Battle of Yuuzhan'tar

The Battle of Yuuzhan'tar, also known as the Recapture of Coruscant or the Second Battle of Coruscant, Galaxy of Intrigue, p. 152 was the final battle of the Yuuzhan Vong War, fought between the combined forces of the Galactic Alliance, New Jedi Order and Chiss Ascendancy against the Yuuzhan Vong and their empire. After the arrival of the living planet Zonama Sekot to the Coruscant system, and the retreat of the fleet under Warmaster Nas Choka from the battle at Mon Calamari, the Galactic Alliance set route to Coruscant, or Yuuzhan'tar as the invaders had renamed it, to take it back and end the war.
The battle was long, with the biggest fleets both combatants could gather. The fighting had several fronts in space and on the surface of terraformed Yuuzhan'tar, and at the end, the Galactic Alliance was victorious, helped by Yuuzhan Vong followers of the Jeedai heresy, the Shamed Ones and Workers. It ended with the death of Supreme Overlord Shimrra and his secret puppeteer Onimi, and afterwards, the Yuuzhan Vong went to exile on Zonama Sekot so they could redefine their culture in peace.
==Prelude==
The arrival of Zonama Sekot caused mass panic and awe amongst the Yuuzhan Vong. The prophet Yu'shaa, in truth Nom Anor, had been preaching to the Shamed Ones that Zonama Sekot's arrival would signal the fall of the Elite's oppression of the Shamed Ones. The Shamed Ones, seeing their hour at hand, went into open revolt, dividing the forces of the Warrior caste. Zonama Sekot also dispersed the Rainbow Bridge of asteroids, causing the planet's Dovin basals to focus on keeping asteroids from falling to the planet. Already engaged at Mon Calamari, Warmaster Nas Choka ordered the Yuuzhan Vong fleet to return to Yuuzhan'tar, and recalled forces from many other planets in the Yuuzhan Vong empire. However, some Domains refused to acknowledge the order, for fear they would have to attack Zonama Sekot. Regardless, Choka was able to amass a huge force, ready to attack the planetary intruder. When it was assembled, Shimrra Jamaane, the Supreme Overlord of the Yuuzhan Vong, ordered them to hold position.
Shimrra was utterly terrified of Zonama Sekot. His ascension to the throne had come about by overthrowing Supreme Overlord Quoreal, who had balked at invading over the presence of Zonama Sekot. However, he reasoned that since its technology was similar to Yuuzhan Vong Shaping protocols, it thus could fall to things designed to attack the Yuuzhan Vong. Shimrra thus ordered a Slayer ship infected with the Alpha Red virus to crash into Zonama Sekot.
But things just got worse for Shimrra. Sekot had furnished the Jedi Knights with Zonama Sekotan fighters, which were living vessels, just like the Yuuzhan Vong's ships. Saying that the Gods had provided Sekot with the Vessels in punishment of allowing the Jeedai heresy to continue, Shimrra ordered all Shamed Ones executed at once, placing Nom Anor in charge of the killing squads. However, apparently believing he was going to lose, Shimrra commanded the World Brain to begin a series of fire and earthquakes that would ultimately render the planet uninhabitable. Anor, believing Shimrra psychotic, defected over to the Shamed Ones.
==The battle==
Meanwhile the rest of the Galactic Alliance Defense Fleet hurried to reach Yuuzhan'tar and opened fire with all their guns over the dovin basal screen that protected the planet. Many battle groups jumped to hyperspace from Mon Calamari, Eriadu, Hapes and other planets and focused their vessels on the planets near Yuuzhan'tar, such as Muscave and Stentat. The Jedi arrived at Zonama Sekot, and there they met with Master Luke Skywalker, who told them of the events that had happened since his team began their quest for the legendary world. Some Jedi were selected by Sekot to fly Zonama Sekotan Fighters, among them Kyp Durron, Corran Horn, and Alema Rar; however, Jaina Solo wasn't chosen. She was to be part of a Jedi team that would get into the surface of the planet, with Luke, Mara Jade, Kenth Hamner, Jacen Solo and Tahiri Veila. The reasoning behind this was that the psychological impact at seeing both Solo twins together on Yuuzhan'tar would affect the superstitious Yuuzhan Vong. Meanwhile Han and Leia Solo and the Yuuzhan Vong priest Harrar would go to the Well of the World Brain to neutralize the dhuryam, for Shimrra could use him to destroy Yuuzhan'tar.
