Antinnis Tremayne

"The procedure is, regrettably, quite painful. Wouldn't you rather talk to me now?"

- High Inquisitor Tremayne

Tremayne (possibly born Antinnis Tremayne) was an Old Republic Jedi Padawan and an Imperial High Inquisitor during the Galactic Civil War.

Padawan
According to information obtained by Prince Xizor in the first months of the New Order, Antinnis Tremayne was taken from his family at the age of nineteen months, and subsequently went through the normal Jedi training regime, becoming a Padawan under Master Dav Kylanu. Following his master's death during the Clone Wars, Tremayne was taken prisoner by Separatist forces, and disappeared from the records until he resurfaced as an Inquisitor after the Declaration of a New Order.

However, Tremayne's own recollections were rather different. When approached by Xizor, he claimed never to have known the name "Antinnis", and in later life, he would recall a substantially different childhood. Rather than being taken by the Jedi in infancy as was the usual practice, he thought that he had been fifteen when he joined the order; he remembered the quiet, bearded Jedi who told him that he had been approved for training, and his mother's emotional pride that he had been selected.

Tremayne believed that he had studied for the next three years under Kylanu, growing proud of his abilities, but chafing slightly under his master, who wanted him to curb his vanity: "A Jedi does not care so much about appearances, Tremayne. He cares about truth."

It is, on present evidence, impossible to be certain about the accuracy of either account. Xizor's intelligence could have been at fault, while Tremayne's own memories could have been affected by a number of factors, including braintwisting, Force-manipulation at the hands of Vader and Palpatine, or his injuries and subsequent transformation into a cyborg.

Perhaps appropriately, Tremayne's reliable biography only begins after the end of the Clone Wars, when he was one of a group of Padawans and AgriCorps workers held captive on Byss under the watchful eye of Sly Moore. Darth Vader faced the prisoners in personal combat and only four survived, including Tremayne, who defeated Vader by pushing a button on the Dark Lord's chest panel, temporarily cutting off the cybernetic Sith's airflow.

Even here, however, there is ambiguity. Tremayne later recalled being recruited as part of a project to purify a corrupt but still extant Jedi Order, apparently organized under Palpatine's personal aegis in the last days of the Old Republic. He also remembered an encounter with the man who had once been Anakin Skywalker, in which Vader told him that the Jedi were preventing him from realising his full potential, and invited him to join him in restoring order to the Galaxy and creating a reborn Jedi Order.

These memories might have been false, or they might reflect a climate of deception and psychological manipulation during Tremayne's captivity and his transformation into an Inquisitor; but if accurate, they would suggest that even before his ostensible first encounter with Vader on Byss, Tremayne had been recruited by him as an agent of his own personal plans for the future of the Galaxy. If Tremayne had indeed been a "newcomer", recruited by the Jedi unusually late, and grown cocky and impatient under his master's training, Vader could well have seen in him a kindred spirit.

Whatever the truth, Vader subsequently began training Tremayne as an Inquisitor and an extension of his will.

Inquisitor
While giving a recruitment speech for COMPNOR's Sub-Adult Group, Tremayne felt the presence of Jedi Padawan Drake Lo'gaan and began tracking the young Human and his companions. He informed Darth Vader of this development during his training session with the other apprentices. Vader became angry and informed Tremayne that it was his job as an Inquisitor to rid the Galaxy of Jedi.

Tremayne succeeded in cornering Drake Lo'gaan, Ekria and Zonder on a transport to Byss. Drake managed to escape by smashing a window with his lightsaber.

High Inquisitor


Tremayne was eventually promoted to the position of High Inquisitor, beginning a remarkable career in the Galactic Empire. It was even rumored, though never confirmed, that he was one of numerous Emperor's Hands. Part of his duties included managing the search for the last of the Jedi and Force-sensitive peoples following Order 66, and bringing them into the Imperial fold. He answered only to Darth Vader, Grand Inquisitor Laddinare Torbin, and the highest of Palpatine's advisors.

He had an interrogation and corruption style rare among Imperial Inquisitors, in that he strove for an "elegant" defeat of his prisoner, disdaining the brute-force techniques operatives like Vader used with relish. He was articulate, courteous, knowledgeable, and worldly &mdash; indeed, his prisoners often described him as even friendly. Tremayne only resorted to physical torture when he had failed to make any progress in his discussions of the Force, of socio-politics, and of ideologies with his prisoners.

Tremayne was able to break every prisoner brought to him until he met Corwin Shelvay. Using violent physical torture, Tremayne believed he would eventually break Shelvay's spirit. Before Tremayne was able to break the young man, the Sullustan Jedi Master Darrin Arkanian, broke into the torture chamber holding Shelvay, rescued the wounded man, and retreated into the undercity of Coruscant. Quickly discovering that Corwin had escaped, Tremayne grabbed a company of stormtroopers and followed Arkanian and Shelvay.



