Arihnda Pryce

Arihnda Pryce was a Lothalite human female who served as the Galactic Empire's imperial Governor of the planet Lothal under the jurisdiction of Moff Stattata. Deceitful and opportunistic, Pryce rose to political power and gained the position of Planetary Governor through underhanded tactics and power plays. Under Pryce's governorship, Lothal became a center for Imperial expansion and industrialization. Pryce's Imperialization of Lothal gave rise to a small rebellion on the planet, and her subsequent failures to foil this uprising gave way to a larger rebellion against the Empire. Pryce's destructive tendencies would be her undoing, and after a series of desperate attempts to defeat the rebels, she was killed when they successfully liberated Lothal from her grip.
Born and raised on Lothal, Arihnda Pryce was the heir and manager of her family's local mining business, Pryce Mining. After selling the company to the Galactic Empire, she began serving as an aide to Lothal Senator Domus Renking and became involved with the political elite of Coruscant, while her parents relocated to Batonn. She was dismissed from her position, however, when she became entangled in a plot between Renking and Moff Ghadi. Working for a citizen assistance office shortly after, she joined the Higher Skies Advocacy Group. During this time, she allied with key figures such as Governor Wilhuff Tarkin and a rising Navy officer, Thrawn, and began plotting to make her bid for power. In a series of betrayals and deceptions, Pryce engineered the downfalls of Moff Ghadi, her friends at Higher Skies, Lothal Governor Ryder Azadi, and Senator Renking. Using her power as leverage, she petitioned and was appointed the Governorship of Lothal, taking Azadi's place.
As Governor of Lothal, Pryce presided over the expansion of the Empire's presence on Lothal, which became a major Imperial base in the Outer Rim Territories. Shortly after Pryce assumed the title, the nearby system of Batonn came under insurgent threat. Under the pretense of gathering intelligence, Pryce traveled to the planet to rescue her parents. Pryce murdered ISB Agent Gudry while trying to flee with her parents, and, to conceal her role in his murder, she detonated a mining facility, destroying the insurgent forces and resulting in heavy civilian casualties. After escaping suspicion, she returned to Lothal to deal with the planet's growing rebellion, led by the Phoenix Cell. To help combat the rebels, Governor Pryce solicited Grand Admiral Thrawn to help ferret out and destroy them.
Pryce joined Thrawn and ISB Agent Kallus in combating the rebel presence in the Lothal sector. During the course of the insurgency, she worked to root out dissent on Lothal, took part in an unsuccessful hunt for rebel leader Mon Mothma, and participated in the Battle of Atollon, where Thrawn laid siege to Phoenix Cell's base. As the small rebellion grew into the Alliance to Restore the Republic and entered war with the Empire, Lothal was strip-mined and industrialized further under Pryce. The rebel cell originating from Lothal, the Spectres, returned to Lothal to free the planet from Pryce and the Empire. After defending against a rebel attack, Pryce destroyed the Lothal City fuel depot, killing rebel leader Kanan Jarrus but falling out of favor with Thrawn, whose projects relied on the planet's resources. Terrified of what her punishment would be, Pryce mounted a desperate attack on the Lothal resistance's base. Her attack failed, however, and she was taken captive. Pryce was killed during the final battle between the rebellion and Thrawn's forces, remaining loyal to the Empire until the end.
==Biography==
===Early life===
Arihnda Pryce was a human female from the Outer Rim planet Lothal. Born around 49 BBY and 45 BBY. Arihnda was the daughter of Elainye Pryce and Talmoor Pryce. The family owned a mine on Lothal that was located on land shared by the Governor of the Lothal sector Ryder Azadi. She grew up a quiet life, which the Lothalite enjoyed as a child, watching the sunset and the laughter of children from all species and backgrounds playing. Arihnda grew up privileged and her life was quite active with many social activities including dance recitals and school debates, many of which were recorded by her proud and loving parents.
Although her upbringing had been happy and full, as Arihnda grew older and life entered into the pressures and responsibilities of adulthood, she began to resent the quiet and dullness of the open spaces for lacking culture and excitement. Regarding Lothal as boring, Arihnda sought to escape to more cosmopolitan worlds, where excitement and bright lights existed alongside what she regarded as "sophisticated people." Her father Talmoor eventually discovered a source of doonium, a precious metal used in the manufacture of starship hulls and something valued by the expanding Imperial Navy. When Arihnda came of age, she inherited her father's mining company Pryce Mining.
===The Imperial takeover===
When Arihnda was in her mid-thirties, Azadi, then the Governor of the Lothal sector, sought access to Pryce Mining's doonium mines. He sent one of his staffers Arik Uvis to buy another 21 percent stake in the company, giving him a controlling interest. However, Arihnda rejected the offer. In retaliation, Governor Azadi's office framed Arihnda's mother Elainye for embezzlement. After learning the news from her father Talmoor, Arihnda visited the police station only to learn that her mother's bail request had been denied and that she had not been allowed to receive visitors. She later conferred with Talmoor and realized that Uvis was behind her mother's trumped up charges. In desperation, Pryce sought the help of Lothal's Senator Domus Renking.
Senator Renking agreed to to help Pryce's mother by shifting the blame onto the Lutrillian heavy equipment inventory operations manager Pomi Harchmak. To prevent Azadi from taking over the company, Renking persuaded Arihnda to sign over the rights of her company to the Empire. As compensation, he found Arihnda's parents new jobs as the assistant manager and foreman of the Creekpath Mining and Refining complex on the planet Batonn. Renking also secured Pryce a new job as a staff member at one of his citizen assistance offices on Coruscant. With little choice, Pryce accepted Renking's terms and sold Pryce Mining to the Empire. Following the meeting, Pryce spent three hours remonstrating with her parents about the opportunity they were given while warning of the dangers if they refused. While she was helpless in the past, she convinced them that she would help them in the future. In the end, Pryce's parents agreed to leave their home and relocate to Batonn.
===Serving Senator Renking===
On Coruscant, Arihnda Pryce developed a reputation as a tough and effective civilian assistance officer who lobbied for the interests of Lothalian expatriates on the galactic capital. On one occasion, Pryce confronted the landlady Chesna Braker for neglecting to repair a leaking pipe in one of her tenant Daisie's apartment blocks. Following a tense argument, Braker reluctantly agreed to fix Daisie's leaking pipe after Pryce reminded her to comply with Coruscant laws and regulations.
In return for her services, Senator Renking took advantage of a new program encouraging senators to fund supplementary citizen assistance offices to provide Pryce with a managerial job at his fifth new office in the Bartanish Four Sector. This new job came with an apartment two blocks and six levels away from her workplace. Unlike her previous positing, this new office was open to all Coruscanti citizens. Pryce regarded the Bartanish Four Sector job as a modest step up the social ladder to the all-powerful Federal District.
As time passed, Arihnda befriended the waitress Juahir Madras and her friend Driller MarDapp, who worked with the Higher Skies Advocacy Group. She helped the former to find an apartment in her own building and to move her things in. During the Ascension Week celebrations leading up to Empire Day, Pryce used her position as a senatorial employee to secure Juahir and Driller places at an exclusive Imperial ball at the upmarket Alisandre Hotel. The ball was attended by several Senators and Imperial Military officers including the Imperial Security Bureau Colonel Wullf Yularen, Ensign Eli Vanto, and the Chiss Senior Lieutenant Thrawn.
While conversing with the group, Arihnda learned that Thrawn was a rising star in the Imperial Navy, who had successfully neutralized a group of pirates in the Mid Rim Territories. Pryce also became acquainted with Ensign Vanto and learned that Colonel Yularen had brought Thrawn and Vanto to Coruscant for the purpose of social networking. Senator Renking then dispatched Pryce on an assignment to deliver a datacard to Moff Ghadi. He instructed her to tell Ghadi to load the card onto a secure datapad, download the files, and then return the card to his office. Not suspecting that anything was afoot, Pryce told Juahir and Driller to enjoy themselves and that she would be back.
