Captain Godherdt was a Human who served as an elite fleet engineer in the naval forces of the Galactic Empire. He was a key operator of magnetic signature sensors monitoring Star Destroyer hulls. Godherdt was stationed aboard the Dark Lord Darth Vader's personal flagship, the Super Star Destroyer Executor, as a sensor monitor, keeping data on the integrity of the Super Star Destroyer's hull.
In 4 ABY, Godherdt was among the Imperial personnel present in one of the second Death Star's hangar bays when Darth Vader arrived aboard the battlestation to take direction of its lagging construction schedule. Vader informed the station's commander, Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod, that Emperor Palpatine was displeased with the Death Star's lack of progress and that he would soon be arriving himself to personally oversee the remainder of the station's construction. At some point around the same time period, Godherdt was among the Imperial officers accompanying Vader and Jerjerrod as they strode down a corridor.
Godherdt was technically brilliant and known for being a skilled fleet engineer and sensor officer.
Captain Godherdt wore the standard-issue Imperial officer's uniform with both rank insignia plaque and a code cylinder.
A scene from the Special Edition of The Empire Strikes Back, reused from Vader's arrival on the Death Star in Return of the Jedi
The opening scene of the 1983 film Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi was Captain Godherdt's first appearance, in which he awaited the arrival of Darth Vader on the second Death Star. He was played by an uncredited actor. The character was given a name and a brief backstory in the 2000 Death Star II Limited expansion set of the Star Wars Customizable Card Game.
Godherdt was originally set to appear in another scene in Return of the Jedi, which was ultimately deleted from the film's final version, according to several images found on T-bone's Star Wars Universe fan Web site. The first four out of six images in the previous link show Vader and a group of Imperial officers (Godherdt included) heading toward the Death Star's docking bay to greet the Emperor upon his arrival, an extended version of a scene shown later in the final movie cut. A still from that deleted scene was used for the "Imperial Command" card for the Death Star II Limited set, though the card lore never specified if it depicted the same event in-universe.
The 1997 Special Edition release of Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back reuses the original footage from Return of the Jedi showing Vader's arrival on the second Death Star to depict Vader's arrival aboard the Executor, following his lightsaber duel with Luke Skywalker on Cloud City. As such, the actor who portrayed Godherdt can be seen in The Empire Strikes Back Special Edition alongside the other extras who portrayed Imperial personnel on the Death Star. However, the Godherdt character is not canonically established to appear in this Executor scene.
- Star Wars: Behind the Magic
- "The Men Who Built the Empire" — Star Wars Insider 96
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
- "The Men Who Built the Empire" — Star Wars Insider Souvenir Special
- Death Star Owner's Technical Manual