Lioaoin pirate campaign

The Lioaoin Regime's economy experienced a downturn, which led the Regime to resort to privateering as a means of survival. Consequently, Lioaoin pirates posed a significant threat to trade, commerce, and diplomatic relations within the Unknown Regions situated near Lioaoin space. These pirates launched attacks against both civilian and military targets belonging to various factions within the Chaos, including the Chiss and the Garwians. The Chiss Ascendancy grew increasingly concerned and aimed to suppress these pirate attacks, but lacked definitive proof of who was orchestrating them.

Sometime following his cheating allegation and subsequent graduation from the Taharim Academy, Junior Commander Mitth'raw'nuru was assigned as a pilot within the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet. In this role, he served as the pilot for a Chiss diplomatic mission directed towards Bardram Scoft, the homeworld of the Scofti species. Qilori of Uandualon, a Pathfinder belonging to the Navigators' Guild, navigated this voyage.

During this mission, Thrawn observed Lioaoi vessels that, in his artistic perception, bore resemblance to the pirate ships that had been targeting the Ascendancy. He inquired with Qilori about the nation represented by these vessels. The Pathfinder verified their Lioaoin origin, prompting Thrawn to deduce that Qilori possessed more information than he had disclosed regarding the Lioaoin Regime's involvement with piracy. Subsequently, he initiated further investigation into the Pathfinders and their capabilities, ultimately uncovering their covert ability to track one another through hyperspace.

Later, Junior Commander Thrawn harbored suspicions that the Lioaoin Regime was sponsoring the pirates, although he couldn't substantiate this claim. Consequently, the Chiss non-aggression protocols forbade any retaliatory actions against the Lioaoin government. He once more enlisted Qilori to guide a convoy comprising three Chiss ships towards the Lioaoin heartworld. Upon reaching the Lioaoin heartworld, Thrawn intentionally announced in a trade language comprehensible to the Lioaoi that he had located the pirates, ensuring they were aware of his pirate-hunting intentions.

Thrawn was cognizant of the Pathfinders' hyperspace tracking ability, a closely guarded secret. He leveraged this knowledge to engage the Lioaoin pirates without contravening the Ascendancy's preemptive-strike regulations. His specific reason for hiring a Pathfinder navigator stemmed from his recognition, based on the "style" of Lioaoin pirate attacks, that the pirates relied on Pathfinders for navigation.

He and Qilori executed a hyperspace jump to Kinoss, where four Lioaoin corsairs guided by Pathfinders promptly pursued them, intent on attacking the ostensibly fleeing Chiss. This aligned with Thrawn's strategy, as he laid a trap at Kinoss. A Chiss warship, under the command of Mid Captain Irizi'ar'alani (Ziara), materialized amidst the Lioaoin corsairs, resulting in their destruction.

Had Thrawn been mistaken and the pirates had not pursued them through hyperspace, no harm would have ensued, as Thrawn had been piloting an unarmed freighter. However, the pirates tracked him and launched an assault against the Chiss within the Ascendancy's borders, thereby authorizing the Chiss Defense Force to engage them. As a consequence of his accomplishment at Kinoss, General Ba'kif elevated Thrawn's rank by two levels, bypassing Mid Commander and directly conferring the rank of Senior Commander. Ba'kif also promoted Ziara to Senior Captain in recognition of her contribution to the mission.

The following year, Senior Captain Ziara's patrol cruiser, the Parala, intercepted a distress signal originating from the Garwian colony world of Stivic, which was under assault by Lioaoin pirates. Senior Commander Thrawn urged Ziara to intervene, but the Ascendancy's policy of non-interference prohibited the Chiss from engaging the Lioaoins, even to assist in the Garwians' defense. Nevertheless, a component of the Expansionary Defense Fleet's mission entailed the discovery, assessment, and observation of external threats to the Ascendancy. Therefore, the Parala received authorization to observe the attack (and would be permitted to provide humanitarian aid in its aftermath).

Ar'alani consented to observe the Lioaoin assault on Stivic, and the Parala emerged from hyperspace above the planet. Thrawn, driven by a desire to defend the Garwians despite the non-aggression protocols, asserted that he could instruct Ziara on how to defeat the pirates without incurring any damage to the Parala. Ziara forbade Thrawn from directly engaging the Lioaoi but permitted him to "calibrate" the Parala's ranging lasers, an action that was unnecessary. Thrawn capitalized on this opportunity to transmit a message to the Garwians via modulated laserfire, conveying information about the attacking corsairs' vulnerabilities. As a result, the battle's momentum shifted, and the Garwians destroyed three of their four adversaries.

After the Stivic incident, Ziara was promoted to the flag rank of commodore, which meant she was no longer a member of the Irizi family. The governing Ruleri council of the Garwian Unity extended an invitation to Commodore Ar'alani and Senior Commander Thrawn to visit the Garwian homeworld of Solitair for a personal expression of gratitude and honor. Unbeknownst to Thrawn and Ar'alani, the Lioaoin Regime had planned to dispatch diplomats to Solitair to negotiate the Regime's surrender to the Garwian Unity.

Upon the Lioaoi's arrival, the Garwians feigned an attack. Security Chief Frangelic hastily escorted his Chiss guests to a war room located within the Solitair planetary security center. There, the Garwian military officers implored Thrawn to assist in their "defense." In reality, the Garwians were jamming the Chiss' communications with the Chiss heavy cruiser Destrama to perpetuate the illusion that Solitair was under attack. Ar'alani uncovered this deception, and Thrawn demanded that the Garwians cease the jamming. Once the jamming was lifted, it became evident that the Lioaoi had arrived to surrender, but the Garwians attacked them with the intention of conquering parts of Lioaoin space. The Chiss, enraged by their hosts' manipulation, warned the Garwians to hope they never encounter the Chiss again.

Later, Thrawn would be promoted to Senior Captain and lead the Vagaari pirate operations. Syndics Irizi'stal'mustro "Zistalmu" and Mitth'urf'ianico "Thurfian" remembered the Vagaari pirate operations as successful from a military perspective, but politically catastrophic.

The Lioaoin pirate campaign was depicted in various flashbacks within the 2020 novel Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising authored by Timothy Zahn. These flashbacks served to provide context for the novel's central events and to illuminate the personalities and histories of different characters.