi. Disembarking from Skywalker's ship, the Jedi Explorer II, the Jedi did battle with Nist and the dark side warriors who swarmed to meet them. Skywalker eventually ended the fight by using the Force to topple a gigantic statue of Vader onto the darksiders. They found the captured Ysanna frozen in carbonite; Nist, the only survivor among the Dark Jedi, told them that only Palpatine knew how to free them, and Skywalker was determined to find the Emperor and end the fight against him for good.
In 11 ABY, Palpatine was on his way to the Onderon system in pursuit of the Solos. With his clone bodies deteriorating, the Emperor needed a new vessel to contain his soul and decided on Anakin Solo. Though the Solos escaped an ambush by Palpatine's flagship, the Eclipse II, near Onderon, they had to land the Falcon on the surface of the planet, while the Eclipse II took orbit around the world. Chewbacca and Vima-Da-Boda later left Onderon in the Falcon, hoping to serve as a decoy while the Solos took refuge in the Onderonian wilderness. Brand and the other Jedi returned to the Republic fleet transport Vindicator, where they met Chewbacca and Vima-Da-Boda and learned of Palpatine's whereabouts. A fleet was assembled to hit the Eclipse II and bring down the Emperor.
The fleet arrived at Onderon and engaged the Emperor's flagship in battle. When Solusar sensed that Palpatine was not aboard the vessel, Skywalker, Brand, Vima-Da-Boda, and Ysanna descended to the planet's surface in the Jedi Explorer II, certain that he would have gone there to find the Solos. They landed at Iziz Starport and soon located Palpatine's shuttle. The Jedi were shortly joined by Han Solo, who had returned from the Kira Fortress in the wilderness where his wife and children were in hiding to meet Skywalker. The party assaulted the shuttle, fighting stormtroopers and members of the Emperor's Royal Guard, and entered it to find not Palpatine, but one of his darksiders serving as a decoy. Solo realized that Palpatine had gone to the fortress, and they set off in pursuit in the Jedi Explorer II.
Brand and his companions were not fast enough, however; Palpatine had reached the fortress before they did and attacked Leia, attempting to take her child Anakin. In the midst of the struggle, Brand charged in, informing Skywalker, who was following him, that Palpatine was there. Palpatine hit Brand with a blast of Force lightning, grievously injuring Brand and knocking him to the ground. Rayf Ysanna struck down one of Palpatine's darksider companions, T'iaz, but was in turn killed by another blast of lightning from the Emperor. However, the second attack weakened Palpatine, a fact that Brand made Skywalker aware of. Skywalker gave Palpatine a chance to surrender, but the Emperor instead charged for Anakin Solo, attempting to take the child's body to hold his own soul. Before he could reach Anakin, Han Solo shot the Emperor with his blaster.
As his life ebbed away, Palpatine's essence detached itself from his physical form and gravitated towards the youngling. Regaining command of his repulsorlifts, Brand propelled himself towards Anakin, intercepting the child and shielding him with the power of the light side of the Force. Seizing Palpatine's spirit, Brand made it his prisoner within his own being. Consumed by the darkness that resided within him, Brand perceived the despair and fury emanating from Palpatine as he met his end. In his final moments, Palpatine, speaking through the Jedi, delivered a curse upon the Skywalker bloodline. Brand then said his last words and passed away, carrying Palpatine's spirit with him, where it would be eternally held prisoner by all the Jedi who had become one with the Force, ensuring he could never be resurrected.
The following day, Skywalker created a recording for Anakin Solo, detailing the events surrounding Palpatine's return and ultimate defeat. He concluded by urging Anakin to remember Brand and the Ysannas, acknowledging the sacrifices they had made to guarantee his long life and growth. Subsequently, Jedi Knight Tam Azur-Jamin immortalized Brand in his scholarly work, Droids, Technology and the Force: A Clash of Phenomena.
In his younger years, Brand possessed a nature characterized by vanity and self-assurance. Brand's motivation for assuming the mantle of kingship stemmed from his desire to establish robust leadership among the Ganathans. Upon learning that those with a strong connection to the Force could effectively govern those with less power, Brand endeavored to do so, with the intention of ruling justly. Despite the Jedi Order's destruction, Brand was committed to upholding justice in accordance with its principles. Azur-Jamin, in his essay, declared Brand to be the most equitable of all monarchs, citing him as evidence that cybernetic enhancements did not diminish one's humanity. Brand's own people regarded him as a man of great integrity, largely due to his status as a Jedi.
When the opportunity to reestablish the Jedi presented itself, Brand embraced it wholeheartedly. Amidst the attacks targeting the Jedi and the New Republic, as well as the loss of many of his comrades, Brand maintained a positive outlook, advising his fellow Jedi to resist succumbing to despair, emphasizing that such a path would lead to the dark side. Brand tirelessly fought for the well-being of the Jedi and the Solo children, ultimately giving his life to safeguard Anakin Solo. Luke Skywalker held him in high esteem, considering him a hero and a Jedi of greater stature than himself.
As he aged, Brand's connection to the Force deepened. As a Jedi Knight, he demonstrated proficiency in telekinesis and underwent training in the art of lightsaber combat. He possessed the unique ability to capture and contain Palpatine's spirit, a skill that was unknown to Luke Skywalker at the time. Furthermore, he could mentally control his robot body parts and employ the light side to shield a child from the Emperor's soul. He possessed extensive knowledge of technology, encompassing both starships and cybernetics, and took pride in the capabilities of Ganathan technology. Brand was also capable of piloting the Delta-7 Aethersprite-class light interceptor.
Following his reconstruction, Brand's body was predominantly mechanical. His suit, a fusion of Ganathan technology and his own contemporary advancements, served as a replacement for his damaged physical form. Its spherical design lacked legs and relied on repulsorlifts for support, which he controlled through mental commands. While he was unable to sit while wearing it, the suit was equipped with magnetic clamps that allowed it to be secured to a bulkhead when a ship was in transit. The suit was capable of sustaining Brand's life on planets with extreme temperatures, even enabling him to survive for up to a year in the vacuum of space without sustenance. It incorporated backup systems that enabled Brand to withstand blaster fire. However, it was vulnerable to temporary incapacitation by Force lightning. Both of Brand's original arms had been replaced with prosthetics, one of which housed a built-in lightsaber, and he could deploy two additional arms when necessary. The suit also featured integrated sensors that could detect lifeforms and even determine their gender. Additionally, Brand's suit could interface with a ship's targeting computer.
Empatojayos Brand was conceived for the Star Wars: Dark Empire II comic book series, by Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy, making his debut in the fourth issue, which was released on March 21, 1995. The character reappeared in the sequel series Star Wars: Empire's End and met his demise in the second issue of that series, published on November 28 of the same year. Brand was also featured in the audio drama adaptations of Dark Empire II and Empire's End, with Joe Hacker providing his voice.
On December 8 of 1999, a character bearing a striking resemblance to Brand made a cameo appearance in the background of the marriage scene in the second issue of the comic series Star Wars: Union, which took place eight years after the character's passing. With the advent of the Star Wars prequel trilogy films, Brand's backstory was expanded to encompass that era, although no visual representation exists of the character as he appeared before his disfigurement. In the 2002 video game Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter, Brand's name is associated with one of the titular Jedi starfighters during the game's final mission, but the character is not explicitly mentioned or given any dialogue.