Emperor Tachyon

"Emperor Percival Tachyon! Crown prince of the Cragmites, conqueror of space and time, and, pending the obliteration of a few insubordinate species, ruler of the universe!"

- Emperor Tachyon formally introducing himself to Ratchet and Clank.



Percival Tachyon is the main antagonist in Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction. He is a Cragmite and his species tried to control the universe but was defeated by the Lombaxes. Then he was still an egg and the Lombaxes raised him out of pity and when he learned of his true origins, he vowed to destroy the Lombaxes and drove them to another dimension and killed them. While Dr. Nefarious is considered to be the main antagonist of the series Tachyon is sometimes considered the personal nemesis of Ratchet due to their history.

Tachyon later appears when Artemis Zogg is transported into the dimension that Tachyon is trapped in, they have a brief argument over who rules the fragment of a planet they are on.

It was also rumoured that while in this dimension, Tachyon came into contact with a species that every one in the universe had forgotten.

Biography
Long before Tachyon was born, the Cragmite Empire rose to power and began to take over the Polaris Galaxy. The Great War was started when the Lombax race opposed the Cragmite Empire. At some point before or during the war, to preserve their legacy, the Cragmites placed one of their own eggs on the Kreeli Comet in hopes that the hatchling would be able to one day carry on their lineage should they be defeated. That dormant child was Percival Tachyon, kept safe but unaware of the hostile war raging in the galaxy. Eventually, the legendary "Lombax Secret," a mysterious device created by the Lombax leaders, was used to transport all of the Cragmites to Dimension X2-49.

The one thing the Lombaxes had not counted on was Tachyon. During a Trillium mining expedition to the Kreeli Comet, an egg containing a small, seemingly feeble Cragmite was found frozen. Out of pity, the Lombaxes took the young Tachyon to their home planet of Fastoon and raised him. However, after a number of years, Tachyon somehow stumbled upon his true origins. Learning of the fate of his brethren, Tachyon was fueled with rage and hated all Lombaxes from that moment on. He then set out with a determination to bring back the Cragmites and restore the Cragmite Empire to its former glory. Tachyon, however, was oblivious as to the full extent of his kind's evil, which was far greater than his hatred alone.

Emperor Tachyon, crowned prince of his race, named himself leader of his empire. His first goal was to eradicate all traces of the Lombaxes. He plotted to steal their technology and build weapons to use against them. He began this aim by creating a robot army ofspace pirates, and sent them across Polaris to salvage whatever Lombax technology they could find. He also went before the Lombaxes himself as an inventor. Tachyon showed them his plans to create advanced robotic devices, and claimed that their purpose was to make a new defense for the galaxy. Tachyon revealed that he needed their technology for him to build his machines. The schematics detailed weapons years ahead of what the Lombaxes had been making. General Alister Azimuth thought of Tachyon as a brilliant inventor. The other Lombaxes, however, grew suspicious of the intelligent creature, including Kaden, who warned Azimuth not to trust him.

General Azimuth believed that Emperor Tachyon's devices were just the security the galaxy needed, and gave him full access to their machinery and secrets, unaware of his true intentions. This lie successful, and the space pirates having gathered a sufficient amount of Lombax machinery themselves, the Cragmite prince was determined to get his plans underway with all his accumulated resources. Tachyon banished the space pirates to Praxus Seven, no longer needing them, and travelled to planet Zaurik. Here, Tachyon forged an alliance with the Drophyd race. He offered the creatures a large amount of raritanium in exchange for their servitude. They accepted, and became Tachyon's loyal commando enforcers, made lethal combatants with the completed machinery he provided. In doing this, Tachyon formed the new Imperial Army of the soon-to-be resurrected Cragmite Empire. Tachyon then made his home within the original Cragmite capital on their homeworld, Reepor, the location of their last battle with the Lombaxes.

The planet Reepor had been turned dormant thanks to the Lombaxes, reduced to nothing but ruin, and Emperor Tachyon was prepared to restore it to its former glory when his brethren had been returned to him; it once again served as the home of an empire with Tachyon as its master. With his elite soldiers and a large fleet of Imperial Cruisers, Tachyon formed a vast armada. Tachyon took his powerful force to the Lombax homeworld, Fastoon, with the intent of erasing the species from existence.

