Firmus Nantz

"Control space and you control any battlefield you can imagine. Unfortunately, you cannot control space."

- Admiral Firmus Nantz

Admiral Firmus Nantz was a New Republic fleet commander&mdash;and later senior flag officer of the New Republic Defense Force&mdash;during the Galactic Civil War. From 4 ABY to 6 ABY, Nantz commanded the First Fleet, and commanded the campaign to liberate the Western Reaches from the rule of the Galactic Empire and the various Imperial warlord states that had arisen in the wake of Emperor Palpatine's death at the Battle of Endor. By 16 ABY, Nantz was the senior flag officer in the fleet, and was considered to command the enhanced fleet formation dispatched to the Koornacht Cluster to oppose the Yevetha.

Biography
"Never interrupt your opponent while he is making a mistake."

- Firmus Nantz, admiral, New Republic

Admiral Firmus Nantz was a Human male naval officer serving with the New Republic Fleet. In 4 ABY, following the Battle of Endor, Admiral Gial Ackbar, Supreme Commander of the Alliance Fleet, reorganized his command into four separate fleets to better prosecute the war against the Empire and the various warlord states that had arisen with the collapse of Imperial command authority in the wake of Emperor Palpatine's death at Endor. Admiral Nantz was given command of the First Fleet, tasked with operations in the galaxy's Western Reaches. Nantz staged his campaign from the planet Saijo, in the Saijo sector of the Outer Rim Territories. From there, Nantz took the First to Abraxas in the Yushan sector where the fleet engaged and destroyed the Eiattu pirates. The move was a show of force that was planned to keep two of the new Imperial warlords&mdash;Moff Utoxx Prentioch and Superior General Sander Delvardus&mdash;bottled up in their own territories. The tactic succeeded; Prentioch remained in the Bomis Koori system, while Delvardus guarded the borders of his fiefdom, the Eriadu Authority. A successful strike by the First at Glova in the Tarabba sector &mdash;assisted by ground forces commanded by General Tyr Taskeen&mdash;forced Delvardus' military into retreat from the system. The capture of Glova cut Delvardus off from potential reinforcements from Imperial forces stationed further down the Rimma Trade Route in the Elrood sector and Minos Cluster.

Nantz fought and won a skirmish against Moff Prentioch's forces at Kriselist in the Wornal sector then bypassed the rest of Prentioch's territory to engage Delvardus's forces at Moorja in the Inner Rim. During the battle, a fleet of EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigates, supported by Y-wing bombers, destroyed the Thalassa, a. Nantz then moved in force to the Hevvrol sector, in the Mid Rim, executing a campaign against several targets in the region. A battle group, with starfighter operations overseen by Adar Tallon, struck Bannistar Station, capturing the Imperial installation following a heavy bombardment. An assault on the planet Glom Tho followed, where General Taskeen's forces seized key foundries, and New Republic troops made extensive use of Neuro-Saav Sure-Sight macrobinoculars. Glom Tho was the decisive battle in the Hevvrol Sector Campaign, and the victory blunted the expansion dreams of another warlord, Moff Par Lankin, who ruled the Lambda sector.

In 5 ABY, Nantz's forces won a relatively simple victory at Yag'Dhul over Delvardus's forces, ending the warlord's Coreward expansion, followed by the capture of Thyferra in the Jaso sector. Nantz's forces subsequently linked up with the rebellious worlds of Cilpar, Mrlsst, and Bestine in the Colonies. Entering Herglic Space, Nantz opened communications with the native Herglics, who had declared their independence in the post-Endor period. While Nantz was positioned in the Inner Rim, Delvardus attempted to retake Sullust only to be defeated by elements of the First under the command of a Sullustan Captain, Sien Sovv. Nantz dispatched a task force along the Rimma Trade Route to support Sovv and the Sullustans. Delvardus then lost a series of battles along his border at Sanrafsix, Kabal, Clak'dor, and Sluis Van which caused him to abandon his holding and retreat to the Deep Core. The following year, Nantz moved against Prentioch's territory, which resulted in the capture of Prentioch during the Siege of Bomis Koori. With the Western Reaches firmly under New Republic control, Nantz began to plan the conquest of the Southern Core. After extensive fighting undertaken by Ackbar's Third Fleet, Nantz's forces&mdash;along with those under the command of Willham Burke and Chel Dorat&mdash;were in a position to advance into the Core. Eventually, the New Republic successfully liberated Coruscant, the galactic capital.

