Brenn Tantor

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Brenn Tantor

Brenn Tantor was a youngHumanmale fromGaros IV who dreamed of becoming one of theImperialstormtroopers who kept the peace on hishomeworld. After his graduation from theAcademy of Carida, however, he became much more when he was recruited out of theStormtrooper Corps and made anofficer in theImperial Army as part of anelite project. Supervised byGrand GeneralMalcor Brashin, he rose rapidly through the ranks, becoming a prominentgeneral. Tantor reached his height as an Imperial general in3 ABY when he directed theBattle of Hoth and shortly after that capturedRebel AllianceCommanderLuke Skywalker onAbridon.

When Tantor's brotherDellis, anImperial Intelligenceofficer, revealed that the Empire hadkilledtheir father, Brenn had a crisis of conscience. After refusing an order to massacre civilians and being told that Dellis had been killed, Tantor defected to the Rebel Alliance. After gaining the trust of GeneralTyr Taskeen, Tantor took a pivotal role in the Rebellion and later theNew Republic, commanding such engagements as theBattle of Endor and theLiberation ofCoruscant. In the latter, Tantor discovered that Dellis was being kept in Imperialcustody—custody from which he was freed, finally reuniting him with his brother.

Biography[]

Early life and career[]

TheHumanmale Brenn Tantor wasborn to a middle-class family onGaros IV during atime ofcivil war. TheGalactic Empire intervened to end the conflict, and this imposition of peace impressedTantor's father so much that he enlisted as a militarytransportpilot and raised his sons to respect thestormtroopers who kept order. However, aresistance movement grew against the Empire, and the Tantor family's house was destroyed during an episode of fighting. Stormtroopers rescued Brenn and his younger brotherDellis from the rubble, leading the pair to vow that they would become stormtroopers themselves.^[1]

Brenn Tantor immediately gained admission to the ImperialAcademy of Carida and underwent stormtrooper training, where he excelled in his studies of tactics. Dellis followed him oneyear later. During their training they were told the tragic news that their father had been killed by theRebel Alliance in the course of a mission to deliver medical supplies toGraal'diin. This only increased their resolve to become stormtroopers and fight the Rebellion.^[1]

The two were excellent cadets, but were mysteriously prevented from joining a stormtrooper squad; unknown to them, it was because they were notclones.^[1][2] The two began to shadowCattena Squadron, stationed at the Academy, until thesquadcaptain, impressed by their dedication, allowed them to join as "honorary stormtroopers." However, they were never able to gain real acceptance from the rest of the unit, whom they never encountered socially.^[1]

In0 BBY, CattenaSquadron was sent toKalaan. In the course of abattle, the squad'ssergeant waskilled and Tantor, acorporal, took command. His excellent performance caught the attention of CaptainBeri Tulon, a trainingofficer who was scouting for prospects for a special project. Tulon gave Tantor a battlefield promotion tolieutenant and ordered him to report to theStar DestroyerInquisitor. Dellis, who had been wounded shortly before Tulon arrived, was transferred toInquisitor as well and placed in abacta tank.^[1]

Rapid rise[]

Tantor was to become one of the firstofficers to learn how to commandtroops using theBattlefield Holographic Control Interface, or BHCI. The pet project ofGrand GeneralMalcor Brashin, the BHCI could allow a commander to view the full picture of a battle inholographic simulation and gave him the power to relay orders to the battlefield from the impunity of an orbiting StarDestroyer.^[1]

FromInquisitor, then inorbit overTatooine, Tantor walkedZeta Squadron, with the addition of the freshly-healed Dellis, through a simple set of orders to familiarize himself with the system. However, the exercise was cut short when Brashin broke in to issue Tantor new orders. Anescape pod launched from the RebelCR90 corvetteTantive IV had been tracked to his vicinity. Lieutenant Tantor was able to quickly find the pod, despite attacks from indigenousTusken Raider. In spite of the natives' hostility, Tulon admonished him to never engage the locals unless provoked and behave as "asoldier, not a murderer."^[1]

