Skirmish in the Crustai system

In 27 BBY a skirmish occurred between the Springhawk, a vessel of the Chiss Ascendancy's Picket Force Two, and a Vagaari plunder ship along with its two fighter escorts. The plunder ship made its way into the Crustai system on the edges of the Chiss Ascendancy and the Springhawk went to confront it. The Springhawk quickly destroyed the fighters and turned to the plunder ship. Chiss Force Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo, better known as Thrawn, then boarded the ship with his crew, secured the vessel, and found a large storage area full of treasure from various worlds. The plunder ship was transported back to the Crustai base where Dubrak Qennto, a smuggler and trader whose ship Thrawn had impounded, helped Thrawn take an inventory of the treasure on the ship.

Prelude
"He did a microjump.''" "Ridiculous, you can't hit the side of the Senate Building with a&hellip;" "I'd say he did a little better than hit the side of the Senate Building. Looks like he's right where he wants to be." "Terrific. I'm glad he'' wants to be here."

- Jorj Car'das and Dubrak Qennto, discussing Thrawn's microjump

In 27 BBY the Bargain Hunter, a light freighter captained by Dubrak Qennto, had been impounded by the Springhawk, a cruiser of the Chiss Ascendancy, under the commanded of Chiss Force Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo, better known as Thrawn, of the Chiss Ascendancy's Picket Force Two. Dubrak Qennto and his smuggler crew, Maris Ferasi and Jorj Car'das, had been taken onto the Springhawk and given quarters. Ferasi and Car'das had started teaching Thrawn Basic in exchange for him teaching them Cheunh, the native language of the Chiss. It had also been agreed that he would give them some additional payment.

After impounding the Bargain Hunter, the Springhawk was on its way back to the Crustai base, the base of Picket Force Two. Qennto, Ferasi, and Car'das were standing at the back of the Springhawk's bridge when Thrawn came over to them and pointed out an asteroid which, he explained, was the Crustai base where they would land. While they were talking, Thrawn was called away. Almost immediately after he left, the Springhawk jumped into hyperspace and preformed a micro-jump lasting less than a minute.

The skirmish
"I merely noticed that in both of their attacks a laser salvo preceded their missiles in a distinct and predictable pattern. When they launched their third attack, I was able to fire back just as the tubes' protective doors opened, detonating the missiles before they could be launched. Fighters that size never have sufficient armor to withstand that sort of internal blast."

- Thrawn, describing how he destroyed two Vagaari fighters

As the Springhawk returned to realspace, two small ships, Vagaari fighters, flew past the viewport shooting laserfire and missiles. The Vagaari were pirates that Thrawn knew only by reputation because they had never before entered Chiss space. The fighters quit firing as they flew out of optimum firing range, but they soon came back around for another pass, this time one on each side of the Springhawk. The Springhawk weapons returned fire, hitting the port from which the fighter's missiles were just about to launch, detonating the missiles before they were ejected and exploding the fighters.

The Springhawk then turned to a larger plunder ship that had been hiding in the background. The Vagaari ship fired four salvos of missiles which the Chiss vaporized in midflight, but the plunder ship could not get away because when it had first arrived a Chiss sentry had disabled its hyperdrive. Thawn informed Qennto, Ferasi, and Car'das that he was going to board the ship with his warriors and told them that they could return to their quarters. Even though the bridge crew did not board with the others, they helped them by tracking the Vagaari combatants with the Springhawk sensors and informing the boarders where they were.

Aftermath
"A treasure vessel, carrying the plunder of many worlds. They were not only slavers, but pirates and raiders as well.''" "You sound like you already know these people." "Only by reputation. At least, up until now." "You've been hunting them?" "''Of course not, The Vagaari have made no move against the Chiss Ascendancy. We therefore have no reason to hunt them."

- Thrawn and Car'das, upon entering the Vagaari plunder ship's treasure room

The Chiss had secured the vessel within an hour, and two hours after that, Qennto, Ferasi, and Car'das were called to board the ship. They were led through the dead bodies and other carnage to Thrawn. Thrawn told them who the intruders were, explaining that they were slavers and pirates. He led them into a storage room filled with treasure of all kinds: ingots, coins, gems, and bins and cabinets filled with various things, and many pieces of artwork. Thrawn had the vessel towed back to the Crustai base for further study.

Later, Admiral Ar'alani arrived with Thrawn's brother, Mitth'ras'safis. Ar'alani believed that Thrawn should not have attacked the Vagaari because they had not yet done any harm to the Chiss Ascendancy itself, although they had attacked and enslaved many other species. Thrawn transported her, his brother, Car'das, and Ferasi to the Vagaari plunder ship. When they arrived, Thrawn took them on a tour of the ship. The Admiral was surprised to see Qennto in the treasure room and demanded to know what he was doing there. Thrawn explained that he was taking an inventory of the treasure and was choosing what he would like to take with him as payment. Ar'alani chose to stay and take an inventory herself while Thrawn tended to some "administrative matters."

Behind the scenes
The Skirmish in the Crustai system was described in Outbound Flight by Timothy Zahn which was released in 2006, but it was not given a name in the novel.

Appearances

 * ''Outbound Flight