Tarkin ( novel ) Tarkin is a novel by James Luceno , released on November 4 , 2014 . It focuses on the character of Wilhuff Tarkin , similar to how Luceno focused his previous novel " Darth Plagueis " on Darth Sidious ' eponymous master . The title was released in paperback on June 30 , 2015 and was included as part of the compilation " The Rise of the Empire " on October 6 , 2015 . Publisher ' s summary . Hardcover . Back cover . He ' s the Emperor ' s right hand . . . and the Empire ' s iron fist . Internal flap . " Of power , I could tell you much . One must seize the moment , and strike . " — Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin " He ’ s the scion of an honorable and revered family . A dedicated soldier and distinguished legislator . Loyal proponent of the Republic and trusted ally of the Jedi Order . Groomed by the ruthless politician and Sith Lord who would be Emperor , Governor Wilhuff Tarkin rises through the Imperial ranks , enforcing his authority ever more mercilessly … and zealously pursuing his destiny as the architect of absolute dominion . " " Rule through the fear of force rather than force itself , he advises his Emperor . Under Tarkin ' s guidance , an ultimate weapon of unparalleled destruction moves ever closer to becoming a terrifying reality . When the so - called Death Star is completed , Tarkin is confident that the galaxy ' s lingering pockets of Separatist rebellion will be brought to heel — by intimidation … or annihilation . " " Until then , however , insurgency remains a genuine threat . Escalating guerrilla attacks by resistance forces and newfound evidence of a growing Separatist conspiracy are an immediate danger the Empire must meet with swift and brutal action . And to bring down a band of elusive freedom fighters , the Emperor turns to his most formidable agents : Darth Vader , the fearsome new Sith enforcer as remorseless as he is mysterious ; and Tarkin — whose tactical cunning and cold - blooded efficiency will pave the way for the Empire ' s supremacy … and its enemies ' extinction . " Plot summary . Defending Sentinel Base . During the early years of the Galactic Empire , former admiral and adjutant general Wilhuff Tarkin is assigned to the desolate Sentinel moon in the Outer Rim ' s remote Arkanis sector . Sentinel moon is home to Sentinel Base , a major Imperial base . While Tarkin ' s assignment appears to be a punishment post , he is secretly engaged in a clandestine Imperial enterprise . The novel opens with Tarkin discussing his newly designed Imperial military uniform with an RA - 7 protocol droid . While reflecting on a childhood outing with his uncle Jova Tarkin in Eriadu ' s Carrion Plateau , Tarkin is informed of a priority dispatch from Rampart Station . At Sentinel Base ' s command center , Base Commander Cassel informs him that Rampart Station is under a sneak attack from enemy Tikiar and Z - 95 Headhunter starfighter s . After corresponding with the base ' s commander Lieutenant Thon , Tarkin deploys the " Venator " - class Star Destroyer " Electrum " to the Rimward edge of the Sentinel Base system . Shortly later , a former Separatist carrier emerges from hyperspace and attacks Sentinel Base with droid starfighter s . Springing the trap , Tarkin has the " Electrum " exit hyperspace and ambush the mysterious attackers , who are using Separatist technology . Outgunned and ambushed , the attackers are forced to retreat . Tarkin reveals to his subordinates that the Rampart Station holotransmission was a counterfeit designed to draw Imperial forces away from Sentinel Base . He determines that someone had managed to introduce a false realtime feed into the local HoloNet relay . Under Tarkin ' s supervision , forensic technicians examine the former Separatist droid starfighters . The technicians speculate that the mysterious attackers obtained former Separatist ships and equipment from junk dealers and criminal elements . While pondering on the identity of the mysterious attackers , Tarkin receives a communique from Grand Vizier Mas Amedda , who informs him that the Emperor Palpatine has requested a private audience with him in Coruscant . The making of Tarkin . In a flashback chapter , Tarkin reflects on his childhood growing up on the Outer Rim world of Eriadu . Tarkin ' s family were the descendants of hunters , freelance pilots , and mining contractors who had built Eriadu ' s militias into a formidable sector military . Despite accumulating wealth and power , Tarkin ' s parents never forgot their frugal origins and instilled the values of discipline and order in their son . In his adolescence , Tarkin had joined his uncle Jova on several hunting expeditions in the dangerous Carrion Plateau , a relic of Eriadu ' s primeval past . Through Jova , Tarkin learned the importance of triumphing over nature and bringing order to chaos . While traveling to Coruscant aboard his personal transport the " Carrion Spike " , Tarkin relieves Ensign Baz of duty for spice addiction . The " Carrion Spike " is a custom - built corvette fitted