Ranulph Tarkin / Legends Ranulph Tarkin was a Human male from Eriadu who became an important political figure in the waning years of the Galactic Republic . Born into the wealthy Tarkin family , Ranulph spent his younger years further increasing the family ' s wealth and solidifying Eriadu ' s hegemony in the Seswenna sector and the broader Outer Rim Territories . He became determined that the Republic could not be secure without centralized armed forces and demanded the restoration of the Republic Military , forming his own fleet and army , the Republic Outland Regions Security Force , as a prototype for the new force . By 44 BBY , Tarkin was serving as the Senator for the Seswenna sector and was the leader of the Senate ' s Militarist faction , becoming the Senate ' s most vocal advocate for re - armament . When Iaco Stark created a crisis by pirating the Trade Federation ' s shipments during a bacta shortage , Tarkin saw his opportunity to win the day . He pressured Trade Federation Minister Nute Gunray into giving up the location of a secret summit on Troiken in which Tarkin ' s political rival Senator Finis Valorum and a Jedi delegation would mediate between the Stark Commercial Combine and the Trade Federation . At Gunray ' s signal that all parties were assembled , Tarkin sent his full paramilitary force to Troiken , determined to stamp out Stark ' s pirates by force of arms and prove the value of a strong military once and for all . The attack went awry when Stark anticipated that the senator would ambush him and infected Tarkin ' s fleet with a navigational computer virus . Tarkin was among the reduced fleet that made the jump to Troiken , where they were battered by Stark ' s navy . Tarkin had to abandon ship and seek shelter in the deserted mines of Mount Avos with the Jedi and Valorum . There he fell apart , dejected at his loss , and was inclined to give up . The Jedi and Tarkin ' s aide , Jace Dallin , took over leadership of Tarkin ' s army and held out against Stark ' s troops , building a burning resentment and shame inside Tarkin . Finally , as victory neared under Jedi Master Plo Koon , Tarkin took his fate back in his own hands and absconded with an explosive . Sacrificing himself , he released a swarm of carnivorous challat eater s from behind a cave - in , killing himself but taking Stark ' s troops , trapped by Koon ' s strategy , with him . In the aftermath , due to the political influence of the Tarkin family , Ranulph Tarkin ' s reputation remained strong and he was recalled as the " Hero of Troiken " for his part in Stark ' s defeat . Biography . The rise of a Militarist . Born in 97 BBY , Ranulph Tarkin was a scion of the influential Tarkin family of Eriadu , which was the most powerful of Eriadu ' s Quintad ruling families and exercised significant influence over Seswenna sector politics . Tarkin served in the Seswenna Defense Forces , the sector ' s Planetary Security Force , and in 66 BBY , he led a successful campaign against the Delmaasi pirates . He later became an executive at Quintad Orbital Manufacturing , a Seswenna sector firm that produced military hardware , and during his tenure , Tarkin brokered a number of contracts with various military manufacturers from the Galactic Republic , to lease them space in some of QOM ' s shipyards and factories . By 57 BBY , Tarkin was the most influential figure in the entire Seswenna sector . However , he became concerned by the gradual decline in law and order across the Republic due to rising levels of bribery and corruption . Tarkin determined to take action against the rising lawlessness and after handing control of QOM to one of his cousins , he convinced Ulm Brashere — Seswenna ' s representative in the Galactic Senate — to persuade the Republic ' s leader Supreme Chancellor Thoris Darus to appoint Tarkin as Seswenna ' s Governor - General . Tarkin ' s new position gave him command over the sector ' s military forces , and he set about enhancing the Seswenna Defense Force , building new warships in QOM ' s facilities . However , the construction effort attracted the attention of inspectors from the Republic ' s Judicial Forces , who shut down Tarkin ' s operation and searched the QOM shipyards for regulatory breaches . In frustration , Tarkin looked elsewhere to expand his forces and he struck a number of lend - lease deals with some shipwrights to whom QOM had close ties , which placed dozens of capital ships under Eriaduan command . Subsequently , Tarkin negotiated a number of mutual defense agreements with neighboring sectors , to merge their Planetary Security Forces in times of need and to harmonize their military operations . He then entered further arrangements with more distant sectors , to exchange navigational data and to allow the safe passage of his military forces across their territories . Tarkin ' s combined force became known as the " Outland Regions Security Force " and developed in a regional military power . He viewed the armada as a prototype Republic Army and Republic Navy , convinced that if he could display military might in action , the Senate would realize the advantages of a proper military . Tarkin took personal command of the ORSF , styling himself as General