Known as "Tap," Tap-Nar-Pal was a Cerean male Padawan who served both the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic during the Clone Wars. During this conflict, he held the rank of Commander within the Grand Army of the Republic. As the war progressed, Pal presented an unusual proposition to his Master, Ronhar Kim: that all the Senators in the Republic undergo testing for midi-chlorians. Kim shared this idea with his longtime acquaintance, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. Palpatine expressed interest but requested the Jedi to keep the matter confidential for the time being. Immediately following their meeting with Palpatine, Kim and Pal received orders to travel to the planet Merson, where they were to establish a base of operations for a larger campaign aimed at eliminating the Merson Pirates. While Master Kim commanded the troops on the ground, Pal oversaw the starfighters in space, responsible for defending the small fleet accompanying them. Both the fleet and the ground forces were ambushed upon arrival, becoming isolated from each other. The ground forces suffered significant losses, and were unable to evacuate when Captain Gilad Pellaeon declined to dispatch a rescue vessel. Despite knowing his ship had already sustained heavy damage, Pal made the decision to break formation and attempt to rescue his Master. He was quickly shot down and killed, with his master dying shortly after, both becoming victims of Palpatine's manipulations.
Tap-Nar-Pal, a male Cerean with Force-sensitive abilities, received training in the ways of the Force from the Jedi Order at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. In the year 32 BBY, Jedi Knight Ronhar Kim of Naboo selected Pal to become his Padawan. During his time as an apprentice, Pal constructed a lightsaber with a green blade and learned to wield it under Kim's guidance.
A decade later, when the Clone Wars began to engulf the galaxy, Tap-Nar-Pal and his master conceived a strategy to reveal the identity of the elusive second Sith. After learning about Obi-Wan Kenobi's capture on Geonosis and the report Kenobi made about his interrogation by Count Dooku, Pal came to the conclusion that exposing the second Sith could bring an early end to the war. Suspecting that the second Sith Lord was hidden among the members of the Republic government, Pal proposed testing all members of the Galactic Senate to determine their midi-chlorian count. The individual with the highest count, they reasoned, would be the Sith they were seeking.
Kim and his Padawan presented their plan to Palpatine, who swiftly dismissed it as overly controversial. He argued that some Senators, such as Bail Organa of Alderaan, would object to the test on principle, but this did not discourage them. Pal suggested that Palpatine volunteer to be the first to take the test, thereby demonstrating to the Senate that it was a beneficial idea. Palpatine requested that the two Jedi delay presenting the plan to the Jedi High Council until they could discuss it further. Kim informed him that he and Pal were departing for a brief mission to Merson to combat pirates and would refrain from informing the Council until their return.
Almost immediately after landing on the planet, Kim, clone commander Dox, and his clone troopers found themselves overwhelmed by battle droids. In orbit, Pal, piloting his Delta-7 Aethersprite, and Republic Captain Gilad Pellaeon faced an overwhelming force. Intelligence reports had significantly underestimated the Confederate forces. Palpatine, knowing their destination, had instructed Count Dooku to ensure that no one survived the battle, as Palpatine himself was the second Sith and wanted to prevent their plan from interfering with his schemes.
Pellaeon refused to send transports to evacuate the ground forces and ordered a full retreat. Kim reluctantly agreed and instructed Pal to leave the battle with the Captain. However, Pal disregarded his Master's orders and dove his fighter into Merson's atmosphere in a futile attempt to aid Kim. The Cerean hoped to delay the attacking droids long enough for Kim and his remaining ten troopers to escape, but he was swiftly shot down and killed, his fighter crashing into the advancing droid columns.
Kim briefly mourned the loss of his Padawan before ordering Dox to engage the droid forces. He told Dox to die well, and the Jedi joined the clones in attacking the battle droids. Kim was shot down, suffering multiple wounds, and collapsed. As he lay dying, he realized that he had been set up by the second Sith, before a B2 super battle droid ended his life with a shot to the head.
Palpatine publicly mourned Kim and Pal before the entire Galactic Senate. He exploited their deaths to fuel the war effort and further enhance security measures, thereby increasing his own executive power. As Palpatine intended, Pal's and Kim's plan to expose Darth Sidious died with them.
Comic writer John Ostrander has speculated that Tap-Nar-Pal was born around the year 37 BBY.