Space Battle at Carida The Space Battle at Carida took place during the Galactic Civil War , above the planet Carida , circa 3 ABY – 4 ABY . The forces of the Galactic Empire under the command of Grand Admiral Thrawn aboard his flagship , the " Admonitor " , entered into combat with the Zann Consortium , led by crime lord Tyber Zann in his new flagship , the " Merciless " , over a Sith holocron that Zann wanted to sell to the Empire . Once he arrived Thrawn demanded that he hand over the holocron . Zann refused and the fleets engaged each other and suffered damage until Bossk , a bounty hunter who worked for Zann , stole the holocron and brought it to Thrawn , who fled afterward . After Thrawn fled the Imperial fleet was destroyed without his guidance and the Consortium fleet emerged victorious . Zann , who had anticipated Bossk ' s betrayal , then used a homing beacon on the holocron to lead him back to the device . Prelude . Determined to sell a Sith holocron to the Galactic Empire , which he had stolen from Jabba the Hutt , crime lord Tyber Zann agreed to steal Tibanna gas from Bespin for Black Sun leader Xizor in exchange for a meeting with the Empire and half the gas . During the raid , Zann , along with his old friend Urai Fen and the droid bounty hunter IG - 88A , planted evidence to frame Xizor and his organization with intentions of keeping all the gas for himself . Unaware that he had been framed , Xizor set up the meeting . However , Imperial Supreme Commander Darth Vader was convinced that Black Sun was responsible for the theft and had Xizor killed . The battle . When Zann ' s Interceptor IV frigate left hyperspace at Carida , it was met by Grand Admiral Thrawn ' s flagship , the " Admonitor " , which led an Imperial armada of " Imperial I " - class Star Destroyers , " Victory I " - class Star Destroyers , " Tartan " - class patrol cruisers , TIE / D Defenders , TIE / sa bombers and TIE / IN interceptors . Thrawn then double - crossed Zann by informing him of Xizor ' s death and demanding the artifact be turned over in exchange for a quick and somewhat honorable death . Zann responded by bringing in his fleet of " StarViper " - class attack platforms , GAT - 12 Skipray Blastboat s , " Crusader " - class corvettes , Interceptor IV frigates and " Vengeance " - class frigates , which he had stationed nearby . Thrawn , in turn , countered by firing a hidden HVs - 2 hypervelocity gun on the planet ' s surface , which destroyed an Interceptor IV frigate . Zann brought his new flagship , the " Aggressor " - class Star Destroyer " Merciless " , out of hyperspace . The ship destroyed a " Victory I " - class Star Destroyer with its massive guns . The new weapon surprised Thrawn , and the two fleets engaged each other . After intense combat between the two fleets , Zann was apparently betrayed by his henchman Bossk , who stole the Sith artifact and absconded to his ship , the " Hound ' s Tooth " , to take it to the " Admonitor " . A Consortium officer ordered the fleet to fire on Bossk , but Zann belayed the order , telling them to let him go . Bossk then delivered it into the hands of Thrawn . The outnumbered Grand Admiral retreated in the severely damaged " Admonitor " with his prize albeit secured , and left his fleet to deal with Zann ' s forces however it was later destroyed . Aftermath . Bossk left the Consortium ' s employment after he received a huge amount of credits from the Empire . Zann had predicted Bossk ' s betrayal and had attached a homing beacon to the artifact which eventually led him to the Imperial Archives on Coruscant . This set the stage for the Theft on Coruscant in which Zann planed to steal access codes for the " Eclipse " , Emperor Palpatine ' s new flagship under construction over Kuat , so he could gain access to the Emperor ' s store houses , containing the wealth Zann needed to expand his criminal organization . The " Admonitor " was repaired , and Thrawn returned to the employ of the Empire . The successful performance of the " Aggressor " - class Star Destroyer saw more of them put into full production , and Zann Consortium shipyards churned them out for future battles . Many later participated in the Battle for the " Eclipse " between the Consortium , the Empire and the Rebellion over the " Eclipse " . Behind the scenes . The space battle at Carida first appeared in the 2006 video game " " for the PC . Its name was identified in the for the game . In the game , the Zann Consortium fleet composition is decided by the player ; the Imperial fleet first appears in a cutscene and its composition is attributed to game mechanics . After Thrawn gets the holocron and flees , the player must destroy the rest of the Imperial fleet . After the battle , Tyber Zann is onboard the " Merciless " in all space battles . The " Aggressor " - class Star Destroyer also becomes available for production to the Zann Consortium . Bossk is also no longer available as a hero unit in the game ' s story mode from that point on , meaning the Fondor piracy mission cannot be done . The " Forces of Corruption " Prima Guide offers several tips for wining the battle , and advises that before the battle , the player sends a defiler – a class of Consortium infantry – to corrupt Carida for Tyber Zann . It also advises that the player send to Carida a fleet consisting of seven " Vengeance " - class frigates , four or five Interceptor IV frigates , and six " Crusader " - class corvettes , with the rest of the armada consisting of " StarViper " - class attack platforms and GAT - 12 Skipray Blastboats . The guide recommends that at the start of the battle , the player sends all of their capital ships and bombers to attack the " Admonitor " , whilst sending their starfighters to attack the Imperial fighters and bombers , and also deploying the " StarViper " s ' buzz droids . It also states that if the Imperial Star Destroyers try to capture the player ' s ships with their tractor beams , the player should order their ships to target the Star Destroyers ' tractor beams to free the Consortium ships from their grasp . After Thrawn flees the battle , the guide suggests that the player should direct the Consortium forces to target the Imperial ships that have the most weapons and destroy their laser cannons , then change target and destroy the laser cannons on the other Star Destroyers . Once all of the Imperial ships ' weapons are offline , the guide directs the player to finish off the weakened Star Destroyers . If the mission does not end when all of the Imperial capital ships have been destroyed , the guide advises the player to check a nearby nebula for any ships that may be hiding there .