with a Class One hyperdrive and stealth technology , rendering the ship invisible to ordinary scanners . In a flashback passage , Tarkin reflects on his service as a member of the Outland Regions Security Force , which fought pirates and privateers in the Seswenna sector . One of his foes was the female pirate Q ' anah and her Marauders , who harassed commercial shipping around Eriadu . Tiring of Q ' anah ' s depredations , the - then eighteen - year old Lieutenant Tarkin and his cousin Ranulph Tarkin had devised an ambitious plan to allow the Marauders to steal container ships whose hyperdrive motivators had been infected by a computer virus . This trap worked and the infected container ships transported the pirates to a realspace destination where they were surrounded by Outland warships . To end the threat of the Marauders once and for all , Q ' anah and her crew were dumped on a container ship that was programmed to send the ship slowly into the system ' s sun . The captives ' plight was broadcast over the pirates ' own communications network , trapping their would - be rescuers who were destroyed by Outland ships . As a deterrent to other pirates , Tarkin relayed the container ship ' s audio and video feeds of the pirates ' death throes . Visiting Coruscant . Arriving at the Imperial Palace , Tarkin is greeted by Grand Vizier Amedda and Rear Admiral Nils Tenant , one of his classmates at the Prefsbelt Fleet Camp . Nils asks about rumors of a mobile battle station but is silenced by Tarkin . In a flashback , the young Cadet Tarkin meets the - then Senator Palpatine , who saw potential in the young Eriaduan and helped him secure a place at the elite Judicial Academy . As a member of the Judicial Forces , Tarkin had taken part in a joint Judicial – Jedi mission to subdue a coup on the Colonies world of Halcyon . While Tarkin was awed by the Jedi ' s lightsaber skills , he was less impressed by their political and strategic naivety . During the Halcyon crisis , Tarkin developed a reputation as an effective leader . Tarkin later used his early contacts with Palpatine to forge connections with the Supreme Chancellor during the Clone Wars . Amedda brings Tarkin for a private audience with Darth Vader in the lower levels of the former Jedi Temple . Tarkin and Amedda witness Lord Vader addressing a meeting of alien crime lord s , whom he orders to relocate their operations to the Outer Rim . As a warning , Lord Vader Force choke s the Twi ' lek Prefect Phoca Soot killing him . After informing Vader about the progress of the work at Sentinel , Vader meets with the Emperor . The two discuss the matter of reintegrating former Separatist worlds into the galactic community , the Death Star project , and the attempted security breach at Sentinel Base . Tarkin then attends a meeting of the Ruling Council with other high - ranking Imperial officials including the Emperor , Lord Vader , and Grand Vizier Amedda . The Imperial Security Bureau ' s Deputy Director Harus Ison informs the gathering that his agents had uncovered a cache of communications devices on Murkhana , which suggests evidence of a potential stratagem to incapacitate HoloNet . ISB Colonel Wullf Yularen suggests that political dissenters are planning to launch a propaganda operation similar to the wartime Shadowfeed s . When Sate Pestage raises the matter of Tarkin ' s encounter with the insurgents at Sentinel Base , Dodd Rancit of the Naval Intelligence Agency vouches for Tarkin ' s role in frustrating Separatist propaganda efforts during the Clone Wars . Tarkin recommends that the Joint Chiefs issue an advisory to Imperial base commanders to double - check the encryption codes for all Imperial HoloNet transmissions . Mission to Murkhana . Following the briefing , Darth Sidious instructs Lord Vader to accompany Moff Tarkin to Murkhana to investigate the communications cache in order to sidestep the Imperial bureaucracy . After being briefed about the Murkhana mission , Tarkin makes arrangements to delay his return to Sentinel Base . He sends back most of his crew apart from the " Carrion Spike " captain and communications officer . In a flashback scene , Tarkin reflects on leaving the Judicial Department and working with Senator Palpatine to engineer Finis Valorum ' s downfall . The following day , Tarkin and Darth Vader depart aboard the " Carrion Spike " . Vader ' s stormtroopers transport a flattened black sphere aboard the corvette . One of the troopers is the aging Sergeant Crest , a veteran Clone survivor of the Clone Wars . While observing the loading , Tarkin reflects on the fall of the Jedi and Count Dooku ' s attempt to persuade Tarkin to bring Eriadu into the Separatist with the promise of lucrative business opportunities . Tarkin had declined Dooku ' s offer . After being informed by the protocol droid 11 - 4D about the " Carrion Spike " departure , Sidious reflects on his efforts to bring Tarkin and Vader together during the Clone Wars . On the ruined world of Murkhana , Tarkin and Vader visit the site of the communications