Viceroy Hask, a Neimoidian male, stood at the helm of the Trade Federation during the years preceding the Stark Hyperspace War, specifically in 44 BBY. His scheme involved orchestrating a bacta scarcity on the planet Thyferra, aiming to boost profits through reduced supply. Consequently, transports carrying bacta became targets for pirates affiliated with the Stark Commercial Combine.
The Jedi Tholme and Quinlan Vos uncovered Hask's involvement when they eavesdropped on a meeting between him and Adol Bel of the Xucphra Corporation, a fellow participant in the scheme. Later, this information was leveraged by Jedi Master Mace Windu to strong-arm Hask and Senator Nute Gunray of the Trade Federation into supplying ships for the rescue of Galactic Republic troops under siege on Troiken. Gunray took the credit for this intervention, which helped him succeed Hask as viceroy.
In the era leading up to 44 BBY, a Neimoidian male named Hask held the position of viceroy within the Trade Federation, also acting as its representative for the planet Thyferra. During that year, Hask, along with other Neimoidian leaders of the Trade Federation, forged an alliance with Adol Bel from the Xucphra Corporation, a Thyferra-based producer of the medical compound bacta. Together with pirate Iaco Stark, they devised a plan to engineer a bacta shortage by sabotaging a processing facility for alazhi, a crucial component in bacta production. This strategy effectively reduced the availability of bacta to the Galactic Republic, driving up its price and boosting the Trade Federation's profits as intended.
However, Stark and his organization, known as the Stark Commercial Combine, disrupted Hask's scheme by launching attacks on transports carrying bacta and selling the stolen bacta at prices lower than those set by the Trade Federation. The suspicious circumstances surrounding the shortage drew the attention of the Jedi Order, prompting Jedi Master Tholme and his Padawan, Quinlan Vos, to journey to Thyferra to conduct an investigation. Simultaneously, Republic forces, which included several Jedi, found themselves under siege by Stark's forces on the planet Troiken after negotiations with the Stark Commercial Combine fell apart, marking the beginning of the Stark Hyperspace War. The Republic was unable to send ships to rescue them because Stark had implemented a virus that crippled their navcomputers, rendering hyperspace travel unpredictable.
While on Thyferra, Tholme and Vos overheard a clandestine meeting between Hask and Bel. Bel was furious as Stark's virus had upset their plans because the Xucphra Corporation could not safely transport the bacta they were hiding. Hask maintained that the Trade Federation bore no responsibility for Stark's actions, but Bel continued to voice his concerns, fearing that the galaxy would turn against the company if the conspiracy was revealed. Hask reminded Bel of his duty to safeguard their secrets, noting that he had heard Jedi were investigating. Bel dismissed his concerns, stating that HKB-3 hunter-killer droids were patrolling the area, and tried to steer the conversation toward alternative methods of transporting bacta without relying on hyperdrives.
Despite encountering the droids, Tholme and Vos managed to escape Thyferra and shared their findings with the Jedi High Council. To rescue those stranded on Troiken, Jedi Master Mace Windu confronted Hask and senator Nute Gunray of the Trade Federation on the planet Coruscant. Windu revealed his knowledge of their involvement in the bacta shortage and used this information to coerce them into providing cruisers from the Trade Defense Force that were immune to the virus, in exchange for concealing their role in the scheme. Gunray received public recognition for the Trade Federation's contributions at the Fifth Battle of Qotile—the war's concluding battle—which aided his rise to power, ultimately replacing Hask as viceroy.
Hask displayed a willingness to orchestrate an artificial bacta shortage to inflate profits, disregarding the lives endangered by subsequent pirate attacks and the deprivation of bacta within poorer communities throughout the galaxy. During his discussion with Bel, Hask reassured his co-conspirator that the Trade Federation held no responsibility for the disruptions caused by Stark's actions. He also reminded Bel to maintain the secrecy of their illicit activities, particularly from the Jedi. Hask possessed green skin and red eyes.
Hask was typically seen wearing purple robes accented with a blue collar and a purple headdress. During his meeting with Bel, he was seated in a mechno-chair.
Hask's character was featured in flashback sequences in the thirty-seventh issue of the 1998 Star Wars comic-book series. This issue, which comprised the second part of The Stark Hyperspace War story arc, was penned by John Ostrander, illustrated by Davidé Fabbri, and released by Dark Horse Comics on December 19, 2001. Hask's entry in the 2008 The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia attributed the failure of his bacta shortage scheme to Stark's attacks, while Adol Bel's entry suggested that Hask, Bel, and Stark jointly orchestrated the shortage. This article operates under the assumption that Stark was initially involved in the shortage but subsequently betrayed Hask and Bel.
In addition, the 2009 reference book The Essential Atlas by Jason Fry and Daniel Wallace posited that the bacta thefts were a pretense created by the Trade Federation viceroy and Stark. Although Hask was presumed to be the viceroy upon the creation of his article on Wookieepedia, the collaboratively edited and unofficial online Star Wars encyclopedia, in 2006, his official rank was only canonically validated in 2012's The Essential Guide to Warfare by Fry and Paul R. Urquhart. Conversely, the comic arc depicts the attacks on bacta transports as genuine acts of piracy. This article follows the comic's narrative of events.