Shimrra Jamaane

Shimrra Jamaane was the Supreme Overlord of the Yuuzhan Vong during their invasion of the galaxy. While Jamaane was the official leader of the Yuuzhan Vong, he had actually become a puppet of his jester, Onimi. Being the last Yuuzhan Vong to possess a connection to the Force, Onimi used mind control to bend Jamaane to his will. During the Second Battle of Coruscant, Jamaane was beheaded in a duel with Luke Skywalker, and Onimi was killed by Jacen Solo.

Early life and ascension
Shimrra Jamaane was a member of Domain Jamaane, one of the few Domains not confined to a single Caste. He was originally a member of the Intendant caste by birth, though he was feared for his prowess in combat by other Yuuzhan Vong. He had a twin brother, which was a rare event in the Yuuzhan Vong culture and made both the brothers candidates for the next Supreme Overlord. To limit the pool of rivals, and ensure a great destiny, Jamaane killed his brother at the age of seven as an example of his strength&mdash;and also as an early warning of his viciousness.

Jamaane strongly disagreed with Supreme Overlord Quoreal's decision to avoid the Galaxy after the discovery of Zonama Sekot by Supreme Commander Zho Krazhmir, realizing that their time in the vastness of space had caused Yuuzhan Vong society to begin to fall apart and that they needed a common cause to rally behind in order to unite them. Gathering loyal Domains, he launched a coup, usurped and killed Quoreal, thus beginning preparations for a Yuuzhan Vong invasion. However, it would take some time for the rest of the Yuuzhan Vong convoy to complete the trek through the Intergalactic Void. During that time, Jamaane would suppress all available information regarding Zonama Sekot, and was able to subtly manipulate the Yuuzhan Vong religion by using his supposed connection with the gods to secure his power base. However, some of Quoreal's followers managed to remain hidden, planning to reemerge when the time was right. During his rule, his jester, the Shamed One Onimi, began to manipulate Jamaane using the Force, and became the Supreme Overlord, though this remained a secret and Onimi used Jamaane as his puppet to rule.

The eighth cortex
Jamaane claimed that the Gods had also granted him a vision of the Eighth Cortex of the Shaping Protocols, which would grant the Yuuzhan Vong the power to conquer the Galaxy. In truth, the Cortex was almost completely empty, and Jamaane was soon forced to look for new avenues. The protocols of the Eighth Cortex were too rigid to allow experimentation, and the Master Shapers Yal Phaath and Ch'Gang Hool were too conservative to allow for any type of change. They did, however, appear to have condoned the efforts of Master Shaper Taug Molou in creating the Vagh Rodiek, and Mezhan Kwaad also implied that Jamaane condoned her heretical actions on Yavin 4. However, when Kwaad was killed and her apprentice Nen Yim was banished, Jamaane sent Onimi to follow and observe her&mdash;Jamaane was interested to see if she was willing to defy the Protocols to make new advances. Claiming that the Protocols were taken from Yun-Yuuzhan by Yun-Harla, and from there to Yun-Ne'Shel, Shimrra said that new protocols had been made available to him, but that Nen Yim would have to labor for it. After offering the resources of his household to her, Yim eagerly accepted.

The turn of the tide
"Do not assume I am a fool! You have won your victories by sending your troops over a rampart of our own dead!"

- Shimrra Jamaane to Tsavong Lah

After the conquest and Terraforming of Coruscant into Yuuzhan'tar, Jamaane brought his vessel to the planet, and it was made to be his Citadel. He then commanded Warmaster Tsavong Lah to slow the assaults to allow the Warrior caste time to replenish their ranks. At the same time he refused to launch a full scale investigation into the Jeedai heresy which had begun to infect the workers of the lower castes on Yuuzhan'tar. Meanwhile, he executed Hool for his incompetence over his inability to control the World Brain, and began killing more Shapers as they failed to gain control of the situation. During the troubled time that was being experienced on Yuuzhan'tar, Executor Nom Anor brought forward information that the New Republic had taken refuge in the Deep Core&mdash;he believed that if the Yuuzhan Vong moved quickly, then they could wipe out the enemy and easily bring an end to the war. Confident of success, Jamaane granted Warmaster Lah five battle groups, convinced that his position would be secure.

However, the Battle of Ebaq 9 saw the Yuuzhan Vong defeated at the hands of the New Republic&mdash;Warmaster Tsavong Lah was killed during the fierce fighting, and the battle witnessed a large portion of the Yuuzhan Vong fleet destroyed. In an act to shore up his steadily weakening position, Jamaane ordered the Yuuzhan Vong to resume the offensive, including an invasion of Imperial Space, and to begin a purge of the Jeedai heretics. Jamaane also called for the skin of Nom Anor, with the apparent intention of wearing it as a cloak. He then escalated Supreme Commander Nas Choka, a more conservative commander than Lah, to the position of Warmaster.

