The Imperial death trooper known as Waffle was a human male who served in Grand Admiral Thrawn's Seventh Fleet within the Imperial Navy. In the year 1 BBY, he, along with fellow death trooper Pik, accompanied Assistant Director Colonel Brierly Ronan from the Empire's Project Stardust and Lieutenant Eli Vanto of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet to Tiquwe, a city located on the planet of Aloxor in the Mid Rim Territories. Their purpose was to investigate a series of thefts targeting Project Stardust, aiming to uncover a freighter and obtain concrete evidence of sabotage against the project.
Given that Tiquwe was a hub for criminal and pirate operations, Waffle's presence was intended to safeguard the two officers. However, both he and Pik were deployed in an undercover capacity, foregoing their armor and heavy weaponry. Upon their arrival at the Tiquwe spaceport, they were ambushed by Sisay's gang, a pirate group that identified them as "bad for business." During the subsequent interrogation, Vanto falsely claimed to be hired by the Hutt Clan to kill Grand Admiral Balanhai Savit, who was leading an anti-piracy campaign within the Esaga sector, the same sector that contained Aloxor. After further inspection, Sisay discovered the Imperial data cards carried by the group and tasked "Mole", a local slicer, with verifying their authenticity as Hutt-issued credentials, as Vanto claimed. Despite the datacards being genuine, Mole falsely assured her they were forgeries. The slicer then guided Waffle and the group to a concealed entrance in the Imperial section of the spaceport, allowing them to circumvent Imperial checkpoints and stormtroopers.
Following their entry, Sisay and her gang turned their blasters on Waffle and the group, asserting that Vanto's story was inconsistent. Before Waffle could react, Mole swiftly neutralized the pirates and killed Sisay, revealing himself to be Imperial Security Bureau "ISB" Major Dayja Collerand. He then directed them to the freighter they were seeking, the Brylan Ross, where Ronan and Vanto promptly discovered evidence of sabotage. However, Ronan and Collerand betrayed the group and seized the freighter, abandoning Waffle, Pik, and Vanto on Aloxor. They returned to their ship and traveled to the Chiss heavy cruiser Steadfast, the warship where Vanto was assigned.
During the Galactic Civil War between the Galactic Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic, a human male death trooper named Waffle served within the personal guard of Grand Admiral Thrawn in the Imperial Navy's Seventh Fleet. In 1 BBY, Thrawn was given the responsibility of identifying the individuals responsible for a series of thefts from the Empire's Project Stardust, which oversaw the construction of the DS-1 Death Star Mobile Battle Station. Thrawn determined that the Mid Rim Territories planet Aloxor was a key location for receiving and distributing resources for the project, and that stolen components originated from there. Consequently, he sent his former aide, Lieutenant Eli Vanto from the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet, and Colonel Brierly Ronan of the Imperial Military Department of Advanced Weapons Research, who also held the position of Assistant Director on the Death Star Project, to the city of Tiquwe. Their mission was to investigate the thefts and gather conclusive proof of sabotage against Stardust.
Given Tiquwe's reputation as a haven for criminal and pirate activities, Waffle and fellow death trooper Pik were assigned as a protection detail for the two officers. However, the troopers were deployed without their death trooper armor and heavy weaponry to maintain an undercover presence. Furthermore, Vanto was informed of Waffle and Pik's death trooper status prior to the mission, while Ronan remained unaware. The Grand Admiral intended to preserve their anonymity in case the Colonel accused Thrawn of treason, as he believed the Chiss' partnership with Vanto's commanding officer, Expansionary Defense Fleet Admiral Ar'alani, was not in the best interests of the Empire. During their journey to Aloxor, Waffle abruptly interrupted Vanto while the latter was informing him of their destination, leading the lieutenant to believe that the death trooper disliked him due to his defection from the Empire, offering only the bare minimum of courtesy out of respect for Thrawn.
As Waffle set the coordinates for Tiquwe, he characterized the entire city as a "scum town," noting a small decent section of the spaceport, an even smaller section operated by the Imperials, and the largest section controlled by smugglers and pirates. He added that the local population either aided the pirates or stayed out of their way, and that there was no one they could rely on for assistance. The death trooper advised Ronan to leave his "fancy whites"—his Assistant Director uniform—aboard the shuttle, but Ronan insisted on bringing it in his carrybag. After landing and exiting their vessel, Waffle emphasized to the two officers that the death troopers would handle any killing or negotiations, and that Vanto and Ronan should stay out of their way.
Immediately upon leaving the spaceport, the group was attacked by a group of pirates. After a brief skirmish, the death troopers subdued the attackers, at one point using a comlink to knock a blaster out of an assailant's hand. As Waffle explained that his comlink was specially reinforced, a new assailant named Skulk raised his blaster at Vanto, supported by reinforcements. The gang's leader, Sisay, explained that they had identified the group as "bad for business," believing they were allied with Grand Admiral Balanhai Savit, who was leading an anti-piracy campaign in Aloxor's sector, the Esaga sector. Waffle questioned whether she truly believed Savit had any interest in Aloxor, which he dismissed as a "dirtball." Skulk added that while the group had the ship and clothes to blend in, their faces and attitude gave them away. He stated that they would take the group for interrogation and search their gear, but before Waffle and Pik could intervene, Vanto agreed to the interrogation—under his own conditions.
