Vors Voorhorian was an Incom Corporation engineer who designed the T-65 X-wing starfighter. After being arrested by the Galactic Empire following the seizure of the X-wing prototypes by Alliance to Restore the Republic agents, he escaped and set up his own factory on a remote world. Fearful of Imperial retribution, he set up several contingency plans securing his newly manufactured craft and even took to disguising himself as a used starship salesman to deter suspicion.
Following the Battle of Yavin, Voorhorian was contacted by Leia Organa, who sought replacements for the starfighters lost in the battle. He obliged, although the Rebels inadvertently led Imperial starfighters to his secret factory. Luckily for him, his fighters were secure, and after a brief engagement with a squad of TIE Fighters, the new ships were securely in Alliance hands. Voorhorian decided that he would be better served helping the Rebellion and upon the delivery of his craft to Yavin 4, he remained on the forest moon, at the Great Temple. His fighter would go on to serve the Alliance, and in turn the New Republic, for many years.
In his work as an engineer for the Incom Corporation, Vors Voorhorian designed the T-65 X-wing starfighter, a space superiority craft. The prototypes for the craft eventually fell into the hands of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, stolen from the main Incom facility on Fresia. In retaliation, the Galactic Empire arrested Voorhorian and all the other Incom scientists who had developed the craft, and seized control of the main Incom facility on Fresia.
Captain Raymus Antilles was able to liberate the majority of the Incom staff, and it is possible that Voorhorian was freed during the Space Battle in the Kessel Asteroid Field as well. While Incom was temporarily out of business due to the efforts of the Empire, Voorhorian set up his own production facility on a remote planet. He was highly suspicious of Imperial spies, however, and when the factory had produced a full complement of X-wings, he had them moved to a derelict GR-75 medium transport orbiting the planet. In their place, he created X-wing chassis and had them stored in the factory for display.
The Battle of Yavin, while a significant victory for the Alliance, cost them most of their fleet of X-wings. Voorhorian was contacted by Leia Organa, who hoped to replenish their supply of the lost fighters, and had just come across a considerable amount of credits. Voorhorian gave Organa the coordinates of a beacon he had set up, which would transmit a message from "Gears Gilhooey," a local used starship salesman. The beacon would then transmit the coordinates of the planet, and self-destruct. Voorhorian was paranoid that the Empire would discover his location, and exact retribution on the citizens of the planet, just as they had done with Fresia. He had adopted the guise of "Gilhooey" to dissuade suspicion.
Voorhorian reveals himself to the Rebels.
Shortly thereafter, Organa arrived on the planet with Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and R2-D2. Voorhorian, as Gilhooey, approached the group, and though they initially ignored his falsified sales pitch, Solo noticed that Gilhooey wore an X-wing cog for a ring, just as Voorhorian supposedly did. Not given the chance to explain himself, Voorhorian found himself in the grasp of Solo, who attempted to interrogate him. Voorhorian quickly turned the tables, however, and was able to throw the Corellian to the ground. At that moment, Voorhorian chose to reveal himself and his hidden factory. After explaining the need for the deception, he began discussing terms with Organa, while Solo, Skywalker, and R2-D2 unloaded the credits from the Corellian's ship, the Millennium Falcon.
During the discussions, R2-D2 discovered that the X-wings in the factories were just empty chassis, prompting Solo and Skywalker to demand answers. They fought Voorhorian's guards, and began questioning the Incom engineer. Though Organa already knew, Voorhorian explained his second ruse, and although Solo and Skywalker were satisfied, the factory fell under Imperial starfighter attack. A group of TIE Fighters had followed the Falcon since its exit from hyperspace, and had began razing the structures on the remote planet.
Quickly fleeing the Imperial attack, Voorhorian boarded the Falcon, while Skywalker put his Jedi skills to use and halted the advance of the enemy fighters. Once in orbit, Voorhorian directed Captain Solo to the derelict transport and explained his reasoning as to why he had hidden the fighters in such an inconspicuous place. While the Rebels inspected the fighters, the Imperials attacked them once again. Solo was able to lure them away from the transport for a short while in the Falcon, but Skywalker had a better long-term plan. He had Voorhorian divert power from the powerful batteries of the X-wings to the shields of the transport. Then, using the Force, Skywalker activated the shields just as the TIE Fighters flew within range, destroying them. The Falcon, using its tractor beam, then towed the transport back to Yavin 4, where the Rebel base was located.
Voorhorian confers with Lieutenant Rogor, actually an Imperial spy.
Voorhorian decided to help the Alliance, and upon reaching Yavin 4, he stayed instead of returning to the now-destroyed Incom factory. Along with Skywalker, he helped shuttle Rebel pilots to the transport in a modified Incom T-16 skyhopper, so they could take the new X-wings down to the Great Temple. On one run, Voorhorian and Skywalker encountered the Bail Organa, a ship of refugees from the destroyed planet of Alderaan. As the days went by, the Rebels anticipated an Imperial attack, and sure enough, their filing systems were sabotaged by a spy.
When Organa accused Captain Solo of being the spy, Voorhorian was in disbelief. He expressed his feelings to Lieutenant Rogor, who was also apparently shocked, but believed it to be possible. Eventually, Rogor was the one revealed to be the spy, and he attempted to escape in one of Voorhorian's X-wings. However, it was not one of the new craft, and it had been drained of power. Although, eventually, the Rebels were forced to evacuate from Yavin, they were able to escape the Empire's grasp. The X-wing would go on to be a mainstay in the Alliance fleet, and would even serve the New Republic consistently.
The X-wing cog Voorhorian wore as a ring.
Vors Voorhorian was a proud man: he had the utmost faith in both his ships and his plans. Though he was loathe to boast, he was quick to applaud his own work, especially the design of the X-wing's power cell. He hated the Empire for what they had done to him and Incom, and wanted to see his craft in action against their agents. Despite this, he was afraid of it, and created several successful security devices to divert attention away from his operations.
Voorhorian was a skilled actor, and he was able to easily transform himself into "Gears Gilhooey," a loud and simple man, which was a far cry from his quiet and passive demeanor. He was also a skilled unarmed combatant, and was able to defeat Han Solo. Voorhorian kept a constant reminder of his work on the X-wing: a cog from that ship's design that he wore as a ring. He would wear this even while in disguise, as a point of recognition for his potential clients.
Vors Voorhorian was created by Mike W. Barr, and first appeared in X-Wing Marks the Spot. The character would go on to appear in the sequel, Imperial Spy. Following this, no references were made to Voorhorian in Star Wars media, despite him being the designer of an iconic vehicle in the Star Wars franchise. The drought ended, however, in 2007, with the release of Star Wars: Complete Cross-Sections, which mentions him as the designer of the X-wing.
- Star Wars: Complete Cross-Sections
- The Essential Guide to Warfare