Doole ' s Defense Fleet The Doole ' s Defense Fleet was a mercenary fleet formed by Moruth Doole , to defend his spice mining operation on Kessel . History . After the Galactic Empire was driven out of Kessel , Moruth Doole seized control of the glitterstim mining operation there and placed his highest priority on creating a defensive fleet to protect Kessel from the Empire , space pirates , or any other criminal faction that might want control of the mines . He purchased every starfighter that he could find , no matter what the condition and hired experienced mechanics from the Corellian sector of Nar Shaddaa to fix them . He also hired mercenaries to fly the ships . Luke Skywalker would later speculate that this was one of the reasons why the New Republic had trouble gaining sufficient numbers of fighting ships during the Thrawn campaign . By 11 ABY , the fleet consisted of hundreds of ships , based on Kessel ' s Garrison Moon , with the larger capital ships kept in orbit around the moon . Despite their worn and battered appearances , the ships were actually well maintained and refitted to a high quality . During that year , Han Solo and Chewbacca flew to Kessel in the " Millennium Falcon " on a diplomatic mission for the New Republic , but on their arrival in the system , they were attacked by the fleet and shot down on the surface of Kessel . The " Falcon " was recovered , repaired and pressed into service with the fleet . Han , Chewbacca , and Kyp Durron later escaped from Kessel and were attacked by the mercenary fleet , which forced them to fly on a course through the Maw Cluster . Lando Calrissian and Luke Skywalker came to Kessel soon after to discover what had happened to Han and Chewbacca and they seized control of the " Falcon " and blasted off in it . Doole was determined that they wouldn ' t make it back to the New Republic , so he ordered the entire Kessel fleet to launch in pursuit of it , despite the tactical problems associated with this . However , as they pursued the " Falcon " in the direction of the Maw Cluster , the Sun Crusher and three " Imperial " - class Star Destroyers under the command of Admiral Daala that were chasing it emerged . The Kessel mercenaries ran headlong into them and some peeled sideways to escape , while others panicked and opened fire . Daala speculated that the fleet could be a trap set for her by the New Republic and ordered the Star Destroyers to return fire , beginning a battle . The Kessel fleet managed to inflict minor casualties on the Imperials , damaging the " Basilisk " and destroying three TIE / LN starfighter squadrons . However , it was hopelessly outmatched and the majority of the mercenary ships were soon destroyed . The few surviving pilots took their ships and fled into hyperspace , going their separate ways . Behind the scenes . Doole ' s Defense Fleet was created by Kevin J . Anderson and featured in his Jedi Academy Trilogy , with an appearance in " Jedi Search " and mentions in " Dark Apprentice " and " Champions of the Force " . There is a minor variance in how much of the fleet was said to have been destroyed during the Fourth Battle of Kessel . In " Dark Apprentice " , Commander Kratas says that two - thirds was destroyed , but in " Champions of the Force " , Mara Jade claims that it was ninety percent .