Akenathen Tandin

"Traitor!"
"I was; not anymore."

―Sanjay Rash and Akenathen Tandin^[2]

Akenathen Tandin^[3] was a male human who served as general of the Royal Onderon Militia during the Clone Wars.

Biography[]

Working for the Separatists[]

"We share the same future. We can sit here as free men, or servants of the Separatists."
"I am free, while you have chosen to be a terrorist."
"I'm not a terrorist, I'm a patriot. And resistance is not terrorism."

―Tandin debating with Saw Gerrera^[2]

After a Separatist-backed coup allowed Sanjay Rash to replace Ramsis Dendup and the king, Tandin remained loyal to the throne. However, Tandin began to feel doubt about his loyalties after witnessing Rash deal with the growing rebellion. As the Onderon rebels began to cause havoc by fighting against the droid army, Tandin remained loyal to King Rash. However, upon the arrival of General Kalani, he quickly became in constant disagreement with the super tactical droid, who was sent to Onderon by Count Dooku.^[2]

Tandin attempted to convince Rash that the rebels were only targeting the droid army and suggested that allowing the Royal Onderon Militia to assume control of security could convince the rebels to stop and discuss terms. Kalani denied him, stating that the rebels may have had sympathizers among the militia's own ranks. Tandin insisted the threat was external and the droid reinforcements had done little to stop it. Rash interjected and said they would not negotiate with the rebels, whom he referred to as "terrorists." The droid R9-D9 then entered the throne room displaying holograms of the rebel leaders. Tandin notified the king and Kalani of Steela Gerrera and her brother Saw's involvement in the rebel movement, along with Lux Bonteri, son of the deceased Senator Mina Bonteri.^[2]

TandinSaw-TSW — Tandin confers with the rebel Saw Gerrera.

Saw Gerrera was captured while he attempted to rescue Dendup from execution. As a result, Saw was tortured by Kalani, with the goal of extracting his cohorts' location. Tandin refused to have him tortured any longer and decided to keep Saw alive in order to find rebels. He told the super tactical droid he could control the people of Onderon, but he could not sustain it against their will and that it would only lead to others taking Saw's place. Kalani insisted they too would suffer. Tandin retorted the war would therefore be lost. Tandin told Kalani he had strong tactics, but it was unfortunate that he could not calculate a different approach. Later, Tandin further questioned Saw while the latter drank tea, with Saw sowing the seeds of doubt within Tandin.^[2]

Shortly afterward, Saw was given a drink of tea by Tandin, who questioned why Saw had chosen to rebel against Rash's throne, believing that Onderon's past under the rule of Ramsis Dendup was outdated, and the future was Onderon under Separatist rule.^[5] Saw explained that he chose to rebel because King Rash abused his powers as king to rule with an iron fist, empowering himself, rather than the people. Saw proclaimed that he fought in Dendup's name as the former king had chosen to politically fight for his people, rather than choosing to side with either the Republic or the Confederacy for his own gain as Rash so quickly had. Saw told Tandin they could sit as free men, or servants of the Separatists. Tandin insisted he was free, while Saw had chosen to become a terrorist. Saw corrected Tandin, saying he was a patriot and resistance was not terrorism. Saw's words of patriotism weighed heavily on Tandin.^[2]

Aiding the rebels[]

Tandin holds Rash at lance point Onderon — Saw's words of patriotism prompted Tandin to chose to defect to Saw's rebels.

Tandin later witnessed the near-execution of Dendup and the arrival of the rebels. After they were surrounded and all seemed lost, Tandin led all the palace guards to serve by his side and prevent the execution from happening. The royal guards surrounded the battle droids while Tandin briefly took Rash hostage. He gave Dendup, the rebels and guards a chance to escape since he was willing to sacrifice his life for them. Rash warned Tandin that the second he released Rash the B2-series super battle droids and Droidekas would shoot and kill him. However, before the droids could fire, Ahsoka Tano jumped out of the crowd, Force pushing the droids to the ground and saving the general. They then escaped together, allowing the civilians to turn against King Rash for his lies. In the Onderon rebel safe house, Dendup asked Tandin why he waited to then to defect from the Separatist. He replied it was time for a new approach. Tandin and the royal guards then pledged their support to the rebels and their true King.^[2]

The rebels later moved out of the city into the wilderness to draw the droids away from Iziz. Tandin consented to Steela Gerrera's leadership when Dendup appointed her as leader of both their forces. However, General Kalani dispatched HMP droid gunships to aid the droid army to destroy the rebellion. Saw and few rebels attacked the droids from the air, throwing thermal detonators from their rupings, while Tandin led a few troopers of the Royal Army mounted on dalgos. However, their entire strategy was altered once the droid gunships arrived. The gunships quickly killed several rebels and members Royal Militia. After Saw failed to destroy one gunship with a detonator, Tandin rescued him, pulling Saw onto the back of his Dalgo. Tandin retreated telling Saw and his troopers they had to regroup at the nest. The rebels on the brink of defeat, until Hondo Ohnaka delivered RPS-6 rocket launchers on behalf of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Ultimately, they were able to defeat the droids, forcing the Separatists to abandon Onderon and Kalani killed Rash. Sadly, the victory was with great cost, as Steela died during the final battle. Tandin was present at her funeral in Iziz as Onderon celebrated its liberation.^[4]