I'm the ranking officer of the Third Imperial Volunteer Brigade. Or what's left of it, anyway. Major Pathel was killed during the Empire's bombing of Labor Valley.
—Captain Ferdinus Nelchiro during the Battle of Corellia
Balankin Pathel was an officer in the Imperial Army of the Sith Empire. During the Great Galactic War, Pathel was captured and taken prisoner by the Galactic Republic in the Minos Cluster. After spending several years in the prison on Belsavis, the Imperial agreed to collaborate with defector Moff Axlin Ceptor, joining his anti-Sith Imperial government-in-exile. As an officer, Pathel was promoted to the rank of major and given command of the 3rd Imperial Volunteer Infantry Brigade, part of the 1st Imperial Volunteer Infantry Division, which was a unit of Imperial defectors in the Republic Military.
Pathel fought on Ord Mantell, Balmorra, and Taris before being deployed at the Battle of Corellia. There, the 3rd brigade was sent to aid Corellian rebels in Labor Valley. However, their unit was overwhelmed when the Empire bombed the area, killing a large portion of the rebels and Imperial defectors fighting there. Major Pathel was among the dead, and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Valor, a prestigious Republic decoration. The 1st Imperial Volunteer Infantry Division went on to fight throughout the whole battle, and, with Republic forces, successfully drove the Empire off of the planet.