Pythea The Pythea was an exploratory ship owned by Panha , a female Chiss , and Sarkkin , a male Wookiee . In 25 ABY , the ship intercepted a fleet crewed by the Yuuzhan Vong — a species of extragalactic invaders — bound for the planet Artorias . The crew of the " Pythea " attempted to contact Artorias , but they were at such a distance that the crew had to reroute all power to the transmission to send it successfully . Realizing the Yuuzhan Vong wanted to take them alive rather than kill them , Panha and Sarkkin sacrificed themselves by ramming the ship into a Miid ro ' ik cruiser to prevent the Yuuzhan Vong from capturing them . The message to Artorias , however , was in vain , as the being who had received it , Dulac , was in actuality a Yuuzhan Vong spy . Description . The " Pythea " was an exploratory ship that was colored red and had several long blaster cannons on the front and back of the cockpit . The cockpit also housed the piloting equipment . The ship was equipped with a hyperdrive , a cargo hold , deflector shields , scanners , and communications equipment . The Aurebesh letters " Usk " and " Dorn " were emblazoned on the side of the ship . History . In 25 ABY , the " Pythea " was on an exploratory mission when the female Chiss Panha and the male Wookiee Sarkkin , the owners and operators of the vessel , received a transmission from Arbeloa , the last surviving member of the Cilare . Arbeloa ' s message warned them about the extragalactic invaders known as the Yuuzhan Vong , whose fleet had obliterated his homeworld . At the same time , the " Pythea " long - range scanners detected the incoming fleet . The crew attempted to send a transmission to Artorias , the first inhabited planet in the fleet ' s trajectory , but they were too far away for it to be received . Deciding that it was more important to get closer and warn Artorias than it was to escape , the crew of the " Pythea " edged the ship toward the Yuuzhan Vong fleet and rerouted all power to the transmission . Noticing the vessel , the Yuuzhan Vong sent several ships commanded by Azca to intercept the " Pythea " . Before the " Pythea " could defend itself against the incoming vessels , Yorik - Vec ships began to fire on the exploratory ship . While the Yuuzhan Vong began to breach the " Pythea " hull , the transmission finally reached Artorias . Panha and Sarkkin informed Dulac , the transmission ' s recipient and friend to the planet ' s king , of the fleet and sent to him all of the data that they had gathered on the armada as well . After Dulac received the information , the Yuuzhan Vong successfully penetrated the " Pythea " hull and warriors began to board the vessel . The boarding party was killed by the crew , and — realizing that the Yuuzhan Vong wanted to take them alive rather than kill them — Panha and Sarkkin rammed the " Pythea " into a Miid ro ' ik cruiser . The impact destroyed both the cruiser and the " Pythea " , as well as several Yorik - Vecs nearby . The " Pythea " sacrifice became one of the first strikes against the Yuuzhan Vong during their invasion of the galaxy . The warning to Artorias , however , was in vain , as Dulac , the being who received the message , was in reality a Yuuzhan Vong spy . Because of this , the Yuuzhan Vong attack on Artorias took the planet ' s population by surprise , allowing the invaders to conquer the world . Commanders and crew . The " Pythea " was owned and operated by Panha and Sarkkin until their deaths and the ship ' s destruction . Behind the scenes . The " Pythea " first appeared in " " , an online preview of " " , a comic series published by Dark Horse Comics . The preview was released on May 8 , 2009 , on the official " Star Wars " website .