Firmus Piett/Legends

Firmus Piett was a Human male who was the last admiral of the Imperial Navy's Death Squadron, Darth Vader's personal fleet of Star Destroyers. Coming from humble beginnings on the backwater Outer Rim world of Axxila, Piett began his naval career with the Axxila antipirate fleet. Though his posting was not notable, Piett's creativity, dedication and integrity made his home sector the safest in the Outer Rim. The admiral made an extraordinary number of arrests and suppressions of smugglers and pirates, and his record earned the attention of high-ranking officers on Imperial Center.
His star rising in the Imperial Navy, Piett was given the captaincy of the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Accuser, seeing service at the Battle of Turkana before being picked out to serve in Vader's Death Squadron, which prowled the galaxy searching for Rebel Alliance headquarters. When command of the fleet's flagship, the Star Dreadnought Executor, became vacant, Vader selected Piett to fill the post. As captain of the Executor, Piett relentlessly searched for the hidden Alliance base while secretly undermining his superior, Admiral Kendal Ozzel. At the Battle of Hoth, Ozzel was summarily executed by Vader for incompetence, allowing Piett to swiftly step into the fleet admiral's role.
Though he was criticized for his swift ascent to the top of the command chain, Piett set himself about his task with enthusiasm, though he feared that he would meet the same fate as Ozzel. He made several potentially fatal blunders soon after his promotion but was able to shift blame as he had done in the past. Following the failed capture of Luke Skywalker at Bespin, the Executor was taken back to Imperial Center, leaving Piett to command the Accuser once more. In 4 ABY, though, Piett was once again on the bridge of the Star Dreadnought, commanding the Imperial fleet in the Battle of Endor. Piett perished in the battle when an RZ-1 A-wing interceptor piloted by Green Leader, Arvel Crynyd rammed into the Executor bridge.
==Biography==
===Early career===
Firmus Piett was born on the Outer Rim ecumenopolis of Axxila. After the corporate interests that controlled the Ciutric Hegemony seceded to the Confederacy of Independent Systems, Piett's family was among the so-called "Free Axxilans" who relocated to Halmad. From his teenage years, Piett sought a military career, and he entered the Naval Academy of the Quelii sector, graduating just days before the Clone Wars came to an end in 19 BBY.
Due to the fact that he had no connections with the Core Worlds, Piett's naval career was mired by his background and he was forced to work in his native sector, the backworld Ciutric Hegemony. With the Declaration of a New Order and the ensuing Imperialization of the galaxy, the Axxila antipirate fleet became a task force of the Imperial Navy. For decades, the antipirate fleet's patrols had illegally enriched themselves by ignoring smugglers and pirates, but Piett refused to do so. His record with the fleet was flawless, and he made a tremendous amount of "arrests and suppressions." Piett had the good fortune to enter the service shortly after the reform-minded Moff Pensar Luc became the Hegemony's governor. Luc assigned Piett to a new task force staffed by trustworthy officers and directed them to crush piracy in the region.
Piett's reputation for integrity rapidly took him through the ranks, reaching the rank of lieutenantStar Wars: The Force Unleashed II, PS3/Xbox 360 Darth Vader Databank entry by 13 BBY, at the age of twenty-six.According to The Essential Guide to Warfare, Piett was born in 39 BBY, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II states that he became a lieutenant around 1 BBY. However, the New Essential Guide to Characters claims that Piett was 26 years old when he became a lieutenant, meaning that he would have received his promotion around 13 BBY instead of 1 BBY. The Imperial Handbook establishes that Piett was a captain as early as the Battle of Turkana in 1 BBY, so in this context an earlier date of promotion to lieutenant makes more sense He soon assumed leadership of the Axxila trade enforcement operations, making the Ciutric Hegemony one of the safest sectors in the Outer Rim, He received various commendations for his actions, and carefully cultivated his contacts in the Core Worlds, going as far as to reshape his Outer Rim accent in favor of the clipped tones of a Coruscanti.Galaxy Guide 3: The Empire Strikes Back
Piett's record and experience caught the eye of Lord Darth Vader. Instead of feeling a sense of pride in his new patronage, however, Lieutenant Piett remained only cautiously optimistic as many of his superiors were choked to death through the Force by Darth Vader. During this time, Lieutenant Piett noticed how Vader grew increasingly obsessed with hunting down the newly-formed Rebel Alliance. He was also aware of Vader's secret project on Kamino and how it diverted vast resources from the Imperial fleet, including at least one Imperial I-class Star Destroyer and several of the new terror units. In an intercepted personal correspondence belonging to Piett, he mentioned how Vader executed several officers because of their failure to prevent the escape of his "most prized test subject." Piett feared that his rise through the ranks would inevitably lead to a command under the Sith Lord. Due to the high mortality rate of the officers who served directly under Vader, Piett requested a transfer to the Coruscant Defense Fleet before more promotions brought him within closer proximity to Vader and his utter lack of tolerance for failure.
