Fanfic / Tarkin's Fist

An epic length four part Star Wars fanfiction in which a large Imperial task force from the Star Wars Galaxy finds itself in the Milky Way. Written by the author AshlaTi on FanFiction.Net and Archive of Our Own.

Ten years after the events of Revenge of the Sith, the galaxy rests uneasily in the cold grip of the 1st Galactic Empire. Knowing that the Death Star is still nearly a decade away from completion and vulnerable to attacks from without and within, Grand Moff Tarkin summons four sector fleets, recently purged of their ISB loyalty officers, to the Death Star construction site in the Horuz system for a clandestine mission.

These four fleets shall form the core of Tarkin's Fist: an elite scientific and military unit comprising millions of slaves, scientists, Army, and Navy officials and their dependents who owe their loyalty more to Tarkin than to the Emperor. Their mission? To establish a secret military and research facility in the Maw Cluster separate from the official Maw Installation; a hidden base loyal solely to Tarkin so that, when the Death Star is complete, the Grand Moff will have a free hand to utilize the ultimate power of the Death Star as he sees fit while sidestepping whatever contingencies the Emperor has developed to keep the Death Star under his control.

As the Maw Cluster is riddled with navigational hazards, the ships of Tarkin's Fist are slave rigged under the control of a single pilot, and prepare to make the jump to the Maw.

A perfect storm of events, ranging from a deep cover ISB agent's attempts at sabotage to a hidden Jedi's use of the Force to a scientific experiment gone wrong, causes the fleet to disappear from the known galaxy and reappear, drained of fuel and power, adrift in the Sol System by Jupiter in the late 2030s.

Needing resources to replenish their depleted reserves, severely hobbled by the journey for the immediate future and with no known way of returning to their Home Galaxy, the leadership of Tarkin's Fist decides to settle in the strange new galaxy they've found themselves in and make it their own. They begin by seizing and terraforming Mars, capturing the American astronauts on the planet and interrogating them to learn more about the star system they are stranded in. Relations between the newly discovered planet Earth and the Empire rapidly decay from there.

A clash of societies becomes inevitable. The new Empire the members of Tarkin's Fist seek to build cannot countenance a rival. And planet Earth isn't going to just roll over when the Imperials come to call.

Tarkin's Fist can be found here and here.

Tarkin's Fist II: Dirtside can be found here and here.

Tarkin's Fist III: The Earth Strikes Back can be found here and here.

Tarkin's Fist IV: Blood and Durasteel can be found here and here

Tarkin's Fist: Ships of the Line, detailing a comprehensive list of Main characters, supporting characters, ship names, ship classes, and a timeline of events, can be found here and here.

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Tarkin's Fist I-III provide examples of:

