Battle at Lansend Twenty - Six After an attack on the transport " Sempre " , insurgents and freed Wookiee slaves attacked the space station Lansend Twenty - Six in an attempt to liberate their companions . With their communications jammed , Lansend Twenty - Six could not call on the nearby Baklek Base for support , but were aided by the " Chimaera " under the command of Commodore Thrawn , who had anticipated the attack . The forces were defeated soon after . Prelude . During the Imperial Era , the xenophobic Galactic Empire exploited the Wookiee species as an expendable slave labor force ; regarding them as beasts . The Empire exploited the Wookiees because their large , robust physiology allowed them to work in harsh and dangerous conditions . Enslaved Wookiees were used to harvest lumber , work in mines , build Imperial weapons such as the Death Star , and as test subjects in medical and weapons experiments . In addition , the Empire turned the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk into a giant slave labor camp and renamed it Imperial territory G5 - 623 . The pirate and insurgent leader Nightswan waged an insurgent campaign against the Empire . He and his followers engaged in various activities including smuggling doonium , tibanna , and iridium to raise funds for people hurt by the Empire . Eight weeks before the attack on the troop carrier " Sempre " , Nightswan ' s followers stole the frigate " Castilus " and two squadrons of V - 19 Torrent starfighter s . They ambushed the " Sempre " , freed the enslaved Wookiees , and killed the Imperial crew and stormtrooper contingent aboard . The Imperial Star Destroyer " Chimaera " under the command of Commodore Thrawn responded to the " Sempre " distress transmission . While stormtrooper Major Ayer tried to keep the ship ' s cargo a secret , Thrawn and Lieutenant Commander Eli Vanto insisted on inspecting the " Sempre " . They discovered that the troop carrier was transporting Wookiee slaves . Due to the tribal nature of Wookiee culture , Thrawn realized that the liberated Wookiees would seek vengeance against those who participated in the slaving : the space station Lansend Twenty - Six , which processed Wookiee slaves exported offworld . The battle . As Thrawn had predicted , the insurgents and liberated Wookiees traveled to Lansend Twenty - Six . Since a saboteur had managed to sabotage the long – range comm and starboard – side defense system , the insurgents were able to penetrate the space station . However , the station ' s commander Colonel Zenoc managed to capture the saboteur and fire the station ' s portside weapons . After contacting Baklek Base for help , the " Chimaera " arrived at Lansend Twenty - Six to find the processing station under attack . After establishing contact with Colonel Zenoc , Commodore Thrawn requested the schematics of her base . By then , the insurgents had breached the starboard docking hatch and were fighting their way inside . The insurgents ' frigate and starfighters also tried to take out the portside defenses so that they could land another boarding party in a pincer movement . Thrawn directed his TIE fighters to engage the enemy V - 19s . Commander Vanto then reported that the portside V - 19 force had split up with half engaging the TIEs while the other half lay siege to the station . Though the insurgents dispatch starboard V - 19s to defend the " Castilus " , Commander Karyn Faro took out the ship ' s hyperdrive . After ordering the TIEs to focus on the V - 19s , Thrawn asked Colonel Zenoc if there were any slaves in sections A - four , A - five or B - five . Zenoc reluctantly confirmed the presence of non - military personnel in B - five . Thrawn ordered her to evacuate all personnel to B - eight so that Commander Faro ' s gunners could use the " Chimaera " turbolasers to target seven points on the station ' s starboard side . Once Zenoc had complied , the " Chimaera " bombarded the sections of the station where the insurgents had boarded , trapping them . Thrawn also took care not to target B - five , which was now isolated from the rest of the station . With the boarders neutralized , Thrawn then turned his forces ' attention to battling the frigate and V - 19s . Thrawn then informed Colonel Zenoc that his forces would continue operations until the Baklek reinforcements arrived . By that stage , enemy forces were down to the crippled frigate and three functioning V - 19s . Thrawn gave orders for Commander Faro to capture prisoners for interrogation . Aftermath . Following the battle at Lansend Twenty - Six , Imperial forces captured the insurgents and secured the Wookiee slaves . Thrawn ' s forces also retrieved the " Sempre " and returned it to Imperial hands . Thrawn also left the Wookiee slaves on Lansend Twenty - Six , regarding them as Imperial assets who were being returned to their proper owners . When Lieutenant Commander Vanto expressed unease that the Empire was using slaves , Thrawn tried to rationalize slavery and insisted that the Wookiees would be treated like Imperial assets . Despite the defeat of Nightswan ' s forces at Lansend Twenty - Six , other rebel groups such as the Spectres took an interest in liberating Wookiee slaves . Later , the former smuggler and Rebel Alliance General Han Solo sought to honor his life debt to Chewbacca by freeing Wookiee slaves on Kashyyyk . After months of trial and failure , Solo and Chewbacca mustered a motley force of former slaves and allies that succeeded in liberating Kashyyyk from Imperial rule and exploitation in 5 ABY .