===Captaincy of the Accuser===
Despite his efforts to escape Vader, Piett was singled out by the Supreme Commander, who around 1 BBY selected the Axxilan as captain of the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Accuser.According to The New Essential Guide to Characters, Piett was handpicked by Vader. However, Galaxy Guide 3: The Empire Strikes Back claims that Piett was selected by officers in the Core Worlds. After Imperial Intelligence detected a concentration of Rebel warships around the planet Turkana in the Pakuuni sector, the Accuser was one of ten Imperial-class Star Destroyers committed to eliminate them.Star Wars: Imperial Handbook: A Commander's Guide
Captain Piett's Accuser provided primary support for Captain Xamuel Lennox's Tyrant at the Battle of Turkana. Lennox ordered the launch of TIE/sa bombers to target the engines of the seven Mon Calamari Star Cruisers orbiting the planet, with TIE/LN starfighters and TIE/IN interceptors operating in support. However, the Rebel warships launched three squadrons of BTL Y-wing starfighters and two squadrons of the new T-65 X-wing starfighters in response. Piett attempted to warn Lennox of the threat posed by the X-wings' advanced capabilities, but Lennox did not modify his tactics, confident in his superior numbers. Displaying comparable maneuverability to the TIE Fighters and protected by heavy deflector shields, the X-wings closed with the TIE Fighters and Interceptors and left the less-maneuverable Y-wings free to attack the TIE Bombers. Believing that Lennox's actions had cost the Empire victory, Piett positioned the Accuser to fire its turbolasers along the bombers' attack path, vaporizing many Y-wings and allowing a single TIE Bomber squadron to deliver its payload, knocking out the engines of an MC80 Star Cruiser. By this point, however, the X-wings had neutralized nearly all of the Empire's TIE Fighters and were closing to help the Y-wings destroy the remaining TIE Bombers. Piett ordered the whole task force to close to full weapons range, but without a starfighter screen, they were unable to prevent the Rebel X-wings from launching a proton torpedo strike against the Star Destroyers Formidable and Ajax, severely damaging both vessels. Captain Lennox then ordered the task force to retreat.
Piett prepared a mission report in the aftermath of the battle, recommending the deployment of larger numbers of TIE Interceptors when facing Rebel X-wings in future, and also advocated the use of tractor beams to snare and slow down small, fast-moving targets and assist Imperial gunners. He also recommended the removal of Captain Lennox from command of naval operations in the Pakuuni sector, and submitted a campaign plan for Operation Strike Fear, the Empire's reprisal for the defeat, with the report, declaring his readiness to command the operation.
===Service with Death Squadron===
In the aftermath of the Battle of Yavin, Vader selected Piett to serve with Death Squadron, his personal fleet of Star Destroyers blockading Yavin 4. Piett served under the fleet leadership of Admiral Amise Griff, who commanded from Vader's flagship, the Executor-class Star Dreadnought Executor. Several months after the Battle of Yavin, the Accuser came across the planet of Kabal, which was claiming neutrality in the Galactic Civil War. Since the Empire considered neutrality insolent, the captain had the Accuser attack Kabal. Among the craft fleeing from the planet was the Millennium Falcon, a ship with known Alliance connections. Piett's fighters pursued the Rebel craft, until it entered the general vicinity of a collapsed dwarf star. Not willing to risk his ships near such an unstable entity, Piett had the fighters return to the Accuser.The captain of the Star Destroyer featured in the reprint of Deadly Reunion is shown to be Piett, even though he is not identified in the text. The identification of the ship as the Accuser is drawn from the New Essential Guide to Characters, which claims that Piett was the captain of the craft during Deadly Reunion time-frame.
