Nova Stihl

During the construction phase of the Death Star, Nova Stihl was assigned to the garrison located on the penal planet known as Despayre. He was an expert in unarmed combat, particularly the Teräs Käsi fighting style. He provided instruction to prisoners on basic self-defense techniques. The purpose of these demonstrations was to empower the weaker prisoners to protect themselves from the more aggressive individuals within the prison population. Stihl possessed a philosophical nature and was aware of his ability to anticipate the movements of his opponents, a skill he referred to as "Blink." While stationed on Despayre, he developed a casual friendship with Celot Ratua Dil, a Zelosian prisoner who assisted him in his self-defense demonstrations.

After Stihl's efforts led to a twelve percent decrease in violence on the prison planet, he was transferred from the garrison to the Death Star, which was in orbit. He continued to conduct his self-defense classes on the space station. One evening, while celebrating the upcoming marriage of a fellow squad member, he visited the Hard Heart Cantina. There, he was involved in an altercation with an intoxicated patron, whom he quickly defeated in a brief fight. He then encountered Rodo, the cantina's bouncer, and immediately recognized him as a fellow martial artist. Rodo later approached Stihl after one of his classes and challenged him to a sparring match, which ended abruptly when both men realized they were equally skilled.

While serving on the Death Star, Stihl experienced recurring nightmares in which he was engaged in combat with multiple adversaries, sometimes alone and sometimes with assistance. These dreams consistently culminated in his death. He reported these nightmares to Dr. Kornell "Uli" Divini, one of the Death Star's surgeons. After the nightmares persisted, Uli discovered that Stihl's midi-chlorian count was above five thousand, revealing his latent Force-sensitivity. One night, Nova was awakened during the destruction of Despayre, which served as a test for the Death Star's superlaser. Witnessing the event, he was horrified by the Empire's actions. He then encountered Celot Ratua Dil, who had managed to escape to the Death Star. However, Stihl chose not to report him, as they were both still affected by the destruction of Despayre. Due to his Force-sensitivity, Stihl sensed the massive loss of life on Alderaan when the Death Star employed its superlaser to destroy the planet. The overwhelming sensation of so many deaths in the Force caused him to lose consciousness. At that moment, Nova resolved that the Empire was inherently evil, regardless of any justifications they might offer, as there was no conceivable justification for annihilating a planet populated by innocent civilians.

Eventually, Stihl made the acquaintance of Memah Roothes, the Hard Heart's bartender and a friend of Rodo's, along with an architect named Teela Kaarz, Villian Dance, an Imperial TIE fighter pilot, and Atour Riten, the chief librarian of the Death Star. These encounters occurred at the Hard Heart, where he also reconnected with Divini. During a "hypothetical" discussion, the group collectively concluded that they could no longer participate in an organization capable of mass destruction of innocent lives.

Following the obliteration of Alderaan, Stihl was assigned to the security detail tasked with locating and apprehending Han Solo and Chewbacca. He had previously experienced a Force vision in a dream depicting this event and pursued them. However, a surge of Force-sensitivity prompted him to allow them to escape. After they passed through a set of closing blast doors, Stihl deliberately delayed the pursuing forces by falsely claiming that the manual release mechanism was malfunctioning and preventing the doors from opening.

The group devised a plan to escape using a medical transport. Their opportunity arose during the Battle of Yavin. With the exception of Riten, who was compelled to remain behind to ensure the others could escape, the group attempted to flee. However, they encountered several guards outside the landing bay, forcing Stihl and Rodo to stay behind and confront an Imperial squad attempting to stop them. Stihl recognized the fight from his dreams, understanding its significance. Nevertheless, he continued to fight to enable the others to escape. He and Rodo engaged and defeated numerous troopers in a large-scale fight, relying solely on their unarmed combat skills to overcome a group of fifteen soldiers. However, both were killed, with Stihl ultimately succumbing to a blaster shot to the face.

The novel titled Death Star portrays Stihl wearing the complete 18-piece stormtrooper armor and participating in the pursuit of Han Solo and Chewbacca on the Death Star. However, earlier in the book, he is identified as an army trooper. Elsewhere, his description suggests that he is one of the Death Star troopers present in the Death Star conference room when Cass informs Grand Moff Tarkin that the Rebels had abandoned Dantooine. The novel's authors appear to assume that army troopers, Death Star troopers, and stormtroopers are interchangeable, differentiated only by their uniforms. However, previous Expanded Universe materials indicate that they are distinct entities, with Death Star troopers belonging to the Imperial Navy (not the Army) and the Stormtrooper Corps being a separate organization. It is possible that the "Imperial Marines" represent an elite group that undergoes cross-training in all three branches, although this remains speculative. Furthermore, the novel mentions that he is assigned the task only when a guard is unavailable due to illness and that he is not frequently assigned to that duty. It is noted that they prefer to have a soldier proficient in both hand-to-hand and ranged combat in that role.