Tantor led further missions to recover the Rebeldroids that had been in the escape pod, including tracking and capturing theJawaSandcrawler that had carried the droids, and searching thehome of local hermitBen Kenobi.^[1]

However, the Imperials were too far behind, and the droids escaped theplanet with theplans to theDeath Star, a recently-constructed Imperialbattle station. The droids had apparently fled toAlderaan aboard theYT-1300 light freighterMillennium Falcon, but some in the Empire believed that the ship's canny captainHan Solo had jumped toRuul, along the same vector. Tantor, now a captain, was sent to Ruul with Tulon and Brashin. Although Solo had not jumped there, the Imperials did find that Rebels had captured animportant computer facility on Ruul. Tantor, with help from histechnically-minded brother on the ground, was able torecapture the facility and string a line ofremote relay beacons from the station to an undamagedantenna from which he could broadcast important Rebel data found in thecomputer complex. For his excellent performance, Tantor was promoted to the rank of commander and placed under Grand General Brashin's personal supervision. Nevertheless, he continued to hold the greatest respect for Captain Tulon, who had been reassigned after Brashin found his more traditional values incompatible with theNew Order.^[1]

Commander Tantor's nextmission was toSarapin. The data from the Ruul facility revealed that the Rebellion had captured several of thelava planet's thermalenergy collection plants. Tantor was able to retake the collection facilities, but quickly discovered that the Rebels had captured adrilling station. The drilling station, now out of control, was destabilizing the region and causing rampant seismic activity. Tantor's units fought their way to the heavily defended drilling platform, where Dellis was able to shut the drill down just in time to prevent avolcanic eruption and destructivegroundquakes.^[1]

That good news was tempered by two sad announcements from Brashin. First, theDeath Star had beendestroyed by Rebelstarfighters, with massive losses. The deaths of so many talented officers meant that there was a vacuum left for competent commanders to fill—commanders such as Tantor, whom Brashin promoted tomajor. The second announcement was that Brenn and Dellis would now be parting ways. Dellis had finally been accepted byImperial Intelligence, to which he had applied before Kalaan, as it had seemed he would not become a stormtrooper.^[1]

Tantor next managed to catch the attention of the ImperialSith LordDarth Vader when he rescued one of Vader's favored officers,ColonelMaximilian Veers, from a crashedshuttle during amission to destroy the Rebelbase on themoonYavin 4.^[1] Tantor later fought abattle onEos sometime after this in whichAll Terrain Personal Transports played a key role.^[3] OnEmpire Day in1 ABY, Major Tantor was present in the city ofTheed on the planetNaboo. There he recruited Imperial loyalists to counteract anti-Imperialpropaganda during the festivities.^[4]

Conflicted loyalties[]

Tantor, with the irresistible combination of exceptional command skills and the favor of Grand General Brashin and Darth Vader, became one of the top generals in the Empire. When Vader'stask force discovered the Rebelbase onHoth in3 ABY, theSith Lord called in General Tantor to oversee the subsequentbattle. Tantor coordinated the assault of Veers'sBlizzard Force on theRebel base, issuing the lower-ranking general orders from orbit via the BHCI. Blizzard Force'sAT-ATwalkers routed the Rebels, who were forced to evacuate theicy planet.^[1]

With the Rebels routed and his prestige inImperial High Command at colossal levels, Tantor was suddenly dealt a crushing blow. Dellis appeared in his cabin with a classifieddatadisk and a devastating secret: the Empire had murdered their father. Although they had been told that he was killed in a Rebel attack, the Empire had actually had him executed as an example to other pilots after he lost a shipment ofgrain topirates. Even worse, Dellis knew that his superiors were aware of his inquiries, and that he was likely marked for death. General Brashin had assigned him to quell a rebellion on Ruul, and Dellis knew that he would not survive. Dellis swiftly departed, leaving Brenn to ponder this information and question his loyalty to an Empire that had betrayed his family.^[1]

