[SD.net EU Database] Tarkin

[Balrog]

Mini-review: Tarkin can in some ways be known as the opening salvo of Operation Reintroduction, where many of the older now-separated EU elements are brought into the new Disney continuity. Luceno had something of a knack for brining disparate parts of the EU to fit neatly together, but I imagine his job will be a bit easier if some of the more silly things can simply be ignored now. Regardless it was an interesting read and provided a wealth of background on Tarkin, his upbringing, and his early career in the Empire. Those passages I quote here, broken up into a couple of parts, will focus on matters interesting to debates and other SW-related topics; otherwise I would highly recommend purchasing it yourself and giving it a go.

In context to the timeline, Tarkin takes place five years after the end of the Clone Wars.

"What is this thing"?
"Begged and borrowed, sir," someone reported. "Separatist-era engineering more than anything else. The central sphere resembles one of the old Trade Federation droid control computers, and the entire forward portion might've come from a Commerce Guild destroyer. Front-facing sensor array tower. IFF's highlighting moduals consistent with CIS Providence-, Recusant- and Munificent-class warships."

Description of a mystery warship attacking Sentinel Base, the facility overseen by Tarkin and part of the logistics infrastructure supporting the construction of the Death Star.

Originally a cramped garrison base deployed from a Victory-class Star Destroyer, Sentinel now sprawled in all directions as a result of prefabricated modules that had since been delivered or assembled on site.

Victory Star Destroyers are back in, just the first of many EU ships which will make their return.

Tarkin nodded. "Keep those hyperspace coordinates at the ready, Captain. But right now I want you to execute a microjump to the Rimward edge of this system. Do you understand?"

Existence of hyperspace microjumps.

"Not as much as we'd hoped to, sir," the tech said. "Analysis of data received by the command center's friend-or-foe indicator confirms that the capital ship is a downsized version of a Separatist Providence-class cruiser-carrier, modified with moduals taken from CIS frigates and destroyers. Ships of the sort made a name for themselves during the war by jamming signals and destroying HoloNet relays. Parts of the ship's sensor array tower, which the Seps usually mounted aft rather than forward, appear to have come from the cruiser Lucid Voice, which saw action at Quell, Ryloth, and in a couple of other contested systmes."

Tarkin frowned. "How did the approrpriation teams manage to miss confiscating that ship?"

"They didn't, sir. Records show that the Lucid Voice was dismantled at the Bilbringi shipyards four years ago."

Tarkin considered that. "In other words, some components of that vessel went missing."

"Lost, stolen, sold, it's impossible to say. Other sections of the warship appear to have come form the Invincible."

Tarkin didn't bother to mask his surprise. "That was Separatist Admiral Trench's ship - destroyed during the Battle of Christophsis."

A clearer analysis of the mystery warship, an insight into some of the immediate post-Clone War fate of Sep forces, and a tie-in to the Clone Wars cartoon.

If establishing the identity of Sentinel's enemies was already proving daunting, getting to the truth of the battle station's origins was nearly impossible. Everyone from celebrated ship designers to gifted engineers wanted to take credit for the superweapon. Tarkin himself had discussed the need for such a weapon with the Emperor long before the end of the Clone Wars. But no one outside the emperor knew the full history of the moonlet-sized project. Some claimed that it had begun as a Separatist weapon designed by Geonosian Archduke Poggle the Lesser's hive colony for Count Dooku and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. But if that was the case, the plans had to have somehow fallen into Republic hands before the Clone Wars ended, because the weapon's spherical shell and laser-focusing dish were already in the works by the time Tarkin first set eyes on it following his promotion to the rank of Moff - escorted to Geonosis in utmost secrecy by the Emperor himself.

All the same, he had no compelling reason to solve the enigma of the battle station's beginnings. What bothered him was that, compliant with a strategy that no base commander - Moff, admiral or general - should have unrestricted access to information regarding shipments, scheduling, or construction progress, no single person was in charge of the project, unless of course the Emperor was considered to be that person. But the Emperor's visits had been few and far between, and it was anyone's guess just how much information was getting past the Imperial Ruling Council the Moffs and others answered to and actually reaching the Emperor's ear. Certainly he was being briefed, but briefings were no longer enough. The project had reached a point where it had to rely on countless suppliers; and though each was being kept in the dark regarding the final destination of their contributions, millions of beings, perhaps tens of millions of beings galaxywide, were now involved with the battle station in one capacity or another. Yes, the project required the on-site presence of a think tank of scientists, weapons specailists, and habitat architects, but what did any of them know about protecting the station from saboteurs?

If Tarkin had his way, and at this point it was uncertain he ever would, he would adopt the hegemonic arrangement that was in place on Coruscant and elsewhere, and appoint an overseer to coordinate all construction and defense considerations. A single overseer to whome others would answer - or be damned if they didn't.

Interesting commentary on the early stages of the DS' development. Even high-ranking officials are unsure of the origin of the station, and it appears secrecy concerns were given priority over the potential efficency of having a more centralized oversight system in place.

At just under 150 meters in length, the corvette fit neatly between the old Judicial cruisers and Corellian Engineering's new-generation frigates. Heavily armed with turbolasers, ion cannons, and proton torpedo tubes, and featuring a Class One hyperdrive that made it the fastest ship in the Imperial Navy, the Carrion Spike had been designed specifically for him - and to meet many of his personal specifications - by Sienar Fleet Systems. Based on a prototype stealth corvette that had been introducted during the Clone Wars at the Battle of Christophsis to counter Separatist Admiral Trench's blockade of the planet, the triangular-shaped ship was unique in having cloak technology. Powered by rare stygium crystals, the stealth system rendered the ship essentially invisible to ordinary scanners.
...
Tarkin nodded and replaced him in the command chair, running his hands over the instruments as he settled in. The Carrion Spike's ion turbine sublight array, countermeasures suite, and navicomputer were also state-of-the-art, the latter allowing the ship to make the jump from Sentinel Base to Coruscant without exiting hyperspace to retrieve routing data from relay stations or primitive hyperwave beacons.

