Herrit was a male Human who attained the rank of Major within Imperial Intelligence. His duties involved the acquisition of intelligence on both potential enemies and allies of the Galactic Empire, delivering these profiles to figures such as Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader. Among the notable individuals Herrit profiled were Rebel heroes Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, the bounty hunter Boba Fett, and the sentientologist Obo Rin. After incurring Lord Vader's displeasure by his attempt to discredit Obo Rin, Herrit met his end during a hazardous mission assigned to him by the Sith Lord.
During the Galactic Civil War, Herrit, a Human male, held the rank of Major in Imperial Intelligence. Shortly following the Battle of Yavin, Herrit was tasked with compiling concise intelligence reports on Rebels Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa, which were then forwarded directly to Emperor Palpatine. Herrit's assessment of Organa, documented as Imperial Communique 44582.15k, mistakenly suggested that Skywalker and Han Solo were official members of a Rebel cell under the leadership of former Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. His report on Skywalker, filed as Imperial Communique 87341.36a, considered this only as a potentiality, along with the idea that Skywalker's life farming on the Lars homestead of Tatooine was simply a fabricated identity. Herrit's profile accurately deduced that Skywalker was the Rebel pilot responsible for the destruction of the Death Star I, and acknowledged his use of a lightsaber as well as Lord Darth Vader's evaluation of his aptitude with the Force. Prior to the Battle of Hoth, Herrit also created profiles on several bounty hunters, including Boba Fett, Bossk, Dengar, IG-88, and Zuckuss. In this report, which was submitted to Darth Vader, Herrit advocated for the recruitment of all five hunters to capture Han Solo, specifically highlighting Fett as the most qualified. Herrit also attempted to enlist Nariss Siv Loqesh, but Loqesh declined, which resulted in the hunter becoming a wanted criminal by the Empire. Imperial Communique 3674.11g, Herrit's profile on Boba Fett, was leaked to the Rebel Alliance by an unidentified source. Rebel leaders then released the profile to the public in hopes of exposing the Empire's illicit activities. However, historian Arhul Hextrophon posited that the unsettling details Herrit revealed about the hunter had a greater impact on Rebel morale than on inciting rebellious feelings.
During the war, Herrit also profiled every member of The Fatal Visionaries, and their ship, The Fatal Vision. Following his report to Lord Vader, these pirates received restricted technology for use against Rebels and smugglers.
Despite being entrusted with important intelligence-gathering responsibilities, Herrit and his team had a difficult relationship with Lord Vader. In one instance, while Herrit was working on his dossier on Luke Skywalker, Vader killed some of Herrit's agents when they attempted to question him about the Force. Herrit lodged complaints with the Emperor regarding Vader's killing of his agents on at least two occasions.
Herrit also engaged in counterintelligence operations aimed at the Rebel Alliance. In one such operation, he directed every Imperial facility in the Rolion sector to report a separate malfunction. Because Imperial cryptographers had previously deciphered the Rebel codes used in the Rolion sector, Imperial Intelligence managed to intercept transmissions indicating that a target designated "Understar" was experiencing gravitational fluctuation malfunctions. Herrit was therefore able to identify the target as a communication station in Fara's Belt, enabling Imperial TIE fighters to lie in wait and eliminate an entire squadron of Rebel B-wings in the subsequent battle.
Herrit's involvement also extended to sentientologist Obo Rin's project to produce a Catalog of Intelligent Life in the Galaxy. Herrit's worked under Darth Vader and Lieutenant Pandur in this endeavor, which ultimately led to his demise.
Despite acknowledging Rin's apparent competence in the project, Herrit grew suspicious of Rin's activities. In Imperial Communique 46553.27h, a message directed to Darth Vader, Herrit voiced his concerns. Herrit was wary of Rin's expense reports, which by the time the first installment of the Catalog was ready to be sent to Lord Vader, had risen to almost one million credits. The major also conducted a background check on Rin, uncovering that Rin's credentials as a sentientologist were questionable. Among other things, Rin claimed to be Director of Sentientology at the Academy at Sab Rufo, despite Herrit's information suggesting that neither the Academy nor Sab Rufo existed. Herrit relayed these findings to Darth Vader and instructed the Office of Budgetary Control to withhold payment to Rin. Major Herrit believed that Imperial Intelligence or experts from the Imperial Bureau of Resource Research would have been more suitable for the project.
Instead of receiving praise, Herrit was rebuked by Lord Vader's aide, Captain Solistein. In a message to Herrit (Imperial Communique 46553.28v), Solistein did not challenge Herrit's findings in detail, except for stating that Vader had visited Sab Rufo. Solistein, acting on Vader's authority, insisted that Rin be reimbursed and allowed to continue his work. Solistein also instructed Herrit to assist Rin in acquiring a Duinuogwuin corpse for dissection, mentioning that Vader had "suggested" Herrit handle the matter personally. Herrit died during that mission, which allowed Rin to produce the Catalog of Intelligent Life in the Galaxy, Revised Edition without further obstacles.
Herrit possessed the courage to confront those he perceived as hindering his mission or harming the Imperial cause, regardless of their influence or political standing. When he encountered issues with Darth Vader, he appealed directly to the Emperor, respectfully requesting that Vader be restrained from killing his agents. During his conflict with Obo Rin, he bypassed the chain of command to contact Lord Vader directly, rather than communicating through Lieutenant Pandur. Herrit professed ignorance of the Force, which left him uninformed about the true power and nature of Vader and the Emperor.
The financial aspects of Imperial activities were a particular concern for Herrit. His conflict with Obo Rin was partly triggered by the sentientologist's seemingly excessive expenditures, and his primary grievance to Emperor Palpatine when Vader killed Imperial Intelligence agents was the time and money the Empire had invested in their training.
Major Herrit made his first appearance in The Star Wars Sourcebook, written by Bill Slavicsek and Curtis Smith. He is featured in several other supplements for West End Games' Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, although he is never assigned any game statistics. Bill Smith's short story Hunting the Hunters is the sole non-roleplaying game source to include Herrit as a character.
Major Herrit is referenced in both editions of Galaxy Guide 4: Alien Races. The first edition includes the communiqué Herrit sent to Darth Vader. The reply from Captain Solistein tasking Herrit with acquiring a Duinwuoguin cadaver is also included. However, both communiqués are omitted from the second edition, which instead quotes correspondence from Obo Rin mentioning Herrit's death.
Herrit's rank of Major is inconsistent with other sources, like the Imperial Sourcebook, which state that Imperial Intelligence officers did not hold military ranks.