At Moff Ghadi's office, Pryce learned that Senator Renking had planted false data in the card. Moff Ghadi handed a different card and then sprayed her with polstine spice, a highly illegal drug that could earn one life imprisonment. With Pryce in legal trouble, Moff Ghadi blackmailed her into returning the datacard to Senator Renking's office. Pryce then slipped out of the ballroom and caught an air taxi to Renking's office. Per Ghadi's instructions, she slotted Ghadi's data card into the slot in the desk safe. Pryce then spent the night at Driller's borrowed apartment, brushing off Juahir's questions by claiming to be sick.
The following day, Pryce arrive at Senator Renking's office to learn that his office was facing allegations of financial and corporate discrepancies. Due to a cut in funding, Senator Renking closed down seven of his citizen assistance offices including Pryce's office in Bartanish Four Sector. After Senator Renking had dismissed the other employees, he confronted Pryce, who replied that she had no choice because Moff Ghadi had threatened to have her arrested. Senator Renking dismissed her for her naivety and demanded the return of her airspeeder key. He also evicted her from her apartment and sent several Ugnaughts to clear out her personal effects.
===Trial by ordeal===
After being dismissed from her job, Arihnda Pryce found comfort in her friends Juahir and Driller. When Juahir asked if her dismissal had anything to do with why she had bailed on them the previous night, Pryce confirmed that this was the case but declined to talk about it. Taking pity on Pryce, Juahir offered her a place at her apartment. She also offered Pryce a job at the restaurant Topple. Arihnda agreed to stay with Driller and Juahir for the rest of Ascension Week but made it clear that she would look for her own place.
Unwilling to depend on others for her survival, Pryce found work at the Proam Avenue Citizen Assistance. Despite her hostile reception from the reception staff member Nariba, Pryce managed to convinced the manager Alistar Sinclar to hire her by citing her experience dealing with tenancy, employment, and legal disputes. Since Sinclar had a shortage of employees, she convinced him to let her work the rest of Ascension Week for free. Admiring Pryce's brashness, Sinclar assigned her to desk eight.
===Joining Higher Skies===
A year after the events at Alisandre Hotel, Juahir and Driller invited Pryce for dinner at The Pinnacle, a fancy restaurant in the Federal District. During the dinner, Driller invited Arihnda to join his Higher Skies advocacy group, seeking to utilize her expertise in mines, mining, and refining. Pryce also learned that Juahir had become a martial arts instructor at the Yinchom Dojo, which trained bodyguards for Imperial senators. While the new position did not come with many perks, Pryce accepted Driller's job offer because she wanted to move back into the centers of political power. She also took up Juahir's offer to share her apartment and provide dinner for her friend.
As a member of a licensed advocacy group, Arihnda found that Imperial politicians and bureaucrats took notice of her group's advocacy work. While her new job did not pay as much as her previous job with Senator Renking, Pryce found Driller a reliable employer who paid her on time. He also had enough spare credits to keep her in outfits suitable for interacting with elites. One evening, Driller informed her that there had been an unusual number of Imperial takeovers of mining facilities and entire planets. He tasked her with pulling up the list and evaluating the importance of the mines in question, the circumstances of the Imperial takeover, and any patterns.
Examining the data, Pryce discovered that the Empire had nationalized 28 mines dating back to a year before Renking had bought Pryce Mining. She found that 21 of these takeovers had occurred during the past year. While studying the recent Umbara takeover, Pryce discovered that the now-Captain Thrawn, the Chiss whom she had encountered at Alisandre Hotel the previous year, had played a key role in putting down the insurgency there. While on her way to Juahir's home, her turbolift malfunctioned and landed in the seedy Level 4120. Using her comm, Pryce managed to maintain contact with Juahir who told her to head to another turbolift six blocks to the west.
Before she could reach another turbolift, Pryce was accosted by six young thugs, who demanded that she treat them to a drink. Before the thugs could harm her, Juahir arrived with one of her bodyguard students, Ottlis Dos. Using her martial art skills, Juahir defeated the thugs in physical combat and sent them retreating. After Juahir introduced Pryce to Ottlis, Pryce accepted martial arts lessons from Ottlis, who worked for an Imperial official. Out of gratitude, Pryce treated Juahir and Ottlis for dinner that night.
When Captain Thrawn along with Ensign Vanto and Colonel Yularen visited the Yinchom Dojo, Pryce greeted Thrawn and his companions. When Colonel Yularen asked who was the woman overseeing a sparring session nearby, Pryce pointed out that the woman was her friend Juahir, who was an instructor. Pryce explained that she was visiting the dojo to establish a few contacts with some of the bodyguards who were training there. Pryce and the others then watched as Thrawn undertook a sparring session with the Togorian master H'sishi. Thrawn and his companions had visited the Yinchom Dojo to investigate the Dojo's links with Higher Skies, which was spying on senior Imperial officials.
===Imperial entanglements===
Later, Ottlis invited Pryce to his employer's office under the pretext of a martial arts training session. Pryce soon discovered that Ottlis' employer Moff Ghadi had summoned her for a meeting. After exchanging pleasantries, Ghadi questioned Pryce about her involvement with the Higher Skies Advocacy Group. Ghadi believed that Higher Skies was seeking to destroy him; citing that a meeting with a Higher Sky employee preceded the recovery of some his confidential financial information from a smuggling gang and a raid on one of his mines a week later. When Pryce asked what was stolen, Ghadi reiterated that nobody would get away with robbing a Moff. He then demanded that Pryce reveal who had hired Higher Skies to destroy him; suspecting Senator Renking or his rival Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin.
Arihnda confided that she did not know who had sent Higher Skies to disrupt Ghadi's operations. At Ghadi's suggestion, she decided to contact her boss Driller. She told Driller that she was having a special evening training session with Ottlis at Moff Ghadi's office. Pryce also told Driller about her plan to take up an office assistant position with Grand Moff Tarkin. Despite his reservations, Driller encouraged her to apply for the job. Following her comm conversation with Driller, Pryce explained that Ghadi was not "anyone's" target because he had not instructed her to search Ghadi's office. Ghadi accepted Pryce's explanation but ordered her to copy all of Higher Skies' files, report on all their conversations, and to make a list of their contacts. Ghadi secured Pryce's cooperation by threatening to alert the Imperial Security Bureau. Ghadi also revealed that Ottlis was his double agent.
After returning to the apartment that she shared with Juahir, Pryce reflected on her predicament. She decided to take up Ghadi's offer and spent the next hour digging up Higher Skies' files and records from their computer. After arranging the data into a neat package, she arranged a meeting with Commander Thrawn. Arihnda met with Thrawn at a corner booth in the Gilroy Plaza Diner and told him about her predicament with Moff Ghadi and Higher Skies. Thrawn advised her to use Ghadi's hatred of Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin to follow two possible attack vectors: turning the threat into an ally and then using him against the enemy or using the threat as a lever against the enemy in order to make him an ally. Thrawn also counseled her to be ready to turn on her friends Driller and Juahir in order to receive Colonel Yularen's protection. Putting her plan into action, Arihnda contacted Moff Ghadi and offered to send him all the information that Higher Skies had on Grand Moff Tarkin. Ghadi instructed her to download the data onto a datacard and to pass it to Ottlis at a Whitehawk Tower address.
===Gaining the governorship===
Later, Pryce managed to gain access to the Phindians Lady Teeyr Hem and her husband Senator Hem by buying them an expensive bottle of wine. Under the pretext of lobbying Grand Moff Tarkin, Pryce convinced Driller to secure an audience with the senior Imperial official. During the meeting, Pryce revealed that Higher Skies was using bodyguards to spy on high-ranking Imperial officials and senators. She also told Tarkin that Commander Thrawn had advised her to embark on a "double-layer thief program" to expose Higher Skies' activities. In return for her services, Pryce convinced the Grand Moff to make long overdue repairs on Thrawn's ship Thunder Wasp and to give Eli Vanto a long overdue promotion.
