The Nebula Strider was originally owned by a wealthy Shinteran family, as evidenced by various artifacts found aboard. They were apparently killed during the Vong bombardment before they could evacuate, and the ship entombed in their partially collapsed private hangar. It was discovered by looters scouring the rubble two weeks after the aliens withdrew from Jusadih, and immediately put to use in fleeing the smouldering system. Unfortunately, by that time space traffic was essentially non-existent, and Clan Plagueis had collected itself enough to scrutinize stragglers.
It’s doubtful that the hard-pressed Dark Jedi would have bothered finding a pretext for confiscating a working transport, especially one with a powerful sublight drive. Nonetheless, the “theft” of the vessel was used as a dismissive wave toward legality, ensuring that the shattered Shinteran justice system looked the other way both when the ship was seized, and all aboard transferred to a forced labour detachment on Aerun.
The Nebula Strider now lends its small size and speed to inspecting traffic over Shintera.