Firmus Piett

"Don't fail me again&hellip; Admiral."

- Darth Vader

Firmus Piett was a human male who served in the Imperial Starfleet of the Galactic Empire during the later stages of the Galactic Civil War. At the time of the Battle of Hoth, he served as first officer on the Executor, the flagship of 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. The admiral perished aboard his starship when a Rebel A-wing starfighter crashed into the Executor's bridge.

Early life and career
"You see, Piett? We should never hesitate to use the lash, when necessary&mdash;but there are moments when the lure is even more effective."

- Grand Moff Tarkin, to Firmus Piett

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. 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
Three years after the Battle of Yavin, 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 Destroyers, the Death Squadron, was to search the galaxy for the Rebel Alliance's secret base.

On the Executor, Piett was subservient 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 droids 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 telekinetically strangled 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. 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. 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.

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, but he perished amidst the heat of combat when an RZ-1 A-wing interceptor piloted by Arvel Crynyd crashed into the Executor bridge causing the entire superstar destroyer to crash.

Personality and traits
Firmus Piett was known for his quick thinking in his ability to shift blame for his blunders.

Behind the scenes
Admiral Piett was played by Kenneth Colley in both Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. 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 Adolf Hitler!' And he sized me up and down and continued, 'Yes, I think you’re it.'"

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Galactic Defense
 * Lost Stars
 * Star Wars: The Original Trilogy: A Graphic Novel
 * Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
 * The Empire Strikes Back: So You Want to Be a Jedi?
 * Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
 * Return of the Jedi: Beware the Power of the Dark Side!
 * "The Levers of Power"&mdash;The Rise of the Empire