The project's aim was to create a device rendering a freighter invisible. The testbed was the Corellian Corvette Vorknkx. Former Imperial Grand Admiral Zaarin had known about the project when he was the head of developing new technologies for the Empire. Shortly after his betrayal, Zaarin and his co-conspirators decided to take the cloaking device being tested in the Vorknkx Project. His forces attacked the research station, forcing the staff to move the project to a more secure location. The new laboratory for the project was built in To-phalion Base, a hollowed out asteroid that was once mined by the Empire. The asteroid base was guarded by other asteroids with turrets hidden on them. The exact location of this base was a secret; however, Zaarin managed to slip a few spies into the base. Once the spies revealed the base's weak points, Zaarin sent an attack force of sixteen Muurian transports escorted by TIE Defenders, a fighter whose development was under the command of Zaarin when he was a loyal Imperial admiral.
The still-loyal Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn dispatched a squadron of TIE Avenger fighters to aid To-phalion base. Thrawn's finest pilot, Maarek Stele, lead the squadron. The TIE Avenger squadron, combined with To-phalion Base's asteroid turret defenses managed to ward off the Muurian Transports. Then, towards the end of the skirmish, To-phalion base's asteroid turret defenses were knocked off-line. A shuttle, Lambda 3, made an unauthorized launch from To-phalion Base's hangar. The pilot was one of Zaarin's spies. Maarek Stele destroyed the shuttle, as ordered. Stele and the rest of the squadron reported to To-phalion Base's hangar.
Since the sabotage caused by Zaarin's spy had knocked the base's turrets offline, Grand Admiral Thrawn was going to arrive on board the Nebulon-B frigate Maru Ki, with reinforcements. Thrawn was hoping Zaarin himself would show up, so he could capture or kill the traitor. Before Thrawn arrived, Zaarin sent a second attack force, this one consisting of 4 Assassin-class corvettes from group Rok, a group of assault transports, and a squadron of Assault Gunboats. To-phalion Base's turret defenses were still down, so Stele's squadron was launched to defend the base. Eventually, Thrawn arrived on the Maru Ki, and Zaarin's forces were driven off. Unfortunately, the traitors had succeeded in destroying all the asteroid turrets surrounding To-phalion Base's main asteroid base.
Zaarin launched a last ditch attack to either capture of destroy the Vorknkx Project. He arrived on board his flagship, the Star Destroyer Glory. The ship launched waves of TIE/LN starfighters, interceptors, bombers, and TIE Defenders. Grand Admiral Thrawn called in his task force to trap Zaarin. But, before his task force arrived, Zaarin's ships managed to damage the frigate Maru Ki very badly. While it made the jump to hyperspace, Thrawn and the crew managed to flee the ship on shuttles. Next, the traitor's Star Destroyer fired at To-phalion Base, knocking out its shields. The base staff launched Corvette Vorknkx in an effort to save it, but the remainder of Zaarin's spies were on board, and they flew it right into the hangar of Glory, with the experimental cloaking device on board. Shortly after these events, Thrawn's task force arrived. It consisted of the Star Destroyer Grey Wolf, the Interdictor Cruiser Corvus, and the Strike Cruisers Ebolo and Daring. Corvus had been delayed, however, and without the cruiser's gravity well generators to disable the hyperdrive engine on the Glory, Zaarin and his forces escaped with the Corvette Vorknkx, and its cloaking device.
Unbeknownst to the traitors, Thrawn had a tracking device planted on the Vorknkx, so the task force could follow Zaarin, and end his traitorous insurrection.