Star Wars: A Wayward Eye
The Chiss were a tall, blue-skinned Near-Human civilization from the planet Csilla in the Unknown Regions, best known to most Humans as the people to which Grand Admiral Thrawn belonged. Due to the remote position of their home territory in the Chiss Ascendancy they remained largely an enigma to the rest of the galaxy, and contact with outsiders was limited even in the days of the Galactic Alliance.
Biology and appearance
The Chiss were a near-Human species distinguished by their blue skin and glowing red eyes, which grew darker depending on the oxygen content of their surroundings. The more oxygen present, the more intense the color of their eyes and skin tone. While their hair was typically jet black, it did on rare occasions go gray with age (most Chiss believed that the development of gray hair was an indication of the siring of exceptional children). Their physical form led to some speculation on whether they were an offshoot of humanity’s ancient expansions into the galaxy or whether their physical form coincidentally matched that of Humans. However, genetic analysis indicated that they were an offshoot of humanity, and it was believed that moving underground led to a divergence between them and baseline Humans. Furthermore, this analysis indicated that their unique skin tone was the result of exposure to glacial minerals. Their blue skin, jet black hair and red eyes generally commanded attention once they were in a crowd of regular humanoids, and these features made them physically striking and instantly recognizable. Male and female Chiss tend to be more powerfully built when compared to Humans but exhibit the same variances as Humanoid sexes. A Chiss stood between either 1.6 to 2.1 meters in height though an average height of an adult was believed to be 1.7 meters.
The University of Sanbra concluded that the fact that all Chiss often appeared in very good physical shape was an indication that the species possessed an active metabolism which was responsible for their trim figure. Thus, this was believed to be responsible for preventing obesity that was commonly found within more sedentary humanoids. While the report concluded that they were indeed near-Humans, they had not determined a specific point of evolutionary divergence. There was, in fact, a Human sleeper ship colony established on Csilla around 27,500 BBY, though records of this were virtually nonexistent and it remained unknown how a remote area of the galaxy could have been trailblazed so far back. They did display, physiologically, very few signs of evolutionary adaptations to their icy environment with even their skin pigmentation not providing any apparent benefit. Beyond the obvious physical features, physiologically, the Chiss were similar to Humans to the point that they possessed a comparable circulatory, neurological, digestive and reproductive systems. The Chiss vocal mechanism was noted for being similar to Humans but there were apparent differences which was evident in their capacity to speak their native language.
In addition, they experienced a greatly accelerated growth rate compared to Humans, which contributed to their reaching maturity faster than Humans. Thus a Chiss at the age of 10-years held the physical maturity of a 20-year old Human. This in turn resulted in a culturally-imprinted emotional maturity that was many times above that of their Human counterparts. They were capable of living up to 80 years old where a Chiss was considered venerable; children were between 1-10 whilst they became adults between 11-13 and were considered full adults by 15-50. Middle-age followed between the ages of 51-62, and those aged 63-79 were considered old.
Certain anthropologists believed that the Nagai were perhaps an offshoot of the Chiss but no legends or history records in either species indicated the validity of such a claim.
The origins of the Chiss were largely unknown, even to the Chiss themselves, though some scientists thought that they were the result of a long forgotten Human colony that had been lost to time. This was the leading theory held by not only Chiss historians but scientists within the New Republic who held the view that this colony predated the formation of the Old Republic. A report by the University of Sanbra indicated that very little was known of Chiss history due to their own records being carefully guarded on their homeworld. However, scattered reports from many intrepid scholars suggested the Chiss were a forgotten colonization attempt; this theory was mostly based on their resemblance to Humanity. Genetic analysis later confirmed that the Chiss were indeed an offshoot of the Human species’ earliest attempts at colonization. It was believed that sometime before 27,000 BBY, a lost colony of Humans settled in the Unknown Regions on the planet Csilla.
