Quelev Tapper Quelev Tapper was a Human male smuggler who operated during the Galactic Civil War . Formerly the head of his own organization , Tapper agreed to merge with fellow smuggler Talon Karrde ' s smuggling group after Imperial forces leveled his headquarters and destroyed three quarters of his operation . Tapper became Karrde ' s second - in - command and most trusted lieutenant , and his conservative personality countered Karrde ' s more flamboyant nature . The pair would often personally investigate new business opportunities . In 6 ABY , Tapper accompanied Karrde to the planet Kaal to investigate the rumor that Emperor Palpatine ' s personal yacht , the " Emperor ' s Shadow " , had crash - landed in the world ' s oceans . Due to Imperial intervention , Tapper was forced to detonate the wreck to save Karrde , a New Republic delegation , and Kaal ' s ruler , Tirgee Benyalle . In 7 ABY , a deal was struck between Karrde and former smuggler Booster Terrik to supply ex – New Republic pilots Wedge Antilles and Rogue Squadron with munitions during their war against Ysanne Isard , who had taken control of the Bacta Cartel s on Thyferra . Tapper commanded the convoy that traveled to the Graveyard in the Alderaan system to transfer the equipment and was caught in a battle between the Rogues and forces loyal to Isard . In 8 ABY , Tapper accompanied Karrde to Varonat to investigate the operations of the Krish crime lord Gamgalon . While working undercover , the pair were discovered by Gamgalon and his Krish underlings , who planned to kill them . Tapper tried to escape , but was killed during the attempt . Karrde was rescued by former Emperor ' s Hand , Mara Jade , who was posing as a hyperdrive mechanic named Celina Marniss . Biography . Imperial troubles . Quelev Tapper , a Human male , led a smuggling organization that operated during the Galactic Civil War . Following the Battle of Endor of 4 ABY , Tapper ' s group profited immensely from the subsequent collapse of the Galactic Empire . However , by 6 ABY , his operations were firmly within Imperial - held territory , and a governor learned the location of Tapper ' s headquarters . An Imperial force was sent to destroy the smuggler ' s base . Smuggler chief Talon Karrde was in the area conducting business , and came to Tapper ' s aid . Tapper and a quarter of his organization survived the Imperial assault ; Tapper and Karrde agreed to a merger , and Tapper folded his organization into Karrde ' s operation . In turn , Tapper became Karrde ' s second - in - command and most trusted lieutenant , and the two would often check out potential business ventures together . Adventures on Kaal . During 6 ABY , Karrde heard a rumor that a ship belonging to Emperor Palpatine himself , the " Emperor ' s Shadow " , had crash - landed on the planet Kaal in the Yushan sector . The rumor also said that the ship was equipped with a cloaking device . Karrde and Tapper traveled to Kaal to investigate ; while Karrde posed as Syndic Pandis Hart , chief purchasing agent of the Sif - Uwana Council , Tapper purchased a submersible craft from a local dealer and began searching for the yacht near the Unis Islands . Karrde , posing as Hart , entered into negotiations with Tirgee Benyalle , the ruler of Kaal . Benyalle was selling the rights to buy and harvest food from Kaal , and had attracted delegations from the Galactic Empire , the New Republic , and Warlord Moff Utoxx Prentioch . While the other three were negotiating for the full rights to Kaal ' s food production , Karrde only planned to request that the Sif - Uwana Council be allowed to conduct its own harvesting operation in a specific area . Tapper ' s role was to locate the wreck of the yacht , allowing Karrde to define an area for the deal so that he could recover the vessel in secret . Tapper ' s search bore fruit , and he located the yacht submerged near the Unis Islands and relayed its location to Karrde . Tapper remained on station while Karrde negotiated with Benyalle . Shortly after , Karrde communicated with Tapper , and told him to rig the ship to blow . Tapper complied , setting charges throughout the wreck . The reason for Karrde ' s order soon became clear ; the negotiations had fallen apart when Imperial Admiral Uther Kermen had declared his intention to take the planet and its resources by force . The delegations were meeting aboard Tirgee Benyalle ' s luxury sail barge , touring the current harvesting operations , when Kermen made his move . Over the course of several weeks , Kermen had positioned his own agents amongst the sail barge ' s crew , and they attempted to take control of the vessel at his signal . Karrde had allied himself with the New Republic delegation , who had saved Benyalle from Kermen ' s attack . The New Republic took control of the sail barge , and Karrde steered them toward the Unis Islands and parked them above the crashed yacht . Tapper surfaced the yacht , taking on Karrde , Benyalle , the New Republic delegation , and the remaining loyal members of the sail barge ' s crew . The submersible sped away from the sail barge as the charges that Tapper had planted on the yacht detonated , destroying the wreck and the sail barge above . With his reasons for being on Kaal eliminated , Karrde pulled out of negotiations with Benyalle and allowed the New Republic to cut a deal with