Vice Admiral Corf Ferno, during the time known as the Imperial Era, served within the ranks of the Imperial Navy. By 2 BBY, Ferno held the military rank of captain and was the commanding officer of the ISD Dark Omen. He served under Grand Admiral Thrawn in the 7th Fleet. After the Liberation of Lothal, Ferno took command of the remaining elements of the fleet under the authority of Supreme Commander Grand General Cassio Tagge. A seasoned senior fleet commander, Ferno became a member of the Joint Chiefs of the Imperial Military after Tagge appointed him.
Prior to the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, Ferno attended briefings with other high-ranking officers. He later participated in the Defense of Kuat, where the New Republic captured him. While imprisoned, Ferno underwent interrogation by the New Republic. Eventually released, he later became an author, and penned his memoir, Fighting with the Galactic Empire. Beaumont Kin, a historian and paramilitary member of the Resistance, included Ferno and details of his career in his book, The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire, in 35 ABY.
By the time of the Battle of Atollon in 2 BBY, Corf Ferno was serving as a captain of a Star Destroyer. He was the commanding officer of the Dark Omen, an Imperial I-class Star Destroyer, within the 7th Fleet of Grand Admiral Thrawn. Ferno commanded the initial assault at the battle's outset. The Dark Omen led a squadron of five ships, although Admiral Kassius Konstantine held overall command until Thrawn's arrival.
Unlike peers such as Captain Gilad Pellaeon, Ferno's career remained largely unaffected by the Imperial defeat and the destruction of much of the 7th Fleet during the Liberation of Lothal in 1 BBY, as he was not present. Following the Battle of Yavin in 0 BBY, Supreme Commander Grand General Cassio Tagge promoted Ferno to the rank of Vice Admiral. Tagge then placed him in charge of the remaining forces of the 7th Fleet, assigning him and the fleet to patrol the Outer Rim Territories. Furthermore, Tagge appointed Ferno to the Joint Chiefs of the Imperial Military to fill the void left after Yavin. Ferno subsequently participated in the Galactic Civil War between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance. In 3 ABY, Ferno's Dark Omen was involved in an ambush of a rebel convoy at Derra, a significant Imperial victory.
Shortly before the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, Ferno attended briefings alongside numerous other Imperial officers, including Fleet Admiral Firmus Piett aboard the Star Dreadnought Executor, Vice Admiral Rae Sloane on the Vigilance, ISB Admiral Garrick Versio on the Eviscerator, Admiral Jhared Montferrat with the Devastator, and others. The battle resulted in an Imperial defeat, prompting Sloane to order a retreat. In 5 ABY, Grand Admiral Sloane dispatched Ferno with reinforcements to Kuat, a crucial factory world situated in the Core Worlds. This deployment aimed to reinforce Moff Pollus Maksim's Imperial forces during the Defense of Kuat, as the New Republic – which had evolved from the Rebel Alliance – launched an assault on the Kuat shipyards to either blockade or seize them.
Moff Maksim assumed command of Kuat's Imperial forces, while Ferno's Dark Omen took control of the fleet. As the fighting stretched for weeks and became a war of attrition, Maksim and the local fleet commanders communicated to discuss whether to continue defending the shipyards or attempt a breakout. Surviving vessels attempted to breach the New Republic lines, while Maksim resolved to remain behind. As the breakout failed, communication between the Dark Omen and Maksim intensified, with Ferno suggesting that Maksim offer a surrender. Ultimately, the surrender was issued, and the shipyards fell. Ferno was subsequently imprisoned by the New Republic.
Being among the few high-ranking fleet commanders captured alive by the New Republic, Ferno held significant value for New Republic interrogators. His interrogation reports are documented in files #139-152 within the New Republic Archives, specifically in Section Imperial Prisoners. During one of the concluding interrogations, Ferno was questioned about his recommendation to Moff Maksim to surrender. Following his eventual release, Ferno wrote a memoir titled Fighting with the Galactic Empire, which presented a markedly different account compared to his interrogations with the New Republic.
In 35 ABY, Beaumont Kin, a historian and paramilitary member of the Resistance, mentioned Corf Ferno in several places in his book, The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire. The book cited Ferno's interrogation reports from the New Republic Archives.
Ferno was an Imperial officer who possessed the ability to command fleet formations and actively engage in combat. He also experienced many wars and battles to the point that he understood when one was lost. By the end of the Galactic Civil War, Ferno spoke on his tiredness and homesickness. Ferno was also a writer, penning his own memoir on his experiences with the Galactic Empire. Following Grand Admiral Thrawn's disappearance, Ferno was a Thrawn loyalist within the Imperial Navy.
Throughout his Imperial career, Ferno used the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Dark Omen as his flagship.
Corf Ferno was first mentioned in Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy, a 2021 reference book.