Seeking revenge on Ghadi for blackmailing her in the first place, Pryce also supplied a voice recording proving that the Moff ordered her to collect Higher Skies' information about Tarkin and to send it to him. Grand Moff Tarkin was pleased because this provided ample evidence of a high official conspiring to use illegally obtained data to topple another high official. In return for providing information on Lothal's economic and society, Pryce convinced the Grand Moff to appoint her Governor of Lothal as a means of exacting her revenge on Governor Azadi and Senator Renking for taking her parents' mining company from them. Pryce reasoned that being made Governor would humiliate the former and make it easier to take down the latter. Tarkin accepted her offer in return for receiving the rest of the data.
Using Pryce's information, Colonel Yularen's Imperial Security Bureau arrested Driller and the other members of Higher Skies. Accompanied by Colonel Yularen, Arihnda visited her friend Juahir at Yinchom Dojo and arrested her for using her training position to recruit and indoctrinate high-level bodyguards as spies. Yularen informed Juahir that one of her students Kaniki had made an assassination attempt on his employer Senator Evidorn. Juahir protested that her group did not order their bodyguards to kill anyone. With Higher Skies' activities exposed, Pryce then demanded that Juahir tell her whether she was her friend or just a tool.
Juahir pleaded with Pryce that her friendship was genuine and that her disillusionment with the Empire had begun after Senator Renking had dismissed Pryce. When Yularen asked about Pryce's knowledge of the elusive Nightswan, Juahir responded that Driller had mentioned that name before but that they were only interested in making the Empire better for everyone. When Pryce accused Juahir of using her as a patsy, Juahir denied that was the case. When Juahir pleaded for Pryce to help her, Pryce told her former friend to cooperate with Colonel Yularen in return for escaping execution. Arihnda promised to use her position as Governor to get Juahir out of prison in a few years time.
When Colonel Yularen asked about Master H'sishi, Pryce argued that there was insufficient evidence to charge the dojo with conspiracy; citing Thrawn's evaluation of the Togorian and the lack of documentary evidence pointing to her guilt. Showing mercy to H'sishi, Pryce advised the dojo to leave Coruscant as soon as possible. She warned that Juahir could try to shift some of the blame onto her back. H'sisi accepted Pryce's advice. Keeping his promise to Pryce, Grand Moff Tarkin arranged for Vanto to be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander and Thrawn to the rank of Commodore. Thrawn was also given command of the Imperial Star Destroyer Chimaera.
===Governor of Lothal===
====Consolidation====
Arihnda Pryce was appointed Acting Governor of the Lothal sector after Azadi, was charged with treason by the Galactic Empire and imprisoned. Following her deal with Grand Moff Tarkin and the Imperial crackdown on Higher Skies, Pryce spent a few years on Coruscant training to be a Governor. While Pryce learned the details of her new job, she delegated the governing of Lothal to several ministers including Maketh Tua, the Minister of Industrial Production. Though most governorship appointments had to run through the Imperial Palace, Tarkin used his high-level connections to cut through bureaucratic red tape.
Upon returning to Lothal, Pryce was greeted by Minister Tua, who informed about a twenty percent decline in refinery output. After learning that Pryce Mining's doonium vein had been exhausted, she ordered that the company be shut down. Pryce also made sure that employees who had worked for her family were given priority in securing the best positions. She then arranged a meeting with her old foe, Senator Renking. When Senator Renking objected to the closure of Pryce Mining, Governor Pryce responded that the mine was running at a loss and that its employees would be transferred elsewhere. She also reasserted her authority over the Senator and warned him that she had powerful friends and patrons.
In secret, Pryce contacted the Anx mining boss Eccos and confronted her about withholding information on a secret vein of doonium. Since Pryce had shut down Pryce Mining, Pryce allowed Eccos to continue extracting the remaining doonium in secret. For the next several months, Pryce spent her time in Lothal's Capital City entrenching the Empire's presence on Lothal. The Empire expanded industry on Lothal, expanded the mines, and increased their military presence on the planet. Despite protests from local farmers who had their lands expropriated for building new factories, military facilities, and mines, Pryce was unmoved and believed that the Imperial presence would bring prosperity and employment opportunities. Under Pryce's rule, Lothal became the main hub for the Imperial presence in the Lothal sector.
====Settling old scores====
Several months later, an opportunity came for Pryce to settle scores with her old enemy, Senator Renking. When Minister Tua informed her that Governor Sanz of Kintoni was planning to expand her planet's military-grade landing and maintenance facilities, Pryce regarded Kintoni's activities as a threat to her ambitions to establish Lothal as the main Imperial naval base and center in that part of the Outer Rim Territories. Pryce chastised Tua for not sharing her ambition of modernizing Lothal. Pryce departed for Coruscant to lobby on Lothal's behalf and left Minister Tua in charge.
After arriving in Coruscant, Governor Pryce sent research materials and maps to Commodore Thrawn supporting Lothal's bid to expand the Imperial Navy's presence on that planet. Thrawn looked over the material and voiced support for Pryce's plans. Governor Pryce planning to give a presentation before the Imperial High Command supporting Lothal's bid. Pryce then visited Senator Renking and convinced him to persuade Governor Sanz to withdraw Kintoni's bid. Two days later, the corrupt senator managed to bribe Governor Sanz into sabotaging her presentation in return for a monetary bribe.
Six days later, the select Committee of the Imperial High Command ruled in favor of Lothal, granting the planet a contract to expand Imperial naval facilities. Following the meeting, Pryce thanked Renking for his help. Shortly later, the Imperial Security Bureau Major Hartell arrested Senator Renking for bribing Governor Sanz. When Renking protested his innocence and claimed that Pryce had told him to do it, Pryce responded that she had told him to talk to Sanz and emphasized that her version of events was supported by the recording.
Following the arrest of Senator Renking, Pryce returned to her office and received news from her receptions that her former friend Juahir had sent her a message about two hours ago. Juahir was imprisoned at the Oovo 4 detention center and had been sending Pryce twenty messages for the past year. However, Pryce had instructed her Lothal office to turn them back. Still bitter towards her former friend, Pryce instructed the receptionist to keep the documents here on the ground that she was not ready to read them yet.
====Imperialization====
At one point, Arihnda Pryce visited Coruscant to discuss Lothal's industrial and mining sectors, and was received by Grand Vizier Mas Amedda. Following the awarding of the Imperial contract to Lothal, Pryce was invited by Grand Moff Tarkin to visit his homeworld of Eriadu. Pryce indicated that she would return to Coruscant for the Ascension Week celebrations that year. Pryce's rule also saw the rise of a rebellion, particularly in Capital City.
In 5 BBY, Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan lent Pryce two droids, C-3PO and R2-D2, to help negotiate an Imperial arms deal. While on loan to Minister Maketh Tua the droids were captured by the rebels of the Ghost, who fought against the Empire. C-3PO attempted to contact Governor Pryce for help, but the call was intercepted by Imperial Security Bureau agent Kallus.
During the Empire Day festivities marking the fifteenth anniversary of the rise of the Empire, Pryce was invited to Coruscant to celebrate alongside Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine. She remained absent at times, and the government was overseen by Minister Tua. In Pryce's absence, the rebels continued to attack Imperial targets, drawing the attention of Tarkin and, soon thereafter, Darth Vader.
====Crisis on Batonn====
Later, Governor Pryce along with the now Admiral Thrawn, Colonel Yularen, Lieutenant Commander Vanto attended a high level security meeting chaired by Fleet Admiral Jok Donassius to discuss the growing rebel insurgency in their region of the galaxy. When Governor Restos asked about Pryce's presence, Fleet Admiral Donassius responded that Pryce had requested to be at the meeting as an observer since the Lothal system was close to the area of concern and experiencing much trouble. He reassured the other delegates that the Lothal insurgents were being dealt with by Admiral Kassius Konstantine.
