The Tarc were a sapient crustacean species originating from the planet called Hjaff. Typically standing around two meters in height, possessing four arms, and exhibiting a chitinous exoskeleton, they often presented an intimidating image to the majority of humanoids. This perception was amplified by their seemingly heartless and unemotional conduct. The Tarc did experience emotions, but they regarded these feelings as intensely personal and believed they should not be shared with others. Highly protective of both their cultural identity and independence, the Tarc viewed other species as potential threats to both. This perspective fostered an extremely isolationist society. The Tarc established colonies in the star systems surrounding their homeworld, effectively using the area as a protective zone between themselves and the larger galaxy. Their navy, known as the Ivlacav Gourn, was employed to eliminate any intruders. This practice ultimately drew the species into conflict with the Galactic Empire during the Galactic Civil War.
The Tarc were a carnivorous species of crustacean that initially arose from sizable sea-dwelling creatures. Nevertheless, the forces of evolution compelled them to adapt to terrestrial existence, where they became highly suited to the arid desert environment found on the three continents of their homeworld, Hjaff. These adaptations involved a notable resistance to elevated temperatures and the capacity to endure without fresh water for prolonged durations of time, despite their aquatic ancestry. These characteristics stemmed from the Tarc's complete coverage by a chitinous exoskeleton, which could store water and serve as a mechanism for regulating body temperature. The exoskeleton also offered protection from harm, but it also made the Tarc considerably heavier and bulkier than Humans and humanoids of comparable stature. However, this increased size contributed to their intimidating presence.
The Tarc were hairless bipeds, characterized by two legs and four arms, in addition to two eyes and a pair of antenna on their heads. The upper pair of arms were highly dexterous, each hand possessing three fingers, while the lower arms terminated in claws used for combat. On average, adult Tarc stood between 1.75 and 2.2 meters in height. Despite their size, they exhibited surprisingly quick reflexes, although their weight resulted in relative slowness on land.
Due to their carnivorous diet, the Tarc never developed the need for lips, teeth, or tongues. Instead, they possessed hollow spikes located inside their mouths, which injected acidic saliva into food. After the food was broken down into smaller pieces, it was then ingested directly through the spikes for sustenance, as the Tarc lacked stomachs. The absence of such an organ meant that the Tarc were unable to digest tough or sinewy meat, so their diet primarily consisted of sand mollusks and other small creatures with soft flesh that were native to the deserts of their homeworld.
The Tarc were generally perceived by other beings as aloof and unemotional, as they regarded their emotions as intensely personal and rarely shared them. They often appeared to be ruthless, and only concerned with their own survival. However, this was primarily a consequence of their cultural norms and the environment they inhabited. A Tarc's actions were invariably purposeful and decisive, aimed at achieving a specific outcome within a defined timeframe, often with a short-term focus. If an action failed to produce the desired result, an alternative strategy was swiftly implemented. Deliberation was uncommon among the Tarc and not highly valued.
The Tarc society was initially divided into numerous nations, each prioritizing the protection of its own sovereignty and cultural identity against the others. While the Tarc were not inherently violent or warlike, international disputes frequently led to conflicts when they perceived aggression as a logical means of achieving their objectives. The Tarc's tactics typically involved employing overwhelming force to swiftly defeat and then eliminate the enemy, with no consideration for mercy. The Tarc only engaged in conflict when they believed it was genuinely appropriate to achieve their desired outcome, rarely acting out of anger or hatred, although they were capable of experiencing such emotions. However, during combat, the Tarc occasionally became enraged due to their suppressed emotions. While in this state they were incredibly dangerous, attacking anything and anyone nearby.
The Tarc's culture evolved as the nations became more interconnected and increasingly reliant on the global economy of Hjaff, rather than that of individual states. Eventually, the nations unified into a single union that sought stability. This government was politically structured as a hierarchical system, led by two distinct political entities: the continental leadership and the Keddek, a singular planetary leader. The continental leaders, consisting of three individuals representing each of Hjaff's three continents, served as advisers to the Keddek and assisted in the execution of the Keddek's governance. The Keddek held a superior position to the three leaders and possessed nearly absolute power over the entire species, but was required to adhere to the Hjaff constitution while in power. If not, the continental leaders were expected to use their combined military strength to overthrow the ruler and select a replacement. All leadership positions within the Tarc political system were held for eight standard years—equivalent to ten Tarc years—before a vote was held to determine the next officeholder. All Tarc were expected to participate in these elections; failure to do so resulted in punishment, typically in the form of a prison sentence or indentured servitude.
