The Steadfast was a Chiss warship that glistened with lights and was covered in weaponry, including flankside weapons. Steadfast was smaller than a Star Destroyer but was considered to be a formidable opponent against one.
The Steadfast was equipped with an analysis station and a bridge, along with an intercom system. It was also equipped with a hyperdrive. The navigation ready room was halfway between the analysis station and the bridge, which were connected by corridors. As a standard, the compartment doors were rimmed with green and blue colors, although the navigation ready room had a double-red-rimmed door which slides open.
The Steadfast could have a hard shutdown mode which shut off the unnecessary power use and all emissions, including active sensors. Hard shutdown was a stage below dark stealth mode.
The Steadfast was active during the Imperial Era and was under the command of Admiral Ar'alani of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet of the Chiss Ascendancy. After the Batonn insurgency, Chiss Imperial Grand Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo dispatched one of his subordinates, Commander Eli Vanto of the Imperial Navy, to rendezvous with the Steadfast so that he could join the Chiss Ascendancy. Immediately after reaching the ship, Commander Vanto was inducted into the Chiss Defense Fleet and demoted to the rank of lieutenant. He subsequently was given an intensive course in the main Chiss language, Cheunh. Instead of being given a command role, Lieutenant Vanto was placed in the analysis department, and as such, was responsible for making predictions, searching for patterns, and going through data. Eventually, the Steadfast was involved in a brutal skirmish with military forces of the Grysk Hegemony and their allies, which paved the way for several unsettling days.
After the climax of the Imperial–Grysk conflict in the Unknown Regions, the Steadfast returned Force-sensitive female Chiss children after the Grysks had kidnapped them. Around one year after Eli Vanto had joined the Chiss Ascendency, Admiral Ar'alani placed the Steadfast into a hard shutdown three hours after arriving at a star system in Imperial territory to avoid detection while tracking another starship from the Unknown Regions, and was there for a week hiding in an asteroid belt. At that time, Lieutenant Vanto was summoned to the bridge.
The Steadfast also participated in the Skirmish with Grysk warships, it sustained light damage but was successful with the aid of 12 Imperial Tie Defenders in destroying both Grysk warships and stopping the Grysks from reporting home.
Many personnel aboard the Steadfast spoke Sy Bisti, and the ship was commanded by Admiral Ar'alani. The First Officer of the Steadfast was Senior Captain Khresh, and was maintained by other officers including Lieutenant Eli Vanto and Junior Commander Velbb along with other crew members. The Steadfast was also crewed by five ozyly-esehembos, including navigator Vah'nya.
- Star Wars: Timelines