Whip Hand Whip Hand was a " Lancer " - class frigate that was initially operated by the Galactic Empire before it was captured . Later put to use by the New Republic during the Yuuzhan Vong War , " Whip Hand " participated in a battle in 28 ABY against Yuuzhan Vong forces in the Obroa - skai system before being assigned to guard the crippled cruiser " Far Thunder " as it made its way to the planet Kashyyyk . However , both ships were ambushed by enemy coralskippers , and , despite managing to repel the starfighters with the help of two New Republic squadrons , " Whip Hand " was forced to destroy the crippled " Far Thunder " to prevent the enemy from acquiring it . Description . " Whip Hand " was a " Lancer " - class frigate produced by Kuat Drive Yards and was designed to battle swarms of starfighters . Equipped with a hyperdrive and sublight engines , the 250 - meter - long frigate was armed with turbolasers and possessed a bridge . History . Battle at Obroa - skai . During the early part of the Galactic Civil War , which pitted the Galactic Empire against the Rebel Alliance , " Whip Hand " served as an Imperial vessel until it was captured . The " Lancer " - class frigate ended up in the hands of the New Republic , the Alliance ' s successor state , and a refurbished " Whip Hand " was operational in the New Republic Defense Fleet during the Yuuzhan Vong War , in which the extra - galactic Yuuzhan Vong species invaded the galaxy . In 28 ABY , " Whip Hand " participated in an attack on a Yuuzhan Vong fleet in the Obroa - skai system . The frigate and the rest of a New Republic task force waited until the captured Yuuzhan Vong frigate " Trickster " signaled them before jumping in - system to make it appear as if they were tailing the " Trickster " and were caught unawares by the Yuuzhan Vong fleet there . The enemy forces fell for the ruse , and the resulting battle ended in the destruction of the majority of the Yuuzhan Vong fleet . Protecting " Far Thunder " . Directly following the Obroa - skai battle , the New Republic ' s base was shifted to the planet Kashyyyk , and " Whip Hand " was assigned to guard the " Republic " - class cruiser " Far Thunder " as it limped to the Kashyyyk system . The cruiser had been seriously damaged in the fighting at Obroa - skai , and the majority of " Far Thunder " personnel were evacuated to leave the cruiser with a skeleton crew on its journey . However , after the pair of capital ships met up with a tender that contained spare parts for " Far Thunder " , the three ships were attacked in deep space by around sixty coralskippers launched from a pair of Yuuzhan Vong tenders . Although designed as an anti - starfighter frigate , " Whip Hand " could not protect both itself and the crippled " Far Thunder " from the attacking coralskippers , prompting Hannser , the cruiser ' s captain , to issue a call for help after the " Far Thunder " hyperdrive engines were destroyed . By the time the New Republic ' s Twin Suns and Scimitar Squadrons arrived on scene , " Whip Hand " had resorted to flying abreast of " Far Thunder " , rolling around the cruiser to wherever the danger from the coralskippers seemed the greatest — the New Republic tender had been destroyed earlier in the fight . As the " Lancer " - class frigate was holding its own against the starfighters , the reinforcements were directed to aid " Far Thunder " . However , Twin Suns Leader Jaina Solo first had the frigate modify its position briefly to shield Twin Suns Squadron from the view of the Yuuzhan Vong ships in order to help catch the coralskippers strafing " Whip Hand " unawares . After Twin Suns Squadron made a pass on those starfighters , the squadron went on to engage the coralskippers that were attacking " Far Thunder " . Despite the aid of the two squadrons , which succeeded in driving off the enemy coralskippers with the help of the two capital ships , " Far Thunder " was too badly damaged to be salvageable . Following the evacuation of the cruiser ' s remaining crew to " Whip Hand " by shuttle , the frigate maneuvered alongside " Far Thunder " and blasted the cruiser apart at point - blank range to prevent the Yuuzhan Vong from stealing the " Republic " - class ship . Behind the scenes . " Whip Hand " first appeared in " " , which was written by Walter Jon Williams and released in 2002 as a part of " " series . In 2008 , the ship was mentioned in multiple entries in " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " , which served to confirm " Whip Hand " role in the fighting at Obroa - skai .