Davits Draven

Davits Draven was a human male who served as a general in the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War. He was stationed at the Great Temple on the moon Yavin 4 when Jyn Erso was given the task of stealing the Death Star plans by Mon Mothma, a leader of the Rebel Alliance. Extraction Team Bravo, the team responsible for Jyn's break out of a labor camp on the planet Wobani, was under Draven's command.

Biography

Early life

Davits Draven was born on Pendarr III. During the Clone Wars, Draven served in the Galactic Republic's Military Intelligence. During this time, he never met any of the Jedi Generals in command of the Clone Army. Draven routinely worked with the Republic's strategists, fleet commanders, and other officers that would become part of the Empire's Military.^[1]

Age of the Empire

The rebellion

With an urgent drive to stop the Empire before it grew too powerful, Draven joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic^[1] before its formal creation. He stayed in contact with Senator Mon Mothma,^[8] who was working to bring various cells together under a single banner.^[9] Draven was also trained as a field operative by Airen Cracken. After recruiting him into the Rebellion,^[1] Draven became the case officer for agent Cassian Jeron Andor.^[8]

Prior to the outbreak of the Galactic Civil War, Draven carried out surgical strikes against the Empire, conducting sabotage, theft, and assassinations that earned unglamorous but necessary victories for the Alliance. He became a trusted officer, earning Mon Mothma's respect despite his no-nonsense attitude proving difficult at times, and served as a general and as the leading Rebel Alliance Intelligence Service officer on Yavin 4 in Cracken's absence. He typically caused Alliance High Command meetings to halt with his blunt speech and pragmatic views, and it often fell to Draven to make unpopular and difficult decisions.^[1]

Draven worked on gathering information on the various resistance factions throughout the galaxy. He received information on the Spectres from Ahsoka Tano and he provided a summary on the major factions to Mon Mothma. He was directed by Mon Mothma to make contact with the criminal underworld and other factions in the galaxy to assess their sentiment to the Rebel alliance. Draven tasked Cassian Jeron Andor with the mission, and Andor reported that the Bounty Hunters' Guild was unlikely to be an ally as the Empire's deeper pockets made the Guild more apt to work with them. Draven relayed the information to Mon Mothma, but suggested the Alliance reach out to the Mining Guild who would be more likely to give them safe passage.^[10]

Yavin general

In 2 BBY,^[11] Draven was stationed at the Great Temple on Yavin 4, where he oversaw various Alliance personnel. When the rebel Cassian Andor, a former member of the rebel Axis network that had joined the Alliance, attempted to take his U-wing on a personal mission, Draven intervened to shut him down. Although the general stated that the ship was due to be fitted with hyper-comms, Andor shrugged off the notion and said that he would return soon. Draven affirmed that Andor could not come and go as he pleased, but Andor was also resolute in his stance. Draven warned him that the day he would have to commit to the rebellion or leave was drawing near, which Andor noted before he flew away.^[12]

Draven later sent the rebel Vel Sartha to speak with the rebel Bix Caleen, who was Andor's partner, with the intent of learning if Andor was someone that they could count on. Sartha communicated that the Alliance saw Andor as someone with leadership qualities that the rebellion had invested a lot in, but Caleen reassured Sartha that he would be there when they needed him.^[12]

Andor would soon return to the base, having visited the planet Ghorman, where the Empire had perpetrated a massacre of the Ghorman people, and the planet Coruscant, where he had collaborated with his old Axis network to extract Senator Mon Mothma from the Imperial Senate following her remarks on the massacre. Mothma, who had been funding and supporting the Alliance for years, would be transported to Yavin 4 by Gold Squadron, a fact Draven would become aware of. Assisting his injured friend Wilmon Paak, Andor headed towards the infirmary alongside Paak's partner Dreena despite Draven questioning who she was.^[13]

Draven would later brief Andor on the success of Mothma's rescue and her imminent arrival on Yavin. Andor would also tell the general that he had recovered an Imperial KX-series security droid from Ghorman to be repaired.^[13]

