Ghal Tarpfen

Born to Rhal and Gera, Ghal Tarpfen was a female Mon Calamari from a humble family on the planet Mon Cala. As a child, she would often sit near her home, observing the debris from wealthier families floating by; once, this included a disturbing dead jara fish. Her mother would often sing her a lullaby. Tarpfen joined the Mon Calamari Guard and rose to the rank of Captain Third Class. During this time, she met Shenrick, a member of the royal family and the third son of the current ruler. They became lovers, keeping their relationship a secret due to societal norms. During their relationship, Tarpfen and Shenrick enjoyed a holodrama about a Mon Calamari guard who eloped with a princess, feeling it mirrored their own story.

Following a tragedy that killed his predecessor and older siblings, Shenrick unexpectedly ascended to the throne as King of Mon Cala. With his new responsibilities, he abruptly ended his relationship with Tarpfen, dismissing her from her crown service without prior warning after summoning her to an audience; he falsely claimed she had requested the dismissal. To avoid seeing him marry another, Tarpfen chose to leave the planet, but they both kept their past relationship secret to protect themselves and their families.

By 232 BBY, Tarpfen had become the Head of Security at the Galactic Republic's Starlight Beacon space station. She arrived around the same time as Administrator Velko Jahen. When she met Jahen, Jedi Master Estala Maru introduced her to the Soikan, having been discussing security protocol improvements that interested Tarpfen. Maru planned to share his recommendations with Chief Tarpfen, estimating it would take an hour or two.

Tarpfen barely acknowledged Jahen and instead turned to Controller Rodor Keen, her supervisor at Starlight Beacon. She informed the human about an issue with patients injured during the Great Hyperspace Disaster, as individuals from opposing territories were being treated together. Tarpfen worried about potential conflicts when they regained consciousness. Maru responded for Keen, sarcastically reminding them that the Disaster disregarded politics. Keen then departed, followed by Maru and his droid, KC-78, with Maru expressing his anticipation to speak with Tarpfen. He then wished the Force to be with the Mon Calamari, who agreed she would need it.

Tarpfen then turned to Jahen, giving her a cold look despite Jahen's smile. She inquired if the administrator had served as a soldier due to being a Soikan, which Jahen confirmed. Tarpfen, familiar with the Soikan conflict, assumed she was part of the Livtak Union based on her skin [coloring](/article/color], but Jahen was actually part of the Gagic Alliance, as her father was Livtak and her mother was Gagic. Tarpfen guessed that that had made things difficult, but Jahen explained that her father had defected as soon as he learned of Livtak's plans. Tarpfen then instructed her to help out in a room nearby.

Upon arriving, Jahen was assigned to be a bodyguard for Ambassador Ceeril of Rion, an unexpected role. While trying to understand the situation, she heard a disturbance in the ward, where a Medoslean was reacting poorly to treatment, attempting to strangle Nurse Okana and Doctor Gino'le. Tarpfen drew her [blaster](/article/blaster], ready to fire, but Gino'le explained that the Medoslean was unable to control herself due to the reaction. Jahen spotted a hypo on the floor that could sedate the patient. Tarpfen tried to reach for it, but one of the Medoslean's tentacles struck her head, causing her to collapse.

Jahen managed to grab the injector and administer it to the patient, causing the Medoslean to release the doctors. Jahen then checked on the Mon Cal, who needed Jahen's support to stand. She complimented the Soikan's actions. Doctor Gino'le diagnosed Tarpfen with a level nine concussion, recommending time in the rejuvenator. Tarpfen insisted she couldn't rest due to her responsibilities. Jahen offered to oversee things, thanking her for sending her to Ambassador Ceeril. Tarpfen smiled, but a scream interrupted them, and Ceeril's bodyguard droid was found on the floor, with Ceeril lying motionless with a blaster wound on his chest.

