Ennix Devian

"Ennix Devian?! Palpatine's henchman? I knew him. It sickens me to even hear his name."

- Ragez D'Asta, to Kir Kanos

Ennix Devian was a Human male who was the Supreme Commander of the Restored Empire, a splinter faction of the Imperial Remnant, in 13 ABY. Having previously worked as an assassin of the Galactic Empire during the early days of the Galactic Civil War, Devian was known as the late Emperor Palpatine's personal hitman, being trained by the Sith Lord Darth Vader himself. Following the collapse of the Empire under the rule of Carnor Jax and the Imperial Interim Ruling Council, Devian sought to reform the dying Imperial Remnant, who were currently losing the war with the New Republic. With the same vision Palpatine had during the early days of his rule, Devian established the Restored Empire as a rogue third faction in the ongoing Galactic Civil War. Devian amassed a military comprised of renegade Imperial officers and soldiers, including the forces of General Vota, along with discarded hardware of the Galactic Republic that was discovered on the planetoid RZ7-6113-23, where Devian made his base. Devian planned to bring about the destruction of both the Imperial Remnant and the New Republic with the use of the volatile substance zinethium, plotting a large scale terrorist attack on the galactic capital of Coruscant to coerce the two factions into obliterating each other.

In order to plant the zinethium on Coruscant, Devian offered the former Emperor's Royal Guard, Kir Kanos, the chance to join the Restored Empire. Kanos's conflicting sense of honor, which was a foil to Devian's often extreme tactics, prevented him from taking up his invitation. Devian foresaw this and allowed Kanos to escape; knowing he would go to the galactic capital to warn the New Republic, Devian planted the zinethium in the shuttle Kanos stole beforehand. The attack failed with the intervention of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker of the Jedi Order, and Republic forces discovered Devian's base on RZ7-6113-23. Abandoning the planetoid, Devian was forced into accelerating his plan by sabotaging peace talks between the New Republic and the Imperial Remnant, which resulted in the death of Feena D'Asta, the daughter of the wealthy Imperial affiliated Baron, Ragez D'Asta. Framing the attack on the New Republic, Devian launched a massive attack on the Imperial capital Orinda, which was left undefended in the wake of a retaliatory strike against the Republic on Coruscant. When the Imperial fleet commanded by Gilad Pellaeon regrouped at Orinda, Devian captured the admiral and attempted to force him into a surrender. However, Devian's plan collapsed when the fleets of the D'Asta family arrived to reinforce their Imperial allies; the Baron was enlightened to Devian's involvement in his daughter's murder by Kir Kanos. In the resulting chaos, Devian fought Kir Kanos in one-on-one combat and fell to the Royal Guardsman's blade.

Youth
Ennix Devian, a Human male, grew up in the aliens slums of Abregado-rae before the time of the Galactic Empire. He joined the Commission for the Protection of the Republic, which later became the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order (COMPNOR). Devian entered the Imperial Security Bureau, where his talents came under the scrutiny of Emperor Palpatine.

Hitman of the Emperor
"Vader himself selected me for service to Palpatine, but not before he&hellip; shall we say&hellip; narrowed the field of candidates. He gave me this as a "reward" for surviving my audition."

- Devian to Kir Kanos

Devian was known in Imperial circles as an assassin during the Galactic Civil War, working directly under the Galactic Emperor and Dark Lord of the Sith, Palpatine. He was selected by Palpatine's Sith apprentice, Darth Vader, to be trained in deadly duels, usually against darksiders such as Antinnis Tremayne. In one duel in the arena known as "The Squall" he killed his competitors but Devian lost his right eye to the Dark Lord, which he promptly had outfitted with a cybernetic replacement. Furthermore, as a "reward" for surviving the process, Vader gave Devian a prominent scar on his left arm. His last test was surviving alone on Honoghr against a hunting party of Noghri Death Commando. Afterward, Ennix Devian became the Emperor's personal hitman&mdash;dubbed Palpatine's "Kaarenth Impaler" and known to the Imperial Court.

A vision for the galaxy
"I fear for the Republic, for your sister's family&hellip; They are in danger. You must warn them about a man named Devian."

