Following the Battle of Hoth in the midst of the Galactic Civil War, Commander Ellian Zahra took command of an assault group, known as Hunter Fleet. This fleet was made up of her primary fighting force and a secondary strike force operating as a separate unit. Zahra and her fleet received orders to eliminate the Alliance Navy belonging to the Rebel Alliance. Not long after the Duel on Cloud City, Zahra and her assault group successfully located Fourth Division, while, at the same time, the secondary strike force attacked the Eighth Division close to Malastare, utilizing an interdictor ship.
Zahra's other units annihilated Eighth Division, but Fourth Division, aided by the timely arrival of the Millennium Falcon, escaped the Battle at Rendezvous Point Delta-Three with only ten percent losses. After successfully finding Fourth Division as well as the Seventh Division, Commander Zahra initially gave the order for her fleet's secondary strike force to engage Seventh Division, even though they were closer to Fourth. Following input from Lieutenant Gorr, Zahra changed her mind and directed the secondary strike force to attack Fourth Division. However, by the time the strike force reached their destination, Fourth Division had already departed and was heading towards Seventh Division, which was currently under attack by Zahra and her main assault force.