It is known that Hask Taff, a Zygerrian of the female persuasion, worked as a film director, and had a reputation as a skilled manipulator of the HoloNet. After the Clone Wars ended, Taff joined forces with Anora Fair, a reporter, and Berch Teller, an Imperial officer who had become disillusioned, to create a record of the Galactic Empire's actions during the Antar Atrocity. Taff and Fair recreated the arrests and executions, which were brutal, of residents of the moon Antar 4 who were both for and against the Empire, and this resulted in them becoming targets for silent elimination by COMPNOR. Teller managed to get them smuggled to safety just hours before COMPNOR agents showed up to arrest them.
Five years following the collapse of the Galactic Republic, Taff, along with other former members of the Republic, got involved in a plot with the goal of capturing the corvette named Carrion Spike, which belonged to Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. Taff used her skill in manipulating the HoloNet to help the crew by creating fake holofeeds that were similar to the old CIS Shadowfeeds from the Clone Wars. They used these to confuse Imperial targets before they launched their attacks. The plan eventually fell apart, and Taff and the rest of the crew were captured by Moff Tarkin and taken to Coruscant as prisoners. After extensive interrogations, Taff and her comrades were quietly executed to prevent them from becoming martyrs for anti-Imperial causes.
During the Clone Wars and the Imperial Era, there lived a Zygerrian film-maker named Hask Taff. She was both a friend and a colleague of Anora Fair, who was an ambitious human journalist hailing from the Core Worlds. Fair had established a reputation as a strong critic of both the Galactic Empire and Emperor Palpatine. In 18 BBY, Hask assisted Anora in covering the Antar Atrocity by directing and producing holographic reenactments that depicted the arrests and the indiscriminate killings of civilians. Their primary source was Berch Teller, the disillusioned station chief of Republic Intelligence, who had trained numerous Gotal and Koorivar loyalists who lost their lives during the Antar Atrocity.
Due to her work on the Antar Atrocity, pro-Imperial commentators labeled Hask as "a master of HoloNet manipulation." As a result of Hask and Anora's coverage of the Antar Atrocity, the Imperial Security Bureau marked them as targets for assassination. However, Teller managed to get them to safety. Hask and Anora then became members of Teller's rebel cell, which was made up of survivors and witnesses of the Antar Atrocity. The rebels all shared a strong dislike for Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, who was the architect of the Antar Atrocity. Vice Admiral Dodd Rancit, the Director of the Naval Intelligence Agency and a rival of Tarkin, provided assistance to Teller's rebel cell. Rancit provided the rebels with intelligence, communications equipment, starships, and weapons from the Clone Wars era.
In 14 BBY, following the failed attack on Sentinel Base, Hask, along with Anora, Teller, Salikk the Gotal pilot, Cala the Koorivar operations specialist, and Dr. Artoz the Mon Calamari engineer, embarked on a mission to steal Moff Tarkin's stealth corvette, the Carrion Spike. Teller's intention was to utilize Tarkin's starship to launch attacks on Imperial targets throughout the galaxy in order to spark rebellion. Given their film-making skills, Hask and Anora were assigned the task of producing holovids of the raids, which would then be broadcast on the HoloNet. The intention behind these holovids was to replicate the Separatist Shadowfeed broadcasts that were common during the Clone Wars.
Rancit assisted the insurgents by planting a communications cache on the planet Murkhana. While Tarkin and Darth Vader were visiting Murkhana City to conduct an investigation, the insurgents forced their way onto the Carrion Spike. Despite successfully luring Sergeant Crest and the majority of the guards away, the insurgents encountered strong resistance from the ship's captain, the comms officer, and a pair of stormtroopers. During the skirmish, Hask accidentally caused damage to the ship's airlock when Anora collided with her.
The insurgents then fled offworld, heading towards the edge of the Murkhana system. While in flight, Hask and Anora engaged in an argument over who was responsible for the damage to the airlock. Hask criticized Anora for colliding with her, while Anora blamed Hask for failing to keep the gun's safety engaged. When Teller inquired about the holocams, Hask responded that she would slave them to the HoloNet comm board. She also mentioned that it was fortunate that Tarkin's stormtroopers had brought some of their storeroom components aboard. Furthermore, Hask questioned Teller about the reason for the Emperor sending Lord Vader to accompany Tarkin. Teller explained that Vader had visited Murkhana at the end of the Clone Wars and had executed a Twi'lek Black Sun racketeer.
When Hask used his adopted name to refer to the Emperor's second in command, Anora reminded her friend that Vader was both a machine and a terrorist. Shortly afterward, Tarkin and Lord Vader gave chase in the Parsec Predator, a ship that had been commandeered from the Sugi crime lord. During the pursuit, Teller scolded Hask for failing to check for tracking devices. When Hask snapped back that she could not find any, Teller retorted that she had not found any. As the pursuit continued, Hask and Anora came to the realization that their pursuers were none other than Tarkin and Vader. Hask also expressed curiosity about what was hidden beneath Vader's helmet.
The insurgents executed a hyperspace jump to the Fial system. However, Lord Vader was able to locate them by utilizing his meditation chamber aboard the Carrion Spike. When the Imperials reappeared, Hask speculated that there was a tracking device either on the hull or concealed within the landing strut. Unable to conduct a thorough EVA search, Teller made the decision to execute a second jump to Galidraan Station. Before the jump, Teller assigned Hask to operate the comm board.
Under Teller's command, Hask and her comrades attacked the Imperial station located in the Galidraan system. The insurgents utilized the Carrion Spike's cloaking systems to launch an attack on the station, resulting in substantial damage and casualties. Due to the corvette's cloaked state, the defending V-wing and ARC-170 starfighters were unable to locate and engage the Carrion Spike. Tarkin and Vader soon reappeared aboard the Parsec Predator. Utilizing Tarkin's knowledge of his own ship, they managed to inflict some damage on the Carrion Spike before being disabled.
During the dogfight, the Carrion Spike sustained some interior damage. Hask extinguished a fire in cargo hold three. Following Teller's instructions, she sealed off the hold and disabled the exhaust fans to prevent any smoke or fire suppressant foam from being vented. Before initiating the hyperspace jump, the rebels ejected Vader's meditation chamber and destroyed the system's hyperspace buoy. The insurgents then raided the TaggeCo mining facilities on Lucazec. Hask and Teller produced holovids, which were then broadcast on the Imperial HoloNet, capturing the attention of both the Emperor and the Imperial Ruling Council on Coruscant.
With the Carrion Spike in need of refueling, the insurgents made their way to the planet Phindar, situated in the Mandalore sector. Teller's source, Rancit, had verified that an Imperial task force had been deployed to Gromas in the Perkell sector; the other source of the Carrion Spike's special fuel. In order to acquire the fuel cells from the orbital tanker positioned above Phindar, Teller donned an Imperial uniform so that he could pass himself off as the Imperial Commander Abel LaSal. When Hask voiced her concern that every depot between their current location and Centares would be on the lookout for the Carron Spike, Teller reassured her that their altered transponder would enable them to pass through unnoticed.
When Hask argued that they should have stashed fuel somewhere, Teller countered that they had "broken the bank" getting the fuel cell shipment to Murkhana. Hask then raised the matter about indiscriminately killing civilians during their campaign and pointed out that people were working for the Empire because they had to eat. In response, Teller harshly argued that anyone who served the Emperor's New Order was a legitimate target and asked why she had not thought this through by now. Anora spoke up for Hask by suggesting that she was forgetful, prompting Hask to return a brooding nod.
Teller reiterated that even civilians mining ore or refueling Imperial warships were supporting the Emperor by default. He reminded Hask that their idea was to put the fear into anyone considering joining the Empire in order to slow the death toll and to punish them. When he asked if she understood, Hask indicated that she understood. When Anora quipped about Teller's "acting", Teller remarked that the Emperor would have eliminated the artists if he had his way.
Despite Teller's precautions, the Phindian administrator noticed something suspicious about "Commander LaSal" and alerted Tarkin and Lord Vader. Before the Carrion Spike had finished refueling, Tarkin and Lord Vader arrived with the Imperial escort carrier Goliath and the V-wing Yellow Squadron. While Cala prepared the ship's hyperdrive, the Carrion Spike ran circles around the tanker to prevent the Imperials from targeting the ship. The insurgents also managed to shoot down several of Vader's V-wings during the dogfight. Before fleeing into hyperspace, the insurgents also used a concealed explosive to blow up the Phindar tanker.
Following the escape from Phindar, Hask and her comrades tended to their wounds and the damaged corvette. Teller also praised Hask and Anora for their captivating holovids of the ordeal at Phindar. Though Teller was optimistic their holovids would spread to other sectors, Hask reported that she did not have a chance to edit out the lag before the tanker explosion. However, she was happy there was a sequence showing the starfighters ganging up on them. When Hask asked if Tarkin and Vader would have ordered the bombing of the tanker, Teller recounted Tarkin's ruthless career in the Outlands Regions Security Force and his rise to power with the approval of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. When Hask observed that Tarkin was also indiscriminately targeting civilians, Teller and Anora reassured her that they were the "good guys."
Following the discovery of a paralight tracker inside one of the Carrion Spike's fuel cells, Teller decided to mislead their Imperial pursuers by transmitting coordinates claiming they were traveling to the Obroa-skai system but getting their collaborator Knotts to dispatch the freighter Reticent as a decoy ship. In response, Tarkin and Lord Vader deployed substantial forces including three Imperial interdictor vessels to intercept the Carrion Spike. One of the interdictors, an Immobilizer 418 cruiser, malfunctioned, causing a massive hyperspace accident that claimed 1,100 lives.
Despite the diversion, Tarkin and Vader managed to interrogate the crew of the Reticent and learned about Knott's involvement. Tarkin subsequently discovered information on the HoloNet incriminating Teller and his followers including Hask. He realized that the insurgents were seeking revenge for his role in the Antar Atrocity years earlier. In private, Anora regretted dragging her friend Anora into Teller's insurgency. However, Teller reassured Anora that Hask was willing to choose to remain with them regardless of the odds stacked against them.
Acting under Rancit's guidance, Teller and his crew attacked the Imperial facility in the Nouane system. Despite exiting hyperspace deeper in the system to avoid the capital ships, the Imperial facility was well-defended and the Carrion Spike was forced to retreat into space. The ship also sustained considerable damage to its armaments, shields, hyperdrive, stealth systems, and sublight drives. Following the escape from Nouane, Hask reported that the rebels did not come off well in the holovids the Empire had released of the Nouane engagement.
After Anora pointed out that Teller's mysterious source had betrayed them, the rebels decided to evacuate the Carrion Spike and send it on autopilot to Carida. As expected, Rancit had intended to destroy the Carrion Spike and her rebel crew in order to cover up evidence of his collusion with the rebels and improve his standing in the Imperial Ruling Council. However, Lord Vader had discovered his treachery and confronted the Vice-Admiral. As punishment, Vader forced Rancit to climb aboard an escape pod and issue the order to destroy it.
After abandoning the Carrion Spike, Hask and her comrades joined the rest of Teller's cell aboard Berch Teller's warship, a modified Providence-class carrier in a star system near the Gulf of Tatooine. Since much of the Imperial Navy was dispersed across the galaxy hunting down the Carrion Spike, Teller and his followers designed to ambush an Imperial convoy ferry supplies to the secret Death Star project. Teller assigned Hask and Anora with the task of producing a "galactic-class holovid" depicting the raid.
For the ambushed, Teller marshaled his rebel cell's entire assets including the Providence carrier, a Nebulon-B frigate, numerous droid fighters, and several Z-95 Headhunter and Tikiar starfighters. When the convoy entered realspace, the insurgents jammed their HoloNet and communications transmitters. Though the convoy's escort gunboats and frigates formed a defensive circle around the cargo ships and transports, the insurgents' ships blasted at the escorts, allowing droid fighters to dart through the gaps and attack the cargo vessels.
However, the tide of the battle turned with the arrival of Moff Tarkin aboard the Imperial Star Destroyer Executrix. After deploying V-wings, Tarkin unleashed his Star Destroyer's firepower on the Nebulon-B frigate and the Providence carrier, crippling the ship. During the battle, Hask and Anora produced a holovid showing Teller escaping on his starfighter to fight another day. Hask and her comrades stayed behind so that Teller could escape on his Headhunter fighter.
Following the battle, Hask along with Anora, Knotts, Dr Artoz and the surviving crew were captured by Tarkin's stormtroopers. Hask maintained a defiant silence while Anora verbally taunted Tarkin. Over the next three weeks, Hask and her fellow rebels were interrogated by Tarkin, Lord Vader, and the Imperial Security Bureau. The rebels were then privately executed to avoid giving them a martyrs' death.
Hask Taff was a tall and slender female Zygerrian. She had feline features including pointed, fur covered ears, a narrow nose, and triangular face. Hask had rubicund, reddish fur. She was a close friend and collaborator of the journalist Anora Fair though this did not stop the two from arguing on matters such as who was to blame for damaging the Carrion Spike's airlock. Though Hask feared and loathed the Emperor's executor Darth Vader, she did not share Anora's unwillingness to refer to the Sith Lord by name. Unaware of his true identity, Hask wondered what lay beneath Vader's helmet.
Unlike her friend Anora, Hask was more questioning of Teller's policy of indiscriminately targeting civilian miners and refuel station personnel because they served the Imperial war machine. Hask later came to appreciate Teller's perspective when she observed that Tarkin also indiscriminately targeted civilians but accepted Teller and Hask's reason that their actions were justified because they were the "good guys." While Anora regretted embroiling Hask in Teller's insurgency, Teller reassured Anora that Hask would most likely choose to remain with them. Teller was proven right when Hask remained with her comrades when Tarkin's forces captured them.
Hask was a skilled film-maker who directed and produced holographic reenactments of the Antar Atrocity. Her skilled film-making abilities led Imperial pundits to call her "a master of HoloNet" manipulation." Though she knew how to use a blaster, Hask was not a soldier and did not know how to keep the gun's safety on.
Hask Taff appeared in Tarkin, a 2015 novel written by James Luceno and published by Del Rey.