An examination of the unique ship Tarkin is able to procure for himself, it will play a prominent role in the story.

But it was the Twi'lek prefect, standing not a meter from the Dark Lord, who unexpectedly gasped and brought his hands to his chest as if he had just taken a spear to the heart. Phoca Soot's lekku shot straight out from the sides of his head as if he were being electrocuted, and he collapsed to his knees in obvious agony, his breath caught in his throat and blood vessels in his head-tails beginning to rupture. His eyes glazed over and his red skin began to pale; then his arms flew back from his chest as if in an act of desperate supplication, and he tipped backward, the left side of his head slamming hard against the blood-slicked floor.

It just isn't a Star Wars novel involving Vader if he doesn't kill someone in a horrible manner through telekinetically attacking their organs.

It was that genuflecting obedience, the steadfast devotion to execute whatever task the Emperor assigned, that had given rise to so many rumours about Vader: that he was a counterpart to the Confederacy's General Grievous the Emperor had been holding in reserve; that he was an augmented human or near-human who had been trained or had trained himself in the ancient dark arts of the Sith; that he was nothing more than a monster fashioned in some clandestine laboratory. Many believed that the Emperor's willingness to grant so much authority to such a being heralded the shape of things to come, for it was beyond dispute that Vader was the Emperor's first terror weapon.

Tarkin didn't always agree with Vader's methods for dealing with those who opposed the Emperor, but he held the Dark Lord in high esteem, and he hoped Vader felt the same toward him. Very early on in their partnership - soon after both had been introduced to the secret mobile battle station - Tarkin grew convinced that Vader knew him much better than he let on, and that behind the bulging lenses of his face mask, whatever remained of Vader's human eyes regarded him with clear recognition. More than anything else it was those initial feelings that had provided Tarkin with his first suspicion as to Vader's identity. Later, observing the rapport the Dark Lord shared with the stormtroopers who supported him, and the technique he displayed in wielding his crimson lightsaber, Tarkin grew more and more convinced his suspicions were right.

Vader might very well be Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, whom Tarkin had fought beside during the Clone Wars, and for whom he had developed a grudging appreciation.

While obviously more publically known, just as with the Death Star Vader is clouded in mystery, although Tarkin has been able to work out the truth.

Tarkin arrived by means of the more public turbolift, entering the vast room to find nearly a dozen people waiting, all of whom he knew or recognized, loosely divided into three groups that made up the Empire's uppermost tiers. First, and positioned closet to the podium, was the Ruling Council, represented just then by Ars Dango, Sate Pestage, and Janus Greejatus, all three dressed in baggy costumes of riotous color and floppy hats more befitting a night at the Coruscant Opera. More or less on equal footing, the two other groups were made up of members of the Imperial Security Bureau and the more recently created Naval Intelligence Agency, with Harus Ison and Colonel Wullf Yularen speaking for the former, and Vice Admirals Rancit and Screed for the latter. Feeling the odd man out, Tarkin gravitated to where Mas Amedda and Darth Vader were standing, off to one side of the podium.

Tarkin acknowledged his military comrades with a friendly nod to each. Some he had known since his academy days; others he had served with during the Clone Wars. Interestingly, the Emperor's advisors were also a kind of clique, having attached themselves to the Emperor since his early years as an untested senator from Naboo. Perhaps their outlandish garb was in some sense a tribute to the sartorial extravagance of Naboo's nobility. Even those who should have known better tended to dismiss Dangor, Greejatus, and Pestage as sycophants, when in fact members of the Ruling Council oversaw the everyday affairs of the Empire and wielded wide-ranging and sometimes menacing powers. Even the Empire's twenty Moffs were obligated to answer to the Imperial cadre.

Some information about the upper echelons of the Imperial government, again much of it pulled from the old EU. Competition between Imperial agencies will play another important role in the story.

"The Separatist war machines were shut down," Dangor went on. "Their droid warships were confiscated or destroyed."

"Most were," Tarkin said. "Clearly, some escaped our notice or were made available by insiders to a host of new enemies."

Ison glared at him. "Are you accusing ISB-"

"Review my report," Tarkin said, cutting him off.

"Furthermore, not every Separatist warship was crewed by droids," Rancit said. "As Governor Tarkin can attest, our navy was still chasing Separatist holdouts as late as a year ago."

More commentary on the post-Clone Wars situation, including the confirmation that not everything was neatly tied up with the shut-down order was given during RotS.

Tarkin tried to decipher the count's inference. "One might almost conclude that you're positing an advantage to going to war. But how would that work? The volunteer security forces of the Confederate worlds against - what, Judicials and ten thousand of your former Jedi brethren?"

Dooku adopted an arrogant expression. "Don't be too surprised, Governor, if the Republic has access to secret forces."

Tarkin regarded him in open astonishment. "Mercenaries?"

"Proxies is perhaps a more accurate term."

This is a flashback to a meeting between Tarkin, when he was Governor of his homeworld Eriadu, and Count Dooku, trying to get him to join the CIS. Besides other EU info reintroduced in the surrounding text such as the role Eriadu played in the local sector, this specific passage brings back the total number of Jedi present prior to the Clone Wars.

