In the year 13 ABY, Ennix Devian, a male human, held the position of Supreme Commander within the Restored Empire, a splinter group that broke away from the Galactic Empire. During the early days of the Galactic Civil War, Devian served the Empire as the personal assassin of the Emperor Palpatine, receiving training from the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Following the Galactic Empire's collapse, Devian aimed to resurrect it by eliminating the Imperial Remnant, who were losing their fight against the New Republic. He assumed control of the Kaarenth Dissension, transforming it into the Restored Empire, and built up a military force composed of rogue Imperial officers and soldiers, including General Vota's forces. They also utilized discarded Galactic Republic hardware found on the planetoid RZ7-6113-23, which became Devian's base. Devian devised a plan to wipe out both the Imperial Remnant and the New Republic by using the unstable substance zinethium to launch a massive terrorist attack on Coruscant, the galactic capital, hoping to provoke them into mutual destruction.
Devian sought to place the zinethium on Coruscant by inviting Kir Kanos, a former member of the Emperor's Royal Guard, to join the Restored Empire. However, Kanos's strong sense of honor, which contrasted with Devian's often ruthless methods, led him to decline. Anticipating this, Devian allowed Kanos to escape, knowing he would head to the galactic capital to warn the New Republic. Devian had secretly planted the zinethium in the shuttle Kanos had stolen. The attack was foiled by Jedi Master Luke Skywalker of the New Jedi Order, and Republic forces discovered Devian's base on RZ7-6113-23. Forced to abandon the planetoid, Devian accelerated his scheme by disrupting peace negotiations between the New Republic and the Imperial Remnant, resulting in the death of Feena D'Asta, daughter of the wealthy Imperial Baron, Ragez D'Asta. Framing the New Republic for the attack, Devian launched a massive assault on Orinda, the Imperial capital, which was vulnerable due to a retaliatory strike against the Republic on Coruscant. When the Imperial fleet under Gilad Pellaeon regrouped at Orinda, Devian captured the admiral and tried to force him to surrender. However, Devian's plan fell apart when the fleets of the D'Asta family arrived to support their Imperial allies; the Baron had learned from Kir Kanos about Devian's involvement in his daughter's murder. In the ensuing chaos, Devian engaged Kir Kanos in a duel and was killed by the Royal Guardsman's blade.
Prior to the rise of the Galactic Empire, Ennix Devian, a male Human, spent his formative years in the alien slums of Abregado-rae. He became a member of the Commission for the Protection of the Republic, which later evolved into the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order (COMPNOR). Devian's skills led him to the Imperial Security Bureau, where he caught the attention of Emperor Palpatine.
During the Galactic Civil War, Devian gained notoriety within Imperial circles as an assassin, operating directly under the command of the Galactic Emperor and Dark Lord of the Sith, Palpatine. Darth Vader, Palpatine's Sith apprentice, personally selected Devian for training in lethal combat, often against darksiders like Antinnis Tremayne. In a duel within "The Squall", Devian defeated his opponents but lost his right eye to the Dark Lord, which was then replaced with a cybernetic implant. As a "reward" for surviving the ordeal, Vader marked Devian with a prominent scar on his left arm. His final test involved surviving alone on Honoghr against a hunting party of Noghri Death Commando. Following this, Ennix Devian became the Emperor's personal assassin, known as Palpatine's "Kaarenth Impaler" within the Imperial Court.
After the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, the Empire's defeat led to the formation of the Imperial Remnant. Devian grew disillusioned with the leadership of the Imperial Ruling Council under Xandel Carivus and Carnor Jax. When the council fractured, Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon assumed control of the Remnant. Many, including Devian, considered him a disgrace to the Imperial legacy. Devian believed the Imperials needed to return to their core values and declared himself Supreme Commander of the Restored Empire faction in 13 ABY. His charisma and staunch Imperial beliefs attracted numerous followers within the Imperial hierarchy, including General Vota and his troops. After his spy network, which included Zam Basdor, a dignitary within Pellaeon's inner circle, revealed plans for a peace treaty between the New Republic and the Remnant, Devian orchestrated an elaborate plot to destroy both factions. Devian established his base on the planetoid RZ7-6113-23 in the Chopani sector, which housed a vast store of outdated Clone Wars era military equipment. Utilizing these resources, Devian assembled 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 while investigating the Chopani sector.
"Phase One" of Devian's scheme involved dispatching assassins to eliminate the Solo family within the Imperial Palace on Coruscant. "Phase Two" aimed to further damage relations between the New Republic and the Imperial Remnant by sabotaging peace talks through a terrorist attack on Coruscant. To motivate his followers and legitimize his cause, Devian hired the renowned bounty hunter Boba Fett to locate Kir Kanos, a former member of the Imperial Royal Guard, whom Devian considered a symbol of the late Emperor Palpatine's ideals. However, this was a facade. While Devian tasked Fett with bringing Kir Kanos to the Restored Empire headquarters, Nom Anor, a benefactor, hired a team of thieves to infiltrate a class-3 toxic weapons dump on Nyara to retrieve a quantity of zinethium. Devian intended to use this volatile substance to destroy the Imperial Palace on Coruscant and eliminate the New Republic government, planning to use Kir Kanos to plant the substance, knowing Kanos would reject his offer and surrender to the New Republic to protect Mirith Sinn, the person he truly loved.
