Elk, a human serving as a captain within the Imperial Navy, held the position of commanding officer aboard a Cantwell-class Arrestor Cruiser assigned to the Segra-Milo Imperial patrol. During the events of 5 BBY, his cruiser had a skirmish with the Fondor Haulcraft piloted by the rebel Luthen Rael above the planet Segra Milo.
Elk demanded that Rael submit a transponder ID, while simultaneously preparing a boarding party to be ready once the ID was verified. He gave the order to use the cruiser's tractor beam to restrain the haulcraft, only to be taken by surprise when Rael deployed countermeasures that resulted in the destruction of the Imperial vessel's forward tractor beam emitter. Subsequently, he was left to helplessly observe as the rebel destroyed all four TIE vessels launched from the cruiser, before escaping into hyperspace.
As a human, Captain Elk served the Galactic Empire as an officer in the Imperial Navy's officer corps. By the time it was 5 BBY, he was in command of a Cantwell-class Arrestor Cruiser that was part of the Segra-Milo Imperial patrol. The mission of the vessel was to patrol the space surrounding the planet of Segra Milo, constantly watching for anything out of the ordinary, due to Partisan activity in the region, which was considered a piracy hotspot.
During that year, while positioned above Segra Milo, the cruiser made contact with a Fondor Haulcraft. Elk, blocking all transmissions from the haulcraft, contacted the ship via comms from the cruiser's bridge, accompanied by his executive officer and weapons specialist. He identified his patrol and then requested the ship to send over its identification. The haulcraft was being piloted by Luthen Rael, leader of a rebel network. Rael had been meeting with the Partisans, who had a base on Segra Milo. In order to buy time for his Fondor Droid Mod to generate a fraudulent transponder ID, Rael responded to Elk over comms, requesting that Elk repeat himself. By the time Elk warned Luthen to expect a transponder scan, the rebel had an ID prepared for the captain. Elk then told Rael to wait as one of his crew checked the code, while the cruiser slowly approached the haulcraft from a distance of three clicks.
As they waited, Rael inquired of Elk if there was a problem that necessitated the check, thanking the Imperial when Elk mentioned the Partisan and pirate activity in the vicinity. However, the captain instructed the haulcraft to remain in place and ordered his crew to activate the cruiser's tractor beam, pulling Rael's craft closer. Rael then engaged a decoy burn on one of his portside thrusters, claiming it was overheating when Elk demanded that he disengage it. Concerned, Elk had another crew member check the haulcraft's thermals, who reported an unusual heat signature in the thruster. The captain then instructed his executive officer to prepare a boarding team, and upon confirmation, 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 manually disengaging the stabilizers, while in reality, he was waiting for his vessel's countermeasures to be ready. His crew then completed the check on the transponder code that Rael had provided and confirmed its authenticity. However, when questioned by his executive officer, Elk told him not to stand down, as the boarding party needed the practice. After warning Rael that he was about to be boarded, the rebel fully engaged his engines and attempted to break free from the tractor beam.
As the cruiser shuddered from still holding the haulcraft, Elk ordered the beam strength increased by five and issued a final warning to Rael. The rebel responded by releasing clouds of shrapnel from his vessel, which were drawn in by the cruiser's tractor beam and destroyed its forward tractor beam emitter. In shock, Elk ordered the cruiser's air wing to deploy, but could only watch in horror as Rael disengaged from the now-deactivated tractor beam and swiftly destroyed the three TIE/ln space superiority starfighters and single TIE Boarding Craft under the captain's command. Elk scowled as Rael then jumped to hyperspace and escaped.
Elk had fair skin, brown hair that was turning gray, and blue eyes. He was vigilant for partisans and piracy, stopping any suspicious vessels he encountered on patrol, and sometimes even detaining and boarding those with valid transponder IDs just for the practice. He was surprised at being outmaneuvered by Rael and his haulcraft.
Elk wore a black Imperial officer's uniform, including a black cap, a black belt, and black boots. He wore a rank insignia plaque with three blue squares and two red ones, and carried a code cylinder on each side of his chest. He commanded a Cantwell-class cruiser with a tractor beam and an air wing of at least four TIE vessels.
Elk was played by Roger Barclay in the television series Andor, appearing in the eleventh episode of the first season, called "Daughter of Ferrix," which was broadcast on November 16th, 2022. The character's name was not spoken during the episode, but it was present in the credits and subtitles.