The two of them were in Sidious' lair, a small rock-walle enclosure beneath the deepest of the Palace's several sublevels that had once been an ancient Sith shrine. That the Jedi had raised their Temple over the shrine had for a thousand years been one of the most closely guarded secrets of those Sith Lords who had perpetuated and implemented the revenge strategy of the Jedi Order's founders. Even the most powerful of Dark Side Adepts believed that shrines of the sort existed only on Sith worlds remote from Coruscant, and even the most powerful of Jedi believed that the power inherent in the shrine had been neutralized and successfully capped. In truth, that power had seeped upward and outward since its entombment, infiltrating the hallways and rooms above, and weakening the Jedi Order much as the Sith Masters themselves had secretly infiltrated the corridors of political power and toppled the Republic.

Save for Sidious, no sentient being in close to five thousand years had set foot in the shrine. The room's excavation and restoration had been carried out by machines under the supervision of 11-4D. Even Vader was unaware of the shrine's existence. But it was here that they would one day work together the way Sidious and Plagueis had to coax from the dark side its final secrets.

This was perhaps the most surprising passage I read in the book, especially since I had never heard of such a thing in prior EU sources. There are obviously a number of implications for this revelation though. Presumably Sidious had learned of the shrine's existence from Plagieus, but it's a wonder the old Jedi decided to simply seal the shrine away rather than permanently destroy it. Given the reading of the text, dark side influence seeping from the shrine was weakening the Jedi much the same way the "shroud of the dark side" was weakening them during the Clone Wars, and indeed this effect may have been accounted for in the Sith's revenge planning. This could account for some of the poor showings the Jedi display during the Clone Wars, although I wouldn't regard it as a blanket excuse nor would I view the Jedi during this time being as weak as some others might.

[Adam Reynolds]

I wonder if those final comments have something to do with the new movies?

[RogueIce]

If TV Tropes is accurate, there's also an explicit contradiction with the old EU as well: Here Ozzel is presented as already a flag officer, well before ANH, whereas in Allegiance (set after ANH) he was still a Captain.

[Joun_Lord]

Darn. This book actually sounds pretty interesting. Fleshing out the always awesome Tarkin is cool in itself as is clearing up some the murk in SW lore of the post-Clone Wars era.

I especially like the bits about Vader from Tarkin's point of view. It always did seem like the two had respect for each other.

I think I might buy this next pay day, breaking a very, very long streak I've had going with not buying Star Wars books.

[Balrog]

I don't recall anything explicit regarding Ozzel, but if so it is a minor contradiction, since it seems a great many elements of the EU are being presented as they were. Given the amount of references to EU elements, this gives some hope for the future that a great deal of the EU will remain canon in the new continuity (at least the good parts hopefully).

This next part has a few more minor spoilers, which I will do to tamper down since this is a good book and I would recommend getting it.

Like many former Separatist bastions, Murkhana was a dying world. The lingering atmospheric effects of years of orbital bombardment and beam-weapon assaults had raised the temperature of the world's seas and killed off coastal coral reefs that had once drawn tourists from throughout the Tion Cluster. What had been wavewashed black beaches were now stretches of fathomless quicksand, and what had been sheltered coves were stagnant shallows, rife with gelatinous sea creatures that had risen to the evolutionary fore when the fish had died. Battered by relentless squalls of acid rain, the once graceful, spiraling structures of Murkhana City were pitted and cracked, and had turned the color of disease-ridden bone. Even when the rains ceased, menacing clouds hung over the bleached landscape, blotting out light and leaving the air smelling like rancid cheese. Descending through the atmosphere was like dropping into a simmering cauldron of witch's brew.

Below was what remained of the seaside hexagonal spaceport and the quartet of ten-kilometer-long bridges that had linked it to the city; the Corporate Alliance landing field was slagged and tipped on the massive piers that had supported it, and the bridges had collapsed into the frothing waters. Arriving ships were now directed to the city's original spaceport at the base of the hills.

"Governor Tarkin, we have a visual on the landing zone," the captain said as the ship pierced a final low-lying layer of dirty cloud, revealing the ravaged city spread out beneath them from sea to surrounding hills like some terrain exported from a nightmare. "Spaceport control says that it's up to us to find a place to set down, as their guidance systems are no longer in service and the terminal has been shut down. Immigration and customs have relocated to the inner city."

Tarkin shook his head in disgust. "I suspect no one makes use of them. What do our scanners tell us of the atmosphere?"

"Atmosphere is a mess, but breathable," the comm officer said, her eyes fixed on the sensor board. "Background radiation is at tolerable levels." Swiveling to Tarkin, she added, "Sir, you might want to consider wearing a transpirator."

Tarkin watched smoke pour into the sky from fires that might have been burning for six years. He considered the specialist's advice for a moment, gradually warming to the idea of being the only one among the mission personnel to be bare-headed, thus appearing more the commanding officer.

"Looking for an adequate site, Governor," the captain said.

Tarkin leaned toward the viewport to assess the landing field. It was impossible to tell the bomb craters from the circular repulsorlift pits that had once functioned as service areas for the Separatists' spherical core ships. The edges of the field were lined with ruined hemispherical docking bays and massive rectangular hangers, their roofs blown open or caved in. The facade of the sprawling terminal building had avalanched onto the field, and the interior had been gutted by fire. Ships of various size and function were parked at random, though most of them looked as if they hadn't seen space in a long while.

A long, extensive description of the type of orbital bombardments performed during the Clone Wars. Not only general indicators, the sheer planetary scale and length of the aftereffects, but specifics including bomb craters large enough to fit Trade Fed core ships. I would consider using the nuclear explosion calculator to try and derive possible firepower, but given that these craters are both wide and deep enough to fit a core ship, that will require more serious calculations later. Also Tarkin taps into his inner Space Marine Sergeant

"Do all the Emperor's Moffs rate one of these?" Anora asked, running a hand over the console in appreciation.