A-E

• Ace Pilot: Timus Roblin, Commander of the 666th TIE Fighter Wing, is involved in numerous aerial battles and bombing runs during the course of the Empire-Earth War.
• Action Girl:
  • Ashla Ti, as a Jedi Knight, gets involved in numerous skirmishes and battles throughout the course of the story and is very adept with a lightsaber.
  • Phasma Yos participates in a kidnapping and a rescue attempt, an attempted assassination and leads the loyalist fleets into battle against Seco's mutineers during the short lived Imperial Civil War
  • Minor character Jill Harris, the First Lady of the North American Union, is placed in a safe house in Missouri with her two young children during the Empire-Earth War. She awakes one morning to find her Secret Service Agents dead and she hears strangers in her son's bedroom. What does she do? Grab a gun off of a dead agent and rush to the room to defend her boys. She's swiftly disarmed, but she doesn't hesitate to head into danger to protect her own children
  • Minor character Tenel Hja, apprentice to Ashla Ti, plays with this trope. She was raised by a pair of Loag assassins after being abducted from Dathomir, and had spent a great amount of time as their servant working various wet-works jobs. Her time as an assassin with the Loag had left Tenel in the thrall of the Dark Side until Ashla was able to rescue her and convince her to become a Jedi. After becoming a Jedi Tenel grows increasingly disgusted with combat. She initially hoped to embrace a more peaceful, scholarly life. She is dragged back into action to stop the Confederacy from taking control of the superlaser on the Ares. She manages to dispatch the commandos aboard without killing most of them, and is the one who kills Major Eritech, but is too late to prevent Justin Mallory from reaching the firing controls. Thankfully, Tenel and Mal are both reasonable people, and the two are able to work out an arrangement that convinces the Empire to sue for peace with the Earth.
• A Father to His Men: On the Imperial side Sergeant SF-4738 and Commander Cody are dedicated to seeing the troopers under their command survive the Empire-Earth War. On the Earth side of things Corporal Justin Mallory works to see that the men under his command have the things they need to stay alive. Jason Bogan, as leader of the Free Earth Army of freed Earthling slaves on Mars, is motivated by a concern for the welfare of those under his command.
• Affably Evil: Admiral Aveo Yos, the commanding officer of Tarkin's Fist, is a stern, but fair commander who earns the respect of the men and women under his command. He is friendly with members of his immediate command staff and is a doting father to his daughter Phasma. The Imperial task force he finds himself responsible for requires a large amount of manual labor to establish its infrastructure, industry, and agricultural base on Mars; without which they will not survive without backsliding technologically. Yos's solution? Start a war with Earth, killing billions, taking millions as slaves to build the new Imperial economy. So far as Yos is concerned the lives of people outside the Empire are of no matter. Conquering the Earth removes a potential rival and helps with their labor shortage.
• Alien Invasion: The Empire lands ground forces in America and China to tie down the world's two superpowers while engaging in a slave raid across the Pacific Islands. They also manage to bomb Great Britain from orbit to the point that the remnants of the British Government agree to surrender in exchange for a reprieve.
• A Lighter Shade of Black: The men and women of Tarkin's Fist are drawn to the project by their revulsion at the excessive officer purges enacted on Palpatine's orders and the fanatical persecution of perceived enemies by the Imperial Security Bureau. The new Empire they forge in the Milky Way is less oppressive and possesses more opportunities for the common person to advance, leading to the restoration of the Imperial Senate and a powersharing agreement between the throne and elected politicians. They remain thoroughly Imperial in their outlook however, meaning that they consider themselves the superior civilization, with little concern for the rights or needs of anyone outside of their own society.
• All Your Base Are Belong to Us: The Imperials capture the American bases on Mars and on the moon, as well as the Chinese moonbase, prior to the official start of the Empire-Earth War.
• Alternate History: The Star Wars films were never made in this world. So no one on Earth knows what a Jedi is or what the Empire is about when they appear. Otherwise history occurs as it did in real life before diverging in the late 2010's. This is due to the fact that, as a consequence of being first written in 2009, many of the events predicted to have come to pass in the backstory have not occurred or are unlikely to occur.
  • In the world of Tarkin's Fist Korea reunified in late 2020.
  • The Union of South American Nations developed into an important player on the international political scene thanks to oil money, whereas in real life the organization never evolved beyond a weak economic and political union before most of its members withdrew.
  • China was able to take control of Taiwan at some point in the 2010s.
  • A North American Union is formed by the mid 2020's.
  • Self Driving cars are said to have entered widespread use after legislation passed in 2019.
• America Takes Over the World: Played with. By the 2030's the United States has formed a North American Union with Canada, Mexico, and Cuba. Despite this expansion the NAU is politically estranged with its allies in Europe at the time of the Empire's arrival. Relations with the countries of South America have completely broken down, and the NAU finds itself in a soft Cold War with China. Despite this, they still possess the world's largest economy and largest army. As such, they are targeted for invasion by the Empire. Despite horrific losses, the American Army is able to fight it's Imperial counterparts to a standstill. After the war the new Confederacy of Earth Nations is ruled by a former American President, but its leadership is international in scope, though America and China have a disproportionate amount of influence.
• A Million Is a Statistic: Zigzagged. 3 billion Earthlings are killed in the Empire-Earth War. You'd be exceedingly hard pressed to find an Imperial who really cares. The Earthlings, however, develop a near-genocidal hatred of anyone not from Earth due to the losses they've endured.
• Antagonistic Governor: The three Imperial Moffs of Tarkin's Fist; Vulnert Seco, former Governor of the Ploo Sector, Kuantus Kuat, former Governor of the Kuat Sector, and Uredo Culter, former Governor of the Anoat Sector, alongside Fleet Admiral Aveo Yos, plan and carry out a war of conquest against the nations of the planet Earth. Seco is killed during the brief Imperial Civil War by Phasma after his attempted coup fails. Kuat is killed in an accident caused by escaped Earthling prisoners, and Culter ends up working for the Confederacy of Earth Nations.
• Anyone Can Die: Due to its nature as a gritty war story, no one, regardless of character status, is safe. Main POV characters Aveo Yos, Loi Cas, Major Eritech, Kuantus Kuat, Han Dusel, and Grand Admiral Yutu are all killed in one way or another. A slew of dozens of minor named characters are also killed.
• Apocalypse How: Class 1 Societal Disruption. The Empire-Earth War lasts eighteen months. Three billion are killed and thousands of cities are destroyed. National governments are badly gutted, but a single world government is cobbled together and manages to fight the Empire to a standstill until a ceasefire can be negotiated.