A group of Jedi, including Avar Kriss, Nib Assek, Estala Maru, and Burryaga Agaburry, along with Controller Keen, arrived at the scene. When Maru asked about the ambassador's droid, Tarpfen explained that its head had been cleanly severed, pointing out shrapnel from its processors embedded in the wall. The group reviewed security footage, which showed static just as the assassination was about to occur. Assek asked for clarification, so Tarpfen explained the Medoslean's outburst and attacks on staff. She noted that Jahen's actions prevented a worse outcome, surprising Keen, who reminded them of the many survivors being treated on Starlight Beacon.

Ceeril then arrived, having survived the attack. He immediately blamed his rivals, the Hassarian species, for the assassination attempt. Despite skepticism from some Jedi, Kriss requested to see the two Hassarians on board Starlight, and Tarpfen led the way. Jahen was disappointed to miss out on the action, as she was tasked with writing a report for the Galactic Senate, but she and Maru gathered more evidence instead, leading Tarpfen to suspect that Ceeril had staged the "assassination attempt" to frame the Hassarians.

While Jahen researched, Tarpfen was being berated by Ceeril, who demanded justice against the Hassarians. Jahen then entered, announcing that the threat was over and the culprit was dead, presenting the severed head of the bodyguard droid. Ceeril feigned confusion, as did Tarpfen, who reminded Jahen that the droid head was evidence. Jahen explained that the bodyguard was the real attacker, detonating due to detonite planted in its head.

Tarpfen was surprised by the detonite inside the droid, but before they could discuss it further, Ceeril tried to grab Tarpfen's blaster. Tarpfen grabbed his tongue firmly, but released it when Keen, Kriss, and Maru arrived, with Keen inquiring about the situation. Tarpfen explained Ceeril's attempt to disarm her, and Jahen noted that his assassination had been faked. As Jahen explained Ceeril's actions, Tarpfen added that the Hassarian DNA was the kind left over when one stashed fake evidence in their chest.

Jahen also held up a [blaster gas canister](/article/blaster_gas_canister], which Tarpfen pointed out was not powerful enough to kill someone, though Jahen felt that the Mon Cal looked like she was willing to finish the job. Ceeril protested, calling the theory nonsense, but Kriss believed Jahen, with Maru agreeing that the evidence was substantial. He then mentioned that he had already sent the evidence to the Republic security service on the planet Coruscant; Tarpfen amusedly asked if that was supposed to be her job. She then offered Jahen the honor of locking up the ambassador in a detention center, but Jahen declined as Tarpfen was Head of Security.

In 231 BBY, during the annual meeting of the Galactic Agricultural Alliance, Tarpfen monitored several screens showing various views of Starlight Beacon. The rapidly scrolling images made Jahen feel dizzy. She joked about Tarpfen's ability to track everything, but the Mon Cal simply sipped a green drink silently. After a moment, she asked if Jahen was checking on her, as the Agricultural Alliance had only smelled flowers so far, in her opinion.

She also noted that the flowers were blooming per Jahen's request, for which Jahen mentioned aloud she would have to thank the gardener Castor. It was then that one of the sceens began to ping and flash; Tarpfen explained that one of the camera droids had flagged an infraction—the droids were able to recognize thousands of types of aggression responses. The two then saw an Ithorian and Amani fighting each other on the screen. Tarpfen followed Jahen out of the room, running to the scene.

The two hurried down the hall to an elevator, using it to reach the conflict quickly. Jahen wondered if they would arrive before anyone was hurt; Tarpfen hoped so. When they exited the elevator, the Ithorian and Amani were fighting intensely, hissing and clicking at each other before a crowd. Without hesitation, Tarpfen stunned them with her blaster, shocking Jahen. Despite Tarpfen's explanation that she had only used a stun shot, Jahen felt it was unwise to shoot guests. The crowd dispersed quickly, and Tarpfen asked Jahen rhetorically if it would have been better for them to pound each other into protein paste.

