Characters / Tarkin's Fist

The Main POV characters introduced in Tarkin's Fist I-III

The Empire

Aveo Yos

An Imperial Admiral initially assigned to patrol the Subterrel Sector of the Outer Rim in the years following the Clone Wars. Is recruited to lead the Tarkin's Fist expedition by Grand Moff Tarkin himself and promoted to the rank of Fleet Admiral. Finds himself as the leader of an armada of castaways when Tarkin's Fist is stranded in the Milky Way with no known way of returning to or contacting their "Home Galaxy"

• Awesome Momentof Crowning: Is formally crowned Emperor of the 1st Martian Empire by the three Moffs of the Empire in an elaborate ceremony.
• Blood from the Mouth: Suffers from this during the attempt on his life. He ultimately succumbs to his wounds.
• Drinkingon Duty: Even after becoming Emperor of the 1st Martian Empire Yos and his subordinates aren't above getting liquored up during a strategy meeting. This allows Eritech to get Yos to sign a revised continuity of government plan critical to the anti-Yos coup plotters without alerting the man they hope to replace.
• Good Parents: One of Aveo Yos's few redeeming traits is his unconditional love for his daughter Phasma. The two have a healthy, supportive relationship. And while Yos wants his daughter to have the best of everything, he insists that she be treated like any other Cadet so that she will be able to achieve what she wants on her own.
• Papa Wolf: Orders an orbital bombardment of the Earth in response to Phasma's kidnapping.
• The Reliable One: Yos himself, when confronted with his ships set adrift in unknown space, works methodically to restore power and communications, find out where they are, and then solve the issues caused by a lack of food and water. He remains calm and rational throughout the first months the fleets of Tarkin's Fist find themselves lost, and his unflappable demeanor earns Yos the loyalty of most of the men and women in the armada.
• Skewed Priorities: Following his coronation as Emperor Yos finds himself more focused on time tables and pet projects than actually prosecuting the war on Earth or noticing the scheming which is beginning to occur in his court.
• Tranquil Fury: While typically personable with his immediate subordinates, Yos displays a quietly threatening demeanor when he wishes to impress on a subordinate that they should not run the risk of failing him.
• Utopia Justifies the Means: Is dedicated to building an ideal Imperial society based on scientific innovation. And if the bedrock of that society is made with the bones of millions of Earthlings, so be it.

Phasma Yos

The daughter of Admiral Aveo Yos. Starts the story as an Imperial cadet and works her way up through the Imperial hierarchy while navigating the increasingly cutthroat internal politics of the new Empire Tarkin's Fist seeks to build.

• Action Politician: Oversees the Battle of Four Navies during the Imperial Civil War from her flagship. Her presence causes several ships to change their loyalties and lend their support when they realize just who the loyalists and just who the rebels really are.
• The Chainsof Commanding: Suffers from this badly after becoming Empress. Accedes to Jill Harris's suggestions of democratic reform partly out of a desire to lighten her own workload.
• The Good Kingdom: What the 2nd Galactic Empire becomes under her leadership.
• Iron Lady: Proves herself to be absolutely ruthless and uncompromising when crushing everyone she holds responsible for her father's murder. There are no negotiations, no reprieves, no forgiveness. Just death.
• Parental Substitute: American First Lady Jill Harris can be read as the mother Phasma never had; a positive female role model who manages to teach Phasma the value of democracy and personal freedom. Not bad for someone who's supposed to be a political hostage.
• Up Through the Ranks: Starts as a cadet. Eventually promoted to second Lieutenant. Then becomes her father's Chief Ambassador. Is later made a Princess after her father is crowned Emperor of the 1st Martian Empire. Becomes Empress following her father's assassination.

Sergeant SF- 4738

Originally born on Teth, SF-4738 joins the Stormtrooper Corps and works his way up to the rank of Sergeant. Assigned to 3rd Platoon in the 395th Legion, The 'Sarge' as he's called by his men, is assigned to the American front at the start of the Empire-Earth War.

• A Father to His Men: His first defining character trait is his obsessive desire to see that as many of his men survive the war as possible.
• Faceless Goons: Played with. As a stormtrooper we never learn SF-4738's first name. We don't get a physical description of his appearance under the helmet either. However, SF-4738's arc is dedicated to exploring the camaraderie that develops in the Stormtrooper Corps despite the dehumanization the Empire tries to enforce. Despite their robotic, uniform appearance, each Stormtrooper is a person with their own thoughts and feelings on the war, the Empire, and their position in it.