The Supreme Overlord was doing precisely that. He convinced the World Brain to cause great fires to cleanse the parts damaged by the groundquakes and magma streams to remove the fallen buildings. The World Brain had to obey Shimrra's orders, but he was conscious that he was causing a great deal of damage to the planet that he was bred to take care of. Warmaster Nas Choka could see the damage to Yuuzhan'tar from space, but he was convinced that Shimrra would take care of it, and his only worry was to stop the Alliance assault. Choka ordered the Alpha Red infected Slayer ship to be ingested by a larger warship, so it could safely arrive at Zonama Sekot and successfully poison the planet.
With large parts of the Yuuzhan Vong fleet fighting Alliance forces in the system's other planets, Yuuzhan'tar was relatively unprotected, and its defensive screen of dovin basals were fully occupied stopping the asteroids from falling. Even so the fighting was fierce, and many ships were destroyed. Three transports carried Page's Commandos and other ground forces, however one was destroyed in space and another crashed into the surface. Nevertheless the Alliance successfully put soldiers on the ground of Yuuzhan'tar, and several starfighters passed through the dovin basal screen to attack planetary objectives.
On the streets and squares of Yuuzhan'tar, the heretics and Shamed Ones rebelled against the Elite. They were poorly armed, but there were so many that the warriors sent to kill them were hard pressed. The Millennium Falcon arrived to the surface and its crew reunited with the commanders of the ground forces, and several commandos went to help the heretics and Shamed Ones. Luke asked Mara to go with them, and she grudgingly accepted, taking Tahiri and Kenth with her. The Yuuzhan Vong rebels were being overwhelmed; however the Alliance reinforcements came to support them. When they saw the Jedi the heretics' morale soared, and they fiercely attacked the warriors, who were now trapped between two forces. Tahiri caught sight of Nom Anor, and Mara went after him. Anor tried to kill her, but Mara defeated and apprehended him.
Han, Leia, their Noghri bodyguards, Harrar, and the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO went aboard the Millennium Falcon to the Well of the World Brain. The only entrance was a maze of thorns hard as durasteel with a potent neurotoxin, but with Han Solo's piloting abilities the Falcon made it to the atrium. There High Priest Jakan, High Prefect Drathul and Master Shaper Qelah Kwaad were about to sacrifice several captives, and their warriors captured the Solos and Harrar to sacrifice them too. A small group of heretics arrived, however they were only two dozen badly-armed rebels against fifty able warriors. Among the heretics were Mara, Tahiri, and Kenth, guided by Nom Anor. Before both groups could engage each other, fifty more warriors arrived and the heretics and Solos lost all hope. Fortunately, the new arrivals joined the heretics and together they defeated the forces of the Elite. Nom Anor killed Drathul, and Harrar overpowered Jakan and captured Kwaad.
On Zonama Sekot the Jedi flew their fighters to protect the planet, but the living ships took some time for the pilots to get used to, and vice versa. Sekot's defenses efficiently repelled the enemy yorik-ets, but the number of adversaries continued to grow. In space the fighting was still intense, and with each minute thousands of Yuuzhan Vong warriors and Galactic Alliance soldiers were killed. Nas Choka was satisfied; it was only a matter of time until the ship infected with Alpha Red reached the planet so the war could end.
Meanwhile, Luke, Jacen, Jaina and Page's Commandos were reaching Shimrra's Citadel. The Jedi jumped with Force assistance, and the commandos followed them the best they could with their jetpacks. Even so, on one point the road was blocked by Tu-Scart and Sgauru, the huge battle beasts that destroyed refugee settlements on Duro three years before,The New Jedi Order: Balance Point and the attacks by Chazrach slave troops and rakamats was constant. Jacen communicated with the World Brain so he could convince the war beasts to stop their attacks. Jacen and the World Brain had a special bond, since it had been the young Jedi who chose which dhuryam would become the one who would shape Yuuzhan'tar,The New Jedi Order: Traitor so he was the only one who could convince the World Brain to disobey Shimrra. The World Brain was angered with Jacen because of the heretics arrival at the Well, as he thought they were going to kill him. Nevertheless Jacen convinced him to side with the Galactic Alliance to put an end to the war, and his destructive actions ceased. The World Brain ordered Tu-Scart and Sgauru to help Jacen, so the Jedi could enter the Citadel. The Chazrach were angered by the apparent betrayal of the war beasts, and attacked them. The rakamats felt betrayed in turn because the Chazrach were attacking Tu-Scart and Sgauru and attacked them, and soon the area around the Citadel was under Alliance control.
