Breth Gart was a male Agamarian pilot of a starfighter in the Alliance Starfighter Corps during the Galactic Civil War. After hearing a recruitment speech on Agamar by Chief of State Mon Mothma, Gart enlisted in the Alliance to Restore the Republic at sixteen years old. Gart excelled in simulators while training on the Mon Calamari Star Cruiser called Independence, but he suffered from disorientation problems during actual space flights because of a childhood illness. Despite the advice of Alliance medics that his condition would prevent him from becoming a pilot, Gart persisted, learning to manage the pain through willpower and ultimately passing pilot training on his third attempt.
Gart joined Red Squadron aboard the Independence, where he was assigned Keyan Farlander, another Agamarian, as a liaison officer. Gart went with Farlander on a brief assignment to the Star Cruiser Defiance and saw his first battle when they helped defend the capital ship from an attack by the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Immortal. During his second mission, an attack on an Imperial base at Kalla VII, Gart died in a strange accident when the EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate Priam collided with his T-65 X-wing starfighter as it came out of hyperspace.
Breth Gart was born in the early years of the Galactic Empire and spent his childhood with his family on Agamar in the Lahara sector of the Outer Rim Territories. In his youth, Gart contracted a rare disease that affected his brain stem, leaving him appearing perfectly healthy on the outside. While incurable, the disease was generally considered harmless.
By 1 BBY, a resistance movement had arisen on Agamar to oppose Imperial control. Following the Empire's attack on the small Agamarian town of Tondatha, Mon Mothma, Chief of State of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, traveled to Agamar aboard the Mon Calamari Star Cruiser Independence to try and convince the resistance to join the growing Rebel Alliance. Before negotiating with resistance leaders, Mothma gave a speech to resistance members at a rally in the Agamarian capital of Calna Muun. After the rally, Gart was one of four Agamarians who decided to join the Alliance Starfighter Corps and train to become a starfighter pilot.
Gart, along with fellow recruits Keyan Farlander, Sunnar Jan-lo, and 'Ndranth Poussan, traveled to the Independence on an Alliance shuttle. After landing in a hangar at the back of the Mon Calamari ship, the recruits were shown to their living quarters and assigned liaison officers for their training period. The recruits quickly began training with the pilot proving grounds, before moving on to simulated combat scenarios. At just sixteen years old, Gart was the youngest pilot in training at the time.
Before long, Farlander, Jan-lo, and Poussan were assigned to active duty. However, while Gart performed as well as the other students in simulators, he began experiencing sharp pain behind his eyes and at the base of his neck during real starfighter training flights, which caused him to lose his sense of direction. These symptoms, known as disorientation syndrome, could be caused by various conditions, and Alliance medics performed extensive tests to determine the cause of Gart's condition. They eventually identified the disease he had contracted as a child as one of the rarer causes of disorientation syndrome. Unable to cure Gart's condition or treat the symptoms he experienced during flight, the medics informed his commanding officers that Gart would never be able to become a starfighter pilot. By the time of the Rebel evacuation of Brigia at the start of the Imperial offensive called Operation Strike Fear, Gart had been removed from pilot training.
Gart was given the opportunity to serve the Alliance in numerous other roles, but the young Rebel refused to accept his diagnosis and remained determined to become a starfighter pilot, telling Jan-lo of his intention to try again shortly after being dropped from the training program. Over the next few months, he pushed through the pain and dedicated every moment to becoming a pilot. He overcame his natural shyness to get to know the other pilots, begged instructors for simulator time, and even managed to get into real starfighters on occasion. Although he failed to be accepted as a pilot on his second attempt, Gart eventually trained his body to tolerate the pain and finally passed pilot training on his third try.
Gart, still holding the rank of flight cadet, entered active duty in 0 BBY, shortly after the Alliance acquired the plans for the Empire's Death Star battle station, and was assigned to Red Squadron aboard the Independence. Farlander, now a captain, was assigned as his orientation liaison. Although they hadn't had much time to get to know each other during training, their shared Agamarian heritage led to them quickly becoming friends. Soon after being assigned to Farlander, Gart accompanied the older pilot on a temporary assignment to the Star Cruiser Defiance, in orbit of Bestine IV, where Farlander would be observing and training new pilots. Farlander intended to ease Gart into combat gradually, taking him on a simple mission where he could observe while settling into the role. However, less than an hour after arriving on the Defiance, the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Immortal jumped out of hyperspace in the system and began launching TIE/sa bombers to attack the Rebel capital ship. With most of the Defiance's senior pilots on assignment, Farlander was called upon to defend the ship and decided to take Gart on his first combat mission.
