Diplomatic travel to the discovered remains of Outbound Flight, which had vanished into the Redoubt approximately fifty years prior to being found again, was arranged by the Chiss. Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano of the Fifth Ruling Family headed the expedition aboard his ship, the Chaf Envoy. Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, his wife Mara Jade Skywalker, and mechanic Dean Jinzler (disguised as a New Republic diplomat) represented the New Republic on this journey. Furthermore, Unit Aurek-Seven of the 501st Legion from the Empire of the Hand accompanied them, along with a band of aliens identifying as Geroon, who were actually Vagaari intending to destroy the Chiss.
The Galactic Republic launched the Outbound Flight Project in 27 BBY with the goal of establishing colonies on planets within the Unknown Regions. While still within the Unknown Regions, Force Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo of the Chiss Expansionary Fleet intercepted and destroyed the ship. Following the battle, the severely damaged vessel struggled to reach a star cluster known as the Redoubt by the Chiss, where it ultimately crashed on a small planetoid.
A Chiss patrol charting the Redoubt discovered the planetoid that held the final resting place of the Outbound Flight fifty years after its disappearance. After scanning the wreckage and realizing the significance of their find, the Chiss contacted the Empire of the Hand—a breakaway faction of the Galactic Empire founded by Mitth'raw'nuruodo, known as Thrawn within the Empire—requesting them to relay a message to the New Republic and the New Jedi Order to ask for their participation in the Chiss's planned expedition to further examine the ancient vessel.
Admiral Voss Parck, the acting leader of the Empire of the Hand, passed the Chiss communication on to Jedi Master Luke Skywalker and his wife Mara Jade Skywalker, with whom he had previously been in contact a few years prior. Before the message reached the Jedi, Dean Jinzler, an associate of Jade Skywalker's friend, the information broker Talon Karrde, intercepted it. Jinzler's sister, Lorana, had perished on the Outbound Flight, and upon hearing of the ship's rediscovery, Jinzler was determined to visit it.
The expedition assembled in the Crustai system, where the participants boarded the Chaf Envoy, a ship under the command of Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano of the Fifth Ruling Family and General Prard'ras'kleoni of the Chiss Defense Fleet. Besides the two Jedi and Jinzler, a group of stormtroopers from the Empire of the Hand, along with several aliens who identified themselves as Geroon, joined the group. However, the Geroon were imposters, and were actually a species known as the Vagaari, who had long held animosity towards the Chiss, but had not yet engaged in overt aggression against the Ascendancy.