A Siniteen named Sh'nar Qwasba arrived, demanding to know why her colleagues had been shot. Tarpfen tried to explain that the two scientists had been fighting, but Jahen interrupted, introducing herself. Qwasba did the same, telling the administrator that she had just heard of the brawl that had occurred. Jahen confirmed her story, adding that the two subdued instigators were to be taken to a medcenter. Tarpfen then interjected, promising that they would be detained for violating Starlight Beacon's zero-tolerance policy for fighting. Qwasba, like Jahen, felt that shooting civilians was a bit of an extreme measure, but Tarpfen stood her ground, maintaining that it was the best choice for the moment.

Qwasba again questioned the Mon Cal, asking if security droids could have handled the situation. Tarpfen argued that such droids often failed to assess such situations and that a stun blast was best for the scientists. Tarpfen and Jahen then received emergency updates on their comm units from Estala Maru, informing them that a riot was in progress in the dining facility. Tarpfen was the first to run toward the facility, with Jahen hurrying after her.

Tarpfen burst into the dining facility, followed a few seconds later by Jahen. They found scientists of all species fighting each other just like the Amani and Ithorian had. Tarpfen drily asked Jahen if she still felt it would be rude to shoot the guests, with Jahen then realizing that it was an efficient way to calm the chaos. She told the Head of Security that she felt it was their best option unless there was another solution at hand. Several Jedi then arrived, offering their assistance. Jahen accepted, asking that the scientists be restrained without anyone getting hurt. The presence of the Jedi paused the fight for a brief moment, but it broke out again, with the Jedi doing their best to calm the combatants.

Tarpfen felt that it was too late to prevent all injuries, but she told the Jedi that she would be able to handle it, calling over the security droid Ateseven. At Tarpfen's instructions, the droid deployed non-lethal crowd suppression. Tarpfen also had the air filtration to the dining hall be cut off, and she motioned for the group at the doorway to step aside from so as not to be suppressed by the foam. The doors closed, and after some time, they reopened to reveal close to a hundred scientists sound asleep.

After the Jedi had walked away, Jahen sighed and told Tarpfen that all of the brawlers would need to be examined, for they had acted in ways that civilized scientists generally did not. Sarcastically, Tarpfen asked the administrator if it could have been an argument over the proper way to irrigate khema; Jahen responded that it was vital to find out what it was before anyone was killed.

However, Doctor Gino'le reported that all readings were completely normal. Tarpfen questioned the report, finding it odd. She had suspected the cause to be a kind of toxin, but the med teams she had dispatched found nothing in their sensor sweeps. Gino'le theorized that if the brawlers had been exposed to something, it would have been a type of organism that broke down quickly in the circulatory system. However, she was unsure and unable to give a solid explanation, which frustrated Tarpfen. The original two fighters then woke up, allowing Tarpfen and Jahen to question them. The two split up, with Tarpfen taking the Amani and Jahen the Ithorian.

After the two finished their interviews, they met up in the medcenter lobby, where Tarpfen sighed, feeling that it had been a waste of time. Jahen was not as certain, asking if the Ithorian with whom the Mon Calamari had spoken remembered anything but visiting the gardens. Tarpfen shook her head, skeptical that a simple plant could cause all the trouble that had ocurred. Jahen then spoke of a young girl she had seen the day before, Avon Starros, who had brought in the plant of which they were suspicious. They found the plant after walking through three different gardens, finding it wrapped around several other trees and greenery.

Tarpfen then questioned if Jahen had fallen behind on her fitness regime; the Soikan defended that she had been busy. Tarpfen then studied the vines, noting their extensive growth for a short amound of time. Jahen agreed, adding that it could have been the murderous Drengir if not for the fact that they had not been eaten in the minutes since they had arrived. Jahen then went closer to examine the plant, with Tarpfen warning her to be careful. The smell caused her to hallucinate, making her think that she was back on Soika, fighting in a battle.

Tarpfen tried to suppress Jahen, who was attacking anyone in sight, unaware that she was on Starlight Beacon. She punched Tarpfen in the face and was eventually thrown against a column, which knocked her out of the hallucination. Tarpfen stood nearby, bemused, checking her jaw to make sure it was intact. She was impressed with Jahen's punching abilities. Professor Glenna Kip then arrived, the scientist behind the hybrid plant. She explained that the plant was a johto flower, which had been spliced with a strain of the Drengir. Both Jahen and Tarpfen were enraged. Kip tried to tell Jahen all about the positive traits of the flower, but she was unconvinced, reminding the professor of the riot, who apologized. She then had Starros use salt to kill the flower.

