Wat Tambor

"He is the Separatists' Techno Union Foreman, as well as a combat engineer. A brilliant strategist. And extremely dangerous—an expert at fighting machines, and a master of defense technologies. He is also an expert at escape."

―Jabba the Hutt

Wat Tambor
CIS Member Info
Name:	Wat Tambor
Position:	Foreman of the Techno Union Executive of Baktoid Armor Workshop "Emir"
Home World:	Skako, Metalorn
Died:	19 BBY, Mustafar
Physical description
Species:	Skakoan
Gender:	Male
Height:	1.93 meters
Mass:	48 kilograms
Hair Color:	None
Eye Color:	Black
Skin Color:	green
Chronological and political information
Affiliation:	Galactic Republic (Formerly) Techno Union Baktoid Armor Workshop Confederacy of Independent Systems Separatist Council
[Source]

Wat Tambor was the Foreman of the Techno Union and Executive of the Baktoid Armor Workshop. Tambor also held the title of "Emir" during the Techno Union\CIS Occupation of Ryloth during the clone wars.

Biography

• Before the Clone Wars
• The Clone Wars

Wat Tambor was born on Skako into the Crimlin Clan, Tambor spent little time on his homeworld as a youth, as he traveled to Metalorn to pursue a career in industry and technology. Tambor was a rarity, as most Skakoans never left their homeworld. Metalorn's atmosphere was inhospitable to Skakoans, and as a result Tambor was forced to develop a full-body suit that mimicked the atmosphere of Skako. He would also spend considerable time at his private estate on Foundry. While on Metalorn, Tambor became a superb combat engineer. At some stage, he ascended to the position of Representative of the Techno Union in the Galactic Senate, with the aid of Hego Damask. Tambor returned the favor by allowing him to use Hypori as a training ground and supplied training guards for both the Sun Guards Plagueis employed and his new apprentice.

Following the Incident at Dorvalla in 33 BBY, Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum proposed that the Republic instigate the taxation of trade routes. Tambor, knowing that this would damage the Union, was not in favor of the motion, and was in luck when Senator Palpatine of Naboo proposed that the matter be resolved at a Trade Summit on Eriadu. However, things went awry at the summit, with several influential figures in the Trade Federation being assassinated. The taxation bill went on to be passed in the Senate.

Foreman of the Techno Union & Executive of Baktoid Armor Workshop

Over the next decade, Tambor became the Foreman of the Techno Union, and Executive of Baktoid Armor Workshop. As Techno Union Foreman, Tambor was also charged with overseeing Haor Chall Engineering, Republic Sienar Systems and Kuat Systems Engineering development labs. In 32 BBY, Baktoid saw a setback when their biggest customer, the Trade Federation, used its droids to invade the peaceful planet Naboo. When Republic officials learned this, they went about partially disarming the Federation, Baktoid's setback was worsened.

Tambor, however, followed the Trade Federation in joining Count Dooku's Separatist movement. Dooku needed an army with which to decimate the Republic, and Tambor was able to oblige. However, the possible consequences of building an army in plain sight of the Republic would be risky, and so Tambor closed an array of Inner Rim Baktoid factories, citing revenue losses, and began producing weaponry and droids in secret Outer Rim factories, most notably on Geonosis. Tambor was able to satiate disgruntled shareholders with press releases, but his ploy did not fool everyone. Senator Lanus Wrede correctly hypothesized that Tambor was building droids in secret, but his opinions were dismissed by the media, due to the fact that there was supposedly no market in the Outer Rim. Republic investigations into the allegation also yielded no results, and shortly after, Wrede "committed suicide", although the accuracy of his claims pointed to foul play on the part of Tambor.

When Senator Rodd of the Tapani sector, the Hutt Groodo, and the designer Hurlo Holowan conspired to destroy Fondor with the Sun Runner, an ancient ship imbued with the strength of power gems, Tambor had a bounty placed on their heads. He offered the bounty, requesting that the quarry be delivered dead, to Cradossk of the Bounty Hunters' Guild, who accepted. Unbeknownst to Tambor, Dooku had also placed a bounty on the trio, with the intent of bringing them in alive, since he was impressed with concept of their Sun Runner scheme. The Foreman was contacted by the Count, and Dooku convinced the Skakoan to call off the debt. Rodd, Groodo, and Holowan were all eventually brought in by the bounty hunter Jango Fett.

In spite of his involvement with the Confederacy, Tambor still kept his hand in Republic politics, and made a token appearance at a Refugee Relief Movement fundraiser on Alsakan. Tambor could not actually consume the foods served there, but felt the need to be seen as sympathetic to the disenfranchised of the galaxy. Realizing that Dooku would reveal the Confederacy to the galaxy in the near future, Tambor reinforced the Union factory at Foerost with a security force of forty thousand battle droids, since the installation would be vulnerable in the Deep Core. In exchange for the seemingly copious amounts of battle droids, Tambor allowed government officials to continue their regular inspections of the facilities.