The tyrant
"I am not as lenient as my predecessor."

- Shimrra Jamaane



As the war carried, Onimi began to lose his control over Jamaane, who became increasingly unstable: he was constantly attacking the followers of the prophet Yu'shaa, and murdering scores of suspected followers of the Jeedai heresy. For a time, the supposed Shamed prophet Yu'shaa, who was actually the exiled Nom Anor, arranged for the Priestess Ngaaluh to act as his spy in Jamaane's court. With the information that Ngaaluh provided Yu'shaa, the heretics were able to stage a number of successful raids against their Yuuzhan Vong enemies&mdash;the fact that the heretics were continually one step ahead of Jamaane, led him to believe that he had a traitor in his court. This led to several Domains being wiped out, but finally, Jamaane realized that he had been deceived by Ngaaluh. The damage, however, was already done and the heretics were now organized into a cohesive and structured rebellion. Following the increasing attacks of the rebels, even Jamaan's closest supporters began to question the Overlord's ability to rule. Sensing this, Jamaane had Qelah Kwaad create the Slayers, a group of deadly and specially bred priest-warriors, who were capable of healing almost immediately when struck and wielded deadlier variants of the standard amphistaff and coufee. The Elite of the Yuuzhan Vong denounced their creation as heresy, but when they saw how dangerous they were, they ceased their complaints. However, as a favor to the Elite, Jamaane allowed his proclamations and decrees to be analyzed by a quartet of seers, one from each of the four ruling castes. The Royal Seers, however, could do little more than pray for the Gods kindness, as Jamaane was ultimately seen as the only link to the Gods.

However, Jamaane still had other problems&mdash;Commander Ekh'm Val, who had rediscovered Zonama Sekot, was executed to prevent the living world from becoming public knowledge. Many, though, heard of it. When Nom Anor informed Jamaane that he was on Zonama Sekot, he offered to destroy it in exchange for a pardon&mdash;Jamaane agreed, and took Anor into his confidence. It was then that Jamaane revealed to Anor his true motives for having launched the invasion of the galaxy&mdash;despite the belief of the entire Yuuzhan Vong species that the war had been an effort to appease their gods through bloodshed, a maddened Shimrra declared the contrary&mdash;that for having been cut off from the Force and forsaken as they crossed the Intergalactic Void, the Yuuzhan Vong were in actuality amidst a self-destructive crusade to defy the will of the gods and to exact revenge upon them.

Seeking to remove the Galactic Alliance before the living planet returned, Jamaane declared that the Warriors were to launch an attack on Mon Calamari, in an attempt to end the war before Zonama Sekot reappeared. However, the Warrior caste disagreed with this as they were already stretched to their limits. To placate the Elite, Jamaane ordered a sacrifice of one thousand Alliance prisoners at the Place of Sacrifice&mdash;however, the Shamed Ones disrupted the ceremony and managed to rescue three hundred captives. In retaliation, Jamaane executed three thousand Shamed Ones in the Place of Bones. Each died while either praising Yu'shaa or cursing Jamaane and the Yuuzhan Vong Elite. Following this execution, Jamaane noticed that his support among the Elite had began to wane. Concerned about the effects that another massive battle could have, and fearful that the gods were angry over the spoiled sacrifice, Warmaster Choka requested more time to prepare before pressing the war. Shimrra, however, dismissed his concerns by telling Choka that his fleet would win, and that he would become a legend.

Death of a Dread Lord
"The Master and the twins. How long we have anticipated this meeting."

- Shimrra Jamaane, to Luke Skywalker



When Zonama Sekot arrived in the Yuuzhan'tar system, the Yuuzhan Vong Empire&mdash;and Jamaane's control&mdash;began to crumble. Several Domains refused to come to Yuuzhan'tar's defense, for fear that they would be ordered to attack the fabled world of Zonama Sekot. At the same time the heretics, believing Yu'shaa's prophecy had come to pass, began to revolt against the Elite. The Quorealists, feeling vindicated that Quoreal was right, began spreading information about Zonama Sekot that Jamaane had been trying to suppress. Fortunately for Jamaane, Nas Choka and most of the Warrior caste reminaed loyal to their Overlord.

