- "This primitive alien just wrecked our entire task force. And unless I missed it, he didn't lose a single ship of his in the process."
- ―Kinman Doriana
The destruction Special Task Force One was a battle between Force Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo's Picket Force Two and Special Task Force One. It was one of the earliest battles that showed Thrawn's superior tactical abilities, as Special Task Force One was completely destroyed, with the exception of the flagship Darkvenge, because it was intentionally left intact.
Background[]
- "Outbound Flight is on its way, Lord Sidious. I have Vicelord Kav aboard, and will be heading for the rendezvous within the hour."
"Excellent. And you know precisely where in the Unknown Regions Outbound Flight will be stopping?"
"Yes, my lord. Captain Pakmillu has two separate navigational checks planned for the first eight hundred light-years beyond Republic space. I have the coordinates of both."
"Be sure you take the first one. It may be that C'baoth in his impatience will order the second to be canceled." - ―Kinman Doriana and Darth Sidious

Force Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo
When Outbound Flight launched from Yaga Minor with 18 Jedi aboard, Darth Sidious ordered the Trade Federation to destroy it in the Unknown Regions. Kinman Doriana, taking the alias "Stratis," and Vicelord Siv Kav assembled 15 Trade Federation warships—two Lucrehulk-class battleships, six armed Hardcell-class transports, and seven Trade Federation escort cruisers—to intercept Outbound Flight. They stopped in the Unknown Regions star system where Outbound Flight was supposed to make a navigational stop.[1]
Meanwhile, they were detected by one of patrol ships of Picket Force Two of the Chiss Expansionary Fleet. Force Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo, core name "Thrawn," brought Jorj Car'das with him, who identified the ships as belonging to the Trade Federation. Thrawn decided to communicate with the Darkvenge, in order to discover their intentions. Although Doriana was willing to talk, Vicelord Kav impatiently decided to attack.[1]
The battle[]
- "On one side were handpicked units of Palpatine's own private army, equipped with fifteen top-line combat ships. On the other side were Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo of the Chiss Expansionary Defense and perhaps twelve small and insignificant border patrol ships."
"How badly did Thrawn slaughter them?"
"Utterly." - ―Voss Parck and Mara Jade
The Keeper launched half of its droid starfighters, and sent three groups to attack Picket Force Two, with the rest forming a defensive screen. After learning that the droids had a limited range due to their reliance on computer control, Thrawn had his ships pull back, while moving the Whirlwind to another edge of the battlezone. The droid starfighters were soon out of range, and retreated. Thrawn then had one of his fighters repeatedly move into range and out again. Although this maneuver appeared simple to Vicelord Kav, it was really designed for the purpose of identifying the signal controlling the droid starfighters. Once this happened, Thrawn's force moved back into range. They broadcast a modified signal to the droids, which caused them to fly aimlessly into deep space. Picket Force Two, having eliminated the first three groups of fighters, began their attack in earnest.[1]

The Keeper and Darkvenge were Lucrehulk-class battleships (an example Lucrehulk pictured) that engaged in battle with Thrawn's forces.
Once close enough to the main defensive screen, the Chiss ships launched conner nets at the droid starfighters, effectively knocking nine more groups out of action. Vicelord Kav responded by beginning to launch the Keeper's remaining fighters. Before they could launch, however, Thrawn initiated full spectrum jamming, thus disabling communication with the fighters. The Chiss blasted the helpless fighters, not only destroying them, but causing debris to block the laser communications that the Darkvenge was using to restart the fighters. The other capital ships in the task force began to attack at this time.[1]
The Hardcell-class transports launched their missiles at the Chiss ships, but they simply launched more conner nets to disable the missiles and cause them to hit the other Hardcells. Discovering a weakness, the Chiss quickly eliminated the remaining Hardcells, and moved on to the escort cruisers, destroying them as well. Meanwhile, the Darkvenge tried to retreat, but found itself unable to jump into hyperspace due to the gravity well projector inside the Whirlwind, which remained to the side of the battle. At this time, the Keeper exploded, as the un-launched and disabled droid starfighters self-destructed inside the launch bay. With only the Darkvenge remaining, Doriana and Vicelord Kav surrendered and allowed Thrawn to board the ship.[1]
Aftermath[]
- "Listen to me. We've failed our mission. Even if Mitth'raw'nuruodo turned tail right now and left us in peace, there's no way in the universe our single battleship could take on Outbound Flight's six Dreadnaughts. We would have no choice but to return to the Republic and face Darth Sidious's anger … and I can assure you that you would wish you had died today, torn apart in agony by the Chiss fighters. Unless."
"Unless?"
"Unless, we can persuade Mitth'raw'nuruodo to destroy Outbound Flight for us." - ―Kinman Doriana and Siv Kav
Special Task Force One was completely destroyed, except for the Darkvenge, which Thrawn wanted to analyze. Kinman Doriana realized that he had to convince Thrawn to destroy Outbound Flight for him, or Darth Sidious would kill him. This led to a communication between Thrawn and Sidious,[1] beginning Thrawn's future service in the Imperial Navy.[3]
Appearances[]
- Outbound Flight (and unabridged audiobook) (First appearance, in book)
- Outbound Flight abridged audiobook
- Vision of the Future (and unabridged audiobook) (First mentioned, in book)
- Vision of the Future abridged audiobook
Sources[]
- The Essential Chronology
"The University of Sanbra Guide to Intelligent Life: The Chiss" — Star Wars Gamer 5
- The New Essential Chronology
- The Essential Atlas
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 1.32 1.33 1.34 1.35 Outbound Flight
- ↑ The Essential Reader's Companion dates the events of Outbound Flight to 27 BBY.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Vision of the Future