On approach to the Rebel base at Yavin 4, Piett was on board the Executor when it fell under attack from Rebel pilot Vrad Dodonna. Seeking to curry favor with the Dark Lord,The Official Star Wars Fact File 89 Piett personally congratulated Vader when Dodonna's attack failed. Dodonna would later perish when he attempted to ram the Executor."Doom Mission" During the Evacuation of Yavin, in which the forces of the Galactic Empire drove the Alliance to Restore the Republic out of their hidden fortress, Admiral Griff perished in an accidental collision.
Griff's position of Death Squadron's admiral was filled by Captain Kendal Ozzel. Piett projected an unflappable demeanor and took a no-nonsense approach to operations, which won him command of the Executor in Ozzel's place. At some point, Piett and then-Admiral Ozzel observed a fleet gathering that included large squadrons of TIE Advanced starfighters, several Bellator-class Star Battlecruisers, Allegiance-class heavy Star Destroyers, Imperial-class Star Destroyers, and Procursator-class Star Destroyers.
An early assignment saw the crews of the Executor and the Imperial Star Destroyer Avenger sweeping the sensor-baffling Black Widow Nebula for the Star Destroyer Eradicator and a courier corvette under the command of Captain Sodarra. During the search, the freighter Millennium Falcon entered the area, and the Executor ordered it to heave to. Piett and a customs team of spacetroopers were ferried to the ship in a spacetrooper shuttle. As the troopers swept through the ship on their inspection, Piett questioned the freighter's captain, Han Solo, on whether he had encountered the corvette or the Eradicator. Solo had not, and mentioned that his flight had originated on Ord Mantell. When the customs sweep revealed that the ship was all but empty, Piett's curiosity was piqued, wondering how the pilot of an empty freighter would have money to fritter away on Ord Mantell. Solo began to suggest bribing Piett, which infuriated the Imperial to a degree that he had the freighter pilot and his first mate, the Wookiee Chewbacca, thrown in the Executor brig. The pair would later escape custody.Scoundrel's Luck
===Captaincy of the Executor===
For several years, Piett and his crew searched for the new Alliance base following the rout at Yavin. The bulk of the Rebels were able to escape capture or death during that battle, and had established a new base of operations somewhere in the galaxy. As captain, Piett personally oversaw the ship's staffing, handpicking officers such as future-Commander Gherant. Piett began to learn the workings of Death Squadron's chain of command and had heard about Vader's execution of unsatisfactory officers. The captain swore to himself that he would not fall prey to the Dark Lord's wrath by making a simple blunder.
As Death Squadron's hunt for the Rebel base continued, Piett came to despise Admiral Ozzel: the Admiral was alternately impetuous and languorous, and had a habit of ridiculing his subordinates' ideas and findings to protect his position. Piett regarded Ozzel as incompetent in his command and completely unsuited for the task of ridding the galaxy of the Rebellion, whom Piett saw as next-generation Separatists. It was generally perceived that Admiral Ozzel had as much power over the fleet as Vader did, but Piett knew better and took to studying his superior officer, so as to capitalize on the admiral's blunders. In doing so, he earned Ozzel's ire, but found a way he could ascend in rank.
In 1 ABY, Piett was temporarily stationed at the Emperor's Retreat on Naboo, before being transferred to Dathomir. There, an outbreak of Imperial bioweapons Project I71A had been reported. A Quarantine Zone had been set up, and further reports were stemming from the Imperial Research and Prison Facility, telling of the outbreak. Piett tasked an Imperial operative with retrieving a sample of the virus from the Quarantine Zone for further study. He also charged the operative with rescuing any survivors amongst the scientists and exploring the facility itself. Once the operative had completed his goals, and saved the embattled scientists, Vader himself contacted the operative, congratulating them. Piett then rewarded them with a Flare-S swoop.
