Picket Force Six, a component of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet, found itself in combat with the Nikardun Destiny. This engagement was part of the Mission to the Vak Combine, with the objective of eradicating the remaining Nikardun forces. This confrontation occurred some months following the defeat and capture of Yiv the Benevolent. This mission was a component of the broader Nikardun campaigns, a string of engagements aimed at removing the last vestiges of the Nikardun Destiny from regions of the Chaos near Chiss and allied territories.
The Chiss Ascendancy earned the gratitude of the Vak for their assistance in liberating their homeworld of Primea from the Nikardun Destiny during the battle over Primea. Consequently, the Vak requested aid from the Chiss to eliminate Nikardun remnants within their space. While the Chiss Syndicure would typically oppose such intervention due to the Ascendancy's non-intervention policy, they were sufficiently persuaded of the threat posed by the Nikardun remnants to permit the Expansionary Defense Fleet to make an exception to that policy.
Near a minor moon, Admiral Ar'alani and Picket Force Six confronted the Nikardun forces. Ar'alani considered the Nikardun's continued resistance to be a futile act of desperation, with no possibility of success. As she predicted, Picket Force Six easily overwhelmed the Nikardun forces, resulting in the destruction of all Nikardun vessels.
Following the battle, Admiral Ar'alani dispatched Lakinda aboard her ship, the Grayshrike, with orders to deliver a message to Thrawn on the Springhawk, summoning them back to Csilla. Lakinda located Thrawn and the Springhawk above the Magys' homeworld and assisted in defending the Springhawk from attacking ships. Subsequently, Lakinda and Thrawn journeyed back to Csilla together.
The battle against Nikardun forces is used as the introductory chapter of the 2021 novel Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good. It functions as a narrative device to introduce the main characters to the Nikardun campaigns and to connect the events with those of Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising, the prequel novel to Greater Good.