Eugene Talmont

"The man in charge, Prefect Talmont, seems to spend most of his time trying to get himself reassigned, ignoring the blatant crime in the streets of Mos Eisley."

- Mammon Hoole

Eugene Talmont was the Imperial Prefect of Mos Eisley spaceport. Following the footsteps of his father, he was constantly assigned to backwater worlds and cities, due to his unremarkable past. When given his Mos Eisley assignment, he at first saw it as an opportunity to reform and tame the lowlifes and "riff-raff" that populated the streets, but in a short space of time, he began dedicating all his resources to obtain a transfer.

At first setting his sights on Rebel fugitives who wandered into his territory, Talmont began combating the Hutt cartels that harried honest business in Mos Eisley. Having no qualms about taking bribes and getting involved in underhanded business to fight Jabba Desilijic Tiure, the most powerful crime lord in the sector. At first hiring honest Imperial citizens to infiltrate Jabba's community, Talmont's actions drew the attention of Governor Tour Aryon, who contacted the Imperial Security Bureau, Imperial Intelligence, and the Inquisitorius in turn to discover the truth behind Talmont's actions. The Prefect was able to evade disaster though, and by 4 ABY was still working to destroy Jabba's empire.

Assignment
"I see! They think they can get away with it, but they have yet to deal with Prefect Talmont!"

- Prefect Eugene Talmont

Eugene Talmont served the Galactic Empire loyally, like his father, but his untarnished reputation, and low-key backgroud led him to be transferred from unremarkable post to unremarkable post. He began to develop a grudge against his father, considering him to be an inferior human being. In 0 ABY, he found himself at Mos Eisley, a spaceport on the arid planet of Tatooine, where he was to serve as Prefect. Upon learning that his predecessor, Orun Depp, had been assassinated by IG-72 he devised a series of schemes to get himself transferred. At first, Talmont saw the job as an opportunity to tame the barbaric nature of Tatooine's denizens, but after a while, he began to suspect that someone in the upper echelons of the government disliked him.

The Hunt for Han Solo
"You will get your reward, and I will get sent to a post on a far, far better world. You have my word on that. My solemn word."

- Prefect Eugene Talmont

Within the year, Talmont's power began to rival that of Governor Tour Aryon, and he had a degree of jursitiction over the entire planet. Still, he sought to be transferred, and came up with a plan to impress his superiors. Han Solo, of the Millennium Falcon, was wanted by the Empire, and Talmont's men had gained intelligence that he would be returning to Tatooine to pay off Jabba Desilijic Tiure, a crime lord who had a bounty on the fugitive smuggler's head. Hiring three bounty hunters: Dengar, Udin, and Eron Stonefield, Talmont intended to have his employees camp outside Jabba's Palace, and wait for Solo to arrive. Talmont promised to pay the bounty hunters considerably, and believed that the capture of such an elusive terrorist would secure his passage to a better post.

What was essentially a simple plan, however, evolved into a complex, galaxy-wide chase involving kidnappings of Hutts, planetary revolutions, and trade disputes. With his Ur-Damo in the clutches of Solo, Jabba expressed interest in the hunt, and contacted Talmont. Though the Prefect was no friend of the Hutt, he assured him that the three hunters were totally capable. With the Hutt now involved, Talmont's involvement diminished. Though the hunters eventually caught Solo, they unwittingly handed them over to Rebels, disguised as Imperials. As a result, celebrations broke out across Mos Eisley, and Talmont did not get the transfer he saught.

Reporting on the Hutt kajidics
"The Hutts, unsurprisingly, think themselves superior to all other creatures in the galaxy, including humanoids. Further, the mere existence of these gangsters promotes immorality."

- Excerpt from Prefect Eugene Talmont's report to ISB

Within the same year, Prefect Talmont was called upon by the Imperial Security Bureau to research the Hutt kajidics, or clans. Talmont did so, and compiled a particularly critical and damning report of the kajidics, mentioning such psychological theories as "The Hutt Mirror". Talmont's report was dispatched to ISB, and in turn, Commander Maximillian Seerdon sent it to Grand Vizier Sate Pestage.

Operations in Bestine
"Your services has been invaluable to me and the greater good of the Empire. It's a sad time when wearing the Prefect's uniform is to wrap oneself in thorns and razorwire. Go, I am distraught."

- Prefect Eugene Talmont

In 1 ABY, Wilhalm Skrim, Governor Aryon's secretary, referred a traveling Imperial spacer onto Talmont. Talmont, who was visiting Bestine, had several errands that the spacer was willing to run. First, he sent the spacer to kill the gangster Akkar Plint, who was working for an Gohn Bimmin, an Imperial official. Bimmin had apparently fabricated evidence claiming that Talmont was involved in a bribery scandal, and was heading to Bestine to present his case. The spacer fulfilled his task, and Talmont was safe, for the moment. He then sent the spacer to assassinate Bimmin, further securing the safety of the Prefecture from harmful allegations.

