During the Galactic Civil War, a Human female from Naboo named Nanda held the rank of ensign within the forces of the Galactic Empire. In the wake of the Battle of Yavin, she served as an aide to Darth Vader for a period of five days. Their mission was to identify and punish all individuals whom the Sith Lord deemed responsible for the successful infiltration of Imperial Navy ranks by Rebel operative Kell Bircher a few months earlier.
A Human female named Nanda was born on Naboo, a planet situated in the Mid Rim, during the closing years of the Galactic Republic.
She had been stationed on the Executor, a Super Star Destroyer, since her initial assignment. Shortly after her 21st birthday in 0 ABY, Darth Vader, who was second-in-command to the Emperor, chose Nanda to lead a squad consisting of six highly skilled stormtroopers. Their objective was to locate and neutralize the elusive slicers responsible for planting Kell Bircher, a spy working for the Rebel Alliance, within the Imperial Navy.
Nanda's initial assignment involved piloting their shuttle to the Data Center located on Coruscant. Upon arrival, she was tasked with interacting with a deck officer responsible for inspecting the crew and contents of each incoming ship. Inside the Data Center, Nanda experienced firsthand Darth Vader's infamous cruelty, eliciting evident fear and shock.
Several hours later, the young ensign took the controls of their newly acquired vessel, the corvette known as the Archer, heading towards Bothawui. There, Vader's stormtroopers swiftly eliminated several Bothans suspected of being the data slicers they sought. Their subsequent destination was Kuat, a Core World planet. Vader dealt harshly with the command personnel of his former flagship, the Devastator, a scene witnessed by Ensign Nanda with wide-eyed horror.
After their departure from the Kuat Drive Yards, Nanda spent a period of solitude within the cockpit of the corvette. Upon Vader's return from his private quarters, the Sith Lord instructed Nanda to chart a course for the Alderaan system, where Intelligence reports indicated the presence of an X-wing starfighter alongside an aging Star Destroyer. Expressing doubt about the accuracy of this information, Nanda attempted to dissuade Vader, suggesting the futility of the endeavor. However, she ultimately complied when the Sith Lord insisted on immediate travel to the system.
Upon reaching the Alderaan system, Nanda detected the Audacity, a Venator-class Star Destroyer carrying Tag Rogaren, a former Imperial scientist. Subsequently, Vader dispatched his elite stormtroopers to retrieve Rogaren alive and bring him aboard the Archer. However, upon the return of the six troopers with their new prisoner, they betrayed Vader, prompting an immediate assault from him using his lightsaber. As Nanda had foreseen, the ship's hull sustained damage during the altercation. After eliminating the treacherous troopers, Vader instructed Nanda to maintain their course while he repaired the damage. Once the Sith Lord had sealed the hull and finished torturing Rogaren, he directed Nanda to set a course for the Chandrila system, having discerned a slight Chandrilan accent in the traitor Bircher's speech.
Subsequently, Vader dispatched Ensign Nanda to Bircher's childhood home on the planet of Chandrila. There, she discovered three tombstones belonging to members of the Mothma family. Nanda soon deduced that Bircher was, in fact, related to Mon Mothma, a prominent leader of the Rebel Alliance. Immediately upon comming Vader to relay her discovery, the Archer obliterated the estate.
Following the completion of her assignment, Nanda was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander, as promised, and received a substantial deposit of credits into her accounts. However, the five days spent in the company of Darth Vader left her deeply traumatized, resulting in hallucinations where she saw the Sith Lord everywhere.
Nanda, a native of Naboo, was a young woman characterized by her black hair, brown eyes, and dark skin. A defining aspect of her character was her unwavering devotion to the Empire. When assigned to serve as assistant to Darth Vader during his mission of "vengeance and redemption," she executed the Dark Lord's directives without hesitation, despite her evident discomfort with some of Vader's merciless tactics.
The young ensign could also be seen as somewhat naive. Despite being aware of the destruction of Alderaan by the Death Star, she expressed genuine surprise upon their arrival at the Alderaan Graveyard, finding nothing remaining of the Core World planet except for asteroids and debris.
Nevertheless, while lacking the cold-bloodedness and ruthlessness of Darth Vader and the stormtroopers, Nanda did not object to the slaughter of the Bothans suspected of facilitating Bircher's deception, primarily due to the loss of friends during the destruction of the Death Star by the Rebel Alliance.
Nanda demonstrated proficiency as a pilot, skillfully maneuvering the Lambda-class T-4a shuttle and the Assassin-class corvette that transported Vader and his elite stormtrooper team across the galaxy. She also effectively employed her diplomatic abilities with an unnamed deck officer upon their arrival at the Data Center on Coruscant, earning her a "Well done." from Vader himself.
Nanda made her debut appearance in the thirteenth issue of Dark Horse's Star Wars comic book series. The issue, penned by Brian Wood and illustrated by Facundo Percio, was released on January 8, 2014. It serves as the opening part of a two-issue story arc titled Five Days of Sith, which revolves around Darth Vader's pursuit of vengeance following the revelation of Colonel Bircher's status as a Rebel spy, with Nanda serving as the story's narrator.