Luck was on Tremayne's side. Sustaining injuries from the interrogation, Shelvay was unable to keep pace with his master. Arkanian was forced to basically carry Shelvay through the undercity. This allowed Tremayne and his stormtroopers to easily catch the two Jedi. Igniting his green lightsaber, Tremayne attacked the Sullustan Jedi with a furious assault; however, he was unable to break through the Jedi's defenses. Stopping the advance, Tremayne ordered his troopers to kill the wounded Shelvay unless Arkanian would drop his lightsaber. Not wishing to see Shelvay harmed, the Sullustan deactivated his lightsaber only to have Tremayne cleave him in two.

As a shocked death gasp escaped Arkanian's lips, Tremayne lorded his victory over the dead Jedi. This was the first Jedi Master that he had personally killed. However, as Tremayne mocked Arkanian's sacrifice, he had forgotten the wounded Corwin Shelvay. Fueled by a dark side rage, Shelvay snatched his dead master's lightsaber and leapt at the Dark Jedi. Tremayne was unprepared for the barrage. As the Inquisitor prepared to sidestep away from the furious Jedi, Corwin swung his blade in an unorthodox arc that Tremayne was not prepared for. Severing the Inquisitor's arm, Corwin brought the lightsaber back on a return swing through Tremayne's right eye.

Tremayne awoke in a medical ward as droids were applying cybernetics to replace his severed right arm and eye. In an effort to punish Tremayne's arrogance and vanity, Lord Vader ordered the droids to apply the most cumbersome and fearsome prosthetics to Tremayne's wounds. Only Tremayne's defeat of Arkanian kept him from feeling the cold retribution for failure. Afterward, Tremayne scoured the Galaxy, looking for Shelvay to exact revenge. Rather than hunt him down, Tremayne reveled in the knowledge that the power of the dark side would allow him to triumph next time they met.

Tremayne suffered another defeat when he was injured by Arden Lyn, though he was prevented in taking his revenge by Grand Inquisitor Torbin.

The Interrogator


Tremayne was given command of the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Interrogator. Tremayne took after his teacher in commanding the Interrogator. He expected no less than perfection among his crew, and was quick to execute for any failure. When failures did occur, Tremayne relished in psychologically torturing the doomed captain before executing him. He would call the captain for a personal debriefing, and force the officer to wait excruciatingly long periods in front of his private quarters, feeding off their fear and doubts.

In one particular instance, Captain Jovan Vharing was forced to wait outside Tremayne's office for three hours while Tremayne sat and fed off his fear. To discourage violent outbursts in these personal meetings, he had the services of a private bodyguard and assassin, the Srrors'tok felinoid Ahnjai Rahmma.

While Tremayne commanded the Interrogator, he succeeded in hunting down the rogue Inquisitor Adalric Cessius Brandl, entering into a brief lightsaber duel with him and inflicting a wound upon Brandl's hand before the former Inquisitor was able to flee to the planet Najiba. Sometime after this, Brandl handed himself in to a seperate, Imperial I-class Star Destroyer which was to rendevous with the Interrogator where Tremayne would "interview" Brandl personally. Brandl once more escaped, however, by faking his own death.

This was not to be the last time Brandl would turn himself in, as he did so once again after his failed training of Fable Astin. Instead of presenting her to the Emperor to be trained, he brought with him his son instead. Jaalib Brandl was given to Tremayne, Adalric's greatest and most hated rival, to train which he did with much hatred. Tremayne took his hatred of Adalric out on Jaalib physically, emotionally, and mentally and the only thing which kept Jaalib sane during these times were his memories of Fable. Although Tremayne was able to turn Jaalib to the dark side, he never fully embraced it until years later.

Shortly before the Battle of Endor, Tremayne set out to capture the traitorous Arden Lyn, though it would appear that he was unsuccessful as Lyn was killed by the reborn Emperor himself. Tremayne would later ally with Procurator of Justice Hethrir, revealing the existence of the Valley of the Jedi to him. While Hethrir's Empire Reborn was rounded up by the New Republic, Tremayne's involvement remained secret.

High Inquisitor Tremayne thus remained active in the Imperial service until at least 14 ABY, and his final fate is currently unknown.

Behind the scenes
High Inquisitor Tremayne may be a descendant of Matta Tremayne, but this has never been confirmed.

In the short story, Dark Vendetta, Tremayne recalls a conversation that he once had with Vader. The curious phrasing of this incident, with its references to the need to purify a still-existant Jedi Order, may reflect Vader's mental manipulation and Tremayne's confused state of mind at the time; but it may also hint that Vader saw Tremayne as an ally in his own private plans to destroy Palpatine: this incident could even predate the fall of the Old Republic, and indicate that Anakin Skywalker had recruited Tremayne as a personal ally before they met on Byss.

In the Hyperspace webcomic Evasive Action: Prey Tremayne's first name is given as 'Antinnis' by Prince Xizor. Tremayne himself claims not to have been aware that it was his first name.

Tremayne is also referenced in Emanations of Darkness by Patricia Jackson, a continuation of her storyline about Adalric Brandl and his family that has not received a canonical publication.

Appearances

 * Evasive Action: Recruitment
 * Evasive Action: Prey
 * Dark Vendetta
 * The Longest Fall
 * The Final Exit
 * Emanations of Darkness (cut story)