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"Hey, yousa! Stopa dare!"
―Roos Tarpals[4]

Roos Tarpals was a male Gungan who served as captain in the Gungan society of Otoh Gunga and one of the leaders in the Gungan Grand Army. In 32 BBY, he led an army of Gungans to pin down Trade Federation forces during the Battle of Naboo. During the Clone Wars, he was promoted to a general in the Gungan Grand Army, served during the Battle of Mon Cala, and ultimately gave his life to defend Naboo against Separatist forces led by General Grievous.

Biography[]

Early career[]

"Mesa Captain Tarpals now, Jar Jar Binks. Un know what dey callen yous down at da station? Dey callen yous' Da death of Captain Tarpals."
―Roos Tarpals to Jar Jar Binks[7]

Roos Tarpals[6] was an Otolla Gungan male[1] born to a military family[5] on the planet Naboo.[1] At one point Tarpals was a leader and father figure to a band of young thieves. He eventually encountered the vagrant shudderup musician Jar Jar Binks and recruited him into the gang, where Tarpals would use Binks as a distraction while his gang ran scams. Unlike the other thieves and Gungans in Otoh Gunga, Tarpals treated Binks as a valued team member.[6]

Captain Tarpals

Captain Tarpals in Otoh Gunga.

Their friendship was strained when[6] Tarpals became a member of the Gungan Grand Army, like all male members of his family.[5] Tarpals' gang scattered, leaving Binks to fend for himself.[6] During peacetime, Tarpals served as leader of the security forces of the Gungan underwater capital city Otoh Gunga, which required him to conduct patrols on top of his kaadu.[5] His role involved protecting the city from the giant underwater predators that shared its waters, and as such Tarpals name was frequently mentioned in reports gathered by Galactic Republic xenosociologists. Tarpals saw many threats against the Gungans pass, although none would test his mettle as much as Binks.[8]

In 33 BBY,[source?] Tarpals achieved the rank of captain, becoming the first of his family to do so and therefore a hero to his clan.[5] Tarpals later gave a recommendation for Binks to help him secure work[6] at the Otoh Gunga Zoological Research Facility, although he refused to associate with the klutzy Gungan in that time. Binks' employment ended disastrously when he released numerous creatures accidentally. While Binks was being sentenced to hard labor by Nass, Tarpals was using the Grande Army Transport Bongo to help search for the missing animals. Nass personally escorted Binks to the quarry along with Commander Wollod, but their journey was interupted when a wave swept their Tribubble bongo off course, leading to a distress signal being sent. Tarpals received the signal and eventually caught up with Binks at Lake Umberbool, where he placed him under arrest. Binks had been separated from the bongo but arrived with the Great Hohokum, one of the creatures he had earlier released from the zoo.[9]

Tarpals cuffed Binks in a new set of binders and posted four electropole wielding guards around him. They waited inside a chamber near the infirmary set up for the imminent Festival of Warriors. Binks repeatedly tried to explain that he had actually saved Nass and Wollod and recovered some of the animals he had lost, which Tarpals disbelieved. Binks grew despondent at the thought of Tarpals not trusting him, but remembered at least two people who could verify his story, a bubble engineer and Rep Teers. Tarpals countered that it would be difficult to identify which engineer had witnessed the events and that they were all busy, and that Teers was still unconcious. Binks insisted that the return of many of the creatures, such as the Dwarf opee sea killers Vink and Nink, a dianoga, and the Great Hohokum, was proof of his actions. Tarpals sighed as he had seen Binks with the Great Hohokum, but rationalized that Binks could have been trying to sell the creature.[9]

Binks then remembered another witness who had been on Teers' heyblibber, Major Fassa, but before Tarpals could respond a medic entered the chamber, asking Tarpals if he was Binks. One of the guards laughed and restrained himself after an angry glare from Tarpals. The captain identified himself, and the medic revealed that Nass had recovered from his injuries and was asking to see Binks to thank him for his bravery. Binks immediately got up and asked Tarpals to remove his bindings. The captain followed Binks and the medic to the infirmary, where Nass thanked the Gungan and agreed to several requested favors, such as revoking his hard labor sentence and allowing Binks to attend the Festival of Warriors. Later, Major Fassa entered the infirmary to pledge a life debt to Binks, and Tarpals rolled his eyes in disbelief when Binks revealed that he had assumed her to be a male.[9]

