The legal framework known as the Command Articles, also designated as the Expansionary Defense Fleet's charter, consisted of a series of regulations governing both the Chiss Ascendancy and the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet. At the heart of these Articles was the mandate to explore far-off territories beyond the Ascendancy's borders and to seek out any possible dangers to the Chiss species. These Articles granted a Chiss commander the authority to board vessels of alien origin, such as a starship.
Following the first skirmish that occurred over the planet "Sunrise" against the HopeBreaker, Senior Captain Mitth'raw'nuruodo, whose core name was "Thrawn," inquired of Supreme General Ba'kif if the Grayshrike would be redeployed to further investigate Sunrise and the hostile force that had engaged the Chiss forces stationed there. Ba'kif responded that the Chiss Syndicure along with the Defense Hierarchy Council were hesitant to commit a major warship to such a distant location, far from the Ascendancy's core territories. Thrawn leveraged the fact that the exploration of territories beyond the Ascendancy was a cornerstone of the Expansionary Defense Fleet's charter to successfully persuade the Supreme General. Ba'kif then cautioned Thrawn, reminding him that his "enthusiasm" in both identifying and confronting General Yiv had prompted some of the Aristocra to reassess their opinions of him. Thrawn, in turn, deemed their revised assessment to be without merit.
The Articles did not prohibit a Chiss commander from gaining access to a foreign starship, a point that Grand Admiral Thrawn attempted to use to convince Admiral Ar'alani to accompany the navigator Vah'nya onto the Imperial Star Destroyer known as the Chimaera.