Cassio Tagge/Legends

"If he had been more vocal, even willing to take his complaints to the Emperor himself, Tagge might be alive today and might even be a 'military hero' for a victorious Empire."

- Excerpt from Voren Na'al's profile of General Cassio Tagge

General Cassio Tagge served as the head of Imperial Army operations aboard the Death Star battlestation in the years leading up to and including the Battle of Yavin. Born into the powerful House of Tagge, Cassio Tagge grew up on Tepasi with his three brothers&mdash;Orman, Silas, and Ulric, as well as his younger sister Domina, who was sent away from Tepasi by Orman at an early age. Boasting a tactically astute and cautious mind, Tagge had enlisted for officer training in the Imperial Military by 18 BBY, against the wishes of Orman, who had ascended to the position of Baron of the House of Tagge. Cassio Tagge ultimately ascended to the rank of general, and became an influential figure within the military, strengthening the organization's ties to his family's TaggeCo corporation, and holding sway with Emperor Palpatine himself. Tagge was ultimately followed into Imperial service by Ulric, and among the general's earlier assignments was the subjugation of the Fallanassi people on Lucazec&mdash;when the general failed, he managed to drive the obstinate people off their planet and into hiding.

Tagge's military nous, combined with his standing with Palpatine and the House of Tagge's considerable influence on the Imperial capital world of Imperial Center resulted in him being given command of all Imperial Army activities on Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin's Death Star. As the project was steered towards completion, Tagge was given numerous administrative duties, and developed a fierce rivalry with his Imperial Navy counterpart on the station, Admiral Conan Antonio Motti. Tagge also had to endure the presence of Palpatine's personal emissary, the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader, with whom he felt compelled to avoid direct confrontation, but was critical of nonetheless. Tagge's criticisms of Vader and the Death Star project itself reached a fever pitch in 0 BBY, when the battlestation's plans were stolen by the Alliance to Restore the Republic, an entity that Tagge controversially had great respect for. Tagge's own organization of the battlestation's defensive arrays proved inadequate against the Alliance's later attack on the battlestation at Yavin Prime, and the general perished along with Tarkin and Motti when the Death Star was destroyed by Luke Skywalker.

Nobody listens
"Forget Darth Vader. If I play my cards right, it could be me ruling the galaxy at Palpatine's side." "All I'm saying is be careful with these people. You may not know what you're getting into."

- Orman and Cassio Tagge

Cassio Tagge was a Human male who was a member of the highly influential and noble House of Tagge, an immensely wealthy and noble family that controlled the ubiquitous Tagge Company, as well as a bountiful mining operation. Tagge grew up on the Core World of Tepasi, alongside older brothers Orman, who was groomed from an early age to ascend to the position of baron within the family, and Silas, who was interested purely in scientific development. Tagge had another brother in Ulric, and a sister, Domina. By the time Domina was two years old, Tagge and his siblings were orphaned. From this youthful age, Cassio Tagge displayed an interested in strategy.

By 18 BBY, Tagge had enrolled in officer training within the Imperial Military, against the wishes of Orman, who by that point had ascended to the role of baron of the House of Tagge and by extension was the head of TaggeCo. While in training, Tagge began to hear odd rumors concerning Emperor Palpatine and the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader, concerning bizarre powers and rituals surrounding the pair. The young officer-in-training was particularly concerned by the stories around Vader's sudden rise to prominence within the year-old Galactic Empire, and was concerned when Orman began embroiling himself in Palpatine's affairs. Meeting on Tepasi, Tagge and his brother discussed Orman's recent meeting with the Emperor&mdash;the baron was confident that the New Order would prove hugely profitable for TaggeCo. The younger Tagge was nonetheless worried by the persistent rumors, but Orman was dismissive of Vader's influence, confident that he could turn the situation to his advantage and supplant the Dark Lord at Palpatine's side. Tagge's fears were not assuaged, and they ultimately proved well-founded&mdash;Vader visited Tepasi shortly thereafter, having learned of Orman's meeting with Palpatine, and blinded the baron with his lightsaber.

