Named in honor of a mythical Rodian beast by the buccaneer Venslas Beeli, the Zahtjav was a CR90 corvette manufactured by the Corellian Engineering Corporation. Once the property of the Galactic Republic, the vessel served as an exploration ship until Beeli took possession of it sometime after 19 BBY, incorporating it into his Solar Terrors pirate group. Beeli and his band of pirates utilized it until shortly after 0 ABY, at which point an Imperial strike force seized them. Captain Vocis Kenit of the Empire compelled Beeli and his pirates into a showdown with the Alliance to Restore the Republic privateer frigate Far Orbit; during the ensuing combat, the Zahtjav met its end, and Beeli was killed.
The Zahtjav was a CR90 corvette that came from the Corellian Engineering Corporation's production lines. With a length of 150 meters, the corvette featured a Class 2 primary hyperdrive, along with a Class 12 as a secondary system. In addition, the Zahtjav was equipped with deflector shields, a navigation computer, and a suite of sensors. Boasting a cargo capacity of 3,000 metric tons and sufficient supplies for its crew to last a year, the Zahtjav had the capacity to accommodate up to twenty passengers, in addition to its crew of fifty and twelve gunners; the ship could operate with a minimal crew of twenty, including five gunners, if the situation demanded it. The corvette's arsenal included four double turbolaser cannons, and a pair of tractor beams positioned at the front. Complete with life support systems, the corvette could achieve a top speed of 950 kilometers per hour within the atmosphere of certain planets.
Originally, the ship that would become the Zahtjav was an exploration vessel employed by the Galactic Republic to scout the far reaches of the Outer Rim Territories. When the Republic was reorganized into the Galactic Empire in 19 BBY, the corvette was deemed surplus and sold off due to budget reductions following its creation, transitioning into a secure cargo transport. The CR90 served well in this capacity until the pirate Venslas Beeli of the Solar Terrors bribed an engineer to sabotage the hyperdrive at a specific time. Immediately after Beeli gained control of the ship, he broke his promise to pay the engineer, instead abandoning the individual in an escape pod. Shortly thereafter, Beeli christened the corvette the Zahtjav, taking the name from a legendary Rodian monster. The ship eventually became Beeli's flagship.
Beeli's actions in the Outer Rim drew the attention of the Empire around 0 ABY. After a pursuit lasting three months, Captain Lev Kepzen and his EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate, the Feral, captured the Solar Terrors. Captain Vocis Kenit coerced the pirates into serving the Empire under threat of death, tasking them with impersonating Alliance to Restore the Republic privateers and committing heinous acts in the Core Worlds' Ringali Shell to tarnish the public image of Alliance privateers. This manipulation was in preparation for the arrival of the Far Orbit, an Alliance privateer frigate operating in the vicinity, aiming to provoke the frigate into hunting down and engaging the pirates to uphold its reputation.
To prevent the pirates from deserting, they were infected with Vira606, an incurable virus that could only be suppressed by a serum controlled and distributed by the Imperials. The Zahtjav and the Solar Terrors began targeting civilian populations near Esseles, Rhinnal, and Brentaal IV. While covertly working for the Empire, Beeli's fleet, including his command ship, the Zahtjav, operated from a remote space location alongside Kenit's escort frigate, the Stalwart.
As the Solar Terrors frequently attacked the area around Brentaal, Beeli's fleet encountered the Far Orbit, which was actively searching for the pirates to eliminate them. The Zahtjav and Beeli's other ships, the Javiq and the Pyesmev, engaged the frigate, maneuvering to avoid the Far Orbit's forward firing arc. However, due to Beeli's reckless fighting style influenced by the virus, the Solar Terrors were defeated, resulting in the destruction of the Zahtjav and Beeli's demise.
The Zahtjav was first referenced in 1998's The Far Orbit Project, penned by Timothy S. O'Brien, and featured in the adventure scenario The Rival, published within the book. The Far Orbit Project served as a supplement to West End Games' Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game and maintained the thematic elements of its predecessor, Pirates & Privateers, by focusing on the privateering vessel Far Orbit. Given the book's depiction of Venslas Beeli as a reckless fighter willing to ram the Far Orbit with his ship, this article assumes that the Zahtjav was destroyed in the battle.
There are multiple possible scenarios for the battle against the Far Orbit. One involves the Far Orbit encountering Beeli's ships and the Stalwart in deep space. Another depicts the pirates being captured by the frigate while Imperials are nearby, prompting the EF76 to masquerade as an Imperial vessel. However, this article disregards both of these possibilities, opting for the course of events presented herein, as it presents the fewest inconsistencies in the frigate's narrative.