Colonel Yularen then informed the delegates that a group of insurgents had seized control of Scrim Island, an offshore island 300 kilometers west of the main continent on Batonn. He reported that the insurgents had taken a hundred hostages including Imperial Navy troopers, technicians, and some civilian workers. The insurgents also controlled the island's energy shield, its shoreline defenses, and three ion cannons. While Thrawn was given command of the mission, he insisted on studying the island first. Donassius disagreed and appointed Admiral Durril command of the mission.
Ultimately, Thrawn was proven right and Admiral Durril's forces sustained considerable casualties. As a result, Thrawn was tasked with dealing with the insurgents. Studying the local geography and rebel fortifications, Thrawn's forces managed to use his ships' firepower to generate tsunamis to disable the ion cannons, a hidden turbolaser cannon, and the deflectors. Following the surrender of the insurgent forces on Scrim island, Thrawn managed to arrange a meeting with Nightswan but was unable to convince him to surrender his forces.
Thrawn then turned his attention to the Batonn insurgents who had retreated to the Creekpath Mining and Refining complex outside Paeragosto City on Batonn's main continent. The Imperial military and Batonn Defense Force forces lay siege to the mining complex. Pryce managed to convince Colonel Yularen that she could aid the Empire by gathering intelligence on the insurgents' defenses and weapons setup while evacuating her parents. At Yularen's insistence, Pryce reluctantly allowed ISB Agent Gudry to accompany her inside the Creekpath complex. Gudry's mission was to scout the insurgents' defenses and to plant explosives under the cover of finding a friend, who purportedly worked as a weapons electronic expert at the mine. Pryce and Colonel Yularen traveled to Batonn from the planet Dennogra. Thrawn reluctantly approved Pryce and Gudry's mission.
Pryce and Gudry managed to enter the mining complex using fake identification; with Pryce wearing a false blonde wig and eye lenses. After reuniting with her parents at their Batonn home, Pryce managed to persuade her father Talmoor to accompany her and Gudry into the mine under the pretext of rescuing Gudry's friend. Pryce also discovered that her parents were sympathetic to the Batonn insurgents due to the corruption of Restos and his friends. Realizing that Gudry planned to blow up the mining complex, Pryce pretended to help Gudry. However, she decided to plan an escape and "borrowed" her mother's comm. Pryce was only concerned about her parents' well-being and safety.
====Blood and fire====
Pryce, Talmoor, and Gudry managed to enter the mine with her father's help. During the journey, Pryce learned more about the local governor's corruption from her father. Inside the mine, Pryce feigned sickness and slipped inside a parked speeder truck. Mimicking her mother's voice, Pryce managed to call Gudry and Talmoor back on the pretext that Talmoor was sick. Arihnda managed to take her father home and left Gudry to search for his friend alone. Upon returning to her parents' home, Pryce managed to convince them to leave by claiming that an Imperial taskforce was planning to bomb Creekpath in order to neutralize the insurgents.
Before Pryce could leave with her parents, Agent Gudry returned and chastised her for not helping his mission. Gudry also revealed that his mission was not a rescue mission but a search and destroy mission to plant bombs near the explosives cache and the shield generator. When Pryce pleaded for him to take her parents with them, Gudry replied that he could not let them draw attention to him. Following a fight, Pryce managed to shoot him dead. Before leaving with her parents, Pryce found Gudry's comm, which contained the two triggers for the shield and explosives bomb. Unaware about what was going on, Admiral Thrawn ordered his forces to engage the Creekpath insurgents and Colonel Yularen sent a retrieval squad to rescue Pryce.
Reaching the checkpoint, Pryce blew up a bulldozer with one of Gudry's explosive caps and took advantage of the commotion to kill a guard. When Elainye asked what was going on, Pryce claimed that the man had been hit by shrapnel. They soon encountered a pair of Imperial Navy troopers who informed Pryce that Colonel Yularen had sent a retrieval team to search for her. Pryce headed to the Imperial ground headquarters with her parents. After arriving there, she triggered Gudry's explosive remote in the cache of explosives to prevent Yularen's special guard from finding Gudry's body. The resulting explosion killed all of the insurgents within the mine, Yularen's retrieval squad, and many civilians living near the complex.
When her mother expressed horror at what she thought was an Imperial attack, Pryce blamed the insurgents for provoking the situation. Pryce then sent her parents on the transport Duggenhei to the governor's mansion on Lothal. Governor Pryce and Colonel Yularen then attended a debriefing with Admiral Thrawn. Colonel Yularen expressed outrage at the high civilian casualties. Covering up her role in Gudry's death, Pryce claimed that Gudry had detonated the explosives when he was captured by the insurgents. When Pryce expressed her condolences for Gudry, a skeptical Yularen confronted her about the deaths of the soldiers he had sent to retrieve her. Despite the high loss of lives, Pryce was pleased that the insurgent leader Nightswan had been killed.
Following the debriefing, Governor Pryce chatted with Admiral Thrawn in private. Knowing that the military strategist lacked political savvy, she offered her services as his political adviser. Despite Thrawn's unease about the high civilian casualties, Pryce convinced him to take credit for the neutralization of the Batonn insurgents. She also solicited Thrawn's help in dealing with the growing rebel insurgency in the Lothal sector. Pryce managed to entice Thrawn by arranging for his appointment to the Seventh Fleet. Thrawn accepted her offer to serve as a political adviser before departing for an audience with the Emperor on Coruscant. In private, however, Thrawn confided with his friend Commander Vanto his suspicions that Pryce had a hand in the Creekpath bombing. Despite the lack of evidence, Thrawn remarked that there was "often a symmetry to things." During the subsequent meeting, Thrawn was promoted to Grand Admiral and given command of the Seventh Fleet.
====Heist at Reklam Station====
During her tenure as governor, the impact of the growing rebellion continued to destabilize parts of the Empire, Lothal being no exception. Pryce met with Grand Moff Tarkin to discuss the growing threat posed by the rebel insurgency. During the meeting, Pryce informed Tarkin that things were quiet on Lothal but that there had been a prison breakout on nearby Naraka. Dissatisfied with the performance of Konstantine whom she regarded as more of a politician than a soldier, she believed that the only way to effectively wipe out the rebellion was to enlist the help of someone who could "see the bigger picture." Tarkin understood her concerns and granted her request of the Seventh Fleet.
Later, Pryce and Tarkin met with Admiral Konstantine and the ISB Agent Kallus on the bridge of an Imperial Star Destroyer. Konstantine disagreed with Pryce's assessment that the Phoenix Group posed a serious threat and dismissed them as a localized insurgency. At that point, they were joined by the decorated Imperial officer, Thrawn, who had recently been promoted for his role in suppressing the rebel presence in the Batonn sector. When Kallus expressed concerns about the high civilian casualties, Pryce justified Thrawn's actions on the grounds that the rebel presence there had been eradicated, showing her disregard for innocent lives.
When Tarkin asked Thrawn about his thoughts on Pryce's theory that the rebels were linked to a wider rebellion, Thrawn discussed the recent rescue of the Weequay pirate Hondo Ohnaka from Naraka prison. Since Phoenix Group had destroyed Mining Guild vessels a mere hour after Ohnaka's rescue and Ohnaka's cellmate Terba had been a laborer at the nearby Imperial junkyard Reklam Station, Thrawn believed that the rebels planned to raid the junkyard and steal several decommissioned Y-wing starfighters for their fleet. Thrawn vowed to destroy the rebels before they could pose a threat to the Emperor's plans and the Galactic Empire.