Exhibiting excellent leadership skills, Tagge rose through the ranks of the Imperial Army rapidly, and soon held the rank of general, despite a lack of support from the influential Lord Vader. He proved a capable and astute officer who was disinterested in politics and heirarchy, and placed more stock in loyal service to the Emperor. As such, Tagge eventually developed enough power and influence, combined with the favorable standing of the House of Tagge on Imperial Center, to hold sway with Palpatine himself. The general came to be seen as an unlikable, imposing figure within the army's heirarchy. Tagge was eventually followed into Imperial service by Ulric, who served with competence. The general's positioning within the military also ensured that TaggeCo would have strong ties to the Imperial hierarchy, which the corporation profited from. Among the minor engagements Tagge was involved in during this time were the Marasaln Conflicts, the Penhalla Contention and the Pioku Border Wars.

At some stage, the Empire was alerted to the existence of the secretive Force-sensitive Fallanassi people by one of their number. In response, Tagge was dispatched to the planet Lucazec with the intent of offering the Fallanassi the protection of the Emperor should they pledge fealty to the Empire. The general met with their leader, Wialu, and warned her that should they refuse Palpatine's offer, they would be hunted down and exterminated as the Jedi Order had been. After consulting with her people Wialu nonetheless refused, claiming that they served only the Light, and would not be utilized to further Palpatine's ambitions. Tagge, unsatisfied with the response, set about a campaign to force the Fallanassi into reconsidering their position. Capitalizing on Lucazec's open-immigration policy, the general placed his agents in villages with whom the Fallanassi enjoyed and thrived on open trade. Tagge's agents performed various acts of subterfuge within those villages, among them arson, turning water bitter, and killing house animals. The Imperial agents would then blame the disturbances on the Fallanassi, turning the villages against the obstinate Force-sensitives. The situation reached a fever pitch when three Fallanassi were attacked in the village of Jisasu&mdash;in response the Fallanassi first sent their children away, before abandoning the planet totally, leaving their settlement desolate and in ruins. The Force-sensitive group returned to their reclusive ways, hiding on J't'p'tan in the Koornacht Cluster.

The illogical, vain, and exorbitant battlestation
"It is already clear from analysis of intercepted command transcripts that of the commanders, General Tagge was the most reasonable and stable."

- Excerpt from Voren Na'al's profile of General Cassio Tagge

Although Cassio Tagge's heritage assisted in his being posted to the Death Star battlestation his reputation as an officer was a key instigator, as was his relationship to the Emperor, who handpicked Tagge for the task. Over the planet Despayre in the Horuz system, the construction of the gargantuan battlestation, which had the capacity to destroy entire planets, was under the supervision of Grand Moff and Governor Wilhuff Tarkin, to whom Tagge reported as a key adviser. Unbeknownst to Tagge, his family name had been added after the fact to the Emperor's master plan for galactic domination from the Clone Wars, as an annotation to that of Tarkin's name. Tarkin was pleased with the general's appointment, valuing Tagge's rational mindset and tactical nous. In Tarkin's opinion, if the conservative general could ultimately be convinced of the Death Star's place in military doctrine, anyone could be made to concede the same point. The general, still relatively young at this stage, was placed in charge of the station's defenses and would ultimately be responsible for the usage of the superlaser weapon itself. Part of his responsibilities involved outlining the battlestation's gunnery positions, choosing to have them distributed alphabetically throughout the station rather than in any sort of tactically-inspired or logical setup. Tagge's involvement was a day-to-day requirement on the Death Star, requiring him to continually monitor systems functions and defensive armament. He was also to execute Tarkin's wishes, and was held responsible for logistics and morale aboard the battlestation.

Within the station's hierarchy, Tagge commanded the battlestation's Imperial Army contingent, with General Moradmin Bast serving under him as a subordinate, and General Trech Molock serving as Army Operations Chief. Tagge's conservatism clashed with Molock's more adventurous spirit, and he two would frequently debate vociferously in private, to such a degree that their subordinates would have been shocked upon hearing the conversations. Tagge also found a rival in Admiral Conan Antonio Motti, with whom Tagge and Tarkin formed a command triumvirate, and whose opinions of the Death Star's worth and power greatly exceeded Tagge's own skeptical views. It was Motti's radical belief that the Death Star would herald a total overhaul of the Imperial Military's doctrine, which dictated that the navy's purview was space, and that they were to provide support for Imperial Army incursions. The admiral controversially suggested that the Death Star would supersede the requirement for Navy involvement&mdash;under his proposed model, if the Army was met with resistance on any world, they would withdraw, and the Death Star would be brought in to threaten the planet whole. Tagge believed that the existing doctrine provided a more malleable and efficient practice, and that the project as a whole was siphoning funds from the stalled Super Star Destroyer development and other military endeavors. Motti would frequently bicker with Tagge, mocking what he thought were the general's outmoded's views&mdash;the rivalry adversely affected operations on the Death Star however, drawing Tarkin's ire.

