Percival Tachyon

"Emperor Percival Tachyon! Crown Prince of the Cragmites, conquerer of space and time, and, pending the obliteration of a few insubordinate species, Ruler of the Universe!"

- Emperor Tachyon formally introducing himself to Ratchet

Emperor Percival Tachyon was the main antagonist in Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. Tachyon was the last of the Cragmites in all of the Polaris Galaxy and their crowned prince, a position he likely inherited somewhere from his family heritage, although it is possible it was self-proclaimed, as there were no other Cragmites to object. To show his position of power, Tachyon wore a crown with a large red jewel and carried a sceptre with the Cragmite insignia. He was notably recognized for having a short and unfeared appearance. Tachyon compensated for this by traveling atop a giant walking throne, having undoubtedly strict authority, and a loud and high-pitched voice.

Biography
"Ratchet: The Lombaxes raised you! How could you do this to them?" "Tachyon: Those filthy creatures had the gall to pity me! I spent years building an army large enough to lay waste to this infernal planet!"

- Tachyon and Ratchet about the Lombaxes

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 theirs 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 ragging 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 another dimension, X2-49.

The one thing the Lombaxes had not counted on was Tachyon. During an expedition to the Kreeli Comet, a small frozen cragmite was found. When the frozen cragmite was realeashed, the Lombaxes recognized the tiny creature as a Cragmite. Normally, upon discovering a Cragmite in the galaxy, the Lombaxes would have killed it to keep Polaris safe. However, this Cragmite was small, defenceless, and seemingly feeble. 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. He learned that he was a Cragmite, and discovered that the other Cragmites were sent away to an alternate dimension by the Lombaxes, using a mysterious treasure known as the "Lombax Secret".

Tachyon was fueled with rage, anger, and contempt, hating that his foster family had lied to him and imprisoned his ancestors. These acts of retaliation in the Great War were deemed "horrors" by Tachyon, who set out with a determination to restore his race's empire. Tachyon, however, was oblivious as to the full extent of his kind's evil, which was far greater than his hatred alone.

Empire Rebirth
"The horrors committed by your race during the Great War shall finally be reversed!"

- Tachyon to Ratchet

Tachyon's first goal was to collect Lombax technology to build machines sufficient to wipe out the Lombaxes. He first created a robot army of Space Pirates, and sent them accross Polaris to salvage whatever Lombax technology they could find. He also went before the Lombaxes himself, though they did not recognize him. Tachyon showed them his plans to create advanced robotic devices, and claimed that their purpose was to make a new defence for the galaxy. Tachyon revealed that he needed their technology for him to build his machines. The schematics detailed weapons light years ahead of what the Lombaxes had been making. General Alister Azimuth thought of Tachyon as a brilliant inventor, although his close friend Kaden warned him not to trust the Cragmite.

The Lombaxes grew suspicious of the intelligent creature, and refused to give up their technology. Azimuth, however, 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. His lie was successful, and the Space Pirates had also gathered a sufficient amount of Lombax machinery themselves. With all his stolen resources accumulated, Tachyon banished the Space Pirates to Praxus Seven, no longer needing them, and travelled to the aquatic world of Zaurik. There, he 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. They were given powerfully advanced mechanical suits that turned them into the proper soldiers Tachyon needed. This new Imperial Army would form the back-bone of the soon-to-be completely rebuilt Cragmite Empire. Tachyon then set up his base 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 Tachyon intended to return it to its former glory. His primary goals were to gain revenge on the Lombax race by exterminating them and to bring back the Cragmites so as to eventually conquer the universe.

Taking possession of the vast Imperial Cruisers his species' empire had left behind, Tachyon formed an armada and reforged the Cragmite Empire, with himself as the emperor and crowned prince destined to make the once almighty Cragmite Empire a whole again. To begin this goal, Tachyon and his Drophyd enforcers went to Fastoon in hopes of destroying the Lombaxes once and for all.

Fastoon Battle
"Cowards! All of them!"

- Tachyon to Ratchet about the Lombaxes

The Lombaxes did not have much defense against Tachyon's vast warships and enforcers. Out of defense 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. 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, the Dimensionator's keeper, 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.

Metropolis Attack
"Emperor! See the crown? See the scepter? The giant walking throne and legion of loyal robotic commandos?? EMPEROR!"

- Tachyon to Ratchet and Clank

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 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 apparenetly wanting to keep the citizens of Kerwan safe, pledged allegiance to the Cragmite 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 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 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 so primitive and was amused since the Lombaxes were once such renouned 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 loose 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.

Imperial Fight Festival
"Attention, troopers! I would like to share with you a poem I wrote last night. *Ahem* The Lombax shall die a firey, awful death! Cupcakes are yummy..."

