James Tarkin
The Artificial Spirit
Parentage and Early Life
James was not born out of love, nor out of convenience. His entire existence was planned meticulously by his father, Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. His son was to be a gem of The Empire, meant to keep their family in power for decades to come. To ensure this, he took his time to find the perfect partner to ensure James' biology would be perfected. He would be born of a Sith and a Tarkin.
There was nothing joyous about the young man's birth. No huge celebration. No. His life was kept very much under wraps to everyone but Tarkin's most trusted advisors. Unfortunately for James, he would not get many years under the watchful eye of his father before the older man's real destiny called. The building (and eventual destruction) of the Death Star.
James was now orphaned. A child with a powerful last name and not much more.
He was essentially raised by droids for the few odd years until he was old enough to be put into the Academy. Placed into custody of Enric Pryde as a way of ensuring he was raised to the standards of the Tarkin name.
This arrangement went well. With James considering Enric the closest thing he had to family. Although Pryde never was incredibly attached to the young Tarkin; he was brash, loud and rather unapologetically rebellious. Sure, he excelled in classes, but what did that matter if he was too undisciplined for any of his skills to matter.
A solution would come to Pryde after a conversation with Brendol Hux. Where an interesting proposal was made; a experimental control chip, much like the ones used in clones, but far more powerful installed into the back of the neck. It would strip James of all autonomy. Make him a perfect servant to their cause, keeping his clever mind, but with a programmable personality that could be used to swag him whichever way they desired in the moment.
When James heard the news of his surgery he ran. Trying his best to escape. Of course, he was pulled from the outskirts of the Academy, scraped and bruised, by Troopers.
The chip was installed, along with a few other augmentation and James walked out of the surgery a changed man, with no memory of his disobience, or the chip.
Adulthood
James grew up to be a successful general within the First Order, living up to the Tarkin name. He had his own ship and while not a rising star among his peers, considered a very fair and talented general. Good to his crew and skilled in battle. Pryde would continue to call him in for more experimental surgeries disguised as physicals.
Everything seemed to be going well in his life, until, of course. He found out about the control chip during a verbal spat turned violent with General Hux. The ginger's monomolecular dagger slicing into the back of his neck. Exposing more wires than blood.
James did not take to the news well. Lashing out. Not just at Pryde but at the whole Order. In a moment of pure anguish he sabotaged an upcoming attack on a resistance base. Treason. The kindest thing they could have done was execute him. Let him leave the world with his head held high.
Of course, The First Order was never known for their kindness, and they had invested far too much into Tarkin to let him die. . .
Dragged once again into the med bay, he was forced to sit through the excruciating process of a complete mind wipe. Sitting conscious as he was opened up and connected to machines that would slowly scrub him of his humanity. All the while being told how it would perfect him, that he was broken.
This was the death of the original James Tarkin. To be replaced by a man with the disposition of a protocol droid. Stripped of Generals rank and transferred to the Steadfast to serve as one of Pryde's Lieutenants. Really just an trapped soul there to warn of the dangers of crossing the order.
AU/Time Period Shift.
It is very simple to shift the timeline so that James is born earlier on in Tarkin's life and was turned into a tool of the Empire at the hands of his own father, rather than at the hands of Pryde.
© Jane Doe. All rights reserved.