Believing Zonama Sekot to be the embodiment of the Yuuzhan Vong's gods, Jamaane began to make plans to destroy the living planet. Knowing that Sekotan and Yuuzhan Vong lifeforms were similar, he ordered the Slayer ship that had been infected with the Alpha Red virus at Caluula to crash into Zonama Sekot, which would then infect and kill the living planet.

However, Sekot revealed that it had granted the Jedi its living vessels, showing that it had given its favor to the infidels. Worse, the Galactic Alliance Defense Fleet entered the system, with the intent of retaking Coruscant and bringing about an end to the war. Declaring that the heretics had given them to the Galactic Alliance, Jamaane granted Prefect Nom Anor half of the Citadel's forces to wipe out every Shamed One on Yuuzhan'tar. Jamaane, however, had regained control of the World Brain, and ordered it to begin making the planet uninhabitable. Jamaane apparently suspected defeat, so he decided that if he couldn't have Coruscant, then no one would. Luke Skywalker, accompanied by Jaina and Jacen Solo, reached Shimrra's coffer, where they fought a battle against the Slayer bodyguards. Unbeknown to Jamaane and his Jedi enemies, Onimi had begun using his power to coordinate the Slayers and to cause the Citadel to quake&mdash;despite Onimi's efforts, one by one the Slayers were killed by the Jedi.

While Jaina pursued the fleeing Onimi, Jamaane managed to knock out Jacen and proceeded to duel with Luke. Luke, already exhausted from the previous battles, struggled against the Supreme Overlord and Jamaane's Scepter of Power wrapped itself around Luke. As Luke struggled against the amphistaff, Jamaane deflected a revived Jacen's saber throw and revealed that he possessed Anakin Solo's lightsaber. Jamaane intended to kill Luke with his nephew's own lightsaber, so that the Jedi might feel the pain his Warriors had to suffer in fighting living vessels. At that point, Luke released his hold on the amphistaff to push away Jamaane's wrist, allowing the Scepter of Power to bite him. While Jamaane laughed that one more thrust would kill the Jedi Master, Luke pulled the lightsaber from Jamaane's massive hand with the Force. Severing the Scepter of Power, Luke drove the two lightsabers into Jamaane's neck and beheaded him.

Personality and traits
"Shimrra hates the sound of reasoned words."

- Harrar

Jamaane's personality was unpredictable. He was known to have been rather fickle, favoring one person this day and another the next. He also had an uncontrollable rage that could spring forth at any time&mdash;he executed Master Shaper Ch'Gang Hool because he was unable to gain control of the World Brain, and executed entire Domains for merely being suspected for having sympathy for the Jeedai heresy.

He also ordered an attack on Mon Calamari in seeming defiance of rational goals. However, Jamaane appeared to have some measure of introspection&mdash;he seemed genuinely curious about from where the heretics learned their doctrine. He was also adept at playing on the passions of Yuuzhan Vong Elite, being able to incite them into a frenzy with just a few words.

Jamaane was both physically impressive and a frightening sight to behold to the Yuuzhan Vong. He was heavily built and imposingly tall, even by Yuuzhan Vong standards&mdash;this was attributed to the Shapers of Domain Jamaane. His head was enlarged and modified to resemble that of a Yuuzhan Vong deity, and his eyes were replaced with mqaaq'it implants, which shifted color depending on Jamaane's mood (though they were usually the color that represented anger). His head also bore countless ritual scars, leaving many who saw him to feel that Jamaane's face was merely a massive, unhealed flesh wound. All ten of his fingers were removed and replaced with the fingers of ten different carnivores. These modifications were intended to cause Jamaane to resemble Yun-Yuuzhan, and simply looking at him caused instincts of worship for some Yuuzhan Vong.

Behind the scenes
Shimrra Jamaane was featured predominantly in the New Jedi Order series of Star Wars novels, and either appeared or was mentioned in nearly all of the novels. He also had entries in The New Jedi Order Sourcebook, The New Essential Guide to Characters, and the The New Essential Chronology. Jamaane was first mentioned in Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial, appeared for the first time in Edge of Victory II: Rebirth, and made his final appearance in The Unifying Force, in which he was killed.

Despite what the artwork in The New Essential Chronology showed, when Luke Skywalker crossed the lightsabers in their duel, Shimrra's Scepter of Power should have already be slashed to pieces, as described in the The New Jedi Order  series.

Appearances

 * Boba Fett: A Practical Man
 * Dark Tide II: Ruin
 * Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial
 * Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse
 * Balance Point
 * Edge of Victory I: Conquest
 * Edge of Victory II: Rebirth
 * Star by Star
 * Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream
 * