What IF: Tarkin betrayed Palpatine??

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Eli Vanto
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.

Darth Thor
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.

Galan007
thumb up

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.

Eli Vanto
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. Was the Malachor weapon even mobile though??

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


Originally posted by Galan007
thumb up

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. laughing out loud Motti is such a pissant. I'm surprised Tarkin didn't have him executed then and there for treason.

Darth Thor
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 laughing out loud

Galan007
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.

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

Darth Thor
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.

Eli Vanto
The long range thing would make sense.

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

Sheev
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. Why though?

Sith by their very nature do not trust each other.

Galan007
Originally posted by Sheev
Why though?

Sith by their very nature do not trust each other. Because Maul's sole purpose as an apprentice was serving Palpatine's every whim, and Palpatine trusted Maul enough to carry out those whims. Additionally, Maul knew exactly where he stood in comparison to Palpatine, and would have never betrayed him back then -- he was a loyal dog, and Palpatine also knew this. That being said, the notion that a lack of trust is what prevented them from obtaining the Holocron is silly. All they had to do is lift a few walls and jump to and from the central pillar that was housing the Holocron.

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.

Sheev
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?

Galan007
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

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

ares834
Awful comic.

Zenwolf
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.

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

StiltmanFTW
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.

Zenwolf
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.

StiltmanFTW
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.

Zentrex
Inconsistency in force feats? My my my!

Galan007
Originally posted by Zenwolf
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. I think even a few years would be pushing it, tbh. The huge majority of that series was supposed to have taken place when the Empire was still very new(heck, even issue #13 was only set 1 year after RotS)... Not that I agree with Vader having a strict 'lethal range' with the Force, but as mentioned, his powers(TK, namely) would have still been in their infancy at the time... Relative to what they became later on, of course.

And like Stilt said: they were also trying to make Tarkin look like this uber badass hunter, so having Vader immediately Force-choke him from across the planet wouldn't have exactly made for a very sporting encounter, lol. Hence the random power-neutering.

It's still stupid, but if it would've happened during, say, the ESB years, it would have been SO much worse.

StiltmanFTW
Soule has this weird thing... he likes to ignore established rules and come up with his own "ideas".

Either that or he just doesn't bother doing basic research sometimes.

Anyway, both Fetts were infamous in Legends for their crazy performance against Force-users... old man Tarkin deserved some love, too.

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