Following Thrawn's instructions, Governor Pryce, Admiral Konstantine, and Agent Kallus traveled on their Star Destroyer to the planet Yarma, which hosted Reklam Station. Upon receiving news from Commander Brom Titus that the Spectres had attacked Reklam Station, Pryce ordered him to wait for reinforcements. However, the rebels managed to steal the Y-wings, free the Ugnaught laborers, and destroy the station. Pryce's Star Destroyer arrived in time to intercept the rebel Y-wings, which lacked hyperdrives. Before the Imperials could wipe out the stolen fighters, other rebel ships including the Ghost and a Quasar Fire-class cruiser-carrier arrived and managed to ferry the Y-wings to safety. After consulting Thrawn, Pryce ordered her forces to allow the rebels to escape since Thrawn believed that sparing the rebel cell would allow them to hunt down and destroy the wider movement.
====Hunting rebellious cadets====
Following that incident, Pryce and Agent Kallus then traveled to Skystrike Academy. There they met with Instructor Goran and told him that several of his cadets were planning to defect to the rebellion. When Goran protested that his cadets were thoroughly well-trained and loyal, Pryce warned him to cooperate with their investigation and told Kallus that she had something to teach him.
Under Pryce's direction, Agent Kallus proceeded to ground the cadets and question them. His investigation yielded no results but Pryce was still unsatisfied and decided that it was time to take a more direct approach. When Goran reiterated his unhappiness with the investigation, Pryce then suggested that they could reach a mutual agreement by getting the cadets into space though a mock simulated exercise. Pryce planned to use this exercise to lure the dissident cadets out of hiding. As expected, the undercover rebel agent Sabine Wren and the cadets Wedge Antilles, Hobbie and Rake Gahree made an attempt to escape.
Sabine contacted her fellow rebels aboard a CR90 corvette and attempted to rendezvous with them. Pryce ordered Sabine and her wingmates to return but Sabine taunted her. In response, Pryce activated a button which disabled the TIE fighters' solar collectors; leaving them floating in space. Under her orders, Captain Vult Skerris destroyed Rake's fighter as a warning to the "traitors." Skerris and his TIE interceptors inflicted damage on the rebel cruiser and drove them away.
After capturing the rebellious cadets, Governor Pryce confronted the three youths. She was about to torture Wedge with an electronic torture device when Sabine identified herself as the rebel agent. While Agent Kallus took the other prisoners to a holding cell, Pryce proceeded to question Sabine. When Sabine refused to talk, Pryce brought up a glyph of her file and "welcomed" the former cadet back to the Imperial Academy. Before she could place Sabine in the torture device, the rebel agent broke free of her stormtrooper captors and fought with Pryce, who demonstrated surprisingly astute combat abilities. Pryce smirked, remarking that the Empire had taught her well, Sabine retorted that her clan had taught her better and sent the governor reeling with a powerful right hook. Stumbling backwards, Pryce accidentally triggered the torture device and was zapped with a powerful surge that knocked her out cold. Sabine, Wedge, and Hobbie then took the opportunity to escape with the help of Kallus, who had grown sympathetic to the Spectres following his encounter with Garazeb Orrelios.
====Continuing the hunt====
While traveling aboard an Imperial Star Destroyer, Governor Pryce was praised by Agent Kallus for her plan to lure the Spectres into a trap at a fuel depot. However, Pryce responded that her plan was only a success if they could catch the rebels. Admiral Konstantine then reported that they had received an encrypted distress signal from the planet Agamar. While thinking that it was strange for the rebels to encounter trouble, Pryce nonetheless ordered the nearest Imperial outpost to send troops to Agamar immediately; resulting in a skirmish in which the Spectres and the Separatist garrison under the super tactical droid Kalani joined forces to escape the Imperials.
====Hunting down saboteurs====
The former Governor Ryder Azadi's rebel cell undertook a campaign of sabotaging military vehicles produced by the Imperial Armory Complex. This led to a high rate of accidents among Imperial Military personnel. In response Imperial High Command dispatched Grand Admiral Thrawn to investigate the Lothal Imperial factory. Governor Pryce along with Agent Kallus and Lieutenant Yogar Lyste were present when Thrawn gave a speech berating the workers for their poor craftsmanship. Pryce smirked after a test demonstration with a sabotaged 614-AvA speeder bike claimed the life of factory worker and undercover rebel operative Morad Sumar.
She and her subordinates then complied with Thrawn's orders to lock down the factory and detain the factory workers for questioning. Despite their best efforts, the undercover rebels Ezra Bridger, Kanan Jarrus, and their astromech droid Chopper escaped the lockdown and infiltrated the factory's Section A2, which held Thrawn's top secret new weapon. Later, Pryce discussed her fears about the rebels infiltrating Section A2 and stealing its secrets. Thrawn responded that he had ordered for anyone entering the area without his personal code to be terminated on sight. When the Admiral chided Pryce for hiring locals, she responded that she had to fulfill certain Imperial quotas.
When Kallus requested more information on Thrawn's new weapon, Pryce responded that Thrawn had a new starfighter initiative. After Kallus questioned the effectiveness of a single fighter in improving Imperial fortunes, Thrawn responded that victory and defeat were determined by the smallest details. Pryce was present when Thrawn ordered another factory worker to demonstrate an AT-DP walker. When the walker broke down, Thrawn ordered the stormtroopers present to arrest the man.
Despite Thrawn's security precautions, Ezra's team managed to steal the starfighter plans and escaped with the help of a mole, who had secretly alerted the Phoenix Group to the project. Pryce and Kallus later visited Thrawn's Office to discuss the recent rebel incursion. When Thrawn voiced his suspicions that the Rebels had a mole among the Lothal Sector's Command Staff ranks, an alarmed Pryce advocated interrogating all Imperial personnel on Lothal. However, Thrawn counseled Pryce that emotion would not work and announced that he would uncover the traitor and co-opt them.
====Spy games====
Some time after, Grand Admiral Thrawn discovered a message sent out with the code phase "By the light of Lothal's moons" and discovered that the Rebels indeed had a mole in the Lothal Sector's Sector Command Staff and that the mole operated under the codename Fulcrum. Thrawn and Pryce monitored Fulcrum's next transmission to learn his identity based on the intel he gave the Rebels. Because only a higher-ranked Imperialist could access the intel Fulcrum gave the growing Rebellion in said message, Thrawn and Pryce quickly realized that the mole Fulcrum was not only a spy for the Rebel Network but also a traitor to the Empire as well and they solicited the help of Yularen in hunting for Fulcrum, Governor Pryce and other Sector Command staff attended meetings and interviews with Thrawn and Colonel Yularen aboard Thrawn's flagship Chimaera. While aboard the ship, Pryce met up with Agent Kallus and Lieutenant Lyste and thanked the latter for capturing a Lothalian bounty hunter, who had stolen a Star Commuter 2000 shuttle.
Pryce met privately with Thrawn and Yularen in Thrawn's Office. When she inquired about progress into rooting out Fulcrum, Thrawn opined that the spy had been present during their interviews and added that he planned to use the spy to sift out the rebels. At that point, Yularen briefed them that a coded transmission had been beamed off the Chimaera after Lyste and Kallus had boarded the ship with the bounty hunter.
Pryce then accompanied Thrawn and Yularen to visit the Chimaera detention block. Upon arriving, Pryce and her comrades discovered that the prisoner had escaped. After checking the register, Yularen reported that Lyste had been the last to enter the brig based on his code cylinder. Under Thrawn's instructions, Governor Pryce and a pair of stormtroopers encountered the two undercover rebels Kanan Jarrus and Rex, who were disguised as stormtroopers. These "stormtroopers" had arrived aboard Shuttle TY992 to pick up Fulcrum and the Rebel operatives Ezra, Chopper, and the RA-7 protocol droid AP-5.
