Carith

Carith was an Imperial Flight Officer, nicknamed Grommet, who was befriended by Maarek Stele. Grommet first met Stele aboard the Nebulon-B frigate Fogger during a series of Imperial attacks against Alliance forces that culminated in the destruction of the Calamari Light Cruiser Lulsla.

Grommet was the unofficial leader of a close knit group of pilots composed of himself, and the pilots Alimet and Ketcher. All three were close friends and usually served on the same ships. They were known to have served alongside Maarek Stele on the Fogger, and again onboard the Nebulon-B2 frigate Ludwick as part of an operation by Vice Admiral Thrawn to construct the defense platform NL-1 in the Pakuuni system.

Grommet tended to be somewhat mischievous and occasionally led his informal group of pilots into trouble. During their tour of duty on the Ludwick, he convinced Alimet, Ketcher and Stele to accompany him on an unauthorized trip to the ship's hangar during a visit by Vice Admiral Thrawn. They were eventually caught and, as punishment, were ordered by their commanding officer, Commander Buckeye, to clean up a pirate base after its capture by the Empire.

At some point between his tour of duty aboard the Ludwick and the development of the TIE Defender prototype by Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin, Grommet met a female Alliance officer while he was on leave. He quickly fell in love and eventually decided to defect to the Alliance. During a trip planetside, Grommet went AWOL and was never heard from again. This news came as a shock to his former friends, Maarek Stele and Alimet. Stele in particular was already experiencing doubts about the methods and motivation behind the Empire and the idea that he might be forced to shoot down a friend disturbed him deeply.