Tantor's nextassignment was relatively easy, but a sign of his high position within the Empire. He was entrusted with the knowledge of theSecond Death Star's location above theforest moon of Endor and ordered to find a suitable site for the groundsideshield projector that would protect it. However, his lightscouting force was attacked byEwoks, forcing him to kill many of the natives and destroy several villages that stood on potential shield projector sites. The slaughter of the diminutive natives did nothing to soothe Tantor's troubled conscience.^[1]

He was next assigned toroot out a strong Rebel force that hadcaptured theseat of government onAbridon. His force was able to drive the Rebels out of a captured Imperial base, which Tantor then used as a rallying point to call down reinforcements and weather repeatedtank assaults until he was able to drive a strong force through the Rebel lines to capture theAbridon Government Center. From there, he withstood a Rebel counteroffensive and captured five Rebel dignitaries sent to convince Abridon'sgovernment to join the Rebel Alliance. One of these dignitaries was the famous Rebel commanderLuke Skywalker. The capture of the most-wanted man inthe galaxy was quite a feather in Tantor's cap.^[1]

General Tantor was swiftly sent to destroy the main Rebel base on Abridon. During his briefing, he found a pleasant surprise: his old superior, now-Colonel Tulon, would be commanding an additionaltask force that would aid Tantor in the attack. Tantor was to use theTracked Mobile Base, or TR-MB, a prototype mobile command center housing a BHCI and putting him directly on the ground.^[1]

However, shortly into the mission, things went terribly wrong. Tulon's AT-AT suddenly went on a rampage, destroying the rest of his task force and making a beeline for the Rebel base. Tantor, terrified for the life of his mentor, presumably killed or taken hostage by a defector, drove his forces until they overtook and brought downthe walker short of the Rebel stronghold. To Tantor's utter shock, Tulonwas the defector. Unable to stomach the brutality of the Empire any longer, he had decided to cast his lot in with the Rebels. Tulon admonished Tantor that the Empire was corrupt and evil, and that the Rebels were the true heroes. Unable to do anything else, Tantor turned his old mentor over to Brashin forimprisonment in theTarkin Detention Facility.^[1]

Numb, Tantor continued on, efficiently crushing the Rebel base. However, that was not enough for Brashin. He demanded that Tantor destroy a nearbyrefugee camp as a show of strength. The conflicted Tantor had finally had enough. Citing Tulon's admonishment to be "a soldier, not a murderer," he refused his superior's orders. Furious, Brashin locked Tantor out from communication frequencies and ordered Tantor's stormtroopers to attack, telling them the camp was full of Rebels who had disabled the TR-MB, keeping Tantor from giving them the order. Horrified, the general watched as his soldiers massacred innocent civilians.^[1]

At that moment, Tantor received a strange transmission. His opponent, Rebel generalTyr Taskeen, appeared on his comm line. Taskeen had been able to eavesdrop on the communications between the two Imperial generals, and offered Tantor his personal comm frequency. Though the offer was not explicit, the Rebel was inviting Tantor to defect rather than face thecourt-martial that doubtless awaited him.^[1]

Defector[]

Back in his Star Destroyer, a communication from Brashin delivered the news Tantor had been dreading. Dellis had been killed—in a Rebel attack, according to Brashin—and Brenn Tantor himself was to report to Kalaan to face the consequences of his insubordination. He took the only option left to him. Contacting Taskeen, Tantor told the Rebel general to meet him on Kalaan.^[1]

On Kalaan, Tantor was tossed into an outdoor cage to spend the night before being court-martialed. Brashin assured him that the outcome would not be in doubt: Tantor would be found guilty and executed. However, Brashin assigned as guards stormtroopers from aunit that had served loyally under Tantor's command for years.Gana Lant, one of those stormtroopers, sprang Tantor fromprison and arranged for the defection of the entire guard detail. However, Tantor was not content to prove his good intentions simply by bringing a squad of stormtroopers with him. He hijacked the TR-MB, parked nearby, and released Luke Skywalker, who was being held in the samefacility. With these significant assets and the help of theKalaanite resistance, Tantoroutfought Imperial patrols andturrets to make his way to Taskeen's base.^[1]

