Elk

Elk was a human captain in the Imperial Navy who commanded a Cantwell-class Arrestor Cruiser as part of the Segra-Milo Imperial patrol. In 5 BBY, his cruiser encountered the Fondor Haulcraft of the rebel Luthen Rael above the planet Segra Milo.
Elk commanded Rael to provide a transponder ID but had a boarding party prepared as they waited for the ID to be checked. He ordered the haulcraft to be held using the cruiser's tractor beam but was shocked when Rael deployed countermeasures that destroyed the Imperial vessel's forward tractor dish. He then could only watch as the rebel destroyed the four TIE vessels deployed from the cruiser before jumping to hyperspace.
==Biography==
===Patrol encounter===
Captain Elk was a human who served as an officer in the officer corps of the Galactic Empire's Imperial Navy. By 5 BBY,"Rix Road" dates Maarva Carassi Andor's death in "Daughter of Ferrix" to 7972 C.R.C. Star Wars: Scum and Villainy: Case Files on the Galaxy's Most Notorious dates the Battle of Scarif to 7977 C.R.C., which Star Wars: Galactic Atlas dates to 0 BBY, so 7977 C.R.C. must be equivalent to 0 BBY, and 7972 C.R.C. must be equivalent to 5 BBY. he commanded a Cantwell-class Arrestor Cruiser as part of Segra-Milo Imperial patrol. The vessel was tasked with patrolling the space near the planet Segra Milo, always on the lookout for suspicious activity, as there had been Partisan activity in the area, which was considered a piracy zone.
While above Segra Milo that year, the cruiser encountered a Fondor Haulcraft. Blocking the haulcraft's transmissions, Elk contacted the ship over comms from the cruiser's bridge, where he stood with his executive officer and weapons specialist. He identified his patrol before asking for the ship to send over identification. The haulcraft belonged to Luthen Rael, head of a rebel network; Rael had been meeting with the Partisans, who were based on Segra Milo. To buy time for his Fondor Droid Mod to provide a false transponder ID, Rael responded over comms and asked for Elk to repeat himself, and by the time Elk warned Luthen to expect a transponder scan, the rebel had an ID ready for the captain. Elk then had Rael hold as one of his crew checked the code while the cruiser slowly moved closer to the haulcraft from three clicks away.
===A nasty surprise===
As they waited, Rael asked Elk if there was an issue causing him to be checked, thanking the Imperial when Elk informed him of the Partisan and pirate activity nearby; however, the captain ordered the haulcraft to continue waiting and had his crew power on the cruiser's tractor beam, pulling Rael's craft closer. Rael engaged a decoy burn on one of his portside thrusters, claiming it was overheating when Elk asked him to disengage it. Concerned, Elk had another crew member check the haulcraft's thermals, receiving a report of an aberrant heat signature in the thruster. The captain then ordered his executive officer to have a boarding team ready, and when this was confirmed, he asked Rael to power down his stabilizers.
Receiving no response, the captain kept his eyes on the vessel through his viewport and demanded confirmation that he had been heard. Rael finally responded, claiming that he was having to manually disengage the stabilizers while he was in fact waiting for his vessel's countermeasures to be prepared. His crew then completed the check on the transponder code that Rael had provided and confirmed it was authentic, but when questioned by his executive officer, Elk told him not to stand down as the boarding party needed the practice. Once he warned Rael that he was to be boarded, the rebel fully activated his engines and attempted to pull away from the tractor beam.
As the cruiser shuddered from still holding the haulcraft, Elk ordered the beam increased by five and issued a final warning to Rael. The rebel's response was to release clouds of shrapnel from his vessel, which were pulled in by the cruiser's tractor beam and shredded its forward tractor dish. Shocked, Elk ordered the cruiser's air wing to deploy but could only watch in horror as Rael pulled away from the now deactivated tractor beam and quickly destroyed the three TIE/ln space superiority starfighters and single TIE Boarding Craft under the captain's command. Elk glowered as Rael then escaped into hyperspace.
==Personality and traits==
Elk had light skin, graying brown hair, and blue eyes. Vigilant for partisans and piracy, he stopped any suspicious vessels he encountered on patrol, sometimes even detaining and boarding those with valid transponder IDs just for the practice.Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy He was shocked at being bested by Rael and his haulcraft.
==Equipment==
Elk wore a black Imperial officer's uniform including a black cap, a black belt, and black boots. He bore a rank insignia plaque with three blue squares and two red and carried a code cylinder on either side of his chest. He commanded a Cantwell-class cruiser with a tractor beam and an air wing of at least four TIE vessels.
==Behind the scenes==
Elk was portrayed by Roger Barclay in the television show Andor, appearing in the first season's eleventh episode, "Daughter of Ferrix," which aired on November 16, 2022. The character's name was not spoken in the episode but was used in the credits and subtitles.
==Appearances==
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==Sources==
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*Star Wars: Dawn of Rebellion: The Visual Guide
*Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy
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==Notes and references==
Category:Humans
Category:Imperial Navy captains of the Galactic Empire
Category:Individuals of unspecified gender
Category:Individuals with he/him pronouns