During the Bacta War, the Ashern commandos, along with their allies, initiated an infiltration, known as a raid, of the Dlarit estate. This operation targeted the Thyferran Home Defense Corps on Thyferra in 7 ABY. Elscol Loro, a mercenary, and her anti-Empire mercenary organization conceived and executed this plan. The purpose was to undermine the Imperial-backed regime of the Xucphra Corporation on the planet.
Initially, Loro, whose group aided resistance movements in toppling Imperial governments, intended to infiltrate the Dlarit estate and assassinate General Aerin Dlarit of the Defense Corps, aiming to instill fear in Xucphra Corporation's allies. However, Iella Wessiri, Loro's associate, raised ethical concerns and persuaded Loro that publicly humiliating Dlarit would be not only more humane but also more effective as propaganda. Loro and her partner, Sixtus Quin, successfully executed the nighttime raid by exploiting a vulnerability in the security sensor systems surrounding the estate.
While two Thyferran Home Defense Corps guards were killed during the infiltration, Loro's team sustained no losses. The mercenaries stunned Dlarit, undressed him, and captured hologram images of him in his personal office. These images were then rapidly disseminated to shame the Xucphran Corporation and the Defense Corps. The raid achieved the precise outcome Loro and Wessiri had foreseen, causing significant embarrassment for the Defense Corps in the eyes of both the Thyferran populace and their Imperial supporters.
Shortly after the New Republic seized control of Coruscant, the Imperial capital, Ysanne Isard, the Director of Imperial Intelligence, deployed her forces to Thyferra. This planet was the primary source of bacta in the galaxy. The New Republic desperately needed bacta and rylca to combat the Krytos virus, a devastating disease Isard had unleashed on Coruscant before her departure. Isard believed that by securing Thyferra's bacta supply, she could ensure the virus would cripple Coruscant and destroy the New Republic. To this end, she supported a revolution on Thyferra, placing the Xucphra Corporation in control of the bacta cartel and installing herself as Chief Operating Officer and Head of State of the planet.
Due to the revolution being considered an internal Thyferran affair, the New Republic Provisional Council couldn't authorize military intervention against Isard, as such action could deter other potential member states from joining the New Republic. Consequently, Commander Wedge Antilles and his pilots from Rogue Squadron resigned from the New Republic to privately attack Isard, initiating the Bacta War. Recognizing the difficulty of overthrowing a planetary government, Antilles sought assistance from Elscol Loro and Sixtus Quin, mercenaries leading an anti-Imperial mercenary group that supported local resistance movements. Loro had previously flown with Antilles in Rogue Squadron, while Quin was a former commando in the Imperial Naval Special Forces. During the Bacta War, Loro and Quin collaborated with the Ashern, a Vratix commando group. As the native species of Thyferra, the Vratix had produced bacta for millennia before the Xucphra and Zaltin Corporation monopolies stifled their business, leading to the formation of the Ashern to combat Human control of the bacta cartel.
Following the subjugation of Thyferra in 7 ABY, Isard established the Thyferran Home Defense Corps, a defense force composed of Xucphra volunteers working alongside stormtroopers to safeguard the planet. Aerin Dlarit, a prominent Xucphra Corporation manager, was appointed a general in the Thyferran Home Defense Corps. While Dlarit primarily served as a figurehead, delegating daily operations to Major Barst Roite, he played a symbolic role by hosting events and making public appearances in his Corps uniform. Dlarit attracted significant media attention, assuring Xucphra employees of improved conditions and the containment of the Ashern. Due to his high profile, Loro and Quin identified him as an ideal assassination target to undermine the Xucphran regime's authority.
