Algan

Algan was a female Tantaari herbalist and chemist who lived in the capital city on Daispin. The span of her life is unknown, but when Vem encountered her in 153 ABY, he regarded her as old. Algan was famous among the Tantaari and populations of the capital for her skill as a healer, and her poultices and potions made from native plants were sought to cure a variety of ailments and maladies. Less widely known was her fame in the underworld; thieves and killers often employed her expertise in making poisons.

It was for the latter skill that she was sought out by the captain of the palace guard, acting on orders of Syr'ei, Consul of Daispin and Regent on behalf of her cousin, Queen Aria Nikina. The captain, though somewhat vague, said the poison would be employed to bring a new queen to the throne of Daispin, one who would treat ruling as her primary duty (Aria had left the planet in Syr'ei's hands in order to become a Centurion of the Order of Keltrayu). Desiring that same end and deducing what the captain had in mind, Algan made the poison for him. When Aria was reported missing and presumed dead a week later, Algan believed she had succeeded.

Unconvinced by the reports, Rin Sakaros sent four Centurions to Daispin to investigate Aria's "death". Alerted to the possibility that Syr'ei had played a role in Aria's disappearance, Athan twins Kylaea and Malyri Porén gradually narrowed their investigation until at last they found Algan. Forcing the truth out of her with a mix of verbal and physical coercion, the two Centurions dragged her before Syr'ei, but before Algan could utter a word, Aria herself confronted Syr'ei and killed her in a brief duel. Algan was remanded to the custody of Vem's Assault Commandos to await Aria's justice while the queen recovered from the poisoning.