After Binks caused multiple accidents across different occupations, he was sent to join the military in the hopes that a high level of discipline under Tarpals' command would straighten him out. However, Binks continued to unintentionally cause accidents wherever he went until he was eventually drummed out of the army.[10] On multiple occasions, Tarpals captured Binks for unintentional violations of Gungan law, but would often come to his aid.[1] As a result of these headaches, Binks gained the nickname of "the death of Captain Tarpals" from the other security force members.[7]

Exiling Jar Jar Binks[]

"Jar Jar… Mesa sorry, boot… Mesa no can let yous be da death of my."
―Captain Tarpals to Jar Jar Binks after exiling him from Otoh Gunga[7]
Tarpals intervention

Captain Roos Tarpals (center) intervening on an altercation between Jar Jar Binks (left) and Brass Marshoo (right)

Not long after Tarpals' promotion to captain,[1] Binks accidentally destroyed a party hosted by Boss Nass along with the boss's personal luxury heyblibber. As a result, Nass[10] and the Gungan High Council voted to implement the Nocombackie Law against Binks, banishing him from Gungan society. Tarpals was selected to arrest Binks and enforce the sentence. Travelling atop his kaadu, Tarpals came across Binks in General Marshoo's Eatery, where Binks was being accosted by chef Brass Marshoo for stealing food. Tarpals ordered Marshoo to release Binks, who was relieved to see his friend, while Marshoo told him to back off. The captain announced that he was there to arrest Binks and threatened to do the same to Marshoo, offending him as a former general in the Gungan Grand Army. After Binks asked the "cooky"—a slur in Marshoo's eyes— to do as Tarpals said, Marshoo threw Binks down to the ground, leading Tarpals to pin the chef down and threaten to press charges if he continued to interfere with the arrest. Tarpals then placed Binks in handcuffs and led him away from the restuarant.[7]

As they walked away, Binks thanked Tarpals for his help in getting Binks out of the conflict, not realizing that his arrest was genuine. Tarpals reminded Binks of his recent promotion and chastised him for stealing food from Marshoo, Binks agreed it was silly as the food was overrated. Binks asked where they were going and Tarpals informed him that their destination was Sub Pen Nine. This relieved Binks, who anticipated much greater consequences for his numerous accidents. He asked Tarpals if he could do something to make up for his mistakes to Boss Rugor Nass, which prompted Tarpals to start revealing the Council's decision to Binks. However, he was interupted by a vengeful Marshoo and his associates, who knocked Tarpals out in order to get to Binks. While trying to rouse Tarpals, Binks was able to overcome his attackers with help from the captain's kaadu.[7]

Binks roused Tarpals by covering his face with water, and the captain was surprised to learn that Binks had won the brawl. Tarpals tied up the assailants while Binks asked if he could mention his actions to Nass in an attempt to regain favor. Tarpals did not respond and led Binks to a tribubble bongo with which they travelled to the surface of Lake Paonga and parked on the shores of the Lianorm Swamp. Tarpals finally undid Binks' cuffs, and Binks asked if Tarpals was sincere about the nocombackie law. Tarpals apologized and said that he could not let Binks become the death of him as he returned to the bongo and left Binks on the surface.[7]

Invasion of Naboo[]

"Ouch time."
―Captain Tarpals during the Battle of Naboo[4]
Jarjarandkaadu

Tarpals (left) commanded the Gungan Grand Army during the Battle of Naboo alongside Jar Jar Binks.

Tarpals did not see Jar Jar Binks again until 32 BBY, during the Naboo Crisis, when the latter broke his sentence of exile by returning to Otoh Gunga. He halted Jar Jar, and then reprimanded his former friend by pointing out that he made a "big doo-doo" this time by not only illegally returning to Otoh Gunga, but also bringing outsiders (Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn) into the city, and likewise had all three arrested and brought before Boss Nass.

In a strange turn of events, Tarpals served under General Binks in the Battle of Grassy Plains. In the battle, the captain fought bravely against the droid forces of the Trade Federation, destroying many Battle droids, though he was captured when he attempted to rescue Binks. As the battle droids surrounded Tarpals and Binks, Anakin Skywalker destroyed the Droid Control Ship. The droids were deactivated and Tarpals and Binks were saved.