On Zonama Sekot the Jedi fighters abruptly descended to the surface, leaving the Jedi perplexed. No one could explain what just happened, but with the Smugglers' Alliance having told them about the vessel infected with Alpha Red, everybody feared the worst: that the infected ship had reached the planet. Corran Horn believed that Sekot was trying to contain the Alpha Red to prevent its spread, but in any case, for the moment the Jedi on Zonama Sekot were out of the battle.
Shimrra was informed that the Jedi had arrived at the Citadel, and ordered his Slayers to let them enter, so he could witness their deaths. The three Jedi went though the seldom used paths and found few warriors, although when they reached Shimrra the Supreme Overlord was protected by fifteen Slayers. These modified warriors were so powerful that even Kyp Durron wasn't able to defeat one of them on Caluula, but the three Jedi proved that the Force was with them that day and were able to defeat several. They were helped by the fact that the Citadel would spontaneously tremble, causing the slayers to lose balance and giving the Jedi the advantage. During the fighting, Jaina noticed that behind Shimrra was Onimi, and following her instincts, went after him. Luke and Jacen didn't understand Jaina's departure, and the Slayers still outnumbered them. Wounded, the Jedi kept on fighting, and Luke became a maelstrom of the Force, keeping their enemies at bay. Jaina was ambushed by Onimi, who poisoned her with his enormous fang. Jaina was shocked, however, for before Onimi knocked her down she felt him through the Force.
Meanwhile Galactic Alliance reinforcements arrived to Coruscant system, including Admiral Traest Kre'fey's forces. The space battle was going badly for the Galactic Alliance, although the Yuuzhan Vong also suffered heavy losses. Since the beginning of the battle, the fleets of the Generals Wedge Antilles and Keyan Farlander had been constantly attacked, though Alliance reinforcements kept coming up to keep the field even. However, Warmaster Choka still was confident that the Gods weren't going to abandon the Yuuzhan Vong with victory so close at hand.
Inside the Citadel, Shimrra moved to attack Luke Skywalker. The Supreme Overlord was huge and powerful, the greatest warrior of the Yuuzhan Vong. He wielded a special amphistaff, the Scepter of Power, bigger and more powerful than the common ones, which he used to poison Luke. With the Scepter asphyxiating the Jedi Master, to the amazement of Luke and Jacen, Shimrra produced from his ceremonial robes Anakin Solo's lightsaber, with the intent of killing his hated foe with his kinsman's weapon. Nevertheless, Luke cut the Scepter of Power with his own lightsaber and, using the Force to pull Anakin's, used both sabers to behead the astonished Shimrra. Jacen wanted to help his uncle, visibly affected by the powerful poison, but was instead instructed to go after Jaina.
Han, Leia, Mara, Tahiri and Kenth were guided by Nom Anor to Shimrra's throne, where they found the wounded Jedi Master and the dead Supreme Overlord. This last sight shocked the executor, for never before had the Yuuzhan Vong been without a Supreme Overlord. While Mara and Tahiri took Luke, Han, Leia and Anor went after the Solo twins and Onimi, however that moment the Citadel rose to space, at Onimi's command. Without knowing about Shimrra's death, Nas Choka thought that the Citadel's arrival was his Supreme Overlord's personal support, which renewed his warrior's spirit. Meanwhile, Sekot told Danni Quee that its only interest was to welcome home the Yuuzhan Vong, stunning everyone present, Jedi and Ferroan alike.
Onimi had tied Jaina's hands, and calling her "Yun-Harla," told her his story; when he implanted yammosk neural tissue in his brain and gained the power to control others, even Shimrra – which made him the real power behind the throne. Nevertheless his experiments made him a Shamed One, something he blamed on Jaina-Yun-Harla and the other Gods, who he hated. As the true Supreme Overlord, Onimi had the intention to kill Zonama Sekot, which he believed would grant him the powers of a god, and kill every living being in the galaxy as well. Jacen arrived to confront Onimi, who had the ability to create toxins and poisons manipulating his body's chemicals, but Jacen entered a state of oneness with the Force and, shining with the full power of the Force, neutralized all the venoms that Onimi threw him. Such was Jacen's power that he reverted Onimi's deformities, thus reverting the latter's use of the Force, and his foe died victim of his own unchecked poisons within his body, dissolving him completely. Han, Leia and Anor arrived just in time to see Jacen's victory.
