User:Thefourdotelipsis/Workbench

"Getting even is one of the great fossil fuels of life, brother Silas."

- Orman Tagge

Baron Orman Tagge was the head of the House of Tagge from 20 BBY until his death in 0 ABY, and elder brother to Cassio, Silas, Ulric, and Domina Tagge. Tagge was also the head of the Tagge Company, a massive conglomerate that encompassed many of the galaxy's most successful franchises. Tagge himself became so famous that his likeness was used as the logo for the fast food chain Biscuit Baron.

But beneath the public façade, Tagge's life was rife with problems. In trying to curry favor with Galactic Emperor Palpatine, Tagge earned the ire of Lord Vader, and in turn, Vader blinded the Baron for life. From that moment on, Tagge swore revenge, leading him into a personal vendetta that would get him involved with Alliance figureheads such as Vader's son, Luke Skywalker. The vendetta came to a close after 20 years, ending unresolved, when Skywalker was forced to strike down the Baron in combat.

The Republic
"The bold ideas of the House of Tagge have kept us leaders for generations. I vow to put aside any past competitive differences we may have had with other firms that are still loyal to the Republic, and I extend an invitation to the best engineers and scientists from Sienar, Kuat, Rendili and Corellian Engineering to counter the growing threat."

- Orman Tagge, in a statement to HoloNet News

Tagge grew up with his siblings, Silas, Cassio, Ulric, and Domina. Tagge would clash with Silas on occasion, since the latter thought logically, which clashed with the former's romantic ideals. The only person that Tagge truly loved was his sister, Domina, who he was very close to.

Orman Tagge had a knack for machinery at an early age. In his teenage years, he had already become a technical mastermind. At the age of seventeen, in 20 BBY, Tagge ascended to the position of Baron of the House of Tagge. A month later, he was contacted by Senate Bureau of Intelligence Director Armand Isard. Tagge was enlisted, along with the foremost technical minds in the Galactic Republic, to chair a specialized technology-based committee within the Analysis Bureau of Republic Intelligence. The Techno Union was giving the Confederacy of Independent Systems the technological edge in the Clone Wars, and Isard sought to bridge the gap by assembling the Republic's own technological geniuses. It was Tagge's job to oversee the development of new initiatives that would match, or surpass those of the Confederacy. He made news with the appointment, making a public statement from the city of Unlos Tagge.

Blinded
"For the time being, you have value to the Empire. But your eyes, Baron, are looking too far past your station."

- Darth Vader

Following the conclusion of the Clone Wars, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine made himself Galactic Emperor, and transformed the Republic into the Galactic Empire. By this stage, all of the baron's siblings had become involved in either military or Tagge Company affairs, except for Domina. Ulric chose to join the Imperial military, and Cassio would follow that path shortly afterwards. Silas was content to be a doctor and a scientist, and not have to worry about running the House of Tagge. He later incurred Tagge's wrath by suggesting that Domina marry into an Imperial family, prompting the baron to lash out at his rapidly balding brother. Enraged, Tagge swore that his sister would live her life uncorrupted, and had her sent to join the Order of the Sacred Circle on Monastery.

Despite the conflict within his family, the rise of Palpatine's Empire was not without its advantages. Tagge saw it as an opportunity to further his enterprises, and put the Tagge Company into a partnership with the new Empire. Meeting with Palpatine personally, Tagge suggested that he would be more suitable to be the Emperor's right-hand man than the Sith Lord Darth Vader. In Tagge's eyes, Vader was adept at intimidation, but not adequately qualified to run more complex operations such as commerce. Palpatine understood Tagge entirely, but chose to delay such potential reassignments to a later date.

Despite the rebuke, Tagge was pleased with the meeting, believing that Palpatine's Empire would spend on a far greater level than that of the Republic. Even more pleasing to Tagge was that his company was in a prime position to reap the benefits of such spending. He was also completely unconcerned by the stories about Palpatine and Vader's rumored powers. Shortly after the meeting, Tagge's brother, Cassio, left the Tagge homeworld of Tepasi to join the Imperial military, despite the Baron's protests. Before departing, Cassio warned Tagge about the Emperor and Vader's mystical powers, advising that they were not to be underestimated. The baron, ever confident, was not fazed.

