Ar'alani's inspection group

After the Trade Federation's Special Task Force One suffered destruction, Force Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo, known as "Thrawn" (core name), from the Chiss Expansionary Fleet, received orders to return to the Crustai asteroid base to rendezvous with Admiral Ar'alani of the Chiss Defense Fleet. She sent him on a patrol of nearby systems under the guise of a security sweep, while she seemingly investigated his recent act of aggression.

At the asteroid base, the Corellian smuggler Jorj Car'das eventually sought out Thrawn, but instead encountered Syndic Mitth'ras'safis, whose core name was "Thrass," of the Eighth Ruling Family. Thrass escorted Car'das to Admiral Ar'alani's quarters, situated on the upper level of the base, where she commenced questioning Car'das about the recent incident involving the Trade Federation ships. Car'das attempted to delay Ar'alani by asserting that Thrawn's actions were within the bounds of the Expansionary Fleet's charter and were purely defensive. Ar'alani inquired whether the enemy had initiated a preemptive strike, to which Car'das responded that the very act of launching droid starfighters constituted an act of aggression. Although Car'das feigned ignorance of the battle's location, Ar'alani revealed that she possessed a data cylinder containing the past two months' navigational data from Thrawn's Chiss attack cruiser Springhawk, which included the coordinates of the Trade Federation battle zone. Ar'alani then recruited Car'das, who reluctantly accepted, feeling he had no alternative. With the inspection group now complete, they journeyed to the battle zone where Thrawn had annihilated the Trade Federation task force.

At the Trade Federation battle zone, Admiral Ar'alani, accompanied by Thrass and Car'das, examined the wreckage. Car'das was relieved to find that the Lucrehulk-class battleship Darkvenge was absent. By analyzing the debris field, Ar'alani determined that Thrawn had destroyed either thirteen or fourteen vessels. After Car'das explained the concept of droids, Ar'alani found no proof that Trade Federation droid starfighters had initiated the attack. Car'das attempted to persuade Thrass and Ar'alani that Thrawn's actions against the Trade Federation were justified, reiterating his earlier argument about the starfighters. However, he worried about the potential consequences for himself and his companions if the Admiral decided to press charges against the Commander. The inspection group returned to the Crustai asteroid base approximately two hours before Thrawn's return from the inspection tour that Ar'alani had assigned him.

Timothy Zahn's 2006 novel, Outbound Flight, marked the first appearance of Ar'alani's inspection group.