"Only Tarkin," Artoz said, "as far as we know."

"A testament to his friendship with Sienar," Teller said.

"Sienar Fleet Systems wasn't the only contributor," Artoz amended. "The company's design sense is all over the corvette, but every shipbuilder from Theed Engineering to Cygnus Spaceworks played a part in outfitting it."

"Not to mention Tarkin himself," Teller said. "The Moff was designing ships for Eriadu's Outland Security Force when he was nineteen."

Hask made a sour face. "More Prefsbelt Academy legends."

Anora shook her head negatively. "True by all accounts."

Teller perched on the arm of one of the secondary acceleration chairs. "The way I hear it, Eriadu was losing a lot of its lommite shipments to a pirate group that had foritified the bow of one of their ships to use as a rostrum - a kind of battering ram - after destroying too much cargo with their lasers."

"The pirates weren't acquainted with ion cannons?" Salikk said from the pilot's seat.

Teller glanced at the Gotal. "Seswenna's ships were too well ray-shielded for that - another Tarkin innovation, I might add..."

A bit of everything here, first the fact that Tarkin was super-special to rate a ship like Carrion Spike, second the identities of a few other companies involved in its construction, and finally the fact that sufficient ray-shielded can counteract the effects of ion cannons.

By then, too, the ambassador's stormtroopers had rushed into the headquarters, unleashing flash grenades and blaster bolts that had caught Sugi's underlings by surprise.

Stormtroopers using grenades, in this case the flash variety. That I felt the need to post this is I believe a sad commentary on how vs. debates often get conducted.

Tarkin firmed his lips. "There is a weakness. If the thieves can be persuaded to lower the shields, concentrated fire on the spine where the main fuselage meets the aft flare should do the trick. We were never able to resolve the problem of properly safeguarding the hyperdrive generator while the power plant is supplying the ion drives, the deflector shields, and the weapons. It's not so much a design flaw as an accomodation to the ship's size in relation to her armament. Even Sienar Fleet was at a loss."

The limitations of Tarkin's wunder-ship.

Tarkin ground his teeth. The situation was growing worse by the moment. In star systems lacking nearby hyperspace relay stations, a ship's pilot had to navigate by beacon or bouy, unless the ship was equipped with a sophisticated navicomputer of the sort the Carrion Spike boasted, which could plot jumps well beyond the next beacon, all the way to the Core if necessary. According to the Predator's inferior device, the Murkhana system had no fewer than a dozen jump egresses, and most of those were into other Outer Rim systems where beacons were still more plentiful than hyperspace relay stations.

Vader broke his protracted silence to say, "They have jumped, but not far." He stretched out his left hand to enter data into the ship's navicomputer.

Tarkin was nonplussed. Then it dawned on him: Vader wasn't tracking the ship; he was tracking the mysterious black sphere he had had transfered to the Carrion Spike!

A bit on the limitations of hyperspace travel, at least in relation to very long-range travel (going from the Outer Rim to the Core in this case), including the use of specific points of space used for jumping from or to systems.

Also, just more awesomeness from Vader

No doubt Vader was tracking the Carrion Spike by focusing his attention on his meditation chamber. But why had he not sensed a disruption in the Force when Tarkin's ship had been taken? In the private transmissions he had sent from Murkhana he had dismissed the communications cache as inconsequential; nothing more than misplaced hardwear left over from the war. So did his inattention owe to a lingering sense of frustration about the mission? Perhaps he was at odds with Tarkin. Or had he allowed himself to step willingly into the trap, as Sidious had encouraged him to do?

Some of Sidious' musings, further confirmation that a Force user's ability to detect danger relies in part on their attention, and how their emotions can potential affect these abilities.

Vader firewalled the thruttle and the Predator raced deeper into the system, the space station coming into unassisted view, an arc of its silvery rim blown wide open and hemorrhaging gas, flames, objects, and bodies. The source of the destruction was invisible to the naked eye and the Predator's scanners, making it appear as if green packets of bundled energy were being fired from deep space. Even so, particle-beam weapons emplaced along the station's curved outer surface were returning fusillades that streamed futilely into the void...
...
Tarkin bent to the controls, searching for a heat signature, gravitational flux, evidence of propellant glow, anything that might pinpoint the location of the Carrion Spike, all the while well aware that the ship was beyond his efforts to track. She could conceal herself from any sensor, contain her own reflection and heat, accelerate out of danger, maneuver beyond the capacity of any ship her size.

The abilities of cloaking and stealth systems, at least those of the grade equipped on the Carrion Spike, including firing while cloaked. What exactly it does with the waste heat and other detectable signatures it prevents from emitting is not told. It could be it can only engage the stealth systems for a certain period of time, after which is must disengage to allow the ship to dump all its waste heat, etc. or risk overheating. Or perhaps it has those fancy neutrino radiators and can keep it up indefinitely. Regardless it is likely the Empire could replicate the ship if it had a mind to do so, with seemingly only the special crystals used being a resource bottleneck.

"They're replaceable."

"Tarkin, maybe. But Vader?"

"For all we know the Emperor has a dozen more like him in deep freeze. Besides, we need to make the most out of this ship while we've got her."

That image was just too funny to not include.

"Several CR-ninety corvettes, two Carrack-class light cruisers, a couple of Victories, and a Venator-class destroyer - the Liberator."

More EU ships reintroduced, in this case the CR90s and Carracks.

[Adam Reynolds]

Like many former Separatist bastions, Murkhana was a dying world.

A reference to Dark Lord, one of Luceno's books and an immediate sequel to ROTS.

Teller perched on the arm of one of the secondary acceleration chairs. "The way I hear it, Eriadu was losing a lot of its lommite shipments to a pirate group that had foritified the bow of one of their ships to use as a rostrum - a kind of battering ram - after destroying too much cargo with their lasers."

