Kiviett

Within the structure of the Galactic Empire, Kiviett held the dual roles of lieutenant and planetologist. He was part of the Empire's Survey Team IX3244-B, where he held the position of second-in-command, directly reporting to Captain Toss. Sometime between the Battle of Yavin in 0 BBY and 1 ABY, Imperial Survey Teams were given the task of identifying a location to construct the Empire's Death Star II battle station.

For the team's Mission 759/B, IX3244-B explored several planets before their survey frigate came across the Forest Moon of Endor. Orbital scans showed that Endor could support Human life. This, along with the moon's isolated location, made it seem suitable for construction. Darth Vader, the Dark Lord of the Sith, believed that none of Endor's native lifeforms posed a threat to the Empire's presence. Kiviett, on the other hand, thought a desolate, rocky planet with low gravity and a poisonous atmosphere would be preferable. This would eliminate the risk of intervention by indigenous sentients and prevent hostile Alliance to Restore the Republic commando operations. However, Toss and Vader did not seek Kiviett's input, as they felt no indigenous species posed a significant threat. They also believed it would be a waste of time to build life-support systems and domes for the shield generator construction site.

While IX3244-B's frigate stayed in Endor's orbit, further scans revealed numerous primitive life forms on the moon. Toss dispatched Kiviett and other team members to investigate. Kiviett overheard the captain making a holoreport expressing his belief that Endor was a great location for the shield generator before the team departed. After their shuttle landed, Kiviett and the others tried to reach Bright Tree Village, the settlement of the native Ewoks. However, the Ewoks led them astray, confusing even the team's most skilled scouts. At one point, the sound of the Ewoks' drums startled the team members, who fired their weapons in an attempt to silence the music. After wandering for over two hours without getting within a kilometer of the Ewok village, Kiviett and the others quickly returned to the frigate.

Upon their return to the frigate, Kiviett reported that the creatures of Endor presented a potential problem that required further investigation. Toss, however, disregarded the report and rejected Kiviett's suggestion to apply forest camouflage to all Imperial vehicles and armor.

Due to the dissatisfaction of Emperor Palpatine with the superficial reports submitted by Kiviett's team, he assigned a second team, led by Sergeant Pfilbee Jhorn, to explore Endor. Jhorn, also unhappy with IX3244-B's reports, considered Kiviett and his team to be a disgrace to the Imperial Military for failing to mention the presence of dangers such as Gorax, condor dragons, and Sanyassan Marauders. However, Kiviett's report, which was ignored by Toss, did emphasize the need for further study of Endor's creatures.

In 4 ABY, Kiviett was still serving as second-in-command of IX3244-B when the Ewoks of the remote moon assisted the Alliance in defeating the Empire during the Battle of Endor. He was captured as a prisoner by the Alliance and shared his experiences with IX3244-B during the initial discovery of Endor with Alliance historian Voren Na'al. Kiviett also offered to join the Alliance as a planetologist. At a later time after the Battle of Endor, Na'al also interviewed Wicket Wystri Warrick, an Ewok, publishing the interview where the Ewok recounted his own personal experiences with Kiviett and IX3244-B's attempt to reach Bright Tree Village, along with later encounters with the Empire and defeating the Empire in the Battle of Endor.

Kiviett disagreed with Toss and Vader's assessment of Endor as a suitable site for the Death Star shield generator, but his opinion was never requested. He later found it amusing to recall that the sound of the Imperial shuttle landing on Endor was enough for the Ewoks to hear them, despite his and his team's attempts to remain undetected. As a planetologist, Kiviett set his blaster to the stun setting and instructed the [stormtroopers](/article/stormtrooper-legends] accompanying him to do the same. He also noted the irony of his group, consisting of three men in light armor and two stormtroopers, being unable to approach within a kilometer of the primitive Ewoks' village.

After retreating to the shuttle, Kiviett's embarrassment was only intensified by Toss's laughter. He saw Toss as a foolish and blind leader, believing that Toss ignored his concerns because he was eager to take credit for discovering the new Death Star construction site. Kiviett was not surprised by the Ewoks' role in the Empire's defeat. He believed the Empire was doomed, but also that it was a large and powerful entity and that the Alliance still had much to do before achieving complete victory. Ultimately, Kiviett offered his services to the Alliance as a planetologist, but requested to be kept away from the Ewoks.

Kiviett's character was conceived by author Michael Stern for "Imperial Scouting Party," a story published in 1990 as part of Galaxy Guide 5: Return of the Jedi. In that story, he serves as the in-universe narrator being interviewed by Voren Na'al. The IX3244-B team was also mentioned in "The Ewok Defenses," another narrative featured earlier in the same book.