CT Grand Moff Tarkin Out Ranks Vader?

I rationalize it in my head more along the lines that Palpatine is king, Vader is prince, and Tarkin is more like a very well respected duke.

If Palpatine should die, control is pretty much going to default to Vader, or I feel like that was the expectation. Tarkin was a very powerful man, but not being a Sith, he was only going to climb so high in the Imperial military structure. He could govern a sector, but he was never going to rule the empire. Vader as a Sith enjoys privileges that Tarkin will never have, in that he's next in line to the throne so-to-speak, but that doesn't mean that the King is just going to ignore the advice of his duke, or that Vader automatically trumped Tarkin in all matters, or that Vader himself couldn't have respect for Tarkin's abilities.

A king isn't going to defer judgements solely to his heir, he's going to have an inner circle of trusted vassals to help him administer the kingdom (or in this case, Empire) and Tarkin was likely in that circle. I could see Palpatine even giving Tarkin's opinion more weight than Vader's in certain matters, since Tarkin ruled over a sector of space and likely knew more about the political situation within, while Vader was strictly a military leader, not in charge of any particular territory, but having the ongoing mission to purge resistance wherever it is to be found.


Tarkin really isn't shown to boss Vader around at all, IMO. I mean, when Tarkin realizes that he was lied to by Leia, Vader just kind of gives an "I told you so." More an attitude I can see among peers, not something a subordinate would jab a superior officer with. The only incidence of "bossing" I can see is Tarkin telling Vader to release Motti, which given the circumstances, doesn't convince me entirely that this means Tarkin is Vader's superior. They both occupy very prestigious positions within the Empire, and I think by default, Vader has more potential within the power structure, but that doesn't mean that Tarkin is someone to be ignored or that he doesn't command immense respect.

 

Certainly fits with later EU.

In the Dark Times 6: Fire Carrier comic, there's this Holonet broadcast- it's a few months, maybe a year or so, after Revenge of the Sith:

Our Empire may yet be young, but it is strong! While Emperor Palpatine rules from Coruscant, our valiant clone army continues to keep us safe from the galaxy's many threats! And leading our military is the Emperor's hand-picked second in command -- Lord Vader!

Forged in the deadliest battles of the Clone Wars, Vader single-handedly defended our strategic AT-AT bases on Ovation Seven … quelled the uprising of the mighty Wookiee warriors of Kashyyyk … and thwarted the murderous plot of General Gentis that left thousands dead on Galactic Center!

From Bandomeer to the Ghost Nebula, wherever a threat arises, Lord Vader is there to meet it … to crush it! Wherever your travels in the galaxy take you, the forces of the Empire are there, keeping you safe and secure!

 

@Iron_lord The empire really said "Forged in the deadliest battles of the Clone Wars," Wouldn't that give away who he was? I mean it would just make people question who he is. Even the workers closest to him didn't know. Odd?
Also Did Tarkin know that Vader was Anakin I thought no but now I think he did because of the line: " The Jedi are all but extinct, you my friend are all what's left of that ancient race."

 

It's possible that the "public story" was simply that Vader was a Jedi who chose to side with Palpatine- without any specifics as to which Jedi Vader was.

In the Death Star novel - we're told that while Tarkin doesn't know for sure that Vader is Anakin Skywalker- he strongly suspects it.

 

@Iron_lord
but what about his outfit? how could they explain it. also palpatine said that "all jedi are now enemies of the empire and will be hunted down and killed."

 

"Injuries in the line of duty"

Palpatine also says that to Vader - not to the Senate. Since Anakin led the clones into the Temple- and his hood doesn't hide his face- those clones at least know that Anakin is at least one Jedi who, from their perspective, has not turned traitor- but has chosen to side with Palpatine.

The same principle may apply afterward- from the perspective of the troops, anyone with a lightsaber is probably either a Jedi or an ex-Jedi- Grievous was a very rare exception.

 

I don't think they do I remember there being a mention of them not knowing who vader was? maybe battlefront2?

 

I don't think Vader cares about the Death Star. The Death Star was, as much as anything else, a way for Tarkin to become more powerful, influential, and respected within the Empire. It was Tarkin's pet project. Vader preferred Star Destroyers, Tie Fighters, orbital bombardment, etc.

 

I don't know as much about the games as about the novels.

In the ANH novel Vader's referred to as a Sith Lord by the people in the Death Star conference room, at least.

In Dark Lord, Palpatine doesn't really care all that much about the speculation- to him, what matters is that they know Vader is someone to fear and obey.

 

To add to my earlier post, in the ANH novelization, Tagge says, "I think the construction of this station has more to do with Governor Tarkin's bid for personal power and recognition than with any justifiable military strategy."

 

Forgot about that line; it hints at a sort of 'rift' in the military structure of the Empire.

 

Tarkin was a regional governor, too, wasn't he?

I always took Vader to be Palpatine's enforcer. In A New Hope he's called upon to retrieve the Death Star plans similar to how Darth Maul was tasked with finding Padme' Amidala.
In Empire Strikes Back, he's tasked with hunting down the entire Rebel Alliance and wiping them out, and this places him in command of a powerful fleet and he gets the flag-ship, Executor, with which to do it.
In Return of the Jedi, he's tasked to go to the unfinished Death Star and knock some heads around so the Emperor's trap is ready in time.

I'm sure there is, theoretically, lots of layers to this, being that Anakin Skywalker had official rank during the Clone Wars which probably carried over as Vader, but in general I think Vader is what the Emperor needs him to be, when he needs him to be it, where as Tarkin is a very high ranking military officer in the Imperial military which is more...continuous.

I don't think the ability to use the Force somehow makes Vader the superior to everyone else in the Empire in all situations, though. At least not in the sense that he can or would just treat everyone he wished like an Admiral Ozzell. People like Tarkin were obviously very useful to the Empire and Vader respects ability. Vader respected Tarkin and thus respected his command and his wishes not to have one of his inner circle choked to death.