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Clone Wars

Tambor met with the other leaders of the Separatist Council on Geonosis to re-pledge their allegiance to Dooku. While there, Jedi Knight Kenobi was caught sneaking around the Baktoid factories, and soon after, Senator Amidala and Jedi Padawan Skywalker were caught in the same act. The trio were sentenced to death, but were rescued by a team of Jedi led by Master Mace Windu. The Jedi were soon followed by a large Republic army, the size of which the Separatists had never predicted. After a long and bloody battle, the CIS was routed. Tambor was able to escape, but Baktoid had now lost one of its key secret factories.

Cortosis battle droid plot

Tambor sought new ways to gain an advantage against the Republic in his new role as Confederate combat engineer, and as a result, his Techno Union engineers on Metalorn devised the C-B3 cortosis battle droid, a modified version of the B2 super battle droid that was resistant to lightsaber attacks. Tambor obtained the required cortosis from crime lord Jabba the Hutt, and the droids made their combat debut on the capital of the Republic, led by none other than Count Dooku. Though Dooku was able to retrieve an ancient Sith artifact from the Jedi Temple, the droids were driven off by Skywalker and Republic officer Mohc.

When Tambor learned that the Jedi Council was planning to send Skywalker to destroy the C-B3 factory on Metalorn, he began to fear for both his own life and the life of his project. He hired the bounty hunter Vandalor as his personal bodyguard, but his forces were unable to stop Skywalker's sabotage mission; Vandalor was killed by Skywalker and Tambor was arrested. With the factory destroyed, the idea of integrating cortosis into battle droids would go undeveloped and unused for the remainder of the war. Tambor was imprisoned on Delrian, but the Commerce Guild were privy to the layouts of the facility he was kept in. Two Skakoan members of Tambor's staff, along with the Clawdite changeling Nuri, were granted a visit to the Foreman's cell. Upon entry, the Skakoans decompressed their pressure cells, blowing themselves up and allowing Nuri to ferry Tambor to safety. He returned to his home in the Foundry city of Denus shortly afterward, where he recuperated to heal his wounds from the ordeal.

Upon his recovery, Tambor publicly decried Kuat's attempted theft of Neimoidian technology. He also championed the defensive capabilities of CIS droids during the crisis. Tambor would once again face the press about the Republic's hiring of over 125 Givin scientists in an attempt to gain a technological advantage over the CIS. Tambor claimed, essentially, that it was data that would win the war, rather than advanced technology.

Oviedo's Conspiracy

Tambor sought to wreak his revenge, not by retaliating with military strength, but by sabotaging Republic munitions factories. He was able to convince Director General Lorca Oviedo of Oviedo Engineering, a munitions manufacturer, to meet with him on the remote and dangerous world of Asturias to discuss his plans. Oviedo was always accompanied by a clone escort, so to maintain the secrecy of the mission, Tambor ambushed the Director while he was in transit from Aviles Prime, ensuring the safety of the Director while doing maximum damage to his escort. Oviedo was prepared for this, and was able to escape harm. His ship was able to land on Asturias with a minimum of fuss, despite being hit, but Tambor's droids stormed in, executing the entire crew. While Oviedo was escorted away to the rendezvous, several of the clone commandos escorting the director managed to crash land on Asturias and escape the wreckage of their ship.

Tambor himself was not in attendance, but rather communicated via a hologram. He felt that Oviedo's poor standing in the Senate might incriminate him by association, and at any rate, the planet's climate would not have agreed with his Skakoan temperament. He discussed with Oviedo the idea of sabotaging Republic supplies and munitions, which would both be profitable for Oviedo and beneficial to the CIS. Tambor also explained the need for the recent violent events, believing that an "assassination attempt" would effectively give Oviedo clemency in the eyes of the Senate. However, the clone commando escort had overheard the conversation, and were able to extract Oviedo, but sustained heavy losses in the process. Tambor ordered his troops to kill Oviedo should he be on the brink of escape, but they failed. Shortly after Oviedo had returned to the Republic capital of Coruscant, he passed on.

Dealings with Gha Nackt

Tambor later chose to move against fellow Council member Argente, the Magistrate of the Corporate Alliance. The Skakoan knew that Argente was suspicious of his movements, and Tambor used the Koorivar's mistrust to his own advantage. Knowing that Argente would seek out a spy droid to utilize against Tambor from the dealer Gha Nachkt, Tambor paid Nachkt to sell a spy droid to the Koorivar. As Tambor had predicted, Argente contacted Nachkt, and the Trandoshan dealer dutifully sold Tambor's protocol droid to Argente. Once the Koorivar had the droid, Nachkt contacted Tambor, and the Skakoan transmitted the dealer's reward to him. Tambor tuned into the droid's frequency, allowing the Foreman to directly spy on Argente and track his movements across the galaxy.

