The New Jedi Order
Star Wars: The New Jedi Order (or New Jedi Order or NJO) is a series of 19 science fiction novels, published from 1999 to 2003, set in the "Star Wars" Expanded Universe. The series revolves around the Yuuzhan Vong invasion of the galaxy 21–25 years after the events depicted in "Return of the Jedi". The New Jedi Order was the restored and reformed Jedi organization, following the Great Jedi Purge and subsequent fall of the Galactic Empire. The Jedi Knights, reduced in number to only a handful, were slowly restored, primarily under the leadership of Luke  Skywalker. Additional related stories were published, some as e-book novellas (as recently as 2006) and others as comic books (as recent as 2010/2011); these increase the total number of published "NJO"-related stories to 26. Following Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm, in 2014, most existing "Star Wars" spin-off works—including those related to "The New Jedi Order"—were declared non-canon and rebranded as 'Legends'. Plot. The series begins 21 years after the Rebel Alliance destroyed the second Death Star. The New Republic is facing internal conflict while trying to maintain peace. A new, powerful enemy, known as the Yuuzhan  Vong, emerges from the outer galaxy, beginning what will be known as the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. The Jedi, along with the New Republic, struggle to resist this new alien race while it steadily pushes forward, annihilating or occupying different parts of the galaxy. Character arcs. As the longest continuous series of novels in the Expanded Universe, the "NJO" was able to establish several long-term character arcs. Many new or previously underused characters were put into the spotlight and were developed extensively over the course of the series. Among the most prominent character arcs: Many major characters die within the  series. In a number of "New Jedi Order" books, the characters who die seemed to be of key importance in the novels. The books also revealed the death of some major characters in the "Star Wars" universe that were not introduced in the movie trilogies. In "Vector Prime", Chewbacca dies saving Anakin on the planet Sernpidal, which causes some friction between Anakin and his father Han. Development. In 1998, Sue Rostoni, managing editor for Lucas Licensing, and Shelly Shapiro, editorial director for Del Rey Books, joined with novelist James Luceno to plot "The New Jedi Order" series. Spanning 19 novels , it became the longest-running "Star Wars" book series. Luceno said, "We created a series bible that coordinated the story arcs, a database for new characters and continuity that was passed out to writers who were hired to do the work. We are mindful that we're playing in George Lucas' backyard, but everyone who has written for the franchise has contributed something." The Yuuzhan Vong species was based on the character Nom Anor, introduced in the Dark Horse Comics series "Crimson Empire"; he subsequently appeared in several "New Jedi Order" titles. Media. Section::::"Vector Prime". "Star Wars: The New Jedi  Order – Vector Prime" was written by American writer R. A. Salvatore and published in 1999. Upon its release, the book was featured on the "New York Times" Hardcover Bestseller List. The book received much controversy for the death of Chewbacca (the first and only time a major film character has been killed off in the now non-canon "Star Wars" Expanded Universe), despite George Lucas's approval. The concept of killing such a character was the decision of the book editors (said to include Randy Stradley, then an editor at Dark Horse Comics), who sent a list of characters they  would like to kill to Lucas, with Luke Skywalker at the top of the list. The response was what characters they could not kill, and Chewbacca was not on the list, hence his selection. Opinion was sharply divided as to whether this death of a beloved character was an effort to boost sales and interest in the new series, or if it served the dramatic purpose of declaring that not even the core characters were necessarily "safe" anymore. Mark Hamill reprised his role as Luke Skywalker for a commercial for the book. He had a speaking role in which he , as Luke, recalled his previous struggles and talks of how he was unsure he could defeat this new threat, the Yuuzhan Vong. The alien race known as the Yuuzhan Vong are preparing for their invasion on the "Star Wars" galaxy by covertly disrupting the peace established by that of the New Republic ever since the fall of the Galactic Empire years previously. These distractions allow for the specialist warrior caste, the Praetorite Vong, to establish a base on the frozen backwater world of Helska IV. But though they settle on Helska IV as secretly as possible, it is noticed nevertheless  by the members of the ExGal-4 base on the nearby world of Belkaden, which is also infiltrated by a Yuuzhan Vong agent named Yomin Carr. Three ExGal-4 members go to Helska IV to investigate, and two are killed by the Praetorite Vong, while the remaining one, Danni Quee, is captured and tortured for experimentation. Back on Belkaden, Yomin Carr readies the planet for Vong habitation by poisoning the world as the initial step in terraforming, and he kills the remaining Ex-Gal-4 scientists personally. Meanwhile, the Skywalker-Solo family, who, like the New Republic, are unaware of the Yuuzhan Vong  threat, decide to take a vacation from the bureaucratic troubles of the Republic and visit Lando Calrissian at his industrious planet of Dubrillion. There, they see the liftoff of Jedi Master Kyp Durron's Dozen-and-Two Avengers X-wing squadron, whose purpose is to protect the galaxy from criminals and pirates. Lando, meanwhile, asks Luke Skywalker and his wife Mara Jade to investigate what is happening on the world of Belkaden with R2-D2. They go, and Mara gets into a fight with Yomin Carr that she wins by killing him. This is despite her sickness that the Yuuzhan  Vong had given her through their agent, Nom Anor. Lando also asks Han Solo, his son Anakin Solo, and Chewbacca to go to the planet Sernpidal to pick up some cargo. They comply, but as they arrive, they find that the Praetorite Vong have made a target of the planet by pulling its moon, Dobido, down. Meanwhile, at Helska IV, the Dozen-and-Two Avengers get into a battle with the Praetorite Vong, which marks the first-ever battle in the Yuuzhan Vong War, and the squadron is decimated under the mighty forces of the Vong. Kyp Durron and his  apprentice, Miko Reglia, are the only survivors, but while Kyp escapes, Reglia is taken captive and tortured like Danni Quee. Helska IV is later raided and investigated again by the Skywalkers after they leave Belkaden. Back at Sernpidal, Han, Chewbacca, and Anakin save as many people as they can aboard the "Millennium Falcon", but Chewbacca is incidentally left behind and dies as Dobido crashes into Sernpidal, destroying the world. As the Solos and Skywalkers fall into grief over Chewbacca's death, they and their allies face the threat of the Yuuzhan Vong. The final battle against the Praetorite Vong occurs  when Jacen Solo senses a call in the Force by Danni Quee, so he takes his sister, Jaina, with him to rescue her covertly. Their cover is blown, but they are aided with forces from the New Republic that battle off the Vong and get Jacen and Danni off of Helska IV. Miko Reglia sacrifices himself again to make sure that Jacen and Danni escape. With Jacen and Danni returned, the New Republic plans to destroy Helska IV by using heat-concentrating ships to blow the world up. The vast majority of the Praetorite Vong are destroyed in this explosion , and it appears that the New Republic has beaten this alien menace. However, it turns out that the actual Yuuzhan Vong invasion force have yet to make any real appearance in the galaxy. The novel ends with the Skywalkers and Solos returning to Sernpidal so that Han can say a few words about Chewbacca in the wake of his sacrifice. He concludes that with his death, the galaxy has become a more dangerous place. Section::::"Dark Tide I: Onslaught". "Dark Tide: Onslaught" (also released as "Dark Tide I: Onslaught") is the first novel in a two-part story by Michael A.  