Firmus piett

Firmus Piett is a fictional Star Wars character played by Kenneth Colley. He was a human born on Axxila just before the rise of the Empire, he served in the Imperial Navy during the Galactic Civil War. From a young age he stood out for his dedication, when Kendal Ozzel was Admiral of the Executor he was the captain on board and after Ozzel's death at the hands of Darth Vader he became his successor and commander of the Death squad. This was done by one of the youngest admirals in the Empire.

Piett commanded the Battle of Endor, where he dies due to the impact of an A-wing against the command bridge of the Destroyer Executor, which would later impact the Star as a result of Death II.

Piett had shown considerable talent as a military officer. He had a nephew named Sarkli who initially belonged to the Rebel Alliance but left them to follow in his uncle's footsteps and together they participated in the Battle of Endor.

Biography

Youth

According to the Star Wars Expanded Universe, made up of all works that exceed 6 cinematic episodes (Novels, comics, video games, etc.), Piett was born on the Outer Rim planet Axxila. Normally, this would be a blow to his career because it was important in the Imperial fleet to be from the Core Worlds. Outer Rim officers never rose to high office. When Piett joined the fleet, he proved to be the most competent officer and, by the time he was 26, Piett was already a lieutenant, commanding a fleet that patrolled his home sector. Piett was primarily used to eliminate hacking threats.

Captain Piett was later assigned by Darth Vader to command the Star Destroyer Accuser, under the command of Admiral Amise Griff. When Griff died on Yavin 4 during the rebel evacuations, Piett became a captain in the Executioner when Kendal Ozzel became admiral of Lord Vader's fleet, Death Squadron.

Galactic Civil War

Three years after the Battle of Yavin, Captain Piett and his men received transmissions from a Viper probe droid on the ice planet of Hoth, revealing the hidden Rebel base. Piett made sure Vader was nearby when he informed Admiral Kendal Ozzel and General Maximilian Veers. As Piett expected, Ozzel denied that it was a rebel base, thinking it was a smuggler base. However, Vader immediately accepted Piett's interpretation of the information and ordered the fleet to mobilize to the Hoth system.

The fleet exited hyperspace close enough to the planet that the Rebels could detect it, allowing them to activate the shield that would prevent orbital bombardment. With the original plan for a massive bombardment quashed, Vader executed Ozzel, and Piett, who had proven far more competent, was immediately promoted to admiral. The Executioner's officers began placing bets on how long he would last in office. While during the Battle of Hoth General Veers successfully captured the rebel base Echo, the Millennium Falcon escaped. Then began a pursuit of the Corellian ship through the deadly Hoth asteroid field. Later, and thanks to the information that Boba Fett had obtained, Piett and Vader set a trap for Han Solo and his crew on Bespin.

While Vader continued his feud with Prince Xizor, Piett returned to command the Accuser while the Sith used the Enforcer in his confrontation with Black Sun. Piett did not actively participate in Demetrius Zaarin's Insurrection (not as much as others), but instead went on to engage in major battles against the Alliance, notably his major run-ins with Admiral Ackbar.

Ultimately, he served Emperor Palpatine, as the leader of the Imperial fleet at the Battle of Endor. When the A-wing crashes into the bridge, Piett instead of jumping the rest of the officers, jumped to the ground and was able to leave before the Destroyer Executioner crashed into the Death Star but he could not save his nephew. Not being able to save him he reproached her many times and went to Axxila to start a new life.

Although he did not really have the rank of Grand Admiral, being the leader of the Death Squadron, the largest of the Imperial fleets, he possessed more power than the Grand Admirals themselves. Throughout the War and the years that followed, only Thrawn managed to best him. Furthermore, he was one of the greatest leaders of the Galactic Civil War. While Vader, Palpatine, Wilhuff Tarkin, and Thrawn are considered the Big Four; Piett, Sate Pestage, Ysanne Isard, and Captain Gilad Pellaeon could be considered the four most important members after these.

Relationship with the Dark Lord

Some have speculated that the reason Vader did not execute Piett after the Falcon's hyperdrive escape was due to his admiration for the admiral. This is possible because there were still traces of Anakin Skywalker in Darth Vader. It is even likely that Vader ended up feeling affection and friendship with Piett, just as he did with the commanders Appo and Bow of the 501st Legion.

Behind the scenes

• Firmus Piett is played by Kenneth Colley in the two films that appear. It is bent by David Rache for the radio version of the Counterattack Empire, and by Rupert Degas in the video game of the War Empire.
• Piett, Jerjerrod (in episode VI and the special version of episode V) and Tarkin (episode III and IV) are the only imperial officers who appear in two Star Wars films, although of those three, only Piett speaks in both.
• Originally, Piett was not going to appear in the Jedi Return, and he was not in the script. However, during the shooting, a fan's message convinced George Lucas to include it. As the scenes of Tatooine were shot, Lucas wrote some dialogue for Piett.