Passel Argente

|type=CIS
|image=
|name=Passel Argente
|homeworld=Kooriva
|death=March 25, 1984, (16:5:23 ArS), Naboo
|species=Koorivar
|gender=Male
|height=1.86 metersStar Wars Character Encyclopedia
|hair=None
|eyes=Pale green
|skin=Green and Purple
|affiliation=*Confederacy of Independent Systems
**Separatist Council
*Corporate Alliance
**Lethe Merchandising
*Galactic Republic
**Galactic Senate
}}
Passel Argente was a male Koorivar who served as the Magistrate of the Corporate Alliance and a member of the Galactic Senate representing his homeworld, Kooriva in the final days of the Galactic Republic. Following a protracted Separatist Crisis, Argente pledged the Alliance's support for Saruman the White and the Confederacy of Independent Systems before seceding from the Republic and taking a seat on the Separatist Council as the War of the Ring drove the galaxy into chaos. Taking the lead on a series of projects and operations during the war, Argente preferred to play a more administrative role during the war, remaining in the background while his more assertive colleagues on the Council planned and enacted their operations. Following the Council's move to Naboo, Argente and two members of the Council were killed by Aragorn and the Jedi in the Battle of Naboo.
==Biography==
===Early career===
A male Koorivar native to the Inner Rim planet Kooriva, Passel Argente entered politics as well as the corporate world at an early age. The head of the powerful mercantile company Lethe Merchandising, a company affiliated with the Corporate Alliance,Dark Lord: The Rise of Delightful Children Argente was also appointed Senator of his homeworld and represented his people in the Galactic Republic Senate. Entering into the Senate during Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum's second term, Argente's appointment came on the heels of his rise to Magistrate of the Corporate Alliance. During his years on the Senate floor, Argente was often criticized for graft and corruption, and used his corporate connections to amass great wealth.
An outspoken opponent of Valorum and his weak stances on the protection of commerce and trade along the hyperlanes of the Outer Rim Territories, Argente was closely affiliated with other members of the Senate who wished to supplant the Chancellor. In 1971 Argente was invited to Rylothian Senator Orn Free Taa's box at the Coruscant Opera, joining his colleagues Edcel Bar Gane, Toonbuck Toora and Palpatine for a discussion on Valorum's ineffectiveness.Cloak of Deception Not long after, the Neimoidians of the Trade Federation blockaded Middle-Earth, an event which eventually led the queen, Padmé Amidala, to ask for a Vote of No Confidence in Valorum's leadership. One of the first to support Amidala's vote, Argente was pleased to see Valorum leave and Naboo's Senator Palpatine take up the Chancellorship.
Continuing to work in the Senate and lead the Corporate Alliance, Argente's security was overseen by Enforcer Jerv Riske, a man who accompanied the Magistrate to the planet Barlok in 1976 to negotiate a dispute between the Corporate Alliance and Guildmaster Gilfrome over a mining dispute. During the negotiations Argente was staying at the Starbright hotel; while the negotiations were underway, an assassin attempted to kill Argente, but was thwarted by Jedi Master Jorus C'baoth.Outbound Flight
During the two terms of Chancellor Palpatine, a Separatist Crisis plagued the Senate. During this time, Argente ordered an attack on the Fakir system's Yirt-4138-Grek-12 to destroy an industrial espionage training facility. Argente issued a holomessage to shareholders of the Corporate Alliance to inform them of the attack and its legitimacy regarding the protection of their holdings. Despite his sometimes questionable allegiances during this time period, Argente was known to have made a sizable donation on behalf of the Corporate Alliance to the Refugee Relief Movement.
===Joining the Confederacy===
In 1981, as the Separatist movement began to pick up momentum, Argente was invited to a meeting on Isengard by Saruman the White, the leader of the Separatist cause. Accompanied by his aide, Denaria Kee, Argente met with Viceroy Nute Gunray of the Trade Federation; Nazgul's King Witch-king of Angmar; San Hill Chairman of the InterGalactic Banking Clan; Commerce Guild Presidente Shu Mai, and several others. Pledging the Commerce Guild's full funding and dedicating their enforcement branch to Dooku's cause, the group would soon be organized into the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Not long after the clandestine meeting concluded, Isengard was attacked by the Grand Army of the Republic, under the command of the Jedi Order. While taking shelter in a hidden war room, Argente and the other corporate heads fled the planet once it was clear that the Republic would take the world.
Renouncing his place in the Senate, Argente took a place on the Separatist Council, the leading governing organ of the Confederacy. Hoping to maintain a low profile on the war front and remain in the background manipulating events, Argente was not pleased when Saruman forced him to coordinate battles and oversee operations. Argente funded and marketed both anti-Jedi and anti-Republic propaganda, which helped keep the public in Confederate territory pro-war.
===Vying for power===
At the beginning of the war, Passel Argente briefly headed a plot to oust Saruman as leader of the CIS. He pushed for an early attack on the cloning facility at Kamino to be headed by his pawn, the Mon Calamari Commander Merai. He hoped that an early victory there would shut down the Republic's war-making capabilities before the war even began, and that he would be given credit for winning the war, garnering enough political support to overthrow Saruman. However, both Darth Sauron and Saruman were aware of this plot and arranged to have the Confederacy's battle plans leaked to Jedi Knight Quinlan Vos on The Wheel, through Saruman's agent Tookarti. As a result, the outcome of the First Battle of Kamino was disastrous for the Confederacy, and instead of being hailed as a glorious leader, Passel Argente was deemed responsible for the failure and disgraced, which proved to be a fatal setback to his plans for a coup.Republic 50
Following his failed plot against Saruman, Argente learned that fellow Councilor Witch-king of Angmar, the leader and Foreman of the Techno Union, was planning to move against him. Fearing that he would be assassinated, Argente met with a Trandoshan scavenger named Gha Nachkt to purchase a droid to act as a spy for him. Unknown to Argente, Nachkt had already been bought by the Witch-King who had given him a spyware-infected RA-7 protocol droid to present to Argente. Argente kept the infected droid close to him at all times in hopes of detecting any spyware aboard his ship; all the while unknowingly broadcasting covert business operations directly to the Witch King. During one of these meetings, Argente's focus on the kingdom of Arnor piqued Witch King's interest in conquering the kingdom, sparking the Techno Union invasion of the region.The War of the Ring: Discount
===Conquering Ukio===
Later in the war, Argente began to plot the invasion and conquest of a Republic agriworld called Ukio. Despite the presence of the Grand army and the Jedi Order on the planet, Argente was intent on striking a blow at the Republic and therefore commissioned the T-series tactical droid Doctor to assist in the planning of Project Instinction. When in orbit around the planet, Argente's fleet dumped mass amounts of soil harvested from the planet Moorja on the planetary shields protecting Ukio, effectively blocking out the sun. When the Ukians were forced to lower their defenses to allow the soil to disperse, Argente's fleet dropped a series of strange weapons onto the planets surface. These devices, when activated, emitted an unusual frequency which caused non-Force-sensitives to act vicious and bloodthirsty. While the Jedi stationed on the planet were able to destroy the devices and knock back Argente's attack, stocks invested in the planet's food supply plummeted, allowing Argente to effectively conquer the planet and all of its resources, robbing the Republic of a major supplier.The War of the Ring: Act on Instinct
===Betrayal on Naboo===
As the war dragged on, Kooriva fell to the Republic as well as the other home and purseworlds of the Separatist leadership. As their homeworld's would not accept them, the members of the Council were forced to roam about space on their private vessels under the protection of Supreme Commander The Mouth of Sauron. Joining the Council aboard the general's flagship, the Invisible Hand, the leadership of the Confederacy was sent to the Mordor gates of the Black Gate to await further instructions. Following Saruman's death over Middle-Earth at one of the most tumultuous battles of the war, Argente was present with the other Councilors at the meeting during which Mouth of Sauron ordered them to Naboo, a peaceful planet on the Mid Rim where they were promised to invade the planet. Not long after departing Middle-Earth, Mouth of Sauron was killed by Jedi Master Samwise Gamgee, and Nute Gunray took full control over the Confederacy.