Timus Roblin

A hot shot pilot from Corellia. Stop us if you've heard that one before. Serves as a TIE Pilot and acts as the POV character who demonstrates the aerial side of the war.

• Expy: Is basically Han Solo if he never left Imperial service.
• Fighter-Launching Sequence: Participates in several of these over the course of the Empire-Earth War.

Commander Lando Yutu

The Director of Intelligence for the Bureau of Operations for Tarkin's Fist, Yutu is tasked with accumulating intelligence on the Earth as the fleets of Tarkin's Fist struggle to find their footing following their arrival in the Milky Way.

• Faux Affably Evil: Whether its torturing, drugging, and interrogating American astronauts or recommending that Central America be annihilated to stem the tide of reinforcements from South to North America, Yutu can be trusted to do his job with a thin veneer of politeness and courtesy.
• Kick Them While They Are Down: Takes a disproportionate amount of pleasure watching King William V wriggle and writhe under the Empire's thumb. Be it thwarting an attempted liberation of Britain by the Europeans, or forcing him to watch the execution of Prince Harry, Yutu delights in grinding the reluctant Moff beneath his heel. This backfires spectacularly when William pulls a grenade out during a meeting in a case of Taking You with Me.
• The Peter Principle: Starts off as a competent intelligence analyst for the Imperial Navy. Following the Imperial Civil War he is promoted to Grand Admiral and placed in command of the Imperial military. His command of the Imperial military, while an improvement over his predecessors, is less than impressive. His promotion is justified somewhat in that, after the Civil War, the Empire is short on experienced officers. He is given the position largely because he's the highest ranking loyalist left alive, and the new Empress needs someone to fill the seat that she can depend on.
• Ridiculously Average Guy: Yutu is repeatedly noted to have a forgettable and bland appearance. This allows him to observe events unnoticed and aids him in his intelligence gathering.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Is openly hostile and dismissive towards Ashla Ti after she is appointed Sovereign Protector. Justified, as he has been fed a steady diet of propaganda telling him that the Jedi were traitors.
• Undying Loyalty: To the newly established House of Yos.

Ashla Ti

The former apprentice of Jedi Master Agen Kolar, Ashla's brief training was cut short with the execution of Order 66. Compelled to hide her Force sensitivity, Ashla spends years on the run before being enslaved by the Empire. Following her emancipation Ashla struggles to find a way to restore the Jedi Order, and makes several unusual acquaintances over the course of her journey.

• Blood Knight: Played with. Ashla explicitly subscribes to the more militant teachings of the Jedi, and is more a warrior than a scholar or a diplomat. As such, she is more comfortable with a lightsaber in hand than she would be as a teacher. Her apprentice Tenel Hja, a young woman with a more scholarly attitude, helps to round out the New Jedi Order.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Starts the story somewhat cold and reserved before gradually letting her self imposed barriers drop. Justified due to the losses she suffered as a result of Order 66.
• Easily Forgiven: Played with. Ashla has an uneasy and untrusting relationship with any clone she encounters. But she isn't openly hostile. She is also willing to join the new Empire in an act that is largely pragmatic. In her mind it's easier to work with a pre-existing authority and push it towards reform than to stand outside of it and be a fugitive. It helps that the new Empire isn't run by the Sith.
• Foil: Serves as the anti-Ahsoka Tano without falling to the Darkside. Ashla Ti and Ahsoka Tano are both Togruta padawans who survive Order 66. Ashla remained in hiding long after Ahsoka abandoned hiding to support the burgeoning rebel network. Ashla has few to no qualms about the use of violence so long as said violence is not rooted in anger or hate. Ahsoka, particularly in her own series, is motivated by a concern that her legacy is one of violence, and that she and her work are tainted by her master's fall to the Darkside. Ashla is less emotionally expressive than Ahsoka. At the same time, Ashla is willing to engage in a romantic relationship with Jason Bogan, whereas Ahsoka appears to largely remain unattached. Ahsoka seems more mission oriented, whereas Ashla is willing to enjoy the occasional night on the town with friends. Ashla is less sympathetic and more untrusting towards the clones, while Ahsoka doesn't hold the clones betrayal against them due to the inhibitor chips. Ashla is willing to join the new Empire and act to fix things from the inside, whereas Ahsoka's characterization implies that she would never willingly join any iteration of the Empire.
• Let No Crisis Go to Waste: While her willingness to save Phasma from assassination is motivated by altruism, Ashla is more than happy to use Phasma's gratitude to get the Jedi's status as outlaws repealed in the New Empire and use Phasma's support to restore the Jedi Order as an Imperial-sanctioned organization. It helps that Phasma isn't a Sith Lord and is willing to implement reforms to make the Empire less oppressive.
• Notso Stoic: Suffers occasional flashes of deep emotion, such as anger and fear, in times of deep stress. She recognizes the danger behind those emotions, and works to manage them.
• The Stoic: Despite opening up to her friends, she normally remains fairly calm and reserved when compared to the other characters in the story. Justified, as some form of stoicism is expected from a Jedi.
• Violently Protective Girlfriend: Is this towards Jason Bogan. Part of her character development stems from trying to balance her more protective instincts without becoming unduly selfish. She stumbles once or twice before getting the hang of it.