cache . They discover evidence that the devices were deliberately placed so that they could be discovered . Tarkin speculates that whoever found the cache used some of the components to engineer the false distress call transmitted to Sential Base . Vader demands to speak with the ISB asset who first reported the find . Traveling to the Imperial compound , Lord Vader and Tarkin question the ISB asset , the Koorivar male Bracchia . Bracchia informs them that he did not discover the cache but was merely tasked with verifying his ISB case officer ' s report . Governor Tarkin is then contacted by Sergeant Crest , who had received a holotransmission order purporting to be from Tarkin to return to the former Corporate Alliance building after offloading the cargo from the " Carrion Spike " . Tarkin recalls not making any orders and tells the Sergeant to return to the ship . Crest then contacts Tarkin and Vader to inform them that the " Carrion Spike " has been stolen with the captain , comm officer , and two stormtrooper sentries killed . Lacking a starship of their own , Darth Vader forces an old ally , a Sugi crime lord Faazah , to lend them his personal starship " Parsec Predator " . Hunt for the " Carrion Spike " . Aboard the hijacked " Carrion Spike " , the shipjackers former Republic Intelligence agent Berch Teller , the Mon Calamari Dr . Artoz , the Gotal Salikk , and the Koorivar Cala , the former journalist Anora Fair , and the Zygerrian Hask Taff make themselves comfortable aboard the stolen vessel . They discover they are being followed by the " Parsec Predator " through hyperspace . Teller decides to lead their Imperial pursuers on a chase . Meanwhile , Tarkin sits in the cockpit of the " Parsec Predator " with Vader . He reflects on Vader ' s killing of the Sugi crime lord and his henchmen . Tarkin suspects that the perpetrators who attacked Sentinel Base were the same ones who stole the " Carrion Spike " and disabled her slave and communications systems . Tarkin thinks that the Murkhana communications cache is part of a larger unfolding plot . He reveals that the " Carrion Spike " weakness is the spine where the main fuselage meets the aft flare . Only concentrated fire while lowering the shields would weaken the structure . Despite the Carrion Spike fleeing into hyperspace , Vader reveals that he can track the ship using the mysterious black sphere he had transferred to the " Carrion Spike " . On Coruscant , Darth Sidious learns about the theft of the " Carrion Spike " and that Lord Vader has procured a replacement ship . With Lord Vader heading to the Fial system , Rancit suggests that the " Carrion Spike " thieves are the same assailants who attacked Sentinel Base . Darth Sidious orders Admiral Rancit to divert ships in the Belderone system to aid Lord Vader and Governor Tarkin . Imperial efforts to recover the " Carrion Spike " are punctuated by interagency rivalry between the Imperial Security Bureau and Military Intelligence . In the Fial sector , the " Carrion Spike " is pursued by the " Parsec Predator " . Teller orders Salikk to prepare for a jump to Galidraan , where the Empire has a space station above Galidraan III . Vader and Tarkin follow in pursuit and emerge in the middle of a dogfight between the hijacked " Carrion Spike " and Imperial V - wing and Aggressive ReConnaissance - 170 starfighter s . The " Carrion Spike " disables the " Predator " systems , leaving the ship dead in space . However , the " Predator " manages to inflict damage on the " Spike " weak point . Before fleeing into hyperspace , Berch Teller ' s rebel cell destroys Galidraan ' s hyperspace buoy to prevent their pursuers from following them . Tarkin laments that the shipjackers have not only rendered themselves invisible but also untraceable . Back on Coruscant , the Ruling Council is briefed about the hijacked " Carrion Spike " recent theft . Heeding Tarkin ' s warnings , Rancit advocates preparing Imperial bases in the Outer Rim for a " campaign of destruction . " The Council learn that the shipjackers have attacked TaggeCo ' s mining operations on Lucazec and that they are using the " Carrion Spike " to transmit holovids of their attacks . Aboard the Star Destroyer " Liberator " , Vader receives his personal Eta - 2 Actis - class light interceptor from the Empire . Studying the shipjackers ' travel patterns , Tarkin suspects they were working with the warship that attacked Sentinel Base . Vader suggest that the shipjackers are being aided by the same insiders who provided them with the confiscated communications cache . Due to the " Carrion Spike " unique fuel requirements , Tarkin speculates that the ship would travel to either Gromas in the Perkell sector or Phindar in the Mandalore sector . The Phindar debacle . While Berch Teller and his rebel discuss their next strategy , Tarkin arrives at the edge of the Phindar system aboard the " Venator " - class Star Destroyer " Liberator " . Tarkin warns the Phindian administrator about the dangerous capabilities of the " Carrion Spike " . The