The Lombaxes did not have much defense against Tachyon's vast warships and enforcers. Out of options, the generals stood no further chance against Tachyon, who proceeded to lay waste to Fastoon and crumble it to ruin just as the Lombaxes had done to Reepor, leading the battle personally from atop his mechanical throne. As Drophyds marched upon the Court of Azimuth, Tachyon was robbed of his chance to kill all the Lombaxes when they escaped to another dimension while behind the court's walls. Kaden, keeper of the Dimensionator, used it to send his race to safety while staying behind with his infant son, Ratchet. He was, however, unable to save his wife, who was killed during the chaos. Kaden and his son managed to escape Tachyon's wrath long enough for his son to be safely sent away to the Solana Galaxy, and for the Dimensionator to be hidden. Tachyon managed to defeat Kaden in combat, and savored the ending of his life. He then spent the next several years trying to hunt down any remaining Lombaxes such as Alister Azimuth, Angela Cross, and Ratchet.

Over the years, while Ratchet and his newly acquired robotic partner, Clank, had a series of exciting adventures and saved Solana and Bogon from various evil doers, Tachyon was able to track him down. On Planet Kerwan, Tachyon assaulted the city ofMetropolis during rush hour while Ratchet was working on a jet bike. Captain Qwark, working as the head of the Planetary Defense Center, encountered the Drophyd commandos and sent a distress call to Ratchet and Clank. While Qwark briefly attempted to battle the troops, he soon resorted to running like the coward he was. Being lucky enough to destroy two of the Drophyds, Qwark was inevitably captured and frozen in a block of ice. The prisoner was taken to Tachyon himself, who was not impressed by the "hero". Qwark, desperate to save his own life and apparently wanting to keep the citizens of Kerwan safe, pledged allegiance to the Empire as Tachyon's "confidant", while secretly planning to steal information on Tachyon's plans to aid Ratchet and Clank.

Meanwhile, Ratchet fought through groups of Emperor Tachyon's forces as the rest of the city was blown apart building by building. Tachyon, inside the cruiser he was piloting, chased Ratchet when he attempted to escape along the grindrails. Trying to blast Ratchet with the warship's guns, the Lombax dodged his attacks, but fell right into a trap. At the end of the rails, Ratchet and Clank landed on a platform and were surrounded by Drophyds. Tachyon then brought the cruiser down to the platform and emerged atop his mobile throne. He was not much impressed by the last Lombax, underestimating him as being small and weak. Ratchet and Clank were in turn not impressed by Tachyon himself, and even laughed at his name when he formally introduced himself. The emperor became furious and demanded to be recognized as the royal Cragmite he was. When Clank stepped forward, Tachyon thought he was quite primitive and was amused since the Lombaxes were once such renowned engineers.

Ratchet falsely warned Tachyon and his men that Clank was a menacing deathbot to intimidate them, though Tachyon himself was not fooled. His patience dwindling, Tachyon requested Ratchet surrender and be executed, promising that Metropolis would be spared if he complied. Ratchet pretended to agree, then threw Clank to the cruiser, allowing him to board it and prepare their escape. Tachyon, with his large throne walker, blocked Ratchet and prepared to kill him personally. The Lombax struck the throne with his wrench, causing Tachyon to lose balance on the throne and topple over. Ratchet quickly boarded the ship, which took off as the Drophyds opened fire. The cruiser's autopilot transported the duo to Polaris, where Tachyon pursued them. As Ratchet and Clank met new allies and traversed Polaris fighting Tachyon's empire, Tachyon made several broadcasts to citizens and his soldiers in attempts to find the Lombax. He also charged Ratchet for stealing one of his Imperial Cruisers and being part of the resistance against him.

During his travels, Ratchet landed on Planet Mukow and competed in the Imperial Fight Festival in disguise thanks to a hint from the undercover Qwark and a fine new mustachio. At the first challenge, Qwark introduced the Drophyd audience to his "new best friend", Emperor Tachyon, who watched the match from a projection screen. At first, there were no cheers from the troops, angering Tachyon. He snapped his fingers and his enforcers cocked their guns to motivate the audience, who immediately cheered for Tachyon, much to his delight. After the disguised Ratchet completed the course, Qwark slipped them an info disc, some clue to Tachyon's plot. Tachyon ordered Qwark to come to him, as he had boils needing lancing. Disgusted, Qwark hastily informed him he was coming, and whispered to Ratchet "Pray for me!" It was apparent that Tachyon had Qwark doing a number of less-than-desirable tasks, as when the two came back to the arena, Qwark gave them another clue - an infobot which he found in Tachyon's underwear drawer.

Trivia
He is perhaps the franchise's darkest and most evil villain, rivalled only by Chairman Drek and Gleeman Vox.