Stackpole, published in 2000. Right after the Second Battle of Helska, the Yuuzhan Vong is a major threat to the New Republic. The Jedi and their allies want to attack the Yuuzhan Vong and take them out. With the help of the New Republic military, Leia Solo, with Jaina, her daughter and Jaina's friend Danni Quee, help forces around the Outer Rim territories to come together versus the Yuuzhan Vong. Luke Skywalker takes Jacen Solo with him to Belkaden to find the Yuuzhan Vong. While Anakin Solo, Jacen's brother, is with Luke Skywalker's wife Mara to Dantooine , a planet on the outer rim. They go to figure out if they can find a cure for the Vong disease that has spread across the galaxy. Anakin tries to help Mara with her work without using the Force. Two Jedi Knights named Corran Horn and Ganner Rhysode are sent a mission to Bimmiel, an Outer Rim planet to find university students that were taking from the Yuuzhan Vong and are missing at the moment. On Belkaden, Luke and Jacen look and study the Vong. While they are there Jacen is sleeping and he has a vision of himself saving  many people by killing various Vong warriors. He takes this vision as a sign that he needs to go save the slaves that the Yuuzhan Vong have. He is put into an Embrace of Pain which is a Yuuzhan Vong torture device. Luke goes to rescue Jacen and ends up killing all of the Yuuzhan Vong guards that are holding the slaves. They then go to Dantooine, where Anakin and Mara are. They get there and kill the Yuuzhan Vong who intended to kill Mara and Anakin. On Bimmiel, the two Jedi Knights happen to find the missing students. Corran  and Ganner go and actually save the students but are then confronted by the Yuuzhan Vong warriors. Corran yells to Ganner to get the students out, and says he will fend off the Yuuzhan Vong warriors. He kills both warriors by himself, while being severely injured during the fight. Ganner goes back to get Corran and takes him back to base to get help. It isn't long before the Vong arrive and the Battle of Dantooine starts which results in the loss of many New Republic's forces. Luke kills the Vong War Coordinator which then has the slaves  released. New Republic fleets start to evacuate the remaining Dantooine refugees. On Bimmiel, the Yuuzhan Vong, who are led by Commander Shedao Shai, discover the two dead Yuuzhn Vong warriors that Corran killed and he vows to kill the Jedi who killed his warriors. Section::::"Dark Tide II: Ruin". "Dark Tide: Ruin" (also released as "Dark Tide II: Ruin") is the second novel of Stackpole's two-part story, published in 2000. Section::::"Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial". "Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial" is the first book in a two-part story arc by James Luceno, published by  Del Rey in 2000. As the Yuuzhan Vong continue their invasion of the galaxy, their recent conquest of the library world of Obroa-skai yields them much information of the galaxy that they are invading. They learn of the potential threat that the Jedi pose against them, and decide to send in an infiltrator in the form of their Priestess Elan. Elan's mission will be to carry lethal bo'tous spores (a bio-weapon developed by Nom Anor) in her lungs so that she will unleash it upon as many Jedi as she can. To do that, she will have  to pose as a defector from the Vong who sees the error of her species' ways. Coming with her is her pet and familiar, Vergere. Meanwhile, Han Solo is still grieving over the loss of his best friend, Chewbacca, who perished on Sernpidal back in "Vector Prime". In his grief, he separates himself from his friends and family to be alone. His isolation brings him into contact with his smuggler mentor, Roa, who tells him that he has information regarding a new galactic party called the Peace Brigade. The Brigade strives to help the Yuuzhan Vong against the New Republic  in whatever way possible. One of Han's fellow smugglers, Reck Desh, is a leader of a Peace Brigade cell. To find out about Desh's whereabouts, the two of them travel to the "Jubilee Wheel", a space station in orbit over the planet Ord Mantell. There, they meet with their contact, Fasgo. Fasgo divulges that one of Reck Desh's next operation will be at Bilbringi. The trio, however, are then harassed by a rival of Han's, a rival named Bossk and his cronies. Bossk provokes Han into a bar fight after saying something bad about Wookiees, particularly  about Chewbacca. Roa and Fasgo are forced into the fight as a result, and they, along with Bossk and his group, are thrown into a jail cell for their trouble. Han, Roa, and Fasgo are soon released by Boss Bunji, another comrade of Han's in his glory days. Bunji released Han because he felt that he owed him after his wife, Leia, killed Jabba the Hutt more than two decades earlier, toppling his empire and allowing Bunji's business to grow. Before any more can happen, however, Ord Mantell is attacked by the Yuuzhan Vong in order to help  further Elan's ploy that she and Vergere are defectors from the Vong (Elan previously divulged to New Republic Intelligence that Ord Mantell would be a target). The "Jubilee Wheel" is soon attacked by one of the Vong's creature-weapons, an ychna, which sucks up many people from the "Wheel", including Roa and Fasgo. Han is able to escape aboard a weaponless shuttle craft with Droma, a member of a species called the Ryn and several other people. Han uses his piloting skills and the structure of the "Jubilee Wheel" against attacking Yuuzhan Vong coralskippers to destroy them, and  land it safely on Ord Mantell when the Vong retreat to give the illusion that they have given up in their attack. Han then takes a pleasure yacht called the "Queen of Empire", as it is heading to Bilbringi, so that he can confront Reck Desh. Meanwhile, New Republic Intelligence sneaks Elan and Vergere aboard the same yacht for Coruscant. However, Reck Desh is soon informed by an anonymous source who tells him of Elan and Vergere's whereabouts. However, both Desh and the source are unaware of Elan and Vergere's true allegiance; thus, they believe that Elan and  Vergere are genuine traitors to the Yuuzhan Vong. So, at the "Queen of Empire"'s stop at Bilbringi, Desh's Peace Brigade forces attack the pleasure yacht and attempt to kidnap Elan and Vergere. Han and Droma, who have become mutual friends during their stay aboard the "Queen of Empire", are handed over Elan and Vergere by the NRI members guarding them after informing them of the situation. Desh nevertheless captures Han, Droma, Elan, and Vergere, and leaves the former two to die by dropping them down a turbolift shaft while kidnapping the latter two to return to their masters . Meanwhile, the Yuuzhan Vong soon find out that Desh's operation will foil their plan against the Jedi, so they send a sizable force in to try to prevent Desh and his forces from taking away Elan and Vergere. The New Republic military soon arrives to deal with the threat brought on by both the Yuuzhan Vong and the Peace Brigade, launching the Second Battle of Bilbringi. Back aboard the "Queen of Empire", thanks to Droma's tail, he and Han survive the fall down the turbolift shaft. Then they go after Desh's ship with the "Millennium Falcon", brought  to them by Luke Skywalker, his wife Mara, and Han's wife Leia amidst the battle. They dock with Desh's ship, only to find the entire dead of some kind of infection and Elan and Vergere still alive. Han and Droma bring Elan and Vergere aboard the "Millennium Falcon", but it isn't long before Han deduces Elan's true allegiance after picking up subtle clues that divulged that her loyalties still lay with her masters. Thus, Elan tries to kill Han by using the last of her bo'tous spores on him, acknowledging her mission to kill as many  Jedi as possible a failure, but Elan is denied even that victory when both she and Han stumble into a sealed room and Han pulls on a breathing mask that protects him against the spores. Elan dies while Vergere escapes in an escape pod; but not before she gives Han a vial of her tears, which she tells to give to Mara Jade Skywalker to help her heal from her disease. With that, the "Millennium Falcon" escapes from getting blasted to atoms by the Yuuzhan Vong forces who are now aware of Elan's death and return safely to the  New Republic forces. After the New Republic is informed of Elan's deceit, Han agrees to help Droma find his family, who are now refugees scattered across the galaxy thanks to the Yuuzhan Vong War. Section::::"Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse". "Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse" is the second book in a two-part story arc by James Luceno, published by Del Rey in 2000. The novel focuses around several stories that eventually intertwine in the climax. The first story focuses on Han Solo and his new friend and copilot Droma seeking the latter's displaced family throughout the  war-torn galaxy. They eventually come across the planet Ruan, which is planning to destroy all of its servant droids in order to appease the Yuuzhan Vong. Han and Droma foil this plan, and one of the droids tells Han what the Vong's next target planet is. Meanwhile, the Yuuzhan Vong have allied with the Hutt Empire for more convenient invasions. However, the Hutts are secretly double-crossing the Vong to the New Republic, and are subtly providing the latter government the former's plans. The Yuuzhan Vong know of the Hutts' betrayal and are intentionally misleading their supposed  allies in order to dupe the New Republic itself as to the truth of their next target world. Two supposed targets are Corellia and Bothawui. The latter is heavily fortified in defense of an invasion while the former is set to appear nearly defenseless, but has a secret weapon at its side: Centerpoint Station. The station can only be activated through Anakin Solo's DNA since he shut Centerpoint down years earlier. In order to counter the Yuuzhan Vong's relentless invasion of the galaxy, Ambassador Leia Organa Solo bids the Hapes Consortium to join the war against the Vong . Queen Mother Tenenial Djo and her husband Prince Isolder agree to this despite the reluctance of other influential parties within the Consortium, and they arm their military to fight the Vong. Ultimately, the Yuuzhan Vong's next target planet isn't either Corellia or Bothawui, but the shipyards of Fondor. The Hutts openly betray the Vong as a result and fully side with the combined forces of the New Republic and Hapes Consortium. However, Centerpoint Station is already activated, and even though Anakin Solo refuses to use it, his ambitious first cousin, Thrackan Sal-Solo, uses it to fire right  into the Fondor system. Though it decimates two-thirds of the Vong forces, it's also a tragedy for the New Republic and Hapes forces alike. Nevertheless, the Battle of Fondor is considered a victory for the New Republic, and Droma reunites with his family. But the Hapes Consortium backs out of the war and Tenenial Djo miscarries her next child due to the disturbance she felt through the Force as a result of all the lives suddenly lost thanks to