Gorst

"The restraints are nothing to be feared. It's much safer for you to be tethered as we engage. There's nothing intrinsically physical about this process, but we've had some early trials that were a bit chaotic."

―Gorst, to Bix Caleen^[4]

Gorst was a human male doctor who served as an interrogator for the Galactic Empire's Imperial Security Bureau (ISB) in its Interrogation branch. He developed a new torture method using the dying pleading of the Dizonite species and used it on the arrested proprietor Salman Paak on the planet Ferrix at the behest of the ISB Supervisor Dedra Meero. The successful interrogation flagged the mechanic Bix Caleen as the next suspect.

After Caleen was arrested, she was soon passed on to Gorst. The doctor spoke about the Dizonite screams and his work on the sound before using it to get the mechanic talking. After a rebel pilot was arrested and held near Steergard, Gorst was sent to help interrogate the prisoner, getting the man talking almost immediately. The doctor appeared in Caleen's nightmares in the couple years following her torture.

In 3 BBY, the Military Intelligence, a cousin network to the ISB, managed to have Gorst's interrogation efforts expanded into a program, based in a donated facility on the planet Coruscant. However, Caleen was able to infiltrate the facility with fellow rebel agent Cassian Andor. Gorst's former subject confronted him, restraining the doctor in his interrogation chair and putting him under his own torture methods. Andor then proceeded to detonate the facility when he and Caleen left.

Biography

First recordings

"We've taken the recordings and modified them slightly, layering, adjusting. And we found a section that we believe are primarily children, which has its own particular effect."

―Gorst explains his work with the Dizonite screams to Caleen^[4]

During the time of the Galactic Empire, Doctor Gorst served as an interrogator^[6] in the Interrogation branch of the Empire's Imperial Security Bureau (ISB),^[5] tasked with torturing prisoners of the Empire for information. In his mission to more efficiently get information from his subjects,^[6] he began looking into a the dying screams of the Dizonites, a sentient species which had been massacred by the Empire after resisting their presence on their homeworld, the moon of Dizon Fray. The choral, agonized, pleading screams of the dying Dizonites had put three Imperial communications officers into emotional distress when they monitored footage of the massacre.^[4]

As a result, Gorst began trying to develop the screams into a torture method, modifying audio of what he believed was primarily dying Dizonite younglings. Early trials of the torture saw some chaotic results from subjects, leading to the requirement for restraints. It was also found that repeat listenings caused more damage.^[4]

Debut

"Doesn't take long. It won't feel that way to you inside. But, um… Let me know when you're willing to cooperate. Oh, and if you're having difficulty speaking, just shake your head from side to side."
"You'll want to be sure of that, Bix, that you're cooperating fully. It's repeat listenings that cause the most damage."

―Gorst and Dedra Meero, to Caleen^[4]

Gorst tortured Salman Paak for Dedra Meero.

On the planet Ferrix, the proprietor Salman Paak was tracked to a fractal radio unit being used to make a transmission offworld.^[4] After being captured and taken to Hotel Rix, which had become the Imperial headquarters on Ferrix,^[2] Paak was resistant to questioning, which led to suspicions that there was more to be learned, and thus ISB Supervisor Dedra Meero brought Gorst to the matter. The interrogator used his new method with the screams on Paak, which led to the prisoner giving a testimony about how the radio unit was used by the mechanic Bix Caleen to keep contact with a buyer of stolen Imperial equipment—in reality was the rebel network coordinator Luthen Rael—and connect them with the thief Cassian Andor.^[4]

Caleen was apprehended the day after Paak's capture and taken to Paak's interrogation room,^[2] where Meero attempted to provide a less torturous interview, referencing Gorst, who was stood behind the supervisor, as a consequence of the mechanic resisting. With Meero's questioning bringing little answers, the supervisor allowed Gorst to take over. Two Imperial guards restrained Caleen, leading her to begin to panic. Gorst assured her that the restrains made it much safer for her during the session, chuckling as he recounted the early trials. Bringing his console over, he told his subject about the Dizonites and the significance of their screams, removing his labcoat in doing so.^[4]

Gorst helped Meero interrogate Bix Caleen.

As Caleen got more nervous, Gorst got a headset out and informed his subject to give the word when she was willing to cooperate or move her head side to side if she had trouble speaking. Meero warned the prisoner about the repeat listenings, and interrogator put the headset on her while she attempted to shake her head in resistance. Listening to the dying Dizonites, Caleen screamed in agony, eventually giving in and choosing to cooperate. When Gorst removed the headset, Meero told him not to put it away. Caleen resultantly gave a detailed account of her involvement with mysterious buyer and Andor.^[4]

Hit nightmare

"This was a Dr. Gorst interview?"
"Yes, sir. Confidence is high. He got the pilot talking almost immediately."