Governor Pryce, who knew they were Rebels, ordered them to remove their helmets and submit to arrest. When Kanan protested, attempting to use a mind trick on her, she resisted and ordered her stormtrooper escort to stun him. Pryce then engaged in hand to hand combat with Rex. She managed to gain the upper hand Rex but was stunned by Lyste, who mistakenly believed that she was Fulcrum. Lyste was arrested as Fulcrum. Governor Pryce accepted Kallus' account that Lyste was a spy. Colonel Yularen publicly corroborated Kallus's account by linking Lyste's code cylinder to the rebel infiltration.
====Hunt for Mon Mothma====
Later, Arihnda Pryce and Admiral Konstantine attended a meeting with Grand Admiral Thrawn to discuss plans to capture the former Imperial Senator Mon Mothma, who was being ferried by members of the Spectres rebel cell through the Archeon Nebula. Both Pryce and Konstantine expressed disbelief that Phoenix Leader Hera Syndulla would risk traveling through the dangerous Archeon pass. Seeking to silence Mon Mothma, Pryce volunteered for the mission. Thrawn then dispatched her and Admiral Konstantine to position two Star Destroyers outside the Archeon Nebula. Thrawn then dispatched the elite TIE fighter pilot Skerris in a prototype TIE Defender to flush the rebels out of the Nebula.
Hera's ship Ghost managed to exit the Archeon pass only to be intercepted by Pryce and Konstantine's two Star Destroyers. When Governor Pryce demanded Mothma's surrender, the rogue Senator issued a list of demands which she promptly rejected. Pryce then ordered Konstantine to use their Star Destroyer's tractor beam projector to draw the Ghost into its hangar bay. Shortly later, the rebel pilots Gold Leader Jon Vander and Ezra Bridger managed to exit the nebula with their two remaining Y-wing fighters after escaping Skerris' TIE Defender. Defeat was snatched from the jaws of victory for Governor Pryce when the rebel pilots at Hera's command fired their proton torpedoes into the Archeon Nebula. This created a firestorm which damaged both Star Destroyers. The Ghost and its Y-wing escorts then fled to Dantooine where Mothma delivered a stirring speech on HoloNet urging rebellion against the Empire.
====Battle of Atollon====
Governor Pryce and Admiral Konstantine attended an urgent meeting with Grand Admiral Thrawn and Grand Moff Tarkin to discuss new information that the Phoenix Squadron and General Jan Dodonna's Massassi Group were planning to attack the TIE Defender factories on Lothal. During the meeting, Pryce opined that a coordinate rebel attack was unprecedented. Thrawn later discovered the location of the hidden Chopper Base. Governor Pryce later accompanied Thrawn and the captive Kallus, who she learned was the real Fulcrum, aboard the Star Destroyer Chimaera during the Battle of Atollon.
Thrawn blockaded the Atollon system and managed to trap the two rebel forces. The Empire inflicted heavy casualties on the rebels, destroying numerous starships and starfighters. However, Admiral Konstantine's interdictor vessel was destroyed when he disobeyed Thrawn's orders and tried to intercept Commander Jun Sato's command ship Phoenix Nest. This allowed the rebels Ezra Bridger and Chopper to flee into hyperspace aboard the Nightbrother and seek help.
After the rebel ships retreated back to Chopper Base, Governor Pryce watched as the Imperial fleet bombarded the base. However, Chopper Base was protected by a deflector shield generator. While Thrawn led the ground assault, Governor Pryce commanded the Imperial fleet. When Ezra returned with Mandalorian reinforcements led by Sabine Wren and Fenn Rau, Pryce recognized Sabine's forces and ordered the TIE fighters and capital ships to intercept them. A Mandalorian strike team then attacked the second interdictor cruiser.
In response, Governor Pryce dispatched several Jumptroopers to protect the interdictor cruiser. However, the rebels managed to blow up the ship's gravity well projectors, destroying the interdictor. When the captive Kallus taunted her about displeasing Thrawn, Pryce ordered her stormtroopers to fling him out the airlock. However, Kallus managed to escape aboard an escape pod and flee into hyperspace with the retreating rebels. Pryce was visibly displeased with the rebels' escape.
===TIE Defender Elite===
Pryce along with Thrawn arrived at the Lothal Imperial airfield to inspect the process of the improved version of the TIE Defender. They were greeted by Skerris who offered to show them a test flight. Following that the rebel Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger was spotted and attacked by the TIE Pilots, Pryce ordered his arrest while Thrawn had his Death troopers secure the prototype.
When the Elite flew off, having been hijacked by Sabine and Ezra, Pryce offered to activate it's kill switch. Thrawn refused, stating that this would be a good way to test its combat capabilities. After the "test" was over, he allowed Pryce to activate the kill switch. As soon as the Elite crashed, Pryce immediately went to the crash site to find the rebels, though they did not find them.
===Hunting Rebels===
Pryce worked with the assassin Rukh to find where the rebels were hiding. When Rukh placed a transmitter that found the rebel camp, he asked to go alone, but Pryce refused his request, stating that he had failed to capture them once. Instead, she opted to send several tanks. When the tanks failed and the rebels retreated further into the mountains, Pryce refused Rukh's request to go after them, opting to bombard the mountains instead. This tactic also failed, as the rebels managed to escape with the help of the Loth-wolves.
===Defense of Lothal===
Knowing of an impeding attack on Lothal's fuel depots and factory where the Elites were being manufactured, Thrawn tasked Pryce with the defense of the factory, which were defended by several anti-air turrets The Lothal rebel cell sabotaged the towers housing them, destroying them with explosives and leaving the factory vulnerable to attack. Pryce informed Thrawn of this, who assured her that no rebels would be able to reach the factory.
With the rebel strike force decimated, Thrawn informed Pryce that several rebel pilots may have survived their crash-landing. Rukh captured the pilot Secon Daree, and she congratulates him for his efforts. Upon being informed that Hera Syndulla crash-landed in the city and was missing, Pryce ordered a lockdown and her capture by any means necessary, even if they had to destroy each and every building. Syndulla was eventually captured with Rukh's help, and Pryce disdainfully commented Syndulla over her "small victory" before stunning her.
===The price of victory===
Pryce had the captured Hera Syndulla strapped to an interrogation chair in her office, where she sadistically tortured the rebel general with electrical charges for her own pleasure. When Grand Admiral Thrawn entered and asked if Syndulla had confessed to anything, Pryce remarked that she hadn't asked any questions yet. Thrawn then tried a different technique by demonstrating his knowledge of Syndulla's family Kalikori, an artifact of priceless sentimental value to her, but Hera remained defiant so Thrawn left Pryce to complete the interrogation. Smiling nastily, Pryce told her that she didn't like art much and proceeded to torture her once more. Syndulla still refused to divulge any information about the rebel fleet, so Pryce had a mind probe inject her with a truth serum. After a moment, Syndulla stated "Kanan is here" but when Pryce turned to look out the window where the Twi'lek had been looking she saw nothing. Deeming her delirious, Pryce left the office when Rukh asked to have a word with her, during which time Kanan Jarrus cut his way into the office and rescued Hera. Rukh set off in pursuit whilst Pryce ordered Death Troopers to lock down the facility and scramble the gunships, with orders to blast the fugitives on sight.
Rukh failed to prevent them from escaping, but informed Pryce that they were heading for the fuel depot. Pryce, in full combat armor, led a contingent of AT-AT walkers to the depot where she saw Kanan and Hera about to board a stolen gunship. Determined to stop them, Pryce ordered the pilots to fire on the central fuel pod; when the pilot protested due to the valuable fuel, Pryce overrode him by stating that she had given him a direct order. The walker then fired on the fuel pod, causing a chain reaction which destroyed the entire depot and killed Jarrus as he saved his friends.