her . Arming the Rogues . Prior to Tapper ' s Imperial troubles , he had learned the location of a hollowed - out asteroid that had been mostly stripped of ore , but the assault on his organization had occurred before he had a chance to exploit his find . Once he had joined Karrde , he informed the latter about the asteroid , and Karrde set up a temporary base within its confines . In 7 ABY , Karrde and Tapper met with Booster Terrik , a former smuggler who was operating on behalf of Rogue Squadron leader Wedge Antilles . Antilles , along with the rest of Rogue Squadron , had resigned his commission in the military following the news that the New Republic would not interfere when Ysanne Isard — formerly in command of the Imperial forces based from the galactic capital , Coruscant — took control of the planet Thyferra and its Bacta Cartel s . Cut off from official New Republic support , Antilles and the Rogues fought a private war against Isard , and needed supplies . Terrik , a long - time family friend of Antilles ' , acted as a middle - man in procuring proton torpedoes , concussion missiles , and their respective sensor packages and launchers . A deal was struck wherein Karrde would supply the required equipment in exchange for bacta that Rogue Squadron had " liberated " from convoys controlled by Isard . Karrde appointed one of his associates , Melina Carniss , to liaise with Terrik ; Carniss was a former employee of the crime lord Jabba the Hutt , and Tapper was smitten with the woman . As the conversation came to a close , Tapper made an off - hand comment regarding attempting to locate the legendary Alderaanian armory ship " Another Chance " for Antilles , or the shipyard that had constructed the Death Star battlestation , since finding either seemed as likely as destroying the Bacta Cartel with a handful of snubfighter s and freighters . Terrik pointed out that the Rebel Alliance had , in fact , recovered the " Another Chance " prior to the Battle of Hoth , and not to bet against Antilles . Tapper apologized , meaning no offense . As part of a regular delivery of equipment , Tapper commanded one of Karrde ' s freighters , the " Starry Ice " , and led a convoy of a half - dozen ships to rendezvous with Rogue Squadron and their allies to transfer munitions . The meeting was set to take place near the Graveyard in the Alderaan system ; Rogue Squadron and their Twi ' lek and Gand allies were covering a dozen freighters under Booster Terrik ' s command , led by the " Pulsar Skate " . As the transfer was about to begin , Isard ' s Immobilizer 418 cruiser " Aggregator " and " Victory " - class Star Destroyer " Corrupter " decanted from hyperspace . As the freighters scattered , Antilles led the starfighters against the Imperial force . The resulting battle ended in the destruction of the " Corrupter " , and the retreat of the " Aggregator " . Antilles called for the surrender of the surviving TIE / LN starfighter s and the various escape pods from the " Corrupter " , which was accepted . Antilles arranged with Tapper to recover the escape pods and extract any ransom he deemed fit from the survivors . Tapper was also interested in acquiring the surrendered TIE fighters , but Antilles refused to hand them over , classifying them as prisoners of war . Tapper relented , noting that Antilles would soon be buying spare parts for the captured starfighters from Karrde . Antilles was worried that increasing security on Karrde ' s deliveries to them in the wake of the attack in the Alderaan graveyard would cause him to cancel the arrangement , but Terrik was sure that Tapper would be able to convince Karrde that they remained trustworthy . It was later discovered that the location of the meeting had been sold to Isard by Melina Carniss . Karrde and Terrik arranged for Carniss to leak the location of the Rogue ' s base at Yag ' Dhul , thereby precipitating the final battle in the Bacta War that brought down Isard . Hunting on Varonat . A year later , Tapper accompanied Karrde to the planet Varonat , located on the Ison Corridor , aboard the yacht " Uwana Buyer " . Karrde had heard that a Krish , Gamgalon , was using Morodin - hunting safaris as a cover for illegal activities . Curious as to the nature of the business and whether or not it was something on which Karrde could cut himself in , he again posed as Syndic Pandis Hart , while Tapper took on the role of Captain Seoul , his pilot . Feigning hyperdrive trouble , the " Uwana Buyer " landed on Varonat , in the settlement of Tropis - on - Varonat . There , the pair enlisted the services of a hyperdrive mechanic to repair the drive on the " Uwana Buyer " — which had been expertly gimmicked by one of Karrde ' s associates , Chin — and allowed Gamgalon ' s come - up flector , Fleck , to " convince " them that they should join one of Gamgalon ' s safaris . Karrde agreed , and Tapper , playing the role of hired employee , made a case that he should be allowed to join Karrde on the hunt . Paying 17 , 000 credits to join the safari , Tapper and Karrde availed themselves of the services of Great Jungle Outfitters , a shop that catered to supplying the safari hunters with every need . Returning to the " Uwana Buyer " , Tapper commented that he hoped that their shopping trip had given Gamgalon ' s people enough time to search the ship to determine if they were a