Tarpfen then asked what would stop others from breeding Drengir with other crops now that Kip had, noting that it would be worrisome if they were abel to seed themselves. Kip dismissed his worries, explaining that all data pointed to the Drengir never seeding themselves. Jahen was unconvinced, but her headache left her in no condition to argue the point further. Tarpfen offered to go for a drink with Jahen, notably one other than tarine tea. As they walked away, Tarpfen told the Soikan that she was interested to see her punch again, which made Jahen wince. She once again apologized, but Tarpfen declined, noting that it was the first time she liked Jahen. In that year, Tarpfen was set to give an update on Nihil tactics during a briefing, but due to an attack in the Galov system, the briefing was interrupted.

In that same year, what Tarpfen called a "fracas" took place on Starlight Beacon; unable to deal with it due to her being behind in processing Nihil prisoners, Tarpfen called in Jahen, instructing her to head to Hangar Bay Four. Though the Mon Cal was less behind than she was the day before, Jahen was in the next section and able to get there quicker. The Soikan agreed, but Jahen felt that Tarpfen was now in her debt.

The "fracas" turned out to be a Vuman by the name of Vane Sarpo, a former lover of Jahen. The two reconnected, but the Trandoshan Jedi Sskeer, however, looked into Vane and found evidence of him running Nihil weaponry. Tarpfen apprehended him and put him in handcuffs. Later, in 230 BBY, Jahen later tried to apologize for the incident, but Tarpfen was past it.

In the year 231 BBY of the standard galactic calendar, Tarpfen held the responsibility of questioning "Prisoner Forty-Two." This individual was initially identified as "Sal Krost," but was secretly the Twi'lek Tempest Runner Lourna Dee of the Nihil marauders. A guard escorted the prisoner into a confined chamber, where Tarpfen invited the Nihil operative to be seated. Dee responded with a question, inquiring if the chief was addressing her or the guard. Tarpfen dismissed this attitude, stating that they would proceed without it. Dee expressed surprise when the Mon Calamari dismissed the guard, but Tarpfen assured her that she was capable of handling the situation herself. Dee correctly inferred, based on her interrogator's posture, that she had previously served in the Mon Cala Royal Guard.

Tarpfen, disregarding Dee's earlier comment, requested authorization to record the interrogation. She clarified that recording would occur regardless, but she was allowing the prisoner to voice any objections. Dee voiced no opposition, so Tarpfen initiated the recording, stating her own name and confirming the Nihil's alias as Sal Krost. She then started to question Dee about her involvement with the Nihil, even discussing Lourna Dee as if she were a separate individual. The interrogation shifted to the subject of the prisoner's teeth, which had been sharpened in a style traditionally associated with males. Dee remarked that her current appearance was not always the case—she had been different before joining the Nihil.

Tarpfen pressed further, guiding Dee to discuss her family. As the interrogation advanced, Dee accused Tarpfen of employing a common interrogation tactic of mirroring statements to feign empathy. Tarpfen countered, claiming genuine curiosity and expressing her desire to understand why someone would forsake the galaxy to join the Nihil. Dee rejected this notion, asserting her love for the galaxy and its wealth. Tarpfen then concluded that Dee's motivation was financial gain. The two continued their exchange, delving into Dee's past and her familial history, which brought her pain to remember.

After some time, and some brief questions from Tarpfen, Jahen interrupted, summoning the chief to the Hub. Consequently, the Mon Calamari terminated the recording, instructed the guard—who had returned to the room—to return Dee to her cell, and pronounced Dee's sentence. Tarpfen sentenced her to ten years aboard the correctional vessel Restitution. Dee voiced surprise at the length of the sentence, but Tarpfen explained that she wanted to provide her with a chance for a fresh start and to rebuild her life in accordance with Republic values. Despite her uncertainty about whether "Krost" deserved it, Tarpfen was taking a chance on her. Also during that year, Tarpfen contributed information to the Jedi High Council at a meeting held on Starlight Beacon concerning Nihil operations within the Soola system. This information had been intercepted by her team through intercepted communications.

