What IF: Tarkin betrayed Palpatine??

Lets say during RO/ANH, after Tarkin is in command of the Death Star, he realizes that he now controls "the ultimate power in the universe" and doesn't have to listen to Sheev any longer, so he makes a power play to become the new Emperor. What happens?? Can he do it??

***For discussions sake lets say that Vader isn't on board the Death Star when Tarkin turns against Palpatine. Lets also assume that the Rebels catch wind of Tarkin's treason, so they stop all of their attacks to let the Empire fight itself.

Originally posted by Eli Vanto
Can he do it??

No, because Palpatine can still easily Force choke him. Or probably just instantly Force crush him in this case.

That said, even if he couldnt do that I think Tarkin was pretty loyal to Palps.

Maul in the Sith Temple battle station would have been a bigger threat, but Palpatine would still put him in place, much like he put Dooku in place from Coruscant to Serenno.

👆

Most likely outcome is that Palpatine senses Tarkin's treachery, and simply force chokes him from across the galaxy.

Now, the plan *might* succeed if Tarkin immediately destroyed Coruscant and attacked Vader simultaneously.

But like DT said: Tarkin was always very loyal to Palpatine over the years, and would have never actually turned against him -- that's one of the reasons why Tarkin was given so much power/authority in the first place. That said, Motti(I think it was) actually proposed the idea of Tarkin overthrowing Palpatine once he gained control of the Death Star. Motti's plan was for Tarkin to essentially strong-arm Palpatine into sharing control of the galaxy with him, and if Sheev resisted, he would be destroyed... But Tarkin completely dismissed it.

Originally posted by Darth Thor
No, because Palpatine can still easily Force choke him. Or probably just instantly Force crush him in this case.

That said, even if he couldnt do that I think Tarkin was pretty loyal to Palps.

Maul in the Sith Temple battle station would have been a bigger threat, but Palpatine would still put him in place, much like he put Dooku in place from Coruscant to Serenno.

If it was then why wouldn't Sidious just use it instead of building the Death Star??

Originally posted by Galan007
👆

Most likely outcome is that Palpatine senses Tarkin's treachery, and simply force chokes him from across the galaxy.

Now, the plan *might* succeed if Tarkin immediately destroyed Coruscant and attacked Vader simultaneously.

But like DT said: Tarkin was always very loyal to Palpatine over the years, and would have never actually turned against him -- that's one of the reasons why Tarkin was given so much power/authority in the first place. That said, Motti(I think it was) actually proposed the idea of Tarkin overthrowing Palpatine once he gained control of the Death Star. Motti's plan was for Tarkin to essentially strong-arm Palpatine into sharing control of the galaxy with him, and if Sheev resisted, he would be destroyed... But Tarkin completely dismissed it.

Originally posted by Eli Vanto
Was the Malachor weapon even mobile though??

If it was then why wouldn't Sidious just use it instead of building the Death Star??

I assume so otherwise it would be kinda worthless.

Im guessing Sidious was never able to unlock the Temple. I think a comic addressed it. Something to do with it taking 2 (Maul unlocked it with Ezra), and the Sith not trusting each other. Remember Vader even asks Ezra how HE could have unleashed it.

That said we dont know why Maul suddenly decided to go there in the first place. Perhaps Maul found out something that Palpatine did not know.

Of course the knowledge of building your own is a more useful tool, as if 1 goes down you can just build another. So Palpatine seemed to have spent his time unlocking that secret, plus he was of course more obsessed with The World Between Worlds. Which Ezra also unlocked 😂

I don't think it was ever stated whether or not the Malachor superweapon was mobile, or if it could even be used beyond the planetary range.

And I think Witwer is who said that Maul and Sidious tried to unlock the Temple, but were unable to because it required trust in one another to get to the Holocron... Which still makes absolutely NO sense to me.

But why would they make this crazy powerful weapon if it only worked on their planet??

Originally posted by Eli Vanto
But why would they make this crazy powerful weapon if it only worked on their planet??

Yeah would be useless. Unless it had some sort of long range capability like Starkiller Base.

The long range thing would make sense.

Because yeah, a stationary weapon would have been useless to Sidious.

Originally posted by Galan007
And I think Witwer is who said that Maul and Sidious tried to unlock the Temple, but were unable to because it required trust in one another to get to the Holocron... Which still makes absolutely NO sense to me.

Sith by their very nature do not trust each other.

Originally posted by Sheev
Why though?

Sith by their very nature do not trust each other.

Did they trust one another implicitly? No, that is indeed the fundamental nature of the Sith. But did they trust one another enough to preform such meager tasks? It seems ridiculous to assume otherwise, imo. Maul was able to snag the Holocron with the help of an unbalanced Padawan that he'd just met a few minutes prior, ffs.

This is why I hate when VAs decide to randomly chime in with their personal takes on the story.

Ya that makes sense, but what other reason would Sidious have for not trying to get the Holocron and activate the Temple weapon if he had known about it for all those years?

Palpatine probably thought the Death Star was the far superior weapon, so he didn't see the need to try and unlock the Malachor weapon.

If you had a nuke at your fingertips, you wouldn't really care about a grenade. /shrug

https://comicnewbies.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/darth-vader-vs-grand-moff-tarkin-3.jpg

I know how far ahead of Vader I must remain to prevent him from killing me with the Force.

haw-som

Awful comic.

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
https://comicnewbies.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/darth-vader-vs-grand-moff-tarkin-3.jpg

I know how far ahead of Vader I must remain to prevent him from killing me with the Force.

haw-som

Which is completely stupid given Vader has choked those much farther away than spitting distance, whoever wrote that..../sigh.

The 'range' thing was really stupid.

I assume that issue was only set a few years after RotS, which means Vader's powers would have been relatively limited(in comparison to what they became later in the timeline)... But still. ermm

Originally posted by Zenwolf
Which is completely stupid given Vader has choked those much farther away than spitting distance

I know.

Even if we limit ourselves just to using OT feats, range has never seemed to be a problem for Vader.

Originally posted by Zenwolf
, whoever wrote that..../sigh.

Soule.

It happened in Vader's own book.

Originally posted by Galan007
The 'range' thing was really stupid.

I assume that issue was only set a few years after RotS, which means Vader's powers would have been relatively limited(in comparison to what they became later in the timeline)... But still. ermm

A few years? I'm pretty sure after a few years, he would be able to choke a guy that is a stone's throw away.

@ Stilt, ah...well, guess that explains it.

The book is actually loaded heavy with Vader's feats. Good feats.

That part was Anakin jobbing to make Tarkin look good; it happens all the damn time in comics.