Emir of Ryloth

Tambor then took the title of Emir when the CIS and his Techno Union forces occupied the planet of Ryloth. Tambor, after tracking the movements of Argente, learned that Argente met with Twi'lek broker Artruk, whom Argente had hired to conceal treasures of Ryloth in his possession. Upon noticing the treasures, Tambor ordered his personal T-series tactical droid, TA-175, to move Ryloth to the highest priority for a CIS invasion. Tambor soon invaded Ryloth, starving and subjugating the Twi'lek population with a iron fist. The Skakoan blockaded Ryloth, placing Captain Mar Tuuk in charge of the CIS blockade, while Tambor made headquarters for himself in Ryloth's capital city, Lessu. Tambor also placed tactical droid TX-20

"You must not allow the republic to land on the surface."

in charge of the CIS proton cannons stationed in the city of Nabat.

However, the Republic soon launched a plan to invade and liberate the planet. After Jedi General Skywalker and his apprentice, Commander Tano, eliminated the CIS blockade around Ryloth, Jedi Generals Windu and Kenobi were able to move in with their transports. Kenobi and his clone troopers eliminated the cannons and the hostages destroyed TX-20, and the Republic invasion forces were able to land. Tambor was not amused with Tuuk's and TX-20's respective failures, as he would be forced to take the blame for their faults.

Tambor used Recon droids to spy on Gen. Windu's forces and their progess.

Tambor & TA-175 spying on Gen. Windu.

Though TA-175 wanted to start to retreat and evacuate, Tambor refused, saying that Windu did not have the troops to take Lessu. Tambor brought in his forces and secured the city's bridge. In a holographic conference with Tambor, Count Dooku, displeased with the Emir's weakening hold on Ryloth, ordered him to salvage what he could of the Twi'lek treasures on the planet and retreat before Windu arrived with his forces in Lessu. Dooku also ordered Tambor to destroy whatever he could of Ryloth, as it's ruins would show the galaxy the "cost" of a Republic victory. To accomplish this, Tambor dispatched a squad of Hyena-class bombers—and, at TA-175's recommendation, the CIS ground forces—to begin destroying several Twi'lek villages in the area. However, Windu soon enlisted the help of the Twi'lek resistance leader Cham Syndulla and Ryloth's resistance against the CIS oppression. Tambor decided to wait for the last of several Multi-Troop Transports hauling the treasures

Tambor overseeing the loading of Ryloth's treasure.

, despite Dooku's order to retreat and bomb Lessu. TA-175, too impatient to wait for his master, departed aboard Tambor's shuttle, and the Skakoan was left stranded just as the Republic forces arrived in the city. Windu cornered Tambor

"Gen. Windu, perhaps we could come to a compromise."

; however, Dooku was intent on eliminating Lessu, even with Tambor's life in jeopardy. The CIS Head of State ordered TA-175 to continue with the bombers' attack, but the intervention of Skywalker and Tano in their fighters prevented the destruction of Lessu. Tambor surrendered and was taken into Republic custody. Tambor was then taken to the Republic military base on Coruscant where he was kept under close watch alongside fellow CIS leaders and officers.

Conqueror of Worlds

Tambor eventually escaped from Republic captivity. When a downed Confederate transport on the Techno Union world of Mustafar fell prey to Republic slicers, Tambor moved to eliminating the slicing team and their clone trooper escorts and a Jedi Knight. Moving to destroy the information on the transport's computers before the Republic could access it, Tambor sent forth an army of droids fresh from Mustafar's foundries to besiege the Republic force, advancing his forces from two directions to attack the Republic's canyon position. Despite initially breaking through the clone defenses, Tambor was unable to prevent the slicers from retrieving the data. Nevertheless, Tambor continued to work against the Republic by operating with a spy among the Republic forces. When his agent was apprehended and incarcerated in the Republic's command center, Tambor dispatched his forces to liberate the prisoner but was unable to free him. As Tambor threatened several neighboring systems, he launched a massive counterattack on the Republic forces, which drew him into a trap at the canyon. While Tambor deployed battle droids and droid starfighters to destroy the Republic's command center, the Republic effectively dispatched them with tower-mounted blaster turrets. The clones were able to destroy a Hyena bomber that Tambor sent to attack them, escaping before Tambor could stop them.

Tambor also sought to claim the icy world Orto Plutonia with TA-175 and a detachment of battle droids. However, a Jedi Knight thwarted Tambor's efforts to seize an Orto Plutonian Talz village, and Tambor was forced to retreat. Tambor also led the Techno Union's armies to invade the planet Iego, where the Separatists had once maintained a base. After being defeated by the same Jedi Knight who had been the cause of his latest losses, Tambor left his tactical droid in charge of the battle and escaped to a Munificent-class star frigate in the Kessel system. Using a tracking device that had been placed on Tambor, the Jedi Knight pursued the Techno Union Foreman and caused his frigate to crash on Kessel, where Tambor surrounded himself with forces led by TA-175. As the Jedi Knight battled through Tambor's forces to arrest the Techno Union Foreman, Tambor sent a squad of BX-series droid commandos into battle, but they were defeated as Tambor made his last stand against the Jedi.

External Link

Wat Tambor on Wookieepedia

 Wat Tambor in the Encyclopedia