Grond (Imperial)

Grond was a male Human who served as a lieutenant in the Military of the Galactic Empire. Native to the planet Corellia, Grond was a swoop racer in his youth prior to his service with the Imperial Military. In 4 ABY, he was stationed on the Forest Moon of Endor. In that year, he awaited the Sith Lord Darth Vader's arrival aboard the second Death Star in orbit of the moon. Shortly afterward, Grond took part in the Battle of Endor and helped to lead the defense of the Death Star's shield generator bunker.

Biography
The Human male Grond hailed from the planet Corellia and grew up racing swoops. At some point during the Galactic Civil War, he was part of the Emperor's Demonstration Team, a specialized unit in the Galactic Empire's military. By 4 ABY, he had become a lieutenant and was the aide of Colonel Dyer. The two helped oversee the fortification of the second Death Star's shield generator bunker on the Forest Moon of Endor.

That year, Grond awaited the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader's arrival aboard the Death Star orbiting the moon. Upon his arrival, the Sith Lord ordered the station's commander, Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod, to speed up the superweapon's construction. A short time later, Grond took part in the Battle of Endor on the forest moon, where he organized scout trooper patrols and coordinated both scout movements and the actions to help lead the Imperial defense of the shield generator. Nevertheless, the Rebel Alliance was able to destroy both the generator and the Death Star battlestation.

Personality and traits
Grond was a fair-skinned Human man with brown hair. He raced swoops, despite the risks in such high-speed races, and he later served the Galactic Empire. During his time as a lieutenant, Grond wore a black Imperial officer's uniform and cap.

Behind the scenes
The character of Grond first appeared as one of the Imperial officers&mdash;portrayed by an uncredited extra&mdash;awaiting Darth Vader's arrival on the second Death Star in the beginning of the 1983 film Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. He was named and given a brief backstory on a card of the 1999 Endor Limited expansion set of Decipher's Star Wars Customizable Card Game. His card showed a manipulated image of the movie character on Endor; however, it was not confirmed whether or not he was the movie character. In 2002, Grond was mentioned in issue 11 of The Official Star Wars Fact File. Grond was later given an entry in the 2008 The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia. On July 8, 2011, Leland Chee, the Keeper of Lucasfilm's Holocron continuity database, confirmed that the original character was Grond in his personal Facebook fan page blog.

In the 1997 Special Edition of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, footage of Darth Vader's arrival aboard the second Death Star in the opening scene of Return of the Jedi was reused to show Vader arriving aboard his flagship, the Executor-class Star Dreadnought Executor, following his duel with Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker on the planet Bespin. Because of the scene's inclusion, the actor who portrayed Grond is visible aboard the Executor along with other extras who portrayed the Imperial officers in the beginning of Return of the Jedi. However, no source has yet canonically confirmed that this individual is intended to be Grond.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi PhotoComic
 * Classic Star Wars: Return of the Jedi book-and-record