Phindian transmits a photo of the shipjackers ' self - styled commander , who is impersonating Commander Abel LaSal . Tarkin and Vader deduce that their enemy is well acquainted with Imperial procedure . Vader and Tarkin lead starfighters in pursuit of the " Carrion Spike " , which has docked with a tanker . Following a brief dogfight that results in several Imperial casualties including the tanker , the " Carrion Spike " escapes into hyperspace . Despite their injuries , a bruised Teller and his comrades vow to continue their insurgency against the Empire . Teller recounts Governor Tarkin ' s ruthless efforts to purge the Seswenna sector of pirates , criminal elements , and illegal migrants during the last days of the Galactic Republic . Teller credits Tarkin ' s rise to power to the machinations of Palpatine . Teller vows to turn Tarkin ' s own flagship into a weapon against the Imperial technocrat . Back in Phindar space , Tarkin learns that the tanker was destroyed by an explosive device concealed inside a fuel cell and realizes that the insurgents had wanted to lure him into a trap . Due to a tracking device installed on the " Carrion Spike " , the Imperials are able to track the ship to a set of coordinates in the Expansion Region near Thustra and Aquaris . On Coruscant , Vice - Admiral Rancit convinces the Emperor to deploy interdictor vessel s against the hijacked " Carrion Spike " . Amedda informs the Emperor that the cache of communications jammers was discovered on Murkhana by an ISB asset tasked with investigating the find by his case officer . Darth Sidious summons the ISB asset and his handler for a meeting . Meanwhile , Teller and his comrades discover that Tarkin has been tracking them through a paralight tracker , a kind of HoloNet transceiver that parses commands from the ship ' s navicomputer . To trick the Imperials , Teller decides to supply Tarkin with the coordinates into a very busy star system but to avoid jumping . In the Obroa - skai system , Tarkin ' s interdictor cruisers receive the faux coordinates . Instead of the " Carrion Spike " , they yank several civilian freighters and a Mon Calamari luxury liner out of hyperspace . This results in a space collision with multiple casualties including the deaths of 1 , 100 civilians aboard the luxury liner . Lord Vader and Tarkin deduce that the insurgents fed them the false coordinates to throw them off the scent . Despite this failure , the Imperials destroy the Lux - 400 yacht " Truant " , which was on the wanted list for smuggling . Vader and Tarkin aggressively question the Koorivar captain of the surviving freighter " Reticent " and learn that a human broker named Knotts sold them the ship and job . While Vader questions the Koorivar , Tarkin continues the search for the " Carrion Spike " . An enemy within the ranks . Meanwhile , Teller briefs Anora about his plan to attack an Imperial facility . Cala has destroyed the Imperial homing beacon to throw them off scent . At the Imperial Palace , Darth Sidious interrogates the Koorivar Imperial intelligence asset Bracchia and the ISB case officer Stellan . Under questioning , Stellan reveals that the information about the Murkhana communications cache was provided to the ISB by Military Intelligence . Sidious also deduces that the holovid was a counterfeit created by someone with access to Imperial codes and to devices capable of subverting the HoloNet . Aboard the Star Destroyer " Executrix " , Moff Tarkin deduces that the shipjackers are being aided by Imperial assets with high clearance . Vader also interrogates the other " Reticent " crew and learns that the fuel cells had been procured through the auspices of the human broker Knotts . Delving into classified Imperial files , Tarkin discovers that Knotts had been a Republic Intelligence sub - contractor stationed on Antar 4 during the Clone Wars . Following the establishment of the Empire , Tarkin had presided over the Antar Atrocity , which had seen the arrests , executions , and massacres of many Koorivar and Gotal loyalists . Tarkin ' s actions had generated much criticism in the Imperial media including two Coruscanti journalists Anora Fair and Hask Taff . He also determines that Knotts was connected to Captain Berch Teller , a dissident Republic Intelligence officer who opposed the Antar Atrocity . Tarkin also learns that Teller was briefly stationed at Desolation Station , the outpost responsible for overseeing much of the Death Star ' s research , before disappearing . Meanwhile , the heavily - damaged " Carrion Spike " exits hyperspace ten parsec s away from Nouane . Teller ' s cell had barely escaped an Imperial trap in the Nouane system . Anora realizes they have been betrayed . Still , Teller is determined to proceed with their plan . Meanwhile , Vader and Tarkin discuss Vice Admiral Rancit ' s intelligence that the dissidents are planning to attack the Imperial Academy on Carida as a final stand . Tarkin tells Vader about how he defeated a pack of veermok s in his youth by pitting the alpha male Lord against