• Armor Is Useless: Averted.
  • The Imperial High Command is smart enough to order armor that can stand up to most ballistic weaponry, testing it against slugthrower models from the Home Galaxy before issuing it to the Stormtrooper Corps prior to their deployment to Earth.
  • While kevlar and flak jackets worn by Earthling soldiers can't withstand a direct blaster bolt, they are still useful against shrapnel.
• Band of Brothers:
  • The Clones consider one another to be brothers and act as an extended family to one another.
  • SF-4738 forms a mentorship with Lieutenant Mahan that is akin to a father and son. The other members of 3rd platoon remain dedicated to ensuring that as many of them get through the war alive as possible.
  • The Army Rangers Justin Mallory works with are incredibly close, regularly joking and chatting amiably when not in the thick of combat.
• The Battlestar: Imperial class Star Destroyers, the main stay of the Imperial Navy, serve as orbiting over watch stations during the Empire-Earth War, scanning for enemy troop movements and providing fire support to stormtroopers on the ground. The name 'Star Destroyer' elicits some concern from analysts working for the American government when first discovered.
• Black Site: Task Force Odysseus is based out of one of these in French Guiana. Their mission is to reverse engineer Imperial hyperdrives in a ploy to send a commando team to Mars to seize control of the Super Star Destroyer Ares in a bid to end the war.
• Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp": Imperials have a habit of having names for certain items that are different from the Earth norm. Gold is called aurodium, Bathrooms are called refreshers, etc.
• China Takes Over the World: Played with. The PRC is described as one of the Earth's political superpowers, having conquered Taiwan and Mongolia before the events of the story. The Chinese are engaged in a Cold War with the North American Union at the time of the Empire's arrival. Because of its economic and military prowess China is targeted by the Empire as one of the first nations to be invaded, and the Chinese front devolves into a brutal slaughterhouse. Despite horrific losses the Chinese manage to hold their own, and after the war the new Confederacy of Earth Nations becomes dominated by the Americans and the Chinese.
• City of Adventure: Culter City later renamed Amidala City serves as the capital of the New Empire on Mars and is the site of car chases, gambling, industrial plots, riots, gang warfare, political protests, and more court intrigue than you can shake your fist at.
• Clone Angst: Phasma Yos has this upon learning that she is not the biological child of Aveo Yos. She is a clone of Padme Amidala. She comes to accept the truth, but her true origins remain a tightly guarded secret due to the anti-clone prejudices common in Imperial society.
• Clones Are People, Too: In grand Star Wars tradition, the clones, through Commander Cody, are characterized as loyal veterans and soldiers treated with callous indifference by their non-clone commanding officers.
• Cold Sniper: EZ-6758, a stormtrooper under the command of Sergeant SF-4738, serves as Third Platoon's sniper during the Empire-Earth War and racks up a high kill count during the platoon's time on the American front.
• Colonel Badass: Loi Cas, a tank officer in the People's Liberation Army, is determined to kill as many Imperials and do as much damage to the Imperial Army as he can. He dies detonating a suicide charge, destroying an AT-AT Walker.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: Zig-zagged with Kuantus Kuat, former Moff of the Kuat Sector and owner of the Kuat Drive Yards. By Earth's standards the man is a ruthless plutocrat and war profiteer who'd give pause to history's most avaricious robber barons. However, he is also proud of his company's reputation as the galaxy premier starship manufacturer, and puts heavy emphasis on the creation of quality products. He is also politically pragmatic, being one of the first in the Empire to advocate the reintroduction of democracy to Imperial society. Of course, he only does so because he thinks democratic representation is the best way to keep the population pacified and avoid the political radicalization that leads to revolution. Once the Senate is re-established, he plans to buy off most of the Senators.
• Culture Clash: One of the main themes of Tarkin's Fist is examining how galactic society in Star Wars would clash with that of 21st century Earth.
  • Phasma Yos, a teenager, is appointed as the Chief Ambassador of Tarkin's Fist and sent to negotiate with world leaders before the outbreak of the Empire-Earth War. In Imperial society, she's old enough to be elected as a planetary leader or a representative in the Imperial Senate. On Earth, she's just a young kid, and her initial appearance is met with confusion and surprise.
  • First Lady Jill Harris, having grown up in a country where the Separation of Church and State is enshrined in law, is notably uncomfortable with the idea of a religious order like the Jedi having such an influential role in politics and law enforcement.
  • Kuantus Kuat, the CEO of one of the Empire's biggest mega-corporations, is appalled by the writings of Karl Marx and Mao Tse-Tung.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Many of the story's detractors conclude that the Empire is overpowered. Initial battles in the Empire-Earth War, such as the Battle of Los Angeles and the Battle of Shanghai, are Imperial victories that see high Earth casualties and comparatively low Imperial ones. While the Imperials do inflict extraordinary casualties on Earth's national forces, Earth characters do readily adapt and improvise in their war with the Empire. The Empire is presented as having superior technology thousands of years in advance of anything the Earth possesses. But the Earth displays superior strategic planning and a level of ability to withstand and endure the worst the Empire can throw at them. So the trope is initially played straight, and then gradually subverted as the war drags on.
• Damn, It Feels Good to Be a Gangster!: Brakatak, a Gran slave, gets into the business of piracy after gaining his freedom before working his way up into being one of the preeminent crime lords in the new Empire. His friendship with Jason Bogan, who had saved his life during their time in an Imperial labor camp, leads Brakatak to loan Jason and his army the anti-air weapons they need to keep from getting wiped out from the air.
• Day of the Jackboot: The descent of the Earth's democracies into authoritarianism during the Empire-Earth War is gradual but steady. Following the destruction of the major cities martial law is declared in the nations whose governments haven't been completely wiped out. Wide spread anarchy in Europe and Africa leads the surviving governments to crack down hard at home and abroad, both as a means of restoring order and preventing violence from escalating. Government brutality is rationalized as a necessary means of getting everyone on Earth focused on repelling the Imperial invasion. Those who speak in opposition, such as the President of Greece, are accused of being unnecessarily divisive in a time of global emergency when action, any action, is desperately needed. The problem is, even after the war, the authorities decide the emergency isn't over.
