Brenn Tantor

"Your efforts and bravery have helped us bring the Empire to its knees. There's a medal waiting for you at the victory celebration."

- General Tyr Taskeen to General Brenn Tantor after the capture of Coruscant

Brenn Tantor was a prominent Imperial general who defected to the Rebel Alliance during the Galactic Civil War. He played a prominent role on both sides, commanding such engagements as the Battle of Hoth, Battle of Endor, and the Liberation of Coruscant.

Early life and career
Brenn was born on Garos IV during the Sundari Civil War to a middle-class family. The Empire intervened to end the civil war, and this imposition of peace impressed Brenn's father so much that he enlisted as a military transport pilot and raised his sons to respect the stormtroopers who kept order. However, a resistance movement grew against the Empire, and the Tantor family’s house was destroyed during and episode of fighting. Stormtroopers rescued Brenn and his younger brother Dellis from the rubble, leading the pair to vow that they would become stormtroopers themselves.

Brenn immediately gained admission to the Academy of Carida and underwent stormtrooper training. Dellis followed him one year later. During their training they were told the tragic news that their father had been killed by Rebels in the course of a mission to deliver medical supplies to Graal'diin. The two were excellent cadets, but were mysteriously prevented from joining a stormtrooper squad. The two began to pester Cattena Squadron, stationed at the Academy until the squad captain, impressed by their dedication, allowed them to join as "honorary stormtroopers". However, they were never able to gain acceptance from the rest of the unit.

In 0 BBY, Cattena Squadron was sent to Kalaan. In the course of the battle, the squad leader was killed and Corporal Brenn Tantor took command. His excellent performance caught the attention of Captain Beri Tulon, a training officer who was scouting for prospects for a special project. Tulon gave Brenn a battlefield promotion to lieutenant and ordered him to report to the Star Destroyer Inquisitor.

Rapid rise
"You are to be commended for your success."

- Darth Vader to Major Brenn Tantor

Brenn was to become one of the first officers to learn how to command troops using the Battlefield Holographic Control Interface, or BHCI. The pet project of Grand General Malcor Brashin, the BHCI could allow a commander to view the full picture of a battle in holographic simulation and allow him to relay orders from the impunity of an orbiting Star Destroyer.

From Inquisitor, currently in orbit over Tatooine, Brenn walked Zeta Squadron through a simple set of orders to familiarize himself with the system. However, the exercise was cut short when Brashin broke in to issue Brenn new orders. The escape pod launched from the Tantive IV had been tracked to Brenn's vicinity. Lieutenant Tantor was able to quickly find the pod, despite Tusken Raider attacks. In spite of the natives' hostility, Tulon admonished Brenn to never engage the locals unless provoked. "You're a soldier, not a murderer."

Tantor led further missions to recover the droids that had been in the escape pod, including tracking and capturing the Sandcrawler that had carried the droids, and searching Ben Kenobi's home.

However, the Imperials were too far behind, and the Millennium Falcon escaped with the droids and the plans to the Death Star. While the Falcon had apparently fled to Alderaan, there was a small chance that canny Han Solo had jumped to Ruul, along the same vector.

Brenn, now a captain, was sent to Ruul. Although Solo had not jumped there, the Imperials did find that Rebels had captured an important computer facility. Brenn, with help from his technically-minded brother on the ground, was able to recapture the facility and string a line of relay beacons from the station to an undamaged antenna from which he could broadcast important Rebel data found in the computer complex. For his excellent performance, Brenn was promoted to the rank of commander and placed under Grand General Brashin's personal instruction. Nevertheless, Brenn continued to hold the greatest respect for Captain Tulon, who had been reassigned after Brashin lost confidence in him.

Commander Tantor's next mission was to Sarapin. The data from the Ruul facility revealed that the Rebellion had captured several of the lava planet’s thermal energy collection plants. Brenn was able to retake the collection facilities, but Dellis quickly discovered that the Rebels had captured a drilling station. The drilling station, now out of control, was destabilizing the region and causing rampant seismic activity. Brenn’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 a volcanic eruption and destructive groundquakes.

This good news was tempered by two sad announcements from Brashin. First, the Death Star had been destroyed by Rebel starfighters, 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 Brenn, whom Brashin promoted to major. The second announcement was that Brenn and Dellis would now be parting ways. Dellis had finally been accepted by Imperial Intelligence, to whom he had applied before Kalaan, as it had seemed he would not become a stormtrooper.

Brenn next managed to catch the attention of Lord Vader when he rescued one of Vader's favored officers, Colonel Maximilian Veers, during a mission to destroy the Rebel base on Yavin 4.

Conflicted loyalties
"The Empire has been lying to us&hellip; This is our father's death order. The Empire had him terminated&hellip;"

- Major Dellis Tantor to General Brenn Tantor

Brenn, with the irresistible combination of exceptional command skills and the favor of Grand General Brashin and Darth Vader, quickly became one of the top generals in the Empire. When his task force discovered the Rebel base on Hoth, Vader called in General Tantor to oversee the battle. Brenn coordinated the assault of Veers's Blizzard Force on the Rebel base.

With the Rebels routed and Brenn's prestige in the Imperial High Command at colossal levels, Brenn was dealt a crushing blow. Dellis appeared in his cabin with a classified datadisk 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 of grain to pirates. Even worse, Dellis knew that his superiors were aware of his inquiries, and that he was likely marked for death. General Brashin had assigned Dellis 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.

Brenn’s next assignment was relatively easy, but a sign of his high position within the Empire. He was entrusted with the knowledge of the Second Death Star's location above the forest moon of Endor and ordered to find a suitable site for the groundside shield projector that would protect it. However, his light scouting force was attacked by Ewoks, 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 Brenn’s troubled conscience.