In the aftermath of the depot's destruction, Pryce stood amongst the smoldering ruins and demanded a status report from an assistant, who informed her that whilst the gunship had escaped, the Jedi Kanan Jarrus had perished in the explosion. Elated at this, Pryce dismissed her aide's concerns about the depot's loss, which had taken out their entire fuel surplus and thus brought production of the TIE Defenders to a screeching halt. After ascertaining that only she and the officer knew about it, she ordered that a grand parade be thrown to celebrate the victory over the rebels.
Unfortunately for her, Pryce's obfuscation did not fool Grand Admiral Thrawn. Speaking with her from off-world, Thrawn demanded to know why she was throwing a parade despite having lost Hera Syndulla. Pryce defended herself by presenting him with something she deemed even better than Hera: Kanan Jarrus' lightsaber. While this proved the Jedi's death, Thrawn proceeded to lambaste the governor for having the gall to think that throwing a parade would cover up the fact that she had destroyed the Empire's entire fuel supply on Lothal. In defeating Kanan Jarrus, Pryce had also accomplished what the rebels had failed to do and thus compromised the Empire's Industrial Operations. Though Pryce attempted to plead her case, Thrawn coldly cut her off and menacingly informed her that he would deal with her when he returned. Thrawn then ordered Rukh to eliminate the rebels once they exposed themselves and the Noghri left the office, throwing a nasty smile at Pryce as he did so.
====Into the rebels' den====
Fearing that she would be executed, Pryce threw all her energy into hunting and capturing the rebels before Thrawn's return in order to redeem herself to the Chiss, even to the point where she threatened a lower ranking officer with death. Just as the terrified officer left her office, another one burst in, informing her that someone was contacting her on a pre-Imperial frequency. Pryce allowed the transmission to go through, and found herself face-to-face with her old enemy, Ryder Azadi. Exchanging several sharp words, Azadi revealed to her that he was willing to betray his rebel comrades, believing that they were fighting a lost cause. Pryce was surprised by this revelation, admitting that she had never thought of him to be cowardly. Knowing that she would be able to redeem herself with such news, she told him to give the coordinates of the rebel encampment before closing the transmission.
Pryce personally led a squadron of Imperial patrol transports to attack the rebel encampment, giving special orders that Ezra be taken alive. Following a fierce battle, Pryce ordered the Imperial forces to storm the rebels' stolen ore crawler. After the rebels put up an unexpectedly stiff resistance, she ordered its destruction. The crawler's destruction allowed for the swift capture of the remaining rebels including Bridger. Pryce then disembarked from her transport to gloat over her victory, thanking Ryder for his help. However, Ryder's apparent betrayal had in fact been a ruse to lure her from the safety of Capital City and capture her.
The rebels sprang their trap. The rebel freighter Ghost arrived and blew up her transport, sending the governor and Rukh running for cover. The rebels were still outnumbered, however, and fled into a cave system with Pryce ordering an immediate pursuit; Bridger was to be captured, but the others were to be killed. However, the Imperials were ambushed by a pack of loth-wolves, mythical beasts of Lothalian folklore which had been summoned by Bridger. Pryce was terrified by the presence of the Loth-wolves, who easily overwhelmed the stormtroopers and Rukh. After tossing Rukh away, a Loth-wolf set its sights on her, snatching her by back of her chestplate. After the remaining stormtroopers surrendered, the wolf brought Pryce to Bridger, who desperately begged to the youth to not have the wolf eat her before dropping her at Ryder's feet. Bridger then allowed former Governor Azadi to handcuff his successor.
===Last stand on Lothal===
In rebel captivity, Pryce remained scornful of their chances and was particularly venomous towards Kallus, stating her disgust for him having turned traitor in favor of the rebellion. Brought before Ezra Bridger, she maintained her loyalty by stating that she would not help them, before Ezra sicced the white Loth-wolf on her. Bridger then gave her the choice of helping them to free Lothal from the Empire or being devoured by the loth-wolf. Seeking to save herself, Pryce complied and provided the rebels with the clearance codes necessary to land on the executive landing pad of the Imperial Complex, which was a mobile Imperial Planetary Occupation Facility capable of traveling through space.
Under Kallus' watchful eye, Pryce transmitted the codes. Upon landing, the rebels fought several stormtroopers before seizing control of the Imperial Complex's command center. Pryce learned that the rebels' plan was to use Protocol 13 to lure all Imperial personnel on Lothal aboard the Imperial Complex and transport them into Lothal's upper atmosphere where it would be blown up. Before the rebels fire the Complex's thrusters, Thrawn returned aboard his Star Destroyer Chimaera. Despite Ezra's threats to blow up the Imperial Complex with the Imperial forces aboard, Thrawn pointed out that the rebels had merely moved his forces into a safe place; leaving him free to bomb Capital City without incurring Imperial casualties.
Under Thrawn's instruction, Rukh and the Imperial forces had disabled the planetary shield generators, leaving Capital City defenseless. Thrawn proceeded to bombard Capital City, which Ezra ended by surrendering himself to Thrawn. However, the rebels managed to regain control of the Dome and reactivated the planetary shield to protect the city, killing Rukh in the process. In addition, Thrawn's entire blockade and fleet was subsequently annihilated by a pod of space-faring purrgil, who took Thrawn, Bridger and the Chimaera with them into hyperspace. Determined to completely rid Lothal of the Empire, Sabine then started up the Imperial Complex's launch sequence and the rebels prepared to leave. Azadi offered Pryce a chance to escape certain death, but she refused, stating that she would serve the Empire to the end. Once the Imperial Complex had attained enough altitude, Sabine initiated the self-destruct. Pryce stood at attention on the command bridge and embraced her fate as the Dome exploded, finally freeing Lothal.
==Personality and traits==
Arihnda Pryce was an ambitious individual who looked down upon her Lothalian roots. She was the daughter of Talmoor and Elainye Pryce, who ran the small family-owned company Pryce Mining. Pryce helped her parents manage the company until they were forced out by the machinations of Governor Ryder Azadi and Senator Domus Renking. She bore a grudge against both men and vowed revenge. While Pryce befriended the martial arts instructor Juahir Madras and the advocate Driller MarDapp, she turned against them after learning that their advocacy group Higher Skies was spying on high-ranking Imperial officials and was working with the rebel insurgent known as Nightswan.
Pryce cultivated powerful allies in the form of the Chiss strategist and Imperial Navy officer Thrawn and the Imperial Security Bureau Colonel Wullf Yularen. She secured the Governorship of Lothal by trading information about Higher Skies to Grand Moff Tarkin. As an incentive, she also revealed that Moff Ghadi was planning to use Higher Skies' illegally obtained information to conspire against Tarkin. As Governor, Pryce settled scores with Azadi and Renking by engineering their political downfalls. Pryce had ambitions of making Lothal the center of Imperial power in the Outer Rim and was willing to expropriate farmland for factories, bases, and mines. Pryce could also be vindictive and refused to help her former friend Juahir.
Pryce was not known to have any romantic relationships. While she had met several men who had tried to befriend or romance her, these contacts did not develop into relationships. Most of the people that she interacted with considered her to be a helper, champion or even a mother figure. Pryce thought that these perceptions would not be a good basis for a balanced emotional connection.
While she was from Lothal, she had no interest in remaining there and coveted the glamour of Coruscant. She sold out her homeworld to the Emperor and allowed the Galactic Empire to make Lothal their local headquarters in the Lothal sector. She placed her own ambitions and career aspirations over the interests of the Lothalian people; this stood in contrast to her deputy ruler, Maketh Tua, who genuinely cared for the people. She rarely visited Lothal and only returned to her homeworld because the planet had become a haven for rebels about two years before the Battle of Yavin. Pryce saw the master tactician Grand Admiral Thrawn as a valuable asset in her fight against the rebel presence in the Lothal sector.