• The Determinator: The general attitude of members of the American and Chinese armies. Individuals might falter, but for both armies surrender is never even considered. Special mention goes to Corporal Justin Mallory, who goes through the worst the Empire has to throw at him and refuses to relent, culminating in his seizing control of the superlaser aboard the Super Star Destroyer Ares. He threatens to blow up the Imperial capital on Mars unless the Empire agrees to a ceasefire. The leadership of the Empire is forced to acquiesce.
• Ditzy Genius: Jason Bogan is a 21 year old MIT student abducted during the Empire-Earth War. Though he manages to escape from the Imperial labor camp and blend into Imperial society, he has a habit of putting his foot in his mouth. Thankfully for him no one takes him seriously enough to investigate what he has to say. He manages to avoid being The Load by being genuinely helpful, first with his new alien friends and then orchestrating the mass breakout of Earth prisoners at Concentration Camp 1138.
• Divided States of America: Mostly averted. The North American Union is one of the few nations on Earth to maintain some semblance of order and government after the initial orbital bombardment at the start of the Empire-Earth War. Their preoccupation with the Imperial invasion of the West Coast, however, allows Alaskan nationalists to seize control of the state and secede unopposed. The self-proclaimed Alaskan Free Republic sits out the war and refuses to contribute to the defense of North America. Shortly after the war's end the Alaskan secessionists are ruthlessly crushed; their leaders captured for show trials or otherwise shot out of hand.
• Doorstopper: The first three stories of the Tarkin's Fist saga have a combined count of 1,465,865 words.
• Dramatic Irony:
  • Major Eritech is a zealous supporter of Emperor Palpatine and the Empire's New Order. Eritech was born on Coruscant and his parents were killed in a terrorist attack by the Separatists during the Clone Wars. Palpatine was secretly in control of the Separatist movement, and any Separatist attack on Coruscant could only have occurred with Palpatine's go-ahead.
  • Jill Harris is an outspoken supporter of democracy. Her husband, President Harris, creates a totalitarian world government with himself as the unquestioned supreme leader.
• The Dreaded:
  • Jason Bogan- Becomes famous in the Empire as General Boston, the Scourge of the North. He manages to orchestrate a mass break out of 8 million Earthling slaves and organize them into a horde that marches on the Imperial capital. The threat they pose plays a role in the Empire's decision to agree to an armistice with the Earth.
  • Justin Mallory- Manages to fight his way to the bridge of the Star Destroyer Ares and gets access to the firing control of the Super Star Destroyer's superlaser. His ultimatum to the Empire to agree to a ceasefire or be destroyed turns him into a legend amongst Earthlings and Imperials alike.
  • Colonel Loi Cas Leads a suicide charge on foot against an AT-AT with an explosive satchel and manages to take it out. His attack is greatly disconcerting to the other AT-AT crews on the Chinese front. He is immortalized after his death with a statue in rebuilt Beijing.
• Dressing as the Enemy:
  • Mallory dresses up as a KDY security officer as part of his mission to hijack the Super Star Destroyer Ares's superlaser
  • Jason Bogan dresses as a stormtrooper after being drafted into the Imperial Army and uses his position to free the Earthlings enslaved by the Empire.
• Eager Rookie: Cale Mallory joins the Army and is in awe of his older brother Justin's heroics as one of the soldiers fighting on the front lines of the Empire-Earth War. He hopes to emulate his brother and win for himself his own glory in battle. He is killed shortly after he first arrives at the front lines.
• Earth Is a Battlefield: The Empire-Earth war begins with an orbital bombardment of Earth's major cities and military installations. The war develops into a three front conflict. Front one consists of an invasion of the Western Coast of the United States, targeting Los Angeles before pushing inland towards Las Vegas. Front two consists of an invasion of China focusing on Shanghai and pushes as far as Wuhu by the Yangtze river. Both fronts serve to tie down the North American Union and the People's Republic of China and prevent them from intervening in the third theater of the war; an island hopping campaign across the Pacific islands designed to abduct as many people as possible for slave labor needed to develop the new Imperial economy on Mars.
• Easy Logistics: Strongly Averted. Much of the conflict between the Empire and the Earth is influenced by logistical issues.
  • When the Empire arrives in the Solar System they have limited food and water supplies and no fuel to power their hyperdrives. So they are confined to sublight speeds in the Sol System until they can acquire more hypermatter fuel. But they can't acquire more fuel until they've built the machinery and refinery to make and distill said fuel. So they can't just leave the Earth alone, go to the other side of the Milky Way and settle there. Their initial lack of supplies limits their ability to operate and requires them to either ask for help from the Earth or seize what they need by force. The Empire, being the Empire, resorts to force.
  • The Empire takes special efforts to destroy the Earth's infrastructure, annihilating bridges, railways, highways, ports, and factories to hamper the Earth's ability to build and ship war material to the front. Much of the story is dedicated to the Earth's attempts to create an ad hoc logistical system that circumvents the Empire's attacks and keeps their troops at the front supplied.
• The Emperor: Emperor Palpatine's purges of the Empire's officer corps and draconian rule serve as a motivator for most of the members of Tarkin's Fist to sign on with Tarkin's plan of building a secret force behind Palpatine's back. After being stranded in the Milky Way Galaxy, the leader of Tarkin's Fist, Fleet Admiral Aveo Yos, is crowned Emperor of the 1st Martian Empire. His daughter Phasma succeeds him as Empress following his assassination, and reforms the state into the more democratic 2nd Galactic Empire.
• The Empire: Stranded in the Milky Way with limited fuel and supplies and cut off from the 1st Galactic Empire, the four fleets of Tarkn's Fist settle on Mars and establish the 1st Martian Empire. The state is later reorganized and renamed as the 2nd Galactic Empire following the assassination of Emperor Yos and his daughter's decision to drastically reform the Imperial government.
• Enemy Mine:
  • Prior to the outbreak of hostilities with the Empire, the North American Union and the Union of South American Nations were mutually hostile nations locked in a small Cold War after an inconclusive three year shooting war. In order to beat the Empire Jonathan Harris, President of the NAU, is willing to make Hugo Chavez II, President of the USAN, his Vice President and de facto co-President of the new anti-Imperial global government being put together; the Confederacy of Earth Nations.
  • Major Eritech forms an alliance of convenience with the Confederacy of Earth Nations to take down the Empire, providing them with the schematics for hyperdrives and the formula to synthesize hypermatter to build ships that can quickly get to Mars and run the Imperial blockade.
• Expanded States of America: In the backstory of Tarkin's Fist the United States, Canada, Mexico, and later Cuba form the North American Union in the 2020's. The NAU serves as one of the principal opponents of the Empire during the Empire-Earth War.

