Sinan Mat Sinan Mat was a member of the warrior caste of the Yuuzhan Vong . A field commander , Mat was dispatched into the jungles of Yavin 4 in 26 ABY in order to search for fugitive Jedi who had escaped the destruction of the Jedi Praxeum . Put on to the trail of Anakin Solo , after the young Jedi had downed a tsik vai scout craft over the forests , Sinan Mat led his warriors on an extensive search pattern , with orders to capture the Jedi once they encountered him . Unfortunately for the field commander , Solo ' s powers and communion with the familiar jungles of Yavin 4 gave him a great advantage when Sinan Mat and his party caught up with the Jedi . Having wounded the young Human , Mat was preparing to take Solo back to the Yuuzhan Vong base when a swarm of piranha beetles , summoned by Solo through the Force , fell upon him and his fellow warriors and rapidly stripped the flesh from their bones . Biography . Born into the warrior caste , Sinan Mat had risen to the rank of field commander by the time of the Yuuzhan Vong War . Assigned to the invasion of Yavin 4 in 26 ABY , Mat was subordinate to Commander Tsaak Vootuh , who had presided over the destruction of the Jedi Praxeum and the creation of a Yuuzhan Vong base upon the planet ' s surface . Although one Jedi , Tahiri Veila , had been captured by the shapers who were to undertake the project of twisting Force - sensitives to the purpose of the Yuuzhan Vong , another , Anakin Solo had escaped the Peace Brigade forces who had first assaulted the planet and was active in the wilderness surrounding the Yuuzhan Vong base . When the Jedi had a run in with a tsik vai and brought it down with his lightsaber , Sinan Mat and many other warriors were dispatched into the dense jungles to locate and capture the fugitive Solo , in order to return him to the shapers . Beginning a search pattern which expanded methodically from the site of the destroyed tsik vai , the field commander led a large group of warriors , who either separated into pairs , manned tsik vai or went out alone to find the Jedi . Three days after the destruction of the tsik vai , Solo was spotted , some twenty kilometers from the base , and Sinan Mat and his warriors closed in upon the Jedi . Although Solo managed to incapacitate several of the lone warriors who found him , Mat was able to hit the Jedi in the back with a nang hul , bringing the young Human down to the forest floor . Quickly , Sinan Mat and the other warriors closed in on the downed Jedi , and prepared to take him back to the damutek s . Equipped with a tizowyrm , Mat was able to announce in Basic his respect for the Jedi , and reluctantly turned down a duel with Solo , aware of his orders to return the fugitive alive . As Sinan Mat and the Jedi talked , Solo used the Force to summon a swarm of nearby piranha beetles which had been feasting in the jungle . Momentarily distracted by the tizowyrm ' s failure to translate the word " forgive " , Mat and his fellow warriors were caught off - guard by the arrival of the deadly piranha beetles . The ravenous swarm devoured the field commander ' s face in an instant , and he died shortly thereafter . Personality and traits . Although respectful towards Anakin Solo ' s prowess as a warrior , Field Commander Mat knew better than to disobey the orders of the shapers ; thus he refused the tempting challenge of a duel . He also regretted the manner by which Solo had been brought down , mindful that close - quarters combat , rather than the use of a nang hul , would have been the more honorable way to incapacitate the Jedi . Behind the scenes . Sinan Mat has only a brief appearance in Gregory Keyes ' s " " , as he is killed moments after his introduction .