Firmus Piett Firmus Piett , a human male native to Axxila , was an Imperial officer who served in the naval forces of the Galactic Empire during the Galactic Civil War . At the time of the Battle of Hoth , he served as first officer of the Star Dreadnought " Executor " — flagship of the Sith Lord Darth Vader — assisting Admiral Kendal Ozzel . After Ozzel committed a fatal mistake during the hunt for the Rebel Alliance , Piett was promoted to admiral and given command of Vader ' s flagship . Piett served in that capacity until the Battle of Endor , when the Imperial Navy confronted the Rebel Fleet around the second Death Star battle station in the year 4 ABY . The admiral perished aboard his starship when Arvel Crynyd ' s A - wing starfighter crashed into the " Executor " s bridge . Biography . Early life and career . Born a male human , Firmus Piett hailed from Axxila , a planet located in the Outer Rim Territories of the galaxy . At some point , Piett joined the starfleet of Palpatine ' s Galactic Empire , and rose through the ranks . As a junior officer under the command of Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin , he attended the planet Jelucan ' s introduction ceremony into the Galactic Empire , following its conquest eight years after the Clone Wars . Search for the Rebels . In 3 ABY , Piett had been made a captain . He was stationed on the " Executor " , a Super Star Destroyer that acted as the flagship of Darth Vader , the right - hand man of Emperor Sheev Palpatine himself . The mission of Vader ' s personal fleet of Star Destroyer s , the Death Squadron , was to search the galaxy for the Rebel Alliance ' s secret base . On the " Executor " , Piett was subordinate to Admiral Kendal Ozzel , whom he saw as a pompous and incompetent officer . Piett was notably tasked with collecting and analyzing data sent by Imperial probe droid s looking for traces of the Rebels . When information came in from a probe exploring the Hoth system , Piett called out to Admiral Ozzel while Vader was present on the bridge . Vader recognized the information as a solid lead on the location of the Rebel headquarters , and he ordered the Death Squadron to set course for the icy world of Hoth . Admiralty . However , Admiral Ozzel made a complete mess of the Death Squadron ' s approach to Hoth , taking the ships out of hyperspace too close to the system . As the Rebels were now aware of the Empire ' s presence , they were able to erect a defense shield over their base , preventing any orbital bombardment . Captain Piett stood at Ozzel ' s side when Darth Vader force choke d the admiral . With Ozzel dead , the Emperor ' s right - hand man promoted Captain Piett to admiral on the spot . Piett ' s first action as an admiral of the Imperial Fleet was to order the disposal of his predecessor ' s corpse . Thanks to the intervention of General Veers ' ground force , the Empire managed to get the upper hand on Hoth , forcing the Rebels to evacuate . Despite the orbital blockade imposed by the Death Squadron , many enemy ships managed to fall through the cracks . Subsequently , Admiral Piett was ordered to track one of the fleeing ships , the " Millennium Falcon " . With that vessel and its crew of Han Solo , Leia Organa , C - 3PO , and Chewbacca as bait , Vader was confident he could lure Luke Skywalker into a trap . Under Piett ' s command , the " Executor " then engaged in the pursuit of the " Millennium Falcon " . One of the bridge crew that served under his command during the pursuit was Lieutenant Commander Ciena Ree . When it transpired that the Rebel craft was hiding in the Hoth system ' s asteroid field , the admiral was concerned that debris would cause significant damage to Death Squadron ' s vessels . Vader , however , ignored Piett ' s advice , ordering the fleet to enter the asteroid field . True to his words , the asteroid field brutally punished the Imperial fleet with repeated meteor impacts , destroying at least one Star Destroyer and causing significant damage . In a holographic conference with Vader and the commanders of the other Destroyers , one of whom was killed during the meeting when his Destroyer was obliterated , Piett voiced his belief that the rebel ship must logically have been destroyed considering the damage they had taken , but Vader insisted that they were still alive and ordered him to keep searching . Shortly thereafter , Piett received word that Emperor Palpatine himself demanded to speak with his right hand man . Piett then informed Vader , and , under orders , moved the " Executor " out of the asteroid field , in hopes of sending a clear transmission . To Admiral Piett ' s discreet distaste , Vader later assembled a motley crew of bounty hunters on the " Executor " s bridge , enlisting them in his track for the " Millennium Falcon " . Dogfight in the Hudalla system . Later , Admiral Piett assembled a group of Imperial officers including the now - Commander Ciena Ree and her friend Nash Windrider for a patrol in the outer edge of the planet Hudalla ' s ring . In private , Piett told Commander Ree that there were rebel spies in the planetary ring . He tasked her with ensuring that at least one of the pilots escaped into hyperspace . During the dogfight , Ciena and Nash encountered their former fellow cadet Thane Kyrell , who had joined the Rebel Alliance ' s Corona Squadron . Since she still loved Thane , Ciena ensured that he and most of Corona Squadron escaped into hyperspace . Following the mission , the TIE fighter pilots were reprimanded for their failure to destroy all the rebel ships . However , Piett discreetly nodded at Ciena to thank her for following his orders . Ciena later learned that the dogfight was part of an Imperial plan to lure the rebels into a trap at Endor . Death at Endor . Although he failed to capture the Rebel hero Luke Skywalker at Bespin , Piett managed to escape Vader ' s wrath . Some time later , he commanded the Imperial fleet in the Battle of Endor , where he received orders from the Emperor himself to retain the " Executor " and the Imperial fleet from directly engaging the rebel forces ; Piett wryly cited to a fellow officer that he was told the Emperor had something special planned and that the ships only needed to prevent another Rebel retreat . The special plan was revealed to be the fully operational superlaser , which annihilated two Rebel cruisers in quick succession . However , Piett ' s orders backfired when the rebels , in a desperate gambit , moved their remaining fleet into direct combat with his own armada in the hopes that the Death Star would cease fire rather than risk friendly casualties . When Han Solo and his force , who had managed to sneak under Piett ' s nose in a stolen Imperial shuttle , destroyed the shield generator protecting the second Death Star , the battle began to turn against the Empire . Rebel starfighters began to strafe the superstructure of the " Executor " , which had been personally targeted by Rebel admiral Gial Ackbar , a former personal slave to Firmus ' deceased mentor , Grand Moff Tarkin , and dealt a potentially mortal blow to the mighty ship when two A - wings destroyed the portside bridge - mounted deflector shield generator , disabling the " Executor " bridge shields . In response to the increasing threat , Piett ordered that all guns on the flagship " intensify forward firepower . " This was to be his final command , however , as moments later an RZ - 1 A - wing interceptor piloted by Arvel Crynyd was struck by turbolaser fire and spun on a collision course with the bridge . Piett ' s subordinate , seeing it coming , screamed that it was too late . Piett whipped round , saw the fighter barreling straight for him and reflexively , but futilely , dived for cover as it crashed into the " Executor " bridge and exploded , killing Piett and the entire bridge crew and , moments later , caused the vessel to lose control and crash into the second Death Star . Personality and traits . An ambitious officer , Firmus Piett was known for his quick thinking in his ability to shift blame for his blunders . After the " Executor " was lost at Endor under Piett ' s captaincy , some members of the Imperial Navy , such as Admiral Garrick Versio , judged him foolish . Behind the scenes . Admiral Piett was played by Kenneth Colley in both and . Piett is the only Imperial officer to survive more than one film and be portrayed by the same actor . Colley recalled that when he auditioned for the role , Irvin Kershner said to him , " ' I ' m looking for someone that would frighten ! ' And he sized me up and down and continued , ' Yes , I think you ’ re it . ' "