Pretty sure Luke blew him up. If you're suggesting Tarkin deliberately orchestrated the whole chain of events with that as his desired outcome, that really doesn't make sense. The moves that played into the Rebels' hands – the half-assed pursuit of the Falcon to lead them to the Rebel base, and not mounting the most effective starfighter defense – are both explained by his overwhelming arrogance.
shareI think he loved his job. Being the boss of a moon sized battleship with capability to destroy an entire planet has to be pretty cool to a career military man. He was probably getting the big money too. He never would have thought that the Emperor’s lapdog had a farm boy son who would destroy it.
shareHe wanted to take everyone down with him.
shareSuicdie by X-Wing.
shareMilitary man. He remained at his post.
shareI wonder if that guy who informed Tarkin that his people had analyzed the Death Star plans, and "...there is a danger..." did.
Did he stay at his post and die with Tarkin, or did he find an escape capsule and make a run for the nearest planet? If so, was he able to get far enough from the Death Star to live? Did he become a Rebel prisoner, go back to being an Imperial officer, or start a new life in the Outer Rim?
Yeah, I'm guessing after the "our moment of triumph," stuff, that dude hit an escape pod so fast that Holdo* could have used him to shred 1/3 of a fleet.
*And only Holdo; it wouldn't work for anybody else for... some reason...
He backed into that escape pod like that giph oh Homer Simpson backing into the bush.
shareHe often dreamed of painting desert landscapes while learning the cultural values of the Sand People on Tattooine (s.p.). Sadly, life in the Empire wouldn't allow it. So, yes. Everything that happened was designed to end his life without feeling guilty about directly committing suicide.
shareThat moved me. Which is great because I ate a lot of cheese yesterday and was worried about getting backed up.
shareHe loved his death star. He couldn't live without it, so he would not abandon it.
share