F-J

• Fantastic Racism: The 1st Galactic Empire was well known for it's propagation of Human High Culture; the notion that humans are innately superior to aliens. Tarkin's Fist eschews much of the institutional prejudice against aliens, and replaces it with a contempt for the "near-humans" of Earth. The Earth, in turn, becomes increasingly xenophobic against anyone not from their planet, human or alien alike.
• Fictional Political Party: Following the Martian Empire's reorganization into the 2nd Galactic Empire, the new Imperial Senate is dominated by the center-right Imperial Patriotic Party and the center-left Galactic Democratic League. A few minor parties, including the Greens, the New Light, and the Peace Now parties, are mentioned to have a few seats in the Senate between them.
• Final Battle: The decisive Battle on the Ares carried out by Task Force Odysseus determines the outcome of the Empire-Earth War. Mutually Assured Destruction is narrowly avoided, and the war ends in a tenuous ceasefire.
• First Contact: Occurs in the late 2030's between Earth and the four sector fleets of Tarkin's Fist. Tensions between the two immediately escalate as the naval officers and Moffs in command of Tarkin's Fist are unwilling to share the star system they're temporarily stranded in and the Earth is unwilling to surrender to a foreign power. As a result of hostilities with the Empire much of the Earth becomes incredibly xenophobic.
• Fling a Light into the Future: The secondary goal of Task Force Odysseus. The primary goal is to get a ship past the Imperial blockade of Earth to the Imperial shipyards in orbit of Mars so that a commando team can seize control of the incomplete Imperial Super Star Destroyer Are's superlaser as part of a last ditch plan to force an end to the war. Should that fail, three additional ships filled with colonists and supplies to start over on a new world are sent out of the solar system so that, no matter what happens, something of Earth born humanity and culture will survive free.
• For Science!!:
  • Moff Uredo Culter, the former Moff of the Anoat Sector, is solely concerned with cloning and terraforming. He finds himself fascinated with the multi-biomed nature of the planet Earth, and is largely unconcerned with the political machinations occurring in the 1st Martian Empire. Following the short Imperial Civil War Culter finds himself crashlanded on Earth, and winds up voluntarily working with the Confederacy to restore the Earth's biosphere after the damage inflicted in the Empire-Earth War.
  • Moff Kuantus Kuat is also obsessively devoted to the promotion of scientific development.
• Freak Lab Accident: One of these is the cause of the Tarkin's Fist armada being hurtled to the Milky Way. Kuantus Kuat engages in an experiment with a Gravitic Polarization Beam that tears open a wormhole in space and time just as the slaverigged computer systems sends the armada into hyperspace. Said wormhole sends them to the Sol System.
• Functional Magic- The Force is an energy field created by all living things which gives the Jedi their powers. The inability of humans from Earth to naturally wield the Force is explained as a result of an extraordinarily low midichlorian count.
• The Generalissimo: Following his coronation as Emperor of the First Martian Empire, Aveo Yos eschews the robes of traditional Imperial nobility for the uniform of an Imperial Grand Admiral. Even after democratizing the Empire Phasma tends to prefer her naval uniform as a second lieutenant over more traditional robes. On the Earth side Hugo Chavez II, the President of the Union of South American Nations, is said to have worn a General's uniform during the Americas War.
• Genocide Dilemma: At the climax of the Empire-Earth War Justin Mallory finds himself at the firing controls for the superlaser of the Super Star Destroyer Ares. If he presses the activator switch, all life on Mars will be annihilated. Mal isn't seriously tempted to wipe out the Empire, but is willing to go through with it unless the Empress agrees to open negotiations to end the war. Thankfully the Empress agrees to negotiate.
• The Good Chancellor: The Prime Chancellor of the 2nd Galactic Empire is meant to be this. In addition to their duties as the elected leader of the Imperial Senate, the Chancellor serves as the principal assistant, chief counselor, and second in command of the monarch in the day to day administration of the Imperial government.
• Great Offscreen War: The Americas War, fought between the Union of South American Nations and the North American Union, provides some backdrop for the frigid international situation at the time of the Empire's arrival. The war is started by an emboldened South America, flush with oil money, making a land grab in Central America. The NAU intervenes. Fought over the course of three years in Central America, the Caribbean, and in Venezuela, the war ends in a draw, with the ceasefire being arbitrated by the People's Republic of China. European clandestine support for the USAN leads to a straining of relations between North America and the nations of the European Union.
• Hallway Fight: Tenel Hja gets into one of these with the Army Rangers from Task Force Odysseus who are guarding the access point to the bridge of the hijacked Super Star Destroyer Ares.
• Highly-Conspicuous Uniform- Imperial Stormtrooper armor is ridiculed by many Earthling characters for its bright white color, causing individual troopers to stick out like a sore thumb and making them prime targets.
• Honor Among Thieves: The members of the Gran Kajidic are a close knit group of friends who just so happen to make a living robbing, stealing and selling narcotics. They would never dream of betraying one another, and work together to make their fortune. This sense of honor, however, only extends to members of their own group. This is made to contrast with the more traditionally backstabbing, honor-less criminals who work for Black Sun and Crimson Dawn, whose members first real loyalty is to themselves.
• Humans Are Warriors: The Empire is accustomed to conquering planets of a similar technological level to their own. And so, upon learning that Earth possesses a less advanced technological base, they assume that the Earth's people will be easily subjugated. Their assumption is quickly proven wrong. What Earth lacks in laser weapons and spaceships it more than makes up for with strategic planning, intelligence, and sheer bloody minded ruthlessness.
• The Idealist: Jill Harris, First Lady of the North American Union, is a fervent advocate of democracy and representative government, and eagerly disputes arguments from more traditional Imperials that *Democracy Is Bad. Her arguments are successful enough to convince Phasma to cede some power to an elected Imperial Senate and share executive decision making with an elected Chancellor.
• Insistent Terminology: Imperial blasters are repeatedly referred to as phasers by Earth characters. Likely a case of a nickname sticking as an official name for lack of a better alternative.
• Internal Reformist:
  • After saving Phasma Yos from an assassination attempt, Jedi Knight Ashla Ti accepts an offer from the new Empress to serve the Empire as Phasma's Sovereign Protector. With no Inquisitors or Sith to hound her, Ashla sees an opportunity to restore the Jedi Order without fear of persecution and make the new Empire into something better through personal example.
  • Jason Bogan attempts to be this after the war as the Confederacy's ambassador to the Empire. However, after a decade of trying he concludes the Confederacy can't be fixed.
• Intrigued by Humanity: Downplayed, as humans make up the majority of the Empire's population. But Earth music, particularly music from western pop-culture, becomes extremely popular with the Imperial citizenry. Christian missionaries, captured by the Empire, manage to escape from Imperial captivity and gain some traction converting a minority of Imperial citizens to Christianity.
• Invaded Statesof America: The imperial invasion of North America focuses itself on Los Angeles. The Imperial Army gets as far east as Las Vegas before being ground to a halt by the American Army.

