Skirmish in the Crustai system

Back in 27 BBY, Mitth'raw'nuruodo, a Chiss Force Commander serving with Picket Force Two of the Chiss Expansionary Fleet, seized a small freighter named the Bargain Hunter. This ship was under the command of the smuggler Dubrak Qennto, with Jorj Car'das and Maris Ferasi as crew members. The smugglers were taken onto the Springhawk, a cruiser-class ship under the direction of Mitth'raw'nuruodo – who was known to the smugglers by his core name: Thrawn. As the Springhawk traveled back to Crustai base, Thrawn's headquarters, he received an alert about unknown individuals in Chiss territory. Consequently, the Springhawk executed a brief hyperspace jump lasting less than a minute to confront the intruders.

Upon the Springhawk's return to normal space, a pair of small Vagaari starfighters sped past the window, firing laser blasts and rockets. These fighters were guarding a Vagaari pirate ship whose hyperdrive had previously been disabled by a Chiss sentry droid. The Vagaari were pirates that Thrawn had only heard of, as they had never entered Chiss space before. The starfighters stopped firing as they moved beyond their optimal range, but they soon circled back for another attack, approaching the Springhawk from either side. However, Thrawn had identified a pattern in the fighters' attacks and could anticipate their next move. He fired the Springhawk's weapons at the fighters, striking the port from which their missiles were about to launch, causing the missiles to detonate prematurely and destroying the fighters.

The Springhawk then turned its attention to the pirate vessel in the distance. The Vagaari ship launched four volleys of missiles at the cruiser, but the Chiss vaporized the missiles while they were still in flight. The Springhawk then moved towards the pirate ship while Qennto, Ferasi, and Car'das returned to their quarters. Thrawn, accompanied by his soldiers, boarded the enemy ship and engaged the Vagaari. Although the Springhawk's command crew did not join the boarding party, they assisted by using the Springhawk's sensors to track the Vagaari combatants on the pirate ship and relaying their locations to the boarders, resulting in numerous Vagaari fatalities.

The Chiss secured the vessel within an hour, and two hours later, Qennto, Ferasi, and Car'das were brought aboard the ship. A Chiss soldier led them through the dead bodies and other destruction to Thrawn, who informed them that the Vagaari were enslavers and pirates. He led them to a storage room filled with bins, containers, and treasure of all kinds: metal bars, currency, jewels, and art. Thrawn had the vessel towed back to the Crustai base for further examination.

Later, Admiral Ar'alani of the Chiss arrived at the Crustai base with Thrawn's brother, Mitth'ras'safis. Ar'alani believed that Thrawn should not have attacked the Vagaari, since they had not yet harmed the Chiss Ascendancy directly, even though they had attacked and enslaved many other races. Thrawn transported her, his brother, Car'das, and Ferasi to the Vagaari pirate ship. Upon arrival, Thrawn gave them a tour of the ship. The Admiral was surprised to see Qennto in the treasure room and demanded to know his purpose there. Thrawn explained that he was cataloging the treasure and selecting what he wanted as payment. Ar'alani decided to stay and inventory the treasure herself while Thrawn addressed a report he had received about more Vagaari nearby. Shortly after, Thrawn's forces captured a Vagaari gravity well during their attack on the world of Geroon.

The skirmish in the Crustai system first appeared in Timothy Zahn's 2006 novel, Outbound Flight, though it was not named in the book.