With the death of the true Supreme Overlord, the ship they were in started to die, and Nom Anor guided the Solo family to a waste disposal system, making them believe that they were going to an escape pod. However, Jacen discovered his deceit and stood in front of Anor's plaeryin bol poison, directed at his father and sister. Leia cut the treacherous executor's hand with her lightsaber, stopping him from releasing a gas that would render them unconscious to die with the Citadel. Jacen and Han offered Nom Anor another opportunity to go with them, but he refused saying that he wanted no part in whatever was going to happen next, and he chose to die with Onimi. The Solos used the escape pod, which was picked up by Mara Jade, piloting the Falcon. Inside the ship Jacen, at Vergere's suggestion, used Mara's tears and his own to make an antidote to Shimrra's Scepter poison, saving Luke. Meanwhile Zonama Sekot released small insectile craft that took the Slayer ship to deep space, saving the planet from destruction.
==The aftermath==
Witnessing the destruction of Shimrra's Citadel, Nas Choka knew that the Supreme Overlord of the Yuuzhan Vong was dead, and therefore the gods had abandoned them. Horrified, the Warmaster communicated with his Supreme Commanders and told them that, as the gods had abandoned the Yuuzhan Vong, anyone who wished to fight until death or commit suicide was allowed to do so, and he himself would surrender to the Galactic Alliance. Most of his command staff chose death, and barely after Nas Choka's transmission ended many opened themselves with coufees, and hundreds (or thousands) of coralskippers and pickets became living missiles, hurling themselves towards Alliance vessels.
The Liberation of Coruscant was a success and the planet was once again renamed Coruscant. Many Yuuzhan Vong survivors surrendered, shocked by what just happened, although others said they would keep fighting to the death. Warmaster Choka formally surrendered to the Alliance, and grudgingly accepted the Yuuzhan Vong's exile to Zonama Sekot, revealed as the heir of their long lost home, Yuuzhan'tar. The Sekot Accords were the peace treaty that, at last, ended the war. However, Coruscant had been strongly Vongformed, and though there still was a substantial quantity of working technology underneath the foliage, many years would pass until it became habitable again. Many Yuuzhan Vong refused Nas Choka's call to surrender, and kept fighting for at least several more months.
While the war had been won, the casualties were incalculable on the side of the Galactic Alliance. In the final battle alone, five million were killed, and ten million were wounded; it was said that the death toll of four years of war was 365 trillion. There were dozens of devastated planets – Vongformed like Tynna,The New Jedi Order: Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse ravaged like Ithor,The New Jedi Order: Dark Tide II: Ruin or outright destroyed like SernpidalThe New Jedi Order: Vector Prime. Many species went extinct, and there were still millions of homeless refugees. Additionally, remnants of Yuuzhan Vong activity, such as dovin basal mines, were still all over the galaxy. Nevertheless, the galaxy had united like never before, and the main factions and governments worked together towards a common goal. The Alliance had plenty of work ahead, but there was the will to do it.
==Behind the scenes==
The planning team of the Star Wars: The New Jedi Order book series, including James Luceno, debated whether to wipe out the Yuuzhan Vong species at the conclusion of series. They ultimately choose to exile the Vong, feeling that a merciful option would be more interesting, less stereotypical, and more in keeping with the spirit of the saga and the series.
==Appearances==
*The New Jedi Order: The Unifying Force 
*The New Jedi Order: The Unifying Force abridged audiobook
*Dark Nest I: The Joiner King 
*Dark Nest I: The Joiner King abridged audiobook 
*Legacy of the Force: Tempest 
*Legacy of the Force: Tempest abridged audiobook 
*Legacy of the Force: Inferno 
*Legacy of the Force: Inferno abridged audiobook 
*Legacy of the Force: Fury 
*Legacy of the Force: Fury abridged audiobook 
*X-Wing: Mercy Kill 
==Sources==
*
*
*The New Essential Chronology 
*Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force
*The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia 
*The Essential Atlas
*Galaxy of Intrigue
*The Essential Guide to Warfare
==Notes and references==
Category:Battles of Coruscant
Category:Battles of the Yuuzhan Vong War
Category:Duels