A male Human, Devlia, held a position as an officer within the Imperial Navy during the era of the Galactic Civil War. Following the Battle of Endor, he returned from retirement to offer assistance to the struggling Galactic Empire. His superiors viewed him as both arrogant and lacking foresight, holding him accountable for the unsuccessful attempt to eliminate Rogue Squadron during a surprise commando raid on their Talasea base.
Devlia was a stout, short man, distinguished by gray hair and a matching mustache. Achieving the rank of Admiral, he was assigned to oversee the defense of the Rachuk sector. He established his headquarters on Grand Isle, within a volcano that had been hollowed out on the world of Vladet, which served as the capital of the Rachuk sector. The Interdictor cruiser Black Asp was among the vessels under his command. Similar to many Imperial officers from the pre-Endor period, Devlia harbored a deep-seated prejudice against aliens and female Humans, a sentiment evident in his discomfort when interacting with Captain Uwlla Iillor of the Black Asp.
Imperial Intelligence agent Kirtan Loor, along with other Imperial superiors, held Devlia in low regard. Loor identified significant flaws in the Admiral's character, including vanity and an inflated sense of self-importance. These characteristics often led Devlia to underestimate both the Rebel Alliance and the New Republic Defense Force, considering them to be inferior and inadequately trained.
Furthermore, Devlia harbored distrust towards Imperial Intelligence and its leader, Director Ysanne Isard. Ultimately, this distrust played a role in his downfall. His disregard for the counsel provided by Intelligence resulted in a failed attack on Rogue Squadron while they were stationed on the fog-covered planet of Talasea. This failure triggered a New Republic counterattack that led to his demise and the destruction of his operational base.
In 6.5 ABY, Devlia had his initial encounter with Rogue Squadron, which had been recently reformed by squadron leader Commander Wedge Antilles. This occurred when the squadron's X-wing starfighters crossed paths with the Black Asp in the Chorax system. The squadron disrupted the Asp's attempt to seize the Pulsar Skate, a smuggler vessel commanded by Mirax Terrik, which had been delivering supplies to the New Republic.
Uwlla Iillor, the commanding officer of the vessel, was able to determine that the X-wings belonged to Rogue Squadron by analyzing communication intercepts and visual data. While Devlia believed the encounter was a planned ambush targeting the Black Asp, Uwlla and Imperial Intelligence Agent Loor correctly reasoned that the starfighters had been accidentally drawn out of hyperspace by the Asp's gravity well projectors. Devlia reluctantly agreed to cooperate with Loor, who had been tasked by Director Isard with eliminating Rogue Squadron. The admiral consented to dispatch units to locate and destroy the squadron's base, a task Devlia deemed "impossible." However, Loor soon pinpointed the Rogue Squadron training base on Talasea.
Despite Loor's recommendation to dispatch a probe droid followed by a large-scale assault, the admiral, harboring doubts about the accuracy of Imperial Intelligence, opted to send only a single stormtrooper platoon to locate and attack the base. Devlia considered probe droids to be more valuable than stormtroopers, whom he referred to as "a renewable resource."
Upon locating the base, the platoon attempted to destroy it on their own by assassinating Rogue pilots in their sleep and planting explosives throughout the base. Although the covert operation resulted in the deaths of six Rogue sentries and pilot Lujayne Forge, all of the Imperial commandos were either captured or killed. The stormtrooper transport vehicle was also seized.
In response to the failed assault, Rogue Squadron launched a retaliatory strike against Grand Isle. Devlia assumed that the Vladet base was adequately protected by a shield, but Rogue Squadron bypassed the shield by creating an opening in the volcano's side and piloting their fighters through the breach to destroy the base. Grand Isle was obliterated, and Devlia was killed.
Kirtan Loor, after Devlia's death, described him as an "idiot" who "got what he deserved" for ignoring his advice regarding the Talasea strike. Loor also expressed confidence that Ysanne Isard would have executed Devlia for mishandling the assault against Rogue Squadron had he not been killed during the counterstrike.
Isard also referred to Devlia as "stupid" after his death.