Centerpoint. The surviving refugees in the aftermath of Fondor, including Droma and his family, are transported to Duro as  a safe haven from the Vong. Section::::"Balance Point". "Balance Point" was written by Kathy Tyers and published in 2000. On the planet Duro, a new galactic refugee settlement close to the Core, Jacen Solo has a horrifying vision through the Force about the fate of the galaxy. Amidst the invasion by the Yuuzhan Vong, anger and darkness will become the ultimate enemy of one pivotal individual in the war. And if Jacen embraces such evil, then the galaxy will fall. In order to avoid such catastrophe, Jacen decides to turn his back on the Force forever. However, even in the  terror of the Vong's continued invasion of the galaxy, a ray of hope shines in the conceiving of Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker's child. Duro eventually becomes the next target of the Yuuzhan Vong. Though the conquest of the world is successful, Jacen, in a bid to save his mother, Leia, from certain doom, confronts the Vong Warmaster Tsavong Lah in combat, embraces the Force once more, and defeats him. The Skywalkers, the Solos, and several of their friends and allies flee Duro in its loss. And to make things worse, in the aftermath of his humiliation by  Jacen, Tsavong Lah makes an ultimatum to the rest of the galaxy: If every single member of the Jedi are brought to the Yuuzhan Vong, especially Jacen, then the invaders will settle with Duro and conclude their invasion with what worlds they already have. Section::::"Edge of Victory I: Conquest". "Edge of Victory: Conquest" (also released as "Edge of Victory I: Conquest") is the first novel in a two-part story by Greg Keyes, published in 2001. Following the events of "Balance Point", the Yuuzhan Vong have agreed to halt their galactic invasion in exchange for all of the Jedi being  brought to them, dead or alive. One of the Vong's targets is the Jedi praxeum on Yavin 4. Going against direct orders from his uncle and Jedi Master, Luke Skywalker, and the New Republic itself, Anakin Solo travels to Yavin 4 in order to help his fellow Jedi escape. He makes it just in time to help them escape the Peace Brigade occupation, though his best friend, Tahiri Veila, is captured. He decides to go back and save her, and is enlisted the help of a Shamed Yuuzhan Vong named Vua Rapuung. As Rapuung reveals, a Shamed One in  Vong society is an outcast, and he has been Shamed because his biology had rejected the ritual Vong implants. He knows, however, that the shaper, which is the equivalent of a scientist in the Yuuzhan Vong, intentionally Shamed him as punishment for turning her down as a mate. So Rapuung teams up with Anakin so that they can accomplish their respective goals; Anakin will get to save Tahiri while Rapuung will seek vengeance on the shaper who shamed him. Meanwhile, Tahiri is tortured and shaped by Master Shaper Mezhan Kwaad and her assistant Nen Yim in a secret heretical practice  meant to brainwash Tahiri into believing that she is a Yuuzhan Vong warrior. This way, she will become the first Jedi-Vong hybrid. Anakin and Rapuung later arrive at the shaper damutek that replaced the Jedi praxeum in the wake of the Yuuzhan Vong's occupation. With the both of them disguised in order to infiltrate the compound, Anakin is able to replace the destroyed crystal of his lightsaber (the lightsaber's crystal was damaged in a previous confrontation with the Yuuzhan Vong) with one of the Vong's own lambents (light-creatures). With this, Anakin is now able to  sense the Yuuzhan Vong in a whole new way that exists outside the Force, albeit this new sense only gives Anakin a rather fuzzy look at the Vong. When Mezhan Kwaad and Nen Yim's heretical experiments on Tahiri is discovered, the three of them are taken to a ship to be transported off of Yavin 4. Anakin and Rapuung make their move to accomplish their goals, and Rapuung is able to coerce Kwaad into revealing the heresy she performed by intentionally Shaming him. Not only does Kwaad admit to this, but she even expresses her atheism, something that shocks  the onlooking Vong crowd. Kwaad is able to kill her captors, mortally wound Rapuung, and injures Anakin, but a brainwashed Tahiri uses a lightsaber to decapitate Kwaad. Anakin then guides Tahiri back to her senses by reminding her of who she is and expressing his true feelings of love for her. Rapuung, meanwhile, offers to sacrifice his own life against the nearby Vong warriors in order to allow Anakin and Tahiri to escape, as a token of his gratitude of helping him accomplish his goal of exposing Kwaad. Rapuung dies against the attacking warriors while Anakin and Tahiri escape. They , along with the other non-Vong occupants of Yavin 4, are soon rescued from the moon and transported out of the system thanks to the help of Talon Karrde. The novel ends with Nen Yim secretly promising herself to continue Mezhan Kwaad's work in order to help the Yuuzhan Vong. Section::::"Edge of Victory II: Rebirth". "Edge of Victory: Rebirth" (also released as "Edge of Victory II: Rebirth") is the second novel in Keyes's two-part story, published in 2001. It focuses on five separate stories. The first story concentrates on the adventure that Anakin Solo, Tahiri Veila, and  Corran Horn all have. On a routine cargo pickup for the "Errant Venture" on the planet Eriadu, Anakin and Tahiri encounter a Jedi named Kelbis Nu, who is being attacked by Yuuzhan Vong supporters. Despite Anakin and Tahiri's efforts in helping him, Nu dies, but before he does, he is able to whisper to Anakin, "Yag'Dhul." For their trouble, Anakin and Tahiri are arrested by the pro-Vong police of Eriadu, but escape and manage to leave the planet in time with Corran. However, they can't make it back to the "Errant Venture" in time, for it has  to respond to a call from Luke Skywalker himself. Luke and his wife Mara, meanwhile, are declared by the New Republic to be wanted fugitives, in response to the pressure that the Yuuzhan Vong put on the Jedi. What's worse is that as Mara carries her and Luke's baby, the deadly coomb spore virus that had previously affected her returns, and threatens to kill her and the child. With the help of some of their fellow Jedi and the "Errant Venture", they are able to escape Coruscant. Afterwards, Luke sends Jaina Solo to find and meet up with  Kyp Durron in order to tell him that Luke has finally made a decision regarding the stance that the Jedi overall should take in the Yuuzhan Vong War. Back with Anakin, Tahiri, and Corran, they are left to escape from the Eriadu system by themselves, and when they revert from a hyperspace corridor, they end up in the midst of a Yuuzhan Vong fleet. They manage to infiltrate one of the Vong's ships as the fleet prepares to go into darkspace. They end up in the Yag'Dhul system, and after a brief battle, Anakin, Tahiri, and Corran escape from  the Vong's midst in order to rendezvous with the indigenous population. The attacking Vong fleet quickly pulls back, and it becomes obvious that they were merely but a recon force for a much larger invasion of Yag'Dhul. That invasion soon comes as infiltrating Yuuzhan Vong, led by Nom Anor, make their move, but despite their actions, the invasion fails in light of the overall Vong fleet going into darkspace to deal with another problem elsewhere. That other problem came as a result of Jaina Solo's meeting with Kyp Durron. Kyp tells Jaina that he has scouted the Sernpidal  for some months now and has discovered the Yuuzhan Vong have been using the time offered to them in the wake of the galactic invasion's halt in order to build a giant superweapon that could threaten the stability of the New Republic. They take it to the Republic military, where the likes of General Wedge Antilles and Admiral Traest Kre'fey take a minimum number of ships to help Kyp's forces in taking on the apparent superweapon in Sernpidal. In the wake of the Republic's attack in the Julevian system, it prompted the invasion fleet at Yag'Dhul to  pull back in order to help the defending forces at Sernpidal. But their response to the call for help comes too late, as their enemies manage to destroy the apparent superweapon. But in the midst of the supposed superweapon's destruction, Jaina discovers that it was merely a developing worldship that had no Yuuzhan Vong warriors, but civilians. Kyp justifies this by saying that it was meant to get back at the Vong for attacking the New Republic's people. Jaina slaps him for this and vows to never help him again. The fourth story of the novel focuses on  Nen Yim, now Master Shaper in the wake of Mezhan Kwaad's death in the previous novel, trying vainly to save a dying worldship by using even heretical protocols. Her efforts are further hindered when another Master Shaper named Kae Kwaad, obviously within the same domain as the late Mezhan, forces Nen Yim to concoct rather ridiculous experiments that do nothing to forward the progress of repairing the dying worldship. Desperate to save the worldship, Yim accesses the Shaper Qahsa in order to find out what further protocols can help her in her goal by reaching the legendary eighth cortex  of the Qahsa. But it turns out that there is no eighth cortex, and that the Yuuzhan Vong have already reached the pinnacle of their biological technology. Yim also reaches the conclusion that the Yuuzhan Vong's gods also don't exist, just as Mezhan Kwaad herself proclaimed before her death. Kae Kwaad then reveals himself to be the Shamed One Onimi, who is the familiar of the Yuuzhan Vong's Supreme Overlord Shimrra Jamaane himself. Shimrra reveals that he knows of Yim's heresy, but rather than proceeding to punish her, he