The senior staff of the Death Star were ultimately joined by Darth Vader, who was to serve as Palpatine's emissary on the battlestation. Motti loathed the Dark Lord and frequently challenged Vader openly&mdash;Tagge, on the other hand, had a brother who had suffered grievously for such an action. The general chose only to criticize Vader when he was out of earshot, avoiding direct confrontation. He nonetheless complained to Tarkin about the appointment, but the Grand Moff was left unmoved by the protestations. It was Tagge's belief, ultimately, that the Death Star was a vanity project for Tarkin to secure more power and standing within the Empire, and that the project was divorced from any logical military strategy. The general also kept himself aware of the construction progress on Despayre below, praising Major Calders for his work in making a formidable workforce out of the horde of slaves on the world. Calders was ultimately promoted to the role of warden on the Death Star itself. At some stage after 3 BBY, Tagge was contacted by a cousin of his, Massimo, who was serving as a Chief Instructor at the Academy of Carida. Massimo forwarded Tagge an analysis of the Tarkin Doctrine, a document written by the Grand Moff himself arguing for the usage of fear of force rather than force itself, from one of his cadets, the promising Natasi Daala. Tagge in turn forwarded the analysis through to Tarkin himself, who would ultimately appoint Daala to his own staff and subsequently begin an affair with the former cadet.

Moral imperatives
"If the Rebels have obtained a complete technical readout of this battlestation it is possible&mdash;however unlikely&mdash;that they might find a weakness, and exploit it." "The plans you refer to will soon be back in our hands."

- General Cassio Tagge and Lord Darth Vader

In 0 BBY, the Death Star plans were stolen by agents of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, prompting Lord Vader to launch a mission to locate and retrieve the data tapes. The plans had found their way into the custody of Imperial Senator Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, and although the Dark Lord of the Sith was able to track her down, he failed to retrieve the plans. Upon the Dark Lord's return to the battlestation, a meeting was convened in the Death Star conference room between Tagge, Admiral Motti, Generals Bast, Molock and Hurst Romodi, Colonel Wullf Yularen of the Imperial Security Bureau, and Officer Siward Cass among those in attendance. While waiting for Tarkin to collect Vader from the dock, Tagge conferred with Motti&mdash;the admiral revealed that Vader had arrested Organa and brought her back to the Death Star. Tagge was incredulous, and felt that Vader had overstepped his station, before openly expressing his disdain for the Emperor's decision to appoint Vader to the Death Star. He then moved onto his next issue&mdash; while the Death Star remained at a level below full operational status, the general believed that the battlestation was vulnerable to attack. In his opinion, the Alliance to Restore the Republic were a well-organized unit, and posed a genuine threat that he felt his fellow officers did not sufficiently acknowledge. This was in spite of the fact that the battlestation had survived an earlier attack from the Alliance&mdash;it was Tagge's intent to have his grievances openly known and recorded. He understood the drive of the Alliance to be borne from moral imperative, which would drive them to success in spite of inferior vehicles of war and munitions.

Tagge was one of the few in the Empire to have such a high opinion of the Alliance's resources, and sure enough the suggestion was scoffed at by Admiral Motti, who retorted by claiming that while the Rebels might pose a threat to Tagge's concept of Imperial military doctrine, they would be outmatched by the Death Star. Tagge was not to to be silenced however, and insisted that the Alliance would build support within the Imperial Senate&mdash;at that moment Tarkin and Vader joined the group, with the Grand Moff announcing that Palpatine had disbanded the Senate, effectively removing the last vestige of the Galactic Republic. Tagge, incredulous, questioned just how Palpatine would be able to keep the Empire in check without the bureaucracy of the Senate, but Tarkin was unconcerned, as regional governors such as himself would now possess autonomy within their own territory. It was Tarkin's complete belief that the Death Star would serve as a deterrent to any unrest within local star systems&mdash; and he was unimpressed with Tagge's recalcitrant response to the Emperor's decision.