According to Chiss legend, their homeworld was once a warm and tropical planet. However, the planet was later locked in an ice age with profound glaciation encompassing the terrestrial world. This forced the Chiss ancestors to travel along the ice front’s leading age in order to survive at the temperate front as glaciers began spreading across the planet. Though it was believed that the glaciation process occurred over an extended period of time, it was also at an age when the Chiss were already technologically advanced which allowed them to overcome these challenges to their survival by way of technological adaptations. This led many to conclude that the early Chiss existed on Csilla prior to it succumbing to an ice age. Thus, Csilla nearly became inhospitable by 5,000 BBY, and it was only by living underground that this divergent species survived. These events furthered the genetic changes notably seen in their skin tone and eyes. Thus it was believed that by going underground, the race gradually began to diverge from the baseline Human species, the glacial mineral content beginning to alter their physiology into its more modern form.
Xenosociologists believed that this period had a profound mental impact on the developing Chiss and led to the evolution to their current mindset. However, little was known of these early Chiss as certain legends indicated that a decadent culture had formed in the tropics that were unprepared for this ice age. Related parables even stated that northern dwelling Chiss slaughtered their decadent southern cousins when resources became sparse and chilling temperatures befell the planet. Regardless, it was known that the Chiss adapted well to their planet during its climatic change and began tapping into geothermal energy as a power source. This led to the building of several populous cities amongst the glaciers and were quick to develop a global government. Thus, they avoided the adolescence period common to developing worlds that saw nations compete with one another, along with adopting a planet-wide tongue. Eventually, their species mastered star travel independently with some speculation that they tapped into the ancient memories of the colonization effort that first brought them to Csilla.
The initial Chiss star-travel era involved their scientists attempting to create hyperfields over vehicles designed to carry passengers. At the same time, automated drones were launched into the Unknown Regions with specialized beacons that led to the creation of a network of navigational anchor-points. As the Chiss began to expand into space, a Syndic by the name of Jer’Jo Cam’Co was responsible for the formation of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Force. He proposed the creation of this group after explorations efforts yielded several resource rich worlds. Much of their expansion was governed by the need to gather resources without upsetting their homeworld’s ecosystem. Though their territory later managed to suffice for their growing population, the Chiss continued to expand into space. However, this was not out of exploration of the unknown or out of greed but a leading theory indicated that they sought to impose order over a chaotic region of space. The government on Csilla controlled 28 major colony worlds scattered across Chiss space, united in a political federation known as the Chiss Ascendancy. This species remained a complete mystery to most of the galaxy and were completely removed from the various galactic governments. Thus, over the course of thousands of years, the Chiss began to develop socially and technologically in isolation.
Though the Chiss were not widely known to the greater galaxy, examples of their technology were known to exist as far back as 3,951 BBY when samples of their charric weapons were being sold on the planet Onderon. When the Sith Empire returned to fight the Republic once more during the Great Galactic War and the Cold War, the Chiss Ascendancy was the only actual ally of the Empire, unlike all the species that the empire subjugated, and some Chiss were known to serve as Imperial Agents or bounty hunters. In this time, Chiss agents were sent on loan to the Imperial Military forces on Hoth where they aided the Ministry of Logistics by providing cold weather training and equipment for skirmishes on the icy world. In addition, the Chiss established a secret outpost on the planet known as Zero Station where Aristocra Saganu of House Miurani oversaw his peoples efforts in aiding their Sith allies against the Republic.
Around 1,000 BBY, the forces of Lord Kaan’s Brotherhood of Darkness encountered the Chiss in the Unknown Regions and managed to bring a legion of them to the planet Thule. The Chiss that were born there spread into the wider galaxy although they were still relatively unknown to many. It was known that the law against pre-emptive strikes and aggression had been in place for a thousand years. Between 1,000 BBY and 990 BBY, a Chiss by the name of Cyndra was known to have operated in the wider galaxy where she was a member of the Anti-Republic Liberation Front.
