Evacuation of Rychel The evacuation of Rychel was a military offensive against the extra - galactic Yuuzhan Vong species undertaken by a joint New Republic and Jedi Order task force . Occurring in the first year of the galaxy - spanning Yuuzhan Vong invasion , the battle originally began as an evacuation effort of the planet Rychel under the leadership of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker , whose Knights were called upon by the New Republic to help minimize the civilian casualties Rychel was suffering while the planet was under siege by the Yuuzhan Vong . Skywalker oversaw the exodus of as many of Rychel ' s citizens as possible , while a detachment of the New Republic Navy , commanded by Pau ' an Jedi Master Lar Le ' Ung and Padawan Finn Galfridian , engaged the Yuuzhan Vong warriors in battle . Complementing the onslaught of their Chazrach slave warriors were two Yuuzhan Vong monstrosities called Tu - Scart and Sgauru , which were capable of projecting fear toward the Rychel populace as well as the New Republic rescue force . Many of their company fell victim to the combined ferocity of the Chazrach and siege beasts , and when Master Le ' Ung attempted to rally his soldiers against the enemy , he was killed by the Yuuzhan Vong Commander Tsalok — who then fed him to Tu - Scart . Galfridian briefly assumed the Pau ' an ' s role as commander until Master Skywalker gave the signal to retreat after the evacuation ships had been filled to capacity . The young Padawan also noticed a family of survivors , but before he could help them to safety he was confronted by Tsalok . The duel which then ensued was brief as the building in which they fought was leveled by one of the warbeasts , rendering Tsalok helpless and pinned beneath the rubble . Galfridian emerged unscathed and , in a show of mercy , spared the life of the Yuuzhan Vong commander despite his festering hatred for a member of the species who had committed the same atrocities on his own homeworld of Artorias . As he joined Master Skywalker on the last of the evacuation ships to depart from Rychel , Finn Galfridian learned that while many beings had been liberated , the Republic was unable to save them all , and many more were left to suffer in the clutches of the merciless Yuuzhan Vong . Prelude . In 25 ABY , the galaxy fell victim to a sudden and unexpected invasion by the Yuuzhan Vong , an extra - galactic species bent on expanding their empire through conquest via genocide of all who opposed them . The preliminary phases of the Yuuzhan Vong war effort saw many worlds decimated , while others had their populations enslaved . Among those worlds whose people were massacred and landscape ravaged was the defenseless Artorias , but the timely intervention of a small New Republic task force led by Jedi Master Luke Skywalker effected a nominally successful liberation as they were able to evacuate a number of the planet ' s citizens . Shortly after the Yuuzhan Vong ' s appropriation of Artorias , Commander Tsalok of the invasion fleet led his forces in a blitz on the planet Rychel . In response , the New Republic again enlisted the aid of Master Skywalker and the Jedi Order to oversee the flight of Rychel ' s natives while avoiding as many civilian casualties at the hands of the Yuuzhan Vong as possible . He was joined by Pau ' an Jedi Master Lar Le ' Ung , and Prince Finn Galfridian , whom Skywalker had rescued from subjugation on Artorias and taken as a Padawan in light of the young boy ' s burgeoning Force - sensitivity . Rychel relief efforts . Deteriorating situation . Skywalker , Le ' Ung , and Galfridian arrived in Rychel ' s orbit on board one of several " Bulwark " - class battle cruisers that comprised part of the New Republic Naval fleet sent to engage the Yuuzhan Vong . Master Le ' Ung briefed his fellow Jedi and the Republic troopers on Rychel ' s planet - side situation : the invaders ' ground forces consisted of coufee - armed Chazrach slave warriors , as well as two enormous siege beasts that were laying waste to everything in their path . Paramount was the Republic ' s determination to preserve the lives of Rychel ' s citizens . To this end , Master Skywalker devised a plan wherein he would marshal as many of the noncombatants as possible toward the evacuation ships in preparation for departure from the planet . Master Le ' Ung and Padawan Galfridian were then responsible for leading a contingent of Republic troopers in battle against the Yuuzhan Vong forces to divert the enemy ' s attention from Skywalker ' s rescue efforts . " Bulwark " battle cruisers ferried the Republic and Jedi teams to Rychel ' s surface , where they witnessed the two siege creatures , Tu - Scart and Sgauru , corralling the natives in preparation for their slaughter . Master Skywalker immediately leaped from his vessel and descended upon the gathering Chazrach , scattering nearly all of them with a powerful blast of Force energy . While