Tav Kennede was the son of Ved Kennede, the head training instructor for the Emperor's Royal Guard. In 11 ABY, Kennede's father, along with many other Royal Guardsmen, was killed on Yinchorr by stormtroopers under the command of Carnor Jax, a rogue Guardsman who participated in a conspiracy against the late Emperor Palpatine. Tav Kennede was informed of Jax's actions by Kir Kanos, the only survivor of the massacre, and allied himself with the Guardsman to avenge his father's death. After a brief meeting on Baramorra, Kennede and Kanos decided to employ themselves as bounty hunters to the Hutt crime lord Grappa, intending to build up the reputations of their false identities to a point where they could successfully infiltrate the Imperial Interim Ruling Council, Jax's co-conspirators.