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 male Human, and the holocam operator for holodocumentarian Wolam Tser. In 27 ABY, after the Fall of Coruscant, Elgrin was stranded on the world, armed with only his camera. Elgrin took footage of post-battle Coruscant, but soon, was captured by the Yuuzhan Vong, and forced to serve as a spy and saboteur for them. The Yuuzhan Vong ordered him to plant various surveillance biots in the New Republic garrison on Borleias and capture New Republic pilot and Jedi Jaina Solo. Specifically, he was ordered to gather information about the Starlancer Project, a New Republic project to build a superweapon that was rumored to be deadly to Yuuzhan Vong organic craft.

His spying was foiled by scientist Danni Quee, who determined that he had been captured by the Yuuzhan Vong on Coruscant. Finally, when he had his chance to capture the Jedi Solo, he decided not to comply with his orders to capture her, and revealed himself as a spy. He nearly died after the Yuuzhan Vong tried to kill him for his trangression, but was saved, freed from slavery, and healed by Jedi Master Cilghal. While recovering in the medbay, he met a young boy named Dab Hantaq, who was brought to Borleias after the treasonous Senator Viqi Shesh tried to disguise him as the Jedi Anakin Solo, Jaina's brother. Elgrin took a liking to the boy, and allowed him to help film a documentary on daily life in the Borleias garrison. He helped defeat the Yuuzhan Vong in the Second Battle of Borleias by attacking a Yuuzhan Vong warrior in order to save the life of a Bothan technician, and later departed to parts unknown with Wolam Tser and his protege Hantaq.

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

Tam Elgrin was born in 1 ABY, and at some point he met holodocumentarian Wolam Tser. Tser took Elgrin into his employ as his holocam operator, and the two eventually journeyed to Coruscant during the Yuuzhan Vong War.

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 him. During the latter recording, Elgrin was alone in the lower levels of Coruscant when he was noticed by a Yuuzhan Vong patrol, which began pursuit. However, Elgrin tripped and fell, and was subsequently captured and forced into slavery by the Yuuzhan Vong. The Yuuzhan Vong also gave him a villip communications device, which Elgrin later claimed was a souvenir from the planet] Corellia, along with several other collections of insects and bugs for him to use in his espionage missions for them. Elgrin's loyalty to the Yuuzhan Vong was insured by a form of conditioning they gave him that inflicted severe headaches upon him if he failed to do his utmost to aid the Yuuzhan Vong.

After the escape from Coruscant, Elgrin and Tser went to the recently reclaimed New Republic garrison on Borleias, where his holorecording was watched by Jedi Master Luke Skywalker and several other New Republic officers at the New Republic garrison. However, little did Skywalker, Tser, and the others stationed on Borleias know that Elgrin was also spying for the Yuuzhan Vong. To hide his forced allegiance to the extragalactic invaders, Elgrin gave the explanation that he was with a group of refugees on Coruscant during the recording of the pursuit, but after encountering the Vong, switched off his holocam and escaped. Elgrin later protested to Yuuzhan Vong warrior Denua Ku and New Republic traitor Viqi Shesh, via his villip, that he was not in a position to discover any secrets about the Starlancer Project, a plan to create a superweapon derived from Yuuzhan Vong lambent crystal biotechnology, which he was ordered to uncover. Shesh viewed his claims dubiously and ordered him to become friendly with New Republic scientist Danni Quee, to gain the trust of those around him, and then sabotage the Borleias fortress from within. To accomplish this, he was told to plant recording devices in machines that would be placed in critical locations and leave false evidence implicating other people within the Borleias command structure, in an attempt to confound the New Republic Intelligence staff on Borleias. However, by reviewing Elgrin's Coruscant recording, Danni Quee discovered that Elgrin's story was a lie; Elgrin was alone, and thus did not escape the Yuuzhan Vong.

During the Second Battle of Borleias, Elgrin was assigned by his Yuuzhan Vong masters to plant a tracking bug on Jedi and Rogue Squadron pilot Jaina Solo's X-wing starfighter. The bug involved a Yuuzhan Vong plot to capture Solo, whom the Yuuzhan Vong believed was an avatar of their Trickster goddess. However, Solo eluded the initial Yuuzhan Vong attempt to capture her, with the aid of her wingmen Kyp Durron and Jagged Fel.

Forty-seven days after the Yuuzhan Vong occupation of Borleias, Elgrin snuck into Danni Quee's office, hoping to acquire secrets regarding the Starlancer Project while Quee slept. Elgrin, after reading and recording information off the screens in her room, saw Quee, an enemy of the Yuuzhan Vong, asleep and defenseless. Elgrin considered taking the initiative and killing her to placate his Yuuzhan Vong masters. By placing a razor bug, which he had in his possession, on her body, he knew he could kill her. However, Elgrin had second thoughts about murdering the woman and turned away, leaving her room in a great pain due to his refusal to kill the scientist. Unbeknownst to him, Quee was feigning sleep the whole time, confirming her suspicions that Elgrin was collaborating with the Yuuzhan Vong.

