Knotts was a human male hailing from the Core Worlds. He made a life-altering move to the planet Lantillies in 29 BBY. There, he became an intermediary, connecting clients seeking specific goods or services with freelance spacers and earning a percentage of each deal in credits.
During the [Clone Wars](/article/clone_wars], Knotts acted as a subcontractor for Republic Intelligence, under the direction of Dodd Rancit. His duty was to secretly transport weapons and other necessary supplies to resistance cells, trained by station chief Berch Teller. These groups were operating on planets under the control of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, including Antar 4. Just like Teller, Knotts was deeply disturbed by the Galactic Empire's cruel "Antar Atrocity," which resulted in the deaths of numerous Koorivar and Gotal loyalists.
During the Imperial Era, Knotts became part of a group of resistance fighters led by Teller, who was secretly aided by Vice Admiral Rancit. After they stole Carrion Spike, the personal starship of Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, Teller and his followers conducted raids on several Imperial installations in 14 BBY. Tarkin discovered Knott's involvement in Teller's operations after a major hyperspace accident in the Obroa-skai system, caused by Teller's insurgents to misdirect Tarkin and Darth Vader. Following the Battle near the Gulf of Tatooine, Knotts and several of Teller's followers were captured and quietly executed.
Originating from the Core Worlds, Knotts relocated to Lantillies, a world in the Outer Rim, fifteen years prior to the Berch Teller campaign in 14 BBY. On Lantillies, Knotts made a name for himself as a go-between, connecting clients needing goods or services with freelance spacers who could provide them. At some point in his life, Knotts was married, but later divorced.
During the [Clone Wars](/article/clone_wars], Knotts served as a subcontractor for Republic Intelligence, facilitating the clandestine transport of weapons and other supplies to resistance groups including loyalist forces on the Inner Rim moon of Antar 4. Knotts was also acquainted with Berch Teller, the Republic Intelligence station chief who trained Gotal and Koorivar loyalists on Antar 4. Like Teller, Knotts was appalled by Moff Wilhuff Tarkin's brutal purge known as the Antar Atrocity, which resulted in the deaths of many loyalists.
Early in the Imperial Era, Knotts became an ally of Berch Teller's emerging insurgent group, which consisted of survivors of the Antar Atrocity and other Empire critics, like the journalist Anora Fair and the filmmaker Hask Taff. In the years leading up to 14 BBY, Teller and his rebel comrades accumulated various resources. These included forbidden armaments, former Separatist droid starfighters, warships, and communications jammers. They were aided by the Imperial Vice Admiral Dodd Rancit, a rival of Moff Tarkin. Despite facing overwhelming odds, Teller hoped to spark a rebellion against the Empire. Teller also harbored a particular hatred for Tarkin, the architect of the Antar Atrocity.
After Teller's attack on Sentinel Base, Knotts helped broker a deal between a lieutenant in the Crymorah Syndicate and the Sugi smuggler Faazah for a supply of custom fuel cells. These were then shipped to the planet Murkhana shortly before Tarkin and Vader's visit to investigate a Separatist communications cache. This allowed Teller and his followers to hijack and steal Tarkin's stealth corvette Carrion Spike. The insurgents added these fuel cells to the ship's fuel supply, which lasted long enough for them to reach Phindar in the Mandalore sector.
Later, Knotts assisted Teller's insurgents in misleading their Imperial pursuers. He hired a Koorivar captain and two Sy Myrthians to crew the freighter Reticent, which was carrying a cargo of Sephi flyers. Three years earlier, Knotts had provided them with credits to purchase the Reticent. He tasked them with a delivery run from Taris to Thustra and then Obroa-skai. Unbeknownst to the crew, they were to act as a decoy. To mislead the Imperials, Teller transmitted false coordinates, suggesting that the Carrion Spike was heading towards the Obroa-skai system.
Tarkin and Darth Vader gathered a significant Imperial force, including three interdictor vessels, to intercept the stolen Carrion Spike, which had attacked several Imperial facilities across the galaxy. However, the gravity well projector on the prototype Immobilizer 418 cruiser malfunctioned, resulting in a massive hyperspace accident that caused 1,100 deaths and significant damage. Despite the disaster, Tarkin and Vader managed to capture and interrogate the crew of the Reticent.
