Thalassa Tarkin

"My husband was murdered by Rebels!&hellip; I'd kill them myself&hellip; if I had the chance!"

- Lady Tarkin

The wife of Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, Lady Tarkin was a Human female of the influential Motti family of Phelarion. Tarkin married her for power, not for love, for he had an affair with Natasi Daala while he was still married. Lady Tarkin, however, remained supportive of her husband and the Empire, even after his death aboard the Darth Star. Lady Tarkin then headed a megonite moss operation on Phelarion, hoping to sell the megonite as ammunition for the Empire so that they might further work to crush the Rebellion. Just prior to the Thirteenth Imperial Diplomatic Conclave, for which Lady Tarkin was the host, Princess Leia Organa infiltrated Tarkin's slave operation and derailed the transaction of the megonite going to the Empire. Darth Vader, who was on Phelarion for the conclave, held Tarkin personally responsible for the mishap.

Marriage and family
A member of the Motti family on Phelarion, the wealthy woman who would become Lady Tarkin was married to Governor Wilhuff Tarkin. Lady Tarkin was the cousin of Commander Conan Motti —and it was for the connection to her powerful relatives such as he that Wilhuff Tarkin married the woman. In actuality, he did not even love her; soon after their marriage, Tarkin instead shared his affection with a young cadet on Carida, Natasi Daala.

On Governor Tarkin's homeworld of Eriadu in the post-Clone Wars era, the Tarkin family had earned a reputation as a force to be reckoned with. When members of the Nebula Front kidnapped Lady Tarkin's niece Shella Motti, the Tarkins hired agents to find the missing girl; Motti, however, hired her own agents to prevent her from having to go home to her family. In 5 BBY, when Lady Tarkin's brother-in-law Gideon Tarkin was killed during the Erhynradd Mutiny, his daughter Rivoche was invited to come live at the Tarkin estate; however, the teenage Rivoche frequently acted out in resentment, so Wilhuff had her sent to an exclusive preparatory academy on Clær.

Widow
While Grand Moff Tarkin was killed aboard the Darth Star when it was destroyed by the Rebel Alliance, Imperial news agencies reported that he had died in a shuttle accident at the Tallaan shipyards. Lady Tarkin, however, knew the truth; she became obsessed with avenging his death by crushing the Rebellion. At Port Tarkin on Phelarion, she had a solid black monument constructed in his honor. The plaque on it read: IN MEMORY OF MY HUSBAND, WE SERVE THE EMPIRE FAITHFULLY!

Megonite mogul
Lady Tarkin headed an Imperial labor colony on Phelarion and used slaves to mine explosive, heat-sensitive megonite moss to develop ammunition for the Empire, to which she remained fanatically devoted, particularly for their dedication to destroy the Rebellion. Just prior to the Thirteenth Imperial Diplomatic Conclave which Lady Tarkin was hosting, Princess Leia Organa became stranded on Phelarion. Mistaking her for a slave girl, Tarkin chose Leia (whom she called "Lerna") as a servant to work at the conclave. After notifying an Imperial freighter to postpone its megonite pickup due to an explosion at the mine, Lady Tarkin discovered that a large amount of megonite was not being accounted for and began to suspect thievery. Tarkin was then contacted by Darth Vader about the delay in landing, and he accused her of selling the megonite to the Rebel Alliance. Incensed, Lady Tarkin set out to find whoever was stealing her megonite.



Tarkin returned to her private chambers after hearing a loud noise; there she found her servant Nardo dead from an explosion in her megonite display case. She then proceeded to her banquet hall to host the Imperial Diplomatic Conclave, for guests such as Shea Hublin, Chancellor Qua of the Zenox Star Cluster, the Most High Proctor of Thebeon 8, and Darth Vader himself. Tarkin had an embarrassing moment when she offered a drink to Vader, who reminded her that he neither ate nor drank. Vader grew impatient with Tarkin and again accused her of selling to the Rebels. His stormtroopers then discovered the crashed Rebel glider Organa had used for landing. When Tarkin spotted her servant girl Lerna and two other slaves fleeing the scene, Lord Vader recognized the girl as Princess Leia Organa. While Tarkin doubted the rebels' chances of escaping the planet, Vader vowed to hold Tarkin personally responsible if Organa escaped. While the princess did indeed make it offworld, Lady Tarkin's fate is unknown.

Personality and traits
Lady Tarkin was a severe and stately woman who idolized her husband. Even though Wilhuff Tarkin's heart belonged to another woman, Lady Tarkin considered the man to be a martyr and and hero, and remained faithful to his cause. She took pride in her devotion the the Empire, and was highly offended when Darth Vader accused her of selling to the Rebels. Tarkin was also paranoid, fearing that Rebels were everywhere, trying to kill her.

Behind the scenes
Lady Tarkin first appeared in Russ Manning's newspaper strip Princess Leia, Imperial Servant. Despite being the wife of a prominent Star Wars character, Lady Tarkin has only been mentioned in a few sources since her first appearance. Also, no source has yet indicated whether or not she was aware of her husband's affair with Natasi Daala.

Appearances

 * Princess Leia, Imperial Servant