Critical information

In 1 BBY, Draven was once again upset after the news that Andor had left on an unauthorized mission along with Ruescott Melshi and K-2SO, the KX-series droid that now was Andor's partner-in-crime. Learning that the intel Andor was acting on had been the result of Paak, who had clued him in to the fact that the Axis network leadership Luthen Rael and Kleya Marki had sent a coded distress signal to Paak, Draven confined Paak to his quarters. Although Draven was trying to prevent Yavin 4 from being discovered, Paak retorted by saying that the Alliance owed a lot to Rael, as the secret rebel leader had been a significant contributor to Mothma's early efforts.^[14]

Draven was later present with Senators Mon Mothma and Bail Organa as they were on holo-call with Saw Gerrera, trying to warn him against raiding Imperial transports on Jedha and how he only be making more trouble for both the Partisans and the Rebel Alliance. Unfortunately, Gerrera brushed aside her warnings, accusing Mothma is sending spies and infiltrators against him, and was convinced that everyone was his enemy, before terminating the connection. Organa then labeled Gerrera as insane, but Draven confirmed that the Partisans' activities on Jedha were active for over a year.^[15]

Subsequently, Lieutenant Poyle entered to inform them that the missing U-Wing was coming in hot and requesting permission to land. Suspecting that Andor had returned, Draven joined Admiral Raddus in the command center as the Mon Calamari scrambled X-Wings to escort the rogue U-Wing. Draven then headed a platoon of rebel troopers to meet with Andor's team and confirmed that his party of four were alone, before heeding Andor's request to get an injured Marki to a doctor. After having Melshi detained, he ordered K-2SO to power down the ship and then power down himself. As Andor insisted he had important news, Draven warned that it had better been worth going rogue.^[15]

Draven brought Captain Andor before the rebel leadership composed of himself, Raddus, Senators Mothma, Organa, Nower Jebel and Tynnra Pamlo. Andor admitted to having gone to save Luthen Rael, only to learn that he was already dead, and found Marki instead; Draven informed Pamlo of Marki's present status when asked. Andor then went on to explain that Rael met with a high-ranking source within the Imperial Security Bureau yesterday and told him the Emperor's alleged energy project was the cover for a creation of a weapon, and that it was connected to the Ghorman Massacre, the kyber mining on Jedha and an Imperial engineer named Galen Erso. though he did not know the details; Draven sternly cautioned Andor against showing any more indignant responses to the senators' skepticism. Organa was convinced that the ISB fed Rael false information and that his own paranoid and seclusive nature made his information suspect. The council decided to wait until Generals Dodonna and Merrick returned the next night, despite Andor's insistence they investigate the Empire's weapon, before he was ordered confined to quarters. As Draven rose to escort him out, Andor requested permission to visit the infirmary, which Mothma quickly granted.^[15]

As he was escorting Andor, he informed him that his Partisan contact, Tivik, had sent three urgent messages from Kafrene in the past ten hours. This lead Andor to conclude that Gerrera was Jedha and he asked if he was just going to sit on this information. Draven reminded he was in no position to be making suggestions and advised him to make his visit with Marki short.^[15]

Returning to the command center, Draven was informed by Private Tenzigo Weems that they've received another message from Tivik, insisting on meeting with Andor and only him. After a moment of consideration, Draven ordered him to call Tivik back. Afterwards, Draven released Melshi and Kaytoo and brought them back to Andor's hut. He then spoke with Andor privately, explaining that Tivik was going to be on Kafrene until tomorrow that he would only meet with him. After confirming that Andor struggles to trust the Partisan, he followed-up by telling him of the Imperial Star Destroyer over Jedha and that they tried to convinced Gerrera to de-escalate his activities. He then noted with all the recent events, if it was a trap, it was a brilliant way to spring it. Afterwards, Draven joined Mothma in speaking to Organa to convince him to let Andor meet Tivik.^[15]

Draven soon learned that an Imperial pilot named Bodhi Rook had defected on Jedha and had information related to Galen Erso and a possible planet-killer superweapon, which he reported to Cracken. Draven then oversaw the mission he dubbed Operation Fracture in an attempt to piece together the puzzle of the scientist Galen Walton Erso's involvement with the Empire's Death Star project. Although some in the rebel council believed reports of the superweapon to be a ploy, Draven's firsthand experience with Imperial megalomania led him to believe the plausibility of the so-called "planet-killer."^[1]

