Tarisians are humans from the planet Taris. Taris, by the time Starwind takes off, has been destroyed by the Sith - rendering the planet practically uninhabitable save for small pockets of survivors and Sith Troopers who were left behind and abandoned. Tarisians lived under harsh, oppressive rule the Sith Empire imposed, which is very ironic considering that Tarisian Aristocrats used to the rule the exact same way.