threat or not . Investigating a noise from the aft section of the ship , Tapper and Karrde found a young woman working on the hyperdrive . She introduced herself as Celina Marniss ; her knowledge about the cause of their hyperdrive failure , along with her general attitude and demeanor , impressed Tapper and Karrde . In addition , her name gave them cause to think there was more to her than met the eye . They had previously known a " Melina Carniss , " and this name of " Celina Marniss " was awfully coincidental . After a night ' s sleep , Tapper and Karrde joined the safari expedition . Led by a Krish named Falmal , the group consisted of two other guides — the Human Buzzy and the Rodian Jombo — and four other hunters — two Duros by the names of Hav and Jivis ; a Thennqora called Tamish ; and Cob - caree , a Saffa . Loading into Aratech Arrow - 17 airspeeder s , Tapper and Karrde were accompanied by Falmal as the party headed for a base camp in the jungle . From there , the expedition hiked through the jungle for several hours to make camp near to the Morodin hunting area . During a rest break , one of the hunters , Tamish , noticed that a Morodin had passed through the area at some point as a patch of ground had been discolored by the slime trail produced by Morodins . Tapper and Karrde made note of a series of plants growing neatly along the slime mark , as well as a piece of metal embedded in the ground that Tapper tentatively identified as a transpond marker . Before they could investigate further , Falmal told them that the plants were non - native Yagaran aleudrupe plant s that were the result of careless hunters dropping the seeds of aleudrupe berries during a hunt , then briskly moved them on . Several hours later , after erecting their camp , Tapper and Karrde discussed their fellow hunters and came to conclusion that they were not fellow smugglers in disguise as they were , tromping through the jungle for clandestine meetings with Gamgalon , but rather wealthy , bored beings looking for adventure . Initially , Karrde had been of the opinion that the safaris were merely a way for Gamgalon to conduct clandestine meetings away from prying eyes . Karrde then posited the idea that they could have been legitimate businessbeings with whom Gamgalon wanted to deal , rather than criminals , but Tapper pointed out that confidential meetings could be held in other places with no trouble . As they started to discuss the transpond marker and whether or not it was part of a larger sensor array , a low growl , distinctive of the Morodin , was heard from the jungle near them . Falmal ordered the party to split into the same groups that had travelled together on the airspeeders , so Tapper and Karrde remained with the Krish . Following him into the jungle , they followed the Morodin slime trails and encountered one of the creatures . Falmal urged Karrde to shoot it , but Karrde hesitated because the beast remained still , and he advised Tapper to hold fire as well . From the side , Tamish and Cob - caree , accompanied by Jombo , came out of the forest and killed the creature . Over the next two hours , pilots and airspeeders shuttled meat and trophies from the kill back to base camp . Tapper helped the process , doing both his and Karrde ' s share of the work , while Karrde retreated from the group and isolated himself with a melodium and began to fiddle with the comm - relay hidden inside the device in an attempt to locate Gamgalon ' s transpond markers . Tapper joined his boss when the work was done , commenting that many in the camp thought Karrde was sulking . Karrde told Tapper what he had been doing , and led him into the jungle . Immediately , the comm - relay picked up a signal , which they followed to the site of the recent Morodin kill , discovering that the earth around the slime trail had been freshly cultivated . Hearing a noise from the direction of the camp , they attempted to take the long way back , but ended up deeper in the jungle . On a hunch , Tapper suggested heading toward a ridge that overlooked a depression that he remembered seeing on a map of the area . Reaching the ridge , they discovered a valley and a herd of fifty Morodins . Observing them for a short while , Tapper and Karrde came to the conclusion that the beasts were , in fact , a sentient species . Gamgalon and a group of Krish discovered Tapper and Karrde , having been tipped off by Falmal ' s suspicions about the pair . Gamgalon proceeded to explain his operation to Tapper and Karrde ; the Morodin slime initiated certain chemical changes in the pips of aleudrupe berries that , when combined with rethan - K and promhassic triaxli , created a blaster gas formulation as powerful as spin - sealed tibanna . All three components were also perfectly legal to transport and would not arouse the suspicions of customs officials . The safaris were merely a way of covering the planting and harvesting of the berries , and Gamgalon bribed the local Imperial governor to cover the fact that he was hunting a sentient species . Gamgalon could allow no word of his operation to be leaked , although Karrde attempted to reach an agreement with him . Tapper grabbed the blaster rifle out of the hands of one of the Krish , jammed it into the guard ' s torso , then dove for the cover of a tree . Bringing the rifle to bear on Gamgalon and Falmal , Tapper was struck by a pair of blaster bolts fired by another Krish concealed along the ridge . With a gasp , Tapper died . Karrde was subsequently rescued by Celina Marniss , who distracted Gamgalon and Falmal with recorded Morodin growls and then killed the pair . As Karrde and Marniss left the planet on the " Uwana Buyer " , Karrde revealed his true identity to her . Marniss did the same , introducing herself as Mara Jade . Personality and traits . Quelev Tapper was a light - skinned male , with brown hair and green eyes . Slender and handsome , he was a physically imposing individual . He maintained a serious demeanor and was always business - like . A naturally suspicious man , he was the perfect counter to Talon Karrde ' s polite grace and often assumed the role of " Hypothetical Hrongar " when Karrde outlined his more elaborate ideas . Tapper had infrequent hunches that usually turned out to be worth following up , and Karrde soon learned to trust his associate ' s instincts . Like Karrde , he shared the opinion that idealists caused a lot of trouble in the galaxy . Being a more cautious individual , Tapper preferred to have substantial backup available when entering an unknown situation . Tapper knew how to handle a blaster and usually armed himself with a blaster pistol . He was also skilled in melee and unarmed combat , and carried a knife . He was a skilled pick pocket , and could be stealthy when he needed to be . Tapper had knowledge of alien species and languages , planetary systems , bureaucracies , and businesses . He could pilot small vessels and navigate them through hyperspace , and was trained to operate the weapons and shields aboard such vessels . He could also repair the ships he was trained to pilot . Tapper could also drive repulsorlift vehicles and submersibles , and operate communications , security and sensor equipment . He also had some familiarity with explosives . A savvy businessman , Tapper was adept at brokering deals by either persuasion or by conning them , and was well aware of the value of the items in which he dealt . He carried a comlink with him at all times . Behind the scenes . Quelev Tapper first appeared in " First Contact " in 1994 , a short story written by Timothy Zahn for the first issue of the " Star Wars Adventure Journal " . Supplementary game information in the roleplaying section accompanying the story was contributed by Peter M . Schweighofer , and the image of Tapper was provided by Mike Vilardi . " First Contact " was subsequently reprinted in " Tales from the Empire " and on . When the story was reprinted on " Hyperspace " , the original black - and - white image of Tapper was colorized . Tapper later appeared in " The Kaal Connection " in 1995 , which was written by Schweighofer with Zahn . " The Kaal Connection " was later reprinted in " " . Tapper ' s only other appearance was in " " , written by Michael A . Stackpole and published in 1997 . Tapper has since been mentioned in other articles and reference works , usually when describing Talon Karrde ' s or Mara Jade ' s histories . However , in many cases , the sources disagree with the original source over certain facts . In 1995 ' s " The Essential Guide to Characters " , Tapper is referred to as " Tapper Quelev , " and the work states that Tapper ' s organization joined Karrde ' s shortly after the Battle of Endor , and that Tapper worked with Karrde for four years before his death , contradicting " First Contact " assertion that Tapper had been with Karrde for only two years . In " The Smuggler ' s Alliance " article in " Star Wars Gamer 3 " published in 2001 , it states Tapper was killed on " Tropis - on - Varonat , " rather than simply " Varonat . " The former was the name of a settlement on the planet . In " The New Essential Guide to Characters " , released in 2002 , Tapper is mentioned in Karrde ' s entry . Yet the entry places the merging of Karrde ' s and Tapper ' s organizations at four years after the Battle of Endor , which equates to 8 ABY . As " The Kaal Connection " — the events of which are also referenced in Karrde ' s article — shows , Tapper was working with Karrde by 6 ABY , two years earlier . Karrde ' s entry also places Tapper ' s death at six and a half years after Endor , in 10 ABY . As the Thrawn Crisis depicted in Timothy Zahn ' s was placed at five years after the Battle of Endor , and Tapper was dead before then as Mara Jade was referenced as serving with Karrde ' s organization for five and half months by the opening of the first book in the trilogy , " Heir to the Empire " , these references are incorrect . Tapper is mentioned twice in " The Official Star Wars Fact File " . Firstly , in Mara Jade Skywalker ' s entry in " The Official Star Wars Fact File 27 " , he is simply referred to as a " safari hunter . " The entry goes on to state that Jade was living on the planet " Tropis " at the time , rather than Varonat , and that she rescued both Talon Karrde and his companion , when , in fact , Tapper died on the planet . In Talon Karrde ' s entry in " The Official Star Wars Fact File 50 " , Tapper is constantly referred to as " Tapper Quelev . " It also states that Tapper ' s organization merged with Karrde ' s four years prior to his death after Karrde rescued him shortly after the Battle of Endor , instead of the two years stated in " First Contact " .