Elan Drex
Admiral Elan Drex (Annuli 3338 – ?) is a legendary Human–Prosian hybrid officer and founding commander of the **Scavenger Fleet**. Formerly captain of both the **SS Rona (AS-1052)** and the **SS Scavenger DX-1017**, Drex became one of the most respected figures of the post-Tonan reconstruction era. He is best known for defying an Alliance withdrawal order to save the Altair Colony, rebuilding a ship from scrapyard remains, and later guiding the formation of the Prosian Merchant Corps. His life exemplifies the Prosian ethic of *Nilita*—Flow through renewal.
Early Life
Elan Drex was born near the Alliance ground-support base outside **Prosiana City** on Prose. His father, **Paul Drex**, was a Human Alliance navigation officer; his mother, **Resikkah Rodin Drex**, was a half-Prosian communications officer serving in the Alliance medical corps. With both parents frequently deployed, Elan and his brother **James** were raised by their **Prosian grandmother**, who taught them discipline, patience, and the sacred principle of Flow (*Nilita*). His younger sister, **Rochelle Drex**, later became a cultural liaison on Earth.
As a child, Elan spent hours near the Alliance flight yards watching supply craft and Transit Windows operate. He combined this curiosity with Prosian harmonic reasoning, leading him to study **phase-resonance engineering** and **astrodynamics**—fields he would later merge in his command career.
Alliance Career
Drex joined the **Alliance Reconstruction Corps**, rising quickly through technical and command divisions. He was eventually given command of the **SS Rona (AS-1052)**, a mid-range escort assigned to protect colonies near the Altair system. Colleagues described him as a “captain who solved with compassion before strategy.”
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The Altair Incident
During a Tonan assault on Altair Colony, the Rona engaged a Tonan destroyer threatening civilian habitats. When **Alliance Command ordered a withdrawal**, Captain Drex refused, knowing that compliance would leave the colony defenseless. With weapons offline and shields collapsing, he made a final, desperate choice: to **ram the Tonan destroyer**.
He ordered the crew to open a **Transit Window** to the colony surface and evacuated seconds before impact. From the ground, he and his officers watched the Rona collide with the enemy ship, destroying both vessels and saving thousands of lives.
The Alliance court-martialed Drex for disobeying orders, forcing him into **early retirement** despite his crew’s support. Years later, the incident was reclassified as **“Valor Under Fire,”** and the Alliance formally apologized—acknowledging his sacrifice as an act of heroism under impossible conditions.
Drex often recalled the moment in dreams, saying: > “I still see her engines light before the dark—my ship giving me one last lesson about choice.”
Note: In some of Drex’s later dreams and recollections, the events of the Altair Incident appeared to occur aboard the Valiant Horizon rather than the Rona. Prosian harmonic scholars and Alliance psychologists attribute this to trauma-blended memory—intensified by the recent loss of the Valiant Horizon and Drex’s unresolved survivor's guilt.
The Scavenger Project
After his forced retirement, Drex joined forces with **Engineer Vek Tollin**, a former crewmate from the Rona. Pooling their retirement funds, they purchased hulls from two decommissioned ships and an **experimental Phase Drive** originally designed by **Dr. Meras**. The drive had been sold on the open market after the Alliance abandoned the project; Tollin acquired it for their new vessel.
Together, they constructed the **SS Scavenger DX-1017** in orbit above Prose, personally assembling and calibrating each system. When the rebuilt drive came online, Drex wrote in his log: > “It wasn’t steel that woke—it was forgiveness that remembered.”
The **Prosian Registry** recorded the designation **DX-1017** (*D* = Cargo/Hauling class, *X* = Experimental, *1017* = registry number). The name *Scavenger* honored both the materials and the mission: to recover what war and neglect had cast aside.
The Phoenix from the Scrapyard
In its maiden voyage, the Scavenger uncovered the devastation caused by the Tonan Phase Weapon—a resonance field that caused catastrophic neurological collapse. Drex led a multi-species team including **Kessa Rin**, who built the **Counter-Phase Array** aboard the ship to neutralize the weapon’s pulse. The victory became known as *The Phoenix Incident*, cementing the Scavenger as a symbol of renewal and compassion.
The Meras Coil Overhaul
Before the Tonan Civil War, **Dr. Meras** overhauled the Scavenger’s drive, installing **new crystalline field coils**. The upgrade increased speed and field stability, allowing extended travel through Nilita’fen (the Flow of Light). These coils became the template for the first **production-series Phase Drives** manufactured at Markasisa in Lerazan Province.
Command Philosophy
Elan Drex’s philosophy united Prosian flow ethics with Alliance pragmatism. He believed command was a form of stewardship, often reminding his officers: > “Power is not strength. Understanding is.”
He refused to arm the Scavenger beyond defensive systems, arguing that technology’s highest purpose was to protect and to heal. His writings on moral command were later codified in the **Covenant of Flow**, an interstellar treaty governing ethical phase-technology use.
Admiral of the Prosian Merchant Corps
Following the Tonan Civil War, Drex was invited to oversee the unification of Prosian and Alliance merchant operations. His reinstatement came with full honors and the title **Admiral of the Prosian Merchant Corps**, where he commanded the **Scavenger Fleet**—a network of exploration and humanitarian ships based on his original vessel’s design.
Under his leadership, the Corps adopted his motto *From wreckage, renewal* as its creed. He is remembered not as a career officer, but as a man who turned exile into creation.
Family
- **Father:** Paul Drex – Human Alliance navigation officer
- **Mother:** Resikkah Rodin Drex – Half-Prosian Alliance communications officer
- **Brother:** James Drex – Alliance medical researcher; later discovers the neural restorative properties of Terget in *Story 2: The Healing Stars*
- **Sister:** Rochelle Drex – Cultural liaison on Earth
- **Grandmother:** Unnamed Prosian matriarch who raised Elan and James near Prosiana City
Legacy
Admiral Drex’s legacy continues in the **Scavenger Fleet**, the **Covenant of Flow**, and in every vessel that bears the phoenix emblem. His life bridged two species, two philosophies, and two eras of war and peace—proving that courage need not destroy to prevail.
Known Traits
- **Species:** Human–Prosian hybrid (¼ Prosian)
- **Height:** 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
- **Hair:** Black with silver streaks
- **Eyes:** Grey-green (Prosian tint)
- **Languages:** Alliance Standard, Prosiana
- **Temperament:** Analytical, empathetic, decisive
- **Beliefs:** Flow through Renewal (*Nilita fen Rodin*)
- **Hobbies:** Circuit sculpture, harmonic composition, field calibration, business
Quotes
> “We’re not rebuilding ships—we’re rebuilding meaning.” > “Power without conscience is the collapse of the Flow.” > “I’d rather answer for disobedience than for silence.” > “To command is to listen to the weight of every life aboard.” > “Every rebirth begins with wreckage.”
Trivia
- The Altair Incident remains required study in Alliance ethics training as “Case File 1052: Valor Under Fire.”
- His admiral’s insignia includes a stylized phoenix, symbolizing the rebirth of command through service.
- Dr. Meras’s inscription on the Scavenger’s coils reads: *“For Elan—may the Flow forgive our failures.”*
- The registry **DX-1017** mirrors **1701**, a nod to ancient Earth starship lore.
- A fragment of the Rona’s hull was mounted beside the helm of the Scavenger for the remainder of his career.
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- Though the Altair Incident occurred aboard the Rona, Drex’s traumatic dreams sometimes merged it with the recent loss of the Valiant Horizon, reflecting unresolved survivor’s guilt.
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