PIETT LIVES!
Written and submitted by Susan Mollenkopf
(based on material written by Scott Hayden)

To: Mon Mothma, Chief of State

From: Alliance Intelligence

Herewith follows the initial report of our investigation of the rumors that Admiral Angus Piett might have survived the conflagration which destroyed the Super Star Destroyer Executor in the Battle of Endor.

One story holds that Piett left the Executor in reluctant obedience to a direct command that Lord Vader somehow managed to convey to him immediately before the ship's shield generator was destroyed. We have dismissed the idea that Piett would accede to such an order as absolutely contradictory to the Admiral's established character.

The more common belief is that Piett was removed from the battle by force. We have discounted the possibility that Piett could have been abducted from the Super Star Destroyer. The high level of security in force aboard Lord Vader's command ship, and the legendary loyalty of the Executor's crew to their commanding officer, rendered Piett virtually immune to violence from anyone other than Vader himself while aboard.

One disquieting fact, however, to which we had initially attached little significance, is that statements from several Imperial prisoners place Piett on the moon of Endor shortly before the Alliance Fleet emerged from hyperspace.

At approximately 0400 hours on the day of the battle, an Imperial patrol apprehended a Rebel spy in the undergrowth just outside the shield bunker. The commander of the patrol made an immediate report to Lord Vader, who replied that both he and the Admiral were leaving the Executor to question the prisoner personally.

At approximately 0415 hours, the controller of the bunker shuttle pad received confirmation from the Executor that Vader had ordered clearance for two shuttles of unknown provenance to land on Endor on a high-security mission. Both craft touched down minutes later and disgorged a band of eight Noghri commandoes and a humanoid figure concealed in a hooded cloak. The entire band proceeded directly to the front entrance of the bunker and disappeared into the forest.

At approximately 0430 hours, Admiral Piett, appearing none too pleased, followed Lord Vader down the ramp of a shuttle from Executor onto the landing pad on Endor. While Vader spoke alone with the prisoner, the Admiral, evidently uncomfortable in the cramped confines of the bunker, stepped outside and paced back and forth in front of the entrance. He was gazing upward, apparently studying the fading stars, as he strode out of sight.

At approximately 0445 hours, the sentry at the bunker entrance summoned a security patrol to investigate the sounds of a struggle in the nearby forest. As the patrol arrived at the entrance, the Admiral reappeared, curtly assured the assembled troopers that they had no cause for concern, and, without speaking to either the Rebel prisoner or Lord Vader, boarded a shuttle and returned to the Executor.

No sooner had the shuttle lifted off than the eight Noghri emerged from the forest. Three, severely injured, had to be carried by their comrades; two carried a body covered by a cloak. The Noghri returned to the landing pad, where Lord Vader awaited them. At a gesture from Vader, the two Noghri lowered the body carefully to the floor. Vader knelt beside the body, lifted the cloak from its face, and remained in contemplation for several minutes before gently replacing the cloak and rising to his feet. The Noghri carried the body to one of the remaining shuttles and departed. Vader watched the craft disappear from sight before wheeling to board the third shuttle, which would carry his son to the Death Star.

Whatever transpired on Endor, the Admiral was clearly not himself when he returned to the Executor. Several naval historians, citing Piett's unconcealed contempt for the adequacy of the Death Star's defenses and his clear realization that Vader's death would probably mean the end of his own career, have described his apparent complacency during the Battle of Endor as completely out of character, whatever his orders from the Emperor may have been. Those of us who compiled the initial Intelligence dossier on Admiral Piett are convinced that he would have braved a court martial or the wrath of Palpatine himself rather than hold position at the perimeter of the battle when he knew Vader to be in danger.

Information recently retrieved from the Imperial computer on Coruscant, and the discovery of the secret cloning facility on Wayland, support our working hypothesis that Admiral Piett was, in fact, not himself when he returned from Endor to the Executor. One computer file details the Emperor's plan for the replacement of particularly valuable officers in the event of battle casualties. The Admiral's name led the list of ten candidates selected by Palpatine himself for replication. The project team obtained genetic material from each of these elite subjects under various pretexts; a tissue sample from Admiral Piett was taken during shoulder surgery to restore mobility from an old war wound. Since all of the subjects were still viable at the time of Palpatine's death, the computer file indicates that no replication had yet taken place.

The Imperial computer files also reflect, however, that Vader, as the lone remaining witness to the attack on the first Death Star, was well aware of the hazards of the ultimate confrontation between the Imperial Navy and the Alliance Fleet, and repeatedly urged Palpatine to take measures to ensure the survival of the Empire. We suspect that, finding his advice unheeded, Vader took covert precautions to assure the succession of power in the event of his own death. Knowing that his son might not turn to the Dark Side, and as yet unaware of the existence of his daughter, Vader had but one logical heir, his competent and trusted second-in-command.

Shortly after construction began on the second Death Star, we received reports from some of our most reliable sources that Vader had left Coruscant on an unaccompanied voyage to Honoghr. We were able to trace his shuttle to the vicinity of Wayland before losing track of him for several days. In light of the mysterious events immediately preceding the Battle of Endor, as well as the inexplicable disappearance of Vader's vast personal fortune, it is difficult to escape the conclusion that the Dark Lord gained access, authorized or otherwise, to the Mount Tantiss facility; and arranged for a clone to take the Admiral's place aboard the doomed Executor, while the real Piett was forcibly removed to safety until the outcome of the battle was determined.

Although we are, as yet, unable to substantiate this theory, we need not expound on the danger to the Alliance if Admiral Piett is alive and active somewhere in the galaxy. We therefore request authorization to hold this investigation open.