Firmus Nantz

During the Galactic Civil War, Admiral Firmus Nantz, a male Human naval officer, served in the New Republic Fleet. Following the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, Gial Ackbar, the Supreme Commander of the Alliance Fleet, restructured his command into four distinct fleets. This reorganization aimed to enhance the prosecution of the war against the Galactic Empire and the various warlord factions that had emerged due to the collapse of Imperial authority after the death of Emperor Palpatine. Nantz was instrumental in planning the conquest of the Core Worlds, and subsequently received command of the First Fleet, with the responsibility of conducting operations in the Western Reaches of the galaxy. He established his base of operations on the planet Saijo, located within the Saijo sector of the Outer Rim Territories. From this strategic location, Nantz led the First Fleet to Abraxas in the Yushan sector, where they engaged the Eiattu pirates.

These pirates consisted of Imperial TIE/IN interceptors that were actively raiding New Republic shipping in the region. Over a month, they successfully attacked and seized six convoys, including one destined for Bhuna Sound. Recognizing the ineffectiveness of a conventional military response, Nantz sought the assistance of the Alliance hero, General Lando Calrissian. Based on Calrissian's unconventional background, Nantz believed that he could succeed where others had failed, granting him full authority to assemble a team. Calrissian's unit, known as Lando's Commandos, successfully tracked the pirates to their base on Radix within the Abraxas system. There, Calrissian skillfully employed deception, misdirection, and a cloaked stealth fighter to neutralize the pirate threat. He also exposed Captain Kine, a member of his own team, as a traitor who had been providing the pirates with critical information about New Republic convoys. Following the mission, Nantz debriefed Calrissian, praising his successful operation. However, Calrissian expressed sadness over the loss of several personnel during the mission and welcomed its conclusion. Nantz offered him the opportunity to undertake further missions, and Calrissian decided to flip a coin to determine his next course of action.

The victory at Abraxas served as a calculated display of power, intended to confine two emerging Imperial warlords—Moff Utoxx Prentioch and Superior General Sander Delvardus—within their respective territories. This strategy proved effective, as Prentioch remained within the Bomis Koori system, while Delvardus focused on securing the borders of his domain, the Eriadu Authority. A successful strike by the First Fleet at Glova in the Tarabba sector, supported by ground forces under the command of General Tyr Taskeen, forced Delvardus's military to retreat from the system. The capture of Glova severed Delvardus's access to potential reinforcements from Imperial forces stationed further along the Rimma Trade Route in the Elrood sector and Minos Cluster. Nantz engaged and defeated Moff Prentioch's forces in a skirmish at Kriselist in the Wornal sector, before bypassing the remainder of Prentioch's territory to engage Delvardus's forces at Moorja in the Inner Rim. During the battle, a squadron of New Republic EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigates, backed by Y-wing bombers, destroyed the Thalassa, a Praetor Mark II-class battlecruiser. Subsequently, Nantz directed his forces towards the Hevvrol sector in the Mid Rim, launching a campaign against multiple targets in the area. A battle group, with starfighter operations overseen by Commander Adar Tallon, struck Bannistar Station, capturing the Imperial installation after a sustained bombardment. This was followed by an assault on the planet Glom Tho, where New Republic forces achieved a decisive victory over an Imperial flotilla, while General Taskeen's forces seized key foundries. New Republic troops extensively utilized Neuro-Saav Sure-Sight weapons throughout the engagement. The Battle of Glom Tho proved to be the pivotal engagement in the Hevvrol Sector Campaign, and the resulting victory effectively curtailed the expansionist ambitions of another warlord, Moff Par Lankin, who governed the Lambda sector.

In 5 ABY, Nantz's forces secured a relatively straightforward victory over Delvardus's forces at Yag'Dhul, effectively halting the warlord's expansion towards the Core Worlds. This was followed by the capture of Thyferra in the Jaso sector. Subsequently, Nantz's forces established connections with the rebellious worlds of Cilpar, Mrlsst, and Bestine in the Colonies. Upon entering Herglic Space, Nantz initiated communications with the native Herglics, who had declared their independence following the Battle of Endor. While Nantz was positioned in the Inner Rim, Delvardus attempted to retake Sullust, only to be defeated by elements of the First Fleet under the command of Sien Sovv, a Sullustan captain. Nantz dispatched a task force along the Rimma Trade Route to provide support to Sovv and the Sullustans. Delvardus then suffered a series of defeats along his border at Sanrafsix, Kabal, Clak'dor, and Sluis Van, which ultimately led him to abandon his holdings and retreat to the Deep Core. In the following year, Nantz launched an offensive against Prentioch's territory, culminating in Prentioch's capture during a siege at Bomis Koori. With the Western Reaches now firmly under New Republic control, Nantz began formulating plans for the conquest of the Southern Core. Following extensive combat operations conducted by Ackbar's Third Fleet, Nantz's forces, along with those commanded by Admirals Willham Burke and Chel Dorat, were strategically positioned to advance into the Core Worlds. Ultimately, the New Republic successfully liberated Coruscant, the galactic capital.