Commander Cody

The famed commander of the 212th Attack Battalion and former second in Command of Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi, Cody finds himself training 'mongrel' stormtroopers prior to his recruitment into Tarkin's Fist, and struggles to protect his fellow clones while doing what he feels is his duty

• Commanding Coolness: Holds the rank of Clone Marshal Commander.
• Heroic BSoD: Suffers a temporary case of this after a dozen clones are killed in a botched raid on Fort Knox.

Kuantus Kuat

The former Governor of the Kuat Sector and owner of the Kuat Drive Yards. An industrialist and scientist, Moff Kuat forms the backbone of the new Empire's economy and armaments industry in the Sol system, all while hiding a deep secret...

• Blue-and-Orange Morality: The Kuati perception of morality can be summed up in the phrase "Kuat before all else". In other words, most actions are justifiable if they have an immediate beneficial impact on the Kuati people as a whole. Personal betrayal and backstabbing is considered acceptable, even desirable and anticipated, if such an action leads to an improvement in the welfare of Kuati society. Cut throat business practices are acceptable, but selling shoddy products is not.
• Dark Secret: Played a role in the stranding of Tarkin's Fist in the Milky Way, as his scientists were experimenting with a Gravitic Polarization Beam at the time the armada jumped to hyperspace. The Beam opened a wormhole and deposited them in the Sol System. Kuat covers this up for fear that the fleet will turn against him and hold him responsible.
• Emperor Scientist: Held this position as the former ruler of his homeworld of Kuat and Governor of the Kuat Sector. As Kuat of Kuat, Kuantus was expected to not only be a political ruler but also a man dedicated to scientific research.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: Kuat is more an aristocrat than a royal, as his family is merely first amongst equals in the ten aristocratic families of the planet Kuat. Otherwise played straight. Kuantus is a firm believer in the idea of Noblesse Oblige: It is the purpose of the rich to use their wealth to provide employment to the middle and lower classes.

Han Dusel

An AT-AT driver from Chandrila, Dusel is a young man unprepared for the horrors of war that are to be encountered on the Chinese front.

• Bad Ass Driver: Drives an AT-AT through Chinese artillery salvos.
• Cultural Rebel: Is from a planet that typically shuns military service, but joined the Imperial Army because he wanted more than what his homeworld had to offer.
• Defector from Decadence: Goes AWOL and joins an underground Rebel cell after growing disgusted with the Empire's actions in the Empire-Earth War.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: Coming from a pacifist world like Chandrila, Dusel was completely unprepared for the sheer viciousness of the Empire-Earth War.

Brakatak

A Gran slave taken from his homeworld of Kinyen for manual labor by the 1st Galactic Empire. He is assigned to Tarkin's Fist, and following his emancipation is motivated to make his fortune in the new Empire...by any means necessary.

• The Don: Becomes the Head of the Gran Kajidic, one of the largest crime families in the new Empire.
• Friendly Neighborhood Gangster: How he perceives himself. Is loyal to his friends and a generous host to those who offer him loyalty.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: Goes from being a slave to the biggest crime lord in the new Empire.
• The Mafia: Becomes a fan of mob movies and TV shows like The Sopranos after being introduced to them by Jason Bogan.
• Start My Own: Notes that the Hutt Kajidics were a huge part of life in the Outer Rim. Without any Hutts in the new Empire, there is a huge power vacuum in the criminal underworld that is ready to be taken. Brakatak's crime family is based largely off the Hutts with a little bit of The Mafia tossed in.