Little did Tagge know that a recording of his meeting with Palpatine had fallen into the hands of Prince Xizor, a member of the Black Sun crime syndicate. Like Tagge, Xizor sought to usurp Vader's position at the Emperor's side, but he decided to do so by pitting his greatest rival for the role against Vader himself. Through Inquisitor Antinnis Tremayne, he had made sure that the recording had made its way to Vader who, naturally, was displeased. While Tagge was overseeing a problem with one of the Bonadan Heavy Industries conveyors in a factory near the House of Tagge Headquarters, he was visited by Vader himself. Vader, accompanied by his Noghri guards and the captive Jedi Padawan Drake Lo'gaan, was far from pleased, and dispensed with any pleasantries Tagge offered him.

Though at first Tagge attempted to placate Vader, he grew confident, and began openly questioning the Dark Lord's usefulness. Vader did not take kindly to the insults, and began choking the baron with the Force. Warning Tagge to be less ambitious in his gambits, Vader took his lightsaber to the baron's eyes, blinding him permanently. Immediately afterwards, a firefight broke out between Vader's men and Lo'gaan's companion, the Padawan Ekria, but Tagge simply called out for his assistant, Zenfrei. He dispatched Zenfrei to bring medics and security guards, and urged the assistant that he not get killed in the firefight. Aid did not come for a long time, as Vader had the room sealed while he dueled with and apparently killed Lo'gaan.

Before departing, the Dark Lord warned Tagge that if their paths met again, he would likely not survive the encounter. The baron was not dissuaded however, and resolved to avenge himself on the Dark Lord. To his distaste, he was forced to don a pair of cyber-vision goggles, which allowed him to see, before commissioning the construction of his own lightsaber and continually practicing with it. It was Tagge's hope that one day, he could rival Vader as a swordsman and strike the Dark Lord down in combat. Over the years, Tagge became so famous that his visage, even with the cyber-goggles, became the logo for the Biscuit Baron foodchain.

Power play
When Darth Vader and Wilhuff Tarkin failed to destroy the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Battle of Yavin, Tagge saw an opportunity to further himself in the eyes of Palpatine. The Empire had, in retaliation for the loss of the Death Star and Tarkin at Yavin, blockaded the Gordian Reach and began attacking the Rebel base there. Due to the interference caused by the storms of Yavin Prime, it was next to impossible to launch long-range attacks on the fourth moon, where the Rebels were located.

Tagge however, saw a way around the problem. Using the technology at the Tagge Company's disposal, the baron had a large turbine installed within the gaseous clouds of Yavin Prime. He then modified a fleet of TIE/ln starfighters, outfitting them with a device that would transmit at a very high-frequency when activated. This would allow the pilots of the fighters to alert those manning the turbine to the their location. The turbine would then create its own controlled whirlwind within Yavin's clouds, effectively creating a safe tunnel in the eye of the storm through which the fighters could pass. With that system in place, Tagge would be able to strike at the Rebel base far more effectively than the Imperials had.

Placed in charge of the Yavin operation, Tagge had his fighters continually raid the Alliance base. He personally sought to oversee the attacks, and so set off, with his military aide Shanks, to the Yavin system. To keep his movements secret and confuse any Rebel spies, Tagge used a Mining Explorer as his command ship. Setting off from Centares, Tagge spent the time in transit honing his lightsaber skills with Shanks as his practice opponent. However, the baron's ship was followed through hyperspace by a blockade runner. Fearing that the crew of the ship might discover his plans, he had the mining explorer lay space mines, though their pursuer was able to make it through the field unscathed. Tagge and his crew did not learn of the ship's survival, as they were more concerned with reaching the turbine space station.

Before entering Yavin Prime, Tagge launched his fighters, to make yet another raid on Yavin 4. Meanwhile, the Mining Explorer made its way to the turbine, and docked with it. The fighters did not return, to Tagge's surprise, and he suspected that the Rebels might have discovered his plans. He resolved to take the Mining Explorer out with the next raiding party, hoping to raze the Rebel base with one final attack. To pass the time, the baron tested his lightsaber skills against training remotes. Eventually, a lone TIE fighter returned, but it began attacking the turbine with proton charges. Realizing that the station would be destroyed, Tagge gave the order for the Mining Explorer to cast off, and follow the lone TIE Fighter through the Yavin clouds. Following the turbine's destruction and the Fighter's escape, Tagge's crewmembers intercepted a transmission from the craft. It had been piloted by an Alliance agent named Luke Skywalker, who had been able to acquire Tagge's signal technology from a downed fighter. In a fit of rage, the baron began destroying one of his ship's consoles with his lightsaber, vowing to inflict grievous bodily harm on Skywalker.