Vader, in the years following the Battle of Yavin, learned that the man who had destroyed the first Death Star was in fact Luke Skywalker, his son. In the hopes of converting Skywalker to the dark side of the Force, Vader became obsessed with tracking down the young Rebel, devoting much of Death Squadron's time and resources to the hunt.The Official Star Wars Fact File 19 In 2 ABY, Vader received a transmission from Governor Bin Essada of Gyndine, who claimed that Captain-Supervisor Grammel, who oversaw Imperial operations on Circarpous V, had captured Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker. Grammel had also come across intelligence of a powerful stone, the Kaiburr crystal, that could enhance one's usage of the Force. The idea of possessing the crystal and the Rebels was attractive to Vader, and so he ordered Piett to take the Executor to Circarpous V. The ship was operating at peak efficiency, but Vader warned the captain that he would tolerate no delays. Upon reaching Circarpous V, the Dark Lord was unable to acquire either the Kaiburr crystal or the two fugitives.Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye
Vader would not be deterred however, prompting him to set up a trap on Verdanth. A Viper probe droid, connected to the Executor via a cybernetic link, transmitted a distress signal and waited for Rebels to come across it, hoping to attempt a "rescue." Sure enough, the probe did detect a Rebel presence, but it was only a pair of droids. Piett, disappointed at the news, informed Vader, but the Dark Lord was confident that more entities would be lured to the scene. Eventually, Luke Skywalker and Han Solo reached the planet, prompting Vader to activate the cybernetic link. Using the Force, Vader attempted to extract the location of the Rebel base from Skywalker, but failed."The Final Trap"
In 3 ABY, Death Squadron resumed its search for the Rebel base. Finally, a Viper probe droid reported that it had found a possible candidate in the Hoth system. Knowing that Admiral Ozzel would dismiss the finding, Piett waited until Lord Vader was on the bridge of the Executor before alerting his superior. Ozzel predictably passed the discovery off as a hidden smuggler base or something similar, but Vader was convinced that it was the Alliance base and the location of Skywalker. Acting on the captain's advice, Vader ordered the Executor to the Hoth system. The admiral had been made to look a fool, souring him in Vader's eyes just as Piett had planned. At the same time, the Axxilan had made himself appear sharp and calculating, gaining him a small degree of favor.
===Admiralty===
Ozzel brought the fleet out of hyperspace close to the Hoth system in hopes of surprising the Rebels before they could organize their defenses. However, it alerted the Alliance to Death Squadron's presence. The commanders of Echo Base raised their energy shield, preventing the planned bombardment of the base by the Imperial fleet. Vader was outraged that Ozzel's tactical blunder forced him to take the base via a potentially costly ground operation. He promptly contacted Ozzel and Piett and choked Ozzel to death with the Force. As Piett watched, Vader ordered him to prepare a ground assault and use the fleet to blockade Hoth. To Piett's surprise, Vader also gave him a field promotion to fleet admiral before Ozzel's body had even hit the floor. Piett's first act as fleet admiral was to have his predecessor's corpse disposed of.
With Captain Venka now in command of the Executor, junior officers formed betting pools on Piett's life expectancy, since Vader's admirals tended not to last very long in the role. Nevertheless, Piett dedicated himself to his task. General Maximilian Veers and Blizzard Force were able to overcome the Rebel defenders during the Battle of Hoth, but many enemy craft made it through the blockade. After landing on the planet, Piett briefly toured the remains of Echo Base before informing Vader that seventeen Rebel ships had been destroyed while trying to flee. Vader cared little, since his primary target was the Millennium Falcon. With that ship 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. As such, Vader's only concern was for the Millennium Falcon, and he cared little for the outcome of the battle itself.Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes BackThe novelization of The Empire Strikes Back shows Vader holding the belief that Skywalker himself was aboard the Millennium Falcon.