This was a reference to Cloak of Deception, another Luceno book that was pre-TPM and tied together several elements. Thought in that story the pirates were hitting Trade Federation shipments. Eriadu wasn't the direct target.

Given the amount of references to EU elements, this gives some hope for the future that a great deal of the EU will remain canon in the new continuity (at least the good parts hopefully).

I would suspect that it would be the case that things pre-ROTJ might survive and anything after would almost certainly perish. There might be several elements taken as there have been references to Mara Jade potentially appearing in Rebels and Thrawn might also make an appearance as well, but the stories would almost certainly perish in their current form.

[Balrog]

Indeed, I've read both of those books, both very good, and there is a database thread about the latter. I suspect you are correct in that most of the pre-RotJ EU will survive into this new continuity. I just don't get why they didn't say as much in the first place rather than throwing the baby out with the bathwater; it couldn't be a case of offending anyone if they made it simply a cut along the timeline, all material before X year are carried over and everything after X year is discarded, then you wouldn't have any impropriety about picking and choosing authors and sources.

Anyways last part.

Its tiered roof a canopy of scanner, sensor, and communications arrays, Naval Intelligence headquarters heaved from Coruscant's metallic crust as if thrust up by tectonic forces from the depths of the planet. Along with the Palace and the byzantine COMPNOR arcology - which housed the Imperial Security Bureau, the Ubiqtorate, and other ambiguous organizations - Naval Intelligence was the third point in the Federal District's supreme triangle. The fact that the shielded, hardened, near-windowless complex more resembled a prison than a fortress had given rise to speculation that its sheer walls were designed as much to keep the agency's staff of tens of thousands of military officers inside as to keep ordinary Coruscanti out.

Constructed soon after the end of the war atop monads that had once made up the Republic's strategic center, Naval Intelligence was a nexus for gathering and analyzing transmissions that poured in from across the ecumenopolis and from all sectors of the expanding Empire. And yet its operations were not conducted in complete secrecy. During the construction phase, micro-holocams had been installed in every nook and cranny so that the actions and conversations of every staffer could be monitored at any hour of the day or night; not by the members of the Senate's various oversight committees, however, but by the Emperor and the most trusted members of the Ruling Council. Everyone involved with Naval Intelligence knew that the cams were there and had gradually grown accustomed to their presence. While the officers and others no longer played to the spy eyes as they had early on, they went about their business well aware that at any given moment they might be on stage.

Just now the Joint Chiefs of the Empire's military were gathered - Admiral Antonio Motti, General Cassio Tagge, Rear Admirals Ozzel, Jerjerrod, and others - along with several top officers from COMPNOR, including Director Armand Isard, ISB deputy director Harus Ison, and Colonel Wullf Yularen. Naval Intelligence was represented by Vice Admirals Rancit and Screed, who had requested the meeting.

So a bit more on the Imperial government, the very paranoid nature of the Emperor, and confirmation that Ozzel is a flag officer which, if he was only a captain in the previous EU, is one of the only differences I've been able to find between the two continuities.

Sidious swiveled toward the tinted windows, behind which the sky above and Coruscant below were the color of ash. Narrowing his gaze, he reached out for Darth Vader, whom he sensed was observing the holovid, as well.

Yes, Lord Vader, Sidious sent through the Force, you shall have your starfighter.

Not just interstellar telepathy between Sidious and Vader, we're talking about sending a message from practically one side of the galaxy to the other.

And like Dooku, the shipjackers had succeeded in broadcasting the Lucazec holovid live over civilian HoloNet frequencies to thousands of Outer and Mid Rim star systems before Coruscant was able to shut down vast portions of the communications grid.

Coruscant has a kill-switch for shutting off the HoloNet pretty quickly, although obviously it isn't instantaneous.

"Ship reverting Rimward!" He paused to study the sensors. "Imperial escort carrier. On screen."

Teller, Anora, Hask, and Artoz crowded behid Cala's chair as an image resolved of a boxy vessel with a curved upper hull and a flat ventral one. Aft, the hull extended over the carrier's engines.

"Transponder signature identifies it as the Goliath," Cala continued. "Capable of carrying a wing of starfighters. Armed with ten Taim and Bak H-eights and a Krupx missile delivery system. Not much in the way of shields-"

"I'm not interested in testing its mettle," Teller said.

"It could be here simply to refuel," Artoz said, sounding unconvinced.

Abruptly, the escort vanished from the screen.

"Where'd it go?" Anora asked.

And just as abruptly the escort reappeared - now visible through the forward viewports.

"Microjump!" Cala said. "And deploying starfighters!"

Tactical employment of microjumping.

Tarkin's right hand nudged the joystick while his left made adjustments to the instruments. Little more than a single-pilot fuselage pod sitting on vertically stacked ion engines and flanked by deployable heat-radiating stability foils, the V-wing had been designed for speed and nimbleness, at the expense of a reliable life-support system or hyperdrive. Twin ion cannons bracketed the long, wedge-shaped prow. It had been years since he had piloted one, and despite the spaciousness of the cockpit and the broad view through the paned transparisteel canopy, he felt claustrophobic, strapped into the seat by safety webbing and encumbered by gloves, flight boots, and helmet. With the hinged targeting computer intruding on his port-side view, the cockpit seemed more suitable to a double-jointed Geonosian. The old Delta-7 Aethersprite was roomy by comparison, the ARC-170 luxurious. Things could have been worse, however. The Goliath could have been carrying a squadron of the new - and seemingly disposable - TIE fighters.

Tarkin's views on various starfighters, including a rather dim one of the Empire's newest addition.