Tarkin , wearing clothing in the cut of a military uniform and bearing rank badges , and taking the Republic light assault cruiser " Invincible " as his flagship . His aide , Jace Dallin of Rendili , also served as his military attache and second - in - command . Political career . The Judicials were alarmed by Tarkin ' s militaristic ambitions and some suspected that he planned to break away from the Republic and form an empire of his own . Affronted by their mistrust , Tarkin determined to rebut the aspersions against his loyalty to the Republic by becoming the senator of the Seswenna sector in 54 BBY , and he was succeeded as Governor - General by his cousin Garvedon . Following his arrival on Coruscant , the Republic ' s capital world . Tarkin became a leading figure in the government of the Galactic Republic . He expressed his belief that the Planetary Security Forces were weak and would be unable to counter a serious military threat , and he became embroiled in a legal dispute with the Judicial Department . After attaining appointments to several important committees , Tarkin used his position to summon Judicial Department minister s before holocamera s , to publicly challenge their opposition to his bellicose stance . He also claimed that he would be willing to turn the ORSF over to the Judicial Department , but only if the security force were to be part of a wider Republic military Tarkin ' s aim of forging a strong Republic military found some support among other senators and Tarkin led the Militarist faction in the Galactic Senate , in which capacity he passionately argued for the revival of the Republic Military , counting the Judicial Forces and Jedi Order insufficient to protect the Republic . Instead , he held that the Republic had need of a well - armed and centralized army and navy in order to maintain true security . In this , he was opposed by a faction who thought that military might would only lead to war - mongering and abuse of power , instead preferring diplomatic solutions . Senator Finis Valorum was a frequent spokesman for this party , and served as Tarkin ' s leading rival in the Senate . Tarkin ' s designs also attracted support from some of the Senate ' s Reformist faction , who worked with him to make the Judicial Forces more effective . In 54 BBY , Tarkin attended a gala that was held in the Eriaduan consulate on the planet Malastare , to congratulate the recent winners of the Vinta Harvest Classic podracing event . During the festivity , Tarkin discussed the state of affairs in the galaxy with fellow senators Pax Teem and Vidar Kim , the ambassador Bor Gracus , and the Black Sun vigo Boss Cabra . They debated the rise to power of the Trade Federation , an influential shipping concern , and Tarkin claimed that the Federation had grown strong only as a result of the support that it had received from the noble families House Valorum and the House of Tagge . He also mentioned a rumor that he had heard regarding a recent deal that the Muun businessman Hego Damask had brokered a deal between the Federation and the trade guilds of the Corporate Alliance and the Techno Union . The Eriaduan was introduced to the Naboo ambassador Palpatine , an aide to Vidar Kim , and the young Human made a great impression on Tarkin , who enjoyed hearing Palpatine ' s views on the Federation . Seizing an opportunity . In 44 BBY , Tarkin saw a prime opportunity to put his forces to use . Pirate Iaco Stark , leader of the great fleet of renegades known as the Stark Commercial Combine , had been preying on the Trade Federation ' s shipping and selling the captured cargo cheaply on the Outer Rim . When the planet Thyferra was struck with a bacta shortage , Stark began pirating the precious healing fluid , leading the Trade Federation to threaten to cut off trade to the Rim entirely if the Senate did not allow them to increase their allotted defense complement . As he did with most issues , Tarkin took the opportunity to argue in the Senate yet again for the formation of an official army and navy , but Valorum rebutted him . Tarkin also threatened that if the Judicials could not resolve the situation by themselves , he would send in the Outland Regions Security Force to eliminate Stark ' s pirates . Instead of a military solution , Valorum negotiated a secret summit between Stark and the Trade Federation at an undisclosed location , where the Senator and a Jedi delegation would be present as mediators . Tarkin was of the belief that force , not negotiation , was the best way to eliminate Stark as a threat . To that end , he spoke secretly with Minister Nute Gunray , a senior Trade Federation official who would represent the Trade Federation at the summit . Tarkin struck a deal with Gunray to lead Tarkin ' s forces to the summit , where he could kill Stark and destroy his gathered forces . The senator believed that such an attack would not only end the threat of the Stark Combine , but also convince the Senate to make his fleet and troops the official navy and army and vault him to the Supreme Chancellor ' s office as a hero . Gunray nearly backed out over worries that they would be too easily exposed , but knowing that the Trade Federation had conspired with Xucphra Corporation