Stealing the Death Star plans

Draven requested permission to have an undercover agent on Vulpter slice into the Arakyd Industries data node to get confirmation. When it was successful, he reported back to Cracken with the details. While the Rebel Council debated on how to proceed, Draven received a document from Haxen Delto speculating about a connection between Geonosis and the Imperial superweapon. While waiting for a mission, he forwarded a report authored by Harisha Gulan to Mon Mothma about the security droid K-2SO. Mon Mothma directed Draven and Cracken to find possible leads on the Imperial superweapon by looking at supply lines, laborers, and possible orbital construction sites.^[10]

Draven oversaw the rescue of Galen's daughter, Jyn Erso, to help with the mission to locate Galen Erso. He had Ruescott Melshi put together a plan for breaking her out of an Imperial labor camp which Draven then forwarded to Mon Mothma.^[10] Meeting and speaking with her, Draven was not impressed with her defiance. After the briefing, he sent a notice to Mon Mothma strongly urging that she reconsider involving Erso in the mission. In Draven's mind, Erso was a Rebel deserter and a criminal who showed no loyalty to anyone except herself. Mothma overruled him, arguing that, besides them needing her to identify her father, Jyn Erso was much like other Rebels who had lost their way and deserved a second chance.^[16] He put together a mission and team for assaulting Saw Gerrera's fortress in case Jyn Erso was unable to get the job done.^[10] Nonetheless, he ordered Captain Cassian Jeron Andor to kill Galen Erso if he had the opportunity, countermanding his initial orders to extract the Imperial scientist for questioning.^[4]

As Operation Fracture got underway, Draven received a communication from Andor confirming the Destruction of Jedha City by the Death Star. The general reinforced the need to kill Erso, and sent a squadron of starfighters to his location on Eadu with assassination orders. However, Andor called in to inform Draven that Alliance operatives would be caught in the line of fire, but by that time the fighters were already engaged. The strike led to Erso's death, and Andor's team returned to Yavin 4. There, Jyn rallied the rebel council, and her Rogue One squad led a mission to Scarif to obtain the Death Star plans.^[4]

The Rebels rise

Following the Battle of Yavin and the assault on Sunspot Prison, Draven was placed in charge of the interrogation of Grakkus the Hutt after Alliance forces intercepted his prison transport vessel. Smuggler and rebel ally Han Solo was recruited to transport Grakkus, and it was Solo who suggested that instead of a typical interrogation, that they trick the Hutt into revealing his power base. Draven communicated over the radio to inform Solo and his first mate Chewbacca that they were sending X-wings to investigate the base on Teth.^[17]

Later, he was present at the Mako-Ta Space Docks, and was part of high-level briefings. He was critical of Leia Organa's plan to free King Lee-Char.^[18] During the Battle of Mako-Ta, Draven and other rebel forces accompanied Organa to sneak aboard the Executor in order to steal codes that disabled their rebel fleet. Organa was able to escape, while Draven and the other rebels held Darth Vader and Imperial forces back. After all the rebels were killed, Draven was killed by Vader when his neck was snapped through the ways of the Force.^[7]

Personality and traits

Davits Draven was a human man with blond hair, blue eyes and light skin.^[4] A veteran of the Clone Wars as part of Republic Intelligence,^[1] Draven represented the Rebel Alliance's Intelligence. He and his operatives worked in the shadows performing unglamorous activities such as sabotage, infiltration and assassination, believing them to be necessary responses to the Galactic Empire's cruelty and power, thus becoming a person who made no apology for his methods.^[3] He was vengeful and had something of a sadist in his personality, since before he died he desired to see Queen Trios paying for her treason and expressed that it would be wonderful to see Darth Vader burn alive.^[7]

