Tav Calhoun was a Betan salvage operator who purchased the RG 132 for scrap, outbidding Arde Mayhew. Miles Vorkosigan persuaded him to accept a mortgage upon his ancestral Vorkosigan Vashnoi land in return for the ship. He was a beefy man, quick on his feet, and was not at all happy to learn of the problems associated with ownership of that parcel of land. He was especially unhappy when Barrayaran agents began questioning him, his girlfriend, and his girlfriend's wife (with them being Betan, this semi-poly relationship was probably mutually consensual).