Cartha

This article is about a TIE pilot. You may be looking for Uthorrferrell Cartha.

Cartha, who attained the nickname of "Chaser," was an Imperial TIE pilot who served in Black Eight Squadron by 3 BBY. Cartha would later transfer into the Imperial 61st Squadron by 0 BBY, ultimately participating in the Battle of Yavin that year, wherein the TIE pilot was killed by the Rebel pilot Wedge Antilles.

Biography[]

TurrPhennirinROTJ — Turr Phennir, Cartha's younger brother

Cartha was the older brother of Turr Phennir,^[2] a Human^[5] who was born in the Valahari Provinces and raised by his stepfather Count Phennir, a renowned hunting pilot.^[3] By 3 BBY,^[6] Cartha became a TIE pilot in the Galactic Empire, flying fourth place in the Imperial Navy's Black Eight Squadron and attaining the nickname of "Chaser."^[4] That standard year, Black Eight Squadron bombed^[6] the planet Callos. Captain Juno Eclipse, who led Black Eight Squadron, was transferred out of the squadron after Callos's bombing. Eclipse recommended Cartha to replace her in leading the squadron, although that position instead went to the pilot Redline.^[4]

Less than a year after Eclipse's transfer out of Black Eight Squadron, Cartha remained flying fourth place in the squadron, under Redline's leadership.^[4] By 0 BBY,^[1] Cartha had transferred to the Imperial 61st Squadron. While serving in the 61st Squadron, Cartha participated in the Battle of Yavin,^[3] where Imperial TIE/LN starfighter pilots attempted to defend the Imperial DS-1 Orbital Battle Station from the Alliance to Restore the Republic. During the battle, Cartha was killed by^[2] Rebel pilot^[7] Wedge Antilles,^[2] and the Alliance's starfighters destroyed the DS-1 Orbital Battle Station in the Yavin system.^[7]

Behind the scenes[]

DS-3-12 — Paul R. Urquhart considered retconning Cartha as DS-61-4, whose TIE/LN starfighter, Black 4, is shown in this image.

Cartha was first mentioned, albeit unnamed, in Turr Phennir's card for the 2000 Death Star II Limited expansion of the Star Wars Customizable Card Game.^[2] On August 19, 2008,^[8] a TIE pilot with the nickname of "Chaser" was mentioned in the novelization of the video game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed,^[4] which was released September 16 the same year.^[9] On July 29, 2014, the tenth part of the StarWars.com article Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Warfare Author's Cut again referenced Cartha, naming the pilot and retconning the character as having been "Chaser" from the Force Unleashed novel.^[3]

Although never published, author Paul R. Urquhart's endnotes further intended for Cartha to be the character's surname and for Cartha to be Count Phennir's son and thus Turr Phennir's stepbrother. In stating his intentions to make Cartha the surname, Urquhart also noted that the name is shared with Uthorrferrell Cartha,^[10] a native of the planet Eiattu 6 who appeared in the comic X-Wing Rogue Squadron 13,^[11] published on November 27, 1996.^[12] He further intended to retcon Cartha as DS-61-4,^[10] a TIE pilot who was—like Cartha—killed by Wedge Antilles in the Battle of Yavin, an event specifically shown in the 1977 original trilogy film, Star Wars; Episode IV A New Hope.^[7]