Flob

"People all think we're kidding when we say it, but it's true. There are no small jobs at the Bureau Of Standards. I spoke with your uncle. Some sectors might naturally appear more exciting from the outside. Weights and Gauges may seem a more vibrant arena than Redundancy or Verification, but walk the floor, talk to any lifetime employee, you'll be surprised."
"I'm sure."

―Flob and Syril Karn —

Listen (file info)^[3]

Flob was a human male who worked in bureaucratic record keeping at the Imperial Bureau of Standards office on the planet Coruscant. In 5 BBY, he spoke with the disgraced corpo Syril Karn in an interview arranged by Karn's influential uncle Harlo, and after hearing about Karn's fall from grace in the pursuit of the fugitive Cassian Andor, Flob offered him a new start and a job.

After Karn used his new role to investigate Andor further, Flob escorted members of the Imperial Security Bureau to Karn's cubicle to take him away for questioning. Karn later returned and received a promotion.

Biography[]

Offering a fresh start[]

"Morlana One."
"Yes, uh… There's a rebel murderer running free because of corruption and laxity in the corporate authority. I was punished for trying to uphold the law. Do my job. Maintain public safety. Two men dead. Co-workers."

―Flob and Syril Karn —

Listen (file info)^[3]

FlobKarn-Announcement — Flob interviewed Syril Karn at the Bureau of Standards.

Flob was a human^[1] male corporate^[2] functionary within the Galactic Empire's Imperial Bureau of Standards who worked on bureaucratic recordkeeping for topics such as weights, gauges, redundancies, and verification.^[1] In 5 BBY,^[4] he^[2] spoke with the influential individual Harlo, who arranged for his nephew, the disgraced corpo Syril Karn, to attend a job interview at the bureau. Flob then met with Karn in the bureau's office on the planet Coruscant, capital of the Empire.^[3]

As the pair walked across an^[3] elevated walkway within a sprawling warehouse-like office bullpen,^[2] Flob spoke about the different types of work available within the bureau. Looking down at his datapad, Flob then stopped as he came across information about Karn's time on Morlana One, the location of Karn's former employment before he oversaw a disastrous attempt to arrest the fugitive Cassian Andor. Karn quickly explained that he had been trying to uphold the law and maintain public safety by going after Andor, who had killed two of Karn's colleagues, and that it was due to corruption and laxity within the Corporate Sector Authority that he had been punished.^[3]

Once Karn stated that he planned to exonerate himself and have his record expunged, Flob smiled and offered to start the process by editing Karn's record before signing him in, noting that Harlo would likely approve. Flob then brought Karn to an empty cubicle pod and offered him a fresh start, revealing that he could fill an immediate opening in Fuel Purity.^[3]

A visit from the Imperial Security Bureau[]

FlobISB-Narkina5 — Flob (left) escorted the ISB to Syril Karn's desk when they wanted to question him.

Karn accepted^[5] the mediocre office job^[6] and began working, but in less than a month he had attracted the attention of the Imperial Security Bureau after filing six false reports in an attempt to investigate Andor further. When Attendants Corv and Heert of the Imperial Security Bureau came to the Bureau of Standards to bring Karn in for questioning, Flob accompanied the pair as they followed an MSE-6 series repair droid along the elevated walkway to Karn's cubicle.^[5]

Karn was then taken to the ISB Central Office for interrogation. After Karn proved useful to the ISB, Supervisor Dedra Meero informed the Bureau of Standards that he had been of use to the Empire^[5] and gave him a "clean bill of health," resulting in Karn's promotion.^[7] An image of Flob was included in the historian Beaumont Kin's book, The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire, which was published at some point after the Battle of Exegol in 35 ABY.^[8]

Personality and traits[]

"Fresh start, eh? New beginnings. We just happen to have an immediate opening in Fuel Purity. I'd hate to see you miss your chance."

―Flob —

Listen (file info)^[3]

FlobSmile-Announcement — Flob helped Syril Karn find a fresh start on Coruscant.

When talking to Karn, Flob stated that there were no small jobs within the Imperial Bureau of Standards and claimed that any lifetime employee would agree with him, despite how much more interesting the Weights and Gauges sector might appear compared to Redundancy or Verification. After hearing Karn's story about Andor, the functionary quickly offered to help him despite the former corpo's past failures and claimed that he would hate to see Karn miss his chance at a new beginning. Flob had light skin and graying brown hair.^[3]

Equipment[]

"I believe that we have laws for a reason. I fully intend to clear my name and have my record expunged."
"Why don't we start that process now. Probably best for everyone to just edit this a bit before signing you in. I'm sure your uncle would approve."

―Syril Karn and Flob —

Listen (file info)^[3]

While at the bureau, Flob wore a suit consisting of a dark gray jacket and matching pants over a light gray shirt with a black tie and black shoes. He used a datapad while interviewing Karn and had a white and red information tag on the left lapel of his jacket.^[3]

Behind the scenes[]

Flob was portrayed by Alex Blake in the Disney+ series Andor, first appearing in the first season's seventh episode, "Announcement,"^[3] which aired on October 19, 2022.^[9] The character's name was given in the credits.^[3]