Penance
With the failure of the his Yavin turbine project, Tagge's operations earned the doubt of Palpatine. The Emperor, now unsure of the baron's competency, forced Tagge to personally oversee each of his projects against the Alliance: starting with a weapons detection system installed on the factory world of Metalorn. Meeting with Governor Corwyth, the baron was shown how his system integrated with the governor's own information control program, apparently ensuring total security on the world. Corwyth claimed that the suppression of rebellion of Metalorn had been a total success, with the Alliance not even allowed to exist as a rumor. As the governor boasted about the effectiveness of his system in conjunction with Tagge's, the baron warned that unarmed spies would be able to slip through security undetected.

Corwyth's boast had barely left his lips before a security breach was reported: Tagge's system had detected that a stormtrooper rifle was no longer in authorized hands. At Post 994-203, a subdued trooper was found, who reported that a female had attacked him and stolen his weapon. While Corwyth had his troops search for the assailant, Tagge checked the trooper's recording unit, and obtained a voice print. The print matched with that of Princess Leia Organa, an Alliance leader filed under "known enemies" in the Imperial network. Curious as to what Organa was doing on the planet, the baron searched through Metalorn's population lists to discover that Arn Horada, a former teacher of the princess, was residing on the planet.

The efforts of Corwyth's troops proved to be fruitless, but Tagge had already made his way down to a cafeteria, where Horada was having a meal. As per the baron's prediction, Organa made her way there to contact her old teacher. Tagge then revealed himself, holding the princess at lightsaber-point while producing a set of energy shakles, in order to arrest the Alliance leader. While the baron gloated, Organa acted, throwing a tray of victuals at Tagge. Now blinded, the baron slashed wildly around the room in a rage, hitting a nearby table with his lightsaber. Horada intervened, kicking a stool underneath the baron's feet, while Organa shackled his ankle to the table.

The waylaid Tagge urged the citizenry to aid him in his arrest, but was met with responses that claimed that the Empire had no enemies, and that only stormtroopers were to deal with matters of disobedience. Exasperated, Tagge cleaved the shackles in two with his lightsaber, and hurried towards the nearest exit in pursuit of Organa. Unbeknownst to the baron, Organa had hidden herself by having a child obscure her face, allowing Tagge to run straight past. As Tagge returned to the governor's headquarters, he was met with accusations of failure from Corwyth, but the baron calmly returned them in kind. He advised that the governor keep quiet about the whole affair and not execute Horada, since any retaliation would be tantamount to an admission of open rebellion. With that, Tagge departed Metalorn.

Omega Frost
Tagge had not forgotten his earlier humiliation by Skywalker. Silas had begun to develop a new weapon for use against the Alliance, dubbed Omega Frost. The technology, comprised of two conductor towers, could freeze anything in its range with a base amount of moisture. Contacting Ulric, who was now a General in the Empire, the baron ensured that the project would be safeguarded by the Imperial military. Ulric was now in charge of the Yavin blockade, and was confident that the Empire strike at the Alliance with great success, but Tagge was more skeptical. Furthermore, he was particularly displeased with the idea of Vader taking full credit for the final destruction of the Alliance, and so sought once again to upstage the Sith Lord. It was the baron's hope that Omega Frost would prove instrumental in the defeat of the Alliance, thereby making the House of Tagge a more valuable asset than Vader in Palpatine's eyes.

The operation was top secret, with much of the Tagge Company's resources being poured into it. Tagge chose Tatooine to be the testing ground for the new weapon, since Skywalker had originally hailed from the desert world. Setting up a base in the Jundland Wastes where Silas could work on the new technology, the baron patiently waited for Skywalker to investigate. The baron suspected that the young Rebel's involvement would be inevitable due to his prior connection to the world, but Silas strongly disapproved of Tagge's second vendetta, insisting that having a Dark Lord of the Sith as an enemy was already more than enough. Tagge shook off the advice however, convinced that he would he able to exact revenge for the humiliation at Yavin.

In preparation, the House of Tagge began purchasing various moisture farms to use as testing grounds for the Omega Frost. One experiment went awry when a bantha, being used as a test subject, escaped the main Tagge compound. The subject was eventually found and destroyed, but to Silas' surprise, Tagge handled the mishap calmly, as he was focusing on preparing for Skywalker's arrival. Sure enough, one of the experime Rebel presence in its proximity, just prior to the first major testing of Omega Frost. The test itself went off smoothly, and the baron inspected it personally with Silas. Adequately pleased with the results, Tagge had his troops surround the enemies, and boarded a Reconnaissance Troop Transporter, hoping to oversee the attack himself.