In the year 178 BBY, the Chiss began studying a dense cluster within their territory known as the Redoubt Cluster. The initial surveys into the deadly maze of space cost the lives of several Chiss explorers surveying it at the time.16 Under normal circumstances, the Ascendancy’s relations with the rest of the galaxy were governed by a strict, formal policy of non-aggression backed up by strong defensive preparations; although the Chiss did not, as a rule, intervene in the affairs of others, outsiders were discouraged from encroaching on the untapped resources of the Ascendancy’s territory by the threat of severe military reprisals against attackers. Although overt hostile action was formally required as a trigger for retaliation, simple territorial transgression could be interpreted by some Chiss patrol commanders as enough to constitute a violation. Differences of opinion over the rules of engagement evidently existed among the Chiss military and civilian hierarchy, but most outsiders seem to have been unaware of this.
By 37 BBY, the barbarian Vagaari were raiding volumes of space close to the Ascendancy’s frontier, but far more serious concerns were raised by the direct incursion of a force from another alien race a few years later. Although the aliens were destroyed by a fleet led by Admiral Ar’alani, it quickly became apparent that what had been encountered was only a small scouting force, probing ahead of a massive alien invasion force. It should be noted that the living planet Zonama Sekot, itself fleeing from a Yuuzhan Vong assault, took refuge in a remote area of Chiss space at around the same time, and its arrival was detected by a CEDF deep space probe. The Chiss, however, did not understand the greater significance and identity of the planet, and thus dismissed it as a natural system capture of a rogue planet. A Chiss pirate by the name of Swagg was known to have operated in the Mid Rim prior to 32 BBY until he was killed by Roos Tarpals on Naboo during an attempt to steal ancient Gungan art.
The rise of Thrawn
In response to the threat of invasion, a vast interstellar fortress began to be prepared in the Redoubt Cluster in 28 BBY with the pace of the project growing in urgency as a safe haven for their people if they were ever invaded. This was prior to any renewed contact with the Republic.16 In this era arose a young officer in the Expansionary Fleet known as Thrawn who began to press for the abandonment of the hallowed doctrine that outlawed preemptive strikes. He believed that the Chiss could not place themselves in a situation where they were forced to fight against the Vagaari and the Yuuzhan Vong simultaneously, but while others like Admiral Ar’alani and his brother Syndic Thrass acknowledged the danger, they viewed his enthusiasm for combat and aggressive scouting with some concern.
In 27 BBY, Thrawn’s patrol encountered Corellian traders – the crew of the smuggler ship Bargain Hunter—marking what seems to had been the first modern contact between the Ascendancy and the Old Republic. Although initially suspicious of these outsiders, Thrawn decided that they were no threat, and he came to regard two of them, Jorj Car’das and Maris Ferasi, as friends.
Far more dangerous incursions from the Republic followed within a few months. Outbound Flight, a massive exploration mission consisting of six Dreadnaught Cruisers led by Jedi Master Jorus C’baoth, had unwittingly scheduled a sublight flythrough of a system on the edge of Chiss space, and it was here that a powerful Trade Federation battlegroup stationed itself in order to intercept and destroy them, led by Kinman Doriana, a personal agent of Darth Sidious. Thrawn, investigating the Trade Federation ships and despite being hopelessly outgunned on paper, defeated them through superior tactics. Leaving the command ship intact in a move to secure face-to-face communication, Thrawn boarded the Trade Federation Battleship, which led to a meeting with Doriana—and a HoloNet discussion with Sidious, himself—who persuaded Thrawn that the Jedi expedition could not be allowed to blunder into the Yuuzhan Vong. Although none at the time would know it, Thrawn’s highly favorable first impression made on Palpatine would ultimately change the galaxy and its perception of the Chiss people forever.
Thrawn engineered a clash between the Vagaari and Outbound Flight, weakening both sides to the point at which his small patrol force could effectively end both threats, but the resulting battle did not unfold according to his plan: while C’baoth was attempting to kill Thrawn using the Force, a remnant of the Vagaari force was able to flee to hyperspace, and a series of Chiss radiation bombs designed for the Vagaari command craft were unintentionally detonated aboard the Dreadnaughts. Although this killed the Jedi Master before he could kill Thrawn, the damage to the Republic expedition was disastrous. Of the fifty thousand personnel aboard Outbound Flight, only fifty-seven survived. The aftermath of Outbound Flight also revealed tensions within the Chiss power structure, as Aristocra Chaf’orm’bintrano tried to claim Outbound Flight for the Fifth Ruling Family.