allows her to continue her heretical protocols  in order to further the Vong's war efforts against the New Republic. Thus, Yim drops her efforts in trying to save the doomed worldship. The fifth story of the novel focuses on Jacen Solo traveling throughout the galaxy trying to avoid Yuuzhan Vong and their supporters, considering the special bounty that Warmaster Tsavong Lah put on his head. Through the Solos' adventures in averting death from their enemies, Jacen learns to reconcile with his father, Han, since their different ideals were what separated them from each other emotionally in the first place. As Mara starts to die from the  coomb spore virus, Luke is able to reach out to her in the Force, as well as reaching out to his and Mara's child's presence, and they are able to banish the virus from her system as their son, Ben Skywalker, is born. Their friends and allies, including Anakin, Tahiri (both of whom shared a kiss at Yag'Dhul that will prove to further their relationship in the future), Corran, the other Solos, and several others arrive just in time to meet the newborn Ben. Section::::"Star by Star". "Star by Star" was written by Troy Denning and published in  2001. The book reached #11 on the "New York Times" bestseller list on November 18, 2001. In this dark and dangerous time for the New Republic, the cruel Yuuzhan Vong continue their mission: galactic conquest. The Yuuzhan Vong have begun cloning voxyn, creatures capable of hunting Jedi through the Force and killing them. Former Chief of State Leia Organa Solo faces a difficult crisis; the Yuuzhan Vong want to know the location of the secret Jedi base, and if the New Republic does not provide this information within one week, they will violently destroy millions of refugee ships. As the  Jedi Knights mourn the victims of the voxyn, Anakin Solo prepares a dangerous plan. He will lead a strike force made of his Force-adept friends into the core of an enemy worldship over Myrkr in attempt to kill the original voxyn. There, he will come into contact with evil, sorrow, the destiny of the New Republic ... and himself. The book also saw the creation of the deadly YVH 1 Droids that were built as a response to the Yuuzhan Vong invasion and the Fall of Coruscant. The Jedi find themselves in considerable danger when the Yuuzhan Vong unleash feral  creatures called voxyn on them. These voxyn are aggressive, intelligent, and extremely difficult to kill, and worst of all for the Jedi, they can hunt through the Force and have been engineered specifically to hunt down Jedi. Leia Organa Solo captures one such beast but not before she is severely wounded. It is then discovered that all voxyn are clones of an original genetically modified beast native to Myrkr, the location of the Yuuzhan Vong voxyn cloning facility. In order to foil the threat posed by the voxyn, Anakin Solo and the Jedi Council consider sending a specialized all-Jedi  strike team to take out the cloning facility. The idea faced some resistance, mainly from Han Solo who rightly believed that the mission was dangerous and was unwilling to send all three of his children right into Yuuzhan Vong territory. Ultimately, the choice was Luke Skywalker's, who is currently leading the Jedi, who thought that it was their only chance and volunteered himself for the mission. Anakin rejected his offer on the grounds that he was too valuable to the New Republic and the Jedi, as well as being too important and strong for the Yuuzhan Vong to consider  taking alive. Instead, Anakin volunteers himself and others follow his lead. The final group comprises Anakin, Ulaha Kore, Jacen Solo, Jaina Solo, Tenel Ka Djo, Zekk, Tahiri Veila and Alema Rar among others. While the initial part of the mission goes smoothly, things begin to get out of hand once the team landed on the worldship orbiting Myrkr. While they are there, they are repeatedly ambushed by voxyn and Yuuzhan Vong warriors commanded by Nom Anor and Vergere. They also run into Nightsister Lomi Plo and her Shadow Academy apprentice Welk. After some debate, Anakin decides that Lomi Plo and  Welk should join them, although Zekk predicts that they will be double-crossed by the Dark Jedi. There are several casualties along the way to the original or 'queen' voxyn, but the biggest blow falls when Anakin is injured. Already weary and injured, the Jedi soon come under attack once again and although they escape, the damage to Anakin has already been done. They soon learn that Welk and Lomi Plo have made off with the spacecraft Anakin had intended to use for their getaway, taking with them Raynar Thul, an old friend of Jaina and Jacen. This effectively means  that the group are stranded aboard the worldship with a worsening Anakin. Anakin soon realizes that his condition would result in the entire group's death. He dies later fighting off many Yuuzhan Vong, destroying all of the voxyn cloning samples, and buying the time his comrades needed in order to escape the Yuuzhan Vong. His death is felt by his uncle Luke Skywalker and his mother Leia Solo, the former noting that before his death, Anakin had already become one with the Force. Before his death, he leaves his brother Jacen in charge of their group. After a brief  period of mourning during which tensions within the group rise, Jacen and Jaina decided to split up. Jaina wants to retrieve her brother's body while Jacen decides to finish off their original mission; the killing of the voxyn queen. On his way there, he meets the mysterious Vergere who shows him the way to the voxyn queen whom he fights and defeats. After this, she turns on him and delivers him right into the waiting hands of the Yuuzhan Vong. Jaina, meanwhile, has successfully retrieved her brother's body and reluctantly leads what is left of their group off  of the Myrkr worldship via a stolen Vong frigate, leaving Jacen behind with the Yuuzhan Vong. Before her departure, she has already begun to show signs of dark side tendencies that rose from the loss of Anakin. The Yuuzhan Vong warfleet attacks Coruscant from the OboRin Comet Cluster, having assembled at such staging positions like Borleias. They use refugee ships containing prisoners from earlier battles to shield the Vong fleet. Even with the efforts of legendary leaders such as General Garm Bel Iblis (commanding Fleet Group Two), Admiral Traest Kre'fey (commanding Fleet Group One), General Wedge Antilles (commanding Fleet Group  Three), Supreme Commander Sien Sovv, and Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, the Yuuzhan Vong are too plentiful to be thwarted. It was said that the Vong fleet numbered "tens of thousands", and that half of the New Republic space navy was present. Chief of State Borsk Fey'lya made Admiral Sovv command the battle in front of a full session of the Senate. As a result, the New Republic forces have no effective overall strategy, and discipline breaks down. When Sovv orders that the fleet hold their fire in order to not hit the refugee ships, Iblis flat out ignores him, and  his Fleet Group operate solely under his command for the rest of the battle attacking the Yuuzhan Vong head on and suffering enormous casualties. The refugee ships, which are piloted by Yuuzhan Vong, are deliberately smashed into Coruscant's shields to weaken them. This tactic works, as eventually whole shield-grids fails, and the surface shield-generators explodes. Coruscant does have extensive mine fields, but these doesn't have quite as large an impact as desired—the defenders at Coruscant disable the mines to avoid slaughtering the refugees. The Vong also use the refugee ships to batter the city planet 's surface, causing terrible damage below. Even the orbital defense platforms could not stop the advance of the Yuuzhan Vong. Soon Coruscant's skyline is burning with crashing vessels and plasma fire from the battle above. Even Orbital Defense Headquarters is crippled, and falls out of orbit to the surface. During the battle, Luke Skywalker and other Jedi from the Eclipse base target the enemy war coordinating yammosks, and manage to destroy four of them. Meanwhile, Han and Leia Solo, aboard the "Millennium Falcon", attempt to rescue Chief of State Borsk Fey'lya, but are tasked with rescuing Luke Skywalker and  Mara Jade Skywalker. The second assault wave are thousands of yorik-trema dropships, tsik-seru airskimmers, swarms of yorik-vec assault cruisers and coralskippers, rakamat and fire breather walkers, legions of Yuuzhan Vong warriors and Chazrach support troops. In desperation, the New Republic military fire on the hostage refugee ships but to no avail. At the Imperial Palace, Tsavong Lah's aide Romm Zqar tries to force Borsk Fey'lya to surrender. When he refuses, he is killed. But before the Chief of State died, he has planted a bomb in the Imperial Palace triggered by his heartbeat. This resultes in  the deaths of the Chief of State, 25,000 Yuuzhan Vong warriors, the destruction of a portion of the Imperial Palace, many surrounding buildings, and several Yuuzhan Vong vessels. Prior to his death, Fey'lya had ordered the data towers to be destroyed to prevent valuable information from getting into the hands of the Yuuzhan Vong. The battle lasts for several days with heavy casualties on both sides. Many of its citizens are forced to flee the former capital world of the New Republic while those who do not manage to escape are forced to flee into the city-planet's lower  levels. Many Senators, fearing for their lives, commandeer bits of the fleet and escape to their sectors as the battle progresses. The New Republic navy is somewhat diminished as a result. Some think that if this had not happened, then the New Republic might have won the