Beesar Tal-Apurna

During the High Republic Era, Beesar Tal-Apurna, a female of the Chadra-Fan species, was married for numerous years to Teemank, also a Chadra-Fan. In the year 232 BBY, following the Great Hyperspace Disaster, Teemank chose to join the Republic Defense Coalition and fight against the Nihil pirate group that was plaguing the galaxy. Despite Tal-Apurna's pleas, she was unable to dissuade her wife from enlisting. After joining, Teemank acquired the skills to pilot a starship and imparted some piloting techniques to Tal-Apurna, though the latter remained relatively unskilled. Tal-Apurna also became aware of the difficulties Teemank faced while serving in the Republic's coalition, including the coalition's perception that she was too old to be useful and that Chadra-Fan did not require the Republic's assistance.

Later that year, Teemank met her death in the Battle of Kur, which took place in the Kur Nebula, when Nihil marauders shot down her ship. The loss of her wife ignited a fierce anger within Tal-Apurna towards the Nihil, and she deeply mourned Teemank's passing. For a time afterward, the Chadra-Fan was consumed by sorrow, reflecting on her failure to convince her wife not to join the coalition and lamenting the years they had lost together. Shortly after, Jedi Master Emerick Caphtor requested that Tal-Apurna act as a spy on Kisma Uttersond, a doctor and Chadra-Fan who was collaborating with the Nihil, on the planet Chad in the Outer Rim. Eager to honor Teemank's memory, Tal-Apurna readily accepted. As time passed, the Chadra-Fan, drawing strength from her wife's legacy, began to understand Teemank's decision to fight to protect her family. Over time, Tal-Apurna observed Uttersond's interactions with his family, realizing the depth of his affection for them.

In 230 BBY, Tal-Apurna followed Uttersond to his home on Chad, concealing herself as he entered. Observing the doctor interacting with his family through a window, the Chadra-Fan reflected on Teemank's death and the events that had led her to spy for Caphtor and assist the Republic's investigation. When Uttersond departed his house and headed toward a shipyard, Tal-Apurna trailed him and attempted to attach a tracking device to a Nihil freighter, becoming frustrated by her lack of understanding of how the device operated. However, the vessel began its ascent before she could securely attach the technology.

Remembering Teemank's bravery, Tal-Apurna chose to board the vessel by way of its landing gear, communicating the ship's coordinates to Q-2, Caphtor's droid, via comm. Continuing to monitor Uttersond, the Chadra-Fan overheard Zagyar, a Nihil Storm, reprimanding the doctor for mishandling their previous transport and gleaning information about their reinforcements. Shortly after, Caphtor arrived, commanding a squadron of starfighters and engaging the Nihil convoy in a skirmish. The Jedi informed his colleagues that their Republic contact was aboard one of the vessels and that he intended to board it.

Meanwhile, Tal-Apurna observed Zagyar confronting Uttersond, accusing the doctor of betraying them to the Republic. As a Republic starfighter struck the vessel, causing it to lurch, Zagyar's blaster fell to the floor, and Tal-Apurna reached for it. However, seeing the doctor also reaching for the weapon, she retreated back into her hiding place. Uttersond used the blaster to kill Zagyar, expressing his frustration with both the Jedi and the Nihil. After the doctor repeatedly shot the Nihil Storm's corpse, the spy was horrified by the sight of the burning remains before her. Moments later, when Caphtor boarded the vessel and ignited his lightsaber near Uttersond, the doctor opened the peephole of the freighter's containment area, revealing one of the Nihil's Nameless creatures that drained the Force.

The opening of the peephole left the Jedi incoherent, causing his colleague, the private investigator Sian Holt, to worry about his lack of response. As Uttersond moved to open the door between himself and the Nameless, intending to kill the Jedi, Tal-Apurna seized Zagyar's weapon and held the doctor at blaster-point. Hesitant to harm a fellow Chadra-Fan, Tal-Apurna kept the weapon set to stun as she confronted him. Uttersond urged her to be reasonable, warning that Arathab Fal, the criminal with whom the doctor had secretly been working to sell a Nameless in order to leave the Nihil, would not share his reluctance to harm her.

As Fal approached from behind Uttersond, Tal-Apurna stunned the doctor with the blaster, but Fal remained unaffected. When the spy struggled to adjust the weapon's setting to kill and fire again, Fal taunted her, saying it was too late and reveling in her panic. Fal knocked the weapon from Tal-Apurna's hands and prepared to kill her with his electrostaff. However, Holt, who had followed Caphtor onto the ship, sliced off the Nihil's arm using the Jedi's lightsaber.

Q-2, who had arrived with Holt, insisted on evacuating Caphtor from the Nihil freighter as Tal-Apurna closed the peephole to the Nameless's crate, aware that Uttersond had said it was responsible for the Jedi's condition. The spy thanked Holt for saving her, introducing herself by name. Despite her initial hesitation, due to the minimal piloting instruction she had received from Teemank, Tal-Apurna agreed to pilot Holt's ship, determined to do whatever was necessary to complete their mission. The group then fled the freighter, with Holt taking Uttersond captive. Piloted by Tal-Apurna, they journeyed to the Starlight Beacon space station to seek medical attention for Caphtor.