- Tachyon broadcasting on Mukow

During his travels, Ratchet landed on Planet Mukow and competted in the Imperial Fight Festival in disguise thanks to a hint from the undercover Qwark. 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 immediatly 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 and needed them lanced. 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 Ratchet and Clank came to the arena again, Qwark gave them another clue, an infobot which he found in Tachyon's underwear drawer.

The Lombax Secret
"How fitting! The Prince of the Cragmites and the Son of the Lombaxes, on the very ground their ancestors last fought! How do you like my planet, Lombax? It's been dormant for years thanks to your kind!"

- Tachyon to Ratchet on Reepor.

Eventually, finding the clues left by the Lombaxes, Ratchet located the "Lombax Secret", which was revealed to be a device known as the Dimensionator. Unfortunately, it was stolen by the interferring Space Pirates, who had decided to roam freely after being banished by Tachyon. Ratchet defeated their captain, Romulus Slag, and claimed the Dimensionator, but it was once again stolen, this time by Qwark, who had come to realize that he wasn't a true hero and wanted to redeem himself by destroying the device. As Qwark got into an escape pod to try and throw the machine into a black hole, he was automatically sent to the nearest planet, which happened to be Reepor. Tachyon sent in his enforcers to fend off Ratchet, Clank, and their new allies; Talwyn Apogee, Cronk, and Zephyr. Meanwhile, Tachyon went after the Dimensionator. He soon cornered Qwark on a high platform in the former Cragmite capitol. Pinning the pitiful captain under his mechanical throne walker's foot, he claimed the Dimensionator and wore it triumphantly.

Ratchet eventually caught up to them, but found he was too late. Tachyon laughed maniacally in the face of his triumph and thought it was fitting that the Lombaxes' last son and the Cragmites' prince met on the very ground their ancestors last battled. Assuring Qwark he would deal with his deceit later, Tachyon declared that the long awaited rising of the Cragmites would occur at last and pulled the cord to activate the Dimensionator. It did nothing, prompting Tachyon to pull it again. An awkward pause followed, everyone confused at what was wrong. Tachyon furiously pulled again, this time activating the powerful device. He commanded it to find the Cragmites, laughing maniaclly as his brothers were transported back into Polaris one by one. Ratchet and Clank were thrown into the abyss below the platform due to the device's energy, and Tachyon's reassembled forces scouted to find them. The two eventually managed to get back to the surface and regrouped with Talwyn, Cronk and Zephyr.

Ratchet's ship, the Aphelion, told them that Tachyon and his armada were attacking Meridian City on Planet Igliak. They all went to find Tachyon's Cragmite dropships bombing and almost destroying the city. Tachyon made frequent broadcasts to the city, gloating about the Cragmite's return and finally being able to bring down the capitol of free Polaris. Qwark was found to be imprisoned there, and Ratchet and Clank fought through the Cragmites and Drophyds to reach him. He was shown to be having a tearful breakdown in his cell. He stated that Tachyon was "so off his top 8" and continued to show how hysterical he was for not being the hero he thought he was. Clank, with help from his mystical allies, the Zoni, deduced that Tachyon was heading for Fastoon. Ratchet agreed, and all but the cowardly Qwark went to stop Tachyon's plans.

Final Confrontation
"Tachyon: I offer you this one chance: Go home, join your race. Or stay...and suffer." "Ratchet: If I leave you with the Dimensionator, no one will be safe. Not the Lombaxes, not my friends... I'm not going anywhere, until it's destroyed." "Tachyon: Typical Lombax... So noble, so courageous, and so very DEAD!"

- Tachyon and Ratchet before their final fight

Tachyon's final plan was to lead the Cragmite Empire into the dimension the Lombaxes retreated into so long ago to end the race rivallry once and for all. Ratchet and his friends fought through Tachyon's forces until the emperor flew to them inside a cruiser. Over a loud speaker, Tachyon expressed his desire to destroy Fastoon and mocked the Lombaxes for being so cowardous. Ratchet asked what he did to them, and Tachyon told him to go to the Court of Azimuth for answers. Before flying off, Tachyon accidentally crashed his cruiser into a building and cliff, almost swearing with frustration. Ratchet and company eventually entered the court, where Tachyon spoke from a ledge high above the room in his throne, remaining hidden while watching the group. Telling of his victory over his rivals long ago, he opened a portal that showed the dimension the Lombaxes were in, confirming that they had retreated, which Ratchet refused to believe at first. Tachyon gave Ratchet an ultimatum: either go home to his race, or stay and be destroyed.