After the failure of Phase One, Devian proceeded with Phase Two. Boba Fett successfully captured Kanos and brought him to the Restored Empire's headquarters, where Devian presented Kanos with the traditional Imperial Royal Guard attire and discussed his ideals over dinner. Kanos viewed Devian as a dishonorable criminal, a perception reinforced by Devian's murder of one of his own men, Lonkin, to demonstrate his combat prowess. Devian revealed his plan to destroy Coruscant with zinethium to Kanos, who predictably refused to join the hardliners. Imprisoning Kanos to "reconsider" his decision before execution, Devian implanted the zinethium in a specially prepared shuttle, anticipating it would be Kanos's escape route. Kanos escaped using an improvised explosive from a blaster he pickpocketed from Devian. Devian sacrificed some stormtroopers to Kanos to maintain the illusion of freedom. Kir Kanos immediately departed for Coruscant to warn the New Republic.
Jedi Master Luke Skywalker thwarted the zinethium attack on Coruscant, piloting the shuttle into orbit before it detonated. Shortly after Kanos's departure, Devian detected a New Republic warship under Captain Lar Ndigo entering the system, investigating the disappearance of the Endor. Forced to abandon base, Devian ordered a starfighter squadron to engage the Republic forces. The ship's crew raised their shields before the planetary cannon fully charged, allowing them to scramble their forces. The warship managed to land a direct hit on the planetary cannon before it could fire again, and ground forces were deployed to investigate. However, this was a diversion orchestrated by Devian and Vota, who successfully evacuated their navy and rigged the base to explode, killing the Republic forces.
Meanwhile, a peace summit between the Republic and the Remnant, attended by Feena D'Asta, daughter of Baron Ragez D'Asta, Mirith Sinn, and Kir Kanos, was raided by Devian's stormtroopers, preventing the signing of the treaty. Feena D'asta was killed in the attack, along with all the attacking stormtroopers by Kanos. Kanos discovered the Restored Empire emblem tattooed on the attackers' wrists and contacted Republic command on Coruscant to explain Devian's role in the attack. While the Republic investigated Devian's involvement, Admiral Pellaeon, unaware of the Restored Empire's existence, believed the Republic was responsible and launched a retaliatory attack on Coruscant to maintain Baron D'Asta's loyalty, leaving the Remnant capital Orinda relatively undefended, allowing Devian to attack.
Devian's attack on Orinda was disrupted by the sudden arrival of Pellaeon's fleet, which had turned back from Coruscant after receiving news of the attack. Devian and his men boarded Pellaeon's flagship and overwhelmed his personal guard, forcing the admiral to surrender. Devian offered Pellaeon the chance to join the Restored Empire by abandoning peace with the Republic and rebuilding a stronger Galactic Empire. Devian revealed Basdor as the traitor within Pellaeon's ranks, who was promptly shot by the enraged admiral. Devian ordered his guards to seize Pellaeon and thanked him for killing Basdor to eliminate loose ends. Pellaeon responded by offering Devian the chance to surrender, which Devian dismissed. However, Pellaeon revealed that Baron D'Asta's fleet had arrived as reinforcements and were destroying Devian's fleet.
The Baron arrived on Pellaeon's flagship with Kir Kanos, Mirith Sinn, and a squad of stormtroopers. He revealed that he had three fleets waiting behind Orinda's moon, catching Devian's forces off guard. D'Asta presented Devian with a clone of his late daughter, grown during the Imperial Ruling Council era. Passing her off as the original, he convinced Devian that the "attempt" on his daughter's life had failed and tried to force him to surrender. In the confusion, General Vota attempted to execute Pellaeon but was shot down by Mirith Sinn. A massive firefight erupted. Devian tried to execute the admiral during the chaos but was disarmed by Sinn. Attempting to escape in a Lambda-class shuttle, Devian was confronted by Kanos. Clad in the crimson robes given to him by Devian, Kanos vowed to kill the wayward Imperial hardliner. Devian ordered a squad of stormtroopers to kill him, but Kanos easily killed them all with a blaster rifle.
Devian decided to have a personal duel to the death with Kanos, drawing his vibro-lance for a final battle. Kanos severed Devian's vibro-lance and knocked him out with a kick. Recovering, Devian bisected Kanos's weapon. Both men were trained by Darth Vader, and Devian claimed he knew all of Kanos's tricks. Devian kicked Kanos, knocking the wind out of him, and impaled him in the shoulder with his vibro-lance. Believing he had won, Devian revealed to Kanos that his loyalty to Palpatine was a facade to serve his own ambition and swore Kanos would die knowing this. Suddenly, Kanos mustered the strength to sever the blade off of Devian's vibro-lance and impaled him through the heart. As he died, Devian swore he had beaten Kanos. Kanos reminded Devian of Darth Vader's rule to never be sure of yourself until your opponent is dead. With Devian's death, the Restored Empire collapsed, and Devian's vision failed. Devian died unaware that he was a puppet of Nom Anor, an agent of the extragalactic Yuuzhan Vong species who sought to destabilize galactic society by prolonging the Galactic Civil War.
Within Imperial circles, Devian was known as a "thug," committing acts of violence under Emperor Palpatine's command. Later, after killing one of his own men to prove his worth to Kir Kanos, Devian justified his actions 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.
An ultranationalist, he professed unwavering loyalty to the late Emperor's ideals, basing his vision of a "Restored Empire" on this mentality. However, he later revealed to Kanos that his loyalty to Palpatine was fabricated, used to advance his own ambition.
Devian was personally trained by Darth Vader in The Squall as an assassin, making him a master of vibro-lance combat, considering himself equal to Kir Kanos. During their final battle over Orinda, Devian held his own against Kanos, showcasing a similar fighting style and knowledge of "tricks" taught by Darth Vader, but ultimately fell to Kanos's blade.
Ennix Devian's only appearance was as the main antagonist in Star Wars: Crimson Empire III—Empire Lost, the third installment of Dark Horse Comics' Star Wars: Crimson Empire saga, written by Mike Richardson.