Aron Harcourt, once a celebrated captain in the Imperial Navy, had his reputation tarnished and was relegated to an administrative role at a far-flung outpost by 0 ABY. Formerly esteemed as a Galactic Empire hero, Harcourt commanded the _Imperial_-class Star Destroyer Anya Karu. However, Rebel saboteurs destroyed the Anya Karu by 3 BBY, forcing him to abandon the vessel, leaving it as a wreck on an isolated world. The subsequent investigation blamed him for the Anya Karu's demise, leading to his removal from the Imperial Navy's command structure. By 0 ABY, Harcourt resolved to recover a holographic recording of his deceased wife, Janelle, from the Anya Karu before its impending destruction. Despite lacking sufficient funds, Harcourt hired the bounty hunter Boba Fett to retrieve the hologram. Although the recording was successfully obtained, enabling Harcourt to view it once more, his inability to fulfill the agreed-upon payment resulted in Fett ending his life.
Aron Harcourt, a Human male, embarked on a naval career during the era known as the Great Peace of the Republic. While studying at an academy, he encountered Janelle, who would become his wife. Harcourt eventually served in the Imperial Navy and was appointed as the captain of the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Anya Karu. He earned recognition as a Galactic Empire hero and received a RHTC-560 Hunter Trainer droid and RHTC-560 HT Drones from a Rodian warlord. Since there were no targets for the droids to hunt, Harcourt repurposed them as his personal bodyguards, an arrangement that, while technically against naval regulations, was permitted due to his distinguished reputation.
By 3 BBY, Alliance to Restore the Republic saboteurs launched an assault on the Anya Karu. Consequently, Harcourt was compelled to issue the order to abandon ship. The Anya Kuro was wrecked on a desolate planet due to the sabotage, leading to an investigation. Despite his years of service, Harcourt was held responsible for the loss of the vessel. The captain, however, believed that the decision was a political maneuver to obscure the fact that the Alliance had successfully sabotaged an Imperial capital ship. Sometime after the Anya Karu's destruction, and before 3 BBY, Janelle passed away, leaving behind only a short holographic recording to remember her by. Harcourt cherished this recording and kept it in his personal quarters on the Anya Karu.
Ultimately, Harcourt was relieved of his command position in the Imperial Navy and assigned to oversee a remote outpost. In 0 ABY, he made the decision to have the hologram of Janelle recovered. The Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Adjudicator had been sent to the barren world to destroy the remaining wreckage of the Anya Karu; its destruction would mean he would never see his wife again. Harcourt's sole recourse was to enlist the services of the bounty hunter Boba Fett, even though he only had enough credits to cover half of Fett's fee. Through deception, the former captain struck a bargain to pay half of the fee before the retrieval of the hologram and the remaining half afterward. In reality, however, he paid Fett all of his available funds upfront. The bounty hunter journeyed to the wreck of the Anya Karu, navigating TIE/LN starfighter patrols and Harcourt's "bodyguards" before successfully locating the recording of Janelle and returning it to the outpost.
Upon Fett's delivery of the holorecording, Harcourt immediately began watching the brief loop of his wife and reminisced about their initial meeting. The former captain expressed his satisfaction with the bounty hunter's work, but when Fett demanded payment, Harcourt was forced to confess that he had no means to pay him. He proposed that he would not disclose the shortfall to others in order to protect the bounty hunter's reputation. However, Harcourt quickly realized that Fett was uninterested in such an arrangement and intended to kill him for the transgression. Reflecting on the holorecording of his wife once more, Harcourt acknowledged that he had lived a fulfilling life, albeit a solitary one following Janelle's death and the loss of his command. He admitted to Fett that his only desire was to see his wife's image and hear her speak his name one last time. As Harcourt professed his love for his wife one final time, Fett shot him in the back of the head, ending the former captain's life as the holorecording continued its short loop.
Harcourt was a highly regarded officer, celebrated as a "hero of the Empire" during his time. His rank afforded him privileges exceeding those of a typical Star Destroyer captain, although this did not prevent him from being held accountable as a scapegoat when his ship fell victim to Alliance sabotage. Harcourt was critical of the Empire's handling of the situation, lamenting the fact that his three decades of dedicated service were disregarded during the Anya Karu investigation. Nevertheless, the captain maintained a strong sense of pride in his ship, even after its loss, keeping a model of it on his desk after being reassigned.
Harcourt deeply loved his wife, and Janelle reciprocated his feelings. After her death, he treasured the brief recording of her to such an extent that he was willing to sacrifice his life just to see and hear the recording again.
He had brown hair that was graying at the temples, blue eyes, and fair skin.
Aron Harcourt made his debut in Empire 28 (2004), authored by Ron Marz and illustrated by Adriana Melo. The character was subsequently referenced in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia (2008).