Pondering either meeting his family or fighting with his friends, Ratchet chose to stay, as he knew that if he left, his friends would not be able to defeat Tachyon and defend Polaris from the Cragmites. Tachyon closed the portal and declared Ratchet to be dead. After a brief fight, during which Tachyon utilized the weaponry of his walking throne and prepared to use the Dimensionator's weapons, a malfunction caused Tachyon's throne to freeze. He hollered out in despair and banged the "infernal machine" to work, suggesting malfunctions with it were common for Tachyon. The Dimensionator accidentally activated and sucked the screaming Tachyon into an alternate dimension. Ratchet jokingly pointed out that Clank was correct about the danger of wormhole devices, prompting Clank to give him a serious and upset glare. While Ratchet tried to assure Clank that Tachyon was dead, the arm of Tachyon's mechanical throne reached out of the hole and grabbed Ratchet by the foot, pulling the two into the closing asteroid dimension with him.

The three were transported into an asteroid dimension, with the large asteroid they were standing on slowly breaking apart. Tachyon stood his throne upright, enraged at how Ratchet had ruined his plans and determined to kill him. The fearful Ratchet prepared to finish the fight with the Cragmite emperor. During the second phase of the battle, Tachyon utilized the full power of his mechanical throne as well as his Cragmite teleportation powers to serve as a greater opponent for Ratchet. After a long final confrontation, Ratchet at last defeated Tachyon, knocking over his deactivated throne and removing the Dimensionator from his head. The angered Tachyon got up one last time and declared that Ratchet could not kill him, as he was the only one in all of Polaris who knew about Ratchet's true purpose and even his actual name. Declaring the inevitability of the Cragmite Empire's return and that Lombaxes would never find true sanctuary, he was thrown off of the asteroid as it began to completely break apart.

Tachyon yelled to Ratchet as he drifted away and was sucked into what was presumably a black hole. He most likely survived due to teleportation powers and is likely either trapped in an alternate dimension or dead. Qwark later mentioned in an interview that the rest of the Cragmites had also been banished, presumably back to their homeworld. Ratchet had ended the reign of Percival Tachyon and the Cragmite Empire and brought a brief period of peace to Polaris. Ratchet was unsure if Tachyon was telling the truth about his father and purpose. Clank said he detected no lie in Tachyon's voice, but that by defeating Tachyon, which the Lombaxes were unable to do themselves, Ratchet had already fulfilled his own destiny, cheering up his friend. The Zoni then took Clank so he could fulfill his own destiny, and Ratchet and his allies went on a journey to find him. During his travels, Ratchet met the only other Lombax in the universe, Alister Azimuth, who revealed that he was forbidden from joining his race in their escape due to inadvertently helping Tachyon rebuild his empire.

Lamenting his loss and ashamed that he was in exile, Azimuth revealed that he planned to gain control of the Great Clock so he could change history and stop Tachyon. However, this desire clouded his judgement. The Great Clock was not meant to be a time machine, so his attempts were halted by Ratchet and Clank.

Behind the scenes

 * Andy Morris provided the voice of Tachyon.
 * As depicted in Concept Art imaging for Tachyon, he was originally going to have a small pet of an unknown species.

Trivia

 * Despite his possible destruction, Tachyon may be correct that the other Cragmites could return, as they were merely banished according to Qwark, possibly back to Reepor. Even without their crowned prince, the Cragmites would still be powerful enough to seek revenge.
 * According to Aphelion, Tachyon was unaware of the full extent of the Cragmite's evil. However, the other Cragmites followed Tachyon without hesitation, suggesting that he was their leader by birth right.
 * Tachyon was one of the only two of Ratchet's foes to work alongside Captain Qwark, the other being Chairman Drek who, coincidentally, also matched Tachyon's category in relatively small physical stature, as well as his sadistic nature.
 * A Hoolefoid speculated on Ratchet's fight with Emperor Tachyon, saying, "The way I heard it, he defeated Tachyon with both hands tied behind his back, a strained pectoral muscle, and a stubbed toe."
 * Tachyon was one of few characters to at least come close to swearing.
 * How Tachyon was pitied and raised by the Lombaxes, is very similar to what happened in the events of Super Metroid, when the last metroid was pitied by Samus and was raised by scientists. Then after a few years, it became a pontential threat.
 * Tachyon gets his name from 'tachyons', which are particle that travel faster than light.
 * Tachyon claimed that Ratchet was the last Lombax in the universe, which was untrue as Alister Azimuth had survived his genocide and not escaped to another dimension (others may have done the same, like Angela Cross, but they were presumably hunted down and killed by Tachyon, like Kaden), it is likely that Tachyon didn't know of Azimuth's exile and as such presumed he too had either been killed or joined his race in the Lombax dimension.

Appearances

 * Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
 * Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty (mentioned only)
 * Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (flashback only)

Youtube Videos

 * Tachyon's first appearance.
 * Tachyon's Boss Battle.
 * Tachyon's appearance in Azimuth's flashback.