Ten years later, Nantz was promoted to the senior flag officer of the Combined Defense Forces of the New Republic. When the Yevethan Duskhan League, the governing body of a species of xenophobic aliens from the Koornacht Cluster in the Deep Core, purged all non-Yevetha inhabitants from the worlds of the Koornacht Cluster in an act of mass genocide, the New Republic's newly-commissioned Fifth Fleet was dispatched to the region to safeguard New Republic interests. As the crisis escalated, the Fifth Fleet received reinforcements from task forces drawn from other fleet commands. The Defense Council lost confidence in General Etahn A'baht's command abilities, forcing Ackbar to replace him. While Nantz was considered for the role, Ackbar ultimately vetoed his appointment, instead persuading the Alliance hero Han Solo to accept a commodore's commission and assume command of the force. However, Solo never reached the Fifth Fleet, as his shuttle, Tampion, was captured by Yevetha forces en route to the fleet. General A'baht retained command of the fleet, and privately confided in Commodore Farley Carson, of the Fourth Fleet's Task Force Apex, that the fear of Ackbar or Nantz being taken hostage was the sole reason neither of them had been sent to assume command. Despite facing several setbacks during the campaign, the New Republic forces ultimately ended the Yevethan threat at the Battle of N'zoth, which included the rescue of Solo from his captors.

Firmus Nantz, characterized by his cadaverous and stooped physique, possessed light skin, a mane of gray hair tied back, prominent sideburns extending to his cheeks, and dark eyebrows. Renowned as a superb tactician and battlefield commander, Nantz effectively led fleet elements in combat, securing numerous significant victories during the New Republic's formative years. Nantz readily accepted that conventional military strategies were not the sole path to victory and demonstrated no hesitation in employing unconventional tactics when circumstances demanded. By 16 ABY, he held the position of the most senior flag officer within the New Republic Defense Force hierarchy, second only to Admiral Gial Ackbar.

Known for his blunt honesty, Nantz never shied away from providing candid assessments of his actions and the methods he employed. He maintained that an admiral's duty was to "industrialize murder at a distance," a sentiment he expressed to a delegation of neutral planetary leaders. Due to his outspoken nature, the New Republic deliberately kept Nantz away from politicians and civilians, fearing that his forthright views on military operations would be perceived as offensive or insensitive. During a conversation with General Lando Calrissian following the successful resolution of the Eiattu pirate situation, Nantz acknowledged that casualties were an inevitable price of military success when Calrissian lamented the loss of some of his personnel. He also advised to never interrupt the enemy while they were in the middle of committing a mistake.

The initial reference to Firmus Nantz appeared in Shield of Lies, the second installment of The Black Fleet Crisis series authored by Michael P. Kube-McDowell and published in 1996, where he was simply identified as "Admiral Nantz." Nantz was mentioned again in Tyrant's Test, the third book of the trilogy, released later that same year. In 2012, The Essential Guide to Warfare by Jason Fry and Paul R. Urquhart provided Nantz with a first name and expanded upon his history as the commander of the New Republic's First Fleet.

Jason Fry's appreciation for The Black Fleet Crisis trilogy motivated Nantz's inclusion in The Essential Guide to Warfare. In the endnotes for the guide, Fry drew a parallel between Nantz's caustic personality and that of General William Tecumseh Sherman, who served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Fry expanded Nantz's role in The Essential Guide to Warfare, involving him in several battles and attributing various quotes to him.

In a thread on the Jedi Council Forums on TheForce.Net, Fry speculated that Nantz could be the previously unidentified commander featured in "Lando's Commandos: On Eagles' Wings," a short comic written by Ian Edginton and illustrated by Carlos Meglia that was published in Star Wars Tales 5 by Dark Horse Comics. This theory stemmed from the fact that both Nantz and Calrissian participated in battles at Abraxas, and Fry noted that the commander's appearance closely resembled his mental image of Nantz. On June 26, 2012, Fry revealed that he had contacted Leland Chee, Lucasfilm's Continuity Database Administrator, with his theory, and Chee agreed to retcon the commander to be Nantz. Fry subsequently posted confirmation of the retcon in the forum thread. This information was later included in Fry's endnotes for The Essential Guide to Warfare, which he posted on his Tumblr site.

Nantz was later profiled in the article 10 Great Military Leaders, featured in the 2013 Special Edition of Star Wars Insider, which ranked ten characters based on their military prowess. Nantz was ranked fifth, behind Gial Ackbar, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, Grand Admiral Thrawn, and Xim the Despot.