Once evacuated to Taskeen'sfleet, Tantor wasn't met with the heroic welcome he had hoped for. Taskeen, wary of such a highly placed Imperial officer, imprisoned him. Tantor would be forced to prove his loyalty under Taskeen's close supervision. Tantor offered Taskeen a plan: if Taskeen would allow him to rescue Beri Tulon from the Tarkin Detention Facility on Ruul, he would be able to combine Tulon's inside knowledge with his own tactical genius to deliver an AT-AT to the Alliance. Taskeen, who was cautiously intrigued, gave Tantor the go-ahead, but warned him that he would be under constant scrutiny.^[1]

Tantor was able to lead a swiftcommando raid that overpowered Tulon's escort before he reached the prison, where he freed Tulon as well as aRuulian Rebel leader, but was forced to prolong his operations on Ruul when Tulon informed him that he would require an Imperial code to access the AT-ATmanufacturing facility onTrasse. Such a code could be found at the nearbycomputer facility atSounder Flats. Tantor's soldiers were able to hold off Imperialscout walkers and stormtroopers long enough for Tulon to download the codes from the computer complex.^[1]

After careful preparation, including Tulon's training of a special unit ofarmor-hijacking Infiltrators, they set out for Trasse. Thecapture of the AT-AT went smoothly, but extraction was complicated by the appearance of a familiar Star Destroyer—Inquisitor, Grand General Brashin's personal ship. Tantor and Brashin exchanged words before the battle; Brashin expressed his disappointment in his one-time student, and Tantor offered the grand general a chance to defect. Brashin did not take him up on the offer. Tantor was forced to race to capture aplanetary-defense ion cannon and disable the Star Destroyer before he could escape with the precious captured walker.^[1]

Trusted general[]

That action gave Taskeen enough confidence in Tantor that he began to entrust the former Imperial with heavier armor and more important missions. Tantor's experience with Abridon was a major reason why he was tapped to command amission to free the planet from the Imperialgarrison that he himself had once set up. Tantor was able to smash the Imperial presence in thecapital and retake theGovernment Mound. He also liberated a nearbyprison camp. There he foundHamman Flatt, the formerlieutenant governor of Abridon whom he had imprisoned on his prior visit. Flatt told the Rebel general, whom he failed to recognize, that Abridon was willing to make available a delivery of Abridon-manufacturedA-wings. Tantor was able to capture theshipyards in the war-torn city ofSayan, and aHover Transport full of pilots safely flew the A-wings toSullust, where theRebel fleet was preparing to strike at the Second Death Star.^[1]

After cleaning out the remaining Imperials in Sayan at the request of theAbridon Nationalists, Tantor participated in4 ABY'sBattle of Endor himself. Due to his experience having set up theshield generator, Tantor accompanied General Han Solo and hisstrike team to Endor in theLambda-class shuttleTydirium. He remained in the shuttle and coordinated thecommando team's activities using a portable BHCI. The team was able to destroy theshield generator, which allowed the fleet to blow up the orbiting Death Star. Tantor's significant role in this crucial battle confirmed both that his Rebel superiors trusted his loyalty and that he was playing an increasingly important role in the Rebellion.^[1]

Galactic EmperorPalpatine was killed during the battle,^[5] and the Alliance soon after transitioned into theAlliance of Free Planets, and later theNew Republic. Tantor became a respected commander in the new organization.^[1] Two yearsafter Endor, Tantor participated in the New Republic's advance into theCore Worlds and along with AdmiralWillham Burke, he orchestrated the capture of the worldsCommenor,Gyndine andReytha.^[6] Tantor subsequently reached a personal and professional pinnacle when he commanded theLiberation of Coruscant, after he was given the honor of leading the assault onCoruscant, capital of the Empire, in cooperation with GeneralRand Talor.^[1]

Tantor first inserted a force just small enough to avoid detection by Coruscant's advanced sensor net near the north pole. That force disabled thesensor nodes in that region and cleared the way for Tantor to land a massive assault force undetected. He next breached the defensive wall along the edge of the planet's polar ice cap and captured a series of vital Imperial facilities, including ahospital, repair bay, artillery platforms, and walker storage depots.^[1]

