The Dibrook Rescue Mission occurred not long after the Battle of Dibrook. The central aim was the liberation of refugees who had been seized by the Yuuzhan Vong during the aforementioned battle.
During the conflict at Dibrook, the Yuuzhan Vong took approximately thirty refugees captive from the Dibrook Space Station, transporting them to their Shaper research facility located on the surface of Dibrook. Upon learning of this abduction, Kaye Galfridian, the commander of the Heart of Artorias, formulated a plan for their rescue. She received assistance from the station's commander, Bylsma, who provided her with soldiers and Enviro-suits necessary for surviving Dibrook's inhospitable environment. Subsequently, they embarked for the planet aboard the Heart of Artorias. Interference from a yammosk attempting to regain control of a former Yuuzhan Vong slaveship forced the Heart to land a considerable distance from the Yuuzhan Vong's stronghold.
Once the army, composed of both New Republic troopers and former prisoners from the Heart of Artorias, had landed on the planet, a New Republic captain, named Ogden, sought to usurp command of the mission from Kaye Galfridian, intending to transform it from a rescue operation into an assault on the Yuuzhan Vong base. However, Arbeloa, Kaye's second-in-command, quickly subdued him, allowing the mission to proceed according to its original objective.
As the army approached the base, they were ambushed by a small contingent of thralls, individuals controlled by surge-coral acting on the yammosk's orders. While the majority of these attacking thralls were killed, Kaye succeeded in capturing a Twi'lek thrall, who was then escorted back to the Heart.
Following the thrall attack, the army dispatched an advance team of 50 soldiers, drawn from both the Heart of Artorias and the New Republic, to scout ahead and gather information about the Shaper research facility. Concurrently, at the Yuuzhan Vong Base, Commander Tsalok advised Master Shaper Nagme to retreat to Rychel, while he would defend against the approaching advance team.
The two groups encountered each other near the base, where the Yuuzhan Vong, despite being outnumbered, swiftly defeated the advance guard. They captured a New Republic captain, and as a demonstration to the approaching army, Commander Tsalok brutally removed the captain's enviro-suit and tore him in half. Subsequently, the Yuuzhan Vong retreated to their base, where Tsalok instructed Nagme to unleash her thrall army.