to manufacture the bacta shortage , Tarkin blackmailed Gunray into giving up the conference ' s location — Troiken . Tarkin had Dallin ready his troops , and the Outland Regions Security Force was recast as the " Republic Navy " and " Republic Army " as a deliberate propaganda statement . Sympathetic elements within the Judicial Forces also lent Tarkin several battalions of special - missions assault troop s , to provide the ORSF with a ground assault force for the duration of the operation . Commanding from his flagship " Invincible " , Tarkin eagerly awaited Gunray ' s signal that Stark was present at the conference site . Tarkin harbored some thoughts of simply bombarding the conference site when he arrived , eliminating not only Stark but also his rival Valorum and Gunray , who could implicate him in the scheme . He never got the chance to follow through on those ruminations , as when he had to fleet jump into hyperspace on receipt of Gunray ' s signal , the ships ' navigation computers were scrambled . Stark had learned of Tarkin ' s fleet and used Gunray ' s own transmission to infect the ships ' navicomputers with a Tionese program , a type of computer virus . A real war . Tarkin ' s " Invincible " was one of only a handful of ships which made the jump correctly to Troiken ; the others were scattered across the galaxy and many destroyed . Over Troiken , Tarkin found himself badly outnumbered by Stark ' s fleet . With only a third of his forces , Tarkin could not outfight Stark ' s flotilla , and the " Invincible " came under heavy attack . Horror - struck at this reversal from his glorious plans , Tarkin was indecisive on the bridge . Valorum contacted him from the surface , where he and the Jedi had escaped Stark ' s conference room ambush with Gunray in tow , and relayed instructions to have his fleet land on the Lycinder Plain at the foot of the Hormick Range . There , in the abandoned spice mines within Mount Avos , they would have a defensible position against the Stark Combine ' s soldiers . Tarkin instinctively recoiled against taking orders from Valorum , but with " Invincible " nearly destroyed he was forced to accept the plan . He had Dallin relay the evacuation orders which sent all personnel to escape pods . He then took a life - pod to the surface with Dallin , as his own shuttle had been destroyed . Landing on the plain , Tarkin and Dallin struggled to the mountain under fire . Tarkin immediately regretted leaving " Invincible " for this battlefield , but he was harboring only illusions of security , as the flagship ' s plummeting wreckage showed . They reached the caves , where inadequate supplies made hopes of holding out more than a week slim . Dejected at the failure of his plan , Tarkin was inclined to simply surrender . In the caves , Jedi Master Plo Koon took over the leadership role from his Master Tyvokka , a Jedi Councilor who had died after sustaining injuries in the conference room . Councilor Adi Gallia and Master Qui - Gon Jinn were also present . Koon ' s telepathic powers allowed him to read Stark ' s mind from afar , and learn that a major ground assault was on the way . Tarkin ' s soldiers successfully defended Mount Avos under Jedi leadership , through a series of desperate engagements . Tarkin resented the fact that the Jedi had usurped his command role . Stuck as a spectator , Tarkin maintained that they should surrender , disbelieving that the Jedi would find success . When the Jedi devised a plan to sneak Valorum and Gunray offworld to let the Senate know that they had survived and convince the Republic to send support , Koon offered to evacuate Tarkin as well . Tarkin was enraged , seeing this as an attempt to pack him off so that his command could be even more thoroughly stolen from him . He insisted on staying behind . Gallia was able to escape with the politicians , while Jinn and his apprentice Obi - Wan Kenobi returned from the spaceport with Jedi Master Tholme and his apprentice Quinlan Vos in tow ; they had arrived after fleeing Thyferra with evidence that the bacta shortage had been faked . When Vos and Kenobi disturbed a nest of challat eater s , the Jedi had to collapse a tunnel to trap the carnivorous insect swarms . The Hero of Troiken . When word came that the Senate had decided against sending relief to Troiken , Tarkin was more convinced than ever that they could not win . Koon summoned the Jedi together in a plan , once more cutting Tarkin out of the leadership . Koon used his telepathy to convince Stark , whose coalition was crumbling , to defect and provide the patch for the navicomputer virus which had swept the Republic , which was broadcast to Coruscant . A Jedi starfighter force , transported by Trade Federation ships , jumped to Troiken and engaged the combine . Meanwhile , as Stark ' s forces charged into Mount Avos , the Republic forces fled out rear exits , which they planned to block behind them with explosive charges , trapping Stark ' s men . Though Koon ' s plan could lead to victory on its own , Tarkin saw his last chance to contribute to the war effort and be a hero . He stole the explosive charge for the final exit and proceeded into the tunnels . Koon attempted to reason with him telepathically , but Tarkin set off the charge to clear the cave - in which had blocked off the challat eaters , killing himself in the process . He received his final wish , becoming the man who utterly destroyed the Stark Combine , when the challat eaters consumed Stark ' s trapped soldiers . The remnants of Stark ' s forces surrendered , and the Stark Hyperspace War was over ; so too was Tarkin ' s fleet . His opponent , Valorum , was made a hero in the aftermath . Tarkin ' s own family struck a political bargain with him , supporting Valorum ' s election as Supreme Chancellor in 40 BBY in exchange for securing Tarkin ' s reputation as a war hero himself . Valorum ' s lauding of the deceased senator as the " Hero of Troiken , " a pivotal figure and expert leader who played a vital role in winning the Stark Hyperspace War , and posthumous decoration of Tarkin increased support for Militarism in the Senate . His position as senator was eventually filled by a relative , Shayla Paige - Tarkin . Tarkin ' s dream of a Republic military was granted in 22 BBY with the Military Creation Act , a policy of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine , a political patron of Ranulph Tarkin ' s younger cousin Wilhuff Tarkin . Personality and traits . Ranulph Tarkin firmly believed in militarism , supporting the re - formation of the Republic armed forces . He was alarmed by the breakdown in order across the Rim Worlds and he became convinced that the Galactic Republic could only be secure with a strong military . He saw force as the answer to many problems , and felt that even negotiations could not be successful without the backing of powerful armed forces . Tarkin had ambitions of becoming Supreme Chancellor , and believed that if the Senate could be made to see the advantages of a strong military in a practical demonstration , he would be swept into a leadership role . It was for that reason that he formed his private prototype military force and deployed it against the Stark Combine at Troiken . Tarkin was also a Humanocentrist , preferring only Humans in his military . A prideful man , Tarkin found it difficult to surrender command . He had great ambitions , and when they were dashed around him on Troiken , he found the situation intolerable . He was at first disposed to give up , surrendering to Stark . As the survivors held out , Tarkin was increasingly disturbed by the fact that he had been rendered irrelevant as the Jedi and Jace Dallin stepped up to lead . He resented the others , believing they could not truly succeed . As they continued holding out , Tarkin felt that they would be robbing him of credit for a mission that he had devised , the success of which should rightfully be attributed to him . Finally , driven to near madness by frustrated ambition , Tarkin sacrificed himself to unleash the challat eaters , making himself a martyr in hopes of destroying Stark ' s forces himself and regaining credit for victory , even if posthumous . It would be better than living to be made a fool by Valorum and his allies . For all his militarism , Tarkin was not an effective commander in the field . He counted on simple might to see him through , feeling that he was guaranteed success . Though he styled himself a general , he froze when faced with adversity over Troiken and was reduced to parroting Dallin ' s orders and accepting Valorum ' s advice . Once on the ground , he was little better off , left a spectator as Dallin and Koon took over military command . Valorum simply considered him a " damned fool " — though his opinion was colored by political opposition . Behind the scenes . The character of Ranulph Tarkin was created by Dark Horse Comics writer John Ostrander for the comic arc " " as one of the major figures involved in instigating the war . Artist Davidé Fabbri drew Tarkin , creating his visual appearance . Tarkin was conceived of as a relative of famous villain Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin , but Ostrander left the relationship vague , deciding Ranulph was likely Wilhuff ' s uncle . In " The New Essential Chronology " , Daniel Wallace canonized Ranulph Tarkin as Wilhuff ' s cousin . Tarkin has been mentioned in various works relating the events of " The Stark Hyperspace War " and in 2012 , he appeared in James Luceno ' s novel " Darth Plagueis " . The 2012 reference book " The Essential Guide to Warfare " expanded upon Tarkin ' s backstory and established that his paramilitary force was the " Outland Regions Security Force , " a military unit that had previously appeared in the 2000 novel " Rogue Planet " . Though not openly articulated , Tarkin ' s scenes in " The Stark Hyperspace War " carry some subtext that he plans a coup of sorts rather than a legitimate ascent to power . He speaks simply of becoming the Republic ' s leader after deploying his military might , and his dialogue suggests that he would like to kill Valorum and the other delegates as well as Stark , " wip [ ing ] " several " layers of " scum " from beneath my boots ! " However , Tarkin is not openly and unambiguously established as a power - mad would - be dictator ; his actions and words can also be interpreted as merely those of an ambitious and frustrated militarist .