A Gran male, once employed as both a bodyguard and a bounty hunter, found himself in pursuit of a weapons smuggler. This chase led him into territory under the control of the Galactic Empire, where he unexpectedly crossed paths with Rebel Alliance operative Kyle Katarn. This encounter resulted in Katarn inflicting a blaster wound to the Gran's leg, before Katarn single-handedly dismantled the smuggling operation. The Gran, whose injury required three months to heal, harbored a deep-seated desire for revenge due to this incident.
Later, in 5 ABY, the droid information broker known as 8t88 engaged the Gran to provide backup during a planned meeting with Katarn. This meeting was set to occur at the Rimmer's Rest cantina situated on the moon of Nar Shaddaa, where 8t88 intended to reveal details concerning the death of Katarn's father. However, the droid betrayed Katarn, tasking the Gran and another hireling with the mission to kill him. The Gran was particularly eager at the prospect of settling the score. Despite this, Katarn managed to disarm both mercenaries before they could fire upon him and subsequently killed the Gran with his Bryar pistol.
During the Galactic Civil War, a Gran male made his living as a bodyguard. On one occasion, he was on the trail of a weapons smuggler operating within the Imperial sector. Instead of finding his target, the Gran encountered Kyle Katarn, an agent of the Rebel Alliance, and suffered a blaster injury to his leg. Meanwhile, Katarn successfully shut down the smuggling ring on his own. The Gran, nursing a grudge against Katarn, required three months to recover from his wound. By 5 ABY, he had established himself on the moon of Nar Shaddaa.
In that same year, 8t88, a droid who worked as an information broker for the Dark Jedi Jerec, traveled to Nar Shaddaa. He had set up a meeting with Kyle Katarn with the intention of extracting information. Anticipating resistance, 8t88 initially attempted to enlist the services of the bounty hunter Boba Fett as a bodyguard. However, Fett declined, forcing 8t88 to settle for less capable replacements, including the Gran and a Grave Tusken, who was a second bounty hunter.
The agent anticipated that the droid would reveal information about his father's demise upon arriving at Katarn's table inside the Rimmer's Rest cantina. As expected, 8t88 informed Katarn that Jerec was responsible for Morgan's death during the Subjugation of Sulon, and he also shared the Dark Jedi's plans to revive the Empire. The Gran and the second bounty hunter arrived late to the confrontation, much to 8t88's annoyance, and moved in on Katarn, pointing their blasters at him and taking his weapon. The Gran warned Katarn not to move, joking that his head would look funny if it were blown off.
8t88 then brought up the subject of a holodisc that he had obtained from the family's home on the moon of Sulon, which had belonged to Katarn's father. Unable to access the disc's encrypted contents, 8t88 tried to force Katarn to help him, which was the real reason he had lured him there. Katarn refused to answer the droid's questions, even when threatened by the Gran and the Grave Tusken. Seeing that Katarn would not cooperate, 8t88 left, instructing his hirelings to kill Katarn and offering them a hundred credits for each body part they brought back.
Instead of shooting Katarn right away, the Gran took the seat across from him and asked if he remembered their previous encounter. When Katarn said he didn't, the Gran began complaining about his old blaster burn, giving Katarn a chance to strike. In a quick move, he threw the Grave Tusken over his shoulder and took the bounty hunter's DH-17 blaster pistol, pointing it at the Gran, who had dropped his own weapon. Katarn then used the Force to retrieve his blaster, which slid into his hand, surprising the two bounty hunters.
The Gran and his partner watched as Katarn slid out from the table and started to back away. Katarn told them he was going after 8t88 and jokingly suggested they should have lunch sometime. The Gran then picked up his E-11 blaster rifle, quickly left the room, and ran towards the main bar area. However, Katarn shot and killed the Gran with his Bryar pistol while leaving the cantina and took the dead bounty hunter's blaster rifle. After Katarn killed a second Gran near the bar, the cantina's bartender told him to leave.
The Gran held a grudge against Kyle Katarn because of a blaster injury he had suffered in a previous fight. During their second meeting on Nar Shaddaa years later, the Gran enjoyed holding his enemy at gunpoint. He asked Katarn if he remembered him, which only led to Katarn comparing him to common street trash and giving the Rebel agent a chance to escape. The Gran confidently said that Nar Shaddaa would be Katarn's grave before being shot down himself moments later.
8t88 thought the Gran and his partner were idiots for being late to the confrontation with Katarn, but he admitted that they had done a good job of taking him at gunpoint, even though they weren't as skilled as Boba Fett. However, 8t88 didn't trust the Gran's intelligence, which he thought was inferior to his own droid abilities.
The Gran had beige skin and purple eyes that were bloodshot during his second meeting with Katarn at the Rimmer's Rest cantina. His voice sounded like a gravel crusher stuck in low gear, and he could speak both an alien language and Basic.
The Gran first showed up in the 1997 video game Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II by LucasArts as one of two bounty hunters who went with 8t88 to confront Kyle Katarn on Nar Shaddaa in the game's opening cutscene. Two actors are credited with playing the bounty-hunter characters in that cutscene: Dan Bloom and Dylan Haggerty, listed as "Bounty Hunter 1" and "Bounty Hunter 2," respectively.
The Gran's line in that cutscene, which is translated as "You'll never leave here. Nar Shaddaa will be your grave!," is actually two different "wake up" sound effects that other Gran characters make when they first see the player character on Nar Shaddaa. This sound effect is also repeated by other Gran characters in the Dark Forces II levels on Sulon.
In addition to Dark Forces II, the Gran also appeared in the game's 1998 novella adaption Dark Forces: Rebel Agent, written by William C. Dietz and illustrated by Ezra Tucker, which was published by Dark Horse Comics and Berkley Boulevard; and in the Dark Forces: Rebel Agent audio drama by John Whitman. In the audio drama, the Gran was voiced by Tom Keith and credited as "Goon 1," which matched 8t88's dialogue in the game. These stories added more details to the character's backstory with Kyle Katarn.
The scene where the Gran confronts Kyle Katarn on Nar Shaddaa has different details and dialogue in the Dark Forces II video game, the Dark Forces: Rebel Agent novella, and the Dark Forces: Rebel Agent audio drama. In the video game, the Gran says one line before Katarn escapes, while the exchange between the Gran and Katarn is much longer in the two Dark Forces: Rebel Agent adaptations. In particular, the novel vaguely mentions the Gran's past with Katarn, while the audio drama gives more details about their previous encounter before they met again on Nar Shaddaa.
Additionally, the way Katarn escapes from the Gran and his partner is different in each version, with the Rebel Agent adaptations showing a more chaotic fight between the bounty hunters and Katarn. The audio drama uniquely includes punching and laser-blast sound effects before the Gran loses his blaster, which Katarn then uses the Force to call to his hand. The novella suggests that Katarn uses the Force to retrieve his confiscated Bryar pistol. None of these details are in the video-game cutscene, which instead shows Katarn pointing the second bounty hunter's DH-17 blaster pistol at the Gran. This article tries to combine and reconcile details from all three versions while considering the Dark Forces II video game as the most authoritative source.
The Gran speaks an alien language in the video game but speaks Basic in the novella and audio drama. This article claims that the Gran speaks both languages, based on each of these sources.
Finally, the video game lets the player choose to kill the Gran or leave him alive before leaving the cantina. The Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II: The Official Strategy Guide by Rick Barba specifically tells the player to shoot the Gran, either in the booth where the level starts or in the bar, because the Gran will be waiting to attack the player.