Aron Harcourt

"I've had a good life, I think."

- Aron Harcourt

Aron Harcourt was a male Human who served administrateively on a remote outpost in 0 ABY. A former captain in the Imperial Navy, Harcourt was renowned as a hero of the Galactic Empire as he commanded the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Anya Karu. Before 3 BBY, Harcourt's wife Janelle passed away, and three years later, Harcourt lost his ship due to the actions of Alliance to Restore the Republic saboteurs. Blamed for the loss of the Anya Karu in the subsequent inquiry and removed from the command structure of the Navy, Harcourt decided to have a holographic recording of his late wife recovered from the Anya Karu before the wreck was demolished. Although he did not have the requisite finances, Harcourt enlisted bounty hunter Boba Fett to successfully recover the hologram. Although the recording was retrieved and Harcourt was able to view it once more, his inability to pay the bounty hunter resulted in Fett terminating his life.

Biography
"Normally that sort of thing wouldn't be allowed. But Captain Aron Harcourt was a hero of the Empire once. My ship and I rated certain privileges."

- Aron Harcourt

Aron Harcourt was a male Human who began a naval career during the Great Peace of the Republic. While studying at an academy he met a woman named Janelle, whom he would later marry. Harcourt ultimately served in the Imperial Navy and was given the captaincy of the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Anya Karu. He gained a reputation as a hero of the Galactic Empire, and was bequeathed a RHTC-560 Hunter Trainer droid and RHTC-560 HT Drones by a Rodian warlord. With nothing for the droids to hunt, Harcourt put them to use as his personal bodyguards, which would normally have been against naval regulation, but were allowed due to Harcourt's renown. Prior to 3 BBY, Janelle died, leaving only a brief holographic recording of herself to be remembered by. Harcourt treasured the recording, and had it kept in his personal quarters on the Anya Karu.

Several months after the Empire's loss at the Battle of Yavin, the Anya Karu was attacked by saboteurs from the Alliance to Restore the Republic. As a result, Harcourt was forced to give the order to abandon ship&mdash;as time was short, he was given no opportunity to retrieve the hologram of Janelle. The Anya Kuro crashed on a desolate planet as a result of the sabotage, leaving Harcourt subject to an inquiry. Despite his years of service, Harcourt was blamed for the loss of the ship&mdash;the captain speculated, however, that the decision was a political attempt to cover up the fact that the Alliance had been able to sabotage an Imperial capital ship.

Bereft of his command, Harcourt was removed from the command structure and placed in charge of a remote outpost. While there, he decided to have his hologram of Janelle recovered. The Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Adjudicator had been dispatched to the barren world to destroy what was left of the Anya Karu, and so time was short. Harcourt elected to enlist the services of the bounty hunter Boba Fett, despite only having money enough to pay for half of Fett's fee. The former captain chose deceit&mdash;he made a deal to pay half of the fee before retrieval of the hologram, and another half later&mdash;instead he paid Fett all the money he had up front. The bounty hunter made his way to the wreck of the Anya Karu, braving TIE/LN starfighter patrols and Harcourt's "bodyguards" before successfully finding the recording of Janelle and bringing it back to the outpost.

Upon being presented with the holorecording by Fett, Harcourt immediately began watching the short loop of his wife, and reminisced about their first meeting. The former captain was pleased with the bounty hunter's work, but when Fett demanded payment, Harcourt was forced to admit that he had nothing to pay the bounty hunter with. He suggested that he would not tell anyone else if Fett overlooked the shortfall, so as to preserve the bounty hunter's reputation, but Harcourt soon realized that Fett was not interested in such a bargain, and intended to kill him for the transgression. Reflecting on the holorecording of his wife once more, Harcourt conceded that had lived a good life, albeit a lonely one in the wake of Janelle's death and the Anya Kuro scuttling. He admitted to Fett that he had only wanted to see his wife's visage and hear her say his name once more. As he professed his love for Janelle Harcourt one more time, Fett shot him in the back of the head, ending the former captain's life as the holorecording repeated its short loop.

Personality and traits
"I loved her so very much."

- Aron Harcourt

Harcourt was an officer of great distinction, hailed in his own eyes as a "hero of the Empire." His position afforded him privileges above and beyond those of a normal Star Destroyer captain, although he could not save himself from being held accountable as a scapegoat for his ship succumbing to Alliance sabotage. Harcourt was critical of the Empire in that instance, musing on the fact that his three decades of dedicated service was not even a consideration during the Anya Karu inquiry. Nevertheless, the captain took great pride in his ship, even after it had been scuttled, keeping a model of it on his desk after being re-assigned. Harcourt loved his wife dearly, and the feeling was reciprocated by Janelle. After her death he valued his brief recording of her, to such a degree that he was willing to have his life ended just to see and hear the recording again.

Appearance and attire
Harcourt wore the standard olive-green uniform of an Imperial officer while administrating his remote outpost. He had brown hair which was greying at the temples, blue eyes, and light skin.

Behind the scenes
Aron Harcourt first appeared in Star Wars: Empire 28: Wreckage (2004), written by Ron Marz and pencilled by Adriana Melo. The character was later referenced in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia (2008).

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Empire 28: Wreckage