- Vima-Da-Boda to Luke Skywalker

Following the formation of the Imperial Remnant, the remains of the Empire after their defeat at the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, Devian became disenchanted with the leadership of the Imperial Ruling Council under Xandel Carivus and Carnor Jax. Following the council's splintering, Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon took the reigns of the Remnant. Many, including Devian, thought of him as a disgrace to the Imperial name. Devian felt that the Imperials would need to embrace their roots, and proclaimed himself Supreme Commander of the Restored Empire faction in 13 ABY. Devian's charisma and conservative Imperial views attracted many followers within the Imperial hierarchy, including General Vota and his men. After his spy network, which included the dignitary Zam Basdor of Pellaeon's inner circle, uncovered plans to sign a peace treaty ending the Galactic Civil War between the New Republic and the Remnant, Supreme Commander Devian organized a complex plot to destroy both factions. Devian made base on the planetoid RZ7-6113-23 in the Chopani sector, which was home to a large storehouse of discarded Clone Wars era military hardware. Using the base's resources, Devian amassed a fleet of Venator-class Star Destroyers and Acclamator-class assault ships. Under his command, the New Republic frigate Endor was destroyed by a planetary cannon when it investigated the Chopani sector. "Phase One" of Devian's plan was to send a team of assassins to murder the Solo family in the Imperial Palace on Coruscant, while "Phase Two" of his plan was to hamper New Republic and Imperial Remnant relations even further by sabotaging peace talks by launching a terrorist attack on Coruscant. In order to motivate his men and prove the legitimacy of his cause, Devian hired the renowned bounty hunter Boba Fett to track down the former Imperial Royal Guard, Kir Kanos, who Devian regarded as a living artifact of the late Emperor Palpatine's ideals. However; this was only a means to his true goal: while Devian hired Fett to bring Kir Kanos to the Restored Empire headquarters,  a benefactor, Nom Anor, hired a team of thieves to infiltrate a class-3 toxic weapons dump on Nyara in order to retrieve a chunk of zinethium. Devian wanted to use this volatile substance to destroy the Imperial Palace on Coruscant and eliminate the New Republic government, and he planned on using Kir Kanos to plant the substance; he knew that Kanos would reject his offer of recruitment and immediately turn himself into New Republic captivity in order to save the one person he truly loved, Mirith Sinn.

After Phase One of the plan failed, Devian shrugged off the defeat and set the second phase in motion. Boba Fett successfully retrieved Kanos and brought him to the Restored Empire's headquarters, where Devian presented Kanos with the traditional garb of the Imperial Royal Guard and acquainted him with his ideals over a dinner in his honor. Kanos viewed Devian as a dishonorable thug, an opinion that was bolstered by Devian's slaying of one of his own men, Lonkin, in order to prove his worth in combat. Devian explained his plot to destroy Coruscant with zinethium to the guardsmen; as expected, Kir Kanos refused to join the hard-liners. Imprisoning him in a room in order to "rethink" his decision before being forced to have him executed, Devian implanted the zinethium in a specially prepared shuttle which he predicted would be Kanos's means of escape. Kanos escaped from his chamber using an improvised explosive from a blaster he pickpocketed from Devian during their conversation; Devian sacrificed some stormtroopers to Kanos in order to maintain the illusion that he was really free. Kir Kanos immediately departed to Coruscant to warn the New Republic.

Attack on Orinda
"Thrilling to watch a plan come together. Don't you think, General Vota?"

- Devian, in the wake of his attack on Orinda

The attempted zinethium attack on Coruscant was thwarted by the intervention of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, who flew the shuttle into orbit before it exploded. Soon after Kanos's departure, Devian detected a New Republic warship under the command of Captain Lar Ndigo entering the system, who was investigating the earlier disappearance of the Endor. As such, Devian was forced to abandon base and have a starfighter squadron engage the Republic forces. The ship's crew managed to raise their shields before the planetary cannon was fully charged, and were allowed to scramble their forces. The warship managed to land a direct blast on the planetary cannon before it was fully charged for another shot, and ground forces were scrambled to investigate. However, this was all a distraction laid out by Devian and Vota, who successfully evacuated their navy from the system and rigged the base to explode, killing the invading Republic forces.

Meanwhile, a peace summit between the Republic and the Remnant attended by Feena D'Asta, the daughter of Baron Ragez D'Asta, Mirith Sinn, and Kir Kanos was raided by Devian's stormtroopers, successfully preventing the signing of the treaty. Feena D'asta was killed in the assault, as were all the attacking stormtroopers by Kanos's hand. Kanos discovered the emblem on the Restored Empire tattooed on the wrists of the attackers; he contacted Republic command on Coruscant to explain Devian's role in the attack. While the Republic decided to investigate Devian's involvement, Admiral Pellaeon, unaware of the Restored Empire's existence, felt the Republic was involved and was obligated to launch a retaliatory attack on Coruscant in order to maintain Baron D'Asta's loyalty to the Imperial cause. This effectively left the Remnant capital Orinda relatively undefended, allowing Devian to move his fleet in for an attack.

