After the Chiss species defeated Yiv during the battle over Primea, the peoples conquered by Yiv: the Garwian Unity, Vak Combine, Paccian Governance, Tower Dimension, and the Lioaoin Regime, were freed. Those nations feared that a larger power—unbeknownst to them, the Grysks—had commanded Yiv, and prepared to deliver their vengeance to that power. Senior Captain Mitth'raw'nuruodo "Thrawn" of the Chiss, who had liberated the Paccosh species, met with Paccosh Commander Uingali foar Marocsaa at the Paccian homeworld of Rapacc, where he met The Magys and her refugees, who had fled Sunrise.
The Chiss Ascendancy's Picket Force Six task force, consisting of Thrawn and Senior Captain Xodlak'in'daro's Chiss heavy cruisers Springhawk and Grayshrike, as well as Admiral Ar'alani's Nightdragon man-of-war Vigilant, was then sent to study Sunrise, the codename Thrawn created for the devastated world. There, Ar'alani's forces were met by the HopeBreaker, which fought the Chiss before they escaped and dealt significant damage to the Grysk vessel of Jixtus's fleet. They returned to see if it was still present, and its commander made a show of ferocity before the Grayshrike and the Vigilant deactivated it with plasma spheres, inducing the Grysk to destroy his warship and an asteroid missile platform.
As the Agbui's attempt to precipitate a civil war in the Chiss Ascendancy unfolded, Thrawn spoke with The Magys and learnt more about Sunrise's devastation, establishing that the world was important and that it could have a connection with Yiv's and the Agbui's employer. After Agbui agent Haplif was killed, and his attempt to precipitate a civil war failed, Ar'alani traveled to Sunrise, where one of his Junior Warriors was chased off by running a slave operation on Sunrise. In the meantime, Jixtus traveled aboard the Kilji Illumine government Kilji war cruiser Whetstone with the Kilji ruler Generalirius Nakirre across the Ascendancy, precipitating a war between the Chiss Nine Ruling Families.
After an attack on Rapacc carried out by Kilji General Crofyp's task force, Thrawn and Uingali traveled aboard the Nikardun blockade frigate Aelos to Sunrise, where they captured the Kilji picket cruiser Hammer and dealt significant damage to a Grysk vessel which escaped after destroying the Hammer. Ascendancy Supreme General Ba'kif convinced the Chiss Syndicure ruling body to send a fleet of warships to "capture Thrawn at Sunrise" while in truth, he was sending reinforcements to Thrawn, who was preparing to fight Jixtus's fleet there. Shortly after, the Whetstone and Jixtus's fleet arrived at Sunrise after the slave operations had been destroyed, and a battle ensued between Chiss and Paccosh forces and Jixtus's fleet. A group of Garwian and Vak ships studied the battle from a nearby asteroid field, and decided to join to destroy Jixtus, who was in fact destroyed by the grouping of alien warships and the Whetstones navigator, Qilori. After Jixtus's fleet was destroyed, and the slave operations were thwarted, Sunrise was freed from Grysk control.