Moradmin Bast, a male human, was a bureaucrat and military officer who achieved the rank of general. He served within the ground forces of the Galactic Empire, which had succeeded the Galactic Republic following the Proclamation of the New Order. In the early years of the Galactic Civil War, Bast was assigned to the DS-1 Death Star Mobile Battle Station. This superweapon, capable of destroying planets, was under the command of Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, and Bast functioned as both its chief manager and as an aide to Tarkin.
At approximately this time, Bast participated in a Joint Chiefs meeting where prominent military officers debated the perceived danger presented by the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Following the Rebel Alliance's attack on the battle station, Bast analyzed their tactics. He identified a potential vulnerability in the form of a thermal exhaust port and advised Tarkin to evacuate. However, the Grand Moff dismissed the warning. Shortly after, the Rebels exploited the exhaust port, leading to the destruction of the Death Star and the death of Bast, along with everyone else on board.
During the Imperial Era, following the transformation of the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire via the Proclamation of the New Order, General Moradmin Bast served within the Imperial Army. By the year 0 BBY, he found himself stationed on the Death Star, the Empire's superweapon designed for planetary destruction. Here, he held the dual roles of chief manager and assistant to the station's commander, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. The Alliance to Restore the Republic, having escalated the conflict into open warfare, successfully acquired the technical readouts for the Death Star during the Battle of Scarif. Darth Vader, a Dark Lord of the Sith, captured the Tantive IV, the rebel flagship carrying the plans, but failed to retrieve them.
Bast was present at a meeting on the Death Star, which included high-ranking officers such as General Cassio Tagge, Admiral Conan Antonio Motti, Darth Vader, and the station's commander, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. The assembled Imperials discussed the potential danger posed by the Rebellion, with differing viewpoints expressed. Motti downplayed the threat of the Rebel Alliance, while Tagge voiced concerns that the Rebellion was more formidable than many Imperials believed. During this meeting, the officers also learned that the Emperor, Darth Sidious, had dissolved the Imperial Senate and granted direct territorial control to regional governors, including Tarkin.
Soon after, the Millennium Falcon was taken into custody by the Death Star after its arrival in the debris field of Alderaan, a planet destroyed by the Death Star. The ship carried the stolen plans, along with Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, Vader's former mentor. The ship's crew initiated a rescue mission to free Princess Leia Organa from the station's detention block. During the rescue, Kenobi and Vader engaged in a lightsaber duel. Kenobi deliberately allowed Vader to strike him down, providing the other Rebels with an opportunity to escape, and the Jedi Master's body disappeared as he was struck by Vader's lightsaber. As the Rebels fled, Bast approached Vader, who was examining the empty robes left behind by Kenobi. Bast inquired about the man's identity, and Vader dismissed the Jedi Master as an old man with misguided beliefs about helping gifted children.
Prior to the Rebels' escape, the Empire secretly attached a tracking device to the Millennium Falcon. The Death Star followed the ship to the Great Temple, the Rebel base located on Yavin 4. Tarkin intended to utilize the station's planet-destroying capability to obliterate Yavin 4 and, consequently, the Rebellion. The Death Star's arrival triggered the Battle of Yavin, with the Rebels launching an attack after discovering a weakness in the station's design. Imperials aboard the Death Star analyzed the Rebel assault and determined that the station was at risk. Bast presented this analysis to Tarkin and inquired if the Grand Moff wished to evacuate. Tarkin dismissed the suggestion, criticizing Bast for what he perceived as an overestimation of the Rebellion's capabilities. Bast's concerns proved valid when Rebel pilot Luke Skywalker launched a proton torpedo into an exhaust port, striking the main reactor, thanks to the timely arrival of the Millennium Falcon, piloted by Han Solo and Chewbacca. This attack initiated a chain reaction within the station, resulting in the Death Star's catastrophic destruction and the death of all personnel on board, including Bast.
Bast was a male of the human species. He possessed brown hair, light-colored eyes, and brown sideburns. By the time of the Battle of Yavin, Bast recognized the Rebels as a potential threat to the security of the Death Star and unsuccessfully urged Tarkin to abandon the doomed station before its destruction.
Moradmin Bast's attire consisted of the standard-issue grey uniform of the Imperial Navy, which included an Imperial officer's tunic, flared pants, a black utility belt, and black durasteel-toed boots. He also wore a rank insignia plaque featuring a single row of 4 gold (right) and 2 red squares (left), along with 2 code cylinders, one on each pocket.
Chief Bast made his initial appearance in the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, where Leslie Schofield portrayed him under the credit "Commander #1." A deleted scene featured Chief Bast providing Darth Vader with information about the search for the Death Star plans on Tatooine. Vader instructed Bast to send more Imperial forces if necessary, believing that finding the plans was crucial to pressuring Princess Leia into revealing the location of the Rebel base during interrogation. Footage from this scene, with altered dialogue, was incorporated into 1978's The Star Wars Holiday Special. The scene was later released in 2011 as part of the Star Wars: The Complete Saga Blu-ray set.
The name "Bast" for the character originated in 1991 within the Star Wars Legends book Death Star Technical Companion, a sourcebook for West End Games. His first name, significance within the Imperial Army, and rank of general were revealed in Star Wars: Card Trader.