- “I serve the Empire until the end.”
- ―Governor Pryce's last words[src]
Arihnda Pryce was a female government official who served as the Planetary Governor of the planet of Lothal. She held a heavy military presence on the planet, particularly in Capital City, and constructed many factories and mines to support the might of the Galactic Empire. During the Liberation of Lothal, Pryce perished in the explosion of the Imperial Dome over Lothal, preferring to stay loyal to the Empire whereas to become a prisoner of the Rebellion.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Arihnda Pryce was born to Talmoor and Elainye Pryce, owners and operators of Pryce Mining on Lothal, and worked for the family business in the logistics department. While she had enjoyed her home planet as a child, as she became an adult the planet became dull and backward in her eyes, due in part to supposed attempts by Governor Ryder Azadi's office to acquire controlling interest in her family's company. Matters eventually came to a head when, after Arik Uris attempted to convince her to sell to Azadi's office, her mother was arrested on charges of embezzlement. Arihnda gathered evidence to support her mother's innocence-implicating a likely innocent employee of the company in the process-and presented it to Senator Domus Renking. The two soon brokered a deal in which the Pryces surrendered control of their company in exchange for new offworld positions: Arihnda to Coruscant and her parents to a mining facility on Batonn.
Pryce initially started helping with Lothal natives working on Coruscant, before Renking had her transferred to a new office to oversee workers from multiple worlds. While Pryce recognized it as a move to make use of her abilities while also disassociating her from him in the event her abrasive methods grew unpopular, she was pleased to be making her way up in the world, with her initial goal being to eventually reclaim Pryce Mining.
At some point Pryce was elected (or more likely appointed) as governor of Lothal to replace Azadi, who was imprisoned for treason because he supported the anti-Imperial broadcasts of Ephraim Bridger and his wife. Pryce had Maketh Tua govern during her absence on Lothal, her dislike of the planet having grown into contempt. At one point during Tua's governing, Senator Bail Organa loaned her two of his droids, C-3PO and R2-D2 to oversee an Imperial arms deal. However, the droids were secretly sent to prevent the weapons shipment from falling into Imperial hands, at which they succeeded with the help of a band of rebels. Tua would later stand in for Pryce during the Empire Day festivities on Lothal, as Pryce was apparently invited to personally attend celebrations on Coruscant with Emperor Palpatine.
Eventually, Tua would go against the Empire and seek the help of the Rebellion in trying to escape Lothal. Kallus would find out and when the band of rebels arrived, Darth Vader would place explosives in their ship and once Tua got into the ship Vader would detonate the explosives killing Tua. This made the rebels look guilty of her murder.
Fighting the Rebels[]
After repeated successes by the rebels against the Empire, Pryce was summoned by Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin who asked just how she intended to solve this persistent problem. Pryce responded that she needed "someone who saw a bigger picture", who turned out to be none other than the feared Grand Admiral Thrawn. She later joined Agent Kallus and Admiral Kassius Konstantine-the latter of whom she regarded as a politician more than a tactician-as they traveled to Reklam Station to investigate rebel theft of several Y-Wing Starfighters. Pryce contacted Thrawn, who upon learning the full strength of the rebel force ordered the group to break off their attack and let the rebels escape. Pryce explained to a confused Konstantine that Thrawn had bigger plans than the destruction of a handful of rebels.
Skystrike Academy Assault[]
Following that incident, Pryce and Kallus then traveled to Skystrike Academy. There they met with Commandant Argin Relik and told him that several of his cadets were planning to defect to the Rebellion. When Relik protested that his cadets were thoroughly well-trained and loyal, Pryce warned him to cooperate with their investigation and told Kallus that she had something to teach him.
Under Pryce's direction, Kallus proceeded to ground the cadets and question them. His investigation yielded no results but Pryce was still unsatisfied and decided that it was time to take a more direct approach. When Relik reiterated his unhappiness with the investigation, Pryce then suggested that they could reach a mutual agreement by getting the cadets into space though a mock simulated exercise. Pryce planned to use this exercise to lure the dissident cadets out of hiding. As expected, the undercover rebel agent Sabine Wren and the cadets Wedge Antilles, Derek Klivian and Rake Gahree made an attempt to escape.
Sabine contacted her fellow rebels and aboard a Alderaan Cruiser attempted to rendezvous with them. Pryce ordered Sabine and her wingmates to return but Sabine taunted her. In response, Pryce activated a button which disabled the TIE Fighters' solar collectors; leaving them floating in space. Under her orders, Captain Vult Skerris destroyed Rake's fighter as a warning to the "traitors." Skerris and his TIE Interceptors inflicted damage on the rebel cruiser and drove them away.