a contender named Shadow before killing them . As a result , the veermoks abandoned the hill and the Spike . Vader opines that the lesson was that the veermoks brought themselves down by turning on their leader . The two then ascertain that Vice - Admiral Rancit is the traitor who has been aiding Teller ' s rebel cell . Above the Carida Imperial Navy Deepdock Facility Two , the " Carrion Spike " exits hyperspace . Before Vice - Admiral Rancit can give the order to fire , Darth Vader enters the bridge and belays that command . Vader orders the crew of the " Secutor " - class Star Destroyer " Conquest " to scan the ship for lifeforms . After finding the ship empty , Vader tells Rancit that his co - conspirators abandoned the ship before fleeing into hyperspace . After ordering the commanders of the task force flotilla to stand down , Vader confronts Rancit for his treason . To cover his tracks , Rancit had planned to lure Teller ' s cell into a trap on Carida and kill them . However , Teller ' s cell had realized Rancit ' s plan and transferred to another ship to continue their insurgency . As punishment for his treason , Lord Vader orders Lieutenant Crest to dump Vice Admiral Rancit in an escape pod . Once in space , Rancit is forced to issue the fire order that destroys the pod . Neutralizing the insurgents . Meanwhile , Berch Teller and his cell are traveling aboard a former Separatist Providence - class dreadnought over a barren moon in a star system Coreward of the Gulf of Tatooine . While Teller recognizes that his group will not be able to bring down the Empire on their own , he decides to ambush a convoy delivering material to the secret Death Star project . He tasks Anora and Hask with making a holovid . Teller ' s plan was to use the " Carrion Spike " to divert Imperial forces away from the Death Star convoy . Moff Tarkin comes to the convoy ' s aid with the Star Destroyer " Executrix " . While the " Executrix " bombards the enemy capital ships , Tarkin orders his starfighters to protect the convoy at all costs . With the tables turned on the dissidents , Salikk and Anora buy enough time for Teller to escape on a Headhunter starfighter . Tarkin ' s tactic works and the Imperials succeed in knocking out the master control computer controlling the dissidents ' droid starfighters . The " Executrix " is reinforced by two more Star Destroyers " Compliant " and " Enforcer " . While Darth Sidious mediates on his quest for galactic dominance , Tarkin greets his captives including Knotts , Anora Fair , and Hask Taff . The Empire triumphant . Tarkin spends the next three weeks after the convoy attack interrogating the captured conspirators and collaborators , who were subsequently executed in secret . In a meeting with Vader and the Emperor , Tarkin explains that Rancit was motivated by the perceived slight that he had been stripped of his command of Sentinel Base for objecting to the Empire ' s actions on Antar 4 . Tarkin credits Rancit with supplying intelligence and materials to the dissidents . Vader also informs them that the Empire has punished the warehouse workers , salvagers , and scientists at Desolation Station who aided the dissidents . The dissidents ' former Separatist warship was also assembled at shipyards in the Bajic sector , jointly owned and operated by the Tenloss Syndicate and Crymorah syndicate . Despite finding Teller ' s Headhunter on Christophsis , they were unable to find any trace of the man . In the wake of Rancit ' s treason , the Emperor ordered a reshuffle of his Ruling Council and the incorporation of Naval Intelligence into Military Intelligence . The Emperor also tasks Tarkin with tightening the Empire ' s hold over the Outer Rim and promotes him to the rank of Grand Moff . Grand Moff Tarkin is placed in charge of the entire Outer Rim and the Death Star project . In the wake of his promotion , Tarkin gives lengthy interviews to the media , which coin his statements as the Tarkin Doctrine . Tarkin also take steps to clamp down on dissent and preserve the secrecy of the Death Star project . Weeks later , Tarkin returns to the Spike on Eriadu where he reunites with his uncle Jova . Intent on revenge , Berch Teller tracks Tarkin down but falls into an improvised pit trap . Tarkin confronts his nemesis , who is nursing a broken ankle . Tarkin refuses to divulge details about the Death Star project but offers to let Teller go if he can climb out of the pit before nightfall . Teller rejects Tarkin ' s offer and the younger Tarkin leaves his uncle to watch over Teller should he cause trouble . Later , above the secluded world of Geonosis , Tarkin watches over the construction of the Death Star . Development . The novel and its title were announced on April 25 , 2014 . It was written in collaboration with the Lucasfilm Story Group , making it part of the new canon . James Luceno submitted his manuscript for the novel by May 5 , 2014 . A preview for the novel was released in an Exclusive Advance Reader ' s Edition of " A New Dawn " at the 2014 San Diego Comic - Con .