battle. The third wave was a biotoxin in the form of green algae released by the Yuuzhan Von which devoured many of the buildings, including dead bodies, and the algae also left behind black spots. Coralskipper and yorik-vec squadrons bombed the devastated city world causing damage to the defenders. The Yuuzhan Vong  eventually captures Coruscant and have it terraformed and rename Yuuzhan'tar after their primordial homeworld. Overall, the Yuuzhan Vong win because of their utter ruthlessness. Section::::"Dark Journey". "Dark Journey" was written by Elaine Cunningham and published in 2002. Cunningham commented in an interview that the story is a personal one focusing on a difficult time in Jaina's life. The book reached #11 on the "New York Times" bestseller list on February 17, 2002. The Yuuzhan Vong have claimed Coruscant as their new capital and the survivors of the battle of the planet, including the Skywalkers and the Solos, escape to  rendezvous with other survivors within the Hapes Consortium. Meanwhile, in the Myrkr system, Jaina Solo and the survivors of the mission to exterminate the voxyn escape aboard a captured Yuuzhan Vong frigate named the "Ksstar" in order to meet up with Jaina's family on Hapes. On the "Ksstar"'s heels is Khalee Lah, the fanatical warrior son of Vong Warmaster Tsavong Lah, and his charge, Priest Harrar. Their pursuit of Jaina and her comrades convinces Jaina to rename the captured Vong ship the "Trickster" in order to play mind games on the invaders; as one of their goddesses, Yun -Harla, is a trickster, Jaina's audacity is looked upon as blasphemy. As this happens, the Skywalkers and Solos' Jedi friends sense Jacen Solo's death, although, strangely enough, Jacen's family members themselves do not sense this. On Hapes, Jaina's dead brother, Anakin, is given a proper funeral by cremation. Meanwhile, former Hapan Queen Mother Ta'a Chume sees how weak are the current Queen Mother and her daughter-in-law, Tenenial Djo. Since the Hapans had suffered a grievous loss about a year earlier against the Yuuzhan Vong at Fondor, that event sent waves of loss and pain  into the Force-sensitive Tenenial that caused her to miscarry her unborn child. As a result, Tenenial became weak, both physically and emotionally from the trauma of the experience. So Ta'a Chume looks to find a replacement for the Queen Mother. Tenenial's own daughter, Tenel Ka, is an unlikely replacement due to her Jedi and warrior heritage. Jaina, on the other hand, in the midst of her brothers' losses and her anger and hatred for the Yuuzhan Vong, displays a commanding air about her that makes her a potential candidate to replace Tenenial Djo. Meanwhile, Jaina, with the help  of Kyp Durron and Jagged Fel, fights back against the combined forces of the Yuuzhan Vong and their supporters. However, these experiences begin to pull Jaina closer to the dark side of the Force, just like her grandfather, Anakin Skywalker. In the end, however, with the help of her friends and family, Jaina overcomes the temptations of the dark side, remembers her place as a Jedi, and rejects Ta'a Chume's offer to become the next Hapan Queen Mother. Instead, in the wake of Tenenial Djo's mysterious death by poison, Tenel Ka assumes the throne in time to combat  the incoming Vong fleet. As for Khalee Lah and Harrar, the former's experience in combating Jaina has driven him to feel such shame and self-loathing that Harrar assists in his suicide. The priest himself wonders whether or not Jaina herself is the human avatar of Yun-Harla. Section::::"Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream". "Enemy Lines: Rebel Dream" (also released as "Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream") is the first novel in a two-part story by Aaron Allston, published in March 2002. It reached #7 on the "New York Times" bestseller list on April 14, 2002. Following the Yuuzhan Vong 's capture of Coruscant, General Wedge Antilles, leading New Republic Fleet Group Two, successfully capture and intend to hold the Vong-held world of Borleias. This becomes convenient for the New Republic Senators, under unofficial leadership from Councilor Pwoe, to gather up their resources in order to find a new capital for the Republic. Later, after the actions they took within the Hapes Consortium, Jaina Solo, Kyp Durron, and Jagged Fel become part of the occupation force of Borleias, and Jaina and Jag begin to develop a romantic relationship as a result of their time together fighting the Vong in  the solar system. As the fighting in the Borleias system increases, it attracts the expertise of Supreme Commander Czulkang Lah, father of Warmaster Tsavong Lah, who soon becomes Wedge Antilles's enemy in the occupation of Borleias. Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker senses a dark presence on Yuuzhan Vong-held Coruscant that has nothing to do with the Vong themselves. So he organizes a strike team consisting of himself, his wife Mara, Tahiri Veila, and Wraith Squadron in order to infiltrate Coruscant and then find and eliminate the dark presence there. With help from Lando Calrissian, they successfully arrive on Coruscant to  begin their mission. At Coruscant, treacherous New Republic Senator Viqi Shesh is scheduled to be executed, since her usefulness in helping the Vong in their invasion is gone. However, Shesh makes up a lie that allows her to live when she says that the shapers that grafted Tsavong Lah's artificial arm had intentionally set it to rot; the purpose of this is to force him to secretly do their bidding, or he would become a Shamed One. Lah looks into this with the help of Master Shaper Nen Yim, and finds strong evidence that there is indeed such a  conspiracy forming against him. Meanwhile, Viqi Shesh herself is controlling an innocent holocam operator named Tam Elgrin, working as a civilian assistant on Borleias, via a Yuuzhan Vong implant. At the end of the novel, Tam is able to overcome his conditioning, even when it nearly costs him his life, just before the New Republic launch into another engagement against the Vong. This engagement incorporates a tactic from the once-great Galactic Empire that forces the Vong to go into a temporary tactical retreat. Section::::"Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand". "Enemy Lines: Rebel Stand" (also released as "Enemy Lines II: Rebel  Stand") is the second novel in a two-part story by Aaron Allston, published in June 2002. It reached #13 on the "New York Times" bestseller list on June 16, 2002. Wedge Antilles continues to defend the planet Borleias from the Yuuzhan Vong. After rooting out a spy in the Vong-controlled Tam Elgrin, he begins creating a superlaser, identical to the Death Star's except in one regard: it doesn't work. Using both the laser and Commander Czulkang Lah's obsession with the capture of Jaina Solo, Antilles draws the Yuuzhan Vong fleet away from Lah's flagship . While the fleet is elsewhere, the Super Star Destroyer Lusankya is fitted with a spear and flown directly into the worldship. The worldship is destroyed, and Czulkang Lah perishes. Meanwhile, on Coruscant, Luke Skywalker, Mara Jade Skywalker, Tahiri Veila and Wraith Squadron continue their scouting mission. There, they encounter a Dark Jedi similar to the mythical Lord Nyax, but who is really the genetically modified Dark Jedi Irek Ismaren. Nyax is more powerful than Luke, but, with the combined efforts of the Jedi and the Yuuzhan Vong, Nyax is defeated. Meanwhile, Viqi Shesh's plans to escape Coruscant are foiled  by Wraith Squadron, and she commits suicide as a result. Han and Leia Organa Solo, along with their droids C-3PO and R2-D2, set off on adventures to root out and overthrow any planetary government that plans to acquiesce to the Yuuzhan Vong. One of their most dangerous missions is set on Aphran IV, though they are able to escape death with their mission a success. Section::::"Traitor". "Traitor" is a 2002 novel by Matthew Stover. It does not feature any characters from the "Star Wars" films. At the beginning of the novel, Jacen Solo is being tortured via the Embrace  of Pain as he is overlooked by his captors, the Yuuzhan Vong and the mysterious figure known as Vergere. Vergere increases this pain by somehow robbing Jacen of the Force, but at the same time, she helps him through his agony by telling him to embrace, just like the Yuuzhan Vong do. Jacen does just as Vergere suggested, which pleases the Vong, represented by Nom Anor throughout the novel, who believe that in no time, Jacen will become just like them. Soon, nearly a year following the Fall of Coruscant, Jacen is transported to a Yuuzhan Vong seedship, where he  is enslaved to a creature called a dhuryam. As this happens, he gains Vongsense, similar to how his late brother, Anakin, had sensed them with his lambent-imbedded lightsaber back in "Edge of Victory: Conquest". The dhuryam is competing against other dhuryams to become the World Brain of the captured Coruscant, which has been renamed Yuuzhan'tar in honor of the Yuuzhan Vong's dead homeworld. As World Brain, the dhuryam that Jacen is enslaved to will have the responsibility and authority of everything technical on Yuuzhan'tar. Through more help from Vergere, who turns out to be a Force-user herself , Jacen forces the dhuryam to stop enslaving him and think of him as a partner; this way, the dhuryam would be more successful to be in consideration of being the World Brain of Yuuzhan'tar. As a result of this, Jacen's dhuryam indeed becomes more successful throughout various operations aboard the seedship. Eventually, the day comes when a dhuryam aboard the seedship will become selected to govern Yuuzhan'tar. Jacen uses this