Matalok

Mataloks were large Yuuzhan Vong bioships commonly found in the Yuuzhan Vong warfleet. As with the Suuv Ban D'Krid and occasionally the Miid ro'ik, the New Republic referred to them as 'cruiser analogs'.
==Characteristics==
The Matalok were approximately 1,200 meters long somewhat resembling the Mon Calamari Star Cruiser from a distance and were heavily armed with multiple yaret-kors as well as Dovin basals to function as shields and tractor beams whilst possessing a wing of Coralskippers. They were commonly used to command the Yuuzhan Vong attack forces in lieu of larger vessels such as Koros-Strohna, Miid Ro'ik and modified Vua'spar interdictors such as Warmaster Tsavong Lah. In spite of their relatively large size, many of these cruisers were also capable of operating deep inside a planetary atmosphere, in direct support of ground troops.
Though the Matalok was heavily armed and shielded, but there were instances of these ships being destroyed by proton torpedo shots that would have only dented the armor on a standard Mon Calamari Star Cruiser. In one instance, a single Jedi shadow bomb launched from Jaina Solo's X-wing destroyed a matalok in the Second Battle of Borleias, by blowing a large crater and ensuring that the ship was dying. In another instance, Rogue Squadron X-wings launched a proton torpedo barrage at another matalok to cover a refugee ship later in the same battle. Three of the torpedoes hit, cracking the vessel in half.
==History==
In 27 ABY, a Matalok served as part as part of the defence fleet protecting the Koros-strohna worldship Baanu Rass in orbit over the occupied world of Myrkr alongside several I'Friil Ma-Nat corvette analogs. When the hijacked Exquisite Death- carrying the Myrkr strike team aboard in their mission to wiped out the Voxyn queen and stop the threat and creation of more Voxyn - arrived in the system, the Matalok and its escorts moved to block the vessel's approach. Its commander then contacted the smaller ship and attempted to force its surrender, only to instead be severely damaged if not destroyed by Jedi trickery.
Commander Wyrpuuk Cha used a Matalok as the command ship of his fleet in the Second Battle of Borleias, where it was destroyed by the unexpected arrival of the Executor-class Star Dreadnought Lusankya in the Pyria system. Later, two mataloks made a strike against the New Republic positions on the surface, provoking a counterattack by Twin Suns Squadron and Rogue Squadron, in which one was driven off, and one destroyed. in the closing stages of the battle, two mataloks were destroyed by the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Errant Venture.
In the closing stages of the war, mataloks played a role in the major fleet actions. In the Defense of Mon Calamari they were again grouped with destroyer analogs, plus yammosk carriers and fleet tenders, in the center of the fleet formation, with picket ships and coralskippers deployed in screening formations that resembled the arms of a yammosk or indeed a spiral galaxy. This large formation was capable of segmenting into smaller battlegroups, and this tactic was repeated during the Battle of Yuuzhan'tar, where mataloks played a prominent role in the groups sent against the Fourth Fleet and Zonama Sekot.
After the end of the war, most if not all mataloks, along with the rest of the Yuuzhan Vong fleet, would be sent into the Coruscant sun when the extragalactic invaders agreed to settle on Zonama Sekot.
==Behind the scenes==
*The Matalok first appeared in "The New Jedi Order: Star by Star" and would go to further appearances in "The New Jedi Order: Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream", "The New Jedi Order: Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand" and "The New Jedi Order: The Unifying Force".
*Whilst the so-called "light cruiser analog" and "heavy cruiser analog" appeared in early novels "The New Jedi Order: Dark Tide II: Ruin", "The New Jedi Order: Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial" and "The New Jedi Order: Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse", it was never confirmed these were Mataloks. Similarly the term "cruiser analog" would also likely refer to the Miid Ro'ik warship analog (referred to as the "assault cruiser analog" at the Battle of Ithor) or the Suuv Ban D'Krid cruiser analog in "The New Jedi Order: Balance Point" and identified in "The New Jedi Order Sourcebook" or another type of unidentified Yuuzhan Vong capital ship.
==Appearances==
*The New Jedi Order: Star by Star 
*The New Jedi Order: Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream
*The New Jedi Order: Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand
*The New Jedi Order: The Unifying Force
==Sources==
*The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
*The Essential Guide to Warfare
Category:Cruiser classes
Category:Yuuzhan Vong starship classes