Grond (Imperial)

Grond was a male Human lieutenant in the Galactic Empire. Native to Corellia, he was a swoop racer in his youth. He later joined the Imperial Military, and in 4 ABY, he took part in the Battle of Endor, helping to lead the defense of the Death Star II's shield generator bunker.

Biography
The Human male Grond hailed from the planet Corellia and grew up racing swoops. By the time of the Battle of Yavin in 0 BBY, 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 served on the moon of Endor, where they helped oversee the fortification of the second Death Star's shield generator bunker. Later that year, Grond took part in the Battle of Endor on the forest moon, coordinating scout trooper movements and the Imperial defense of the deflector shield generator. However, the Alliance to Restore the Republic was able to destroy the generator and the Death Star.

Personality and traits
Grond had light skin and wore a black Imperial officer's uniform and cap. He raced swoops during part of his lifetime, despite the risks in the high-speed races. Later, he served the Galactic Empire. As one of the Empire's most experienced soldiers, he was assigned to Endor prior to the Battle of Endor, where he helped supervise the defense of the shield generator bunker.

Behind the scenes
Grond first appeared on a card as part of the 1999 Endor Limited expansion set of Decipher's Star Wars Customizable Card Game. His image was a manipulated image of one of the Imperial officers&mdash;portrayed by an uncredited extra&mdash;awaiting Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader's arrival on the second Death Star from the beginning of 1983's Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. The original character, however, has not been canonically confirmed to be Grond. In 2002, Grond was mentioned in issue 11 of The Official Star Wars Fact File. Grond was later given an entry in 2008's The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia.

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 is reused to show Vader arriving aboard his flagship, the Executor-class Star Dreadnought Executor, following his duel with Luke Skywalker on the planet Bespin. Because of that, the actor who portrayed Grond is visible during that scene, along with other extras who portrayed the Imperial officers in the beginning of Return of the Jedi. However, no source has confirmed this to be Grond.