Draven demonstrated a no-nonsense and difficult attitude sometimes, often sharing his stubborn opinions,^[1] like when he critiziced Princess Leia Organa's plan to free King Lee-Char from his imprisonment.^[18] But though he mostly answered with aggressiveness, what bugged Draven secretly was that Jyn Erso got to become a hero and while he got to become the guy who was wrong. During his last moments aboard the Executor, Draven confided Leia his personal feelings and she responded that she would have liked to become friends with him. Remaining at the Executor to save time for Organa to escape made Draven pay with his life, but the gruff general was able to die acknowledging that every second he and his men bought would save the day, thus becoming the hero he always wanted to be.^[7]

Behind the scenes

Development

Davits Draven is portrayed by actor and lifelong Star Wars fan Alistair Petrie.^[19] Draven was first revealed in the first teaser trailer for the Star Wars Anthology Series film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story on April 7, 2016.^[20] The physical similarities between Draven and Agent Kallus, a character from the animated television series Star Wars Rebels, led to a popular fan theory suggesting that this character was Kallus, and that the Imperial Security Bureau operative had defected from the Galactic Empire. However, Rogue One director Gareth Edwards confirmed in Entertainment Weekly, in a story from October 15, 2016, that the character's name is Draven.^[21] Petrie later returned as Draven in Andor Season 2 and celebrated it as some of the finest material he had worked with.^[22]

Continuity

Final stand

Originally as established by Star Wars: The Rebel Files, Davits Draven was alive prior to the Battle of Endor.^[10] Due to a degree of miscommunication, notes were missed during production of Star Wars: The Rebel Files,^[24] Star Wars (2015) 54, had Draven dying aboard the Executor.^[7] Matt Martin specified that for the time being, the comic is the definitive story for Draven.^[25]

Star Wars lead writer Kieron Gillen was the one who came up with killing off Draven, as he thought about how the heroes rose through the ranks so quickly.^[26] Petrie is aware of his character's demise in Star Wars 54 and interprets it as Draven's final sacrifice after a life of conflict. To Petrie, Draven had a journey that culminated in his final stand.^[23]

Aiding in rescuing Han Solo

The following section details his overridden involvement in the rescue of Han Solo from Star Wars: The Rebel Files. Davits Draven sent a report to General Airen Cracken on Leia Organa's rescue of Han Solo in, asking if she was running her own operation. He stated in the report that Boba Fett was one of the best bounty hunters in the galaxy, that Jabba Desilijic Tiure was untouchable, and that carbon freeze had low survival rates. Draven continued in the report, stating that his department was still pulling reports for Organa despite his response to the inquiries.^[10]

Draven listed several requests from just that morning, which included architectural specs for Jabba's Palace on file with the Mos Eisley Territorial Planning Authority, eyewitness descriptions of the palace interior collected by Tac-Comm from interviews with musicians and entertainers under the transcripts "Rystall" and "Rappertunie," dossiers on prominent courtiers (with the largest datafile being on Ephant Mon and being composed of twenty-two other partial bios), 18-month log of Jabba's movements offworld and in the Dune Sea, blueprints for the Khetanna, and Ebenn Q3 Baobab's Easy Ubese Phrase Book.^[10]

Draven finished by stating that he couldn't deny a request from a senior member of Alliance High Command, but he wasn't willing to send his agents on a suicide mission. Draven, however, also pointed out that Organa hadn't asked for any such help, and she hadn't asked Pitt Onoran's SpecForce personnel, and concluded with asking again if Organa was running her own operation.^[10]

Cassian & K-2SO Special

The comic Rogue One - Cassian & K-2SO Special 1 mentions Draven,^[27] however the events were later contradicted by the Andor episode "Who Are You?."^[28] According to the comic, at some point Draven was approached by Andor about a mission to Wecacoe to access an captured Imperial warship that had been fallen into private hands. Andor hoped to recover Imperial security protocols from the wreckage. Draven suggested he take Kertas and Rismor with him on the mission.^[27]

Appearances

Sources

Notes and references

External links

• Rogue One director obliterates popular fan theory about mysterious Rebel leader by Breznican, Anthony on Entertainment Weekly (October 15, 2016) (backup link archived on October 11, 2019) (First identified as Draven)