Sei Taria / Legends Sei Taria was a Human female from the planet Spira who served as Finis Valorum ' s Staff Aide during the latter ' s tenure as Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic . Taria worked for the Office of the Supreme Chancellor on the galactic capital world of Coruscant as early as 37 BBY , a post in which she helped Valorum follow the Republic ' s myriad bureaucratic policies and procedures . Taria became Valorum ' s lover , and she often accompanied him to social events as well as on diplomatic missions . In 37 BBY , she helped the Chancellor prepare for a visit to the capital by Baroness Omnino of the planet Vena by arranging a Jedi escort for the woman . In 33 BBY , as Valorum ' s popularity and hold on power waned , Taria helped him weather such conflicts as the Yinchorri Uprising and the terrorist actions of the renegade Nebula Front . However , she also grew close to Senator Palpatine of Naboo , a rising star in the Galactic Senate , in whom she could sense increasing power . When Palpatine and Valorum drafted a resolution to tax free trade routes in order to appease both the Nebula Front and its enemies in the Trade Federation , Taria studied the proposed tax bill and additionally accompanied the Chancellor to a trade summit on the planet Eriadu that was organized to finalize the proposed legislation . The summit was prematurely adjourned when the entire Trade Federation Directorate was assassinated , and Taria , despite being soon after assaulted by agents of the terrorist organization known as the Flail , dedicated her time to gathering information on the Federation ' s new Neimoidian leaders . The Neimoidians launched an Invasion of Naboo in 32 BBY as a means of protesting the taxation of free trade routes , and when bureaucratic procedure prevented Valorum from immediately sending aid , Taria could only watch from the Chancellor ' s Podium of the Senate Building ' s Grand Convocation Chamber as a Vote of No Confidence ousted him from power . Although he was replaced by Palpatine , Taria chose to leave political life . Biography . Political ascent . The Human female Sei Taria hailed from the planet Spira and lived during the last decades of the Galactic Republic . By 37 BBY , she had begun a political career in the Republic ' s Office of the Supreme Chancellor . Based on the galactic capital world of Coruscant , Taria worked directly for Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum as his Staff Aide and a close advisor . In these capacities , she researched the procedural regulations of the Republic ' s bureaucracy and assisted Valorum in confirming and following them . Taria additionally accompanied him on many diplomatic missions , attended official meetings of the Galactic Senate , and occasionally spoke publicly on the Chancellor ' s behalf . The two became lovers , and rumors of their affair reached the ears of others on Coruscant . As the Chancellor ' s Staff Aide , Taria was a considerably wealthy woman . In 37 BBY , Taria prepared for a diplomatic visit to Coruscant from the planet Vena ' s Baroness Omnino , whom Valorum hoped to convince to join the Republic , thereby providing Coruscant with resource shipments from her home system . Taria took precautions to ensure that the Baroness was not followed to the capital world by the radical Vena Isolationists , who had marked their ruler for assassination . Taria ' s offer of a Jedi escort was refused by Omnino , but Taria nevertheless arranged for Jedi Master Qui - Gon Jinn to pose as one of the Senate Guards who awaited the arrival of the Baroness ' s starship on a Coruscant landing platform . As the ship touched down , Taria and Valorum stood on the platform and mused on Omnino ' s reasons for visiting . After their guest disembarked , she was greeted by Valorum just before one of her bodyguards was fired upon by a renegade Senate Guard , who fled and was killed while trying to escape from Jinn ' s nearby Padawan learner , Obi - Wan Kenobi . An angered Omnino made her way to Coruscant ' s Holographic Zoo of Extinct Animals to await the arrival of her son , Sando , but when a Republic beacon received a distress signal from Sando ' s freighter , Taria and Valorum proceeded to the zoo to let the Baroness know . Jinn and Kenobi were immediately dispatched to investigate , and they eventually discovered that Omnino had used a mind control device to influence her bodyguard ' s assassin as part of a plot to destabilize the Republic and discredit the Jedi Order , whom she blamed for the death of her husband . Jinn foiled her by severing her head . Four years later , the Yinchorri species staged an uprising against the Republic due to the manipulations of the Sith Lord Darth Sidious , who hoped that the conflict would simultaneously kill Jedi and check the Yinchorri ' s warlike ways . Several battles occurred between Jedi and Yinchorri forces , and Chancellor Valorum proposed to the Senate an embargo of the planet Yinchorr . While the embargo was under consideration , Taria and Valorum attended a senatorial gathering at the 500 Republica tower in the apartment suite of Palpatine , senator of Naboo . Palpatine was a