The Executor set off after the Millennium Falcon, pursuing it away from Hoth, but the Alliance craft sought refuge in the system's asteroid field. Piett was concerned that the field's debris would cause significant damage to Death Squadron's cruisers, but Vader was undeterred. Making his report, Piett became one of the few people to ever see the Dark Lord's head unmasked. TIE/sa bombers were dispatched to try and force Captain Solo out, while the rest of the fleet swept the system, but their efforts were to no avail. The new fleet admiral was given little time to relax, however, as he received a transmission from Emperor Palpatine himself. The Emperor demanded to speak to Vader, and as Piett informed Vader, he was ordered to move the Executor out of the asteroid field, in the hopes of sending a clear transmission.
To Piett's distaste, Vader summoned a group of bounty hunters to the Executor in order to make use of their services in locating the Millennium Falcon. The admiral was particularly disturbed by the presence of the ruthless and infamous Boba Fett. Piett was confident that Death Squadron could and would find the craft, and his faith seemed to be well invested when a report from the Imperial II Star Destroyer Avenger claimed that they were in pursuit of the Millennium Falcon. Pleased, he alerted Lord Vader, only to learn shortly afterwards that the ship had disappeared after what appeared to be a suicidal attack on the Avenger. Terminating the Avenger captain, Lorth Needa, Vader ordered Piett to disperse the fleet along several trajectories in the search for the Millennium Falcon. The Dark Lord was not pleased, and made no hesitation in conveying his mood to the fearful Piett, who was sharply reminded of his predecessor's fate.
Following the dispersal of Death Squadron, Vader received a transmission from Fett, who had located Solo and the Millennium Falcon on Bespin's Cloud City. Vader subsequently ordered Piett to take the Executor there with all due haste.The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader Upon reaching the floating city, Piett sent a team down to sabotage the Millennium Falcon hyperdrive unit, preventing the Rebels' escape if they were to find their way out of Vader's trap. Meanwhile, Vader's men captured Solo, Organa, Chewbacca, and C-3PO. Vader eventually returned from the city empty-handed, despite the fact that Skywalker had taken the bait. Eventually, the Millennium Falcon made its way away from Cloud City, with the Executor trailing close behind. At Vader's behest, he ordered Lieutenant Cecius to ready the boarding party, before ordering the activation of the Star Destroyer's tractor beam. To Piett's surprise and fear, the Millennium Falcon successfully made the jump to lightspeed. The fleet admiral's error would have been fatal at any other time, but Vader was too conflicted since Skywalker, his son, had refused to join him. Following the Bespin debacle, Piett filed a report on Vader's actions, which was eventually read by the Emperor himself.
Around this time, Piett sent a group of Imperial agents to the planet Almas in the Cularin system, to investigate reports of Alliance activity there.Rebellion Era Campaign Guide
===The Battle of Mygeeto===
Piett became a legend within the Navy for his survival after Bespin. Though he became known as an admiral so valuable that even Vader would not execute him, Piett sensed that he had been saved more due to something at work within Vader's mind than his own accomplishments. He was notably transferred from Vader's flagship several times, though he always found his way back to the Executor.
Sometime after the development of the TIE/D Defender, a Rebel base was discovered on Mygeeto. Vader took the Executor there, leaving Piett in charge of starfighter command. The admiral first sent out a squadron of fighters to determine the Rebel presence in the area, before learning that the Alliance was sending their own scout ships to investigate the Executor position. Piett personally briefed one pilot in particular, updating him on the status of the campaign. He sent the pilot and his wingmates after the Rebel scout ships, which were located in Zuborte Ma, the Mygeeto asteroid field.Star Wars: Imperial Ace
Though the scout ships were destroyed, the Rebels sent a fleet to attack the Executor, hoping to preemptively stave off a possible attack on the Mygeeto base. Piett scrambled fighters to defend, with his craft decimating the force of GR-75 medium transports, CR90 corvettes, and EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigates. The individual pilot he had been briefing distinguished himself, leading the admiral to recommend the ace to Vader. The Dark Lord eventually led the attack on the base, routing the Alliance and claiming the planet in the name of the Empire.