Brenn was next assigned to root out a strong Rebel force that had captured the seat of government on Abridon. His force was able to drive the Rebels out of a captured Imperial base, which he then used as rallying point to call down reinforcements and weather repeated tank assaults until he was able to drive a strong force through the Rebel lines to capture the capitol building.

From there, he weathered a Rebel counteroffensive and captured five Rebel dignitaries sent to convince Abridon's government to join the Rebel Alliance. One of these dignitaries was, incredibly, Luke Skywalker himself. The caputure of the most-wanted man in the galaxy was quite a feather in Brenn's cap.

Brenn was next 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 additional task force that would aid Brenn in the attack. Brenn was to use the Tracked Mobile Base, or TR-MB, a prototype mobile command center housing a BHCI and putting Brenn directly on the ground.

However, shortly into the mission, things went terribly wrong. Tulon's AT-AT walker suddenly went on a rampage, destroying the rest of his task force and making a beeline for the Rebel base. Brenn, terrified for the life of his mentor, presumably killed or taken hostage by the renegades, drove his forces until they overtook and brought down the walker short of the Rebel stronghold. To Brenn's utter shock, Tulon was 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 Brenn that the Empire was corrupt and evil, and the Rebels were the true heros.

Numb, Brenn continued on, efficiently crushing the Rebel base. However, this was not enough for Brashin. He demanded that Brenn destroy a nearby refugee camp as a show of strength. Brenn had finally had enough. Citing Tulon's admonishment to be "a soldier, not a murderer," Brenn refused his superior’s orders. Furious, Brashin locked Brenn out from command frequencies and ordered Brenn’s stormtroopers to attack, telling them the camp was full of Rebels. Horrified, Brenn watched as his soldiers massacred innocent civilians.

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

Defector
"You're a soldier, not a murderer."

- Captain Beri Tulon to Lieutenant Brenn Tantor on his first day of training

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

On Kalaan, Brenn was tossed into an outdoor cage to spend the night before being court-martialed. Brashin assured Brenn that the outcome would not be in doubt: Brenn would be found guilty and executed. However, Brashin had failed to take the human factor into account. He made the basic mistake assigning as guards stormtroopers from a unit that had served loyally under Brenn’s command for years. Gana Lant, one of those stormtroopers, sprang Brenn from prison and arranged for the defection of the entire guard detail. However, Brenn 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 same facility. With these significant assets, Brenn outfought Imperial patrols and turrets to make his way to Taskeen's base.

Once evacuated to Taskeen's Nebulon-B Frigate Lucky Star, Brenn wasn’t met with the heroic welcome he had hoped for. Taskeen, understandably wary of such a highly placed Imperial officer, imprisoned Brenn. Brenn would be forced to prove his loyalty under Taskeen’s close supervision.

Brenn offered Taskeen a plan: if Taskeen would allow him to rescue Beri Tulon from the Tarkin Detention Facility on Ruul, Brenn would be able to combine Tulon's inside knowledge with his own tactical genius to deliver an AT-AT to the Alliance. Taskeen, "cautiously intrigued," gave Brenn the go-ahead, but warned him that he would be under constant scrutiny.

Brenn was able to lead a swift commando raid that overpowered Tulon's escort before he reached the prison, but was forced to prolong his operations on Ruul when Tulon informed him that he would require an Imperial code to access the Imperial AT-AT manufacturing facility on Trasse. Such a code could be found at the nearby computer facility at Sounder Flats. Brenn’s soldiers were able to hold off Imperial scout walkers and stormtroopers long enough for Tulon to download the codes from the computer complex.

After careful preparation, including Tulon’s training of a special unit of armor-hijacking Infiltrators, they set out for Trasse. The capture of the AT-AT went smoothly, but extraction was complicated by the appearance of a familiar Star Destroyer&mdash; Inquisitor, Grand General Brashin's personal ship. Brenn was forced to race to capture a planetary-defense ion cannon and disable the Star Destroyer before he could escape with the precious captured walker.

Trusted general
"I still have unfinished business with the Empire."

- General Brenn Tantor

This action gave Taskeen enough confidence in Brenn that he began to entrust the former Imperial with heavier armor and more important missions. Brenn's experience with Abridon was a major reason why he was tapped to command a mission to free the planet from the Imperial garrison that he himself had once set up. Brenn was able to smash the Imperial presence in the capital and retake the Government Mound. He also liberated a nearby prisoner-of-war camp. There he found Hamman Flatt, the former lieutenant governor of Abridon whom Brenn 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-manufactured A-wings. Brenn was able to capture the shipyards in the war-torn city of Sayan, and a Hover Transport full of pilots safely flew the A-wings to Sullust, where the Rebel fleet was preparing for the Battle of Endor.

After cleaning out the remaining Imperials in Sayan, Brenn participated in the Battle of Endor himself. Due to his experience having set up the shield generator, Brenn accompanied General Han Solo and his strike team in the Lambda-class shuttle Tydirium. He remained in the shuttle and coordinated the commando team's activities. Brenn'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.

Brenn reached a personal and professional pinnacle some two years later, when he commanded the Liberation of Coruscant. Now a respected New Republic commander, Brenn was given the incredible honor of commanding the assault on Coruscant, capital of the Empire.

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

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

It was with that capture that Brenn received stunning news. Rebel troopers, 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 the history of the galaxy."

Brenn's activities after the Battle of Coruscant are largely unknown, but the capture of the Imperial throneworld could only have added to his prestige among the New Republic leadership and his tremendous record as an army commander. It can be fairly certainly assumed however, that Brenn became Senator for his homeworld of Garos IV

Behind the scenes

 * Brenn Tantor was voiced by Jeff Bennett in Force Commander.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Force Commander