What kept Tarkin loyal to the emperor?

[wautd]

Here we got a man with the deadliest weapon of the galaxy under his command and, looking at Alderaan, not to scary to use it.

What kept him not to use this weapons to become emperor himself? Was his loyalty withouth question, was he just not interested in being emperor or was it just an impossible to do?

[Currald]

Maybe he had ambitious plans, but they were cut short by a certain Skywalker? We'll never know.
Of course, maybe that's why Darth Vader was on the DS, to keep Tarkin in line.

[wautd]

Of course, maybe that's why Darth Vader was on the DS, to keep Tarkin in line.

It was under my impression Tarkin overranked Vader (he ordered him to hold back when he was busy forcechoking an officer). I can be wrong however

[Ghost Rider]

Actually it was Vader. Essenetially the Emperor put him there as a watchdog. Tarkin gets out of line...he dies painfully.

I mean would you trust a man with your nasitest weapon, and has ambition?

[consequences]

Well, the DS1 could only kill about one major planet a day. So in four years time, it could only kill 1460 planets, and thats more than enough time to have another DS or two(or more) constructed to hunt down the renegade.
Then there's the fact that apparently the Imperial Navy could muster more firepower than it, if the Empire was willing to forego most of local security for a few days, it would be possible to bring it down.
Or there might just be an override code for it like the Emperor has for every capital ship in his navy.

[Jalinth]

Based on some of the EU books, the Emperor had "hard wired" access to ISD computers. I'd be very surprised to see that he didn't have similar access to the Death Star. I'd expect either it would be a "blow up now" signal or (most likely), drop the shields and disable the superlaser. Possibly disabling the turbo lasers as well (to minimize losses). At that point, the Emperor's fleet can chop it to bits.

I agree that Vader was the watchdog for Tarkin in the near term. I wonder what the long term solution would have been (multiple spies/assassins in the upper ranks, fanatically loyal stormtroopers and commanders able to seize the station if Tarkin rebelled, political commissars with their own troops, etc...)?.

[Ted C]

Tarkin was in command of the Death Star, and I suspect it amused the Emperor to place his apprentice under the authority of a "mundane", but part of Vader's job probably was to squash any coup thoughts that might get into the heads of Tarkin and his staff.

Tarkin couldn't have turned the Death Star against the Emperor by himself, of course. He would need the cooperation of numerous other officers on the station. The Emperor might well have had many spies on the station prepared to act in the event of rebellious behavior on the part of Tarkin or any other high-ranking officer.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

Of course, maybe that's why Darth Vader was on the DS, to keep Tarkin in line.

It was under my impression Tarkin overranked Vader (he ordered him to hold back when he was busy forcechoking an officer). I can be wrong however

As Supreme Commander, Lord Darth Vader technically outranks everyone in the Imperial service. I saw it as Vader more giving into Tarkin's request rather than obeying an order. Vader could have killed Tagge if he really wanted to, but since the Death Star was Tarkin's "ship," he dropped the subject.

[Bertie Wooster]

Besides Vader being placed as the Imperial Emissary,

I figured that Tarkin was put in command of the DS because the Emperor, in all his wisdom, KNEW that Tarkin would be loyal.

According to WEG, Tarkin came up with the "Tarkin Doctrine" which demonstrated his understanding and loyalty to the New Order, and it was his creation of the Tarkin Doctrin which led the Emperor to chose him to implement the Tarkin Doctrine by creating the Death Star.

AFAIK, there was no indication that Tarkin had any ambition to displace the Emperor and he seemed quite comfortable dealing with Darth Vader.

[Illuminatus Primus]

Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith.

[Illuminatus Primus]

As Supreme Commander, Lord Darth Vader technically outranks everyone in the Imperial service. I saw it as Vader more giving into Tarkin's request rather than obeying an order. Vader could have killed Tagge if he really wanted to, but since the Death Star was Tarkin's "ship," he dropped the subject.

Lord Vader was not Supreme Commander during A New Hope.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

First, I was wrong. According to the script, it was Motti Vader choked, not Tagge. Always get those two mixed up...

Really? Sorry, my mistake. Did he become SC shortly before ESB?

Anyway, I think what I suggested might still apply: as Emissary, Vader wasn't under Tarkin's command, nor was he compelled to obey if Tarkin ever gave him any orders.

[Illuminatus Primus]

Tarkin was in charge of the Death Star because it was his baby, built by him, designed under his auspices, etc.

[neoolong]

Here we got a man with the deadliest weapon of the galaxy under his command and, looking at Alderaan, not to scary to use it.

What kept him not to use this weapons to become emperor himself? Was his loyalty withouth question, was he just not interested in being emperor or was it just an impossible to do?