As 230 BBY began, Tarpfen and the space station staff found themselves facing an increasing workload, with numerous weeks filled with the processing of Nihil prisoners. During this period, Tarpfen began to experience a recurring dream that had become commonplace during her time on Starlight Beacon: she would relive the moment on Mon Cala when Shenrick relieved her of her duties. One such instance occurred as she was attempting to finalize a report. She was only roused from her sleep by Velko Jahen calling her name. Jahen pointed out that this was the third time she had fallen asleep, and suggested a break, which the Mon Cal quickly turned down. Jahen had come to Tarpfen to inform her of the arrival of Vice President Hackrack Bep of the planet Dalna. Tarpfen, considering it a routine matter, suggested housing Bep in the same secure wing as Senator Ghirra Starros, but Jahen raised a concern: the security system in corridor sixteen was displaying an error.

Tarpfen managed to rectify the problem, restoring the cameras to operational status. Following stops at the refresher and springs, she took a mandatory rest break, which forced her to confront Shenrick's eyes once more. She awoke sooner than anticipated, but knowing that she would be unable to fall back asleep, Tarpfen got up to see if Rodor Keen was available to discuss the camera malfunction. He was unavailable, but Jahen was present; the Soikan had received an urgent code from the Republic that only Tarpfen was authorized to access.

The Mon Cal, with reluctance, opened the holo, quickly realizing that it was not a typical Republic message. A masked human figure commanded Tarpfen to disable the camera systems in three corridors, threatening to reveal her secrets if she refused. The individual then emitted a Nihil war cry through the low-signal connection and signed off. The combination of Tarpfen's recent dreams involving Shenrick, the existing issue with corridor sixteen, and the message itself made her feel unwell. The message encryption appeared to be legitimate, leading Tarpfen to conclude that the Nihil had allies in positions of power. She also connected the unusual holos that had been sent her way in the preceding months, which included Mon Calamari gossip websites, documentary excerpts, and the holodrama that she and Shenrick had enjoyed together, to realize that she was the target of blackmail.

The potential exposure of her past terrified Tarpfen, and she worried that her affair with Shenrick could damage both Shenrick and her own family back on Mon Cala. Jahen offered the Mon Calamari a cup of her favored kelp tea, requesting that she check on Senator Starros, who had been persistently requesting assistance. With a sigh, Tarpfen relented. Jahen then noticed that something was amiss with her friend. Though Tarpfen insisted that everything was fine, Jahen knew that the blackmail situation and the order to leave a senator less protected indicated otherwise. Left without other options, she complied. She and Jahen had an early meal that morning.

After assigning a security droid to monitor the feeds, Tarpfen hurried to the senator's suite, only to discover a door ajar in an unusual manner. Immediately on alert, Tarpfen entered with a blaster in hand. She quickly spotted a Theelin man—Vice President Bep—on the floor and heard her name uttered in broken Mon Calamari. A dark-skinned human who looked familiar lamented that Tarpfen should have listened to the Nihil. The Mon Cal tried to raise her blaster, but was struck from behind. As she fell, she realized that the attacker was Senator Starros.

Because the cameras near Bep's room had been deactivated prior to the attack on him, there was no way to review the footage. The Nihil responsible for rendering the Mon Calamari unconscious had also removed her from Starlight Beacon, leading Tarpfen to be considered a prime suspect in the attack on Bep. Master Estala Maru hoped to question Jahen about the security chief's disappearance, but the administrator had no new information—Tarpfen had only disappeared within the past hour. Jedi Knight Lyssa Votz suggested that Tarpfen might be involved with the Nihil, which caused concern among the others about the true extent of the pirates' influence within the Republic.