General Tagge was nonetheless still dissatisfied with the development, again citing the presence of the Alliance to Restore the Republic and their recent theft of the battlestation plans. The general insinuated that if the Alliance had possession of a complete technical readout of the Death Star's systems, they would potentially be able to identify a weakness to target and exploit. Vader reassured those assembled, however, that the recovery of the Death Star plans was progressing, and that they would be in Imperial possession soon. Motti took an opportunity to continue to heap praise upon the battlestation's powers and capabilities, suggesting that the Death Star's destructive capability was not a mere deterrent but was to be utilized. Vader chided the admiral for the sentiment, claiming that the powers of the Force dwarfed those of the Death Star&mdash;when Motti decided to retort yet again, Tagge and the others watched on as the Dark Lord of the Sith began choking the admiral through the Force. Tarkin brought an end to the exhibition, ordering Vader to stand down before answering Tagge's concerns&mdash;the Grand Moff claimed that Vader would ascertain the location of the Alliance's base in time for the Death Star to reach full operational status, at which time the battlestation would then be used to end the Rebellion conclusively. The general was nevertheless displeased with the development, and via HoloNet he aired his grievances about the senate's dissolution to a patron on Imperial Center.

An unfortunate vindication
"Until this battlestation is fully operational, we are vulnerable. The Rebel Alliance is too well equipped; they're more dangerous than you realize." "Dangerous to 'your starfleet,' commander, not to this battlestation."

- General Cassio Tagge and Admiral Conan Antonio Motti

Vader proceeded to torture the captive Organa with an IT-O Interrogator droid, although the Dark Lord reported to Tarkin and Tagge later that he was having great difficulty extracting the location of the Alliance's hidden fortress from her, given her formidable resistance to the droid. Motti soon approached the trio, announcing that the station had reached full operational status. Tarkin immediately decided upon a target&mdash;Organa's homeworld of Alderaan&mdash;and he ordered the admiral to have the battlestation taken to that system immediately. Tagge was concerned by the decision, but the Grand Moff reassured him that he had been given carte blanche to demonstrate the Death Star's capabilities. Although Tarkin was able to extract Dantooine as the site of the Alliance base from Organa, he had Alderaan destroyed nonetheless. Scout ships were dispatched to Dantooine shortly thereafter, finding only an abandoned base. Although the Grand Moff issued an order to have Organa executed, it was not carried out, as the princess was rescued by a group of Alliance sympathizers and escaped the Death Star aboard the captured YT-1300 light freighter Millennium Falcon. Vader, however, had a homing beacon placed aboard the freighter, allowing the Imperials to track Organa to the Alliance base on Yavin 4.

Tarkin had the station brought to the Yavin system in the hopes of being able to destroy the fourth moon and the Rebel base on it. In response to the battlestation's arrival in the system, the Alliance launched an attack with T65 X-wing and BTL Y-wing starfighters, based on the stolen Death Star data tapes that Vader had failed to recover, despite his earlier reassurances to Tagge. The scenario was one that the general had predicted, but his basic training as a soldier and his adherence to the chain of command prevented him from taking any sort of action to avert the course of action Tarkin and the Death Star now found themselves in. Tagge himself was not without fault&mdash;his organization of the Death Star's gunnery positions was revealed to have been sorely lacking&mdash;the discordant firing patterns allowed the Alliance's starfighters to slip through the station's defenses, exposing the general's choices as unsound. Although Vader participated in the battle himself and managed to down many Alliance pilots, one of their number, Luke Skywalker, managed to fire two proton torpedos into the Death Star's 2-meter-wide exhaust port, destroying the station and claiming Tagge's life.