After capturing the rebellious cadets, Pryce confronted the three youths. She was about to torture Wedge with an electronic torture device when Sabine identified herself as the rebel agent. While Kallus took the other prisoners to a holding cell, Pryce proceeded to question Sabine. When Sabine refused to talk, Pryce brought up a glyph of her file and "welcomed" the former cadet back to the Imperial Academy. Before she could place Sabine in the torture device, the rebel agent broke free of her Stormtrooper captors and fought with Pryce. Following a struggle, Pryce was accidentally knocked out by the stinger from the torture device. Sabine, Wedge, and Hobbie then took the opportunity to escape with the help of Kallus, who had grown sympathetic to the Ghost Crew following his encounter with Garazeb Orrelios.
Continuing the Assault[]
While traveling aboard an Star Destroyer, Pryce was praised by Kallus for her plan to lure the Ghost Crew into a trap at a fuel depot. However, Pryce responded that her plan was only a success if they could catch the rebels. Konstantine then reported that they had received an encrypted distress signal from the planet Agamar. While thinking that it was strange for the rebels to encounter trouble, Pryce nonetheless ordered the nearest Imperial outpost to send troops to Agamar immediately.
Lothal Saboteurs []
The former Governor Ryder Azadi's rebel cell undertook a campaign of sabotaging military vehicles produced by the Imperial Armory Complex. This led to a high rate of accidents among Imperial Military personnel. In response Imperial High Command dispatched Grand Admiral Thrawn to investigate the Lothal Imperial factory. Governor Pryce along with Agent Kallus and Lieutenant Yogar Lyste were present when Thrawn gave a speech berating the workers for their poor craftsmanship. Pryce smirked after a test demonstration with a sabotaged 614-AvA speeder bike claimed the life of factory worker and undercover rebel operative Morad Sumar.
She and her subordinates then complied with Thrawn's orders to lock down the factory and detain the factory workers for questioning. Despite their best efforts, the undercover rebels Ezra Bridger, Kanan Jarrus, and their astromech droid Chopper escaped the lockdown and infiltrated the factory's Section A2, which held Thrawn's top secret new weapon . Later, Pryce discussed her fears about the rebels infiltrating Section A2 and stealing its secrets. Thrawn responded that he had ordered for anyone entering the area without his personal code to be terminated on sight. When the Admiral chided Pryce for hiring locals, she responded that she had to fulfill certain Imperial quotas.
Pryce responded that Thrawn had a new starfighter initiative. After Kallus questioned the effectiveness of a single fighter in improving Imperial fortunes, Thrawn responded that victory and defeat were determined by he smallest details. Pryce was present when Thrawn ordered another factory worker to demonstrate an AT-DP walker.
Pryce and Kallus later visited Thrawn's Office to discuss the recent rebel incursion. When Thrawn voiced his suspicions that the Empire had a traitor among their ranks, an alarmed Pryce advocated interrogating all Imperial personnel on Lothal. However, Thrawn counseled Pryce that emotion would not work and announced that he would uncover the traitor and co-opt them.
Hunting for Rebels[]
Pryce would be present aboard the Chimaera as Thrawn held interviews with various officers in his search for the Rebel agent Fulcrum. Kallus, who was in fact Fulcrum, decided to use Thrawn's search to his advantage, and led Yogar Lyste to suspect that Pryce herself was the traitor they were seeking. Pryce later joined Thrawn and Colonel Wullf Yularen in going to interrogate the recently captured Ezra Bridger, only to find that he had escaped. Pryce was eventually dispatched to the Chimaera hangar bay to meet Shuttle TY992, which was carrying the disguised Kanan Jarrus and Clone Captain Rex. She attempted to arrest the pair, but after stunning Kanan and attempting to subdue Rex, she was stunned by Lyste, who was subsequently framed as being Fulcrum.
Pryce was later present at a briefing when Thrawn reported a rebel ship attempting to escape their forces. After learning that Mon Mothma was suspected to be aboard, Pryce volunteered to take charge of the mission, which also saw the deployment of the TIE Defender prototype. With two Star Destroyers, Pryce met the Ghost after it exited the Archeon Nebula, and attempted to capture the vessel with Mothma aboard. However, Mothma's stalling tactics allowed time for the remaining fighters of Gold Squadron to make their way out of the Nebula, which they then ignited using their Proton torpedoes in order to disable the Star Destroyers, leaving Pryce unable to prevent the rebels from escaping.
