Horst Major Horst was a Human male officer of the Galactic Empire who was stationed on the Mid Rim planet of Danuta . During the year 0 BBY , Horst commanded a patrol skiff that would circle the area surrounding a research laboratory that contained technical data for an Imperial superweapon known as the DS - 1 Orbital Battle Station , or as it later came to be known , the Death Star . While on patrol one night , the facility was raided by a mercenary named Kyle Katarn , who had been hired by the Alliance to Restore the Republic , whose goal was to steal the Death Star data . Horst was alerted to Katarn ' s presence , and attempted to eliminate the rebel threat , only to have his skiff shot down and destroyed , with Horst dying in the resulting explosion . Biography . A Human male , Horst joined the military ranks of the Galactic Empire sometime before 0 BBY . Eventually , Horst became an officer , attaining the rank of Major . Horst was assigned to the Mid Rim planet of Danuta at some point , and as a part of his assignment he would command a skiff to patrol the perimeter of a research facility located in the capital city of Trid . The facility he protected contained the technical data for an Imperial superweapon known as the DS - 1 Orbital Battle Station , or as it later came to be known , the Death Star . As the Empire tightened its grip on the galaxy , a band of freedom fighters known as the Alliance to Restore the Republic instituted Operation Skyhook , a mission that would see the retrieval of the Death Star plans , so that they could be analyzed for a weakness in the space stations structure . The Alliance eventually hired the mercenary Kyle Katarn , along with with rebel agent Jan Ors , to invade the Danuta facility . Katarn also managed to persuade an old friend and Imperial officer Meck Odom to aid in the mission as well . During the mission , Katarn eventually alerted the base to his presence . Major Horst received the command to intercept the rebel , although with only a vague description of what was going on , Horst assumed the issue was nothing more than a breach in the perimeter . However , yearning for action , Horst eagerly went to the task , mounting up on his skiff . Shortly after the command was issued , Katarn infiltrated a security station where he encountered another Imperial Major named Horst . The mercenary killed Horst and stole a keycard of his , which Katarn would later use to invade the lower levels of the facility . Meanwhile , the living Horst nearly finished his patrol when he sighted Ors ' ship , the " Moldy Crow " . The " Crow " intercepted Horst ' s skiff , and after a brief exchange of fire , Horst ' s skiff was shot down . The eager officer perished in the resulting explosion . Katarn ultimately stole the Death Star plans , and eventually a weakness was exposed , allowing the rebels to destroy the Death Star . Personality and traits . Horst likened his charisma and abilities to that of a wolf , and after long working ours of nothing but patrol work , he was genuinely excited to see finally see some action during the raid . However , Horst underestimated his opposition due to a lack of intel , and was not prepared to go one - on - one with a starship , which led to his death . Behind the scenes . Horst first appeared in the novella " " as a minor character . Horst later received in " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " . However , the " " had a character named Horst who was completely different than the character described in the novella . In the audio drama , Horst was the officer who Katarn stole a key from after a confrontation . This article assumes that the Danuta facility had two wholly different individuals named Horst .