"By utilizing Interdictor cruisers, my lord - precisely placed to yank the Carrion Spike from hyperspace short of its destination system and reversion point. Governor Tarkin assures us that any jump from the dissidents' current location will require at least two reversions to reach potential Imperial targets. Thus, Interdictors can be positioned in advance of the Carrion Spike's arrival."

The Emperor looked down at Kren Blista-Vanee.

"The requested Interdictors are being developed as part of the Deep Core Security Zone, my lord." Fond of wearing flamboyant hats and frequenting the opera, Blista-Vanee was a relative newcomer to the Ruling Council, but had already proven an asset in blazing hyperspace routes into the Deep Core star systems. "I hasten to add, however, that the ships' gravity well projectors have not been tested in scenarios of this sort."

The reintroduction and tactical use of Interdictors, as well as the reintroduction of the Empire's efforts to explore the Deep Core and turn it into a fortified area.

In the distance, positioned against a radiant sweep of stars, floated three Interdictor vessels, a Detainer CC-2200, a newer-model CC-7700 frigate, and - fresh from deepdock in the Corellia system and as yet untested - an Immobilizer 418. Thickly armored, the former two had downsloaping bows and stubby winglike lateral projections housing quartets of gravity well projectors. The Immobilizer, by contrast, featured four hemispherical projectors aft on the ship's sharp-bowed hull. Deployed in the middle distance between the Interdictors and the Executrix were frigates, pickets and gunboats.

Our old friend the Immobilizer makes it reappearance, as well as two additional types of Interdictor vessels.

"The projectors are powering up to high gain, Governor Tarkin," the commander said. "The field will be initiated, then disabled, in an effort to keep from dragging vessels other than the quarry from hyperspace. I should caution, however, that that may be unavoidable, given the heavy traffic in this system."

"I understand, Commander," Tarkin said. "Order your technicians to be judicious, nonetheless."

"I will, sir. But the power setting of the gravity wells is dictated to some extent by the relative speed of the targeted ship, and, well, sir, to be blunt about it, there aren't many as fast as the Carrion Spike."

Tarkin pinched his lower lip in thought. Ideally, local systems would had been notified that Obroa-skai had been designated a no-entry zone, but naval command had opted against issuing the designation for fear of alerting the dissidents.

A bit of explanation on the relationship between gravity well projectors and hyperdrives (the faster the ship, the stronger the former need be) and normal Imperial protocol for using Interdictors.

The countdown had just reached T minus five when Tarkin was yanked forward, nearly completely off his feet. Fearing another lurch he spread his hands wide and so was kept from being slammed head-first into the closest viewport panel. Klaxons began to howl throughout the suddenly trembling command bridge as the giant ship groaned and lurched yet again in the direction of the distant Interdictors. Struggling to remain upright, Tarkin caught a glimpse of the middle-distance frigates and pickets being pulled forward, almost as if accelerating.

"Commander," he shouted into the headset mouthpiece, "the field is too powerful!"

"Working on it, sir," the commander said with equal volume. "It's the Immobilizer. The overcurrent resistors failed to prevent the gravitic systems from redlining-"

The comlink connection broke.

Close to the Interdictors, ships began to appear where there had only been star-filled space. Tarkin turned from the forward bay and stumbled back to the data pit to study the magnified view on one of the screens. First to drop out of hyperspace was an outmoded, saucer-shaped YT-1000 freighter, followed by two angular transports and a lustrous space yacht. Then another freighter winked into visibility, followed by two passenger vessels.

Abruptly, Tarkin felt as if he'd been shoved toward the rear of the bridge. With the interdiction field neutralized, the ships that had been caught in the invisible web began to whirl out of control. Two of the ships collided and drifted out of view. The magnification screen showed the sublight engines of other ships flashing, but the ships barely had a chance to flee or correct their spins when the field reinitiated, capturing them once again. Tarkin spread his legs wide in an effort to balance himself; then his eyes went wide as well as he turned to face the viewports. Listing on its port side, an enormous ship that more resembled something grown than built decanted, broadsiding the Detainer CC-2200 before careening into a spin that left its dorsal surface impaled on the Interdictor's sloping bow.

"Mon Cal star cruiser!" a voice in his ear said, loud enough to be heard over the head-splitting racket of the klaxons. "The luxury liner Stellar Vista out of Corsin. Approximately ten thousand aboard!"

A bit to unpack in this scene, first of which is the effects an Interdictor field can have in realspace in addition to hyperspace. Obviously this effect was unintentional, and normally the safety features would prevent its occurrence, but presumably this same gravitational effect could be weaponized in some form or other. Additionally we have an idea of the passenger capacity of Mon Cal cruisers; again we can presume this capacity can be increased when they are later militarized.

Tarkin compressed his lips and shook his head. "Not even a cloaking device could keep it hidden from being detected in an interdictor field."

Interdictor fields have some sort of stealth-detecting capability. Although not expanded upon, it could involve detecting the gravitational field of the ship being looked for, same as the old CGTs in the EU. Tarkin had tried to detect the Carrion Spike using similar methods earlier, but it can be assumed that ship's sensors weren't quite as sensitive as a military-grade capital ship, one designed specifically to play around with gravity fields no less.

A Koorivar with a long cranial horn, the Reticent's naked and shackled captain was suspended a meter overhead, captive of a containment field produced by a device whose prototype had been manufactured on Geonosis long before the war. As far as Tarkin knew, the Executrix was the only capital ship in the Imperial fleet to have such an appliance, which created and maintained the field by means of disk-like generators bolted to the deck and the ceiling directly above. The detention center's version of prisoner interdiction, the field required that the detainee wear magnetic cuffs that not only anchored him in place but also monitored life signs: Too powerful a field could stop a being's heart or cause irreversible brain damage. As well - and as if the field itself weren't enough - the cuffs could be used as torture devices, capable of unleashing powerful electrical charges. Vader, however, had no need to utilize the cuffs. His dark powers held the captain writhing in pain.