Battle of Atollon[]
Governor Pryce and Admiral Konstantine attended an urgent meeting with Grand Admiral Thrawn and Grand Moff Tarkin to discuss new information that the Phoenix Squadron and General Jan Dodonna's Massassi group were planning to attack the TIE Defender factories on Lothal. During the meeting, Pryce opined that a coordinate rebel attack was unprecedented. This meeting was a ruse by Thrawn to lure the rebel spy Agent Kallus out of hiding and discover the location of the hidden Chopper Base. Governor Pryce later accompanied Thrawn and the captive Kallus aboard the Star Destroyer Chimaera during the Battle of Atollon.
Thrawn blockaded the Atollon system and managed to trap the two rebel forces. The Empire inflicted heavy casualties on the rebels, destroying numerous starships and starfighters. However, Admiral Konstantine's interdictor cruiser was destroyed when he disobeyed Thrawn's orders and tried to intercept Commander Jun Sato's command ship Phoenix Home. This allowed the rebels Ezra Bridger and Chopper to flee into hyperspace aboard the Nightbrother and seek help.
After the rebel ships retreated back to Chopper Base, Governor Pryce watched as the Imperial fleet bombarded the base. However, Chopper Base was protected by a deflector shield generator. While Thrawn led the ground assault, Governor Pryce commanded the Imperial fleet. When Ezra returned with Mandalorian reinforcements led by Sabine Wren and Fenn Rau, Pryce recognized Sabine's forces and ordered the TIE fighters and capital ships to intercept them. A Mandalorian strike team then attacked the second interdictor cruiser.
In response, Governor Pryce dispatched several Jumptroopers to protect the interdictor cruiser. However, the rebels managed to blow up the ship's gravity well projectors, destroying the interdictor. When the captive Kallus taunted her about displeasing Thrawn, Pryce ordered her stormtroopers to fling him out the airlock. However, Kallus managed to escape aboard an escape pod and flee into hyperspace with the retreating rebels. Pryce was visibly displeased with the rebels' escape.
TIE Defender Elite[]
Pryce along with Thrawn arrived at the Lothal Imperial airfield to inspect the process of the improved version of the TIE Defender. They were greeted by Skerris who offered to show them a test flight. Following that the rebel Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger was spotted and attacked by the TIE Pilots, Pryce ordered his arrest while Thrawn had his Death troopers secure the prototype.
When the Elite flew off, having been hijacked by Sabine and Ezra, Pryce offered to activate it's kill switch. Thrawn refused, stating that this would be a good way to test its combat capabilities. After the "test" was over, he allowed Pryce to activate the kill switch. As soon as the Elite crashed, Pryce immediately went to the crash site to find the rebels, though they did not find them.
Hunting Rebels[]
Pryce worked with the assassin Rukh to find where the rebels were hiding. When Rukh placed a transmitter that found the rebel camp, he asked to go alone, but Pryce refused his request, stating that he had failed to capture them once. Instead, she opted to send several tanks. When the tanks failed and the rebels retreated further into the mountains, Pryce refused Rukh's request to go after them, opting to bombard the mountains instead. This tactic also failed, as the rebels managed to escape with the help of the Loth-wolves.
Defense of Lothal[]
Knowing of an impeding attack on Lothal's fuel depots and factory where the Elites were being manufactured, Thrawn tasked Pryce with the defense of the factory, which were defended by several anti-air turrets The Lothal rebel cell sabotaged the towers housing them, destroying them with explosives and leaving the factory vulnerable to attack. Pryce informed Thrawn of this, who assured her that no rebels would be able to reach the factory.
With the rebel strike force decimated, Thrawn informed Pryce that several rebel pilots may have survived their crash-landing. Rukh captured the pilot Secon Daree, and she congratulates him for his efforts. Upon being informed that Hera Syndulla crash-landed in the city and was missing, Pryce ordered a lockdown and her capture by any means necessary, even if they had to destroy each and every building. Syndulla was eventually captured with Rukh's help, and Pryce disdainfully commented Syndulla over her "small victory" before stunning her.