close political ally of Valorum ' s ; however , unbeknownst to the galaxy , he was in fact Darth Sidious , the mastermind of a plot to seize control of the Republic . The Sith Lord greeted his guests , and Taria deviously complimented him on both his modesty and his choice of attire . Palpatine then led them into the crowd of guests , and , after receiving a drink , Taria left her companions and began to converse with the wife of Alderaanian Senator Bail Antilles . Valorum was ultimately forced to call in many political favors in order to see the embargo passed . He and Taria met with a group of senators in a restaurant , where the Chancellor received confirmation that they would support his proposal . Taria gave Valorum a datapad , which he used to converse with Jedi Master Yoda and share the news . Valorum also sent four attack groups of the Republic ' s Judicial Forces to assist the Jedi , and the Yinchorri were defeated . Taria continued to follow Palpatine ' s rising political star , and she grew close to the charismatic Senator . Taria viewed him as a mentor and learned much from him , and rumors persisted that she was romantically involved with Palpatine ' s aide , Kinman Doriana . At one point , Taria was mentioned in a HoloNet report that also featured Senator Antilles . Trade troubles . Later in the year , a terrorist organization known as the Nebula Front began to launch militant strikes on the Trade Federation , a corporation believed by the Front ' s members to hold an unfair monopoly on galactic trade . Together with Palpatine , Valorum hatched a plan to subject free trade routes to Republic taxation in exchange for granting the Federation ' s request to augment their battle droid defenses . They hoped that such taxation would limit the Federation ' s power , appease the Nebula Front , and additionally enrich the Republic ' s outlying star systems . Taria assisted the Chancellor with his plan by studying the proposed tax bill . Before the matter was brought to the Senate , Taria accompanied Valorum to a performance of the opera " The Brief Reign of Future Wraiths " at the Coruscant Opera . Their arrival at Valorum ' s balcony was delayed so that the Chancellor would be the last guest to be seated , but the entire audience stood up to applaud him upon their arrival . A group of twelve senators seated in their own balcony waited until Taria took her seat before returning to their own . When the bill was officially proposed , opposition in the Senate was strong enough that a trade summit on the planet Eriadu was organized to discuss and finalize the resolution . After the Senate session concluded , Taria made her way through the Senate Plaza to Valorum ' s office in the Senate Building . The plaza was filled with both supporters and detractors of the Chancellor ' s proposal , and Valorum ' s security detail recommended to Taria that he leave the building via rooftop platforms . Upon entering his office , Taria updated her boss on his meeting - filled afternoon and the suggested precautions , but he insisted on moving through the plaza itself as a show of good faith . Taria joined him and a triple - strength Senate Guard detail as he moved through the building ' s corridors and the crowded exterior avenue . Before they reached a waiting shuttle , six Nebula Front assassins attacked the entourage . Two of the Senate Guards were killed , but the rest of their number , along with the nearby Jedi Masters Qui - Gon Jinn and Adi Gallia , were able to fell the attackers . A blaster bolt struck Valorum in his side during the chaos , and he was rushed to the Galactic Senate Medcenter . By the time Taria arrived at the medcenter , Palpatine was waiting outside of Valorum ' s treatment room . After he ensured that she was unharmed , he entered the room for a private visit with the Chancellor . The two agreed that a Jedi escort was needed for the forthcoming trade summit , and after Valorum recovered , Jedi Masters Yoda and Mace Windu visited him in his office . Taria received them outside and escorted them in before being subsequently dismissed . The Masters agreed to send representatives of their order to Eriadu , and Master Gallia led a four - Jedi – strong entourage that accompanied Taria , Valorum , and the rest of the Coruscant delegation to the summit . The delegation traveled to Eriadu and landed their ship at the planet ' s principal spaceport , from where a limousine took them to the mansion of the world ' s lieutenant governor , Wilhuff Tarkin . They were soon after whisked to Eriadu City ' s Seswenna Hall , the location of the summit itself , for a reception . There , Taria and Valorum were greeted by Tarkin . Following the reception , Taria and the others returned to the mansion , where Valorum was given temporary quarters . Taria continued to serve him at his ersatz office , and when Gallia , Jinn , and Kenobi arrived for a visit , she led them inside . The Jedi were concerned with the possibility of another Nebula Front attack , but none in the room could guess at the group ' s motives . However , Valorum wished to maintain the appearance of order , and he refused their requests to postpone the