A return of the device which held Obi-Wan in AotC, its capabilities expanded upon.

"All forward batteries are to concentrate fire on the frigate," Tarkin ordered.

Local space lit up as dozens of energy beams loosed by the Star Destroyer converged on the much smaller vessel. In moments the ship's shields were overwhelmed and the beams began to take their toll, obliterating the Nebulon's rudder-like ventral appendage, then severing the spar that connected the main body of the ship to the engine module. Cracked open, the ship spilled its contents into space and imploded, sucking countless droid fighters into its blistering collapse.

A duel between an Imperial Star Destroyer and a Nebulon-B frigate is a short one indeed.

Out there were people who wished him dead, others who envied his station, and still others who wished merely to be close enough to him to sate themselves on the crumbs he brushed aside. The thought of it was almost enough to transform his disgust into sadness for the plight of the ordinary. But the wretched practices of the Republic endured: corruption, decadence, the lust for prestige. A penthouse in an elite building, a position that opened doors anywhere in the Core, collections of priceless art, the finest foods, the most able servants...He never had need for any of it, even when a senator, even when Supreme Chancellor, and had subscribed to luxury only to satisfy juvenile fantasies and, of course, because it was expected of him. Now he had only the dark side to answer to, and the dark side had an appetite for extravagance of a different sort.

A plot had been foiled, a distraction laid to rest. Needless energy had been expended, and resources wasted. Eventually the dark side would grant him infallible foresight, but until such time future events would remain just out of clear sight, clouded by possibilities and the unremitting swirlings of the Force. He had made himself lord of all he surveyed, but he had much to learn. Actions meant to topple him from his lofty perch wouldn't end with the successful containment of this most recent fiasco. But he would deal with any who chose to challenge him with the same precision he had applied to exterminating the Jedi. And he would not allow himself to be sidetracked from his goal of unlocking the secrets many of the Sith Masters before him had sought: the means to harness the powers of the dark side to reshape reality itself; in effect, to fashion a universe of his own creation. Not mere immortality of the sort Plagueis had lusted after, but influence of the ultimate sort.

Final musings of the Emperor, including the limitations of his own abilities of foresight, the trappings of his office and his ultimate goal.

[Patroklos]

Eh, they should have just published Publius's posts on this forum as a source book and called it a day.

EDIT: Regarding politics and government in the Empire/Republic.

[FTeik]

Just now the Joint Chiefs of the Empire's military were gathered - Admiral Antonio Motti, General Cassio Tagge, Rear Admirals Ozzel, Jerjerrod, and others - along with several top officers from COMPNOR, including Director Armand Isard, ISB deputy director Harus Ison, and Colonel Wullf Yularen. Naval Intelligence was represented by Vice Admirals Rancit and Screed, who had requested the meeting.

I don't like this part. Two thirds of the later command-triumvirate of the first DeathStar as Joint Chiefs? Couldn't Luceno have come up with some (Grand) Admirals/Generals or Space Lord/Marshall or whatever? Are we to assume, that a galaxy-wide empire is run by the same handful of dudes, that play different/less-prestigious roles a decade later?

[Adam Reynolds]

Just now the Joint Chiefs of the Empire's military were gathered - Admiral Antonio Motti, General Cassio Tagge, Rear Admirals Ozzel, Jerjerrod, and others - along with several top officers from COMPNOR, including Director Armand Isard, ISB deputy director Harus Ison, and Colonel Wullf Yularen. Naval Intelligence was represented by Vice Admirals Rancit and Screed, who had requested the meeting.

I don't like this part. Two thirds of the later command-triumvirate of the first DeathStar as Joint Chiefs? Couldn't Luceno have come up with some (Grand) Admirals/Generals or Space Lord/Marshall or whatever? Are we to assume, that a galaxy-wide empire is run by the same handful of dudes, that play different/less-prestigious roles a decade later?

It's the same small world effect that says that those from the films must be important.

As a side note, why was Admiral Yularen from the Clone Wars series only a colonel? It would have been far better if that character were Tarkin and we could have seen the rise of the bureaucrats that would be in power in ANH. We could have also seen the ruthless pragmatism of Tarkin that would lead to the Empire in contrast to the heroic idealism of the Jedi.

[FTeik]

As a side note, why was Admiral Yularen from the Clone Wars series only a colonel? It would have been far better if that character were Tarkin and we could have seen the rise of the bureaucrats that would be in power in ANH. We could have also seen the ruthless pragmatism of Tarkin that would lead to the Empire in contrast to the heroic idealism of the Jedi.

When Yularen served in the naval branch of the Grand Army he was an Admiral. He left that service and joined the ISB were his rank is Colonel.

I see additional problems with Cassio Tagge here, depending on what the NuCanon is going to do with TaggeCo. and the Tagge-family. First, he never appeared before timeline-wise, so why is he such a prominent figure five years after ROTS? And second, if they keep to the established background of the Tagges Cassio is the younger brother of Orman Baron Tagge, who was seventeen at the time of AotC, would have been twenty during ROTS and twenty-five at the time of the events of Tarkin. Cassio consequently would be even younger, too young to be a General.

[Mange]

Sorry for the necro, but I just got around reading Tarkin (e-book). While James Luceno is my favorite EU-author, I think this novel missed the mark. I just couldn't picture myself Cushing while reading and Tarkin designing uniforms and hunting just didn't grab me. I also think the plot was somewhat weak (how powerful was the Carrion Spike anyway?).

