Picket Force Six of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet undertook a mission to the Vak Combine to eliminate any remaining Nikardun military presence 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.
During the mission to the Vak Combine, Admiral Ar'alani and Senior Captains Thrawn and Lakinda believed that the Ascendancy had nearly eliminated the Nikardun from the region, as they had cleared out most of the Nikardun bases listed on General Yiv's questis. After defeating the Nikardun forces in an unidentified system, Ar'alani gave Thrawn and his Springhawk permission to undertake his next mission
While the Springhawk traveled to Rapacc, Ar'alani's Vigilant and Lakinda's Grayshrike investigated listening post KR20 acquired from interrogating Yiv. To their surprise, they found all Nikardun forces already destroyed by weaponized asteroids that doubled as missile launchers. They visited the last Nikardun base, Listening post KR21, and investigated it but found that it as well was destroyed.
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 Non-intervention policy, they were sufficiently convinced of the threat Nikardun remnants posed to allow the Expansionary Defense Fleet to bend that policy.
After the mission, Admiral Ar'alani dispatched 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.
Later the Vigilant returned to Listening post KR21, and found that that even though they had previously found it empty, it was now being used by the Grysk hegemony to manufacture fake starships. The Vigilant and the Grayshrike fought a battle at the listening post, and defeated the Grysks.
The mission to the Vak Combine 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.