Tion (Human)

"When peace and stability are threatened, it's the Emperor's duty to intervene, to ensure his subjects' security and well-being."

- Lord Tion to Princess Leia Organa, during the Subjugation of Ralltiir

Tion was a Human male who served as a nobleman and Commodore in the Imperial Navy.

Early military career
Tion was born into the noble family of the House of Tion and was thus known as Lord Tion. After joining the Imperial Starfleet, he rose to the rank of Commodore. He became acquaintance with Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin and vehemently believed in his political ideas, such as the Tarkin Doctrine.

Using his connections to the Grand Moff, Tion gained authority in a top secret military project to construct a moon-sized armored battle station designated as the Death Star, a superweapon capable of obliterating entire worlds. He was well informed of the details of the project, gaining sensitive inside information on the location of the Death Star plans. Like Admiral Conan Antonio Motti and many other high-ranking Imperial officers assigned to the Death Star, Tion aspired to benefit on his work with the superweapon to fuel his ambitions. He sought to gain membership in the Imperial elite and become one of the most powerful military men in the galaxy.

Occupation of Ralltiir
"Pity to say, the High Council no longer exists... either as individuals, or as a political entity. Your misguided charity would have gone to traitors."

- Lord Tion, to Princess Leia, about the Ralltiiri High Council

In 0 BBY, Lord Tion was assigned to pacify the planet Ralltiir, an economic powerhouse in the Core Worlds. The Ralltiiri High Council, the primary government of the planet, had criticized the Empire for its harsh and brutal policies, forcing the Imperial Military to intervene in the incident. A fleet of Imperial warships under the command of Tion's personal flagship, the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Devastator, commenced orbital bombardment and deployed ground troops to occupy the planet.

After the Ralltiiri resistance movement was vanquished and the planet was under total Imperial control, the High Council was summarily disbanded and all of its members were liquidated for sympathizing the Rebel Alliance. Ralltiir was placed under martial law and Governor Dennix Graeber was installed to oversee the planet. The Ralltiiri were transferred in prison camps, interrogation centers were set up for people suspected of supporting the Rebellion and stormtroopers patrolled the streets. Tion also sealed off the entire Ralltiir system, not even permitting relief organizations to travel through his blockade. The Subjugation of Ralltiir severely damaged commercial activity along the Perlemian Trade Route, considering the planet's importance to galactic banking business.

In the aftermath of military occupation of Ralltiir, Lord Tion received two high-ranking visitors. First, Supreme Commander Darth Vader arrived on the planet to supervise the Imperial task force under Tion's command. Secondly, Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan went on a "mercy mission" to deliver supplies for the people of Ralltiir. Officially, her objective was to present medical supplies and aid equipment to the Ralltiiri High Council. However, her true purpose was to supply the anti-Imperial resistence cells operating on Ralltiir with heavy weaponry and other military-grade equipment. Lord Tion himself gave Princess Leia landing clearance on Ralltiir, allowing her consular ship, the CR90 corvette Tantive IV, to land on a spaceport in the capital city of Cambrielle. He welcomed the Princess, informing her that the High Council was abolished and the planet was now under Imperial jurisdiction. There, the Princess rescued a wounded Rebel soldier called Basso, who later revealed the existence of a colossal Imperial battle station and the code name "Death Star". Using the newly-installed planetary surveillance web, the Princess and her accompanying pilot Captain Raymus Antilles took advantage of Tion's romantic feelings with her, preventing Vader's attempt to inspect the Tantive IV cargo and allowing their safe escape through the blockade of the Ralltiir system.

Alderaan
Tion decided to temporarily to leave his post on Ralltiir and visit the House of Organa, planning to propose marriage with Princess Leia. Upon Leia's arrival on Alderaan, her foster father Viceroy Bail Prestor Organa informed her that Tion has taken her bait and invited himself to a casual dinner at the Aldera Royal Palace. During the discussion the Organas attempted to find out classified information about the new Imperial weapons project. After several minutes of idle chatter the Princess finally convinced Tion to expose the secrecy behind the Death Star. Tion revealed the Organas that the Death Star was a massive superlaser-wielding battle station capable of destroying planets. He also explained that the schematics for the superweapon were on an Imperial convoy. Tion requested the Organas to support the project, promising security and prosperity for the people of Alderaan. He also wished Leia to marry him, assuring to make her one of the most powerful women in the Empire.

However, Leia had grown increasingly appalled at Tion's pretentious description of the battle station, stating that she would never support an engine of war designed to oppress the free peoples of the galaxy. She could no longer control her outrage and made a fatal blunder by mentioning the term "Death Star". Upon hearing the Princess use the word she was not supposed to know, Tion realized that Leia was contacted by the Rebel spy network. He asserted Leia and her father's Rebel status, threatening to summon the Empire to Alderaan and interrogate the Organas for their connections to the Rebel Alliance. However, before Tion was given the chance to inform the Imperial authorities, the Princess attacked him as an act of self-defense in order to protect her father and home planet. In a momentary struggle, Tion's blaster pistol accidentally went off, killing him.

Legacy
Leia was shocked by her role in Tion's untimely demise, but Bail comforted her, saying that Tion died by his own hand. Tion's body was later left in Alderaan's Southern Game Preserve and a suitable incident arranged. Officially, he died in a tragic "hunting accident" while visiting Alderaan. After Tion's death, Darth Vader took command of the Devastator. Lord Tion's final conversation gave the Rebel Alliance the intelligence needed to capture the plans of the first Death Star during the Battle of Toprawa and later destroy the battle station over the moon of Yavin 4 with the help of Luke Skywalker during the Battle of Yavin.

Behind the scenes
Lord Tion first appearanced as a supporting character in the radio dramatization of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, written by Brian Daley, directed by John Madden and broadcast by National Public Radio in 1981. The character was created for the first episodes of the radio adaptation, explaining how Princess Leia knew of the existence of the Death Star and the Rebel Alliance obtained the superweapon's schematics. He was voiced by John Considine.

An illustration in the reference book The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons, published in 1998, portrays Lord Tion as an aged military commander with black hair, but the comic book Star Wars: Empire: Princess... Warrior, published in 2003, depicts him as a younger looking male with blonde hair.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Empire 5: Princess... Warrior, Part 1
 * Star Wars radio drama
 * Star Wars Journal: Captive to Evil
 * Star Wars 2: In the Shadow of Yavin, Part 2
 * Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse
 * Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse