Tanner, a soldier in the Imperial forces, found himself stationed on the Imperial-class Star Destroyer known as the Vector. The year 1 BBY brought a horrifying event: the Vector's crew fell victim to a virulent virus. This virus caused death among those infected, only to then revive them as horrifying zombies. Tanner, along with twenty-nine others, discovered they were immune and sought refuge from the undead menace. They barricaded themselves inside a Sentinel-class landing craft, which was docked within the Star Destroyer's hangar. Their desperate struggle for survival led them to the grim act of cannibalism. In their tenth week confined within the shuttle, they made a brutal attempt to murder and consume Jareth Sartoris, an officer from the Imperial prison barge Purge, who was trying to escape the zombie outbreak. They ultimately struck a deal with Sartoris for their mutual escape. As part of this agreement, Sartoris deactivated a tractor beam that was preventing the shuttle from leaving, and directed three other survivors from the Purge to the waiting shuttle before he succumbed to his wounds. Tanner greeted the arriving trio as they prepared for departure, but a gruesome end awaited him: a zombie managed to infiltrate the shuttle and killed him before they could escape.
In 1 BBY, Tanner, a male soldier serving the Imperial forces, was assigned to the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer named the Vector. During this year, the Vector was tasked with transporting containers filled with a lethal virus, code-named "Blackwing," from the planet Meglumine to an Imperial research facility located on the planet Khonji Seven. However, tragedy struck when some of the containers were damaged during the journey, resulting in exposure of the Star Destroyer's crew to the deadly virus. Most of the crew died from the infection, only to be transformed into terrifying zombies. Fortunately, a few individuals, including Tanner, possessed immunity to the airborne pathogen. As the virus rapidly spread throughout the Vector, infecting its crew, Tanner and twenty-eight others, led by Commander Gorrister, sought sanctuary within a Sentinel-class landing craft docked inside the destroyer's hangar. However, their attempts to flee the Vector were thwarted by an active tractor beam that prevented the shuttle from taking off. Rather than confront the overwhelming zombie horde, the soldiers chose to confine themselves within the craft, desperately trying to stay alive.
As time passed, Tanner and his companions deteriorated into mere skeletal figures. Driven by starvation, they resorted to the horrific act of cannibalism, drawing lots to determine who would be sacrificed. Over time, the initial group of thirty survivors dwindled to a mere seven, including Tanner, as the others were killed and consumed. During their tenth week of confinement within the shuttle, the Imperial prison barge Purge stumbled upon the derelict Vector near the fringes of the Unknown Regions. Salvage teams, dispatched to the Star Destroyer to recover essential parts for repairing the barge's disabled engines, inadvertently carried the virus back to the Purge, where it rapidly spread, decimating the crew and leaving only a handful alive. One of the Purge survivors, Captain of the Guard Jareth Sartoris, stumbled upon the surviving Imperial personnel within their shuttle while fleeing from the relentless undead. The seven survivors initially attempted to kill and devour Sartoris, but he managed to gain the upper hand, throwing four of them—including Gorrister—into the swarm of zombies outside the shuttle.
However, one of the three remaining men, White, successfully persuaded Sartoris to spare their lives and attempt an escape. A plan was devised: Sartoris would deactivate the tractor beam preventing the shuttle's departure, and the remaining survivors—Tanner, White, and Pauling—would assist him in piloting the craft to safety upon his return. Sartoris successfully disabled the tractor beam and directed fellow Purge survivors Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Trig Longo to the waiting craft, ultimately sacrificing himself to ensure their safe arrival. Upon the trio's arrival, Tanner greeted them and informed them of White's death. However, as the shuttle began its ascent, a zombie managed to breach the craft; it killed and devoured both Tanner and Pauling before it was finally destroyed.
Tanner, an Imperial soldier, was among the fortunate few who managed to escape the horde of undead zombies that had overrun the Vector. During their confinement aboard the shuttle, the soldiers had an ample supply of water but a limited amount of food, eventually leading them to resort to cannibalism to survive. Tanner proved to be resilient, outlasting many others and enduring for ten weeks as their numbers dwindled from thirty to seven. During this time, starvation had reduced him to a mere skeletal figure; his skin had become shriveled and yellowed, and his face was gaunt and pale. Despite his deteriorated condition, he greeted the trio of survivors from the Purge with a smile, albeit an unnatural and unsettling one, given his emaciated appearance.
The character of Tanner was conceived by author Joe Schreiber for use as a supporting character in his 2009 novel, Death Troopers.