Where did Tarkin, Krennic, Vader and Thrawn stand on the Death Star Project?

I was curious where exactly each of those Imperial figures stood individually on the issue of the original Death Star? Was Director Krennic the true brainchild behind the Death Star more than Tarkin? And why did Thrawn believe so fervently in the TIE Defenders? And what did Palpatine think about this?

 

Not sure exactly but I don't think this belongs in the sequel trilogy forum.

Lit section might be able to help you with Thrawn.

Rogue One/Anthology boards might help with Krennic and Tarkin info.

What did Palpatine think about what? The death star or the TIE defenders and Thrawn?

 

How do I delete it? And move it over to the OT?

 

A mod can move the post for you.

 

That is what I need to have happen. I made a mistake.

 

It's ok, they move posts and merge them all the time.

 

It's hard to say about Tarkin really

He wasn't up there with Motti foaming at the mouth shouting 'Ultimate power in the UNIVERSE!' he even sank back in his chair a little giving a " calm it dude " look

It's also undeniable he usurped the project from Krennic. I mean always presumed it was his project from the beginning with that little tease at the end of ROTS
But with RO it seemed he merely took over the moment it became operational

With Thrawn I think his strategic military genius he simply realized putting all the eggs in one basket was always risky, and he was right on that regard. Better to devide ressources and have an unbeatable armada was his reasoning

With Palpatine wasn't his goal for the DS to keep the "peace" while he could solely focus on his Dark Side studies
He basically disbanded the Senate when it was finished and he no longer needed to be the political figure head
In the canon Vader novel Palpatine was FURIOUS with Vader because he no longer had the Senate to keep the peace ect.

 

Krennic was the one who came up with the concept, it was his brainchild at least in the design stages and he clearly INTENDED to take operational command.
Tarkin was willing to let Krennic do all the planning/busywork and take all the blame for delays and problems then politic his way into taking credit and command once it was fully operational. It suited his ''rule through fear'' approach but if it hadn't been built, hell, he still had Star Destroyers and Super Star Destroyers they could have used instead.
Thrawn clearly thought more on the lines of an outright military victory and that meant more, better battleships and fighters - the same way that the primary naval powers of today are not cruisers but aircraft carriers. A superior fleet is better than having all your eggs in one moon-sized, planet busting egg. It can only be in one place at once and is more useful as a symbol than an actual military weapon.

Palpatine didn't care too much, he was still in total command and it kept some of his bigger, brighter underlings squabbling with each other not focussed on him.

 

AOTC makes it clear the Geonosians came up with the concept. After they were conquered, the Republic hijacked the project away from them.

 

Right, but once it became a Republic/Imperial project, Krennic was the "project manager" who had to get things up and running - for example hiring Erso to work on the laser - I am pretty sure the Geonosians weren't intending to outsource to a human scientist.

 

Generally, by the viewscreen.

 

Yup. Vader's "don't be too proud" quote suggests that he in particular wasn't impressed by the project, and both Legends and Newcanon has tended to run with this.

 

Even in Rogue One when Krennic came to Vader to talk about the project he was very lucky to walk away again. Vader really didn't give much of a damn about the Death Star either way. It would have been interesting to see if (assuming he hadn't already taken his TIE wing out to fight) he would have jumped ship or stuck it out like Tarkin.

 

Vader did say that the Death Star appeared to be more trouble than it was worth, when he was dressing down Krennic. So even before witnessing the full firepower of the Death Star, Vader wasn't too keen on the matter. But then given that he's a Sith Lord, he would have a different view of power than Tarkin, Krennic and Sidious.

 

I always thought Vader's Death Star opposition was a religious/technology thing but RO made it sound like he thought it was a political/PR disaster.

 

In the Tarkin novel (takes place years before Rogue One), Tarkin is given authority over the Death Star after he is promoted to Grand Moff. Is this a contradiction to Rogue One, where Tarkin apparently was not the leader of the project until it was already finished?

 

I think in RO Vader was just finding more excuses to trash a project he was never a fan of. I think his main issue with it is still what was implied in the OT, that it went against his religious philosophy.

 

It's an explosive situation all around.

 

All four of them stood a little to the right

 

Just possibly ever so slightly a tiny little bit, yes.

 

Tarkin viewed the Death Star as a means to achieve more power for both the Empire and himself. I remember in the ANH novelization's photo section included a character bio of Tarkin mentioning that he actually wanted to overthrow the Emperor and take control himself. (Admittedly, this was back when the Emperor was closer to Nixon, rather than an evil mystic.) So far as I know, the only presentation to really run with this was the ANH radio adaptation. Please correct me if I've missed something.
I get the impression that Krennic saw the Death Star as a way to get long overdue recognition for himself. He seems to be someone who's frequently been stepped over or stepped on, no matter how well he's done. So this is his way to come up with a real success and finally get total credit for his work.
Vader is distrustful of the whole project. He knows that real power is achieved through darker, more personal means than a big station with a big gun. The Death Star is useful, but shouldn't be overestimated. The Dark Side is far more dangerous.
And I figure Thrawn wasn't too wild about it, either. He wants respect for law & order, and for things to run smoothly. Those can be achieved with far less grandiose and costly methods than the Death Star. It causes as many problems as it solves, and can even be counterproductive, if used improperly.

Well, that's my impression, anyway.

 

- Palpatine wants fear and misery in the Galaxy. He's a sadist who has read 1984.
- Kennic was seeking respect from his peers. A working class guy wanting to belong to the upper class. And I think he's a bit of a tech fan too. Making it work made him happy.
- Tarkin, the bureaucrat acquiring administrative power. This is an important project to control.
- Vader... The boss said I have to assist these guys with their toys.

 

I think Krennic definitely THOUGHT of himself as being someone who was constantly underrated and overlooked but from the casual way Vader dismissed him and Tarkin casually usurped control of the Death Star he probably actually wasn't as good as he thought he was. A good bureaucrat and project manager but not remotely capable of hanging with the real movers and shakers.