―Lio Partagaz and Meero^[4]

Not long after, a rebel pilot was apprehended by the Empire while on his way to the^[4] trading outpost Ring of Kafrene.^[7] One of Meero's attendants, Heert, sent Gorst to a destroyer near Steergard where the pilot had been subsequently detained. There, he got the prisoner talking almost immediately, Meero interviewing the pilot by video. It was discovered that the pilot operated with a rebel group led by the former Separatist Anto Kreegyr and that the group was planning an attack on the^[4] Imperial power station on Spellhaus.^[8]

Caleen continued to have nightmares of Gorst.

In her cell on Ferrix, Caleen remained traumatized, with Gorst's voice resounding in her head at one point. Meero's other attendant, Corv, interviewed the prisoner again, trying to confirm whether Kreegyr was the mysterious buyer. He threatened to bring in Gorst if he believed the Caleen was not telling the truth.^[9] A year later, in 4 BBY, Caleen experienced nightmares that involved Gorst, including one where he stalked her while she slept.^[10]

These nightmares were still present after another year, in 3 BBY, when Caleen got out of bed in a safehouse to see Gorst having tortured an Imperial soldier Andor had killed during one of their recent missions. As the dream continued, Gorst spoke about the tragedy of the soldier's loss and how they never got his name before Andor woke Caleen up. With the nightmares being a recurring issue, Andor encouraged her to talk about it, but she avoided the subject.^[11]

Muted

"Dr. Gorst. Success invites scrutiny. Our cousins in Military Intelligence have been salivating over our interrogation results and have convinced the Emperor that Dr. Gorst is too valuable to be a one-man, ISB asset. He's to be expanded into a program. […] The Navy's donated a facility here in Coruscant. I want the two of you to represent our interests in this. I'm counting on you to keep watch on these idiots."

―Lio Partagaz briefs Lonni Jung and Heert^[12]

Gorst's interrogation efforts were moved into a larger program on Coruscant.

Meanwhile, the ISB's cousin network, Military Intelligence, took an interest in Gorst's successes and convinced the Galactic Emperor,^[12] Sheev Palpatine,^[13] to expand Gorst's efforts into a program. The Imperial Navy donated a facility to the^[12] Empire's capital planet^[13] of Coruscant. In response to the Military Intelligence's new powers over Gorst, ISB Major Lio Partagaz ordered two supervisors, Lonni Jung and Heert, to represent the ISB's interests in the program.^[12]

Unbeknownst to Partagaz and Heert, Jung was working for Luthen Rael and his network. Rael soon sent Andor and Caleen—who were living undercover on Coruscant as Rael's operatives—to take out Gorst. The two rebel agents infiltrated Gorst's facility while he was out purchasing a cupcake. After returning to the facility with his food, Gorst entered his torture chamber and consulted the console. That was when Caleen, who had hidden by the door, revealed herself and, with a blaster aimed, told him to get in the chair.^[12]

Gorst recognised only the face of the rebel, who forced him into the chair, secured his forearms with^[12] autostraps,^[14] and gagged him. Despite the doctor's struggling, Caleen put the torture headset on him and activated it. Gorst began to convulse from the effect of the headset while Caleen left. Andor had in the meantime set up explosives in the building and activated them as he and his accomplice left, destroying the facility with Gorst inside.^[12]

A file on Gorst was kept in the "Imperial Security Bureau" section of the Imperial Archives. The file was eventually read by the historian Beaumont Kin, who wrote briefly about Gorst's efforts on utilising the Dizonite screams in^[13] his^[15] book The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire^[13] in 35 ABY.^[16]

Personality and traits

"They make a sound as they die. A sort of choral, agonized pleading. It was quite unlike anything anyone has ever heard before."

―Gorst, on the Dizonites^[4]

Gorst was a human male with light skin, brown hair, and hazel eyes.^[4] A cruel and sadistic interrogator,^[6] he took advantage of the effect the Dizonites' dying pleas had on individuals to create a more effective means of psychological pain. In conversation with Bix Caleen ahead of her torture, the doctor chuckled when recalling the chaotic responses some of the early tests had caused showing, further smiling at points when he explained the context of his torture methods.^[4]

Gorst had an enjoyment of sweets and brought along something for himself to his torture chamber on Coruscant. When confronted by Caleen two years after torturing her, Gorst could not help but ponder on the fact he recognised her despite being at gunpoint. It was not until Caleen restrained the doctor and began preparing him for torture that he began to panic.^[12]

Skills and abilities

"Failing that, we have Dr. Gorst, who's developed a unique interview system some of us are very excited about."

―Meero introduces Gorst to Caleen^[4]

Gorst was skilled in psychology and physiology, using his knowledge in his work on torture.^[6]

Equipment

"Don't put them away."

―Meero, to Gorst, on the headset^[4]

Gorst wore a white, long-sleeved shirt with a shorter-sleeved gray jacket over it and a white labcoat over that. In a case, he kept a headset that was used to subject his subjects to the Dizonite screams, operating it partially from a movable console.^[4]

Behind the scenes

Gorst first appeared in "Narkina 5," the eighth episode of the first season of the live-action Disney+ series Star Wars: Andor,^[2] released on October 26, 2022.^[17] The character was portrayed by Joshua James.^[2]