Tap-Nar-Pal

"You always were a willful, disobedient Padawan."

- Ronhar Kim

Tap-Nar-Pal, nicknamed "Tap", was a Cerean male from Cerea. He was the Padawan of Jedi Knight Ronhar Kim.

Biography
During the Clone Wars, the two came up with a plan to expose the identity of Darth Sidious: test all the members of the Galactic Senate to determine their respective midi-chlorian counts. The two Jedi told Supreme Chancellor Palpatine about their plan, and he panicked, pointing out that some senators such as Bail Organa would object to the test on principle. Palpatine persuaded the two Jedi to hold off on suggesting the plan to the Jedi Council, and sent the duo off to fight in the Battle of Merson.

Since Palpatine, as Darth Sidious, had arranged the battle as a trap, Republic Captain Gilad Pellaeon was forced to withdraw his fleet, leaving Kim and his ground troops to perish. Commander Tap-Nar-Pal, leading the fighter forces, refused to retreat, flying his Delta-7 Aethersprite into Merson's atmosphere in a vain attempt to help Kim, but was shot down and crashed into the droid masses. He died in the battle.

Both Jedi were lost and publicly mourned by Palpatine before the Galactic Senate. He used their death as an excuse to goad on the war effort and increase security measures, increasing his own executive power.

Behind the scenes
Comic writer John Ostrander based Tap-Nar-Pal's name after the screename of a poster on the Dark Horse forums.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Republic 64: Bloodlines