Nova Stihl Nova Stihl was a Force - sensitive Human male Guard Sergeant in the Imperial Marine s and a Death Star Trooper stationed aboard the first Death Star in 0 BBY . Biography . Nova Stihl was assigned to the garrison on the penal planet of Despayre during the construction of the Death Star . An unarmed combat specialist and Teräs Käsi practitioner , he trained prisoners in the basics of self - defense . His goal with the demonstrations was to help the weaker prisoners defend themselves against the predators in the prison . Stihl had always been somewhat philosophical , and was also aware of his ability to anticipate his opponents ' attacks , a skill which he called " Blink . " While on the planet , he formed a loose friendship with Celot Ratua Dil , a Zelosian prisoner who aided him in his demonstrations . When violence on the prison planet lowered by twelve percent thanks to Stihl , he was transferred from the garrison to the Death Star in orbit . On the station , Stihl continued his self - defense classes . On a night out celebrating one of his squadmates ' forthcoming engagement , he went to the Hard Heart Cantina . There , he was attacked by a drunk patron , whom he easily defeated in a short brawl . He then met the cantina ' s bouncer , Rodo , and he instantly recognized him as a fellow fighter . Rodo later interrupted Stihl after a class , and challenged him to a few rounds of sparring , although the fight ended quickly , when both men realized that they were evenly matched . During his time on the Death Star , Stihl had nightmares that revolved around him fighting off a group of men , sometimes alone , sometimes with the help of another . The dreams always seemed to end with his death . When he reported his nightmares to one of the Death Star ' s surgeons , Dr . Kornell " Uli " Divini , Uli discovered that Stihl had a midi - chlorian count of more than five thousand after the nightmares persisted , thus revealing Stihl was Force - sensitive . Nova was awoken one night during the destruction of Despayre , a test for the Death Star ' s superlaser . When he realized what had happened , he was shocked at what the Empire had done . He then encountered Celot Ratua Dil , who had escaped onto the Death Star , but decided not to turn him in , as they were all still recovering from Despayre ' s destruction . Stihl , because of his Force - sensitivity , sensed the deaths that occurred on Alderaan when the Death Star used its superlaser to blow the planet up . The effect of so many deaths in the Force knocked him unconscious . Nova decided then and there that the Empire was evil , no matter what excuses they might make , as there was no excuse for destroying a planet full of innocent civilians . Eventually , Stihl met Memah Roothes , the bartender of the Hard Heart who was Rodo ' s friend , an architect named Teela Kaarz , Villian Dance , an Imperial TIE fighter pilot , Atour Riten , chief librarian aboard the Death Star , all in the Hard Heart , where he also ran into Divini again . During a " hypothetical " conversation , the group decided that they could no longer be part of anything that could kill innocents on a massive scale . Following the destruction of Alderaan , Stihl was part of the guard detachment sent to hunt down and capture Han Solo and Chewbacca . He had previously received a Force vision in a dream of this experience and chased them , but a flash of Force - sensitivity convinced him to let them escape . Once they had cleared a set of closing blast doors , Stihl held the pursuers up long enough by claiming that the manual release was faulty and would not open the doors . The group planned to escape through a medical carrier , and got their chance during the Battle of Yavin . With the exception of Riten , who was forced to stay behind to ensure the others could flee , all of them attempted to escape . However , they encountered several guards outside the landing bay , and Stihl and Rodo had to stay behind and fight off an Imperial squad who tried to stop them . Stihl recognized the fight from his dreams , and knew what it meant . However , he continued fighting to allow the others to escape . He and Rodo defeated several troopers in a large fight using only their unarmed combat skills , fighting off a group of fifteen soldiers , but they were both killed , Stihl eventually succumbing to a blaster shot to the face . Behind the scenes . The novel " Death Star " describes Stihl wearing the 18 - piece suit of stormtrooper armor and being one of the stormtroopers who chase Han Solo and Chewbacca aboard the Death Star . However , earlier the book calls him an army trooper . Elsewhere , his description seems to indicate he is one of the Death Star trooper s in the Death Star conference room when Cass tells Grand Moff Tarkin the Rebels had deserted Dantooine . The authors of the novel seem to believe army troopers , Death Star troopers , and stormtroopers are identical , just wearing different uniforms , whereas previous Expanded Universe sources indicate they are distinct , the Death Star troopers belonging to the Imperial Navy ( not Army ) and the Stormtrooper Corps being a separate entity . It is possible the " Imperial Marines " represent an elite group that cross - trains in all three branches , although this is only speculation . In addition , the novel states that he is assigned the job only when a guard is sick and that he is not frequently given that task . In his case it is stated that they like having a soldier proficient in hand - to - hand as well as ranged combat .