commencement of the summit . The next morning , as Taria and the rest of the Coruscant delegation waited outside the mansion for a repulsorlift caravan to take them to Seswenna Hall , Gallia and Master Saesee Tiin arrived and informed them that the Nebula Front had breached Eriadu security . A stubborn Valorum consented only to enabling his vehicle ' s force field , and the delegation made their way to the event . Delegations from a number of planets , the Trade Federation , and various other organizations met in Seswenna Hall , ignorant of the Nebula Front assassins and Jedi defenders battling on the building ' s roof . During the event ' s opening musical fanfare , Taria was one of the first to notice a lightfight occurring in the hall ' s ceiling rafters . She announced it with a scream immediately before an assassin plummeted to the floor . The present members of the Trade Federation Directorate activated a force field around themselves , but everyone present watched in horror as several Federation security droids used the protection to fire on the Directorate members unchallenged . All thirteen directors were killed , and the trade summit was prematurely adjourned . Secretly orchestrated by Darth Sidious , the murders had been arranged by the Nebula Front ' s leader , Eru Matalis , in order to allow the Sith Lord ' s Neimoidian allies in the Trade Federation to assume sole control of the organization . The Chancellor ' s fall . In the aftermath of the slaughter , Taria and the rest of her delegation returned to Coruscant . The tax bill was ratified by the Senate , and representatives of the media afterward met Valorum and Taria outside of the Senate Building ' s Grand Convocation Chamber to field questions . Taria addressed the reporters on the Chancellor ' s behalf , praising both the bill and what had been accomplished on Eriadu despite the tragedy . She closed the discussion by informing them that the Chancellor would later issue an official statement . A cadre of guards then escorted them to Valorum ' s office , where he dictated a statement to Taria that she recorded on her wrist comlink . His speech was interrupted by the arrival of Bail Antilles , who informed the Chancellor that he had been summoned to the Republic ' s Supreme Court on charges of corruption and illegal enrichment . The Supreme Court had discovered that House Valorum ' s shipping company stood to profit from taxation of free trade routes . With his reputation under fire , Valorum performed his job with renewed vigor and concentrated much of his efforts on ending the threat of a terrorist group known as the Flail . Members of the Flail had been attacking public utilities on Coruscant in protest of government policies , and when Valorum began to strike back at them , they sent him death threats and physically assaulted Taria . However , their threat was soon after ended by a special task force put together by the Chancellor . Around the same time , Taria accompanied Valorum to an event in Coruscant ' s Perlemian Orbital Facility . As potential candidates for the next Chancery Election mingled with other politicians and powerful individuals , Taria and Valorum stood with a group that included Jedi Masters Yoda , Windu , and Gallia . As debate raged over whether or not the Republic in fact had the legal authority to tax free trade routes , the Trade Federation ' s new Neimoidian leaders augmented their battle fleet and used it to blockade Naboo in protest in 32 BBY , thereby preventing all shipping to the planet . Valorum dispatched Jinn and Kenobi to Naboo to negotiate with Trade Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray , and Taria assembled a dossier on both Naboo and the Trade Federation for the Jedi ' s perusal . Seeking more information on the Trade Federation , Taria employed a trusted team of troubleshooters to purchase a packet of information from a Trade Federation brokerage house on the planet Corulag . An informant in the house was willing to provide the Republic with the information , and Taria gave the troubleshooters some rare and valuable coins to use for payment . When a corrupt functionary in the Chancellor ' s office learned of the arrangement , he sold the troubleshooters out in an attempt to profit . Taria ' s team arrived on Corulag to find the informant dead , and they were forced to dodge both Federation security and bounty hunters on their way back to Coruscant . Upon their return , they rooted out the traitorous functionary and confirmed that Taria was innocent of any wrongdoing . Jinn and Kenobi returned from Naboo with the world ' s Queen Amidala , as well as the news that the Federation ' s blockade had escalated into a full - scale invasion . Valorum called a special session of the Senate to allow her to plead her case , and both Taria and Senate Vice Chair Mas Amedda joined him in the Grand Convocation Chamber ' s central Chancellor ' s Podium as he chaired the session . When Amidala , seated in Palpatine ' s repulsorpod , stated her allegations of an invasion , Trade Federation Senator Lott Dod demanded that a commission be sent to her homeworld to ascertain the truth of the claims . After a brief