When Bep was questioned about the incident, he stated that he had no memory of his attacker and had never known Ghal Tarpfen. Three days later, Tarpfen's whereabouts remained unknown. Jahen began to suspect that her colleague was a traitor to the Republic. However, despite the compelling evidence, the Soikan had a feeling that Tarpfen was innocent.

Following her abduction, Tarpfen awoke bound to a chair on a ship that was unfamiliar to her. She estimated that approximately a day had passed since she had been knocked unconscious, and her body was aching, likely from knockout gas. Tarpfen tested the restraints, but found them secure, so she chose to conserve her energy. Some time later, an Aqualish woman entered the room, informing her that they would soon arrive at their destination in No Space. Tarpfen noticed the Aqualish's key fob and devised a plan, tricking her captor into believing that her Mon Calamari skin desperately needed water. The Nihil complied, but as she approached with a sprayer, Tarpfen delivered a powerful kick that knocked her unconscious before using her foot to tap the fob and unlock her restraints.

Now freed, Tarpfen got to her feet to get some water for herself, realizing that she was indeed thirsty. She ordered from the food unit—enough both to drink and to pour over her head, distrusting the Aqualish's sprayer. After completing this, she left her prison to determine if any other Nihil were on the ship. The ship seemed empty, and despite listening intently, Tarpfen could not detect anyone else onboard. She even checked various compartments, but found nothing.

Tarpfen eventually entered the craft's cockpit, where she found a Chagrian at the helm. She tried to use the element of surprise, but alerted the Chagrian to her presence, allowing the Nihil to block the Mon Cal's punch and respond with a blow to Tarpfen's midsection. The Chagrian was surprised that Tarpfen had escaped the ship's galley, and her subsequent attempt to kick the Mon Calamari allowed Tarpfen to pin the Chagrian to the ground, kneeling on her chest and twisting her lethorns. She then recognized the Nihil: Jeni Wataro, an aide to Republic Senator Izzet Noor. Wataro laughed at the accusation, stating that she worked for whomever she chose.

The ship then alerted the pair to the presence of another craft nearby. Wataro laughed again—she explained the signal and assured that it would not be a Republic vessel. Tarpfen subdued the Chagrian until she stopped resisting, dragging her out of the cockpit and locking the door. The Mon Cal was at a piloting disadvantage: she had not flown in years, and the controls were not labeled in Basic. She swore loudly as her hope diminished, then realized that the settings were locked, preventing her from gaining control. Her feelings of helplessness grew when she saw three enemy ships approaching, and she ignored the incoming transmission on the comm unit. She felt that she had lost.

After composing herself, Tarpfen realized that she could at least warn the Republic of the data she had gathered. She sent a voice message detailing which Republic individuals were compromised to as many channel frequencies as she could—mostly Republic, but some Mon Calamari. She repeated the message several times until Wataro began banging on the cockpit doors, demanding that Tarpfen unlock the escape shuttles for her. When she refused, the Chagrian reminded her of their grim fate. Tarpfen countered by mentioning the deadly attack on the planet Valo, where she had family. The Mon Calamari leaned back and sang a lullaby from her childhood. Tarpfen reflected that it was a better death than she had expected.

Tarpfen's message partially reached Starlight Beacon. It was received by Estala Maru, who had Padawan Imri Cantaros alert Jahen so that she could listen. Maru played the recovered snippets of the recording and informed Jahen of his plans to investigate further. Tarpfen's demise left a sinking feeling in the Soikan, who reflected that even far from Republic-controlled space, her final act was to send them a warning. Maru forwarded the message to Jahen and offered condolences for her loss. The Soikan was lost in thought.

Jahen walked through Starlight, contemplating Tarpfen's warning and how the Mon Cal had acquired the information in the first place. Her loss stirred up many emotions, as Tarpfen had taught her more than she realized. Jahen considered Tarpfen to have been an ally—more than just a friend—and decided to both investigate the circumstances of Tarpfen's death and vowed to guide Starlight Beacon through the challenges ahead in the Mon Calamari's memory.