Some things really bothered me:

- Yes, this was the first novel of the new canon, but since when have hyperspace buoys been that important? I remember those as a game mechanic from XWA.

- Why reintroduce the Unknown Regions? Those should've stayed Legacy (though I didn't get the impression that it makes up 75 percent of the galaxy as Daniel Wallace implied in the Endnotes for Star Wars: The Essential Atlas).

- A Star Destroyer named Goliath?

- Random EU recanonized: Jomark, Screed

[MKSheppard]

Just read this. Random tidbits:

Director Armand Isard, does this mean that Ysanne Isard is waiting to be recanonized?

COMPNOR exists, it grew out of the old COMPOR (Committee for preservation of the Republic). Once again, WEG's work gets recanonized.

There are multiple types of interdictors that can interdict hyperspace movement:

Detainer CC-2200
CC-7700 frigate
Immobilizer 418

The Immobilizer 418 is recanonized.

But....it's too fucking SOON.

This is set just five years after ROTS: it's still fifteen years until Yavin, so...why should brand new shiny stuff be popping up this early?

EDIT:

"Judicials—the Republic’s non-Jedi law enforcers"

Tarkin was briefly a Judicial. So we know the Republic had something between "do nothing" and "Send Jedi."

[MKSheppard]

Oh, and Imperial Palace in the new Canon is actually the former Jedi Temple partially razed and then rebuilt as Imperial Palace.

Which makes more sense than the old EU Canon, where it was left an empty gutted shell for 25 years.

"BRIGHT-SIDE CORUSCANT air-traffic control directed the Carrion Spike to the Imperial Palace, and there into a courtyard landing field that was large enough to accommodate Victory- and Venator-class Star Destroyers. As repulsors eased the ship down through the busy skyways and into the court, Tarkin realized that the Emperor’s current residence had once been the headquarters for the Jedi—though practically all that remained of the Order’s elegant Temple complex was its copse of five skyscraping spires, now the pinnacle of a sprawling amalgam of blockish edifaces with sloping façades."

[MKSheppard]

The problem I had with this novel was it was too much bad WARSIEBABBLE INFODUMPING and inconsistent to the setting.

Example: Tarkin was flying as Vader's Wingman in a fucking starfighter at one point. He shouldn't be doing this as a Moff. Maybe if this was set back in the Clone Wars, and Tarkin was a Commander or something? But this has him doing stupid low level shit he shouldn't be doing as a senior staff member.

[Galvatron]

I was disappointed by how much of the old EU this novel revived, but that was overshadowed by my delight that it restored Tarkin's importance after he'd been inexcusably omitted from the prequels.

[Tribble]

Does Rogue One change anything about Tarkin's involvement with the Death Star? Krennic claimed that he did most of the work with Tarkin swooping over to take the credit.

[Galvatron]

Not really. Tarkin was looming over the project for a long time while Krennic did the heavy lifting of acquiring the scientists, labor force and resources necessary to build it. I actually prefer that to having Tarkin micromanage its construction for two decades.

Anyone who reads this novel should also read Catalyst. They're essentially companions of each other and both were written by Jim Luceno.

[Abacus]

I have to say that one of the biggest surprises for me, as far as Tarkin goes, is that the new canon allows a cloaked ship to accurately fire, etc, against enemy targets. No more of that double-sided mirror effect we saw in the old EU.

[DesertFly]

That was already changed with the introduction of the stealth ship Anakin pilots in "Cat and Mouse" from season 2 of The Clone Wars. I don't recall for certain whether it can fire while cloaked, but they can visibly see and target things while still invisible.

[Abacus]

That was already changed with the introduction of the stealth ship Anakin pilots in "Cat and Mouse" from season 2 of The Clone Wars. I don't recall for certain whether it can fire while cloaked, but they can visibly see and target things while still invisible.

The Clone Wars is not canon. It technically falls under Legends, as it came before Disney acquired the license. While they refer to it in various ways, both here in the book "Tarkin" and in the new, canon tv show 'Star Wars Rebels', it's not canon. As such, reference by "Tarkin" makes it the first canon pronouncement.

[Mange]

That was already changed with the introduction of the stealth ship Anakin pilots in "Cat and Mouse" from season 2 of The Clone Wars. I don't recall for certain whether it can fire while cloaked, but they can visibly see and target things while still invisible.

The Clone Wars is not canon. It technically falls under Legends, as it came before Disney acquired the license. While they refer to it in various ways, both here in the book "Tarkin" and in the new, canon tv show 'Star Wars Rebels', it's not canon. As such, reference by "Tarkin" makes it the first canon pronouncement.

Totally wrong. The Clone Wars is not Legends and was explicitly mentioned as being part of the new canon (or rather, together with the movies, part of "the immovable objects of Star Wars history") in the announcement: StarWars.com

[Abacus]

Totally wrong. The Clone Wars is not Legends and was explicitly mentioned as being part of the new canon (or rather, together with the movies, part of "the immovable objects of Star Wars history") in the announcement: StarWars.com

I stand corrected. *nod*

[Elheru Aran]

You're both right.

The *original* Clone Wars 2d hand animated cartoon by Gennedy Tartovosky is no longer canon.

However, the Clone Wars 3d computer animated cartoon that ran on Cartoon Network (IIRC? Maybe Disney) and is currently on Netflix, is canon.

[MKSheppard]

Not really. Tarkin was looming over the project for a long time while Krennic did the heavy lifting of acquiring the scientists, labor force and resources necessary to build it. I actually prefer that to having Tarkin micromanage its construction for two decades.

Anyone who reads this novel should also read Catalyst. They're essentially companions of each other and both were written by Jim Luceno.

I did both at work this week and I'm actually quite disappointed in both. Meet the new EU, same as the old EU.