Orlok, a Human officer within the Galactic Empire, held the position of primary Imperial authority concerning ground-based installations during the peak of the Galactic Civil War. Around the time of 0 ABY, not long after the Imperial forces were defeated at the Battle of Yavin, Orlok was given command of the Imperial Training Center located on the isolated and storm-ridden planet of Daluuj. He was unhappy with this assignment, as he thought he was more valuable to the Empire than simply managing a training facility on such an unimportant world.
Six months following the Battle of Yavin, Orlok's chance to demonstrate his worth to the Empire arrived. Several ejected escape pods brought Admiral Gial Ackbar of the Mon Calamari, along with some Calamari agents, to Daluuj after an Imperial assault disrupted their attempt to meet with the Rebel Alliance. Orlok left the training center with a group of three Imperial ground-skimmers filled with stormtroopers to investigate the Rebel crash site. However, he soon found himself in a competition against the Rebels Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and the Heroes of Yavin, who were traveling in the Millennium Falcon, to reach Ackbar's location first.
Although the Rebels were the first to reach Ackbar, they were attacked by two enormous lake worms that pulled the Millennium Falcon down into the watery depths of a nearby mud lake. While Ackbar's team worked to free the Rebel starship, Solo and Skywalker attempted to delay Orlok's impending arrival. During the ensuing skirmish, Orlok managed to push Solo and Skywalker back to the Rebel crash site. However, he was defeated when Ackbar cleverly lured Orlok's ground-skimmers to the center of the lake, where the giant worms dragged Orlok and his troops to the bottom of the water, simultaneously freeing the Millennium Falcon.
During the height of the Galactic Civil War, Orlok was a Human officer within the Imperial Military. Orlok was the supreme authority on Imperial facilities. He was only surpassed by Bevel Lemelisk, the Empire's Chief Engineer of the first Death Star battle station.
Commander Orlok was assigned to oversee the Imperial Training Center on the rainswept and remote planet of Daluuj by the time of the Battle of Yavin. This assignment greatly displeased Orlok, who resented being stationed on the stormy world to command such an unimportant outpost. In 0.5 ABY, which was six months following the Imperial loss at Yavin, several escape pods carrying the Mon Calamari Admiral Gial Ackbar and some of his Calamari comrades made a crash landing on Daluuj. Ackbar and his men had come under Imperial fire while trying to meet with Princess Leia Organa of the Rebel Alliance to join the Rebellion's evacuation of its Yavin 4 base. As a result, they were forced to eject to Daluuj's surface. The Imperial Training Center quickly detected the signal from Ackbar's distress beacon, and Orlok led a force of three Imperial ground-skimmers filled with stormtroopers to investigate. Orlok hoped that this opportunity would allow him to prove his value to the Empire and get him off Daluuj.
As they approached Ackbar's location, the pilot of Orlok's ground-skimmer informed the commander that their instruments showed a ship passing overhead. Orlok dismissed the idea that anyone would fly through Daluuj's constant atmospheric storms, but he knew they were now racing to reach the source of the distress beacon. Unbeknownst to Orlok, the other ship was the Millennium Falcon, carrying the Rebels Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, and the rest of the Heroes of Yavin, who were on their way to rescue Ackbar and his men. Orlok ordered his three ground-skimmers to go ahead at full speed, intending to prevent the Rebels from leaving Daluuj.
The Rebels arrived at Ackbar's crash site before Orlok, but Solo was forced to land the Millennium Falcon on a mud lake, which was the only available landing spot. Before they could rescue the downed Mon Calamari, two giant lake worms emerged from the water and pulled the Millennium Falcon below. The Rebels managed to swim to safety on the shores of the lake, realizing that they were now stranded on Daluuj without a transport and with Orlok's forces closing in on them.
Orlok's ground-skimmers soon encountered a dense fog, causing the lead scout craft to stop. Angered, Orlok demanded an explanation. The pilot of the lead craft reported echoes and distortions on their scanning equipment due to the fog and warned that continuing further would risk damaging the vehicles or missing the Rebels' position. Unwilling to give up his opportunity, Orlok ordered the stalled craft to hold its position and declared that he would take the lead himself.
However, Solo, Skywalker, and the Wookiee Chewbacca—who had left the Rebels' crash site to slow down the Imperials while Ackbar and his men worked to free the Millennium Falcon from the lake—ambushed the waiting lead ground-skimmer before Orlok could reach it. They neutralized the craft's stormtroopers, but the commotion alerted Orlok and the main Imperial party. When the fog cleared, allowing the rest of the Imperials to rush to the aid of their comrades, Orlok devised a plan to gain the upper hand on the Rebels. He split his forces, sending the remaining two ground-skimmers forward and using the sound of their approaching engines to mask a large group of stormtroopers, led by Orlok, secretly taking positions on top of a nearby bluff.