Tolos Eritech

A deep cover operative of the Imperial Security Bureau aboard the Imperial Star Destroyer Insertion. A fanatical true believer in Palpatine's New Order, Eritech dedicates himself to the annihilation of Tarkin's Fist for their willingness to abandon Palpatine's Empire.

• Deep Cover Agent: Major Eritech plays the part of a normal naval bridge commander when he is really an agent of the Imperial Security Bureau. The Major's dual role provides a second level of scrutiny for the ISB. Each ship in the fleet has an "official" ISB presence designed to ensure the loyalty of a ship's crew to the Empire. Eritech, playacting as a normal bridge officer, is free to move about the rank and file naval officers as one of them, in the hopes of uncovering any potential disloyalty that might be kept from the official ISB agents. When the official ISB presence onboard is surreptitiously killed, Eritech remains the only Palpatine loyalist left on the ship in a position to deal with the newly found "traitors" of Tarkin's Fist.
• The Fundamentalist: Displays an almost religious devotion to Emperor Palpatine and the doctrine of the New Order.
• Hate Sink: Eritech has no redeeming features. He is violent, homicidal, spiteful, sociopathic, and arrogant.
• Majorly Awesome: Eritech holds the rank of Major in the ISB, and while he is a vicious, arrogant, and spiteful man, no one can deny that he is willing to put his life on the line to achieve his goal of destroying anyone who makes an enemy of Emperor Palpatine.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When he realizes that the anti-Yos coup has failed Eritech promptly gets into an escape pod and flees the battle before his ship is destroyed.

The Earth

Jonathan Harris

The President of the North American Union before and during the Empire-Earth War. Charged with defending his nation and planet from alien invasion, Harris is confronted with an endless litany of horrors as he struggles to keep civilization from falling apart.

• Drivento Madness: It's hard to say when Harris completely loses it. But faced with over a hundred million dead in North America on the first day of the war alone, a relenting invasion force, an economy that's just straight up ceased to exist, and the impending collapse of social order, it's enough to drive anyone insane. He doesn't get better.
• Lackof Empathy: Develops this as a coping mechanism to deal with the sheer, overwhelming horror he is exposed to.
• Really Moves Around: In contrast with most war fiction, the President does not find himself holed up in a bunker for the duration of the emergency. Instead, knowing that he is being hunted by Imperial agents, the President and his senior staff are constantly on the move in a mobile convoy that crisscrosses America, trying to stay one step ahead of Imperial operatives and mercenaries out to capture or kill him.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Starts as this, listening to his staff and military advisors and relying on their advice to make decisions. Rarely dithers and looks for practical solutions to the problems he is presented with.

Justin Mallory

Introduced as a student at the University of Michigan, Mallory enlists in the American Army following the Imperial attack on American and Chinese bases on the Moon. Serving in the Army Rangers at the outbreak of hostilities, Mallory is thrust onto the front lines of the Empire-Earth War.

• Battle Trophy: Takes an Imperial E-11 blaster rifle off of a stormtrooper he kills in Los Angeles and carries it with him for the rest of the war. He uses it to kill a lot more ETs.
• Brutal Honesty: Mal never sugarcoats his opinions. He is plain and blunt in all of his dialogue.
• Last-Name Basis: Most characters refer to Justin Mallory exclusively as Mallory or Mal. The use of his first name, Justin, by his brother Cale is explicitly noted by Mallory himself to sound odd, since everyone refers to him by his last name.
• Nerves of Steel: Goes through the worst the Imperial Army has to thrown at him without breaking emotionally. Comes close following the death of his brother, but Mal recovers.
• Perpetual Frowner: Mal's default temperament is grim and reserved. Justified as he is in the middle of an active warzone.
• True Companions: Forms this sort of bond with the other rangers of the 19th Ranger Battalion

Loi Cas

A veteran of Chinese military operations in Mongolia, Colonel Loi Cas serves as a tank commander in the People's Liberation Army, and serves as the main Earth POV character for the Chinese front of the Empire-Earth War.