The transporter opened fire on the Rebels, who were hiding behind a now-frozen sand dune. Tagge advised his troops to only warn the intruders, as he was sure that one of them was Skywalker. The transporter cautiously approached the sand dune, and was met with the sight of a rapidly advancing Jawa Sandcrawler. To avoid a fatal collision, Tagge had the transporter take evasive action, only to have it flip on its side and eject its passengers. Panicking as he watched his quarry escape in the Jawa vehicle, Tagge had the rest of his troops give chase to the lumbering machine. The Rebels were able to evade their pursuers, however. Returning to his Mining Explorer in orbit over Tatooine, the baron flew into a rage, hacking away at machinery with his lightsaber. Silas, unimpressed, insisted that the Tatooine operation had been a success, since Omega Frost had proved effective in freezing a vast amount of territory on an essentially barren and arid world. While the baron conceded that point, he was displeased with the fact that Skywalker had escaped his grasp.

Junction
Nevertheless, Tagge prepared to move on with his master plan to foil the Alliance and politically outmaneuver Vader. The Feriae system, home to a Rebel supply world known as Feriae Junction, would be the location of the Omega Frost's operation. The Feriae asteroid corridor, too treacherous to be patrolled by Imperial bulk cruisers, was being used by the Alliance to ferry goods from Junction to the besieged Yavin IV. Tagge and Silas planned to place Omega Frost conductor towers on asteroids at opposite ends of the corridor, which would allow them to freeze any enemy ships attempting to traverse it. Assured that Skywalker would follow his Mining Explorer to Junction, Tagge had Ulric meet him in the system to arrange a falsified "transfer" of Omega Frost equipment to the general's Star Destroyer. It was Tagge's hope that Skywalker would investigate the transfer personally and warn the Alliance that the Empire planned to use the new technology against Junction itself, which would then hopefully prompt the Rebels to send a large fleet to save the planet.

Skywalker played into Tagge's hands exactly as expected, captured by the baron's men while his transport, the Millennium Falcon, hurried off to warn the Rebels about the "attack" on Junction. Leaving Silas in charge of the Omega Frost operation, Tagge intended to test his lightsaber skills against Skywalker, who also wielded one of the rare weapons, wielded originally by his father. Holding his new captive at lightsaber-point, Tagge began monologuing, revealing his entire plan to Skywalker. As he had hoped, the baron's taunts caused Skywalker to lunge at him in a rage, and the young Rebel wrested control of his father's lightsaber from Tagge. As Skywalker ran off into the corridors of the Mining Explorer, Tagge contacted the guards on his ship, ordering them to not confront the Rebel if they were to encounter him.

Tagge intercepted Skywalker in the Mining Explorer's docking bay, and challenged him to a duel. The Rebel was given little choice but to accept as the baron lunged at him, putting his opponent on the defensive. At first, Tagge easily overpowered his opponent, but the tide suddenly turned, with Skywalker deftly slicing at the baron's tunic. Tagge immediately understood that Skywalker was not so much a talented amateur, but a duelist to be reckoned with. The pair fenced for a while, but Tagge began to give ground. He realized that Skywalker had command over the Force much like Vader, and so decided to employ a trick he had hoped to reserve for use against the Dark Lord. Smashing a lighting control in the docking bay, the entire room plunged into darkness. Tagge was allowed sight in the dark by his cyber-vision goggles, wheras Skywalker was, apparently, left to flounder wildly. Throwing a piece of cloth at the young Rebel to distract him, Tagge moved in for a killing stroke, but Skywalker rounded on him swiftly. The Rebel's own attack cleaved the baron's goggles in two, but Tagge was so shocked at his opponent's level of control and skill that he was left in quivering wreck.

Taken to the medical bay, Tagge remained in his state of shock while Silas took over the operation. Skywalker, however, had escaped the ship, and sabotaged the Omega Frost project by damaging one of the conductor towers. Silas, in a state of panic, roused Tagge from his state, but it was far too late. The Rebel fleet that had arrived destroyed the Mining Explorer, ending the Omega Frost project. The ship's medical compartment however, sealed itself as the ship was destroyed, preserving it and its occupants, Tagge and Silas. Though the pair were both unconcious from the attack, they were retrieved and saved by spies of Darth Vader, who brought them to Captain Mulchive Wermis' battlecruiser. There they remained in life support capsules, with their survival kept secret from the galaxy. In the wake of the Tagge's apparent death, Ulric took the title of baron. With Orman out of the way, Vader saw a way to keep the Tagge family under his control, namely, by promising the baron that he would keep his two captive patients in their comas. This would allow Ulric to retain his title. The new baron agreed, effectively putting the House of Tagge at Vader's disposal.