K-O

• La Résistance: Following the surrender of Great Britain to the Empire, a resistance movement called the Merry Men springs into action to oppose the Imperial occupiers and their British collaborators. They are led by Prince Harry.
• Makean Exampleof Them: Following the use of suicide bombings to kill stormtroopers in occupied Los Angeles, the Imperial High Command institutes a policy of hanging civilians for every trooper killed in a suicide attack.
• MegaCorp: The Earth's surviving richest multi-national corporations coalesce into about a half dozen megacorporations and gain official representation in the government of the Confederacy of Earth Nations. These corporations are explicitly said to have been inspired by the megacorporations that opposed the Old Republic during the Clone Wars, and are even inspired to adopt similar names, to the point that the Earth develops its own Trade Federation. Those corporations that oppose the government, such as the American big three automotive companies, are nationalized and their board members are imprisoned. Those surviving independent corporations that do not sign on with the megacorporations, but are otherwise loyal, are driven out of business by the megacorporations and their government allies.
• Military Coup: Moff Vulnert Seco, aided by Major Eritech, attempts to launch a coup against Emperor Yos and seize control of the Martian Empire. He succeeds in assassinating the Emperor, but fails to kill his daughter Phasma. Seco is then killed in the brief Imperial Civil War which follows, while Eritech escapes to Earth.
• Morality Kitchen Sink: Tarkin's Fist features a wide cast of characters with varying approaches to morality. From the white-leaning Jason and Ashla, who want simply for the fighting to stop, to the light gray SF-4738 and Corporal Justin Mallory, who want to keep their comrades alive at any cost while being absolutely lethal to the enemy on the battlefield, to the pitch black of Major Eritech, who wants simply to annihilate the new Empire for its treason against Palpatine, and cares not if Earth is destroyed in the process. The new Empire starts off as an amoral dictatorship before undergoing democratic reform while the Earth slides toward out and out fascism.
• Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: Dr. Curu, an Imperial scientist in charge of Project Stork; an Imperial breeding program designed to increase the New Empire's population. The purpose of the project is to conduct medical experiments on pregnant women taken from Earth. These experiments seek to genetically modify the still developing babies in their mothers wombs to remove the Earth born human's dependency on potassium. Potassium turns out to be a rare substance in Imperial born humans and all other alien species. Furthermore, it turns out that Midichlorians, in addition to being a conduit between the Force and an individual, also serve as a substitute for potassium in aliens and Imperial humans. So removing potassium from a still developing fetus while engaging in other aspects of genetic manipulation results in the subsequent child developing a higher midichlorian count to compensate. These newly modified children, now genetically similar to baseline Imperial humans, are separated from their Earth born mothers and raised as Imperials. Curu himself sees his work as improving these unborn children; in his view a life in the Empire affords greater opportunities and rewards than life on primitive, war torn Earth.
• Moral Myopia: The Imperials have a very legalistic, and self serving, view of morality. Imperial leaders often have a habit of stating that any action taken by their enemies is 'illegal', especially if that action inconveniences the Empire. Any action they themselves take is perfectly legal, and is therefore morally acceptable. It helps, of course, that they themselves are the ones who are making the rules. This is less a cultural trait and more a self serving justification to get away with what would otherwise be criminal abuses of power.
• Mutually Assured Destruction: A non nuclear example. The Confederacy invokes the threat of this in a gambit to end the Empire-Earth War. By seizing the superlaser onboard the Ares and pointing it at Mars, the Earth can annihilate the 2nd Galactic Empire's main population center, industrial base, and agricultural center in one fell swoop. The Imperial Navy could either stand down after this and surrender, or destroy the Earth in retaliation. If they do destroy the Earth though, they will be left with a few very small colonies that are not yet self sufficient, which are bound to whither and die without support from Mars. The Imperial Navy, bereft of a means of feeding itself or repairing itself, would then slowly wither and die. The plan nearly backfires when President Harris miscalculates the Imperial Navy's willingness to slit its own throat to avenge the loss of Mars, and so orders Major Eritech and his NSA handler to wipe out Mars no matter what. Said handler and Eritech are, thankfully, killed, and the more reasonable Justin Mallory finds himself in control of the superlaser. MAD is very narrowly avoided.
• Necessarily Evil: The attitude taken by the more introspective Earthlings towards the more draconian efforts they are willing to resort to to win the Empire-Earth war. They know that, before the war, the brutal suppression of food riots, ruthless crackdowns on protestors, and blatant abuses of power by the central government would never have been acceptable. But with the global economy gutted, global civilization crumbling on the edge of the abyss, and the Empire threatening to reduce them to eternal serfdom, any method of extricating themselves from the bleak situation they find themselves in is preferable to defeat.
• The Neidermeyer: The Imperial High Command is riddled with these. Convinced by their experiences in the Clone Wars that conquering a technologically inferior faction like the Earth will be an easy affair, the Imperial High Command finds itself totally unprepared for the protracted meat grinder the planet turns out to be. They largely prove unable to adapt, pushing the Imperial Army on Earth to the brink of mutiny. Imperial Commissars appointed by Theater Commander Vulnert Seco prove so incompetent and wasteful that they manage to drive the clones under their command into open desertion during the invasion of New Zealand.
• Nicknamingthe Enemy: Imperial stormtroopers refer to Earthlings as "abos". Short for aborigines. Earth born characters typically refer to the Imperials as ET's. Short for extra-terrestrials.
• Nuke 'em: Defied. The Empire annihilates the Earth's nuclear arsenal in a preemptive strike designed to prevent the use of tactical or strategic nuclear weapons. The resulting Empire-Earth War is largely conventional.
• Odd Friendship: Jill Harris, the First Lady of the North American Union, forms one with Princess Phasma after the former is taken as a hostage by the Empire. Phasma admires Jill for her intellect and conviction. After her coronation the new Empress Phasma is convinced by Jill to democratize the Empire.
• Old Soldier: Commander Cody and the other clone soldiers brought along with Tarkin's Fist are veterans of the Clone Wars and are getting on in years thanks to their accelerated aging.
• The Order: Ashla Ti, former apprentice of Jedi Master Agen Kolar, spends much of her story arc trying to find a way to restore the Jedi Order. After much soul searching and consideration about what form the new Jedi Order should take, she is convinced by Jason Bogan to relax the Order's historic policy of non-attachment and enters into a relationship with him.
• Our Presidents Are Different: Jonathan Harris, President of the North American Union, starts the story as a President Buffoon, concerned more with pandering to the oil companies and susceptible to being influenced by his staff. During the Empire-Earth War he abandons this attitude and starts off as President Personable, having a friendly, but commanding relationship with his staff, cabinet, and military advisors. Is seen by many as a President Iron for refusing to accede to Imperial demands or surrender, even after his wife and children are abducted and taken hostage. Later becomes President Target when a group of bounty hunters try to abduct him during the Empire-Earth War. Following the failed abduction Harris slowly becomes President Evil as the strain of repelling the Imperial invasion and his efforts to unite the world against the invaders cause him to resort to increasingly unethical means.