Ten years later, Admiral Nantz was the New Republic Fleet's senior flag officer. When the Yevetha&mdash;a species of xenophobic aliens from the Koornacht Cluster in the Deep Core&mdash;purged all non-Yevetha from the worlds in the Koornacht Cluster in an act of mass genocide, the New Republic's newly-commissioned Fifth Fleet was dispatched to the region to defend New Republic interests in the area. As the crisis escalated, the Fifth was reinforced with task forces pulled from other fleet commands, and Admiral Ackbar was forced to replace the current commander, General Etahn A'baht, since the Defense Council had lost confidence in his command abilities. Nantz was considered for the role, although Ackbar vetoed his appointment, persuading Alliance hero Han Solo to accept a commodore's commission and command of the force. Solo never reached the Fifth, however; his shuttle, Tampion, was captured by Yevetha forces en route to the fleet. General A'baht retained command of the fleet, and mused in private with Commodore Farley Carson, of the Fourth Fleet's Task Force Apex, that the only reason that Ackbar or Nantz had not been sent to assume command of the force was for fear of either of the two officers being taken hostage as well. Despite several setbacks to the campaign, the Yevethan threat was ended by New Republic forces at the Battle of N'zoth, which included the rescue of Solo from his captors.

Personality and traits
"War is bloody mathematics seen through to the solution."

- Firmus Nantz, admiral, New Republic

Cadaverous and stooped, Firmus Nantz was a superb tactician and combat commander who effectively commanded fleet elements into combat, winning many significant victories during the New Republic's early years. By 16 ABY, he was the most senior flag officer serving in the New Republic Defense Force hierarchy, second only to Admiral Ackbar. Noted for his brutal honesty, Nantz did not shy away from frank assessments of what he did or the way he achieved it. He believed that an admiral's job was to "industrialize murder at a distance", and told a delegation of neutral planetary leaders as much. He also advised to never interrupt the enemy while they were in the middle of committing a mistake.

Behind the scenes
Firmus Nantz was first referenced in Shield of Lies, the second book of the Black Fleet Crisis by Michael P. Kube-McDowell published in 1996, merely as "Admiral Nantz." Nantz was referred to again in the third book of the trilogy, Tyrant's Test, released later that same year. In 2012, The Essential Guide to Warfare by Jason Fry and Paul R. Urquhart gave Nantz a first name and expanded upon his history as commander of the New Republic's First Fleet.

Nantz's inclusion in The Essential Guide to Warfare was due to Jason Fry's liking of the Black Fleet Crisis trilogy. In endnotes written for The Essential Guide to Warfare, Fry likened his caustic personality to that of General William Tecumseh Sherman, who served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Fry gave Nantz an expanded role in The Essential Guide to Warfare, involving him in several battles and attributing several quotes to him.

In a thread on the Jedi Council Forums on TheForce.Net, author Jason Fry mused that Nantz could be the previously unidentified commander featured in Lando's Commandos: On Eagles' Wings since both Nantz and Calrissian were involved in battles at Abraxas. On June 26, 2012, Fry revealed that he emailed Leland Chee with his theory, and Chee agreed to retcon the commander to be Nantz. Fry then posted the confirmation of the retcon in the thread.

Appearances

 * Lando's Commandos: On Eagles' Wings
 * Shield of Lies
 * Tyrant's Test