discussion with Taria and Amedda , Valorum reluctantly conceded the point , citing procedural regulation Section 523A . On Palpatine ' s advice , Amidala responded by calling for a Vote of No Confidence in Valorum ' s leadership . Senator Edcel Bar Gane of Roona seconded the motion , and a stunned Valorum requested a recess . Following the recess , Taria and Amedda returned to the podium alone . The session continued , and the Vote of No Confidence passed . Three candidates were nominated to replace Valorum : Senators Palpatine , Antilles , and Ainlee Teem , the latter a representative of Malastare . Having found no help from the Republic , Amidala returned to Naboo and captured Gunray with the aid of her Royal Security Forces . Palpatine ' s scheme came to fruition when he was elected the new Supreme Chancellor , and Taria afterward chose to leave political life . A woman named Sly Moore fulfilled her role in Palpatine ' s new administration , and rumors abounded that Moore had blackmailed Taria into retiring or had otherwise eliminated her from public office . However , nothing was ever conclusively proven . Personality and traits . Sei Taria was a petite woman who stood 1 . 78 meters tall in adulthood . Her skin was the color of burrmillet grain ; her eyes were oblique in shape and brown in color ; and her brown hair was often tied behind her head . She was considered lovely , and Finis Valorum found her attractive . As Valorum ' s aide , Taria ' s favored attire consisted of expensive burgundy septsilk robes that signified wealth when worn with a high Coruscanti collar . She also wore a wrist comlink that included a recording function . As a close advisor and trusted aide to Supreme Chancellor Valorum , Taria was dedicated both to peace and to approved procedure . Although Valorum abhorred policy and procedure and believed that they constantly caused him to compromise his morals , Taria helped him confirm and follow them , even when he displayed significant reluctance to do so . Taxation became high on her political agenda when Valorum proposed the taxing of free trade routes . Taria ' s working relationship with Valorum was casual , and she sometimes spoke deviously to his peers . After many years of working under the Chancellor , Taria learned to anticipate his stubbornness and to accommodate it in times of crisis . Their relationship grew into a physical one , and the two often appeared in public together due to Valorum ' s desire to attend events alongside an attractive young escort . Senator Palpatine thought of Taria as Valorum ' s " trophy . " Taria placed faith in the abilities of the Jedi and contravened Baroness Omnino ' s refusal to accept a Jedi escort during her diplomatic visit to Coruscant . Politically astute , Taria was able to discern some of the Baroness ' s motives behind the visit and to sense Palpatine ' s increasing political power . She grew close to Naboo ' s Senator and learned much from him . Nevertheless , Taria chose to leave political life when Palpatine replaced Valorum as Supreme Chancellor . During Valorum ' s fall from power , Taria was slightly shaken by the murders and assassination attempts of which she found herself in the midst . Behind the scenes . The character of Sei Taria was created for George Lucas ' s 1999 film . She appears in the Chancellor ' s Podium during the film ' s Senate sequence , but she is not identified in the script , which merely states that Valorum confers with Mas Amedda and " several of his aides " after being challenged by Lott Dod . The film ' s similarly identifies Valorum as being in the company of his Vice Chair and " staff . " Taria does appear in " The Phantom Menace " various comic book adaptations , however , although the of the film ' s depicts her as standing to the Chancellor ' s right during the Senate sequence , while in the film , she stands to his left . In " The Phantom Menace " , Taria was played by actress Kamay Lau . Her scene was filmed in front of a at Leavesden Studios , . Lau ' s profile on the talent directory website starnow calls Taria the " Assistant to the Chancellor of the Universe , " and includes two promotional photos of the character that have never been used in an official " Star Wars " product . Although unidentified in " The Phantom Menace " script and credits , Taria was given a name in 1999 ' s " " . Further information on the character has been revealed throughout the years in such works as the 2001 " Coruscant Limited " expansion set of the " Star Wars " Customizable Card Game and 2011 ' s " Star Wars Character Encyclopedia " . Taria additionally appears in several comic books , novels , and roleplaying game adventures , playing a relatively large role in James Luceno ' s 2001 novel " Cloak of Deception " . Although she has a fixed role in " The Security Leak " , a roleplaying adventure included in the 2001 sourcebook " Secrets of Naboo " , completion of the adventure is an optional part of the player ' s experience . Taria ' s birth year has never been revealed in canon , but " Cloak of Deception " states that in 33 BBY , she halves Valorum ' s age . However , Valorum ' s birth year is similarly unknown .