Cabbel, a human serving the Imperial Navy as a lieutenant, functioned as a controller on the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Tyrant. This vessel was a component of the Death Squadron fleet. During the Galactic Civil War, the fleet was tasked with the mission of discovering the hidden headquarters of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, eventually pinpointing the base on the planet Hoth in 3 ABY.
As the Tyrant, along with the rest of Death Squadron, established a blockade above the planet while Imperial ground forces assaulted the base, the rebel forces initiated their evacuation. The Quantum Storm, a rebel transport, was the first to launch, prompting the Tyrant to move in for an interception. Aboard the Star Destroyer's bridge, Cabbel notified the Tyrant's captain, Lennox, about the approaching rebel vessel. An attempt was made to capture the transport using a tractor beam, but the Tyrant was disabled by a shot from the Alliance's Hoth-based ion cannon, allowing the Quantum Storm to escape.
Within the Galactic Empire's Imperial Officer Corps, Cabbel, a human, served within the Imperial Navy's faction. During the Galactic Civil War in 3 ABY, Cabbel held the military rank of lieutenant and was assigned as a controller on the bridge of the Tyrant, an Imperial II-class Star Destroyer. Captain Lennox commanded the Tyrant, which was one of five Imperial-class Star Destroyers in Death Squadron, the personal fleet of Sith Lord Darth Vader.
Upon reaching the planet Hoth, the location of the secret headquarters for the Alliance to Restore the Republic, Death Squadron, including the Tyrant, established a blockade around the world. Simultaneously, ground forces were deployed with the objective of destroying a shield that protected the rebel base from orbital bombardment. The Alliance commenced the evacuation of all personnel from their base, with the first departing vessel being the GR-75 medium transport Quantum Storm, accompanied by two T-65B X-wing starfighters. As the trio of starships departed Hoth, the Tyrant moved to obstruct their path, and Cabbel approached Lennox on the Star Destroyer's bridge to inform him of the rebel vessels nearing their sector.
To ensnare the enemy ships with a tractor beam, the Tyrant deactivated its shields, inadvertently creating an opening for a v-150 Planet Defender ion cannon constructed by the Alliance within their base below. The cannon discharged multiple shots at the Tyrant, rendering the vessel inoperable and sending it drifting into space as the rebel vessels escaped the star system. Despite this setback, the Empire ultimately claimed victory on Hoth, although numerous other rebel vessels also managed to escape.
Cabbel was attired in a standard olive-gray naval officer's uniform, complete with an Imperial kepi. On the left side of his breast, he displayed a single code cylinder and a rank insignia plaque featuring two red bars above two blue ones.
Oliver Maguire played Cabbel in the 1980 original trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back. Maguire was credited only as one of several "Other Officers," with the film's script identifying the character as a controller. The character received his name in the new Star Wars canon for the first time on a card included in the 2015 2015 Topps Star Wars Force Attax The Force Awakens set of trading cards released by The Topps Company, Inc.. The name was originally from the Star Wars Legends continuity, where it first appeared on a card for the 1998 Hoth Limited expansion set of Decipher's Star Wars Customizable Card Game.