Gart and Farlander flew two of the three available T-65 X-wing starfighters and were joined by R-22 Spearheads from Blue Squadron. Launching quickly, the Rebel fighters engaged the incoming TIE bombers while evading the TIE/IN interceptors launching from the Star Destroyer. While they fought the first wave, the Immortal jumped to hyperspace, returning to realspace moments later off the Defiance's starboard side and launching a second wave of TIE bombers and TIE interceptors. The Rebel fighters quickly eliminated the remnants of the first wave and moved to engage the new arrivals. Despite being outnumbered four to one, the Rebels managed to hold off the Imperials long enough for the Defiance to jump to hyperspace, transmitting coordinates for the fighters to follow. Gart performed well during his first engagement, impressing both Captain Farlander and the Independence's debriefing officer, Commander Lagrane. However, Lagrane cautioned Farlander to keep the rookie out of further serious engagements until he had more experience.
Although he had continued to feel pain throughout the mission, Gart thoroughly enjoyed his first combat experience, forcing himself to persevere through sheer willpower. He reviewed his holographic flight recordings after returning to the Independence and spent most of the following day following Farlander around and regaling those who would listen with tales of the battle. In an attempt to encourage Gart to relax, and to let him experience the admiration many of the crew showed to the pilots, Red Squadron's Capatin Puck Naeco suggested taking the young pilot to Lucky Lower Thirteen, a bar aboard the Independence which had once been a ballroom during its time as a pleasure craft. Gart was joined in the bar by Naeco, Farlander and Captain Samuel Raider, also of Red Squadron. The group soon attracted the attention of a small crowd of crew members who wanted to hear combat stories and Gart found himself getting particular attention from two young women who worked in computer operations. Seeing his discomfort around women, the other pilots made the situation worse by informing them how talented he was. When Farlander decided to retire for the night, Gart decided to join him, much to the disappointment of one of the young women.
The Alliance soon gained a lead in their search for the Death Star's construction location when Alliance Intelligence discovered that Imperial ships were using the base at Kalla VII for supplies and repairs on their way to the battlestation. General Jan Dodonna theorized that destroying the base would strand any passing ships heading for the Death Star, making them vulnerable to capture. He hoped this would allow the Alliance to pinpoint the Death Star's location. For his second combat mission, Gart was assigned, along with Farlander, to a group of three X-wings tasked with attacking the Kalla base. They arrived to find the base composed of several Class-A Cargo Containers surrounded by a defensive minefield. Farlander instructed his wingmates to attack the containers while he cleared the minefield. They had destroyed over half of the base when two BFF-1 bulk freighters from Diputs group arrived. Soon, all of the containers were destroyed, along with the two freighters. However, as the Rebels were preparing to leave, the Nebulon-B frigate Priam dropped out of hyperspace in the system. As it reverted to realspace, the frigate collided with Gart's X-wing. Gart's wingmates were forced to watch helplessly as the young pilot's starfighter was destroyed, killing him instantly.
Farlander was deeply affected by Gart's death. He repeatedly replayed the mission recordings, refusing to accept what had happened. When he didn't show up for his post-mission debriefing, Commander Lagrane recommended Farlander for psychiatric evaluation. Farlander had come to see Gart as a younger brother and felt personally responsible for his death. He refused to discuss the event with those close to him and publicly claimed that Gart hadn't been strong enough to succeed as a pilot. Farlander's desire to avenge his friend's death and prevent more pilots from losing their lives led him to become increasingly aggressive in combat and he strayed close to the dark side of the Force.
Gart was a quiet young man with messy, jet-black hair, relaxed eyes, and a smile that seemed too big for his face. He was dedicated to the Rebel Alliance, which he grew to consider his home, and was fascinated by starfighters, which he saw as both deadly and sophisticated. Gart's main goal in life was to become a starfighter pilot, and he showed good reflexes and the ability to follow instructions well during his initial training. When his disorientation problems threatened to derail his dreams, Gart resolved to fight through the pain and achieve his goal, dedicating himself to his training and overcoming the pain through sheer willpower. Some aboard the Independence considered his eventual success a medical miracle, and even the most skeptical instructors admired the grace and precision with which he operated a starfighter—skills rarely seen in a rookie.
After entering active service, it quickly became clear that he would make a good pilot, despite his young age. He was eager to face the enemy in battle, had a natural talent for combat, instinctively knew how to handle each situation, and showed an ability to remember every detail of an engagement. Farlander quickly classified him as "likely to survive" in combat and believed that Gart had the potential to become one of the best pilots in Red Squadron. His accomplishments earned him respect from his fellow pilots, though Gart generally seemed surprised to find himself having friends and admirers. He was a reserved man, particularly nervous around women, squirming uncomfortably when a female admirer questioned him about piloting. This shyness also prevented him from forming many close friendships aboard the Independence. One exception was Farlander—although Gart had little opportunity to get to know Farlander during training, the two Agamarians became friends while serving together in Red Squadron, and Farlander came to think of him as a younger brother.
Breth Gart was created by Rusel DeMaria for the 1993 book X-Wing: The Official Strategy Guide, which told the story of Keyan Farlander, the player character in the game Star Wars: X-Wing. In the book, Gart is identified as one of the previously unnamed pilots aboard the Independence.