Iella Wessiri, a former New Republic official working with Antilles and Loro, felt uneasy about killing someone without substantial military responsibilities. She suggested undermining him by targeting other assets and discrediting his public statements. Loro, however, maintained that Dlarit's public role made him the perfect target to disrupt Xucphra society and highlight the nature of the war. Loro planned to assassinate Dlarit, record the act with a holocam, and distribute the footage across the planet. She further determined that the impact would be greater if the assassination occurred within Dlarit's own home, a heavily guarded mansion in the remote Thyferran rainforests. Wessiri reluctantly agreed but convinced Loro to avoid harming Dlarit's children or staff, arguing it would demonstrate mercy in contrast to Isard's forces. Although Loro agreed, she also devised a backup plan: if the Dlarit raid failed, targeting random Thyferran citizens could be an alternative, albeit ethically questionable, way to instill fear in the Xucphra population.
By slicing into planetary computers and using satellites owned by the Zaltin Corporation, a rival to Xucphra, Loro and her mercenaries studied the Dlarit estate's security system. They downloaded real-time holograms of the estate and thermal images of the Human guard patrols. This reconnaissance revealed the estate was protected by G-003 Tri-Trackers and sensor arrays, but also identified security weaknesses. The estate was surrounded by rainforest except for the back, which faced mountains with waterfalls. The sensor arrays on the mountain side were muted to prevent the water and sound from triggering constant alarms. Despite the satellite surveillance showing heavier Human patrols on the mountain side, the muted sensors led Loro to identify this side as the most vulnerable entry point.
The attack was planned for between midnight and dawn, when most residents and staff would be asleep. The core team consisted of Loro, Quin, and three former members of the Imperial Special Navy Force, Quin's former organization. The rest of the group included Wessiri, two Vratix, and four Human Zaltin refugees. Each member was armed with a blaster, a blaster carbine, and a comlink. They wore dark clothing and light-armor blast vests with armored plates, hoping to deflect blaster bolts away from vital areas.
Led by Quin and his SpecNav troops, the mercenary squad approached the Dlarit estate from the mountain side, ascending at dusk. As darkness fell, they descended toward the mansion, staying close to the waterfalls to shield themselves from sensors. They rappelled down a large waterfall and hid behind the water curtain. Reaching the base, they moved silently along the sensor fringes and cut through the jungle, led by Quin and the SpecNav troops. Approaching the estate, Loro spotted two Thyferran Home Defense Corps guards. On Loro's signal, Quin and his men attacked from the shadows. Unable to risk alerting others with a stun bolt, the mercenaries killed both guards, cutting their throats to prevent noise.
After two SpecNav troops confirmed the solarium was clear, the squad proceeded there. At the entrance, the SpecNav troops used an electronic device to override the door lock, and the team entered the Dlarit estate. After securing the lower level without incident, the team ascended the stairway to the main floor, which was dark except for light from an open door. Wessiri peeked inside to find Aerin Dlarit asleep in his office chair, wearing his Thyferran Home Defense Corps uniform.
Loro intended to shoot and film the assassination, but Wessiri stopped her, proposing a more humiliating alternative. She suggested stunning Dlarit, stripping him, and filming him naked in his office chair. She argued this would be more effective propaganda while showing the rebel movement's mercy. Loro hesitated, but Quin's smile convinced her to implement the plan. After stripping and filming Dlarit, the group left the estate undetected, taking Dlarit's uniform. They suffered no casualties or injuries.
The public humiliation of Aerin Dlarit had the anticipated effect. The footage embarrassed the Thyferran Home Defense Corps and, by extension, Ysanne Isard's forces. News of the raid spread quickly. Isard's Victory II-class Star Destroyer _Corrupter](/article/corrupter-legends) was en route to Halanit for a planned attack when it received the news. Dlarit's daughter, Erisi, heading the Defense Corps fighter wing aboard the Corrupter, was demoralized, and the news fueled her desire for revenge.
The raid damaged the Thyferran Home Defense Corps' reputation among both civilians and Isard's Imperial forces. Many Imperials already considered the Corps incompetent and inferior, and the raid reinforced this view. Although the crew of the Corrupter knew Aerin Dlarit was Erisi's father, they openly expressed their contempt, even as they proceeded to a major battle. The New Republic ultimately defeated Isard's forces in the Bacta War and seized control of Thyferra.
Michael A. Stackpole created the raid on the Dlarit estate, featuring it in X-Wing: The Bacta War, the fourth book in the X-Wing novel series.