During questioning, the Koorivar captain admitted to working for Knotts. Although Vader's interrogation of the Reticent's crew yielded little information, the Sith Lord later learned from one of his Crymorah informants that Knotts had facilitated negotiations between a Crymorah lieutenant and Faazah to obtain the fuel cells used by Teller and his insurgents to power the stolen Carrion Spike. Acting on this information, Tarkin uncovered more about Knott's background and his connections to the Antar Atrocity on the HoloNet database.
After Teller and his followers abandoned the Carrion Spike, sending it on a course to the Colonies planet of Carida, they rejoined Knotts and the others aboard Berch Teller's warship, a heavily modified former Separatist Providence-class carrier-destroyer that served as the insurgent cell's flagship. Knotts helped navigate the hidden carrier-destroyer from its concealed location near Lantillies. The insurgents traveled to a remote star system near the Gulf of Tatooine, planning to ambush an Imperial convoy transporting supplies along a chain of space stations leading to Geonosis, the site of the secret Death Star project.
Because Vice-Admiral Rancit had diverted considerable Imperial forces in response to Teller's insurgency, Knotts was confident that their insurgents would destroy the convoy. Unaware that Moff Tarkin and Lord Vader had discovered Rancit's treachery, Knotts and Teller believed that their raid on the Imperial convoy would damage Rancit's credibility. Knotts remarked that Rancit would be unhappy at being denied his expected promotion and would seek revenge. Teller reassured Knotts that a successful raid would result in Rancit's dismissal from his position at the Naval Intelligence Agency, eliminating the threat posed by the Vice-Admiral.
When the Mon Calamari starship engineer Dr. Artoz inquired about Tarkin, Knotts responded that he would get back what was left of his precious "corvette." When Knotts expressed concern that a vindictive Tarkin would pursue them, Teller suggested that the group scatter and flee to the Corporate Sector. Knotts then asked how much they would set the Empire back by destroying the convoy. Artoz responded that the Empire had been working on the hyperdrive components for three years before he was sent to Desolation Station. He believed that the attack would push the Imperials back by four years.
Teller speculated that the Empire was working on a weapons platform above Geonosis and asked if they needed to know more than that. Teller reassured him that once the galaxy understood the Emperor as well as they did, their group would not be alone. Despite the odds, Knotts and his comrades pledged to fight in memory of Antar 4. Shortly after, the Koorivar Cala arrived with news that the convoy had exited hyperspace. Before Teller departed on his starfighter, Knotts wished him well.
The insurgents attacked the convoy with their Providence carrier-destroyer, Nebulon-B frigate, multiple droid tri-fighters, and four starfighters. They managed to encircle the convoy ships and their escorts before swarming them with starfighters. Before the insurgents could eliminate the convoy, Tarkin arrived aboard the Imperial Star Destroyer Executrix and attacked the rebel ships. After dispatching starfighters and destroying the insurgents' Nebulon-B frigate, Tarkin disabled the insurgents' carrier-destroyer, preventing their escape.
Teller managed to escape into hyperspace with Anora and the Gotal Salikk. Moff Tarkin then boarded the insurgents' flagship with stormtroopers. Knotts was among the 26 insurgents captured by Imperial forces. When Tarkin inspected his prisoners and greeted Knotts, the insurgent stared straight ahead, offering no response. Tarkin then mockingly questioned Knotts about him and Teller betraying their former collaborator Rancit.
Following the defeat of Berch Teller's rebel cell, Knotts and his comrades were interrogated by Tarkin, Lord Vader, and Imperial Security Bureau specialists. Knotts and his fellow rebels and collaborators were then executed. Though the ISB advocated public executions, the Emperor rejected the idea to avoid turning Teller's followers into martyrs.
Knotts was a middle-aged human man with silver hair, rheumy eyes, and a deeply lined face. According to Tarkin, he had a world-weary appearance, typical of veteran soldiers who had experienced more than their fair share of tragedy. As an information broker and middleman, Knotts was known as a dispatcher and an agent who took what Tarkin considered a reasonable percentage of each transaction in credits.
Knotts sympathized with Berch Teller, the former Republic Intelligence officer who became an insurgent leader. He shared Teller's disdain for the Empire and animosity towards Moff Tarkin. Like Teller and his other followers, Knotts viewed the Antar Atrocity as a war crime that demanded retribution through rebellion and guerrilla attacks. Knotts remained defiant when captured by Tarkin.
In addition to his work as an information broker, Knotts also possessed the skill to pilot capital ships, such as Berch Teller's warship.
Knotts made his first appearance in James Luceno's 2014 canon novel Tarkin.