When Vader returned to Imperial Center with the Executor, Admiral Ledre Okins was given temporary command on the recommendation of Emperor Palpatine. Piett was briefly transferred back to the Accuser, from which he carried out the work of Vader's Death Squadron. At some stage, Piett culled himself a personal adviser from the pilot corps: TIE Fighter ace Chiraneau. Months after the Bespin incident, Piett was ordered to take an unpredictable route from system to system, in hope of finding the Alliance Fleet. Since the chance of success for that tactic was very low, the admiral suspected that Palpatine had something else in mind.Galaxy Guide 5: Return of the Jedi
===Death at the Battle of Endor===
Several months later, once again on the Executor, Piett was given command of the substantial Imperial fleet amassed at Endor to trap the Alliance and defend the Death Star II, after ferrying Vader to the incomplete battle station to oversee the final phases of construction. Piett's nephew, former Rebel Sarkli, was also present to serve alongside the garrison on the forest moon.Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike Operations and preparations at Endor, overseen in part by the Executor,Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi novelization went smoothly until the shuttle Tydirium attempted to land on the forest moon. The ship was transmitting an older, though still legitimate, Imperial code, sowing seeds of suspicion in Piett's mind. Vader soon took notice of the issue and ordered Piett to allow the shuttle to land, assuring his admiral that he would personally deal with the occupants. The shuttle was eventually revealed to have been carrying an Alliance strike team, who had the intent of destroying the Death Star's shield generator on the forest moon. The shield generator was the battlestation's main line of defense, and its eradication would leave the Death Star vulnerable to attack.
Palpatine, acting through Vader, sent the fleet to the far side of Endor, in order to hide it from the enemy fleet when they arrived. Shortly afterwards, the Alliance Fleet entered the Endor system, prompting Piett's armada to come out of hiding. Pitted against the renowned Mon Calamari Admiral Gial Ackbar, Piett's forces blocked the Alliance's escape vector, while his fighters were dispatched to engage their Alliance counterparts. Piett was given direct orders from Palpatine to not directly attack and engage the Alliance craft, and so his fleet began to suffer from enemy General Lando Calrissian's tactic of having the Alliance capital ships engage the Star Destroyers at point-blank range. Due to this, Piett's performance as a commander and a tactician was greatly hindered, and the Death Star could no longer use its superlaser against the enemy craft, since they were now nestled up against the Imperial cruisers.
When the Death Star's shield finally fell, many of the Alliance starfighters swept into the battlestation's superstructure, with a swarm of Imperial craft in pursuit. Ackbar ordered a concentrated assault on the Executor and the Star Dreadnought lost its bridge deflector shield when two fighters destroyed the portside generator. Concerned, Piett ordered his crewmen to amplify the Executor defensive fire, but it was too little, too late. As Piett relayed this order, an RZ-1 A-wing interceptor piloted by Arvel Crynyd, leader of Green Squadron was struck by turbolaser fire and spun out of control. Crynyd managed to regain what little control he had and went straight for the bridge. Gherant saw it coming and screamed that it was too late. Piett whipped around, saw the incoming fighter and reflexively dived for cover as the A-Wing slammed into the Executor bridge. The craft promptly exploded and obliterated the bridge, destroying it and killing Piett, Gherant, and the entire bridge crew. The foundering vessel, trapped in the Death Star's gravity well, plummeted into the battlestation in a gargantuan fireball. The Battle of Endor was eventually lost by the Empire, with Palpatine dying his first death at the hands of the redeemed Anakin Skywalker, who also perished.The New Essential Chronology
==Personality and traits==
Firmus Piett, in his admiralty, garnered himself a set of detractors who claimed that he only achieved the rank because Darth Vader had such a low tolerance for failure. This was not exactly true: Vader chose to crew his ships with the Empire's finest officers, regardless of their politics and background. Apart from Thrawn, Vader chose not to utilize Palpatine's Grand Admirals, since Piett displayed talent that rivaled them anyway. He was, however, hindered in moments of great restraint, as displayed at the Battle of Endor. Unable to attack due to the Emperor's orders, Piett's fleet was eventually decimated by the Alliance craft.
