Picket Force Six of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet engaged in a battle against the Nikardun Destiny, as part of the Mission to the Vak Combine, in order to eliminate the remnants of the Nikardun forces. The battle took place several months after the defeat and capture of Yiv the Benevolent. The mission formed part of the Nikardun campaigns, a series of skirmishes to eliminate the remnants of the Nikardun Destiny from parts of the Chaos near Chiss and allied space.
The Vak were grateful to the Chiss Ascendancy for helping them liberate their homeworld of Primea from the forces of the Nikardun Destiny during the battle over Primea, and requested Chiss assistance in eliminating Nikardun remnants within their territory. While the Chiss Syndicure would normally be opposed to such intervention on the grounds of the Ascendancy's , they were sufficiently convinced of the threat Nikardun remnants posed to allow the Expansionary Defense Fleet to bend that policy.
Admiral Ar'alani and Picket Force Six engaged the Nikardun forces nearby a small moon. Ar'alani thought that the Nikardun fighting on was just pure suicide and that there was no hope of a Nikardun victory. Just as she thought, the Nikardun forces where easily demolished by Picket Force Six, and no Nikardun ships survived.
After the battle, Admiral Ar'alani Lakinda and her Grayshrike to deliver a message to Thrawn and his Springhawk recalling them all back to Csilla. Lakinda encountered Thrawn and the Springhawk above the Magys' homeworld and helped defend the Springhawk against attacking forces. After that skirmish, Lakinda and Thrawn returned to Csilla together.
The Battle against Nikardun forces serves as the opening chapter for the 2021 novel Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good, and as a device to introduce the protagonists to the Nikardun campaigns, bridging the gap with Greater Goods prequel novel, Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising.