Gharial

Gharial was a human who held the rank of sergeant as an Imperial Security Bureau tactical trooper during the reign of the Galactic Empire. In 1 BBY, Gharial commanded a squad that was sent to capture the rebel Kleya Marki on the planet Coruscant, picking up bureau Supervisor Heert in a tactical shuttle on the way to her safehouse in Tomkip Towers. Once they arrived at the towers, Heert used a portable scanner to narrow down her location and then accompanied Gharial as he led half the squad into the building, with the other half remaining outside near the shuttle.

Gharial, Heert, and the tactical troopers with them swept the twenty-sixth floor of the building's west side, ending up in the apartment of an elderly couple where they waited for Heert to narrow the location further. The supervisor then directed them to the room directly above them, and the sergeant and his men ascended to the dimly lit twenty-seventh floor, proceeding slowly toward the safehouse. As they approached, the rebel Ruescott Melshi emerged, but ducked back inside before they fired on him.

When the rebels in the safehouse failed to surrender, Gharial tossed in a stun grenade but lost the first trooper he sent through the safehouse door. The rebel droid K-2SO then arrived in the turbolift behind Gharial's unit, having taken out the tactical troopers outside the building, and proceeded to kill another of Gharial's men and lift up Heert as a body shield. After the rebel Cassian Andor killed the last of Gharial's men, the sergeant fired into Heert as K-2SO proceeded toward him, fatally hurling Gharial into a wall when he reached him.

Biography

Transport

Gharial was a human who served the Galactic Empire during its reign,^[2] working as a tactical agent of the Imperial Security Bureau^[5] on^[2] the Imperial capital,^[6] Coruscant, with the rank of sergeant.^[2] In 1 BBY,^[1] ISB Tactical was contacted with information that Supervisor Heert had uncovered concerning the location of the Axis network rebel Kleya Marki. A squad with Gharial^[2] as unit commander^[3] was then sent to pick up Heert from the gallery^[2] Galactic Antiquities and Objects of Interest,^[6] Marki's place of work.^[2]

Collecting^[2] him^[3] from in front of the gallery in a^[2] tactical shuttle^[3] designated TAC 171, the unit then headed toward Marki's location: an Axis network safehouse in Tomkip Towers on Level 5124. En route, Gharial provided Heert with armor to wear and designated^[2] himself^[3] as leader of Team-One, who would take the lead, and Sergeant Benzi as head of Team-Two, which would flank and keep the shuttle ready for departure. Their progress and vitals were monitored from the control center of the ISB Central Office, where Major Lio Partagaz was overseeing the operation.^[2]

Deployment

In the shuttle's cockpit, the pilot pointed out the target structure and initiated a blackout on comms in the area. After the shuttle landed outside the apartment building, Gharial asked Heert if he had a trace on Marki's location as the sergeant disembarked, but the supervisor was still attempting to attune his datapad and portable scanner. Gharial then waited as Heert lined up the scanner on a signal being sent to Marki's fractal radio by Imperial technical specialist Lepori, identifying the twenty-sixth, twenty-seventh, and twenty-eighth floors of the building's west side as Marki's location.^[2]

Gharial then issued orders to Benzi that Team-One would work their way up through the three floors while Team-Two guarded the front of the building and the lobby. Heert then reminded everyone that he needed Marki alive before Team-One moved in and boarded a turbolift to reach the twenty-sixth floor. There, they moved through a corridor, weapons ready, and Gharial informed an alien tenant who emerged from one of the apartments that they would be safe inside their flat while the squad carried out a routine inspection. The group then opened the door of an end unit, revealing a shocked elderly couple inside.^[2]

Meanwhile, K-2SO, a droid ally of Marki, took out the pilot of TAC 171, severing the squad's comms. Weapons lowered, Gharial and the other tactical troopers waited with the couple in their kitchen while Heert checked the scanner again, realizing that the safehouse was located directly above them. As they proceeded directly up to their new target, Gharial gave orders for the unit to get their comms working again and then marched down the corridor on the twenty-sixth floor toward the turbolift, weapons raised.^[2]

Engage

Upon reaching the dimly lit twenty-seventh floor of Tomkip Towers, Gharial emerged first from the turbolift, moving cautiously to a corner where he peaked down the length of the corridor and found no one there. Heert confirmed that they were heading to the last unit on the left, but Gharial hesitated over the lack of comms until the supervisor declared they were wasting time. Gharial then lit a flashlight mounted on his blaster rifle and nodded for the squad to proceed^[4] stealthily^[7] down the corridor with the sergeant in lead.^[4]

Shortly before reaching the safehouse's door, Gharial stopped the squad and ordered them to tighten up, directing Heert to take cover in another flat's entryway, one trooper to flank, and two to proceed with him. The safehouse's door then opened, prompting the sergeant to silently halt the two men with him, and Ruescott Melshi, another ally of Marki, emerged into the trooper's flashlights. Gharial ordered the rebel to stop where he was and surrender, but he quickly ducked back into the safehouse. The sergeant ordered his men to hold fire and issued a single warning for anyone inside the safehouse to surrender immediately. When no one emerged, Gharial asked for a stun grenade, which his men passed to him. Activating it, Gharial tossed it into the flat, successfully stunning Melshi, Marki, and a third rebel, Cassian Andor. Gharial then ordered one of his men forward, but Melshi shot him down, returning fire against Gharial and the remaining trooper at the door.^[4]

Crunch

K-2SO then arrived on the twenty-seventh floor, killing Team-One's flanking member and lifting Heert into the air as a human shield. Hearing the blasterfire behind him, Gharial turned his attention from the safehouse and ordered K-2SO to stop. The droid ignored him and marched forward with Heert held out in front, resulting in the sergeant firing at least nine shots directly into Heert's chest. Gharial then called for his last remaining squadmate to flank, but Andor shot him, leaving Gharial as the last Imperial standing.^[4]

Gharial continued firing, but was unable to stop the droid, who hurled the screaming sergeant into the wall at the end of the corridor,^[4] killing him^[7] with a loud crunch on impact. K-2SO, Marki, Andor, and Melshi then successfully escaped from the apartment building before Imperial reinforcements arrived, with Partagaz having scrambled whatever forces were nearby to find the squad after their comms dropped out. The rebels then left Corsucant, allowing Marki and Andor to deliver vital intelligence on the Empire's Death Star superweapon to the Alliance to Restore the Republic.^[4]

Personality and traits

Gharial was a hulking human who was loyal to the Galactic Empire and determined to take down any insurgents who stood in its way.^[5] He was confident that his team could capture Kleya Marki without Heert's aid but ended up shooting his ally multiple times while the supervisor was being used as a shield by the rebel K-2SO. Gharial had a shaven head, a graying mustache, blue eyes, and light skin.^[4]

Equipment

During the raid on the Axis network safehouse, Gharial wore a set of white armor on his torso, lower legs, arms, and hands with a matching white kama, a pair of black pants, and a black belt with an officer's disk on the silver buckle. He had a comm unit and a black pouch strapped onto his chestplate and used a blaster rifle. Although he did not carry his own stun grenades, he requested one from a squadmate during the raid.^[4]

Behind the scenes

Gharial was portrayed by Andrew Brooke in the live-action Disney+ series Andor, first appearing in "Who Else Knows?" and "Jedha, Kyber, Erso," the eleventh and twelfth episodes of the show's second season,^[2][4] both of which aired on May 14, 2025.^[8] The character's name is not spoken in the episodes but is listed in the credits.^[2][4] Prior to the episodes' release, Gharial was first revealed in a trailer for the season released on February 24, 2025.^[9]

Appearances

• Star Wars: Andor — "Who Else Knows?" (First appearance)
• Star Wars: Andor — "Jedha, Kyber, Erso"

Sources

• Andor | Season 2 Trailer | Streaming April 22 on Disney+ on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link) (First pictured)
• Star Wars Celebration LIVE! 2025 - DAY 2 on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
• The Costumes of Andor Season 2 on StarWars.com (backup link) (Picture only)
• "Andor Season 2 Companion" — Star Wars Insider 233 (Indirect mention only)
• Sergeant Gharial in the Databank (backup link)

Notes and references

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