During the Galactic Civil War's most intense period, a Human male named Noval Garaint made a name for himself as a formidable bounty hunter. After the Imperial forces invaded Kheedar, Garaint seized control of the planet's criminal organization, previously led by crime lord Horch. With the dethroned Horch serving as a mere figurehead, Garaint strategically expanded his influence, dominating numerous sectors of the underworld. He leveraged available resources to amass considerable wealth, transforming his criminal enterprise into a powerful and perilous force.
Known for his ruthless nature, he was an individual who was willing to do anything to complete his objectives. He cultivated an aura of fear and strength throughout his careers as a bounty hunter and crime boss by consistently appearing in public wearing his Krail 210 Personal Armor, which concealed his identity behind a menacing helmet.
Noval Garaint, a Human, honed his skills as a bounty hunter within the ranks of the Ragnar Syndicate. Garaint formed a partnership with the Taloron Crutag. During a mission to apprehend a Rebel operative, Garaint succumbed to temptation and accepted a substantial bribe from the Rebel in exchange for his freedom. Crutag witnessed this act of betrayal and attempted to apprehend Garaint. However, Garaint proved too formidable for the Taloron, inflicting wounds upon his former partner before making his escape. Garaint promptly reported the incident to the Ragnar Syndicate, falsely claiming that Crutag had initiated the attack. Consequently, Crutag departed from the Syndicate, embarking on a career as an independent hunter, harboring deep resentment towards Garaint.
By the time the Galactic Empire launched its invasion of Kheedar, Garaint was still an emerging bounty hunter. The invasion was a response to a series of Rebel attacks on hydrocarbon processing plants in the Outer Rim Territories. In an effort to safeguard its resources and infrastructure, the Empire decided to occupy the planet.
As the invasion of Kheedar unfolded, Noval Garaint was en route to the planet, transporting a group of prisoners he intended to sell to the local crime lord, Horch. However, Garaint arrived on Kheedar just as the Imperial assault, spearheaded by the Victory-class Star Destroyer Pestage, commenced. Garaint observed via holovids as the Imperials broadcast their attack on the planet, targeting Horch's palace, where Garaint was headed. Seizing the opportunity presented by the chaos of battle, Garaint's prisoners attempted to flee back to their ship, which he had brought to Kheedar. Recognizing the emerging power vacuum on the planet and realizing he would not receive payment for the prisoners, Garaint allowed them to reach their ship, having secretly rigged a thermal detonator to the ship's main drive, ensuring their demise.
Following this incident, Garaint proceeded to Horch's palace, arriving before the Imperials. He fought his way through Horch's numerous henchmen. After subduing the guards, Garaint captured Horch just as the Imperials arrived. The Imperial officer in command of the attack was skeptical that a single individual could be responsible for the carnage. Nevertheless, when Garaint presented his bounty hunter license and proof of Horch's capture, the Imperials moved on to their next objective.
After capturing Horch and eliminating his henchmen, Garaint established himself as the new leader of the criminal empire, actively recruiting bounty hunters and mercenaries. During this period, Garaint continued his bounty hunting career, utilizing his skills to expand his criminal syndicate's networks.
As Garaint solidified his power, Horch fell into disgrace and became addicted to spice liquor. Despite this, Garaint decided to keep Horch alive as a figurehead for the criminal organization. Garaint made this decision to conceal his leadership and protect his identity. With Horch as his puppet, Garaint held lavish courts, similar to those of Jabba the Hutt, gathering information from those who sought favor with the criminal empire. Few suspected that Garaint, acting as Horch's bodyguard, was the true power behind the throne.
Garaint dictated Horch's every action, even orchestrating his tantrums, all to further his goals of deception and power consolidation. Throughout this period, Garaint became adept at maintaining the illusion of Horch's strong leadership while strengthening his own power base.
Under Garaint's leadership, the criminal empire experienced rapid growth in strength and efficiency, becoming a more focused organization. At Garaint's direction, his syndicate expanded into diverse fields: slavery, enforcement, security, black market operations, and military ventures. During this time, it was rumored that the master thief "Tombat" infiltrated Garaint's crime empire and discovered that he had reprogrammed and rebuilt numerous F1 Exploration Droids to serve as heavily armed bodyguards. Due to this and other factors, Garaint's control as a crime lord was able to foster improved relations with the Empire, which often harassed such criminal operations. Understanding that the Empire would leave him and his work alone if he went about it the right way, Garaint orchestrated his dealings to be as discreet as possible, and was not averse to fostering corruption among the Empire's ranks. Garaint realized that by being accommodating with the galactic rulers, his own work would be allowed to grow, thus making him extremely rich, powerful, and not the least of all, dangerous.
Noval Garaint was known to be a tall, athletic, and handsome Human. However, for reasons unknown, he chose to live his public life entirely encased in his Krail 210 Personal Armor. Throughout his career as a bounty hunter and crime lord, Garaint was consistently cunning, heartless, and thrived on being vicious to those who opposed him. Garaint viewed violence not as a pleasure but as a way of life that had served him well. He readily accepted bribes from his targets in exchange for their freedom and betrayed partners for personal gain.
Garaint utilized a modified set of Krail 210 Personal Armor, which he was always seen wearing. The armor included an integrated sensor pack, a reinforced blast helmet, power suit boosters, retractable wrist blades, and a line slinger with a magnetic grappling hook and winch. Garaint also wore an Arakyd Whisper jetpack. His arsenal included a blaster rifle, a blaster pistol, a hold-out blaster, grenades, smoke grenades, and thermal flares. He also carried medpacs at all times.
The character and narrative of Noval Garaint were conceived by authors Simon Smith and Eric S. Trautmann for the West End Games sourcebook Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim, released in May of 1993. The two images of Garaint in Fragments from the Rim were created by artist Mike Vilardi. Subsequently, Garaint was mentioned in three other West End Games products.
Five years after the publication of Fragments from the Rim, in February of 1998, Noval Garaint made an appearance in the computer strategy game Star Wars: Rebellion. In the game, players could utilize Garaint for various missions, including abducting enemy characters, assassinating Rebels, and sabotaging enemy facilities. Alternatively, during a player's campaign, minor characters have a chance (randomly selected by the game engine) to become Force-sensitive and be trained by either Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader. If Noval Garaint is chosen to be Force-sensitive, he could be trained in the Force by Vader. However, Garaint's Force-sensitivity is non-canonical, determined purely by chance, and should not be confused with canon.
Garaint was again drawn by artist Mike Vilardi in Rogues Gallery:Bounty Hunters (Star Wars Gamer 6), though as an anonymous appearance.