During the Lioaoin turn to piracy, they attacked the closest Garwian Unity system to the Lioaoin Regime, Stivic. Security Officer Frangelic sent out a distress signal, to which Chiss Senior Commander Mitth'raw'nuru (Thrawn), temporarily commanding the Chiss ship Parala, would respond. As the Parala came to the scene, Thrawn secretly sent out a modulated laser message to Frangelic. In this message, Thrawn would detail the Lioaoin pirates' battle tactics and their weaknesses. Frangelic would use this information to successfully turn the battle around and defeat the Lioaoin pirates. Later, Frangelic would personally go on record saying that it was him who found and exploited the weakness in the Lioaoin tactics.
The Garwian Unity, emboldened by the Lioaoin attack, would spark a new conquest into Lioaoin space to reconquer a lost Garwian world and, potentially, conquer one of the Lioaoin worlds. Thrawn and Commodore Ar'alani would be invited to Solitair to meet with the Ruleri, where the Garwians hoped to trick the Chiss into revealing more tactical weaknesses of the Lioaoi to help in their conquests. Experiencing loses, the Lioaoi sent two diplomatic ships to Solitair to negotiate surrender. Upon the Chiss' arrival, Thrawn and Ar'alani were treated as honored guests and Frangelic would show them one of the Garwian Creators' Markets. After the Lioaoin diplomatic ships arrived at Solitair, the Garwians framed the arrival as an attack, activating emergency sirens and leading the Chiss to an underground situation room. Here, Frangelic and other Garwian officers tried to get Thrawn to reveal more Lioaoin tactical information, but before Thrawn could reveal anything useful, Ar'alani, recognizing the scheme, stopped him. She realized that her comms with her ship, the Destrama, were being jammed by the Garwians. Frangelic tried to deny it, but Thrawn insisted that the Garwians lift the jamming. Ar'alani then learned about the true situation concerning the Lioaoin diplomats. Before departing, Ar'alani warned Frangelic and the other Garwians not to cross the Chiss again.
Years after the Stivic incident, Thrawn would return to Solitair. He would be accompanied by what Frangelic would believe to be his "family hostage", Thalias (Thrawn would make this up in order to confuse the Nikardun when they learn of it). After sharing details concerning the Nikardun conquests of surrounding nations, Thrawn proposes to covertly investigate other status-unknown systems in the region. Frangelic, agreeing that the situation needs more study, proposes that Thrawn travel alongside a diplomatic mission to the Vak Combine homeworld of Primea. Thrawn agrees, and Frangelic states that he will join them as a security escort. Thrawn also suggests that Frangelic identify the Chiss as an art expert interested in researching a theory that claims that the Vak Combine and the Garwian Unity had contact tens of millennia ago. Thrawn also asked Frangelic for a medium-sized shipping container for the mission, which Frangelic provides.
Upon arrival, Thrawn would converse with General Yiv the Benevolent, the leader of the Nikardun, at a diplomatic reception under the false name of Artistic Master Svorno. Knowing that Yiv would try to capture or kill him, Thrawn informs Frangelic that he intends to depart Solitair separate from the Garwians. The Garwians subsequently decide to end the diplomatic mission a day earlier than expected. To maintain the illusion of ignorance, Frangelic asks the Vak Combine to search for Thrawn and this companion in the planet's diplomatic offices and guest suites. Qilori, the Garwian's navigator for this mission, had planned for Yiv to attack the Garwian ship to capture or kill Thrawn, but upon learning that Thrawn was not aboard, he feared that Yiv would attack the Garwians for nothing. Looking to inform Yiv of Thrawn's absence from the ship, Qilori suggests to Frangelic to reach out to Yiv concerning Thrawn's whereabouts, as he had seen them converse during a diplomatic reception. Frangelic, again wanting to ensure his illusion of ignorance concerning Thrawn's true plans, listens and contacts Yiv, asking for information concerning Thrawn's whereabouts. In actuality, Thrawn had used the medium-sized shipping container to infiltrate a Vak spaceport, where he would eventually commandeer a Vak patrol ship to escape the system with. Upon learning that Thrawn is nowhere to be found on Primea, the Garwians leave Primea.