The Chiss Defense Fleet was one of the internal defense fleets of the Chiss Ascendancy's Expansionary Defense Fleet, that along with the Household and Colonial Phalanxes, was charged with repelling aggressive incursions and considering long-term strategic concerns.
At some point by 27 BBY, a Chiss force of the Defense Fleet commanded by Admiral Ar'alani participated in the battle against a small reconnaissance force of the Yuuzhan Vong fleet, in which the Chiss were victorious.
In case of an enemy invasion, the Defense Fleet in earnest began to fortify a star cluster known as the Redoubt as an emergency refuge in 27 BBY. The Defense Fleet personnel built fortifications known as the firepoints and scattered war vessels throughout the cluster.
Both the Expansionary Fleet and the Defense Fleet wore specialized black Defense Fleet uniforms. The black color of the uniform signified that the Defense Fleet recruited its members from all of the Chiss families. When a Chiss warrior was accepted into the Defense Fleet, they were made a merit adoptive of a Chiss family.
Chiss officers were required to prove themselves similar to how the Ruling Families selected merit adoptives to be taken into the Defense Hierarchy. Upon promotion to a senior officer in the Defense Fleet, the officer was stripped of family name and privilege and made part of the Hierarchy in order that they may serve all Chiss without deference or prejudice. The Corellian smuggler Jorj Car'das incorrectly believed that the reason Admiral Ar'alani wore a white uniform was because she was connected to the Defense Fleet instead of the Expansionary Fleet.
Unlike the starships of the Expansionary Fleet which were equipped with more powerful transmitters, the Defense Fleet vessels relied on a colony system's network of boosters and repeaters, and were equipped with lesser transmitters.
The Chiss Defense Fleet first appeared in the 2004 Star Wars novel Survivor's Quest, written by Timothy Zahn. The 2006 novel Outbound Flight, also written by Zahn, established the Chiss Defense Fleet as a distinct organization.
There is a discrepancy regarding the senior officers of the Chiss Defense Fleet. General Prard'ras'kleoni retains his family name in the Survivor's Quest, but the Outbound Flight establishes that senior officers of the Defense Fleet were stripped of their family names and were made part of the Defense Hierarchy. This article assumes Prard'ras'kleoni hasn't proven himself, and thus wasn't made part of the Hierarchy, despite the fact that he's a senior officer in the Defense Fleet.
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