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“ | 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. |
“ | Typical Lombax... so noble, so courageous, and so very dead! | „ |
~ Tachyon before fighting Ratchet. |
“ | I took great pleasure in destroying your father, Lombax, pity he sent you to Solana before we could meet. I offer you this one chance: Go home, join your race. Or stay... and suffer. | „ |
~ Tachyon attempt to deceive Ratchet into going home. |
“ | You can't kill me, Lombax... Only I know your true purpose in this galaxy! Only I know your true name! The Cragmite return is inevitable, your kind will never be safe! Do you hear me? NEVER!!! | „ |
~ Tachyon's last words before falling into another dimension. |
Emperor Percival Tachyon is the overarching antagonist of the Ratchet & Clank franchise.
He's the Supreme Leader of the Imperial Army and the temporary and oppressive Emperor of the Polaris Galaxy. He led a genocidal campaign against the Lombaxes on Fastoon out of revenge for exiling his species at the end of the Great War. He is also responsible for the death of Ratchet's parents.
He was voiced by Andy Morris, who has also voiced Cicero in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
Personality[]
Tachyon 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.
Biography[]
Past[]
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 of space 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.
However, General Azimuth believed that 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 traveled to planet Zaurik.
Here, Tachyon formed 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.
Within his conquest to search for the Lombaxes, Tachyon had began expanding throughout the Polaris Galaxy by razing many planets and trapping them under a highly tyrannical regime, even turning the Zordoom Prison in Viceron into a hellish location by torturing, slaving and executing prisoners for laughably petty crimes like making fun of his height with no pardons. Other planets that Tachyon had annexed include Cobalia, the gelatonium supply capital, Kortog, which had the Hall of Knowledge that the Emperor incriminated as contraband and Murkow, where he hosted the Imperial Fight Festival where individuals fight to death for his amusement.
Over the years, Ratchet and his newly acquired robotic partner, Clank, had a series of exciting adventures and saved Solana and Bogon from various evil doers. Meanwhile, Tachyon was able to track him down.
Tools of Destruction[]
On Planet Kerwan, Tachyon assaulted the city of Metropolis 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.
Ratchet and his allies meanwhile managed to acquire the Dimensionator on Jasindu, before the space pirates took it and returned to the Ublik Passage. After defeating the pirates, Qwark arrived to take the Dimensionator to attempt to heroically throw it into a black hole, but instead went to Reepor, where Tachyon took it from him. Armed with the Dimensionator, Tachyon used it to finally brings his long-lost race, the Cragmites, back into the universe.
Now the proclaimed ruler of the Cragmites and with the full army of the Cragmites, Tachyon proceeded to attack Meridian City on the planet Igliak, the capital city of Polaris, in order to fully establish his galactic rule, at the same time spreading the news about the return of the Cragmites. Ratchet and Clank arrived and managed to help repel the invasion, before Tachyon headed to Fastoon, the former homeworld of the Lombaxes.
Ratchet and Clank followed Tachyon to Fastoon, battling his Drophyd and Cragmite armies, until they reach to Tachyon in the Court of Azimuth. There, Tachyon taunted at Ratchet's race for running away. When Ratchet refuted this, Tachyon activated the Dimensionator to the Lombax dimension, where the Lombaxes had retreated to. He then offered Ratchet a chance to join his race or stay and die. Knowing that leaving will make no one in the galaxy safe as long as Tachyon is present, Ratchet refused to rejoin the Lombaxes and battles Tachyon.
As they fought, Tachyon's Dimensionator malfunctioned, sending him and Ratchet and Clank to an asteroid dimension, where they continued the battle. Ratchet and Clank were victorious and defeated Tachyon. Tachyon, in his final words, says that only he knew the truth of Ratchet's purpose, and that the Lombaxes would never be safe, before being banished to another dimension.
Ratchet & Clank (2010)[]
Tachyon reappears at the end of the Dark Horse comic book series when Artemis Zogg is transported into the same dimension Tachyon was trapped in, where they have a brief argument over who rules the fragment of a planet they are on. It is also rumored that while in this dimension, Tachyon came into contact with a species that everyone in the universe had forgotten. What happened to Tachyon afterwards is unknown.
Trivia[]
- Tachyon serves as a dark reflection of Ratchet. Both were the last of their kind, and wanted to bring them back. But Ratchet let go of his desire to bring back the Lombax’s, while Tachyon never let go of his beliefs. Tachyon serves as an example of what Ratchet would have been like if he didn’t move on.
- Despite claiming that only he knows Ratchet's true name in his defeat, he states earlier in the game that the Lombaxes didn't "even have the scruples" to give Ratchet a name, though that is likely a mere taunt.