Tam Elgrin

"I'm just some guy who was of no use to anybody, and then the Yuuzhan Vong grabbed me, chewed me up, and spat me out in one of their plots."

- Tam Elgrin Tam Elgrin was a holocam operator for Wolam Tser, a holodocumentarian. In 27 ABY, after the Fall of Coruscant, he was captured by the Yuuzhan Vong, and was forced to spy on the New Republic garrison on Borleias. He was able to break free from his bondage, though, and helped defeat the Yuuzhan Vong in the Second Battle of Borleias.

Yuuzhan Vong Agent
"I'm a Yuuzhan Vong spy, and I'm going to die. I'm supposed to capture you now, with the bugs in my pocket, and carry you to the edge of the kill zone. But I'm not going to."

- Tam Elgrin to Jaina Solo

Very little is known about the early life of Elgrin, but at some point, he met holodocumentarian Wolam Tser, and became his holocam operator.

When the Yuuzhan Vong invaded Coruscant, Elgrin was on the planet with Tser. Elgrin shot a hologram showing the terraforming of Coruscant, and a Yuuzhan Vong patrol in hot pursuit of Elgrin. The hologram was watched by Luke Skywalker in a New Republic fortress on Borleias. Elgrin stated that he was with a group of survivors in a building, when he was noticed by a Yuuzhan Vong patrol, which began pursuit. Elgrin said that he switched off his holocam to focus on escaping, and got away. The Vong also gave him a villip, which Elgrin said was a souvenir from Corellia.

After the escape from Coruscant, Elgrin and Tser went to the fortress on Borleias, but little did Skywalker, Tser, and the others stationed on Borleias know, he was there spying for the Yuuzhan Vong. Elgrin protested to Yuuzhan Vong warrior Denua Ku and New Republic traitor Viqi Shesh, via villip, that he was not in a position to discover any secrets about the Starlancer Project which he was ordered to uncover. Shesh ordered him to become friendly with New Republic scientist Danni Quee, gain the trust of those around him, and then sabotage the Borleias fortress from within, by planting recording devices in machines that would go in critical places, and leave false evidence implicating other people within the Borleias command structure. However, by reviewing Elgrin's Coruscant recording, Danni Quee discovered that Elgrin had lied; he was not with a group after all. In reality, Elgrin was alone, and while attempting to escape, tripped and fell down. The Vong captured and enslaved him, and implanted a device in Elgrin's brain, which forced him into servitude to the invaders and gave him headaches when he failed to obey their orders.

Before the Second Battle of Borleias, Elgrin was assigned by his Yuuzhan Vong masters to plant a tracker on Jedi and Rogue Squadron pilot Jaina Solo's X-wing. The bug involved a Yuuzhan Vong plot to capture Solo.

47 days after the Yuuzhan Vong occupation of Borleias, Elgrin snuck into Danni Quee's room, hoping to acquire secrets regarding the Starlancer Project while Danni slept. Elgrin, after reading information off the screens in her room, decided to kill her. Elgrin would place a razor bug on Danni, which would subsequently eat her. But at the last moment, Elgrin had second thoughts, and turned away, leaving her room in a great pain. Little did he know, Danni was feigning sleep the whole time, confirming her suspicions that Elgrin was collaborating with the Yuuzhan Vong.

After leaving Danni's room, Elgrin encountered Jaina Solo, the very person that he was assigned to capture. By then, Elgrin was suffering pain from the bug in his brain, was unable to walk correctly, and was bleeding from his nose. Elgrin confessed to Solo that he was a spy, and that he was assigned to capture Solo. Elgrin also told her that he planted the tracking bug on her X-wing, but he had removed it. Elgrin thought that Solo believed that his story wasn't true, that he was just another shell-shocked refugee. Before Solo left for her X-wing, she summoned medical personnel to help him, which were able to save him.

A freed man
While in medical care, Elgrin was healed by Jedi Master Cilghal. Cilghal was able to dull the effects of the Yuuzhan Vong brain device, using a helmet-like apparatus that would interfere electronically with the pain receptors in Elgrin's brain, reducing or eliminating the pain. Also, Cilghal informed him that General Wedge Antilles would not punish him for his spying; in fact, Antilles would commend him.

While in medical care, Elgrin met a young boy named Dab Hantaq, who, like Elgrin, had been used by the Yuuzhan Vong in one of their plots. Hantaq resembled the late Anakin Solo and was taken by Yuuzhan Vong collaborator Viqi Shesh, who planned to take them to the Solo family, distracting them, and allowing Shesh to capitalize and kidnap Luke Skywalker's baby son Ben. Elgrin decided to make Hantaq a holocam operator for Wolam Tser. Hantaq and Elgrin went to Tser, and he assigned them to chronicle the daily lives of the defenders of Borleias. While Elgrin and Tser reviewed the footage, they noticed something very unusual: a strange reflective light above the doorway of one of the biotics building's basement hallways. Elgrin discovered a Yuuzhan Vong device there, and found a Yuuzhan Vong tunnel below. Elgrin descended into it, and saw a Yuuzhan Vong spy, whom he tried to attack. The Yuuzhan Vong defeated him in melee combat, but the spy was shot and killed by Iella Wessiri Antilles and a team of security officers.

Elgrin passed out, and woke up once more in a medical care bed. Antilles informed him that by stopping the Yuuzhan Vong in the tunnel, he prevented the spy from getting away with critical information. Elgrin then realized that the Starlancer project was fake and nothing more than something to pull the Yuuzhan Vong in one direction or another. Elgrin then left Borleias in a private yacht with Wolam Tser and Dab Hantaq, wishing to stay away from the Yuuzhan Vong forever.

Personality and traits
Elgrin was a large, awkward man, which resulted in his enslavement by the Yuuzhan Vong after tripping on Coruscant. He seemed to be very honorable, even with the threat of death; he refused to kill a defenseless Danni Quee, and would not capture Jaina Solo and turn her over to the Yuuzhan Vong. Elgrin was very uncomfortable around large crowds and beautiful women, such as Danni Quee.

Appearances

 * Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream
 * Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand

Notes and references
Tam Elgrin