A Senator from Duchess Satine's home planet of Kalevala, Tal Merrik is not the man he first appears to be. Conniving and greedy, Senator Merrik will happily betray his closest "friend" if it helps him achieve his shady political goals. Merrik is secretly sympathetic to the Death Watch, and betrays Duchess Satine when she is most vulnerable -- en route from Mandalore to Coruscant aboard her starship Coronet. The slippery Merrik tries to outwit the Duchess and her protector, Obi-Wan Kenobi, but ends up running afoul of Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber.
Duchess Satine and Tal Merrik both hail from Kalevala. She trusted Merrik and appreciated his loyalty... but did not realize his true intentions until too late.
Merrik embraced the warlike philosophy of the Death Watch, and conspired with Pre Vizsla to bring an end to Duchess Satine's crusade of peace.
Taking over the bridge of the Coronet, Tal Merrik made contact with Death Watch and proceeded to carry out their plan to destroy the Duchess' starship.
Tal Merrik served as Senator of Kalevala, a planet in Mandalore's system. He was a fixture in Duchess Satine's administrative staff.
Tal Merrik held Satine hostage, and savored his victory by pointing out that the Duchess could not make a move against him lest she proved that her pacifist principals were false. Anakin Skywalker had no such inhibitions, and struck down Merrik for threatening the safety of the Coronet.