This was not the only impact the Chiss had on the galaxy as in 22 BBY, a female Chiss by the name of Sev’rance Tann left her people and joined Count Dooku as one of his Dark Acolytes during the Separatist Crisis and led a Droid Army in the Clone Wars as well . Her lover, Vandalor, also served as a bounty hunter during the conflict. During the war, a diplomatic effort was launched by the Galactic Republic under the direction of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to make contact with the Chiss Ascendancy. This saw Aristocra Sev’eere’nuruodo being dispatched to Defence Force Station Ifpe’a where they awaited the Republic delegation. This consisted of Chiss Jedi Padawan Nuru Kungurama and the clone troopers of Breakout Squad. The Aristocra, however, conveyed the message that the Chiss were staying neutral in the conflict at which point the station came under attack from Separatist forces led by a Skakoan known as Umbrag. This saw the Aristocra taken away to safety whilst the Chiss forces battled the CIS fleet and afterwards she was returned back to Chiss Space.
0The Household Phalanx
Thrawn, persisting in his challenges to received wisdom, was exiled by the Ascendancy—but in 19 BBY, he was discovered and recruited by the Empire. For almost three decades, however, his true capabilities, and his true status within the Imperial hierarchy, were kept carefully hidden even within the ranks of the military. Despite being exiled and rejected by his people, Thrawn was known to have remained very protective of his kind. This was evident by the fact that he never revealed the whereabouts of the Chiss to outsiders. After rising to the rank of Grand Admiral, Thrawn was seemingly exiled from the Imperial court for a breach in the practices of the Imperial Palace. In truth, this was actually a cover story orchestrated by Emperor Palpatine in order to explain the departure of his greatest tactician. Thrawn afterwards began an Imperial campaign of subjugation of the Unknown Regions in the name of the Galactic Empire.
Sent with a task force into the Unknown Regions, this group was given the secret mission of exploring the area and conquering new systems for future Imperial expansion. Within a few short years, Thrawn had opened up large expanses of territory and placed them under the command of his Imperial forces as well as those handful of Chiss that remained loyal to him. In addition, the intense secrecy of the project meant that few outside of Palpatine and those assigned to Thrawn’s forces were aware of their existence. With his fleet of Imperial Star Destroyers, the Imperial forces were known to have worked alongside the native forces of Thrawn’s own Household Phalanx. The territory conquered in these campaigns quickly became the basis of a new power that became known as the Empire of the Hand. This new government formed a stand-off relationship with the Chiss Ascendancy with an uneasy relationship between the two sides. Though considered a renegade by his people, many Aristocras secretly supported Thrawn’s actions as they believed his proactive stance ultimately kept the Chiss people safe.
Whilst largely unknown, there were Chiss involved in other events in the galaxy. Notable instances included Droma Ordo and the trader Tyrral who resided at Station Gamma in 1 ABY. During the Galactic Civil War, one Chiss who had joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic, known as Captain Voldez, participated in the Battle of Restuss. Another Chiss by the name of Laen Pieweto led a group of poachers during hunts at the Rodian Hunting Grounds on the planet Kashyyyk.
There were no other recorded encounters of the Chiss although they were known to have fought against the Ssi-ruuvi, a potent reptilain species who were a military threat as fearsome as the Nagai and the Yevetha. This event occurred a few months after the Battle of Endor when a preemptive strike carried out by Thrawn’s Empire of the Hand attacked the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium.
This initial clash allowed the CEDF to directly intervene and invade Ssi-ruuvi territory in response to their attacks on Ascendancy colonies. The short resulting war between the two powers left the Ssi-ruuk crippled with the victorious Chiss becoming the ultimate power within the Unknown Regions.