Tarpfen, however, did not die. She left the ship to which she had been kidnapped via escape pod and drifted for several days until the Nihil found her again, imprisoning her in a prison transport. They attempted to torture her for information on the Republic Defense Coalition by denying her water until her skin bled, administering injections, and threatening to murder both Jahen and Tarpfen's family in ways Tarpfen found horrific. The Mon Cal refused to break and revealed nothing.

A disease known as the blight spread through the prison ship, infecting Nihil commanders and prisoners alike. The Nihil received no assistance from their organization, and most of those aboard the ship succumbed to the blight and died. Tarpfen, however, developed a hibernation shell as soon as she was infected, placing her in biostasis. In 228 BBY, a group of RDC members—Pikka and Joss Adren, Elping Tsoo, Visma Tarko, and protocol droid C-06N—discovered the ship in which Tarpfen had been stranded, as they themselves had become stranded in the Nihil's Occlusion Zone. They boarded the ship in search of supplies and found a near lifeless Tarpfen—dry, immobile, but breathing.

They brought her back to their own starship, the Aurora III, unsure what to do without a medical droid. Tarpfen, barely conscious, mumbled a warning that they could not understand regarding the edge of the Occlusion Zone, known as the Stormwall. The Mon Calamari stopped breathing shortly after, and Tarko noticed that the gray pathogen only clung to Tarpfen's hands and feet. Without consulting the others, she began tearing the shell off of the former chief. Tarpfen soon began breathing again, and Tsoo and the Adrens helped Tarko remove the rest of the shell, carefully separating the gray material for containment. To remove all of the blight, Tsoo had to amputate and cauterize some of Tarpfen's fingers and toes. As her vitals stabilized, she thanked her saviors and lost consciousness.

Tarpfen awoke to find herself quarantined in an escape pod, still in pain but now free of the blight and hibernation shell, and with a hydration mister rehydrating her skin. Tarko, via a monitor, asked for Tarpfen's name and rank with a stern expression, which changed to surprise when the Mon Cal addressed the Arkanian by his own name and rank. She reminded the lieutenant that she had been involved in approving her promotion, which Tarko did not recall. After drinking what she found to be a delicious canister of kelp hydration fluids, she asked how long they had been in the Occlusion Zone. Once Tarko answered and prepared several questions of her own, Tarpfen began to lecture her on protocol but then stopped herself, thanking the lieutenant for saving her life.

The Adrens and Tsoo then appeared in the monitor's view, and the former revealed to Tarpfen that snippets of her message regarding the Senate's corruption had reached Jahen. Tsoo inquired about the injured Mon Calamari's condition. Tarpfen reflected on Shenrick, on Jahen, and on the now-dead prisoners she had been with on the Nihil ship before responding that she was relatively well. She then recounted the stories of how the blight had devastated the prison ship and how she had been kidnapped by the Nihil in the first place. Tsoo mentioned that they were headed to Valo, which alarmed Tarpfen, as she thought she had already warned them to steer clear of the Stormwall: she had learned of a plan regarding it from the Nihil on her prison ship.

The other RDC members quickly went to their communications decryptor to check for any Nihil activity. A brief period of silence calmed them, but then laughter and shouting erupted, and alarms on the ship began to sound. Three Nihil ships emerged from hyperspace, though Pikka speculated that they were not targeting Tarpfen or them—rather, they were caught in the middle of something else.

Tarpfen initially joined the Republic to avoid witnessing her former lover, Shenrick, marry someone else. While stationed on Starlight, Tarpfen experienced a recurring dream, reliving her removal from the Mon Calamari Guard. The frequency of the dream disturbed Tarpfen, and reliving those events caused her pain, breaking her heart with each iteration.