day to start a riot where Yuuzhan Vong and slave alike are killed, and he takes advantage of the chaos to kill off his dhuryam's opponents. When he  decides to kill his own dhuryam, he sees the spirit of Anakin telling him to stop. Not knowing whether or not this was the real Anakin or a fabrication created by Vergere, Jacen's hesitation in killing the surviving dhuryam results in him getting knocked out. Jacen's dhuryam becomes the World Brain of Yuuzhan'tar by default, and Jacen wakes up on the captured Coruscant, realizing in horror what this newly transformed planet once was. Vergere leads him on a journey throughout the transformed world, and gradually, she shows him evidence that the Jedi's ideals of the Force are  flawed; there is no light or dark side, but an overall power of the Force whose raw power is only considered to be of the dark side. Jacen refuses to believe this until Vergere leads him into a Yuuzhan Vong trap where he nearly kills all of them, including Vergere herself. Jacen is shocked at just how right Vergere is, even after she revealed previously that she was once a member of the previous Jedi Order. But eventually, Jacen comes to accept the Yuuzhan Vong's ways as they give him the late Anakin Solo's lightsaber, which is considered  a holy relic to the Vong due to its imbedded lambent crystal. Jedi Knight Ganner Rhysode has spent much time searching the galaxy trying to find Jacen, being one of the few who believe that he is still alive. He comes into contact with Jacen and an entourage of Yuuzhan Vong infiltrators aboard a New Republic refugee ship, and Ganner is captured due to his Jedi nature. He is taken to Yuuzhan'tar in order to be converted to their ways like Jacen. But as it turns out, Jacen had feigned loyalty to the Vong so that he could get close  to the World Brain. The plan works as both he and Ganner are allowed admittance into the Well of the World Brain, although Nom Anor knows that they were faking their obedience to the Yuuzhan Vong. Knowing that Jacen won't have time to do whatever he wants to the World Brain, Ganner takes Jacen's lightsaber and decides to take on every Yuuzhan Vong warrior at the Well of the World Brain, vowing that not one of them will ever pass. Ganner fights every Vong warrior to the death, but in the end, he is so mortally wounded that  he brings down the hall of the Well of the World Brain on top of himself and every surviving Vong with him. Meanwhile, as the battle commenced, Nom Anor looked to Vergere to escape the disaster, and Vergere tricks him into revealing his escape craft. Vergere then coerces the Vong plant life around them to tie up Nom Anor so that she and Jacen could escape Yuuzhan'tar. Meanwhile, Jacen concludes his business with the World Brain, and he and Vergere leave. As they travel back to the New Republic, Jacen reveals to Vergere that he convinced the World Brain to  teach the Yuuzhan Vong the concept of compromise; the brain will cause problems throughout the Vong's occupation of the world so that for once, the invaders will know that not everything will ever be perfect for them. Vergere applauds Jacen for applying what she taught him throughout the novel to the World Brain. Section::::"Destiny's Way". "Destiny's Way" was written by Walter Jon Williams and published in 2002 by Del Rey. Jacen Solo has escaped from the Yuuzhan Vong with the aid of a Jedi Master from the time of the Old Republic, Vergere. Besides making cryptic references  to Jacen's destiny, Vergere also reveals that she has spent the last fifty years with the Yuuzhan Vong in order to save the living world of Zonama Sekot, as well as to gather intelligence on the Vong themselves. Meanwhile, Han and Leia Organa Solo were visiting the Imperial Remnant, trying to coax it into allying with the New Republic. Though the Remnant's leader, Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon, refuses the offer, he does give them the locations of the Galactic Empire's old hideaways in the deep core in order to help the Republic's war against the Yuuzhan  Vong. In exchange, the Solos offer information on Yuuzhan Vong technology, especially the yammosks. A new government is forming on Mon Calamari after the fall of Coruscant. Luke Skywalker wants to prevent an anti-Jedi government from forming, so his friends in the Smugglers' Alliance blackmail the majority of New Republic Senators into voting for Jedi-supporting Senator Cal Omas rather than the anti-Jedi Fyor Rodan. Luke inducts nine Jedi Knights into the new Jedi order he is forming, among them Jacen, his sister Jaina Solo, and the new Hapan Queen Mother Tenel Ka. The New Republic forces, now  assembled on the water world of Mon Calamari, plan their next attack on the Yuuzhan Vong with the aid of the now-retired Admiral Ackbar. However, some elements in the New Republic are desperate enough—the Bothans especially—to make the war against the Yuuzhan Vong one of extermination as well as victory. One method meant to accomplish such a task is through Alpha Red, a biological virus developed by New Republic agent Dif Scaur and Chiss scientists that had been successfully tested to eliminate anyone and anything with Yuuzhan Vong DNA. When word of Alpha Red got out, Vergere  was able to infiltrate security and use the chemical compounds she manufactured through the Force, residing in her system, to transform Alpha Red into something harmless. Until Alpha Red can be concocted into something lethal against the Yuuzhan Vong again, it is ruled out as an option to use against the galactic invaders. The success of the operation against Ebaq 9, a long-neglected world on a former Imperial trade route, leads the Yuuzhan Vong into a trap that halts their advance by killing nearly every warrior who went to Ebaq, including Warmaster Tsavong Lah, who died in combat against  Jaina Solo. Vergere sacrifices herself to save Jacen from the Vong by plowing a stolen A-wing into Ebaq 9's surface. In the aftermath of the Battle of Ebaq 9, the New Republic is reformed into the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, or the Galactic Alliance for short. The Yuuzhan Vong "agent provocateur" Nom Anor, who suggested the assault on Ebaq 9, is obliged to give his life for his plan's failure, but he disguises himself and hides beneath Yuuzhan'tar's (formerly Coruscant's) streets. Section::::"Force Heretic I: Remnant". "Force Heretic: Remnant" (also released as "Force Heretic I : Remnant") is the first novel in a three-part story by Sean Williams and Shane Dix, published in 2003. Luke Skywalker leads a Jedi mission to find the lost, living world of Zonama Sekot, and on his way helps repel a Yuuzhan Vong invasion of the Imperial Remnant, formerly the Empire. Peace is declared between the Remnant and the reorganizing Galactic Alliance, but this is marred by the ruin of Barab I and the destruction of N'zoth by the Yuuzhan Vong. Meanwhile, the Solos (minus Jacen, since he is with Luke trying to find Zonama Sekot) and their allies discover  an alliance between the Vong and the Fians, the inhabitants of Galantos, which is thwarted after the Vong try to invade the planet. Elsewhere, on Yuuzhan'tar, Nom Anor takes on the identity of Yu'shaa, prophet of the heretical "Jeedai" cult. Section::::"Force Heretic II: Refugee". "Force Heretic: Refugee" (also released as "Force Heretic II: Refugee") is the second novel in a three-part story by Sean Williams and Shane Dix, published in 2003. Luke Skywalker's mission to find the living world of Zonama Sekot takes him and his team to the Chiss capital world of Csilla. There, they look into  the planet's library for any information on the living planet, and amidst this, they foil a Chiss conspiracy against the Fel family. As a result of this, Luke and his team are given more time, and Jacen Solo manages to figure out that Zonama Sekot is probably hiding in the Unknown Regions disguised as a moon. The team finds evidence of this as they look into information on a solar system that inhabits the gas giant of Mobus. Meanwhile, the Solos and their allies foil two conspiracies on the world of Bakura just in time to repel the second  Ssi-ruu Imperium's invasion of the planet. However, as a consequence, Tahiri Veila falls victim to her Yuuzhan Vong personality, which had previously been implanted in her by the late Vong shaper Mezhan Kwaad, and which has taken on potency to Tahiri's psyche following her boyfriend Anakin's death. Tahiri falls into a coma as a result, and her normal half and her Yuuzhan Vong half fight over control of her body within Tahiri's mind. Beneath Yuuzhan'tar, Nom Anor, posing as Yu'shaa, the Prophet of the Shamed Ones, manages to find a turncoat Yuuzhan Vong priestess by  the name of Ngaaluh. Ngaaluh agrees to help Nom Anor and the Shamed Ones topple Supreme Overlord Shimrra from the polyp throne, as there are those within the Vong elite who doubt Shimrra's ability to lead the species to salvation. Section::::"Force Heretic III: Reunion". "Force Heretic: Reunion" (also released as "Force Heretic III: Reunion") is the third novel in a three-part story by Sean Williams and Shane Dix, published in 2003. Han Solo and Leia fight to keep a critical communications center out of Yuuzhan Vong hands as Tahiri masters her half-Jedi, half-Vong nature. Luke Skywalker  and his team of Jedi Knights rediscover the living world of Zonama Sekot (first seen in Greg Bear's novel "Rogue Planet") and plead for that world's interference in the ongoing war. It goes well; the world agrees to follow them. Meanwhile, Nom Anor's heresy among the Shamed Ones is hindered when his elite spy, Ngaaluh, is discovered by Supreme Overlord Shimrra, and she is forced to kill