Skulk led them inside a chocolate shop after instructing the owner, Jeffrie, to leave. Vanto fabricated a story, claiming to be the replacement for the smuggler known as Nightswan, inheriting Nightswan's debts—including one from the Hutt Clan that tasked him with killing Savit. He explained that Ronan, whom he introduced as "Snick," would impersonate "Assistant Director Ronan," allowing them to board a freighter bound for Savit's flagship, the Imperial Star Destroyer Firedrake. Temporarily convinced, Sisay assured the group that she would lead them to the Imperial part of the port, but instead led them to her stronghold to inspect their gear and carrybags. Sisay revealed that the guard shift change was the best time to move on the port, which was still three hours away. She offered the group a drink, prompting Waffle to decline alcohol and express their desire to proceed with their job. While inspecting their gear, Brackis, a member of Sisay's gang, handed her the four data cards they planned to use to board the ship bound for Savit's star destroyer, which she deemed too good to be forgeries. She asserted that Vanto's story was inconsistent, as the Hutts never hired "nobodies." However, before she could have her crew torture Waffle and the group to reveal their true intentions, a local slicer named "Mole" arrived at the stronghold.
As she was about to dismiss the slicer, Sisay realized she could have him verify the authenticity of Waffle and the group's datacards, paying Mole one-hundred credits for the service. Despite the datacards being genuine, the slicer assured Sisay that they were forgeries. Before leaving, Mole inquired whether the group had the new entry passes required to enter the Imperial port, which had been implemented by the Governor of the Esaga sector, Moff Haveland. As they did not, Mole offered to forge them for Waffle and the group, but after learning they had no cargo and simply wanted to enter the port, he suggested taking them to the backdoor of the Imperial port, which Vanto and Sisay agreed to. However, as they approached the backdoor, Sisay and her gang turned their blasters on Waffle and the group, claiming that Vanto's story about the Hutts was false. After Sisay assured him she was not going to kill him, Mole asked for the one-hundred credits he had been promised. As Brackis handed the slicer the credits, Mole attacked him, quickly incapacitated the other members, and shot and killed Sisay.
Mole revealed himself to be Major Dayja Collerand of the Imperial Security Bureau "ISB," stating that he had been sent by ISB Colonel Wullf Yularen, a close associate of Thrawn's, to monitor the group. Collerand quickly deduced that Waffle and Pik were death troopers, finally informing Ronan of their true identities. After the assistant director assured the troopers that he had no objections to their identities, Collerand led them to the freighter they were seeking—the Brylan Ross. Collerand and Ronan entered the vessel, where they quickly found proof of sabotage, while Waffle, Vanto, and Pik examined the hull for signs of tampering. After discovering that the compressed argon gas needed for the maneuvering jets had been replaced with Clouzon-36 gas, Vanto had Waffle summon the assistant director and shared his discovery.
Having found conclusive proof of sabotage, Ronan claimed he was going to take holo's of the contraband he had found inside, but in truth planned to hijack the freighter and take it to his superior, Director Orson Callan Krennic, believing it was the only way to keep the evidence safe. However, Collerand had quickly discerned the assistant director's plan and chose to assist him. Abandoning Waffle, Vanto, and Pik at the spaceport, they planned to take the freighter to the planet Scarif—Project Stardust's base of operations—but were quickly apprehended by the ISD Stormbird, part of Savit's Third Fleet. Stranded at the Imperial port, the death troopers and Vanto returned to the shuttle they had arrived on, eventually traveling back to Thrawn's flagship, the ISD Chimaera.
However, only Vanto's ship, the Chiss heavy cruiser Steadfast, was present. Vanto requested that the troopers board the heavy cruiser, but Waffle stated that as death troopers, they did not board non-Imperial ships unless their Primary did. However, Vanto stated that they were under orders from Thrawn to protect him, and again ordered them to board the Steadfast, which they reluctantly did. Eventually, Thrawn deduced that Savit was behind the sabotage and thefts of Project Stardust's shipping line and confronted his fellow grand admiral, leading to Savit's arrest for treason against the Empire.
According to Vanto, Waffle was a human male death trooper who had been "specially trained to deal death and destruction and leave nothing but scorched ground behind them." He was taller than the average human, had a symmetrical face, neatly trimmed hair, and possessed lean but well-defined musculature. The death trooper had "cold and piercing" eyes that held a touch of passion, a touch of pride, and a touch of muted craziness. Vanto believed that his body and face would be ideal for Imperial recruitment displays. Like all death troopers, Waffle had undergone medical augmentation that made him "somewhat beyond human." During his service aboard the Chimaera, Vanto had heard stories that death troopers had been medically augmented to make them less human, which he no longer doubted after meeting Waffle. Despite serving as a commanding officer to only stormtroopers, the death trooper possessed a tone and boldness that came with authority.
Fiercely loyal to the Empire and his Primary, Waffle disliked Vanto because the latter had defected from the Empire to join the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet, living as a traitor in the eyes of many. However, he offered his barest level of courtesy and followed Vanto's orders during the mission to Tiquwe out of respect for Thrawn. As he was sent to Aloxor without his death trooper armor, Waffle wore civilian clothes that matched the atmosphere in Tiquwe. He was a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, holding his own against Sisay's pirates despite being outnumbered. At one point, he was able to use a comlink to nearly disarm an attacker, later revealing that the item was specially reinforced. When Vanto agreed to be interrogated by Sisay and her gang, Waffle gave the lieutenant a look of half-annoyance and half-thoughtful speculation.
While serving as a member of Thrawn's guard, Waffle wore black death trooper armor and carried a BlasTech E11D rifle. During the mission to Tiquwe, he wore civilian clothes that matched the environment of the scum-town and carried weapons that were appropriate for the location. The death trooper also carried a reinforced comlink that he used to nearly disarm Sisay.
Waffle appeared in the 2019 novel Thrawn: Treason, the final installment in Timothy Zahn's canon Star Wars: Thrawn trilogy.