Pryce loved and cared for both her parents Talmoor and Elaiyne. When Agent Gudri wanted to abandon them, she killed him. In order to cover her tracks, she detonated his explosives, destroying the mine where the Batonn insurgents were holed up and killing numerous civilians and several Imperial soldiers sent to rescue her. Her actions earned her the contempt of her ally Yularen. Pryce later justified the high civilian casualties by claiming that her actions eliminated the rebels in the Batonn sector. Pryce also curried favor with Thrawn by encouraging him to take credit for the events at Batonn and using her political connections to secure him command of the Seventh Fleet.
She was also willing to torture the rebels Sabine Wren and Hera Syndulla in order to obtain intelligence on the rebellion. Pryce smirked in a sadistic manner after witnessing the deliberate death of Morad Sumar in a speeder explosion. Despite her confident demeanor, Pryce was alarmed when Thrawn suspected that the Rebellion had a mole among their ranks. When she suggested interrogating all Imperial personnel, Thrawn cautioned that this would only alert the spy and advocated luring the saboteur into a trap.
Due to her trust for Agent Kallus, Pryce accepted his account that Lieutenant Yogar Lyste was the rebel spy known as Fulcrum. She believed that the fact that Lyste mistakenly stunned her along with the use of his code cylinder to free the rebel operative Ezra were evidence of his guilt. While Pryce believed that Lyste was guilty, Thrawn and Yularen realized that Kallus was the real Fulcrum and had framed Lyste. As a staunch Imperial loyalist, Pryce sought to boost her standing by capturing the rogue Senator Mon Mothma. She thought that it was too risky to travel through the Archeon Nebula. Mothma regarded Pryce as untrustworthy. Pryce wanted to capture Mon Mothma alive so that Thrawn could question her about the rebellion. Pryce's belief in superiority of arms and numbers proved folly when the rebels outmaneuvered her by igniting the Archeon Nebula.
During a meeting with Thrawn, Admiral Konstantine, and Tarkin, Governor Pryce regarded a coordinated rebel assault as an unprecedented development. Lacking Thrawn's tactical and naval skills, she failed to prevent Mandalorian rebels from destroying a second Imperial interdictor cruiser. She was also easily goaded when Kallus taunted her about her failure to safeguard Thrawn's fleet. Pryce ordered her men to throw him out the airlock but Kallus escaped and reunited with his rebel allies. Pryce was visibly displeased when the rebels escaped into hyperspace.
Pryce's fearful and passionate personality led her to advocate destroying a hijacked TIE/D Defender Elite with a kill-switch. However, Thrawn saw it as an opportunity to test the starfighter's capabilities. Pryce insisted on leading the operation to recover the wrecked TIE/D Defender Elite and resented Thrawn's decision to send the Noghri tracker Rukh to help with the hunt. Unlike Thrawn, Pryce had little respect for her rebel opponents and stunned Hera Syndulla even though she had already been disarmed by Rukh.
When the rebels started to mess with her plans, Pryce took the attacks personally and allowed herself to become emotionally involved in the situation, thinking with her heart instead of her mind, lacking Thrawn's intelligence, subtlety and sheer strategic skill.Thrawn: Treason Her determination to destroy the Spectres led her to destroy the Lothal City fuel depot and while her actions brought about Kanan Jarrus's death, Pryce also destroyed the Imperial fuel supply on Lothal and thus compromised Thrawn's TIE/D Defender project, bringing Imperial Industrial Operations to an indefinite screeching halt. Pryce's shortsightedness incurred the wrath of Thrawn. In an attempt to hide her failure from the rebels, Pryce organized a parade to celebrate the death of Jarrus. Despite her efforts, the rebels eventually saw through her deception.
Pryce's determination to destroy the Lothal insurgents and regain Thrawn's favor led her to fall for Ryder Azadi's feigned betrayal of his rebel comrades. Pryce was also afraid of loth-wolves and when she was held in the jaws of one while attempting to capture Bridger, Arihnda desperately appealed to her fellow Lothalian, begging him not to allow the wolves to eat her. Her desire to save her own life led her to give the rebels the clearance codes needed to enter the Lothal Imperial Complex. This enabled the rebels to bring the entire Imperial garrison back to the Imperial Complex under Protocol 13 and blow up the base. Pryce's commitment to the Empire led her to reject Ryder's offer to escape with them. Pryce chose to die aboard the Imperial Complex as a symbolic gesture of her devotion to the Empire.
==Skills and abilities==
Unlike some other high ranking Imperial officials, Arihnda Pryce distinguished herself as a formidable hand-to-hand combatant, having received martial training and she was not afraid to get her hands dirty if necessary. Following an encounter with thugs on Coruscant, Pryce honed her combat skills under the tutelage of her friend Juahir and the bodyguard Ottlis Dos. During the Batonn insurgency, Pryce managed to fight off the ISB Agent Gudry and kill him when he threatened her parents. She was also tech savvy and knew how to operate comms and explosives. Pryce also killed a Batonn insurgent guard and covered up his death by detonating a nearby bulldozer.
On another occasion, she actively engaged the Mandalorian weapons expert Sabine Wren in a fistfight rather than summon reinforcements or flee as most other officers would have done. Though Pryce managed to get in a few blows, her prowess was under-matched against a Mandalorian. Wren claimed victory in the fight by knocking Pryce into an interrogation table and electrocuting her. Governor Pryce later managed to hold herself against Rex in unarmed combat. However, defeat was snatched from the jaws of victory when Lieutenant Lyste mistakenly stunned her.
Pryce was also extremely adept at covertly gathering information. While she worked for the High Skies Advocacy group, she secretly gathered information on many high-level Imperial politicians, for use in her own and other's schemes. Additionally, she was indirectly and directly responsible for smoothing over different 'bumps' in Thrawn's rise in rank as Thrawn, while undoubtedly a brilliant tactician, was almost completely inept at the game of politics.
Pryce also knew how to wield an RK-3 blaster pistol and once stunned an unarmed Hera Syndulla.
==Behind the scenes==
Arihnda Pryce was first mentioned in HoloNet News Special Report: Lothal Jobless Rates Hit All-time Low, the third in a series of in-universe HoloNet News report videos posted at holonetnews.com tying in to the Star Wars Rebels television series prior to its first season in 2014. Pryce first appeared in the junior novel Servants of the Empire: Edge of the Galaxy, the first entry in a series written by Jason Fry which featured Zare Leonis, a character from Rebels.Servants of the Empire: Edge of the Galaxy Throughout Rebels first season and the remaining Servants of the Empire books, Pryce was mentioned several times, but she had yet to be depicted in any form. It was not until the second day of 2016's Celebration Europe, during which the first trailer for Rebels third season was shown, that Pryce was revealed to be making her physical debut in the series. Voiced by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Pryce appeared in the first episode of Rebels third season, Star Wars Rebels: Steps Into Shadow. McGlynn stated that she finds the character "kind of despicable," but nevertheless admires her persistence. She elaborated that it was fascinating giving voice to a woman who is desperate for power, but ineffective at accomplishing her goals, from capturing the rebels to controlling Thrawn until she reaches a desperation to achieve her goal at any cost.
Pryce served as the tritagonist of Timothy Zahn's 2017 novel Thrawn, which explored her backstory and personality prior to becoming Governor of Lothal. The novel also served as a rebooted canonical origin story of Thrawn, who had previously appeared in several Legends works including The Thrawn Trilogy.
In some of the promotional material for Star Wars Rebels Season Three, Pryce's rank insignia plaque featured six red squares over six blue, which is commonly used in the canon to show an admiral. Although she was given the correct insignia for a governor (six blue over three red and three yellow)Star Wars: Uprising in the actual episodes, the incorrect insignia was still used on the Star Wars Rebels: Complete Season Three cover.
==Appearances==
===Non-canon appearances===
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==Sources==
==Notes and references==
Category:7th Fleet personnel
Category:Females
Category:Governors of the Lothal sector
Category:Humans
Category:Individuals with she/her pronouns
Category:Lothalites
Category:Officers of the Galactic Empire