In 9 ABY, Thrawn left the Unknown Regions to take supreme command of the Empire’s war machine, and launched his campaign against the New Republic. In spite of his death at Bilbringi, his legacy endured, not least in the form of the House Phalanx and their allies in what became known as the Empire of the Hand. After Thrawn’s death, the New Republic managed to successfully capture a number of logs from surrendered Imperial vessels which provided a few points of interest on the otherwise mysterious Chiss. Among these records included a log by Emperor Palpatine himself on his first encounter with Thrawn.
The secrecy of Thrawn’s project served it well, and, by 19 ABY, the Empire of the Hand controlled a vast region of space whilst being completely unknown to the Imperial Remnant that was based at nearby Bastion within the Rim frontier. It was the result of the events that led to the Caamas Document Crisis that led to the Jedi Master Luke Skywalker learning of the existence of the Chiss, the Empire of the Hand being based on the largely uninhabited world of Nirauan where the fortress structure known as the Hand of Thrawn served as their official base of operations. At this time, the Empire of the Hand also recruited General Baron Soontir Fel who served in the higher echelons of the Empire of the Hand’s government. Chiss paranoia was such that even in the Remnant’s highest echelons, his mission and location were apparently largely unknown, and the Baron’s sons, Davin and Jag, were required to enroll as cadets to a Chiss military academy, primarily as a hostage to ensure their father’s integrity. Following the discovery of the Empire of the Hand, Supreme Commander Gilad Pellaeon with his trusted advisers became aware of them and maintained limited contact with Admiral Parck’s Nirauan offshoot regime. In addition, Leia Organa Solo along with the top officials of the New Republic were also aware of the existence of the Chiss and the Empire of the Hand, though they did not know the true extent of the territory of the latter, which was kept a secret by Jedi Master Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade. Similarly, the Chiss knew virtually nothing of the New Republic or its worlds while maintaining the policy that Thrawn was a renegade that brought dishonor to the rest of his people. This era would also see their haven in the Redoubt Cluster nearing completion.
By 22 ABY, Aristocra Chaf’orm’bintrano began to experiment with Thrawn’s military doctrines in order to find a means of dealing with the resurgent threat of the Vagaari without challenging the rule against preemptive strikes. This was partly to end their campaign of terror in the Unknown Regions but also because the Chiss had learned that the Vagaari had already made alliances with forces more dangerous than them. A fortunate turn of events came when a Chiss patrol in the Redoubt discovered the remains of the Outbound Flight and quickly reported its findings. Their data was forwarded to the Nine Ruling Families who held a quick debate in order to determine the next course of action. After declaring the area off-limits, they placed Aristocra Formbi in charge of the recovery mission in order to return the ruined vessel to the New Republic. To that end, he created an elaborate plan involving the Outbound Flight mission that was now located within the Redoubt. First, he contacted Admiral Voss Parck and through him sent a message to Luke Skywalker to arrive at Crustai in order to board the Chaf Envoy as part of an apparent mission to return the ruined Outbound Flight back to its owners. This message was intercepted by Dean Jinzler who masqueraded as an ambassador of the New Republic with the help of Jorj Car’das as a personal favor to him. While transporting the “ambassador” to the Chaf Envoy, Aristocra Formbi was given a brief but detailed description on the appearance of the Vagaari as part of his plans. The message sent to Admiral Parck that was meant to request Jedi Master Skywalker’s presence had enough transmission leakage in order to attract the attention of the Vagaari in a region of space where they were building up their strength. In addition, the 501st Legion under the command of Chak Fel, was dispatched to provide assistance though none of the parties except for Formbi and his assistant, Feesa, were aware of the true extent of his plans.