Piett had a reputation for great integrity, ending the endemic corruption that had plagued the Axxila antipirate fleet early in his career and making a record number of arrests of pirates and smugglers. Under his command, the antipirate fleet turned the Ciutric Hegemony into one of the safest sectors in the Outer Rim. He was also intolerant of those who did not meet his high standards, especially Admiral Kendal Ozzel, whom he saw as dangerously mercurial and incompetent, and hated the Empire's reliance on bounty hunters. Like many Imperial Loyalists, he regarded the Rebel Alliance as being little more than next-generation Separatists, little better than those that had forced his family to flee Axxila before the Clone Wars. He was not above personal ambition, however, and cultivated contacts throughout the Imperial Navy to overcome his Outer Rim birth, recommended the replacement of Xamuel Lennox as commander in the Pakuuni sector in favor of himself in the aftermath of the Battle of Turkana, and schemed to supplant Admiral Ozzel as the commander of Death Squadron.
Despite what looked like a flawless service record, Piett did make a number of mistakes and blunders throughout his career. What set him apart from his colleagues and allowed him to climb the chain of command was his ability to divert blame onto others. Piett was also a far more creative individual than some of his more by-the-book colleagues, and was adept at both political maneuvering and appeasing his superiors. In addition to his political and military skills, Piett could understand Huttese and speak Basic.Rebellion Era Sourcebook
When Piett reached the rank of admiral, he realized that it was not quite the best of positions after all, as his mistakes would have more severe consequences. However, his knack for avoiding Vader's anger enabled him to keep the post longer than he otherwise might have. He allowed himself a degree of confidence, and had faith in the Navy's ability to complete its task. To that end, he was derisive of third parties such as bounty hunters and mercenaries, believing that the Navy could do any job just as well.
==Behind the scenes==
Admiral Piett first appeared in the novelization of Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, one month before the release of the film on which it was based. In the film, the character was portrayed by Kenneth Colley. Piett was not originally going to appear in Return of the Jedi, but fan mail supporting the return of the character convinced George Lucas to rehire Colley and write several new lines of dialogue for him. In playing the role, Colley chose not to play a single attitude, but instead attempted to evoke the humanity of Piett's character, something that the actor ultimately believed made audiences react so strongly.
In the rough draft for Return of the Jedi, penned by Lawrence Kasdan, there are several differences regarding Piett's role in the film, in comparison to the shooting script. Instead of being stationed over Endor, the Imperial fleet is instead positioned over Had Abbadon. "Grand Moff" Jerjerrod arrives aboard Vader's command ship, and waits for Vader inside the Dark Lord's communications chamber. When Vader demands to know where Jerjerrod is, Piett directs him towards the chamber, where all surveillance devices have been disabled. Later, the Rebels are able to blow up a communications dish on Had Abbadon, and as alarms wail on the command ship, Piett informs Vader that all communications have been disabled. He also tells Vader that a large Rebel force is incoming. Vader directs Piett to take the fleet and defend the Death Stars under construction over the Green Moon. Vader also instructs Piett to send more troops down to the moon to reinforce the beleaguered General Veers, while the Dark Lord plans to take Luke Skywalker to see Emperor Palpatine. Piett's death remained largely the same for the finished film.Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays
David Rasche voiced Piett for The Empire Strikes Back radio drama.. All of the character's scenes were written out of the Return of the Jedi radio drama.Return of the Jedi: The National Public Radio Dramatization For Star Wars: Empire at War, Piett was voiced by Rupert Degas. 
Over time, Piett has become a fan favorite character due to his unusual longevity compared to other Imperial officers. In 2002, Piett was given the first name "Firmus" in Daniel Wallace's The New Essential Guide to Characters. Wallace derived the name from the Latin word meaning "strong" or "reliable."Latin Dictionary and Grammar Aid, University of Notre Dame In Scoundrel's Luck, a non-canon story path has Han Solo accuse Piett of asking for a bribe during his inspection of the Millennium Falcon. The accusation forces Piett to leave Solo be, as opposed to his arrest of Solo in the canon storyline.The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
According to The Essential Guide to Warfare, Piett was born in 39 BBY, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II states that he became a lieutenant around 1 BBY.Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II graphic novel However, the New Essential Guide to Characters also claims that Piett was 26 years old when he became a lieutenant, meaning that he would have received his promotion around 13 BBY instead of 1 BBY.
==Appearances==
===Non-canon appearances===
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*LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy 
*LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga 
==Sources==
==Notes and references==
==External links==
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