Merillion Tarko, a baron who was a male Human, originated from Anaxes, a Core World. His family had connections to the Galactic Republic's military and governing bodies, leading him to attend the prestigious Anaxes Citadel, where he achieved top academic standing. When the Clone Wars erupted between the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, Tarko swiftly found himself serving on a Republic flagship. By the time the war concluded and the Galactic Empire was established, he had experienced a rapid ascent to influential positions.
With the backing of Governor Wilhuff Tarkin, Tarko achieved the rank of Moff and took command of Imperial operations on the planet Cato Neimoidia. He made his base of operations in the bridge city he renamed Tarko-se, in his own honor. The Baron amassed a substantial fortune from his endeavors on the Neimoidian purse world, including running casinos and overseeing a lucrative slave trade. Utilizing his newfound wealth, Tarko commissioned the construction of a gladiatorial arena on Cato Neimoidia, designed for both entertainment and profit.
The Rebel Alliance eventually uncovered the Baron's involvement in the slave trade, prompting Jedi General Rahm Kota to initiate an unauthorized assassination attempt against Tarko during a Rebel reconnaissance mission on Cato Neimoidia. During the mission, Kota was captured and compelled to fight in the gladiatorial arena for seven consecutive days. News of Kota's capture eventually reached Starkiller, a clone of Darth Vader's former apprentice, the Sith Lord, who had previously fought alongside Kota. Starkiller journeyed to Cato Neimoidia to free the General, confronting Tarko and defeating the majority of his forces throughout Tarko-se. As a final desperate measure, Tarko unleashed the enormous Gorog in an attempt to eliminate both Jedi, but the plan backfired when the Gorog escaped the arena and killed the Baron.
Merillion Tarko, a Human male, was born on the Core World of Anaxes, into a family deeply connected to the Galactic Republic's government and military. As a baron, Tarko received his education at the Anaxes Citadel, a sprawling government complex on Anaxes that housed various institutions, including training academies. He graduated from the Citadel with the highest distinction. His graduation coincided with the beginning of the Clone Wars in 22 BBY, a conflict that pitted the Republic against the dissenting Confederacy of Independent Systems. Immediately following the war's outbreak, Tarko was assigned to a Republic flagship. The war concluded three years later, in 19 BBY; concurrently, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine reorganized the Republic, transforming it into the Galactic Empire. In the aftermath of the Empire's formation, Tarko experienced a rapid and remarkable rise to power. His ascent culminated in his appointment as Moff, a position he attained through the recommendation of Wilhuff Tarkin, another Moff.
Following his promotion to Moff, the Baron assumed control of the Imperial presence on the planet Cato Neimoidia. He oversaw the surrender of a bridge city that spanned a massive sinkhole by the Neimoidian authorities. Subsequently, he renamed the city "Tarko-se" in his own honor and established his headquarters within its confines. He began incorporating elements of Neimoidian attire into his Imperial officer's uniform and adopted a Neimoidian mechno-chair as his throne.
In his capacity as the overseer of the Imperial outpost on Cato Neimoidia, Tarko managed a highly profitable slave trade. This business venture provided the Empire with a workforce for constructing facilities on planets under Imperial occupation. Tarko reserved the most desirable slaves for high-ranking Imperial officers, while selling the remaining captives to criminal organizations, such as the Hutts. Additionally, Tarko established casinos on the planet and utilized the revenue generated to construct a gladiatorial arena that hosted combat events for both entertainment and financial gain. At the stadium's inauguration, the Baron spoke of Cato Neimoidia's "delicate transition" to becoming a protectorate of the Empire, acknowledging the population's concerns regarding the Empire's handling of the situation. He emphasized that violence against Imperial forces would not be tolerated, before announcing that several insurrectionists would participate in the arena's opening matches.
Tarko's activities eventually attracted the attention of the emerging Rebel Alliance, which gathered intelligence on the Baron's operations and the strength of his headquarters' defenses—information that ultimately proved to be inaccurate. In 1 BBY, the Alliance dispatched Captain Juno Eclipse and the crew of the Nebulon-B frigate Salvation to Cato Neimoidia to assess Tarko's defenses, a mission that coincided with an assassination attempt on the Baron led by Jedi General Rahm Kota and his commando squad. The Rebels encountered unexpectedly strong resistance from the Baron's forces. Following a brief engagement, the Salvation was forced to retreat upon the arrival of Imperial reinforcements, and Kota—the sole survivor of his squad—was captured. Tarko, observing from a skybox, forced Kota to compete against various beings and creatures within the gladiatorial arena, where the Jedi consistently triumphed over his opponents for seven consecutive days.