The price of victory[]
Pryce had the captured Hera Syndulla strapped to an interrogation chair in her office, where she sadistically tortured the rebel general with electrical charges for her own pleasure. When Grand Admiral Thrawn entered and asked if Syndulla had confessed to anything, Pryce remarked that she hadn't asked any questions yet. Thrawn then tried a different technique by demonstrating his knowledge of Syndulla's family Kalikori, an artifact of priceless sentimental value to her, but Hera remained defiant so Thrawn left Pryce to complete the interrogation. Smiling nastily, Pryce told her that she didn't like art much and proceeded to torture her once more. Syndulla still refused to divulge any information about the rebel fleet, so Pryce had a mind probe inject her with a truth serum. After a moment, Syndulla stated "Kanan is here" but when Pryce turned to look out the window where the Twi'lek had been looking she saw nothing. Deeming her delirious, Pryce left the office when Rukh asked to have a word with her, during which time Kanan Jarrus cut his way into the office and rescued Hera. Rukh set off in pursuit whilst Pryce ordered Death Troopers to lock down the facility and scramble the gunships, with orders to blast the fugitives on sight.
Rukh failed to prevent them from escaping, but informed Pryce that they were heading for the fuel depot. Pryce, in full combat armor, led a contingent of AT-AT walkers to the depot where she saw Kanan and Hera about to board a stolen gunship. Determined to stop them, Pryce ordered the pilots to fire on the central fuel pod; when the pilot protested due to the valuable fuel, Pryce overrode him by stating that she had given him a direct order. The walker then fired on the fuel pod, causing a chain reaction which destroyed the entire depot and killed Jarrus as he saved his friends.
In the aftermath of the depot's destruction, Pryce stood amongst the smoldering ruins and demanded a status report from an assistant, who informed her that whilst the gunship had escaped, the Jedi Kanan Jarrus had perished in the explosion. Elated at this, Pryce dismissed her aide's concerns about the depot's loss, which had taken out their entire fuel surplus and thus brought production of the TIE Defenders to a screeching halt. After ascertaining that only she and the officer knew about it, she ordered that a grand parade be thrown to celebrate the victory over the rebels.
Unfortunately for her, Pryce's obfuscation did not fool Grand Admiral Thrawn. Speaking with her from Coruscant, Thrawn demanded to know why she was throwing a parade despite having lost Hera Syndulla. Pryce defended herself by presenting him with something she deemed even better than Hera: Kanan's lightsaber. While this proved the Jedi's death, Thrawn proceeded to lambaste the governor for having the gall to think that throwing a parade would cover up the fact that she had destroyed the Empire's entire fuel supply on Lothal. In defeating Kanan Jarrus, Pryce had also accomplished what the rebels had failed to do and thus compromised the Empire's Industrial Operations. Though Pryce attempted to plead her case, Thrawn coldly cut her off and menacingly informed her that he would deal with her when he returned. Thrawn then ordered Rukh to eliminate the rebels once they exposed themselves and the Noghri left the office, throwing a nasty smile at Pryce as he did so.
Into the rebels' den[]
Fearing that she would be executed, Pryce threw all her energy into hunting and capturing the rebels before Thrawn's return in order to redeem herself to the Chiss, even to the point where she threatened a lower ranking officer with death. Just as the terrified officer left her office, another one burst in, informing her that someone was contacting her on a pre-Imperial frequency. Pryce allowed the transmission to go through, and found herself face-to-face with her old enemy, Ryder Azadi. Exchanging several sharp words, Azadi revealed to her that he was willing to betray his rebel comrades, believing that they were fighting a lost cause. Pryce was surprised by this revelation, admitting that she had never thought of him to be cowardly. Knowing that she would be able to redeem herself with such news, she told him to give the coordinates of the rebel encampment before closing the transmission.
Pryce personally led a squadron of Imperial patrol transports to attack the rebel encampment, giving special orders that Ezra be taken alive. Following a fierce battle, Pryce ordered the Imperial forces to storm the rebels' stolen ore crawler. After the rebels put up an unexpectedly stiff resistance, she ordered its destruction. The crawler's destruction allowed for the swift capture of the remaining rebels including Bridger. Pryce then disembarked from her transport to gloat over her victory, thanking Ryder for his help. However, Ryder's apparent betrayal had in fact been a ruse to lure her from the safety of Capital City and capture her.
The rebels sprang their trap. The rebel freighter Ghost arrived and blew up her transport, sending the governor and Rukh running for cover. The rebels were still outnumbered, however, and fled into a cave system with Pryce ordering an immediate pursuit; Bridger was to be captured, but the others were to be killed. However, the Imperials were ambushed by a pack of loth-wolves, mythical beasts of Lothalian folklore which had been summoned by Bridger. Pryce was terrified by the presence of the Loth-wolves, who easily overwhelmed the stormtroopers and Rukh. After tossing Rukh away, a Loth-wolf set its sights on her, snatching her by back of her chestplate. After the remaining stormtroopers surrendered, the wolf brought Pryce to Bridger, who desperately begged to the youth to not have the wolf eat her before dropping her at Ryder's feet. Bridger then allowed former Governor Azadi to handcuff his successor.