Later, after his incident in Quee's room, Elgrin encountered Jaina Solo, the very person that he was assigned to capture. By then, Elgrin was suffering great pain from his conditioning, 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 her. Elgrin also told her that he had planted the tracking bug on her X-wing, but he had removed it. Elgrin thought that Solo did not believe him, thinking that he was likely just another shell-shocked refugee. Before Solo left for her X-wing, she summoned medical personnel to help him. They were able to save him, though Elgrin had prepared a datacard with instructions and confessions in the event of his death, as he collapsed shortly after his conversation with Solo.

A freed man
"This base is under military law, and General Wedge Antilles has said that you are to be commended, not punished. There will be no trial for you."

- Cilghal

While in medical care, Elgrin was healed by Jedi Master Cilghal. Cilghal was able to dull the effects of the Yuuzhan Vong conditioning, 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 New Republic General Wedge Antilles, who was in charge of the Borleias garrison, 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 on their diverted attention in order to kidnap Luke Skywalker's baby son Ben. Hantaq had fallen under the care of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo, and was residing at the Borleias garrison. Elgrin took a liking to the boy and even allowed Hantaq to experience a day as a holocam operator for Wolam Tser, taking him with him on one of Tser's recording sessions. 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 out of place: a strange reflective light above the doorway of one of the biotics building's basement hallways. Investigating the scene, Elgrin discovered a Yuuzhan Vong device there, and found a Yuuzhan Vong tunnel below. He descended into it despite Tser's objections, and saw a Yuuzhan Vong spy and a Bothan prisoner. Leaving his holocam in the tunnel and activating it as a distraction, Elgrin was able to free the Bothan, but the Yuuzhan Vong warrior destroyed the holocam and returned. Elgrin then tried to attack the warrior with a vibroblade, but the Yuuzhan Vong defeated him in melee combat. However, after Elgrin was disarmed, the warrior was shot and killed by Iella Wessiri Antilles and a team of security officers, who had been summoned by Tser.

Elgrin passed out, and woke up once more in a medical care bed. Iella Wessiri 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 fool the Yuuzhan Vong. He later left Borleias in a private yacht with Wolam Tser, wishing to stay away from the Yuuzhan Vong forever. Along with the two journalists was young Hantaq, who willingly accompanied Elgrin after the man spoke to his temporary guardians, the Solos, and obtained their permission to look after the boy.

Personality and traits
"Tam, you're crazier than a Kowakian monkey-lizard."

- Iella Wessiri Antilles

Elgrin was an awkward man, which resulted in his enslavement by the Yuuzhan Vong after he stumbled while fleeing Yuuzhan Vong warriors on Coruscant. From the moment Elgrin was initially captured by the Yuuzhan Vong and forced into slavery, he was opposed to their objectives, but was not allowed to disobey their orders under pain of death. However, despite his conditioning, he disobeyed his Vong masters several times, even with the threat of death; he refused to kill a defenseless Danni Quee, and would not capture Jaina Solo to turn her over to the Yuuzhan Vong. When he did have a chance at capturing Jaina Solo, he finally refused to follow his orders and confessed his duplicity at considerable personal cost. His disobedience of his orders nearly cost him his life, but he was tough enough to return to holofilming a short time later, after being freed from the grip of the Yuuzhan Vong.

Elgrin was considered rather ungraceful and awkward, which resulted in his enslavement by the Yuuzhan Vong after he stumbled while fleeing Yuuzhan Vong warriors on Coruscant. Elgrin was very uncomfortable around crowds and women he found beautiful, such as Danni Quee, who he was enamored with, but his feelings for her were unrequited. His employer, Tser, would often try to set Elgrin up with women, but to no avail, because Elgrin did not want to be viewed as shallow. Elgrin was troubled by his self-fabricated reputation as a traitor, and his lack of material possessions or wealth, as his savings and possessions were located on the now-decimated Coruscant. According to Tser, Elgrin's failing was that he did not seize the initiative or act on opportunities given to him, such as going out for a night of fun with people his own age, and that Elgrin's reputation as a "traitor" was completely untrue. However, Elgrin still allowed it to eat at him, particularly when others expressed a low opinion of him for having served the Yuuzhan Vong. Tser also stated that Elgrin was capable of confronting and dealing with significant challenges quietly and in his own way, noting how Elgrin overcame Yuuzhan Vong conditioning.

Once Elgrin met the young orphan Dab Hantaq, he took a liking to the precocious child, and he allowed him to accompany him on filming tasks, along with teaching the boy to use a holocamera. However, Elgrin maintained that the young Hantaq did not belong in the perilous Borleias situation. Elgrin would later boldly attack a Yuuzhan Vong spy in an underground tunnel over Tser's objections, and saved the Borleias facility from a security breach. After the ordeal in the tunnel and towards the end of his stay on Borleias, he grew weary of being involved with the ongoing war with the Yuuzhan Vong. Having endured Yuuzhan Vong slavery, he just wished to get away from the Yuuzhan Vong, and left Borleias with Tser and Hantaq.

Behind the scenes
The character of Tam Elgrin first appeared in the Enemy Lines Duology by author Aaron Allston for the New Jedi Order series. So far, those two books are his only appearances in Star Wars canon.

Appearances

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

Notes and references
Tam Elgrin Tam Elgrin