Tanith Shire was a Human female from the planet Ophideraan. As a young woman, she and her father crashed their ship on Ophideraan, and her people were enslaved by the Serpent Masters, a scavenger group who forced them to maintain the Great Well, their base of operation. Due to the Serpent Masters' mastery over the world's flying serpents, Shire and her people were unable to escape. However, Shire convinced the Serpent Masters' leader, Supreme Serpent Master Tyrann to let her leave Ophideraan to send salvage their way.