StarDestroyer.Net BBS

The Dark Empire Sourcebook, Chapter Six: Starships wrote:To give them a special advantage, some new features were to be added, including beefed-up weapons and sensors. Renamed the Liberator and the Emancipator, they were intended to play a vital role in the Borderland campaign, on the edge of Republic and Imperial space. The two Star Destroyers were holed up in the secret Hast Shipyards; however, the shipyards didn't remain a secret for long, as Imperial spies uncovered their location. The Hast Shipyards were a repair center, where damaged starships were rebuilt and refitted for combat duty. The Empire's sudden and brutal attack devastated the shipyards, nearly destroying the Star Destroyers and also damaging a large portion of the Rebel fleet—over 20 corvettes, five Nebulon-Bs and no less than seven Mon Cal MC80 cruisers were put out of commission in that battle. Casualties numbered in the thousands.

Suddenly, the repair of the Star Destroyers took a backseat to repairing the numerous other line ships that had been damaged in the battle. The Republic, always short on vessels, found itself critically short on combat ships, cutting short a planned campaign against what remained of the Empire (this single assault by the Empire helped throw the Republic's plans several years behind schedule).

It took a full five years for the Star Destroyers to be refitted for duty. They were nearly complete when Grand Admiral Thrawn's offensive began, further delaying the activation of the ships. Finally, after Thrawn was defeated, the ships were quietly put into service. With Lando Calrissian back in the Republic's military, he urged that the ships be put to their original use: spying on the Empire and stirring up trouble among the feuding factions.