News of Kota's capture eventually reached the cloning facilities on Kamino, where the Dark Lord Darth Vader was completing the training of Starkiller, his cloned apprentice. Starkiller, however, rebelled against Vader and fled Kamino in the Sith Lord's personal TIE fighter, traveling to Cato Neimoidia to rescue Kota. Upon the craft's arrival at Tarko-se, a Neimoidian aide to the Baron mistakenly believed that Darth Vader was piloting the TIE fighter and informed the Baron that the Sith Lord had arrived. Tarko, accompanied by a contingent of stormtroopers, proceeded to the landing platform to greet Vader, only to discover that the visitor was not the Dark Lord. Starkiller questioned Tarko about Kota's whereabouts, but the Baron provided little information, instead demanding that Starkiller recite the sector's security clearance codes as he subtly prepared his blaster. When Starkiller failed to comply, Tarko and his men opened fire; the Baron quickly fled after Starkiller defeated many of the soldiers.
As Starkiller decimated the Imperial forces scattered throughout the city, the Baron observed his progress from a safe distance, occasionally using a public address system to issue threats and taunts. Tarko grew increasingly impressed with Starkiller's abilities; he pondered how the apprentice would perform in the gladiatorial arena and even offered him a life of luxury if he agreed to compete in the stadium. Having overcome all of the Baron's obstacles, Starkiller reached the stadium and rescued Kota from his grueling seven-day ordeal. Enraged, Tarko ordered the release of the massive Gorog to eliminate the two individuals; a Neimoidian aide's concerns regarding the creature's untested restraints were ignored.
Starkiller managed to temporarily subdue the Gorog, destroying the arena's supports and sending both the arena and the creature into the sinkhole below, while Kota confronted the Baron within his private skybox. The General killed Tarko's Neimoidian aides and, with Starkiller's assistance, defeated the Baron's stormtrooper guards. Before either could kill Tarko, the Gorog grabbed hold of the skybox to prevent its fall. The impact disoriented all three combatants, throwing Tarko to the floor and dislodging his throne. Tarko desperately attempted to escape his impending death, but his efforts were futile. Screaming in terror, the Moff became the Gorog's final victim as he was crushed by the beast's fist.
As the potentate of Cato Neimoidia, Moff Tarko firmly believed in his own authority. Over time, the Baron embraced Neimoidian culture, adopting their style of dress and even speaking Basic with a subtle Neimoidian accent. In turn, Tarko left his own mark on Cato Neimoidia, renaming a captured bridge city in his own honor. He prioritized the city's architectural value over the lives of the stormtroopers tasked with defending it.
Tarko reaped substantial profits from his business ventures on Cato Neimoidia; the operation of casinos and a slave trade provided the Baron with a lucrative source of credit that funded his grand gladiatorial arena. Tarko utilized the arena to silence dissenters to Imperial rule, allowing them to fight only with their preferred weapon of sedition—their words. The Moff was capable of defending himself when necessary; Tarko carried a DL-44 heavy blaster pistol for personal protection and occasionally participated in combat alongside stormtroopers, although he would retreat when the odds turned against him.
Upon Starkiller's arrival in Tarko-se, Tarko was initially impressed by the cloned apprentice's abilities, but he grew enraged when Starkiller ignored his offers to cease hostilities and continued to breach the city's defenses on his way to the gladiatorial stadium. Tarko's rage reached a fatal climax when he ordered the release of the Gorog to eliminate the intruder, disregarding a frightened Neimoidian aide's warnings that the arena might not be able to adequately contain the beast. Starkiller defeated the creature, but not before the Gorog crushed the Baron.
Baron Merillion Tarko made his debut in the novelization of the 2010 video game, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, before appearing in the game itself. He was voiced by Dee Bradley Baker, who also provided the voice for the bounty hunter Boba Fett in the game. Prior to the release of both the novel and the game, Tarko was featured in a character profile on the official website for The Force Unleashed II. Initial designs for Tarko explored various alien species or a former crime lord, but these concepts were abandoned in favor of either an Imperial or a Neimoidian, given Cato Neimoidia's status as a planet under Imperial occupation. Game designers described the Baron as a villain who harbored a strong dislike for the planet's inhabitants, "but who is willing to do anything as long as he's paid well."
The circumstances surrounding Tarko's death vary between the two adaptations. In the novel, the Baron is simply crushed by the Gorog's fist. However, in the video game, Tarko is grabbed and eaten by the Gorog. This article assumes that the novelization's account of the event is accurate.