Suvam Tan, a Rodian businessman, established his operations within a derelict Republic space station orbiting Yavin around the era of the Jedi Civil War. Post-Revan's transformation, a friendship blossomed between him and Tan. Revan frequented Tan's station for trade and games of pazaak, and during his search for the Star Forge, he aided Tan in repelling some Trandoshan criminals. Initially, they retreated, but subsequently, they armed themselves with Stealth field generators and launched an assault on Tan. Fortunately, Revan and his allies eliminated the Trandoshans, and in gratitude, Suvam revealed his most exclusive collection of goods to Revan, which included the Mantle of the Force and the Heart of the Guardian.
Suvam, once a slave under the Sith on Yavin 4 during the time of the Great Sith War, was a skilled inventor, having served as an apprentice to a Baragwin weapons manufacturer.
As the Exar Kun War concluded, the Republic initiated a bombardment of Yavin 4's surface, resulting in the deaths of Suvam's Baragwin companions. With his masters gone, Tan gained his freedom. He then explored various moons of Yavin in search of recoverable components, having committed to memory several fruitful locations during his time as a slave. Tan then took up residence on Yavin Station, a supply outpost the Republic had abandoned after the war. There he established a trading center and workshop. He became known as a talented mechanic and inventor, even attracting the attention of the Exchange. His inventions were highly sought after, especially by smugglers. He even created a cortosis-resistant lightsaber. During this period, Suvam salvaged a number of valuable items on Yavin 4, most notably the legendary crystal artifacts Heart of the Guardian and Mantle of the Force, which the reformed Revan may have later utilized in his quest to locate the Star Forge.
Years later, as the deteriorating Yavin Station neared its end, Suvam concealed several of his most cherished items in various locations on the three habitable moons of Yavin. His plan was to dispatch a data crystal, containing the information of where to find these items, to his only son on Rodia. However, as the freighter carrying the data crystal detached from the station, Yavin Station suffered an explosion. The force of the blast propelled the freighter into the asteroid moon Yavin 22, where Suvam's remains were discovered millennia later by Suz Tanwa, one of his descendants.