Meeting with their respective parties, the Chiss convoy was met seemingly with the Geroon Remnant; survivors of a world that had been pillaged by the Vagaari. What no one was truly aware of was the fact that these Geroon were actually Vagaari in disguise, which Aristocra Formbi was aware of based on Car’das’s descriptions though he did not take General Drask into his confidence. As part of his plan, the Aristocra had hoped that the Vagaari would attempt to steal the Chaf Envoy en route to Outbound Flight and thus had made arrangements for the crew to take shelter at hidden stations when their foes revealed their true nature. Furthermore, they only intended for a few Vagaari to be present and conduct an act of theft, which would have complied with the Chiss rules of engagement. The reason for not bringing anyone else into the scheme was to ensure that the fault of the manipulation would lie solely on the hands of Chaf’orm’bintrano. This was also the reason why he did not reveal the true capabilities of Master Skywalker to the “Geroon”. However, the Vagaari did not act when expected and instead traveled to the Outbound Flight Colony where the Chiss were surprised to discover that there were survivors. At this point, the Vagaari discarded their Geroon disguise and unleashed their Wolvkils that were in suspended animation while they themselves attempted to steal one of the Dreadnaughts. The Vagaari were ultimately thwarted by the actions of Master Skywalker and his wife, Mara Jade Skywalker.
With Estosh’s strike force thwarted, sufficient justification was made for hostilities to emerge with the Vagaari for their multiple merciless attacks with a state of war existing between the Chiss Ascendancy and the Vagaari race. At this point, the Chiss began assembling a strike force for this new conflict while their scout ships began searching for their enemy’s bases. After the completion of their mission, Master Skywalker and Mara Jade discussed the deceptive means that Aristocra Formbi had made in order to provoke the Vagaari into instigating hostilities commenting on the similarities to techniques used by Thrawn. This led to the two suspecting that there was perhaps another clone of Thrawn that was perhaps in hiding and involved in this incident though this was simple speculation by the two Jedi.
New Jedi Order era
The Chiss were known to had been involved in a long war with the Vagaari that culiminated in the form of the Third Vagaari War. At some unknown point and for reasons unknown, the Empire of the Hand was absorbed by the Chiss Ascendancy. As a result of this conflict, the Ascendancy suffered from labor shortages and thus alternate means were sought. This led to the Chiss deciding to hire Killik laborers to work for them and deemed them not a serious threat after centuries of being observed by the reconnasaince corps of the Defense Fleet. The decision was seen as a sound one as the Killiks were plentiful, industrious and were not afraid of risks. At the same time, the Chiss took steps that ensured that they did not take advantage of the hive-minded insectoids as well as took stringent precautions under their own control to prevent any of their kind from becoming Joiners. Unknown to the Chiss, someone began sabotaging their precautionary measures for the Killiks which was suspected to had been the result of interfamily rivalries that led to two entire families becoming Joiners. In addition, three other families had become critically dependent on Killik labor leading to a dispute that brought about a disagreement amongst the Chiss. Among those involved was Soontir Fel who spared several members of the destroyed families with the consequences of this incident reverberating following the disagreement despite it being seemingly resolved.
In the year 25 ABY, the extragalactic race of aliens known as the Yuuzhan Vong began their invasion of the galaxy. This led to Grand Admiral Gilad Pelleaon of the Imperial Remnant calling upon all Imperial forces to rendeveous with his forces at Ithor which was the site of the next attack. This saw a three squadron unit designated Force Spike which consisted Chiss fighters from Thrawn’s Household Phalanx being dispatched under the command of Jagged Fel. Force Spike participated in the Battle of Ithor which saw Commander Shedao Shai’s battlefleet destroyed but at the cost of Ithor itself.24 In the aftermath, the Chiss forces along with their Beacon ship were recalled back to their own territory. However, Jagged Fel managed to convince his father Soonitor Fel to conduct a fact finding mission as the Yuuzhan Vong invasion forces spread throughout the galaxy in 27 ABY. This led to Fel along with Shawnkyr Nuruodo departing and eventually arriving at Hapes where they assisted against the invading Yuuzhan Vong. Despite orders not to get involved, the two were responsible for creating Vanguard Squadron and actively aiding the ruined New Republic in battling the extragalactic conquerors.