As they neared Starlight Beacon, Tal-Apurna received updates on the Jedi's condition and indicated that they would soon arrive at their destination. However, the spy and Holt soon noticed that Starlight was under attack. The group resolved to question Uttersond, but the doctor claimed he had no moral compass and was only motivated by the pursuit of money. Enraged, Tal-Apurna recounted Teemank's death at the hands of the Nihil and warned that Uttersond's family could suffer a similar fate if he did not cooperate.

Uttersond yielded and agreed to share what he knew, providing them with a small piece of parchment containing handwritten notes and divulging some details about the Nameless and their Force-eating abilities. As the ship's passengers observed the space station before them, the doctor declared that Starlight Beacon was doomed, as his convoy was scheduled to be part of the second wave of attacks. Despite Uttersond's protests about the futility of the effort, Caphtor resolved to board the station, and Tal-Apurna joined her new colleagues. After crashing through the ceiling of the station's assembly room, the group encountered Jedi Master Torban Buck and a group of Jedi younglings, who boarded Holt's ship to escape Starlight Beacon.

Before their departure, Caphtor led a group to investigate a wounded Nameless that Buck had encountered, hoping to learn more about them, and instructed Tal-Apurna to monitor Uttersond. Caphtor and Holt moved to the front of the group and approached the creature, but as it prepared to attack, Uttersond pushed Tal-Apurna aside and threw one of her thermal detonators at it. The Jedi and Chadra-Fan were ambushed by a group of Nihil, forcing them to retreat back toward their ship. Caphtor bid farewell to Buck, fleeing the station with several younglings, Jedi Knight Qort, Holt, and Tal-Apurna. In the year afterward, Caphtor continued his investigations into the Nihil in the wake of Starlight Beacon's destruction.

Beesar Tal-Apurna was characterized by her white fur, black eyes, and light-colored skin. Standing at one meter (three feet three inches) in height, she communicated in Galactic Basic. By the time she served as a spy on Chad, the Chadra-Fan had an aged appearance. She perceived herself as soft-spoken and felt ill-equipped to handle pressure. She and her wife shared a deeply affectionate relationship for many years. Following Teemank's death at the hands of the Nihil, Tal-Apurna experienced profound depression, mourning her spouse's loss and her inability to prevent it. Although she had not previously been concerned about the Nihil threat, her grief ignited a newfound and intense resentment toward the marauders. Despite agreeing to spy for the Republic in memory of her wife, Tal-Apurna felt inadequately trained for the role and considered herself merely a "kindly old lady."

The Chadra-Fan was repulsed by Uttersond's violent act of killing Zagyar and tearfully watched the Nihil's corpse as it fell. While she did fire a stun blast at Uttersond and Fal, she did not wish to harm them and pleaded with them to cease their actions so she could assist Caphtor. Whenever she doubted her abilities, Tal-Apurna reminded herself of her wife's courage in fighting the Nihil and resolved to do whatever was necessary to end their presence in the galaxy. After witnessing the Nihil's attack on Starlight Beacon, the Chadra-Fan was willing to threaten Uttersond's family and brandished a blaster against the doctor until he agreed to provide their group with more information about the Nameless threat.

The Chadra-Fan demonstrated the ability to operate as a spy and remain undetected by Uttersond on Chad while surveying his home. Despite her efforts, she often struggled to use technology effectively. By 230 BBY, Tal-Apurna had acquired sufficient piloting knowledge to fly Holt's ship.

During her time as a spy, Tal-Apurna wore a long-sleeved pale green shirt paired with gray pants and a lime green hood with openings for her ears. Her ensemble was completed with a brown belt featuring several pouches and brown boots. At the Chad shipyard, Tal-Apurna attempted to attach a tracking device to Uttersond's ship.

Despite its considerable size relative to her, the Chadra-Fan wielded Zagyar's blaster against Uttersond and Fal aboard a Nihil freighter. She later threatened Uttersond aboard Holt's ship with a smaller blaster pistol that fit comfortably in her hand. While aboard Starlight Beacon, Tal-Apurna carried several thermal detonators in a silver-colored sling worn across her shoulder.

Beesar Tal-Apurna made her debut and was first identified in the fourth issue of the Star Wars: The High Republic: Trail of Shadows comic-book miniseries. Written by Daniel José Older, published by Marvel Comics, and released on January 26, 2022, the issue was part of Phase I of the Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia series. Prior to the issue's release, a page featuring her was included in a StarWars.com preview on January 19 of that year. Older had previously hinted at the appearance of Chadra-Fans in the comic on Twitter on December 28, 2021.

During an interview on Star Wars: The High Republic Show, Older stated that Tal-Apurna was his favorite new character from Trail of Shadows and that he had enjoyed writing her. He expressed his satisfaction at having the opportunity to write more Chadra-Fan, as he considered them a fascinating species. Older explained that Teemank's death served as Tal-Apurna's primary motivation for defeating the Nihil and avenging her wife, contrasting with Uttersond's character arc as a Nihil collaborator in the series. In the same interview, Michael Siglain of Disney–Lucasfilm Press remarked that he considered the fourth issue of Trail of Shadows to be one of the best created for the The High Republic initiative, particularly because the installment's opening pages, featuring Uttersond and Tal-Apurna, were not focused on the miniseries' main characters, Caphtor and Holt.