The true nature of the Death Star's destruction was kept hidden from the public&mdash;it was reported on a 35:4:22 NewsNet bulletin that Tagge had perished in a shuttle accident at the Tallaan Imperial Shipyards, alongside Tarkin and Motti. In the wake of General Cassio Tagge's death, members of the Alliance who had proved instrumental in the Battle of Yavin were continually harassed by his siblings and the greater forces of the House of Tagge. The Imperial ties to the House of Tagge remained strong however, with Orman capitalizing on the connection to involve himself in the Imperial Military's Yavin blockade. In a later report on the events leading up to the Battle of Yavin, Alliance historian Voren Na'al provided a profile on Tagge for his superior, Major Arhul Hextrophon. In the profile, Na'al noted that Alliance psychologists were perplexed as to why Tagge had even decided to serve Emperor Palpatine in the first place, given that he was easily the most rational and stable of the senior staff aboard the Death Star. It was also speculated that had the general been more vocal about his misgivings with the battlestation, and had taken his issues with Tarkin's command of the Death Star directly to Emperor Palpatine, the Imperial disaster at Yavin could have been averted, and Tagge would have been hailed as a hero of the Empire. In contrast, Palpatine considered the failure of the Death Star's senior personnel to evacuate at Yavin fortunate for those individuals&mdash;he had the station's designer tortured and its architects executed.

Personality and traits
"I have just received word that the Emperor has dissolved the council permanently. The last remnants of the old Republic have been swept away." "That's impossible! How will the Emperor maintain control without the bureaucracy?"

- Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin and General Cassio Tagge

Cassio Tagge was known as a plodding and cautious individual in his youth, and that caution would go on to define him later in his life. He was an intense, no-nonsense figure, who projected a powerful and commanding presence&mdash; he was also perceived to have a stroke of twisted genius about him, which struck fear into those around him. Tagge's demeanor was considered by his colleagues and compatriots to be particularly unpleasant and unlikable.

Tagge's apprehensive nature was in stark contrast to that of his oldest brother, Baron Orman Tagge, whose brash and cocksure modus operandi eventuated in his being maimed by the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader. The general was a cautious being, and preferred to survey all options before taking a plan of action. Although this often served him well, it would occasionally be to his detriment. What he made up for in rationality he lacked in persuasive skills, as his constant warnings to Tarkin and Motti were unheeded, as were his warnings to older brother Orman about Darth Vader's powers. This balanced but conservative view made Tagge an unusual figure within the hierarchy of the Imperial Military. Tagge was nonetheless outspoken and argumentative in putting across his beliefs among his peers, openly questioning decisions made by influential figures such as Grand Moff Tarkin, Lord Vader, and Emperor Palpatine. It was not his unswerving loyalty, however, that prevented Tagge from buying into some of Tarkin and Motti's more ambitious discussions regarding what power the Death Star would afford them in the Empire at large&mdash;rather, Tagge's concerns over using the battlestation to wield ultimate control over Palpatine were logistical.

Tagge was one to buy into rumor and innuendo in his younger days, particularly the morbid stories that surrounded figures such as Vader and Palpatine. Tagge as an officer ultimately appealed to Palpatine&mdash;his refusal to involve himself in political maneuvering and dedication to the will of the Emperor were traits valued by the galactic ruler. On the other hand, Tagge disliked Vader immensely, criticizing the Dark Lord with vigor behind his back. The general was also one to heed caution in dealing with the Alliance to Restore the Republic&mdash;he acknowledged their abilities to cause significant harm to the Empire, and was one of the few individuals in his walk of life to think in such a way. It was his opinion that the Alliance held sway within the Imperial Senate, and he was willing to contemplate the worst-case possibility that they would be able to ascertain a method by which to damage or destroy the Death Star.

The general earned the ire of Admiral Motti through his more conservative approach to the Death Star battlestation, and the two developed a rivalry while serving under Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. His belligerent attitude clashed with that of Motti, and retained his skepticism of the Death Star project even in the light of successful demonstrations of the battlestation's power. His criticism of the dissolution of the Imperial Senate lost him favor with the likes of Tarkin, although the general was considered a rational thinker and astute tactician by the Grand Moff, in spite of Tagge's unimaginative positioning of defensive gunnery positions on the Death Star. Tagge was considered the most level-headed of the senior staff aboard the Death Star by Voren Na'al, and a psychological profile of recordings from the Death Star led Alliance psychologists to debate over why he would serve the Empire at all, let alone join it.