During the Yuuzhan Vong War, agents of the Chiss were involved in a secret project known as Alpha Red and liased with Dif Scaur. Their intention was the creation of a bioweapon known as Alpha Red which was to be used against the extragalactic Yuuzhan Vong invaders. However, before it could be initially deployed, the biotoxin was transformed into a harmless substance due to the intervention of Vergere.26 Afterwards, in 28 ABY, an expedition was launched from the Galactic Alliance which was led by Jedi Master Luke Skywalker in order to locate the fabled living world of Zonama Sekot that was believed to be the key in ending the conflict with the Yuuzhan Vong. This saw them journeying into the Unknown Regions and encountering the Chiss Ascendancy. Upon being intercepted by Commander Hess’irolia’nuruodo patrol ships, the Jedi were escorted to Csilla in order to meet with the Ruling Families so that the petition could be heard on whether they could continue their search or be forced to depart Chiss Space. They ultimately allowed Master Skywalker’s forces access to the Expeditionary Library archives where they were assisted by the librarian Tris. During this time, Ina’ganet’nuruodo acted upon a conspiracy with Peita Aabe in order to eliminate Syndic Fel only for it to be thwarted by the Jedi.
Killik Crisis and Aftermath
From 28 ABY onwards, the Chiss began to notice startling changes within the insectoid Killiks who had previously shown a disregard to their own lives by letting sick members of their kind to die or allowing entire nests to starve for greater benefit of the Killik Colony. However, the Killiks behavior began to change as they started caring for their sick as well as used trade to alleviate food shortages thus bringing about a population increase within the Colony. In time, it began to grow with satellite nests emerging near the Chiss border and the Ascendancy recognising the threat posed by the Killiks. Thus, prior to 35 ABY, the Ascendancy began to take a visible course of action to curb the threat of the Colony by starving the nests near Chiss space such as the one present on Qoribu. This action brought them into conflict with the Killiks and also saw a Chiss Intelligence agent known as Daer’ey’ath become a Prime of the Taat nest. The Chiss strategy, however, proved to be effective until UnuThul used his connection to the Myrkr strike team to draw them to his side in the conflict. This arrival of Jedi fighting on the side of the Killiks led to the Chiss dispatching Aristocra Mitt’swe’kleoni to the Galactic Alliance in order to determine why they had intervened in the conflict. The Chiss ambassador first met Chief of State Cal Omas and later with Jedi Master Luke Skywalker whereupon he determined that the Myrkr Jedi were acting on their own. This saw the Chiss dispatch Jagged Fel as the commander of the Chiss military forces in the region that were attempting to contain the Killiks. However, the arrival of a Hapan fleet under the command of Dukat Aleson Gray due to the intervention of Jacen Solo led to further hostilities but culminated in the Qoribu Truce that seemingly ended the conflict which saw the death of Welk.
Despite the end of hostilities the Killik Colony being relocated to the Utegetu Nebula, the crisis did not end with rising hostilities emerging due to the intervention of the Dark Nest in the background. This would eventually lead to all out war against the species when Jacen Solo and his friends executed a sneak attack on Supply Depot Thrago to prevent Jacen’s catastrophic vision from coming true. The result of this assault led to the start of what became known as the Swarm War with the Chiss taking an active fight against the Killik Colony. The Galactic Alliance would eventually be caught up in the mix once they realized it was the Dark Nest’s influence on the colony that was provoking the war. The Chiss Ascendancy was responsible for assaulting the Killik Colony world of Tenupe with a massive ground engagement fought between the two sides. Whilst it seemed that the Chiss were committed to taking the planet with their fleet in place, they were aware of the presence of the Killik Moon Swarm. However, they had planned this defeat with the intention of launching a parasite bomb which would slowly infect the entire Killik race and destroy the Colony as a result as it spread throughout the species. However, the intervention of the Jedi prevented this from occuring though further hostilities ended when the Dark Nest along with its leader Lomi Plo were killed by Master Skywalker whilst Rayner Thul himself was taken into custody by the New Jedi Order. With their leaders either dead or separated from them, it was believed that the Colony would revert to its former base behavior thus negating the threat they posed to the Chiss Ascendancy.
Afterwards, in 43.5 ABY, a Chiss by the name of Kthira’shi’ktarloo served Imperial Chief of State Jagged Fel as head of his nightly personal security force.