Praetorite Vong

The Praetorite Vong was the vanguard force established by the extra-galactic Yuuzhan Vong in the far edge of the galaxy for their approaching ships through the intergalactic void from another galaxy in preparation for their planned conquest of the galaxy, and was achieved by establishing a foothold for strategic and logistical nodes. It was formed by combining the roles of scouts, assault troops, combat engineers, pioneers and logistics corps. 
==History==
===Early operations===
Information of Yuuzhan Vong activity within the galaxy was scarce, but the Galactic Republic, who termed them "Far Outsiders", was fully aware of the Praetorite Yong foothold in the edge of the galaxy and their scouting parties and the distant threat of invasion.Outbound Flight
In 32 BBY, at the time of the Invasion of Naboo, the Praetorite Yong discovered the living planet of Zonama, and attempted to colonize it. However, Zonama biosphere killed off the Yuuzhan Vong flora and fauna. Although Sekot attempted to negotiate with them, they began an assault upon the planet. After two years of costly fighting, the assault was called off with the arrival of the Jedi Knight Vergere, who convinced the Yuuzhan Vong to leave on the condition that she would travel with them.Rogue Planet
===Vector Prime===
Da'Gara and other senior Praetorite Vong collated and analyzed the intelligence gathered by Executor Nom Anor during his years in the galaxy, selecting their initial bridgehead at Vector Prime and dispatching a scout, Yomin Carr, to infiltrate the Extragalactic Society monitoring base on Belkadan. This done, Da'Gara entered the galaxy with a squadron of three worldships and a young yammosk to coordinate his forces.
Although outwardly loyal, however, the Praetorite Vong were in fact pursuing their own independent strategy, plans which Da'Gara had been developing since the Yuuzhan Vong first discovered the galaxy. The support of the Praetorite domains for the coup which saw Shimrra of Domain Jamaane become Supreme Overlord was merely a cover for their own independent ambitions. Da'Gara had also inveigled Nom Anor into his schemes, persuading the Executor to obtain a yammosk without authorization, albeit one that was regarded as imperfectly formed by the Shapers who had created it.
The Praetorite Vong subsequently established a major base on Helska IV, landing their ships and implanting the war coordinator there. However, as their plan was foiled when the New Republic destroyed Helska IV, killing the yammosk and the majority of the Praetorite Vong invasion force in the Second Battle of Helska. Da'Gara and many elite warriors were slain. Alongside these military losses, the reputation of the corps was dramatically weakened.
===Aftermath===
The Warrior caste reacted to the defeat by sending Commander Shedao Shai to temporarily take command of Yuuzhan Vong operations inside the galaxy as the next wave of invasion forces arrived. As honor required, Shai was forced to re-conquer the worlds lost by the Praetorite Vong, disturbing the overall invasion plan. After the death of Shai and his second in command Deign Lian, Warmaster Tsavong Lah and the invasion force entered the galaxy and joined with remainder of the Praetorite Vong.
==Organization==
===Leadership===
The core personnel of the Praetorite Vong were a specialist cadre within the administrative Intendant caste though it was open to members of all castes. In addition to them, their numbers were bolstered by a large number of slave units attached to their operations. Its head was an individual holding the title of High Prefect and was responsible for overseeing its deployments. Among their ranks included scouts, pioneers, logistical personnel, assault troops, engineers as well as defensive soldiers. In addition, some members of the Praetorite Vong also served as bodyguards for high ranking military personnel. In addition to their normal forces, this group of Yuuzhan Vong were also aided by members of the Shamed Ones. Senior commanders, however, knew that the work of the Praetorite Vong was absolutely indispensable to Yuuzhan Vong military strategy, as every advance depended on the groundwork they laid for staging points and equipment.Galaxy of Intrigue
===Military===
The Preatorite Yong sought to pave the way for the Yuuzhan Vong invasion forces. Thus, their forces typically ranged from espionage, infiltration and information gathering to sabotage, creating bases and destabilizing target governments. The ultimate aim of this strategy was to turn target populations against themselves. As such, infiltration was considered the key strength of the group, and they ensured that outlying systems were often kept at each other's throats, thus leaving them defenseless when the invasion forces finally arrived. To accomplish this, the Praetorite Vong often recruited spies, saboteurs and propagandists from the local populations in order to use them against their own governments.
To better facilitate their operations, it agents were known to use the ooglith masquer, which was commonly used to cover the faces of its members. Furthermore, they made use of its cousin, the Gablith masquer, as well as the ooglith cloaker in order to disguise their features. To further aid them in their goals, they also made use of the organic communication biots known as tizowyrms. In terms of starships, the Praetorite Vong were known to make active use of Yorik-stronha spy ships as well as the Sliviliths, which they used as organic probes to scout space. Beyond this, they made use of worldships in order to bring their forces to bear against a target region.
==Behind the scenes==
The Praetorite Vong are the main villains of The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime, the first novel of the New Jedi Order series. However, they hardly appear subsequently: their role and organization, and their place within Yuuzhan Vong society and strategy, are only explicitly explained in the The New Jedi Order Sourcebook. In turn, the implication of this source that the Praetorite Vong invasion was simply a methodical part of the overall Yuuzhan Vong strategy is shown to be less than the whole truth by Nom Anor's reflections on Da'Gara and his agenda in The New Jedi Order: The Unifying Force. This novel, by mentioning the "Praetorite domains", also shows that the Praetorite Vong organization is constructed around a group of Yuuzhan Vong domains, rather than being an entirely administrative structure.
==Appearances==
*Rogue Planet 
*The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime 
*The New Jedi Order: Dark Tide II: Ruin 
*The New Jedi Order: Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse 
*The New Jedi Order: Edge of Victory II: Rebirth 
*The New Jedi Order: Star by Star 
*The New Jedi Order: Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream
*The New Jedi Order: The Unifying Force 
==Sources==
*The New Jedi Order Sourcebook
*Coruscant and the Core Worlds
*Ultimate Alien Anthology
*The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
*
*The Essential Atlas
*Galaxy of Intrigue
*
*The Essential Guide to Warfare
==Notes and references==
Category:Galactic Rim
Category:Military units