P-T

• The Paladin: Jedi Knight Ashla Ti strives to be this. She initially joins the Empire as an internal reformist as a means to restore the Jedi Order. When the Earth born slaves break out of Camp 1138 and march on the Imperial capital under the command of her estranged boyfriend Jason Bogan, she works to resolve the conflict while keeping bloodshed to a minimum. After the end of the war she works to see the former slaves repatriated as soon as possible while supplying them with what medicine and food supplies she can scrounge up.
• People's Republic of Tyranny:
  • The People's Republic of China has soldiers from the Ministry of State Security regularly execute so-called insurrectionists, cowards and defeatists in their own ranks as the People's Liberation Army is driven out of Shanghai. Colonel Loi Cas privately thinks to himself that the executions are likely to increase in scope and frequency unless the PLA is able to push the Empire back.
  • The Confederacy of Earth Nations portrays itself as the just, equal, and democratic union of the Earth's varying countries. In truth it is a Sino-American dominated dictatorship with wide spread surveillance, extreme social stratification, and a genocidal hatred of everyone not from Earth. This is justified in Confederate propaganda as necessary to keep the planet together in the face of the threat posed by the Empire.
• The Plague: In the Empire the Festering Plague is a serious, but curable disease to which most of the population has some resistance. To the Earth born characters, whose immune systems have no prior exposure, it is a deadly pandemic that kills millions. The spread of the Festering Plague on Earth is explicitly compared to the small pox epidemics that wiped out the Native Americans following the European expeditions to the Americas.
• Planet Destroyer: The Super Star Destroyer Ares, under construction in orbit of Mars during the Empire-Earth War, is equipped with a superlaser strong enough to crack a planet's crust. The war ends after an Earth commando team boards the ship, commandeers the superlaser, and threatens to use it against Mars unless the Empire agrees to an armistice.
• Please Select New City Name:
  • After the Empire-Earth War, Denver is rebuilt and renamed Confederate Center, and serves as the capital of the new Confederacy of Earth Nations.
  • Culter City, the Imperial capital city on Mars, named after Moff Ulredo Culter, is renamed after the Imperial Civil War. The city is named Amidala City, in honor of Phasma's clone template, Padme Amidala.
• Plunder: Fort Knox and other national gold reserves are looted the world over by the Imperials during the war, both as a means of enriching the Empire itself and depriving the enemy of its more precious resources.
• The Political Officer:
  • One of the official jobs of the Imperial Security Bureau. That the four fleets of Tarkin's Fist have their official ISB contingents purged is the first sign to deep cover ISB agent Eritech that something is seriously wrong.
  • In an attempt to assert more control over the Imperial military to pave the way for his coming coup, Moff Seco appoints Imperial Commissars to army units to ensure their loyalty. Their incompetence leads many of the clones serving in the Imperial military to desert.
• Pragmatic Villainy: Aveo Yos frees the slaves brought along with Tarkin's Fist upon arriving in the Milky Way. The emancipated slaves go on to form the backbone of the new Empire's lower and middle classes. This earns him their undying loyalty and admiration.
• Pride: The main motivator of the leadership of Tarkin's Fist. Having come from an Empire that had won the Clone Wars, crushed all opposition and, having left prior to the advent of the Rebellion, the men and women of Tarkin's Fist are convinced that they are the pinnacle of civilization and cannot be beaten. When they come across the Earth and it's comparatively less advanced technology, they conclude that the Earth will make for a quick and easy target of conquest, and that the planet will fold just as every other planet that has defied the Empire has folded in the past. The Earth quickly demonstrates to the Imperial rank and file that they are no pushovers, and a war that was supposed to be won in a week drags on for over a year and a half in a brutal no holds barred slugfest. And yet, despite the growing body count on the Imperial side, the Imperial High Command on Mars is unable or unwilling to simply withdraw their troops when they have the chance, convinced that victory is right around the corner and that there is no way they can possibly lose to a group of primitive savages.
• Protagonist Journeyto Villain: Johnathan Harris, President of the North American Union and later President of the Confederacy of Earth Nations, enters the story as a man of good intentions motivated to do the right thing. The stress of dealing with an interplanetary war while civilization crumbles around him eventually drives him over the edge, and he adopts a colder, more ruthless personality. By war's end he is the absolute ruler of the world, willing to sacrifice any one and any thing to stay in power, convinced that his way is the only way and that no one else can do the job of running the world.
• Putting on the Reich: The naval uniforms of the Empire instantly remind many Earthlings of the Nazis. That the Empire has it's own Imperial salute, similar to the Nazi salute, only makes the comparison more apt in the mind of most Earth-born characters.
• The Quisling: King William V of the United Kingdom is an extremely reluctant version of this. Specially targeted for extended bombardment, what remains of the British government surrenders to the New Empire to avoid further destruction. The Empire, however, has no interest in working with a British Prime Minister who was willing to sell out his own, and are even less interested in a monarch who is a ceremonial figurehead. The Imperial solution is to get rid of the acting Prime Minister, dissolve Parliament, and make William the Moff of the new United Protectorate of Great Britain. William begrudgingly accepts the situation out of fear of the Empire completely annihilating Britain in retaliation for further resistance. A rebellion, led by Prince Harry, pops up almost instantly. William manages to redeem himself in the eyes of Earth history by killing Imperial Grand Admiral Yutu in a suicide attack after the end of the Empire-Earth War.
• Reference Overdosed: In addition to numerous references to the wider Star Wars Expanded Universe (both Legends and Canon) the story contains multiple references to Earth's popular culture and music.
• The Right of a Superior Species: The general attitude of the average Imperial towards the Earth, though less 'superior species' and more 'superior civilization'. Earth born humans are classified by the Empire as "near-Human" due to their exceptionally low Midichlorian count (far below what was thought possible in any other sapient species encountered by the Empire) and are treated with condescension at best. At worst they are viewed as savages fit only to be made into slaves. Individual imperial citizens like Brakatak and Ashla are able to make friends with Earth born characters like Jason Bogan, but even they have a tendency to dismiss the Earth as a whole as a primitive backwater.
• Right Under Their Noses: Jason Bogan, following his escape from Imperial Concentration Camp 1138, manages to hide out in Imperial society on Mars in plain sight thanks to a fake identity created and inserted into the Imperial database by a criminal slicer he befriends. The fake identity is so convincing that he is unwittingly drafted into the Imperial Army.
• Russian Guy Suffers Most: A minor running gag throughout the story is the sheer number of leaders Russia goes through as each one is hunted down and murdered by the Empire.
• Salt the Earth: Central America from Panama to Guatemala is completely annihilated by orbital bombardment to slow down efforts by South American troops to reinforce the North American troops battling the Imperial invasion of the California.
• Sergeant Rock:
  • SF-4738, the Sergeant of 3rd Platoon, Forn Company, 6th Battalion, 395th Legion, 2nd Martian Line Corps. Tough, no-nonsense, and dedicated to the mission, "The Sarge" as he's known by the men under his command, leads from the front and commands the respect of the troopers he leads into battle.
  • On the American side of the war Sergeant Cortez, Justin Mallory's superior, is tough as nails and dedicated to giving the ET's some well deserved payback.
• The Siege: The Siege of Las Vegas proves itself to be one of the most critical battles of the Empire-Earth War.
• Space Pirates:
  • Brakatak and his gang start their criminal careers as space pirates.
  • Pirates in the asteroid belt prove to be a major obstacle to Confederate space craft after the end of the Empire-Earth War.
• The Spymaster: Commander Yutu serves as the New Empire's Director of Intelligence, and oversees the Empire's signal intelligence and interrogations of American astronauts captured on Mars.
• Stable Time Loop: The explanation given for how human beings wound up in the "Home Galaxy" and the Milky Way. Humans evolved on Earth. Many humans from Earth were kidnapped by the Empire. Thousands of Earth born infants were experimented on by the Empire while they were still in the early stages of their development to make them indistinguishable from Imperial baseline humans. These infants fell through a wormhole that sent them to the "Home Galaxy" in the distant past, where they were discovered and enslaved by the ancient Rakatan Infinite Empire. Those infants would be the distant ancestors of the men and women who would establish the Old Republic, the Empire, and yes, the human crewmembers of Tarkin's Fist who would kidnap them.
• Standard Sci-Fi Army: The Imperial Army, complete with stormtroopers and walkers of all varieties. While they are able to inflict severe casualties on Earth forces, their lack of reinforcements and unfamiliarity with the territory they are attempting to conquer leads them to get bogged down and worn down by the Earth's armies.
• Starcrossed Lovers: Jason Bogan, happy go lucky MIT student from Earth, falls in love with the stoic Jedi Knight Ashla Ti. Their relationship is tested by the war and the emotional turmoil caused by the conflict.
• Start My Own- Tarkin's Fist is crewed with officers who were loyal to the idea of the Galactic Empire, but were less than happy with the excesses of Palpatine's regime. Finding themselves lost in the Milky Way with no idea how to return to the Home Galaxy, the leadership of Tarkin's Fist see a prime opportunity to start their own Empire.
• State Sec:
  • The Imperial Security Bureau, the Empire's hated secret police and political officers, are represented in fine form by the deep cover operative Major Eritech. Embedded within the Naval rank and file under the identity of Commander Tolos Volt, Eritech becomes obsessed with annihilating the members of Tarkin's Fist for their betrayal of Palpatine.
  • On the Earth side of things China's Ministry of State Security is represented as a consistent danger to be navigated by Colonel Loi Cas on the Chinese front of the Empire-Earth War.
• Suicide Attack: Civilians inside occupied Los Angeles resort to suicide bombings to kill stormtroopers. The Imperials, unaccustomed to the idea of a living person strapping bombs to themselves and blowing themselves up solely to kill the enemy, are deeply disturbed by this.
• The Syndicate: Brakatak forms a criminal organization modeled after the Hutt Kajidics (ie, crime families). Much of his money comes from the sale of narcotics from Earth; particularly cocaine and marijuana. Ashla Ti and Jason Bogan are initially part of the organization as a means of survival, but remain friendly with the group after their departure.
• Take That!: In Tarkin's Fist II:Dirtside, the Holo Net News is derided by an Imperial civilian as Imperial propaganda. Jason Bogan, an escaped abductee from Earth hiding from Imperial authorities, thinks it sounds no different than anything he'd heard on Fox News or CNN.
• Terraform: The crews of Tarkin's Fist elect to settle and terraform Mars, seeding the planet with plant and animal life forms from across the Home Galaxy. Dozens of planets are terraformed and settled throughout the Milky Way after the end of the Empire-Earth War as the Imperial population undergoes a postwar baby boom.
• Treacherous Quest Giver: Grand Moff Tarkin brings together the crews of Tarkin's Fist, ostensibly to create a fleet loyal to him that will be able to protect the Death Star from any attack, be it by the Rebels or Palpatine. The crews are drawn in by their dissatisfaction with Palpatine's rule, and would find Tarkin a far more palatable alternative to lead the Empire, should Tarkin ever try to usurp the throne. In reality, Tarkin has no immediate intentions of launching a coup, and draws the fleets of Tarkin's Fist together as a ruse on the orders of Emperor Palpatine to ferret out and expunge millions of potential traitors in one fell swoop. The fleet's accidental voyage to the Milky Way is the only thing that spares them from destruction upon their intended arrival in the Maw Cluster.