Clone Wars[]

"How does it feel to die?"
"Not die…sacrifice… Jar Jar now!"
―Grievous and Roos Tarpals, as Tarpals sacrifices himself for a chance to capture the general[11]

During the Clone Wars, Tarpals had been promoted to General, and was present when Jedi Master Yoda requested help from the Gungan Grand Army to aid in the situation on Dac during an engagement with the Separatists there.

After helping the citizens of Dac, Tarpals was present in the High Tower Boardroom where Boss Lyonie ordered his people to turn against the Naboo and serve the Confederacy of Independent Systems. In reality, Lyonie was under the influence of a necklace that had been bewitched by his advisor, Rish Loo, a practitioner of dark Gungan magic and secret ally of Count Dooku. Rish Loo's treachery was ultimately exposed when Anakin Skywalker and Senator Amidala, former queen of Naboo, came to Otoh Gunga to negotiate with Lyonie. Rish Loo managed to escape but not before severely injuring Lyonie and leaving him incapacitated. Due to his strong physical resemblance to Lyonie, Jar Jar Binks posed as the Gungan leader in order to bring an end to the uprising against the Naboo. However, Separatist forces had already begun to land on the planet's surface and awaited Gungan support.

TarpalsSacrifice-SW

Tarpals sacrifices his life to incapacitate General Grievous.

Tarpals accompanied Jar Jar, who continued to pose as Lyonie, to his meeting with the leader of the Separatist invasion force: General Grievous. Knowing Grievous' high standing in the war, Jar Jar signaled Tarpals to contact Amidala immediately. Together, Tarpals and the former Senator hatched a plan to deactivate the Separatist battle droids and capture Grievous alive. While Jar Jar stalled Grievous, Tarpals and his militiagungs successfully shut down the battle droids and prepared to ambush the Separatist general. Grievous, however, caught wind of the Gungans' plan and confronted Tarpals and his troops. Tarpals fought head-to-head against the cyborg general, but Grievous proved too fast for the aged Gungan and mortally wounded him. In one last heroic act, Tarpals impaled Grievous' armor with his spear. Jar Jar and the militiagungs quickly subdued Grievous with a barrage of boomas and successfully captured him, thanks to Tarpals' heroic sacrifice. His friends then turned to aid him, but he had passed while they had dealt with the cyborg general. Amidala, Jar Jar, and his fellow Gungans mourned the loss of their friend.

Even though he died to capture the General, his sacrifice was tarnished when the Republic had to make a prisoner swap with the Separatists: Anakin for Grievous. He was avenged by Obi Wan Kenobi when he finally killed Grievous on Utapau.

Personality and traits[]

While serving on Otoh Gunga's security forces, Tarpals used his wisdom and patience to help keep the peace. Tarpals' status as a captain led to him being held in high regard within his clan, although he would downplay any worship with modesty through the belief that he was a simple Gungan providing service to his people.[5] Tarpals became friends with Binks in spite of their differing personalities.[1] He took him under his wing as a criminal,[12] and as a captain often tried to help Binks out of his numerous legal jams,[1] although he had little patience for Binks' exploits.[13] It saddened Tarpals to exile his friend,[1] although he had grown weary of Binks' antics[14] and rationalized that Binks could not become the death of him as others believed he would be.[7]

He questioned Binks' military abilities during the Battle of Naboo[12] Tarpals was vigilant in his patrols and respected by his people.[15] Tarpals had white and gray skin, yellow eyes, and spoke with a gravelly voice. He stood at 2.24 meters tall[1] and weighed 82 kilograms.[3] As an older Gungan, Tarpals had hairlike finlets and long whiskers that indicated his maturity.[14]

Behind the scenes[]

Tarpals first appeared in Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace as a computer-generated character voiced by Steven Speirs. In Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, Tarpals was voiced by Rob Paulsen. In Star Wars: The Clone Wars he was voiced by Fred Tatasciore.

Appearances[]

GeneralTarpals-SWE

Tarpals on his Kaadu.

Non-canon appearances[]

Sources[]

Notes and references[]

External links[]

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