Ali Tarrak was a Nami female who, during the time of the Galactic Civil War, held the position of leader among her people. Functioning as pirates within the Outer Rim Territories, the Nami managed to capture a prototype starfighter of the TIE Defender class from the forces of the Galactic Empire, an event that occurred around 3.5 ABY. Following a subsequent raid with the goal of abducting the lead scientist from the TIE Defender project, Tarrak successfully initiated the production of her own TIE Defenders at a manufacturing facility situated within the Eva-T system.
Tarrak made arrangements to provide TIE Defenders to the Rebel Alliance; however, Imperial forces under the command of Admiral Thrawn successfully intercepted the initial shipment before it could reach the Rebels. Subsequently, Thrawn initiated an assault on Tarrak's TIE Defender production plant, resulting in the facility's destruction and the termination of the potential spread of TIE Defender technology. While attempting to escape, Tarrak was apprehended. Having impressed Thrawn, she was presented with an opportunity to serve Emperor Palpatine.
Ali Tarrak was a female of the Nami, a once-influential group of nomadic warriors who found themselves pushed into the Outer Rim Territories during the Clone Wars in the years preceding the rise of the Galactic Empire. By the time of the Galactic Civil War, they were largely forgotten. By 3.5 ABY, the remaining Nami had turned to piracy in the Outer Rim, with Tarrak leading them as their crime lord. Under her command, the Nami were well-trained and equipped with T-wing and Y-wing starfighters, and at least a pair of cruisers.
In 3.5 ABY, Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin made an attempt to coup Emperor Palpatine. After being defeated by loyalist forces, Zaarin initiated a campaign against the Empire, aiming to gain a technological advantage over the Imperial Navy by securing exclusive control of the new TIE Defender, considered one of the most advanced starfighters ever created. The Empire began to evacuate TIE Defender prototypes and important personnel from the facility where it was developed. Tarrak saw an opportunity to steal a prototype while the convoy was on its way to Admiral Thrawn.
Tarrak's raid was aided by another pirate group, the Rneekii, who managed to snare the Imperials in an ion cannon minefield as they exited hyperspace. The pirates captured the shuttle carrying the TIE Defender project's lead scientist before being forced to retreat, leaving the prototypes vulnerable on the disabled modified corvette group Hashim. Tarrak sent Nami raiders led by the YT-1300 light freighter Dhoora to seize one of the prototypes. The Nami were not alone in trying to take advantage of the situation, and they arrived to find Imperial forces already fighting starfighters from the Rebel Alliance. With both sides occupied, the Nami boarded and captured one of the corvettes carrying a TIE Defender unit, escaping into hyperspace before the Imperial defenders could react.
The Empire worried that Tarrak might use the TIE Defender technology to reclaim her people's lost territory, but they thought the threat was low because the Nami lacked the expertise to build more of the starfighters. Regardless, Tarrak's actions caught the attention of the Emperor, who ordered her capture as a prisoner. Tarrak soon discovered that the Rneekii were planning to ransom the captured scientist to the Empire near Kiilimaar and created a plan to capture the scientist during the exchange.
The Imperials had no intention of letting the Rneekii profit from their actions. As soon as the scientist was back in Imperial hands, the Interdictor cruiser Red Claw entered the Kiilimaar system to trap the pirates. While the Imperial forces were dealing with the Rneekii, the Nami YT-1300 light freighter Choora entered the system under T-wing and Y-wing escort. The Imperials couldn't stop the Choora from disabling and boarding the shuttle carrying the scientist, but as the Choora tried to escape with its prize, it was disabled by Imperial pilot Maarek Stele and captured by the Empire. Several Nami prisoners were taken for interrogation in the hopes of finding Tarrak's base.
Although Tarrak's attempt to capture the scientist had failed, her surprise attack damaged the Red Claw's hyperdrive, leaving it stuck in the system. A corvette was sent to take the scientist to safety, but an imposter with a fake transponder code arrived first and picked up the scientist while the Red Claw was fighting off an attack by Zaarin's forces. The Imperials believed Zaarin was behind the deception, using the attack as a distraction. Regardless of who was behind the scientist's latest abduction, he ended up back in Tarrak's custody once again.
Using a manufacturing plant near the Eva-T system, Tarrak quickly started building TIE Defenders. Hoping to sell many of the starfighters to the Rebel Alliance, Tarrak arranged for the Rebels to be present as observers while the Nami Strike-class medium cruiser Bognog and a squadron of TIE Defenders assaulted an Imperial cargo transfer area in the Yrrna system.
Both the Emperor and Thrawn were very worried about TIE Defenders ending up in Rebel hands. To reduce this risk, Thrawn had been secretly overseeing the development of a new Imperial assault craft, the Missile Boat, which was specifically designed to counter the TIE Defender. The added risk that Tarrak might be using the facility as the first target for a new campaign against the Empire only sped up the deployment of the new weapon.
Shortly after the Yrrna attack, Tarrak sent the first shipment of eight TIE Defenders to the Rebels in the Strike-class cruiser Nuance, but Imperial Intelligence learned of the planned meeting, and Thrawn's forces captured the Nuance before it could deliver its cargo. Interrogation of the Nuance's crew revealed the location of Tarrak's manufacturing plant, and Thrawn planned to personally oversee its destruction.
Admiral Thrawn's Star Destroyer, the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Grey Wolf, emerged from hyperspace near the manufacturing plant and launched its starfighters to engage the T-wings and Y-wings defending the facility. Finding Tarrak's TIE Defenders from Blue Devil and Red Devil squadrons powered down, Stele, piloting a lone Missile Boat, quickly moved to destroy them before they could be activated, then eliminated the minefield protecting the station, clearing the way for TIE bombers to destroy the facility.
When the factory's shields failed, Tarrak tried to escape, leaving the station aboard the Dhoora with the lead scientist as a hostage. Stele, under orders to capture Tarrak alive, opened fire on the fleeing transport to try and bring down its shields. Tarrak threatened to kill her hostage if the Imperial pilot didn't stop his attack, but Thrawn called her bluff, assuring Tarrak that doing so would guarantee her own death. When the transport's shields fell, Stele used his tractor beam to prevent Tarrak's escape until Imperial Assault Gunboats arrived and disabled it with their ion cannons. Despite the arrival of Rebel reinforcements, the Dhoora was captured, and Tarrak was taken into custody.
Tarrak's defeat ended the threat of TIE Defender proliferation. Impressed by Tarrak, Thrawn convinced Emperor Palpatine of her potential, and the Emperor decided to offer Tarrak the chance to serve him.
Tarrak was a skilled leader who made sure the Nami were well equipped and who inspired loyalty in her followers. Although the Nami were relatively unknown pirates early in her leadership, Tarrak's attempts to seize control of the TIE Defender technology showed both ambition and a willingness to take bold actions, even at the risk of angering the Empire, who saw her actions as a possible attempt to reclaim the Nami's former territory. She quickly took advantage of the opportunity to steal a TIE Defender and was clever enough to use the Rneekii pirates as a distraction when making her own move. Tarrak's actions impressed Admiral Thrawn, who saw some of his own qualities in her. Thrawn was eventually able to convince Emperor Palpatine that Tarrak would be a useful servant of the Empire.
Ali Tarrak was created for Star Wars: TIE Fighter: Defender of the Empire, the 1994 expansion pack for the LucasArts video game Star Wars: TIE Fighter. The character has only one line of dialogue, during the mission "Eliminate TIE Defender Factory", and the voice actor is not credited.