Appearance, attire and equipment
Cassio Tagge was 1.8 meters in height, and had brown hair, cropped short with sideburns. Tagge also had brown eyes, and wore the standard uniform of an Imperial officer. He had a slight paunch, although this was not in detriment to his otherwise commanding appearance. Among General Cassio Tagge's personal effects were a datapad, a comlink, a blaster pistol and his code cylinders.

Behind the scenes
"I tell you he's gone too far. This Sith Lord sent by the Emperor will be our undoing. Until this battle station is fully operation [sic], we are vulnerable."

- An earlier version of General Tagge's first lines.

General Tagge was created by George Lucas for the 1977 film Star Wars, in which he was portrayed by Don Henderson. The character is credited erroneously as General Taggi in the film's end credits. In early drafts of the film's screenplay, Lucas swapped the names of General Tagge and Admiral Motti, which had repercussions in the film's various adaptations. Early dialogue for Tagge revealed that he, like Motti, has reservations about Darth Vader's capacity to recover the data tapes of the Death Star plans. This version of the script is reflected in the first part of Marvel Comics' adaptation of the film, although the character's appearance more closely reflects that of the actor playing Admiral Motti, Richard LeParmentier, rather than Henderson. The comic issue also gives Tagge the rank of commander, rather than general. Alan Dean Foster's novelization of Lucas's screenplay further confuses the issue, giving Motti's lines to Tagge, and as a result it is General Tagge who is strangled by Darth Vader in the scene. Foster's novel also gives Tagge his earlier line regarding Darth Vader, and features him arguing with another character, Romodi. The novel also features dialogue from Tagge that concerns his opinion on Tarkin, which does not feature in the film itself.

Marvel's adaptation of the Star Wars story continued beyond the events of the film, and featured another by-product of the Tagge/Motti confusion. The comics featured the character of Ulric Tagge, who notably hates Darth Vader and bears a resemblance to LeParmentier as Motti, rather than Henderson as General Tagge, who was later confirmed to have died during the destruction of the Death Star. In the issue Star Wars 25: Siege at Yavin, the character Jorman Thoad mentions that the Tagges are fortunate to have an Imperial General within their family&mdash;as this is set after Cassio's death, it is possible that it is referring to Ulric instead.

The confusions between Tagge and Motti persisted for decades, with the first issue of Bruce Jones's adaptation of Star Wars identifying Motti as "Commander Tagge". In Ryder Windham's 2004 junior novelization of Star Wars Trilogy: A New Hope, the erroneous rank of "commander" for Tagge is reflected once more. The 19th issue of The Official Star Wars Fact File mistakenly identifies Baron Orman Tagge as former "General Tagge," which could erroneously refer to either Cassio or Ulric. Despite Tagge being identified as a General, and confirmed as head of Imperial Army activities on board the Death Star in the Death Star Technical Companion (1991), in the film Star Wars Motti nonetheless refers to Tagge's "starfleet." This discrepancy was explained in The Essential Atlas (2009), where the reference is attributed to Motti's derisive view of Tagge's adherence to the involvement of the Imperial Navy within Imperial military doctrine, and also Tagge's view that the Death Star project has siphoned funds away from Navy projects.

Despite appearing in the very first Star Wars works in 1976–1977, Tagge went relatively unnoticed in Expanded Universe narrative works. Save for a brief series of mentions in the first part of Michael P. Kube-McDowell's The Black Fleet Crisis trilogy, Before the Storm (1996), the character did not appear in a narrative Star Wars work until Paul Ens' webstrip Evasive Action: End Game (2006), which was illustrated by Thomas Hodges. It was the first work to depict Tagge with one of his siblings from the earlier Marvel series.

Appearances

 * Evasive Action: End Game
 * Death Star
 * Star Wars radio drama
 * The Star Wars Storybook
 * Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope novel
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope junior novel
 * Escape from the Death Star
 * Star Wars: A New Hope - The Special Edition 1
 * Star Wars Manga: A New Hope 1
 * Star Wars 1
 * Star Wars 25: Siege at Yavin
 * The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader
 * Before the Storm
 * Shield of Lies
 * Shield of Lies

Non-canon appearances

 * William Shakespeare's Star Wars