Gorrister served in the Imperial Navy on the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Vector alongside stormtrooper TK329 and Commander Tallos. Gorrister and Tallos' squad paired up on training activities aboard Vector.
He and the rest of the crew left Meglumine hauling top-secret freight on the ship. Their destination was Khonji Seven, just outside the Brunet system, but they never made it through the Mid Rim. There was a breach in the top-secret freight they were transporting, and though it was minor at first, it quickly spread throughout the ship. Medical officers had synthesized an anti-virus; they soon injected themselves with it, and the remaining crew sealed off the ship and moved into the Sentinel-class landing craft Freebird, from which they sent a distress signal.
While serving aboard the Star Destroyer Vector, a massive outbreak of the Blackwing plague was accidentally released on the ship. He and other Imperials, among them White, Pauling, and Tanner, took refuge on the Freebird. In total, thirty people found shelter in the shuttle. However, in the ten weeks they were stranded, they had to resort to cannibalism to survive, eating their own crew mates until only six were left. Finally, Jareth Sartoris discovered the ship and the crew.
Jareth Sartoris accidentally stumbled upon their hiding place when he was trying to escape from the army of the undead. Gorrister explained to him what had happened aboard Vector and how they had been surviving. Two crew members then grabbed Sartoris. But soon, the undead learned to work an X-wing laser cannon. Sartoris used this opportunity to open up the hatch and throw Gorrister and the two other Imperials holding him. The undead ripped them to pieces. Although he intended to throw out all of the crew, he spared White, Pauling, and Tanner.