herself. However, before she did so, Ngaaluh revealed to Nom Anor rumors from Shimrra's court of a living world that, according to Yuuzhan Vong legends, will be the downfall  of the species. Section::::"The Final Prophecy". "The Final Prophecy" was written by Greg Keyes and published in 2003. The novel's subplot focuses on the Galactic Alliance's battle with the Yuuzhan Vong in the Bilbringi system. When the HoloNet is suddenly scrambled, General Wedge Antilles's forces are forced to fight tooth-and-nail against the Vong while Jaina Solo is forced to deal with a group of cowardly criminals aboard a space station that would have meant quite a deal against the galactic invaders. As a result of the Battle of Bilbringi, several Galactic Alliance officers are captured  or killed, and the remnants of Antilles's forces retreat back to their home defenses. The main plot of the novel deals with the decisions made by Nom Anor and Nen Yim. With his heresy among the Shamed Ones starting to wane, Nom Anor reveals that a living world will come to save them and defeat Supreme Overlord Shimrra. Meanwhile, Master Shaper Nen Yim studies a spacecraft taken by an executed Yuuzhan Vong commander from the living world of Zonama Sekot. Nen Yim soon finds evidence that the biology between the Sekotan ship is similar to the DNA of the  Yuuzhan Vong and their creations. This is part of the evidence among Nom Anor and the Shamed Ones that the living world that Ngaaluh mentioned in the previous novel is a destined harbinger of doom to Shimrra's order, or, to Shimrra and the elite, could spell the extermination of the Yuuzhan Vong as a whole. As this happens, the presence of the Quorealists becomes more well known in Shimrra's order. As it is revealed, the Quorealists are the lingering supporters of Shimrra's predecessor on the polyp throne, Quoreal, who espoused against invading the galaxy, which was what  prompted Shimrra and his own supporters to overthrow and kill Quoreal and his followers. Priest Harrar, a secret Quorealist, becomes intrigued with the new evidence that Nen Yim uncovered from the Sekotan ship. Nom Anor decides to act upon what Nen Yim discovered by calling to the Galactic Alliance to send Jedi over to help him and Nen Yim escape Yuuzhan'tar and find Zonama Sekot. Tahiri Veila and Corran Horn respond to the call, and along with successfully collecting the disguised Nom Anor and Nen Yim, they also pick up the turncoat Harrar via the Sekotan ship. They use its  navigation to travel to Zonama Sekot, where the ship lands and dies. The five travelers begin to study the planet alongside each other in order to get to know the others' ways. As Nen Yim eventually discovers a shocking truth between Zonama Sekot and the Yuuzhan Vong, Nom Anor makes a decision to kill the living world by sabotaging its hyperdrive cores just as he calls for help from the Vong; he believes that by killing the world that Shimrra fears so much, he would be inducted back into the elite. Nom Anor then reveals his true identity to Nen  Yim and mortally wounds her before going after the hyperdrive cores. As she fades away into death, Nen Yim is able to tell Tahiri what Nom Anor plans to do, and she, Corran, and Harrar go after him. However, Nom Anor is successful in sabotaging the hyperdrive cores and escapes as the planet appears to begin dying. After Harrar is knocked off a cliff from his brief encounter with Nom Anor, Tahiri and Corran are rescued by Luke Skywalker, his wife Mara, Jacen Solo, and Saba Sebatyne, and they are all taken to shelter before Zonama Sekot jumps into hyperspace . Soon, Sekot, taking on the form of Nen Yim, reveals to the Jedi that Nom Anor's attempt to kill the living world has failed, and now, it is returning to known space to fight the Yuuzhan Vong. Section::::"The Unifying Force". "The Unifying Force" was written by James Luceno. Hardcover editions of the book included a CD with the first book of the series, "Vector Prime", a round-robin interview with some of the people involved with the series, and the Yuuzhan Vong "bible"—a collection of source material on the Yuuzhan Vong created and used by the authors. The round -robin interview was printed in some versions of the paperback release. The novel begins on the Yuuzhan Vong prisoner-of-war camp planet of Selvaris. Four prisoners, a Jenet named Thorsh and three Bith, memorize a complex mathematical code smuggled in by a member of the Ryn Syndicate, and they make their escape. Two of the Bith are killed by the pursuing Yuuzhan Vong forces while one of them is captured, but Thorsh escapes Selvaris thanks to the "Millennium Falcon". The surviving Bith is interrogated by the camp's head, Malik Carr, and the Bith reveals the mathematical code, unknowing  of what it actually means. The Bith is killed as a result. The "Millennium Falcon" brings Thorsh back to the Galactic Alliance where he is debriefed and recites the mathematical code to a Givin member of the Alliance. The code reveals that Selvaris will be the last pickup point for a Yuuzhan Vong-Peace Brigade convoy that will be taken to Yuuzhan'tar (Vongformed Coruscant) for a grand sacrifice. So an Alliance fleet ambushes Selvaris and rescues many prisoners, although some manage to get away. However, the "Millennium Falcon", badly damaged from the battle, is forced to make an erratic jump  into hyperspace that transports it to Caluula. As it turns out, the inhabitants of the Caluula system have been fending off the Vong for quite some time now, but they are able to repair the "Falcon". Some of the prisoners leave the "Falcon"'s company in order to help the residents of Caluula continue to fight the Yuuzhan Vong while the "Falcon" returns to the Alliance with what prisoners they have left. As Zonama Sekot travels through hyperspace back to known space (it was previously in the Unknown Regions), it turns out that Harrar survived his confrontation with the treacherous  Nom Anor in the previous novel. And through him, he and the residents of the living world discover that the Yuuzhan Vong exist outside the Force because they had been stripped of it, most likely by their homeworld of the original Yuuzhan'tar (which was destroyed in the Cremlevian War) back in the Vong's home galaxy. On Yuuzhan'tar, things are not going well for Shimrra's order. Even with all of the advancements they made in the war against the Galactic Alliance, problems continue to plague the Yuuzhan Vong's capital planet thanks to the World Brain, and the heresy  espoused by the Shamed Ones is still as strong as ever, even without Nom Anor's leadership. Nom Anor himself has been inducted back into the elite as Prefect of Yuuzhan'tar thanks to his actions on Zonama Sekot, but even he can't quell the fire that he sparked in the Shamed Ones as Yu'shaa, their Prophet. As for the sacrifice that had been partially foiled thanks to the Battle of Selvaris, the Yuuzhan Vong are able to compensate with captives from other contested worlds following Selvaris. But the sacrifice is spoiled thanks to a riot caused by the Shamed  Ones, who save many of the Galactic Alliance captives much to their own detriment as Shimrra has many Shamed Ones and workers executed as capital punishment. Nevertheless, despite the thwarting of the sacrifice, Shimrra gives Warmaster Nas Choka the go-ahead to prepare his fleet to invade the Galactic Alliance's capital of Mon Calamari. As the Yuuzhan Vong arrive at Mon Calamari and battle the opposing Galactic Alliance forces, Han and Leia Organa Solo, along with a few allies, infiltrate the Vong-captured Caluula in order to eliminate the resident yammosk there. Though they are captured with two of  their allies killed, they find that the local Yuuzhan Vong and their biots are dying, along with many of Caluula's indigenous creatures. After many of the Yuuzhan Vong, their biots, and Caluula's own creatures die off, one craft made for Shimrra's new special Slayer warriors manages to make it off Caluula and it heads back to Yuuzhan'tar in order to inform the elite of this new affliction. As Kyp Durron, part of the infiltration team, is able to discern, the illness that the Yuuzhan Vong on Caluula are suffering is Alpha Red, a biological virus set to  target and eliminate the Yuuzhan Vong and anything sharing their DNA with them. It had been deployed on Caluula in secret just before the planet surrendered to the invaders. Just before it seems that Nas Choka's forces would win at the Battle of Mon Calamari, they suddenly make a hasty retreat back to Yuuzhan'tar, where Zonama Sekot has appeared in the capital planet's skies, causing various disasters and eliciting more opposition from the heretics. With the living world offering a distraction to the Yuuzhan Vong, the Jedi and the Galactic Alliance gather up all of their forces and  resources for one last showdown against the Vong. After the Alliance successfully captures the Vong-occupied world of Corulag as their staging position, they travel to the captured Coruscant, and the Battle of Yuuzhan'tar, the final battle of the Yuuzhan Vong War, begins. On the ground, Nom Anor decides to forsake Shimrra's order, seeing how deranged he has become as a result of Zonama Sekot's arrival, and realigns himself with the Shamed Ones against those who are still loyal to Shimrra. The heretics are soon reinforced by Galactic Alliance soldiers who managed to get past the Yuuzhan Vong 's space defenses as the space fleets of both the Alliance and the Vong duel over the contested planetary capital of the galaxy and the world of Muscave. Meanwhile, Nas Choka takes a portion of his fleet to destroy Zonama Sekot using the Alpha Red-infected Slayer ship, as Shimrra revealed previously that