The Tarc maintained a zero-tolerance policy toward other species, which bordered on xenophobia, as they regarded non-Tarc as a threat to their way of life. This was compounded by the Tarc mouth structure, which caused the Tarc language to be spoken as a series of clicks and clacks produced by their mouth spikes, accompanied by growls and grunts. In addition to their own language, the absence of a tongue prevented the Tarc from speaking Basic or most other languages, which made communication with other species difficult. The space surrounding their homeworld in the Colonies was colonized and served as a buffer between them and the rest of the galaxy, with the Tarc navy—the Ivlacav Gourn—destroying any starships that entered the region. The species made no further attempts at expansion beyond their defended region, and it was a crime for a Tarc to leave their home system without explicit permission.
The Tarc initially evolved in the oceans of Hjaff before beginning to move onto the shores early in their evolutionary development. Once on land, they evolutionarily diverged further from their aquatic origins and geographically penetrated deeper into the deserts that comprised the majority of their homeworld. Under these harsh conditions, the species developed sophisticated tools to aid their survival, and they rapidly advanced and spread across the planet. The early Tarc populations segregated into a multitude of distinct nations of varying sizes and strengths across the different continents of Hjaff. Each of these nations sought to protect their unique cultures and sovereignty, which frequently led to conflicts with one another. Following a prolonged period of these international wars, during which Tarc society and technology gradually advanced, each nation progressively became dependent on the others as a global economy emerged. Due to this interdependence, the Tarc nations eventually ceased their infighting and integrated into a single union, led by a global leader known as the Keddek and a council of three continental leaders.
Shortly after the formation of the union, the Tarc initiated space exploration in the surrounding systems of their own Hjaff system. They colonized these regions, gaining control of twenty systems, and then encountered other sentient life. The Tarc were horrified, but not surprised, to discover alien life, but they perceived these outsiders as a threat to their culture. The Tarc immediately retreated and ceased all space exploration, leaving their colonized systems as a buffer between themselves and the rest of the galaxy. Military outposts were established on numerous worlds at the periphery of their colonized space, and the Tarc navy destroyed all intruders on sight.
These policies led to several skirmishes between the Ivlacav Gourn and the Imperial Navy during the reign of the Galactic Empire. The Tarc were victorious in all of these encounters, which prompted Imperial Moff Joss Leskwin, who governed the region of space encompassing the Tarc-controlled systems, to assemble a strike force sufficiently powerful to confront the Tarc navy and engage the species in full-scale warfare. As the conflict intensified, some Tarc suggested that the species should seek assistance from the Alliance to Restore the Republic, a rebel force concurrently engaged in conflict with the Empire during the Galactic Civil War. These individuals believed that Tarc culture would be better preserved under Rebel governance than under that of the Empire. However, these Tarc had limited political representation or influence.
Prominent Iyra Sentientologist Tem Eliss included an entry on the Tarc species in his book, The University of Sanbra Guide to Intelligent Life, during their conflict with the Empire. In the book, he theorized that the Abinyshi species, who inhabited the planet Inysh in the Inysh system near Hjaff, were most likely the first sentient species encountered by the Tarc. At the time of the book's writing, the Keddek of Hjaff was named Visacc.
Given the restrictions on Tarc leaving their region of colonized space, very few were found in the rest of the galaxy. Due to the Tarc's isolated nature and their inability to speak Basic, those Tarc who did venture beyond Hjaff faced extreme difficulty in communicating with other beings, as almost no non-Tarc spoke their language. Given the restrictions on leaving their homeworld, most Tarc found away from Hjaff and its surrounding systems were outcasts or criminals and, as such, often came to work for criminal organizations. They typically found employment as bodyguards, enforcers, bounty hunters, and assassins, owing to their intimidating appearance and strength. One such Tarc, active during the Galactic Civil War, was Fascyn, who became an assassin and bounty hunter as part of House Salaktori, the preeminent member house of the Bounty Hunters' Guild. Fascyn was personally selected by the house's CEO to join the organization, as all members were.
The Tarc were conceived as a species for West End Games' Star Wars roleplaying game, with a comprehensive description of the race provided in the fourteenth issue of the Star Wars Adventure Journal. The article, a part of the Alien Encounters series, was authored by Trevor J. Wilson and Craig Robert Carey and published in 1997. The article featured an illustration of a Tarc by Pablo Hidalgo and roleplaying attributes for the species that favored dexterity, strength, and perception, while assigning average scores in the remaining attributes.
- " Alien Encounters " — Star Wars Adventure Journal 14 (First mentioned)
- Alien Encounters
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia , Vol. II ("Hjaff")