Tarl Sokoli, famously known as the Spine Dragon of Anaxes, was a human who held the rank of captain within the stormtrooper corps of the Galactic Empire, playing a crucial role in the liberation of the planet Chorin. During a celebratory parade on Chorin, Sokoli's presence ignited a spark in a young Beilert Valance, inspiring him to pursue a career within the Imperial Military. Their paths crossed again at Carida Academy, where Sokoli, observing Valance's physical condition, deemed him unsuitable for service in the Imperial Navy due to the injuries he had sustained.
Subsequently, Sokoli ascended to the rank of admiral and took command of the light cruiser named Forerunner II. His increasingly overt expressions of discontent with the Empire did not go unnoticed by Darth Vader. Vader then assigned the now-rebuilt cyborg Valance the mission of assassinating the admiral, fabricating the story that the decorated war hero had aligned himself with the criminal organization Crimson Dawn. Sokoli was strategically positioned near the Eriadu system, where Valance's Dark Squadron was dispatched to engage his forces.
The forces under Sokoli's command clashed with Dark Squadron, resulting in the destruction of two of the squadron's TIE/d "Defender" Multi-Role Starfighters, while the admiral's own forces suffered casualties. Valance then executed a daring maneuver, crashing his Defender directly into the Forerunner II's bridge, leading to a face-to-face confrontation with Sokoli. During their conversation, the admiral gained insight into Valance's motivations. As two stormtroopers attempted to intervene, Sokoli fired upon Valance, only to be fatally struck by a shot from the cyborg's palm blaster.
Having been raised on a planet he perceived as rife with injustice, Tarl Sokoli chose to enlist as a stormtrooper in the Galactic Empire's Imperial Army. He eventually attained the rank of captain and earned the moniker "Spine Dragon of Anaxes." He participated in the liberation of the mining planet Chorin, leading the charge on Chorin City, where pirates had subjected the miners to slavery. It was rumored that Sokoli personally killed approximately seventeen of these pirates. Following the Empire's triumph on Chorin, Sokoli joined his fellow stormtroopers in a celebratory parade that traversed the streets of Chorin City.
During the march, Sokoli was positioned on an All Terrain Tactical Enforcer when he noticed a young local, Beilert Valance, stepping out from the crowd. The captain brought the march to a halt and dismounted from his walker to approach Valance. Preventing a stormtrooper from escorting the boy away, he offered Valance his remaining ration bar, before inquiring if the resident recognized him. When Valance identified him as a hero, Sokoli humbly described himself as a servant of the Empire, contributing to the establishment of order in the galaxy, and suggested that the boy could potentially do the same in the future, one day.
Sokoli pressed on, engaging in various battles for the Empire. However, as time passed, he became increasingly disillusioned with the very Empire whose vision he had so passionately promoted. Sometime between 13 BBY and 10 BBY, the captain visited the Imperial Naval Academy on the planet Carida to deliver a lecture. En route to the lecture hall, accompanied by a lieutenant, he encountered a cadet who was eager to attend his speech. This cadet was Valance, who had been inspired by Sokoli to join the academy, but had also suffered several permanent injuries during training exercises in an active war zone.
The captain immediately noticed Valance's new cybernetic leg and eye patch, and he prevented his lieutenant from punishing the cadet. Valance then recounted his experience on Chorin and how the captain had inspired him to join the Imperial Navy. Sokoli, however, had no recollection of his time on Chorin and apologized to the cadet for misleading him, believing Valance would no longer be capable of flying due to his injuries. With the lieutenant urging him to proceed to his lecture, the captain continued on his way.
As Sokoli's service to the Empire progressed, he eventually attained the rank of admiral and gained command of his own light cruiser, the Forerunner II. However, his growing dissatisfaction with the Empire became public knowledge, eventually attracting the attention of the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Between 3 ABY and 4 ABY, Vader falsely accused the admiral of being a mole for the resurgent criminal syndicate Crimson Dawn and tasked some of his assets, the TIE/d "Defender" Multi-Role Starfighters of Dark Squadron, with eliminating the alleged traitor. Valance had been placed in command of the squadron. By this point, the boy from Chorin had endured numerous additional injuries during his time with the Empire, necessitating his transformation into a cyborg to ensure his survival.
Despite having been discharged from the Imperial Military and becoming a bounty hunter, Valance was later captured by Vader and coerced into serving the Sith [Lord](/article/lord] under threat of blackmail. His mission was to eliminate the growing threat posed by Crimson Dawn. Vader used the mission to eliminate Sokoli as a test of the cyborg's loyalty, knowing of the past connection between Valance and the admiral.
Vader issued orders for the Forerunner II to travel to a location outside the Eriadu system. Once the cruiser had complied with these orders, Dark Squadron arrived shortly thereafter and approached Sokoli's vessel. One of the bridge officers informed the admiral of their arrival. Sokoli expressed confusion regarding the presence of TIE Defenders, as he believed they had all been decommissioned years prior. However, his officer insisted that their clearance codes had been verified. The admiral then discovered, through the officer, that Vader had issued the previous orders to the Forerunner II, leading him to deduce that it was a trap. Despite the bridge officer's skepticism, Sokoli ordered the scrambling of his cruiser's TIE/ln space superiority starfighters.
Dark Squadron engaged the Forerunner II and its escort, successfully destroying several TIE fighters. After one member of Dark Squadron managed to disable the cruiser's hyperdrive, Sokoli instructed his panicked bridge crew to regain their composure and commence firing the Forerunner II's cannons. Initially, the Imperial gunners were unable to hit any TIE Defenders, with one of them emphasizing their excessive speed. In response, the admiral advised them to lure the enemy TIEs into the firing line of the cruiser's forward cannons. Sokoli's strategy proved effective, resulting in the destruction of a TIE Defender. Following the destruction of another defender, Valance made the decision to crash his own into the bridge of the Forerunner II in order to reach Sokoli. Observing the approaching defender, the admiral acknowledged the tactical soundness of the decision just before the impact.
The crash left Sokoli injured and resulted in the incapacitation of his bridge crew. The admiral then engaged in conversation with Valance as the cyborg emerged from his crashed TIE. Upon learning that Valance's intention was to kill him, Sokoli inquired about the reason, to which Valance explained the allegation that the admiral was a Crimson Dawn mole and that the Sith Lord was blackmailing him. Sokoli then began analyzing Valance's cybernetic enhancements and motives, recognizing his opponent as a seasoned killer. Valance reiterated how Sokoli had inspired him to join the Empire, leading the admiral to realize that the cyborg was a disillusioned "convert." As two stormtroopers arrived, Valance attacked them. Sokoli fired at the cyborg, declaring that life was full of disappointments, but Valance fatally shot the admiral with his palm blaster.
Tarl Sokoli was a human with light complexion and black [hair](/article/hair] that later turned grey. During his time in combat, he maintained the modest belief that he was merely a servant of the Galactic Empire, fulfilling his duty, and he suggested to the young Beilert Valance that he could follow the same path. However, upon their second encounter, he felt pity for the cadet after witnessing the injuries he had sustained, believing that the Imperial Navy had no place for him.
Early in his service to the Empire, Sokoli wore the standard white stormtrooper armor. Later in his career, he adopted the standard grey uniform of an Imperial officer, which included an Imperial kepi, a code cylinder above each of his breasts, and a rank plaque that indicated his rank of captain and later admiral.
Tarl Sokoli made his first appearance in a hologram in the comic Bounty Hunters 18, which was written by Ethan Sacks, illustrated by Ramon Bachs and Bryan Valenza, and released on December 1, 2021.