there is indeed a biological connection between the Vong and Zonama. Defending the living world are the majority of the New Jedi Order, the Smugglers' Alliance, and the fleet of the Hapes Consortium. On Yuuzhan'tar, Luke Skywalker, his wife Mara, Jaina and Jacen Solo, Tahiri Veila, and  Kenth Hamner all join up with Captain Judder Page's commandos in order to storm Shimrra's Citadel and kill the Supreme Overlord, ending the Yuuzhan Vong War once and for all. However, Mara, Tahiri, and Hamner all join a division of Page's commandos to help the heretics against Shimrra's loyal warriors, and it gives Mara an opportunity to confront Nom Anor, despite the fact that he is leading the heretics, for all he did to her, her family, and her friends and allies in the past. After Mara gives him a severe beating, Nom Anor pleads for  his life, which Mara grudgingly spares so that he would be properly convicted for his crimes in the end. Meanwhile, the "Millennium Falcon" goes on a mission with Harrar to convince the World Brain to cease its destruction of Yuuzhan'tar, which was intended by Shimrra to completely destroy the world so no one could have it, just to spite the Galactic Alliance. With the help of Nom Anor and his Shamed Ones and other allies, including turncoat Vong warriors, the crew of the "Falcon", and Harrar, avert death from the Yuuzhan Vong sent to protect the World Brain. Then the  Falcon's crew and Harrar make it to the dhuryam and they try to coerce Master Shaper Qelah Kwaad into convincing the brain to cease its destructive activities before they consider killing it. In the end, though, Jacen telepathically tells the World Brain to ignore Shimrra's commands, which stops Yuuzhan'tar's apocalypse. As Page and his remaining commandos storm the lower levels of Shimrra's Citadel, Luke, Jaina, and Jacen, after killing and wounding every Yuuzhan Vong warrior in their path, eventually confront Shimrra and his fifteen special Slayer guards inside Shimrra's private coffer at the top of  the Citadel. The three Jedi are able to kill all of the Slayers whilst Jaina follows Shimrra's Shamed companion, Onimi, to the control level of Shimrra's coffer. There, Onimi easily overpowers Jaina and renders her unconscious with a toxin from his fang. Jaina notes, as she falls unconscious, that she was able to sense Onimi through the Force. Meanwhile, with all of his Slayers dead, Shimrra fights Luke and traps him with his royal amphistaff, the Scepter of Power, before taking out the late Anakin Solo's lightsaber as a mind game to Luke; Shimrra wants Luke to  know what it feels like to fight something that is part of his order, just as the Yuuzhan Vong have to fight Zonama Sekot, something that Shimrra believes should have been part of the Vong's order due to its living nature. Though Luke is poisoned by the Scepter of Power, he is able to take Anakin's lightsaber from Shimrra's grasp and he uses both his own and his late nephew's weapons to decapitate Shimrra. With Jacen's own lightsaber lost in the conflict, Luke throws him Anakin's lightsaber, which Jacen misses, and sees it fly  away, echoing the vision he had on Duro three years earlier, and again on Zonama Sekot before the Battle of Yuuzhan'tar began. Regardless, Jacen goes up to the control level of Shimrra's coffer in order to collect Jaina. As Onimi readies Shimrra's coffer to launch into space, an awakened but still weakened Jaina is told by the Shamed One, who believes that she is the human avatar of the Vong Trickster goddess Yun-Harla, that he had attained his Force powers by grafting yammosk DNA to his own neural tissue in order to emulate the gods' works in  creating the universe. This was done after Onimi, being a Shaper at the time, discovered that there was no eighth cortex in the Shaper Qahsa. Although he was Shamed as a result, he was able to use his powers to not only concoct deadly toxins that he could control in his body, but he also manipulated Shimrra into convincing the rest of the Yuuzhan Vong into invading the galaxy; therefore, throughout Shimrra's reign, it was Onimi who had really been controlling the Yuuzhan Vong as its true Supreme Overlord. With Shimrra now dead, he plans to kill everyone and  every living thing in the galaxy so that he could become a new god and fashion a new universe in his image. As the Alliance and their Yuuzhan Vong allies take hold of Shimrra's Citadel, Luke is carried away, and Han and Leia follow Nom Anor's lead in order to find Jaina and Jacen at the control level of the Supreme Overlord's coffer. As they do that, the coffer launches for space, and the "Millennium Falcon", piloted by Mara Jade Skywalker with an ailing Luke aboard, and Jagged Fel in his commandeered X-wing follow the coffer . Meanwhile, as word of Shimrra's death spreads, Nas Choka and his forces refuse to believe it, especially after his coffer appears rising up from Yuuzhan'tar. In the coffer, however, Jacen confronts Onimi and then hears the voice of his late grandfather, Anakin Skywalker, telling him to "stand firm," like he did on Duro. So as Jacen fights Onimi, he manages to achieve oneness with the Force, knowing that he'll never achieve this state again while simultaneously knowing that he'll spend the rest of his life trying to do so. As a result, Jacen defeats Supreme Overlord Onimi . Han, Leia, and Nom Anor arrive just in time to watch Jacen's amazing victory as he appears to age five years. Onimi, meanwhile, is reverted of his Shamed deformities, but because his deformities were the result of his gaining the Force, he loses control of the toxins in his body and dies, melting into a puddle of foul hydrocarbons that is absorbed by the coffer's yorik coral floor like a stain. The coffer begins to die off due its now-lost connection with Onimi, and Nom Anor tries to trick the Solos into going into a garbage chute  while he escapes alive. With his Vongsense, Jacen thwarts his plan, and when Nom Anor tries one more time to evade the Solos, his hand is cut off by Leia via her lightsaber. Nevertheless, Nom Anor opens up the entry into the coffer's yorik-trema (landing craft) and simply allows the Solos to leave without him; due to his atheism, which makes him undesirable in the Yuuzhan Vong's society, and his contempt for the Force, which makes him undesirable in the Galactic Alliance's society, Nom Anor elects to die aboard the coffer, despite his earlier vows of  surviving the war. The coffer's explosion is viewed by Warmaster Nas Choka and his fleet. He announces to all of his forces that the war is over and that the Yuuzhan Vong's enemies have won. He offers them an ultimatum; those who wish to die may kill themselves or fight to the bitter end, while those like him will live to find out what the Galactic Alliance and their allies intend to do to them. Meanwhile, Zonama Sekot manages to repel the Alpha Red-infected Vong ship from its surface and brings down all ships, Yuuzhan Vong and  non-Vong alike, to the ground. The Vong's weapons become docile and harmless as the invaders are welcomed home. Aboard the "Millennium Falcon", the Solos are saved from the dying yorik-trema, and Jacen is able to use Mara's tears and his own to concoct a chemical, as the late Vergere has done, to cure Luke of Shimrra's amphistaff poison. It works, and the Skywalkers and Solos collapse into one big embrace, glad that they survived and that the war is over. C-3PO and R2-D2 watch this scene and lament how at times like these, they  envy how humans must feel. Following the Yuuzhan Vong War's end, with most of the Peace Brigade dead and/or disbanded, Nas Choka meets with the Galactic Alliance's leaders to come to terms with how they should find a long-lasting solution to the war. Choka agrees to collect all remaining Vong throughout the galaxy so that they will be deposited on Zonama Sekot and be taken away into the Unknown Regions, where they will be safe and learn to acclimate their culture to peace and also reclaim their connection to the Force. To counter those who wish to  see the Yuuzhan Vong totally exterminated, such as the Bothans among others, Galactic Alliance Chief of State Cal Omas saw to it that each and every remaining sample of Alpha Red has been destroyed. Meanwhile, Zonama Sekot discovers that it is the offspring of the original Yuuzhan'tar, thus explaining the biological connection that it has with the Yuuzhan Vong. Amidst all of this, Luke declares that the Jedi shouldn't be the police force of the galaxy like it once was, and that the Order should allow individuals to find their own way in serving the galaxy, and, more importantly , themselves and the Force. Jacen, for one, plans to go on a galactic sojourn so that he could broaden his view of the Force following his battle with Onimi. Several weeks later, after nearly every remaining Yuuzhan Vong is collected, Zonama Sekot travels back into the Unknown Regions. Later, the Skywalkers, the Solos, and their friends and allies revisit Kashyyyk, where Han pinions Anakin's lightsaber into Chewbacca's makeshift grave. Luke declares that should the need ever arise again, someone as virtuous as Chewbacca will pick up Anakin's lightsaber and conquer whatever threat that will endanger the galaxy  in the future. Afterwards, they all have a feast where they discuss their vacation plans. Han convinces Lumpawaroo and Lowbacca not to carry on Chewbacca's life debt by saying that he and Leia already convinced their Noghri bodyguards, Cakhmaim and Meewalh, to take a vacation for themselves. The novel, and the series, ends with everybody laughing, not only at what Han said, but also in joy and relief that once again, the galaxy is at peace. References. Footnotes Citations