Skywalker tended to the prisoners and ushered them toward the " Bulwark " battle cruisers , Le ' Ung and Galfridian joined the Republic troopers as they promptly opened fire on the disoriented Chazrach . Air support was simultaneously deployed in the form of T - 65XJ X - wing starfighter squadrons , which began an assault on the siege beast Tu - Scart . The creature was more than a match for them , however , and downed several fighters without suffering any significant damage from their initial attack . One ship crashed perilously close to Master Le ' Ung and his forces , which decimated innocents , Chazrach , and Republic troopers alike . Many of the Republic troopers began to panic and retreat upon the realization that their weapons were having little to no effect on the beast . It was then that Le ' Ung and Galfridian discovered that Tu - Scart was emanating fear toward it foes . With his lightsaber ignited , the Pau ' an then began to rally his troops while reminding them of their mission : to distract the enemy long enough for the evacuation ships to collect as many of Rychel ' s people as possible . To the Jedi ' s disadvantage , the Yuuzhan Vong manifested no presence within the Force ; the inability to sense his foe was Le ' Ung ' s undoing , as Tsalok caught him unawares and impaled Le ' Ung with his amphistaff . Tsalok ensured the Pau ' an ' s death when he hurled Le ' Ung ' s body into the maw of Tu - Scart , the sight of which renewed the paranoia that had previously afflicted the Republic Forces . Padawan Galfridian ' s resolve was also shaken , but he nevertheless retrieved the fallen Master ' s lightsaber and attempted to rouse the troopers yet again to continue their forward press against the siege creatures . The beasts were repelled long enough for Master Skywalker to round up the last of the civilians and load them into the evacuation ships . Unexpected developments . Luke Skywalker issued the order to retreat , and Republic troops began to pull out . However , they were delayed momentarily by Tsalok , who tore through their ranks in pursuit of the two Jedi . Several Chazrach happened upon and prepared to kill a cornered family , but as Galfridian dispatched them and prepared to lead the hostages to safety , he was confronted by the Yuuzhan Vong commander . The two engaged in a brief duel before one of the Yuuzhan Vong warbeasts , Sgauru , leveled the building in which they fought . Galfridian was able to save both himself and the evacuees , but Tsalok had not fared so well . Trapped under a fallen pillar , he was left defenseless and at the mercy of the Jedi . Galfridian chose not to smite his enemy , though , and instead freed the commander , who — fully expecting to die by the Jedi ' s blade — was unable to comprehend the compassion exercised by his Human adversary . Galfridian then made haste for the last of the " Bulwark " cruisers and boarded , handing over Le ' Ung ' s lightsaber to Master Skywalker just as the ship departed Rychel . Aftermath . Although the New Republic had managed to liberate a considerable number of Rychel ' s inhabitants , not all were saved , and many more had been left in the custody of the Yuuzhan Vong and their Chazrach minions . Furthermore , the Republic ' s inability to rescue everyone was a note of great contention for Galfridian , whose own homeworld had recently suffered the same fate . When he demanded that they return for the captives , Galfridian was reminded by Master Skywalker of the New Republic ' s impotence in the face of such a widespread threat posed by the Yuuzhan Vong . He was also forced to come to terms with the loss of Lar Le ' Ung , a peaceful Jedi whose life had been lost protecting those who were unable to fend for themselves . Commander Tsalok had been shamed by the young Jedi who refused to grant him what he considered an honorable death in combat , and refused to grasp the principle which Galfridian demonstrated in doing so . Several of his newly acquired slaves — elderly men and thus too feeble to adequately serve the Yuuzhan Vong in his eyes — were immediately slain with his amphistaff , in direct defiance of the mercy bestowed upon him by Finn Galfridian . Despite the fact the Republic had been achieved nominal success in their extraction mission , Tsalok had been otherwise victorious . Like the planet Artorias , Rychel had been successfully conquered and left by the New Republic under the heel of the Yuuzhan Vong . Behind the scenes . The evacuation of Rychel first appeared in the of author Tom Taylor ' s " " story arc , titled " " . Though the planet Rychel was first mentioned in the , its first comic appearance was in part three of " Invasion : Refugees " . This is also the first comic appearance of the Chazrach , Commander Tsalok , and both Tu - Scart and Sgauru , although the latter two were featured in two previous books covering the Yuuzhan Vong war within the " New Jedi Order " series of novels : " " and " " .