Death in the Crystal Valley
Vader's plotting took him and Wermis' cruiser to the planet of Monastery, where Domina still served as a member of the Order of the Sacred Circle. Vader had used Domina, telling her that Luke Skywalker had been responsible for Orman's death, sewing seeds of hatred in the woman's mind. She lured the young Rebel to Monastery, into a trap set up by Darth Vader. While events unfolded on the planet below, Wermis captured the Millennium Falcon, who's inhabitants, Han Solo, Leia Organa, Chewbacca, and C-3PO, were in-system to aid Skywalker. While the captain dealt with his new prisoners, Tagge began to be roused from his coma. Organa eluded capture by the Imperials, and began creating havoc on the ship be lobbing about proton grenades. The explosions that rocked the craft brought Tagge into consciousness, and when he was left unattended by medics, he broke out of his life support capsule, and made his escape.

As the Imperial troops dashed around the ship searching for Organa, Tagge made sure they thought he was heading for an escape pod, before doubling back and boarding the impounded Millennium Falcon. When the craft escaped the cruiser as he had predicted, he made his way to the ship's cockpit, and kept those within at blaster-point before ordering them to land on Monastery. Tagge had overheard communications between C-3PO and his counterpart R2-D2, who was on the planet, that revealed that Domina was about to oversee a lightsaber duel between Vader and Skywalker in the Crystal Valley. Fearing that his sister was in danger, Tagge began threatening Captain Solo and Organa, but he was momentarily distracted when the ship made a rough landing. In the confusion, Organa wrested Tagge's blaster from him. The former baron was not at a disadvantage for long however, as a group of TIE Fighters began assailing the Millennium Falcon. During the short firefight between the new attackers and his Rebel opponents, Tagge ran away, into the Crystal Valley.

Vader and Skywalker were already in the valley, hunting for one another. The valley itself was exceptionally dangerous territory&mdash;in a constant state of eruption, people attempting to traverse it could either be crushed by falling pillars of crystal or skewered by new pillars coming up through the ground. One such pillar nearly fell on Tagge, but the former baron was saved by Vader. Tagge was confused, since Vader had chosen to not follow through on his promise made almost twenty years ago. The Dark Lord explained that killing Tagge would be far too easy and unimaginative, and proceeded to inform the man that his sister was no longer sweet and incorruptible. Distraught, Tagge begged Vader to kill him there and then, but the towering Sith Lord had one final purpose for the former baron.

Vader dispatched Tagge to duel Skywalker in his place, while using a Force illusion on the young Rebel. To Skywalker, Tagge appeared to be Vader himself. The pair dueled, briefly, but Tagge's fear that he would once again lose to Skywalker began to become evident. Skywalker landed a glancing blow on Tagge's chest, and pleaded with his opponent to relent. The former baron persisted however, attempting to make a killing stroke. Skywalker was left with little choice but to ram his own lightsaber into his assailant's chest, ending the duel and killing Tagge. Vader's illusion was stopped, though the young Rebel had realized who his opponent was just before killing him.

The true Dark Lord revealed himself to Skywalker, but was too late to stop him from escaping. In the wake of Orman's death, Domina swore revenge on Skywalker, accusing him of not doing enough to try and save her brother. Domina's own vendetta would eventually result in a devestating attack on the planet of the Red Nebula, as part of a later, failed scheme to destroy Skywalker.

Appearances

 * Evasive Action: End Game
 * Star Wars 25: Siege at Yavin
 * Star Wars 26: Doom Mission
 * Star Wars 30: A Princess Alone
 * Star Wars 31: Return to Tatooine
 * Star Wars 32: The Jawa Express
 * Star Wars 33: Saber Clash
 * Star Wars 34: Thunder in the Stars
 * Star Wars 35: Dark Lord's Gambit
 * Star Wars 36: Red Queen Rising
 * Star Wars 37: In Mortal Combat
 * Star Wars 36: Red Queen Rising
 * Star Wars 37: In Mortal Combat