Last stand on Lothal[]
In rebel captivity, Pryce remained scornful of their chances and was particularly venomous towards Kallus, stating her disgust for him having turned traitor in favor of the rebellion. Brought before Ezra Bridger, she maintained her loyalty by stating that she would not help them, before Ezra sicced the white Loth-wolf on her. Bridger then gave her the choice of helping them to free Lothal from the Empire or being devoured by the loth-wolf. Seeking to save herself, Pryce complied and provided the rebels with the clearance codes necessary to land on the executive landing pad of the Imperial Complex, which was a mobile Imperial Planetary Occupation Facility capable of traveling through space.
Under Kallus' watchful eye, Pryce transmitted the codes. Upon landing, the rebels fought several stormtroopers before seizing control of the Imperial Complex's command center. Pryce learned that the rebels' plan was to use Protocol 13 to lure all Imperial personnel on Lothal aboard the Imperial Complex and transport them into Lothal's upper atmosphere where it would be blown up. Before the rebels fire the Complex's thrusters, Thrawn returned aboard his Star Destroyer Chimaera. Despite Ezra's threats to blow up the Imperial Complex with the Imperial forces aboard, Thrawn pointed out that the rebels had merely moved his forces into a safe place; leaving him free to bomb Capital City without incurring Imperial casualties.
Under Thrawn's instruction, Rukh and the Imperial forces had disabled the planetary shield generators, leaving Capital City defenseless. Thrawn proceeded to bombard Capital City, which Ezra ended by surrendering himself to Thrawn. However, the rebels managed to regain control of the Dome and reactivated the planetary shield to protect the city, killing Rukh in the process. In addition, Thrawn's entire blockade and fleet was subsequently annihilated by a pod of space-faring purrgil, who took Thrawn, Bridger and the Chimaera with them into hyperspace. Determined to completely rid Lothal of the Empire, Sabine then started up the Imperial Complex's launch sequence and the rebels prepared to leave. Azadi offered Pryce a chance to escape certain death, but she refused, stating that she would serve the Empire to the end. Once the Imperial Complex had attained enough altitude, Sabine initiated the self-destruct. Pryce stood at attention on the command bridge and embraced her fate as the Dome exploded, finally freeing Lothal.
Personality & Traits[]
Arihnda Pryce was an ambitious human woman who looked down upon her Lothalian roots. While she was from Lothal, she had no interest of remaining on Lothal. She sold out her homeworld to the Emperor and allowed the Empire to make Lothal their local headquarters in the Lothal Sector. She placed her own ambitions and career aspirations over the interests of her people; this stood in contrast to her deputy ruler, Maketh Tua, who genuinely cared for the people. She rarely visited Lothal and only returned to her homeworld because the planet had become a haven for rebels about two years. Pryce saw Grand Admiral Thrawn as a valuable asset in her fight against the rebel presence in the Lothal Sector.
Her position as a planetary governor gives her an inflated ego that she derides imperial officers such as Kallus and Konstantine, adhering instead to Thrawn, holding him in high regard that she never questions his orders, which is interesting as most Imperials hold alien species in low regard.
Abilities[]
Combat Training[]
Prior to becoming a governor, Pryce was apparently an Imperial cadet and received some instruction in hand-to-hand combat. She retains proficiency in this regard, though she was no match for Sabine in a fight. She can stand up to an experienced fighter like Rex.
Relationships[]
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
Season One[]
Season Three[]
Season Four[]
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Books[] |
Trivia[]
- Originally, Arihnda Pryce was supposed to make her debut in "The Siege of Lothal" and die instead of Maketh Tua, but this earlier version was cut from the final episode.
- She is the tertiary antagonist of Season 3 and the secondary antagonist of Season 4.
- Pryce, Thrawn, and Alexsandr Kallus are the only main antagonists to span more than one season.
- Pryce bears a striking resemblance to Soviet Colonel Irina Spalko from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
- Pryce's rank plaque is identical to Governor Tarkin's―a row of six blue tiles over a row of three red and three gold―even though he technically outranks her as a Grand Moff (or regional governor), whereas Pryce is only a planetary governor.
- Additionally, several promotional images erroneously show Pryce wearing an admiral rank plaque.