Tantor pushed on to the final battleground: theImperial Palace itself. Facing off against the ferocious Imperial defense, commanded by his old nemesis Grand General Brashin, Tantor pounded through layer after layer of Imperial armor, weapons emplacements, and air support until a finalinfantry invasion secured the Imperial Palace.^[1]

It was with that capture that Tantor received stunning news. Rebeltroopers, clearing a secret Imperial dungeon in the Palace, had found an unexpected prisoner: Dellis Tantor. Overjoyed that the brother whose death had haunted him for years had in fact escaped execution, Brenn met Dellis in an emotional reunion. Walking onto the steps of the Palace, they met Tyr Taskeen, who welcomed Dellis into the Rebel fold with the words, "Welcome to the next chapter in thehistory of the galaxy."^[1]

Personality and traits[]

Brenn Tantor began his Imperial career as an eager young recruit seeking to spread order, peace, and justice by serving in the stormtrooper corps. Excelling in the Academy, he quickly picked up a strong knowledge of tactics and eagerly looked forward to becoming a stormtrooper.^[1]

However, Tantor was dealt the first of many blows to his enthusiasm and idealism when he and his brother were refused entrance to the stormtrooper corps. Cattena Squadron adopted them, but even that held disappointment as none of its members held much affection for the boys. Brenn's strong drive led him to work even harder to earn Cattena's approval when even Dellis began to give up, but he never did gain it before he was promoted to lieutenant and transferred out.^[1]

With his appointment to officer status and selection for an elite project, Tantor's enthusiasm and determination were redoubled. However, Tulon's reassignment left Tantor without a mentor and wondering why Tulon had been determined unfit. His isolation was only increased when Dellis was assigned to Imperial Intelligence. Brenn saw him only sporadically over the next year and not at all for two years after that.^[1]

Brashin and Tantor retained a good working relationship, but Brashin was not particularly friendly. While respected by his men, Tantor was isolated from them by command. Though he succeeded militarily, Tantor dashed from one hotspot to another with little in the way of a social life or friendships.^[1]

Between Dellis's revelation that the Empire had killed their father and the massacres of the Ewoks on Endor, Brenn entered a moody, brooding period in which he was forced to wrestle with his conscience. Beri Tulon's attempted defection and capture, the massacre on Abridon, and the news of Dellis's death only increased Tantor's depression, giving himnightmares.^[1]

Tyr Taskeen and, once rescued, Beri Tulon returned some companionship to his life, but Tantor remained driven to defeat the Empire and prove himself while still haunted by his past misdeeds and the presumed death of his brother. Aboard theTydirium en route to Endor, he experienced a hallucination, seeing Dellis sitting across from him. That guilt and depression characterized Tantor throughout 3 and 4 ABY. However, discovering Dellis during the Battle of Coruscant gave Brenn a genuine second chance at happiness.^[1]

Behind the scenes[]

Brenn Tantor was created for the2000LucasArtsvideo gameStar Wars: Force Commander, in which he was voiced byJeff Bennett.Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds also features the Liberation of Coruscant, but in that game the assault on the Imperial Palace is commanded byRand Talor. This article assumes that the two worked in cooperation with one another.

Tantor made a cameo appearance as aNon-player character (NPC) in themassively multiplayer online roleplaying gameStar Wars Galaxies. During the Empire Day live events of2009,2010, and2011, he could be found in Theed handing out quests to players. These quests involved putting up Imperial propaganda posters, or tearing down Rebel posters.

Appearances[]

• Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds(Mentioned only)
• Star Wars: Force Commander(First appearance)
• Star Wars Galaxies:An Empire Divided(Empire Day 2009-2011)

Sources[]

Explore all of Wookieepedia'simages for this article subject.

• Star Wars: Force Commander: Prima's Official Strategy Guide
• The New Essential Guide to Characters
• The Official Star Wars Fact File 34END 5-6: Endor – Shield Generator
• The New Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels
• General Solo's Rebel strike team onKeeper of the Holocron — Leland Chee's StarWars.comBlog(original site is defunct)
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
• The Essential Guide to Warfare

Notes and references[]