Devian's attack on Orinda was stalled by the sudden arrival of Pellaeon's fleet, who reversed their course from Coruscant after receiving word of the attack. Devian and his men boarded the admiral's flagship and laid waste to Pellaeon's personal guard, forcing the admiral into a surrender. Devian offered Pellaeon the chance to join the Restored Empire cause by abandoning his plans of peace with the Republic and helping to rebuild a stronger Galactic Empire. Devian revealed Basdor as the traitor within Pellaeon's ranks, who was promptly shot in the forehead by the enraged admiral. Devian ordered his guards to seize Pellaeon, and thanked him for killing Basdor for the sake of tying up loose ends. Pellaeon responded by offering Devian the chance to surrender, a notion which the Supreme Commander laughed off. However, Pellaeon revealed that reinforcements in the form of Baron D'Asta's fleet had arrived and were destroying Devian's fleet as they spoke.

Death
"Devian! You've run out of time. Prepare to die."

- Kir Kanos prior to his climactic duel with Devian

The Baron arrived on Pellaeon's flagship with Kir Kanos, Mirith Sinn, and a squad of stormtroopers. He revealed that he had three fleets lying in wait behind Orinda's moon, catching Devian's forces off guard. D'Asta acquainted Devian with a clone of his late daughter grown during the days of the Imperial Ruling Council; passing her off as the original, he convinced Devian that the "attempt" on his daughter's life had failed, and attempted to force him into a surrender. In the confusion, General Vota attempted to execute Pellaeon before being gunned down himself by Mirith Sinn. A massive firefight subsequently broke out. Devian himself attempted to execute the admiral during the chaos, but was disarmed by Sinn. Attempting to flee in a Lambda-class shuttle, Devian was confronted by Kanos. Clad in the crimson garbs granted to him by Devian during their initial meeting, Kanos swore death to the wayward Imperial hardliner. Devian ordered a squad of stormtroopers to kill him, as he was only one man, but Kanos easily killed them all with a blaster rifle as they charged him.

Devian realized it would be more honorable to have a personal fight to the death with Kanos, and unsheathed his vibro-lance for a final battle. Kanos managed to sever Devian's vibro-lance in two, and knocked Devian out with a kick to the face. Recovering before Kanos could land the killing blow, Devian countered by similarly bisecting Kanos's weapon. The two men were both trained in combat by Darth Vader, and Devian claimed he knew all of Kanos's tricks. Devian kicked Kanos in the chest, knocking the wind out of him. Devian used this opportunity to impale Kanos in the left shoulder with his vibro-lance. Believing himself to be the victor, Devian revealed to Kanos that his loyalty to Palpatine was all a ploy to serve his own ambition, and swore Kanos would die with that information. Suddenly, Kanos gathered the strength to sever the blade off of Devian's vibro-lance and impaled him vertically through the heart with his weapon. In his dying breaths, Devian swore that he had beaten Kanos; the royal guardsmen reminded Devian of Darth Vader's rule to never be so sure of yourself until your opponent is dead. With Devian's death, the Restored Empire collapsed, and Devian's vision had all but collapsed. Devian died without ever realizing his own status as a mere puppet by his benefactor, Nom Anor: Anor was, in reality, an agent of the extragalactic Yuuzhan Vong race who desired to destabilize galactic society by prolonging the Galactic Civil War for as long as possible.

Personality and traits
"I know who you are ... And where you came from. Correct me if I’m mistaken, but you had a reputation under the Emperor as a hitman. Some would even say a thug. I know your history and your dirty work well. I don't trust you."

- Kir Kanos to Devian

Devian was known in Imperial circles as something of a "thug"; working directly under Emperor Palpatine, Devian committed various acts of violence in which he took pleasure. Later in his life, following the merciless slaying of one of his own men in an effort to prove his worth in combat to Kir Kanos, Devian rationalized his act by claiming he would not have killed the man if the man's weapon hadn't touched him; the Emperor taught him to overcome all opposition with overwhelming force. He claimed to have an unquestioning loyalty to the late Emperor's ideals, and based his vision of a "Restored Empire" around this mentality. However, he later revealed to Kanos that his loyalty to Palpatine was only fabricated, and he used his connection with Palpatine to advance his own personal ambition.

Skills and abilities
"As I said, I was trained by Vader. There's no trick you can use that I don't know."

- Devian to Kir Kanos during their final battle

Devian was personally trained by Darth Vader in The Squall as an assassin, and as such was a master of vibro-lance combat; he considered himself an equal to that of Kir Kanos himself. As such, during their final battle over Orinda, Devian managed to hold his own against Kanos for a time while showcasing his similar fighting style and knowledge of "tricks" taught to him by Darth Vader; however, Devian would fall to Kanos's blade.

Behind the scenes
Ennix Devian made his first and only appearance as the main antagonist in Crimson Empire III: Empire Lost, the third installment of Dark Horse Comics' Crimson Empire saga written by Mike Richardson.

Appearances

 * Crimson Empire III: Empire Lost 1
 * Crimson Empire III: Empire Lost 2
 * Crimson Empire III: Empire Lost 3
 * Crimson Empire III: Empire Lost 4
 * Crimson Empire III: Empire Lost 5
 * Crimson Empire III: Empire Lost 6