Tarn Mison

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Tarn Mison was a Human male from Las Lagon who served as an Imperial pilot and smuggler before defecting to the Rebel Alliance after witnessing the mass execution of colonists on the planet Farbinda III by the Empire. By 3 ABY, Mison was stationed at the Rebellion's headquarters of Echo Base on the ice planet Hoth. After serving as Tycho Celchu's gunner on board Rogue Five at the Battle of Hoth, Mison was among a group of six Rebel pilots who flew X-wing starfighter escort for the GR-75 medium transport Bright Hope through the Imperial naval blockade in Hoth's orbit. Despite Mison's and his group's efforts, the Bright Hope failed to escape destruction during its blockade run.

Biography

The Human male Tarn Mison hailed from the planet Las Lagon,^[1] located in the Inner Rim.^[3] Growing up, Mison learned to fly, and became noted as a talented bush pilot.^[1] At some point, Mison joined the Galactic Empire, serving as an Imperial pilot.^[2]

Eventually, Mison turned to smuggling, plying his trade on the Shipwrights' Trace hyperlane. During the Galactic Civil War, he accepted a job to ferry supplies to Farbinda III, where a group of conscientious objectors had established a colony. Upon arrival, he discovered that an Imperial strike team had landed on Farbinda III, where they had rounded up the local populace who offered no resistance. Mison watched as the Imperials summarily executed the colonists. Horrified, Mison spent several months deliberating on the events before deciding to join the Alliance to Restore the Republic^[1] shortly following the destruction of the first Death Star at the Battle of Yavin in 0 BBY. For a time, Mison served the Rebellion at Massassi Station on the moon of Yavin 4.^[2]

Tarn Mison X-Wing XWM — Mison's X-wing during the evacuation of Hoth

As a lieutenant, Mison earned an assignment to the Alliance High Command headquarters of Echo Base on the ice planet Hoth by 3 ABY,^[2] where he was passing through the facility's main transport hangar as Captain Shawn Valdez issued orders regarding the base's evacuation procedure to his subordinates in the face of imminent Imperial invasion just prior to the Battle of Hoth.^[4] Mison was drafted into the hastily assembled Rogue Group, a collection of pilots and gunners drawn from Rogue Flight, Blue Squadron, and Green Squadron. Rogue Group were assigned to fly T-47 airspeeder to counter the Imperial AT-AT walker assault to give the Alliance forces time to evacuate the planet. Mison was partnered with Tycho Celchu in Rogue Five, serving as the gunner. Mison and Celchu survived the battle.^[1]

During the last stages of the evacuation, Mison,^[2] along with Wedge Antilles, Derek "Hobbie" Klivian, and Wes Janson,^[5] was one of six Rebel pilots who flew T-65 X-wing starfighter escort for the GR-75 medium transport Bright Hope, the final Rebel evacuation transport to depart the besieged Echo Base.^[6]

However, Mison's escort failed to see the Bright Hope through the Imperial blockade waiting in Hoth's orbit. A combined attack by Imperial Star Destroyers and the Mist Hunter, the craft of the bounty hunters Zuckuss and 4-LOM, all but destroyed the Bright Hope before it could reach the safety of hyperspace. Seeing that there was nothing they could do for the Bright Hope and that no rescue attempt could be made for any possible survivors, Mison and the five escorting X-wing pilots escaped into hyperspace themselves.^[6]

Personality and traits

A skilled pilot^[1] and expert marksman,^[2] Tarn Mison's interests generally revolved around credits rather than politics. However, upon witnessing the Imperial atrocity on Farbinda III, Mison's conscience led him to join the Alliance to Restore the Republic to oppose the Empire.^[1] He had brown hair and a beard.^[2]

Behind the scenes

ThatJerkWhoAlwaysRuinsYourPhotos-ESBHD — The fleetingly-visible Michael Pangrazio as he moves across camera from left

"Yes, they got the artist's [sic] together to do a scene that was played out over a Matte painting that I had done of Rebel ships parked in the Ice cave. We were going to be Rebel soldiers…Joe Johnston, Harrison Ellinshaw [sic] and Mike Pangrazio, stood in the foreground and had a few lines…"

―Ralph McQuarrie discusses his and his colleagues' role in The Empire Strikes Back^[src]

Tarn Mison first appeared fleetingly as an unidentified Rebel pilot extra in the film Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, barely visible as he passes in front of the camera for a brief moment during the scene in which Echo Base personnel discuss the Rebels' evacuation procedure pursuant to the Battle of Hoth.^[4] Although uncredited, Industrial Light & Magic matte artist Michael Pangrazio portrayed Mison in the film. In fact, all of the Rebel characters present in the Mison scene were ILM artists, including Ralph McQuarrie, Joe Johnston, and Harrison Ellenshaw.^[7]

The Mison character was first provided a name and a brief backstory on the "Lieutenant Tarn Mison" card as part of the November 1998 Special Edition Limited expansion set of the Star Wars Customizable Card Game.^[2] The SWCCG information retconned Mison as being one of the X-wing pilots who escort the transport Bright Hope off Hoth in the 1996 short story Of Possible Futures: The Tale of Zuckuss and 4-LOM.^[2]^[6] According to a Star Wars CCG fan site, Tarn Mison was named as an anagram of Decipher employee Bill Martinson.^[8]

Mison's backstory was later expanded on in 2012's The Essential Guide to Warfare by Jason Fry and Paul R. Urquhart. No mention was made of Mison's time as an Imperial pilot, instead concentrating on his bush pilot abilities and his reason for joining the Alliance. This article assumes that both accounts are correct, and that his time as a smuggler came after his stint as an Imperial pilot.