On Orlok's command, the stormtroopers on the bluff began firing down on the Rebels, who quickly jumped into the Imperials' neutralized ground-skimmer and sped away. Solo, who was driving, skillfully avoided the Imperial fire. However, Orlok ordered his men to continue firing, as the Rebels were heading straight into the range of the guns of Orlok's other two approaching vehicles. Solo, who had not planned on Orlok's ambush, had previously cross-wired the skimmer to overload once the Imperials recovered it. He, Skywalker, and Chewbacca jumped out of the vehicle just before it exploded. The explosion allowed them to escape from the Imperials, but it did not stop their pursuit. Orlok and his men inspected the exploded skimmer and determined that the Rebels had escaped. Determined to defeat the Rebels once and for all, Orlok ordered his stormtroopers back to the remaining ground-skimmers to continue the chase.
Orlok's two ground-skimmers reached the edge of the mud lake and opened fire as they approached the Rebel crash site. Ackbar ordered his group to take up a vulnerable position across the lake from the Imperials, in a spot that would draw Orlok's skimmers across the center of the lake. The plan worked perfectly. As Orlok reached the center of the lake, the two giant worms emerged from the water and wrapped themselves around the skimmers, dragging them to the bottom of the lake and freeing the Millennium Falcon. With Orlok defeated and their ship freed, the Rebels safely escaped Daluuj with Ackbar and his fellow Mon Calamari.
Orlok was an ambitious Imperial officer who resented his command at the remote training outpost on wet and foggy Daluuj. He believed he was capable of more than running a minor training station and saw the Rebel presence on Daluuj as an opportunity to advance his career. Orlok was determined to eliminate the Rebels to prevent them from rescuing Ackbar's team.
During the skirmish with the Rebels, Orlok showed tactical innovation. After Han Solo and Luke Skywalker defeated the stormtroopers in Orlok's lead ground-skimmer, Orlok realized that his enemy would expect him to rush to the aid of the lost skimmer. Instead, he divided his force and led a stormtrooper party on a disguised flanking maneuver, which surprised the Rebels and forced them to run directly into the firing range of his other two waiting skimmers. Only Solo's accidental explosion allowed the Rebels to escape Orlok's trap. However, Orlok was later outsmarted by Ackbar, who was himself a tactical genius.
Orlok was a demanding combat leader during the battle, constantly pushing his ground-skimmers to move faster in the race to reach Ackbar's distress beacon. He scolded his lead skimmer for stopping without permission when it encountered a dense fog and chose to stop rather than risk damage or bypassing the Rebels' position. Orlok dismissed the threat and took the lead of the convoy himself.
Orlok was the Empire's leading expert on ground-based facilities, second only to Chief Engineer Bevel Lemelisk as the top Imperial facility specialist. He had brown hair, blue eyes, and light skin. Orlok had a goatee around the time of the Battle of Yavin.
During the Battle of Daluuj, Commander Orlok wore the standard Imperial officer's uniform. He also used binoculars to direct his stormtroopers to attack the Rebels from the bluff.
Commander Orlok first appeared in the Revenge of the Jedi comic strip, which was written by Archie Goodwin and illustrated by Al Williamson. Revenge of the Jedi was originally published as a newspaper serial comic by the Los Angeles Times Syndicate from November 1982 to January 1983, leading up to the May 1983 theatrical release of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi.
Orlok was later included as a playable character for the Galactic Empire in the 1998 PC game Star Wars: Rebellion. The game established Orlok as the Empire's leading expert on ground facilities. In the game, Orlok has the ability to research new facility designs and possesses leadership and combat ratings that allow him to suppress planetary uprisings and conduct missions to Alliance systems. The player can also promote Orlok to the rank of general for advanced ability in commanding ground troops.
The Star Wars: Rebellion: Prima's Official Strategy Guide and Star Wars: The Comics Companion both misspell the character's name as "Orlock."
In one panel of the Revenge of the Jedi comic strip, Orlok's rank insignia plaque shows six red bars, which corresponds to the Imperial Military rank of admiral, according to the 1994 West End Games Imperial Sourcebook. However, in a later scene, Orlok's rank badge shows three red bars, which correctly corresponds to his rank of commander, according to the Imperial Sourcebook. Orlok's profile picture from Star Wars: Rebellion shows the character with the correct rank badge and number of code cylinders for his commander rank.