• Chummy Commies: Downplayed. Loi Cas is one of the story's protagonists and serves the officially Communist People's Republic of China. Furthermore, he is briefly mentioned to be an actual member of the Communist Party of China. However, Loi Cas never makes any statement whatsoever that even hints to him being ideologically predisposed to Communism. Truth in Television, as many professionals hoping to get ahead in one party socialist states often joined the ruling party, not out of genuine belief in the party's ideology, but to simply make career advancement easier.
• Crusading Widower: Motivated to kill as many aliens as possible following the news that his wife and daughter were killed in the initial orbital bombardment at the start of the Empire-Earth War.
• Kill Em All: His general attitude towards the Empire after learning of the death of his wife and child.
• Moby Schtick: While not explicitly mentioned, parrallels exist between Loi Cas's obsessive desire to "take the head of a dragon" (ie, destroy an AT-AT walker) and Ahab's obsession with the white whale. The AT-AT, like the white whale, comes to personify everything that Loi Cas hates. Like Ahab, Loi Cas is killed in his pursuit of vengeance. Unlike Ahab, he takes his target with him.
• Tank Goodness: Serves as a tank commander of a brigade of T-99g tanks.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Is wary of anything to do with the Chinese Ministry of State Security, for fear that they might find some excuse to execute him.

Jason Bogan

A happy go lucky student at MIT prior to the start of the war, Jason finds himself in Hawaii hoping to attend a Star Trek convention when he is abducted by Imperial forces as part of their slave raids. Thrust into an unfamiliar environment, Jason hopes to find his way home while befriending a group of alien outcasts.

• Ascended Fanboy: Played With. Jason is a Trekkie in a world where the Star Wars films were never made. But he explicitly considers it a dream come true to have adventures in space with aliens. He internally compares the situation he finds himself in with John Carter of Mars. His personal banner during his time as the leader of the Free Eath Army is the flag of the United Federation of Planets.
• The Corrupter: Is this, inadvertently, to Brakatak. While Brakatak had already chosen to pursue a life of crime, his altercations with Black Sun lead Jason to call him out for his nonchalant approach to being attacked. Jason insists that, if Brakatak is going to be a gangster, he has to go all the way, because the other side isn't going to pull its punches. Brakatak is amazed that the normally relaxed Jason can get so intense, but readily adopts a more hardline attitude after being told more about the Mafia on Earth and how ruthless criminals can really get. Jason's advice is meant to keep his friends safe, but likely escalates the growing mob war between the Gran Kajidic and the Black Sun.
• Kavorka Man: Played with. Jason manages to get together with Ashla Ti. Little description is given of Jason's physical appearance, but he is noted to have been somewhat awkward with girls he'd been interested in in the past. Ashla, by contrast, is repeatedly noted to be incredibly gorgeous. While its stated that she does find him physically attractive, it's clear that in terms of looks alone Ashla is out of Jason's league. The relationship seems to be built on their mutual status as outsiders, along with Jason's desire to get to know her better as a person, focusing on her strength of will and devotion to her principles as opposed to being interested in her chiefly for her looks or her powers. She, in turn, is attracted to Jason's can-do idealism.
• Nice Guy: Jason's default characterization. Eager to find a way to help out his people, happy to lend a hand to his friends, Jason tries not to let the war make him bitter.
• Popcultured Badass: In addition to his love of Star Trek, Jason regularly references mob movies, books, and TV shows from his childhood, even after becoming a general in the army of freed Earth slaves on Mars. His alien friends don't get the references, but are able to piece together the meaning of what he's referencing from context.
• The Stoner: Is mentioned to have been a recreational pot smoker during his time at MIT.
• Token Human: Is the sole human, be it from Earth or the Empire, in a Kajidic (crime family) whose leadership is comprised of a Gran, an Ishi Tib, a Togruta, a Duros, two Utai, and two Firrerreo.
• Unfazed Everyman: Downplayed. While he is amazed by the sights, sounds and ideas he's exposed to during his time in the new Empire, he adopts a "go with the flow" attitude to everything he sees.
• What You Are in the Dark: Jason could have let Brakatak be killed in Concentration Camp 1138, but intervenes to save him. After getting reassigned to Camp 1138 after being drafted into the Imperial Army, he could have hid in anonymity. He chooses to smuggle thousands back to Earth before leading an uprising against the Empire. Jason could have let Agent Spiz be electrocuted, but chooses to save him. Time after time Jason sticks his neck out for others when others would have kept their heads down.

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