Attack on the Paataatus

The Paataatus were an Unknown Regions species whose territory was near the Chiss Ascendancy, against whom they sometimes clashed. The Grysk Hegemony, an expansionist empire, directed their client empire the Nikardun Destiny to encircle the Ascendancy. At the Grysks' behest, the Destiny, led by General Yiv, conquered the Paataatus Hiveborn, an act the Paataatus resented.

Around 19 BBY, the Nikardun massacred a group of Paccosh refugees in the Ascendancy's peripheral Dioya system, and ordered the Paataatus to attack the Ascendancy's capital planet of Csilla to distract the Chiss from the massacre. The attack infuriated the Ascendancy's ruling Syndicure, as Csilla had not been attacked for decades. The ruling Syndics demanded the Chiss Defense Force promptly ascertain their attackers' identities and retaliate. One Syndic suggested the Paataatus were the attackers, and as such the Expansionary Defense Fleet should strike back.

Supreme General Ba'kif considered the question of why Csilla had been attacked more interesting than who had attacked it, but kept such thoughts to himself and Senior Captain Mitth'raw'nuruodo, known as "Thrawn." Neither Ba'kif nor Thrawn were convinced of the Paataatus' responsibility for the attack on Csilla. Nonetheless, the Paataatus had recently conducted raids in Chiss territory. Ba'kif agreed the Paataatus must be punished lest other factions come to believe they could attack the Ascendancy with impunity.

Thrawn had once commanded the Chiss heavy cruiser Springhawk, but the Defense Hierarchy Council revoked his command in the aftermath of Thrawn's unauthorized combat in the Vagaari pirate operations. Command had been given to Mid Captain Ufsa'mak'ro, but Ba'kif restored Thrawn's command, making Samakro Thrawn's first officer.

Admiral Ar'alani led an attack on the Paataatus' homeworld, Nettehi. Ar'alani's Picket Force Six performed the attack, led by her Nightdragon man-of-war, Vigilant, and joined Thrawn's Springhawk and five other Chiss heavy cruisers.

To the confusion of the Picket Force's officers, the Paataatus military was highly prepared for a Chiss attack, mounting a strong defense that included at least fifty Paataatus fighters. The Paataatus had a swarm mentality, and their starfighter tactics involved spreading over a wide area and picking off weakest enemies first. Senior Captain Thrawn understood Paataatus tactics and knew the Chiss were less effective at targeting spread-out enemies than tightly-clustered foes. Admiral Ar'alani ordered the Picket Force to remain in formation, but Thrawn disobeyed her order; breaking off, feigning severe damage to the Springhawk, and drawing the Paataatus fighters into a tight cluster targeting his ship. Thrawn's feint gave the rest of the Picket Force time to regroup and counterattack, tipping the battle's scales and leading to a Chiss victory. Picket Force Six destroyed most defending Paataatus fighters.

The Chiss later discovered that the Paataatus had known the Ascendancy's optimal attack vector. After a prior conflict, a Chiss emissary had pointed towards Chiss space and warned Paataatus officials about the next time they see Chiss forces coming "from those stars." Among all the commanding officers of the Chiss warships, only Thrawn was aware of that critical information.

Six days after the attack, the Aristocra called a tribunal over Thrawn's disobedience of Admiral Ar'alani's order. Ar'alani believed the Aristocra would have pressed charges against Thrawn for insubordination if his actions had not led to victory. Even so, and despite the Defense Hierarchy Council vindicating him, Thrawn's political enemies among the Aristocra saw the incident as a chance to attack him.

Thrawn was absent from the tribunal as Ba'kif sent him on a mission. Ar'alani and her second-in-command, Senior Captain Kiwu'tro'owmis "Wutroow," were questioned by Syndics on Csilla regarding Thrawn's disobedience. Wutroow testified that Thrawn's actions were necessary and proper. She recounted the diplomat who had warned the Paataatus of the Chiss' optimal angle-of-attack and testified that only Thrawn had realized and saved the day by adapting.

Between the Urch incident and the Primea diplomatic reception, Thrawn showed Caregiver Thalias a map of the Unknown Regions. Thrawn highlighted nations on the Ascendancy's borders whose behavior toward the Chiss had markedly changed recently. Thrawn surmised that the Nikardun Destiny sought to encircle the Ascendancy, conquering neighboring civilizations so that the Chiss could not engage in hostilities. Indeed, the Grysks had directed Yiv to encircle the Ascendancy to facilitate an invasion.

Thalias suggested the Defense Force could deal with Yiv as they had the Paataatus. Thrawn replied that Paataatus culture indicated the Paataatus would not attack any Chiss for a generation. However, reports from Naporar—the planet where most Expansionary Defense Fleet operations were based—indicated the Paataatus were already rearming for more attacks. Consequently, Thrawn concluded that Yiv had conquered the Paataatus.

The next year, Thrawn's forces returned to the space above Nettehi searching for pirates and liberated the planet from Nikardun remnants. The Chiss and Paataatus were thus no longer adversaries, but allies. According to Syndic Prime Mitth'urf'ianico, the Ascendancy's diplomatic corps did not know whether to be furious or "salivate" over the breakthrough in Chiss-Paataatus relations. Grateful for Chiss assistance liberating Nettehi, and the data on the Kilji battle fleet, the Illumine Kilhorde, the Hiveborn's military eliminated the Kilhorde after it moved across the space between Ascendancy and Paataatus territory.

The attack on the Paataatus first appeared in Timothy Zahn's 2020 novel Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising, the first installment in Star Wars: The Ascendancy Trilogy. The attack is misspelled as "attack on the Paataasus" in the novel.

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