U-Z

• United Spaceof America: Subverted with the Confederacy of Earth Nations, the worldwide government formed by Jonathan Harris during the Empire-Earth War. While the Confederacy possesses a President and a Senate, the Senate is a powerless rubberstamp and the President rules as an absolute dictator with any elections being rigged.
• Urban Warfare: Justin Mallory earns his promotion from Private to Corporal in the brutal block by block street fighting that takes place during the Battle of Los Angeles.
• Voiceofthe Resistance: Hugo Chavez II of the Union of South American Nations makes repeated propaganda broadcasts pronouncing his defiance of the Empire. Commander Yutu spends an inordinate amount of time ordering radio transmitters in South America destroyed whenever a broadcast is made.
• War Fic: Tarkin's Fist is dedicated to the war fought between the nations of the Earth and a faction of stranded castaways from the Galactic Empire. The story focuses on ground forces from the Empire and countries around the world, as well as the political maneuvers of the leaders of each faction as they struggle for control of the Solar System.
• Waris Hell: The American, Chinese, and Imperial armies are all put through the wringer over the course of the Empire's invasion of Earth. Special attention is given to the PTSD soldiers suffer from in addition to physical wounds.
• We ARE Struggling Together: Much of the story is dedicated to the efforts by the varying countries of the Earth to put aside their grievances and unify in the face of the Imperial invasion. Some nations and politicians need more forceful persuasion than others.
• We Have Reserves: The New Empire only has the man power it brought with it, and has no means of reinforcing those numbers. The Earth capitalizes on this by taking advantage of the one resource they have to spare; their larger population. The Chinese Army resorts to human wave attacks in their assaults on Imperial positions. The American Army in the Siege of Las Vegas hugs the Imperial frontline as tightly as possible, causing extensive casualties on the American side. Justified as this prevents the Empire's ships from bombing the American positions without killing their own troopers.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Edward Galloway, Johnathan Harris's predecessor as President of the NAU, is disturbed by the erosion of civil liberties at home and appalled at the violence used to get unwilling individuals and countries to join up with the new Confederacy of Earth Nations. Harris's deputy Chief of Staff blatantly threatens Galloway's family if he refuses to toe the line. Galloway reluctantly remains silent.
• Wicked Cultured: Moff Kuantus Kuat is noted to have two pieces of art from Earth, one by Picasso and the other by Salvador Dali, hanging on the wall in his office. This is less a case of admiring and appropriating another culture's cultural artifacts and more an assertion of dominance, as the two paintings are noted to be considered inferior when compared to the two art pieces from the Home Galaxy the Picasso and the Dali pieces are hung next to.
• The World Is Just Awesome: Jason Bogan, upon escaping from slavery, greatly enjoys his time in Imperial society. Though he dislikes the Imperial government he finds himself living out his childhood dreams having adventures in space with aliens. Though his immediate goal is to find a way to return home to help his people, he approaches his time in the Empire, surrounded by exotic aliens and futuristic technology, with a sense of wonderment.
• Wretched Hive: Many of the refugee camps established across the world following the destruction of the major cities are overcrowded, short on food, and riddled with disease.
• Worthless Yellow Rocks: Zigzagged. Diamonds are explicitly considered worthless by the Empire. Actual gold, referred to by the Imperials as Aurodium, is still considered valuable enough to steal.
• Zerg Rush: The PLA resorts to human wave attacks as a means of pushing back the Imperial invaders.

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