Tawni Ames was a female human who served as the governor of Desix during the Imperial Era.
During the Clone Wars, Tawni Ames and her homeworld of Desix sided with the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Ames would work with the Separatist Senate, and when her colleague, Senator Mina Bonteri of Onderon put forth the Confederate–Republic peace initiative, a treaty suggesting the beginning of peace negotiations between the Galactic Republic and the Separatist movement, Ames supported her. However, a number of factors, namely the bombing of Republic capital planet Coruscant's Central power distribution grid and Bonteri's assassination, resulted in the treaty's revocation. The failure of this attempt for peace convinced Ames that the Republic never intended for the war to actually end and enforced her faith in the Separatist Count Dooku's movement.
Tawni Ames personally took governor Grotton and his stormtroopers hostage upon their arrival to Desix City
Following the Proclamation of the New Order and the Republic's transformation into the Galactic Empire, Ames led her planet into independence, serving as the governor. In the months following the rise of the Empire sent the first Imperial governor, Grotton, to assume his position in Desix City. Ames refused to surrender her planet to the Empire, claiming that Desix had separated from the Empire's predecessor early in the war and that the Imperial government had therefore no claim to the planet. Ignoring Grotton's objections, she ordered a contingent of B1-series battle droids from the planet's army to take him and his TK stormtrooper escort into custody.
When news of the governor's kidnapping reached Coruscant, Vice Admiral Rampart tasked genetically defective clone CT-9904 "Crosshair" and clone stormtrooper commander CC-2224 "Cody" to extract him from his captivity in Desix City and restore Imperial order to the planet. Despite the mission being disguised as a diplomatic convoy, Ames correctly guessed its military nature and had her T-series droid commander order the shuttle carrying Cody's unit shot down. She then took Grotton with her to the city's Bell Tower as the surviving clones from the extraction team were ambushing her forces outside. Eventually, Crosshair, Cody, "Nova," and "Wyler" reached the Bell Tower's steps, at which point Tawni ordered her remaining BX-series droid commando droids and droidekas to attack them. Cody and Crosshair took down the droids and the T-series commander in one shot from Crosshair's sniper rifle with the help of Cody, throwing one of Crosshair's mirror discs.
Tawni Ames holding Grotton hostage
With the clones now in the bell tower, Ames came out of the shadows holding Grotton with a blaster to his head and pleaded with Cody to allow her planet to stay free. She claimed that once the Empire recognized her people's right to rule themselves the governor and his forces would be freed. Cody reminded her that her forces shot down their vessel and killed many of his clones, to which she replied that they were merely defending themselves. However, Cody convinced her to release Grotton by laying down his weapon and explaining that he and she had both survived one major war and he did not wish for them to start another. Immediately after he was released, Grotton ordered Cody to execute the rogue governor, to Cody's despair. Ames, unsurprised, told Cody that this was the peace the Empire was bringing. Immediately after, Crosshair shot and killed her.
Ames' name was revealed in the closed captions of the trailer for the second season of Star Wars: The Bad Batch released on December 7, 2022. In the Disney+ release of the trailer, she was credited simply as "governor." She was voiced by Tasia Valenza.
- "Star Wars: The Bad Batch: The Anatomy of Animation" — Star Wars Insider 219–220
- Star Wars: Dawn of Rebellion: The Visual Guide