That assumes that everyone on board would just follow Tarkin, or enough would that they could effectively take over the whole Death Star.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

That is a good point. Are the means to deal with officer treason in the Imperial ranks known?

[Lord Pounder]

According to Truse At Bakura there is at least one intelligence agent on every ships who's sole purpose is to prevent the ship being captured. On a station the size of the DS i'd say there where many such agents.

[YT300000]

That is a good point. Are the means to deal with officer treason in the Imperial ranks known?

Well, the RA-7 droids given to every officer where all equipped with built-in spy equipment to watch their owners and report anything out of order.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

That's not what I'm asking about. What I'm wondering is if the Empire had any policies such as the second in command having the ability to relieve their superior officer from command if they think they are no longer compotent or display treasonous behavior, such as by sending them to the brig or executing them.

[YT300000]

That's not what I'm asking about. What I'm wondering is if the Empire had any policies such as the second in command having the ability to relieve their superior officer from command if they think they are no longer compotent or display treasonous behavior, such as by sending them to the brig or executing them.

*skims through the Imperial Sourcebook*

I can't find anything, but given Palpatine's well-merited paranoia, it's probable, although I've never heard of any such policies.

[Solauren]

Simple: FEAR was the Emperor's control of most lower ranked officers


Imagine this:

Captain of an ISD: You know what, Screw palpatine, we rule this planet
(Two Stormtroopers talk to each other)
#1: Hey bob, if we go along with Captain-BigEgo and the ISD is captured, were dead for obeying him, you know that?
#2: Good point
(Stormtroopers gun down the Captain)

As for Tarkin
We've seen alot of security features on Imperial ships. Hard wired access codes, security/intelligence plants, spydroids, and remote activated self-destructs (okay, that wasn't on a ship and it was by guards pretending to be the emperor, and it was a KJA novel, but still)

There were also the Prophets of the Dark Side, the Secret Order of the Emperor, the Emperor's Hands and the Imperial Inquisitors.
Not to mention Lord Vader

Combine that with the loyalty that Tarkin had shown in the past, the rewards he had gained for that loyalty, and the Emperor's power to control minds....

[Kazuaki Shimazaki]

It was under my impression Tarkin overranked Vader (he ordered him to hold back when he was busy forcechoking an officer). I can be wrong however

Does it matter? If Tarkin rebelled, I bet Lord Vader would have choked him to death whatever his own position.

[Stormbringer]

That's not what I'm asking about. What I'm wondering is if the Empire had any policies such as the second in command having the ability to relieve their superior officer from command if they think they are no longer compotent or display treasonous behavior, such as by sending them to the brig or executing them.

I don't believe the Empire had a soviet style system of political officers or the like. But any and every military has some regulations regarding the removable of officers unfit for one reason or another. I doubt that sort of feild authority extended to competency, short of suicidal stupidity at least.

[Publius]

That's not what I'm asking about. What I'm wondering is if the Empire had any policies such as the second in command having the ability to relieve their superior officer from command if they think they are no longer compotent or display treasonous behavior, such as by sending them to the brig or executing them.

I don't believe the Empire had a soviet style system of political officers or the like. But any and every military has some regulations regarding the removable of officers unfit for one reason or another. I doubt that sort of feild authority extended to competency, short of suicidal stupidity at least.

The quasi-official Imperial Security Bureau special agents and CompForce Observation personnel perform functions broadly similar to the Soviet Union's deputy commanders for political affairs. Specifically, the Grand Moff Tarkin was assigned an ISB official, viz., COL(ISB) Wulff Yularen, to brief him on political matters -- it is worth noting that he was a ruthless and fanatical Palpatinist. This is without mentioning the potentially innumerable COMPNOR and Party members in important positions aboard the Death Star.

Furthermore, Lord Vader's presence aboard the Death Star was very obviously intended as a check against Governor Tarkin's potential ambitions. Even if he were himself disloyal, given the Galactic Emperor's well-known taste for wheels-within-wheels, it is entirely possible and indeed likely that he had other means of eliminating a potentially rogue Grand Moff Governor -- including but not limited to a Master Control Signal-style override code.

PUBLIUS

[neoolong]

Vader would only be a short-term solution for curbing Tarkin. More likely he was sent as a message telling Tarkin that the Emperor was paying attention.

Unless Vader was supposed to be posted there indefinately, there had to have been other ways.

[Currald]

Of course, maybe that's why Darth Vader was on the DS, to keep Tarkin in line.

It was under my impression Tarkin overranked Vader (he ordered him to hold back when he was busy forcechoking an officer). I can be wrong however

Vader may have just obeyed him out of respect. Tarkin refers to Vader as "my friend." I know it seems impossible for people like that to have friendships, but they just might.