Impressed with the spacers work, Talmont enlisted the nomad in his war against the Hutts. He sent the spacer on another assassination mission, this time to kill the Hutt employee Snrrrlagga. The spacer succeeded, and Talmont grew confident that he would gain the upper hand in the minor conflict. Governor Aryon grew suspicious of Talmont's movements, however, and enlisted the services of an Imperial Security Bureau officer to keep an eye on the Prefect. Talmont, indignant, discovered that the Bothan spy Nwilla Thar'lyat had been providing the ISB officer with details on his operations, and so sent the spacer to kill Thar'lyat.

Aryon did not give up, however, and with ISB's effectiveness hampered, enlisted Imperial Intelligence to do the job. Talmont was confident he could deal with the Intelligence officer, but knew that the officer's guard, Klaua Jik, would pose a problem. Reminding the spacer to be exceptionally secretive, Talmont enlisted them, once again, for an assasination task, with Jik as the target. Jik, shortly thereafter, perished, and Talmont found himself able to move freely again. Still, Aryon was not satisfied. She called upon the Inquisitorius, who sent one of their number to interrogate those close to Talmont. The Prefect, panicking, dispatched the spacer to kill Harbo Linn, a member of the Prefecture who would reveal damning information if he were to fall into the hands of the Inquisitor. The space succeeded, but Talmont was too distraught to be pleased.

Plotting to remove Jabba
Talmont realised he had to get rid of Jabba and his criminal enterprises that riddled Mos Eisley. At first, he hired Imperial agents to infiltrate Jabba's palace and steal data discs containing information about the crime lord's bribery of important officials. In 4 ABY, he contacted two members of Jabba's cartel: Tessek, and Ree-Yees. Ree-Yees, an alcoholic murderer from Kinyen, had a three deaths on his record, but Talmont agreed to clear the Gran's name if he could eliminate Jabba. As such, he had his men deliver the parts of a bomb gradually to Ree-Yees, in the hope that the Gran would be able to assemble it and eliminate Jabba.

Tessek, Jabba's accountant, made a separate deal with Talmont. He would arrange to have Jabba inspect a spice shipment in a large warehouse in Mos Eisley, during which Talmont and his men would raid the illegal stash and arrest the Hutt. Talmont believed that by eliminating Jabba, either way, he would be transferred to another world. The day before the planned raid, Talmont went to the Lucky Despot with several of his men, and was met by Ephant Mon, another of Jabba's employees. Watching the Chevin dispatch a pair of local thugs, he commended Mon on his combat skills. Mon, however, hinted that he knew of Tessek's plan, causing Talmont to fret. Luckily, Jabba was assassinated by Leia Organa the following day at the Pit of Carkoon.

Personality and traits
"Oh, this is a hideous world."

- Prefect Eugene Talmont

Eugene Talmont was a particularly bitter man, particularly towards his father, and his superiors. His father had, in Talmont's opinion, always been given choice assignments and postings, while he himself had received nothing but backwater posts. Adding insult to injury, Talmont believed himself to be a far better man than his father. The Prefect did not put his posting to Tatooine down to coincidence, either, as he was convinced that his superiors had given him a poor assignment just to spite him. While at first, Talmont thought Mos Eisley may provide him with an opportunity to subdue the rowdy citizens, he quickly discovered that it was a highly dangerous and barren city, with practically no prospects for advancement.

He had no qualms with taking bribes, but was utterly disgusted at the fact that he was accused of misconduct. He frequently clashed with the governor, and usually tried to avoid her, but when Talmont's assassination orders got out of hand, the governor began to investigate. Talmont panicked in such an instance, and simply ordered more killings, which did, eventually, resolve the problem. Talmont's objective became not so much "fixing" Mos Eisley, but doing something noteworthy to attract the attention of his superiors, as he hated Tatooine and sought a transfer. He concocted a wide variety of schemes, none of which actually succeded.

A slight man of wiry build, Talmont was not a particularly imposing figure, and was also physically short-sighted. In his first year at Mos Eisley, he wore a toupee, but substituted it in 1 ABY for an officer's cap, to match his prefect's uniform. He had a walking stick as well, but he had seemingly done away with it by the time of his second year on the job.

Behind the scenes
Eugene Talmont was created by Martin Wixted, and first appeared in the West End Games sourcebook, Galaxy Guide 7: Mos Eisley. The character would then go on to be used in the short story collection Tales from Jabba's Palace, and made his first in-story appearance in Kenneth C. Flint's Old Friends: Ephant Mon's Tale. The character would later be used by Dave Wolverton as the catalyst for the plot of the second arc of the Star Wars Missions series, in 1998.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Missions 5: The Hunt for Han Solo
 * Star Wars Missions 7: Ithorian Invasion
 * Star Wars Galaxies
 * Old Friends: Ephant Mon's Tale
 * Goatgrass: The Tale of Ree-Yees
 * A Free Quarren in the Palace: Tessek's Tale

Notes and references
Talmont