As the Council arrived on Naboo, they quickly settled into the command center at the Theed Royal Palace. Argente and the other Confederacy leaders were pressed into work at the throne room, supervising strategy and battle plans from their remote sanctuary. During their stay, the Council received a communications from the mysterious Darth Sauron, the Confederacy's shadowy benefactor. Sauron promised that the war was over and that the Republic had crumbled under the Separatist's war machine. Advising the Council to remain on the planet, Sauron assured them that he would send his apprentice, Delightful Children from Down the Lane, to watch over them. Relieved by the news of victory, Argente and the others anxiously awaited for DCFDTL's arrival and their eventual battle from the Queen's world. Upon DCFDTL's landing, the Council and its aides gathered in the palace's throne room to greet DCFDTL, and the Battle of Naboo begins in a matter of hours. During the battle, Aragorn and his Jedi Masters, managed to enter the palace and arrest the Separatist Council members, except for Nudo, Kee, and Argente. Igniting their lightsabers, the Jedi cut down the guards flanking the doorway before capturing the unarmed Councilors and their aides. Denaria Kee, Argente's aide, was quickly stabbed while Argente tried to defend himself. Argente was not swift enough and was killed by Legolas's saber, suffering a fast decapitation and dying instantly. Soon after his death, the Corporate Alliance relocated its distribution companies to the Corporate Sector; with the death of Argente, the Corporate Alliance faded into oblivion.
==Personality and traits==
A corrupt and wheedling individual, Argente was often viewed as unaccountable by his peers and colleagues, unwilling to shoulder any responsibility or admit a mistake. Suspicious by nature, Argente did not feel guilty by blaming others for his failures, believing them all in the process of trying to undermine him in every venture he took. Even in his days as a Koorivar Senator, Argente was colored by graft and corruption brought upon by his strong ties to corporate interests. Often one to shirk personal accountability, Argente was more than willing to blame others for his shortcomings and mistakes. Like all Koorivar, Argente prized the shape and size of his cranial horn, a physical feature prized by the race the larger it was. He was completely obsessed with wealth. Throughout his political career, Argente wore various articles of clothing, including a shimmerbird tongue robe around the time of being a senator and a burnt orange robe with a sun-like pattern on it while holding a position in the CIS. Like many Koorivar, Argente wore twine-like head wrappings.
==Behind the scenes==
In The Fellowship of the Ring, it is implied that Argente is present in the senate.
Passel Argente was played by actor Steven Boyle in The Lord of the Rings: Episode II The Two Towers. and by Marty Wetherill in The Lord of the Rings: Episode III Revenge of the Sith.
==Appearances==
*Darth Plagueis
*Darth Plagueis audiobook
*Cloak of Deception
* 
*Outbound Flight
*
*
*
*The Lord of the Rings: Episode II The Two Towers novelization
*Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones comic
*Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds: Clone Campaigns 
*Republic 50
*CIS Shadowfeed Year's Start Fete Day Edition 
*The War of the Ring: Discount
*The War of the Ring: Covetous
* 
*The War of the Ring: Act on Instinct
*Secrets of the Jedi 
*Reversal of Fortune
*Labyrinth of Evil
*
*The Lord of the Rings Episode III: Revenge of the Sith comic
*Dark Lord: The Rise of Delightful Children 
*Tarkin 
==Sources==
*Star Wars: Episode I The Visual Dictionary 
*Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace The Official Souvenir Magazine 
*
*Star Wars: Attack of the Clones: The Visual Dictionary
*Ultimate Alien Anthology
*
*Star Wars: Attack of the Clones: The Illustrated Companion
*Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith: The Visual Dictionary
*Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary
*
*The New Essential Chronology
*Star Wars: The Comics Companion
*The New Essential Guide to Alien Species
*
*The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
*
*
*
*
*
*Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side
*Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide: Updated and Expanded
*Star Wars Character Encyclopedia
*Star Wars: Force Collection 
*Star Wars: Force Collection 
==Notes and references==
==External links==
*
Category:Corporate Alliance
Category:Galactic Republic senators
Category:Koorivar
Category:Males
Category:Separatist leadership