When Jahen first met the Mon Calamari, she thought that Tarpfen moved like a caged targon. She barely acknowledged Jahen, focusing intently on the task at hand, although she was able to determine Jahen's potential side in her homeworld's war based on her skin tone. When she realized that Ceeril had staged his own assassination attempt, she appeared so angry that Jahen thought she might finish the job herself. When visiting scientists on Starlight Beacon were fighting, she did not hesitate to stun them. Jahen was surprised by this, feeling that any form of shooting guests was an unwise move. Tarpfen, on the other hand, prioritized preventing them from harming each other, and she defended her actions to one of the fighters' colleagues. Despite Jahen's perception that Tarpfen lacked a sense of humor, the Mon Cal often spoke sarcastically, joking about stunning brawling scientists and suggesting that they were arguing over the correct way to irrigate khema. The first time she found herself liking Jahen was when the Soikan punched Tarpfen while under the influence of the johto, which had greatly embarrassed Jahen.

Jahen and Tarpfen both knew that the Mon Cal disliked saying "please." The pair's relationship strengthened as they continued to work together, although it was strained when Jahen's former lover, Vane Sarpo, attempted to smuggle weaponry onto Starlight Beacon. After Tarpfen was kidnapped, Jahen knew that she should not have expected the Mon Cal to confide any personal feelings with her, and Rodor Keen considered Tarpfen to be competent—she would have known what she was doing. Tarpfen preferred to take her Nihil captors down with her rather than negotiate for her escape. Her final actions before the ship they were on failed were sending a message to as many channels as she could about her situation and singing her mother's lullaby. When Tarpfen awoke after being saved from the blight, she initially reverted to strict protocol but then stopped herself and apologized, choosing instead to express gratitude. Once she had composed herself, she thought about all that she wanted to say to Jahen that she worried she now never could. She had blue skin and yellow eyes and stood 1.73 meters tall, or 5 feet and eight inches.

Tarfpen had muscular arms, which allowed her to wrest a blaster away from Ceeril's strong tongue. While monitoring security feeds, she could focus on multiple monitors simultaneously, which impressed Jahen. She was fluent in both Mon Calamari and Galactic Basic Standard, but she had not heard the former since leaving Mon Cala until Senator Starros used it before shooting her. When she was kidnapped, Tarfpen kicked an Aqualish unconscious to free herself, also subduing Jeni Wataro in the process. However, she was not skilled as a pilot.

Tarpfen wore a dark blue uniform with a belt and gold-colored trim. She wore pants of a lighter blue with the same trim as well as boots of the same color as the uniform. She carried a blaster.

Ghal Tarpfen was created for the Star Wars: The High Republic serialized fiction. Her first appearance and naming occurred in Cavan Scott's "Starlight: First Duty," the first part of which was published in the 201st issue of the Star Wars Insider magazine on March 30, 2021. Before its release, she was indirectly mentioned when Scott discussed the then-upcoming story in a High Republic live stream on January 4 of that year. Tarpfen was first illustrated in the subsequent story, "Starlight: Hidden Danger," which was written by Justina Ireland, illustrated by Louie De Martinis, and published in Insider's 203rd issue on June 22, 2021. She remained a main character for the duration of the Starlight Beacon–focused short stories for The High Republic.

"Starlight: Shadows Remain," written by Ireland and published in the 207th issue of Insider as the final entry in the Starlight short stories on December 14, 2021, depicts Tarpfen discovering Vice President Hackrack Bep shortly after he is attacked, while Senator Ghirra Starros and her accomplice are still present. Tarpfen is subsequently abducted by the perpetrators. Conversely, The High Republic: Mission to Disaster—a middle-grade novel also written by Ireland and published in 2022—mentions that Tarpfen is working with Velko Jahen to search for the culprit in the aftermath of Imri Cantaros' discovery of the crime scene before disappearing the day after the attack. This article uses the short story's version of the events where the two sources differ.

While the April 7, 2023 reference book Star Wars: Timelines states that Tarpfen was killed in Nihil captivity, the November 2023 reference book Star Wars: The High Republic Character Encyclopedia makes no mention of her death and instead establishes that Tarpfen would appear in Phase III of Star Wars: The High Republic. She indeed made her return in "Tales from the Occlusion Zone: Pathogen," an installment of the Tales from the Occlusion Zone series of High Republic short stories, written by Lydia Kang and published in the 225th issue of Insider on April 30, 2024.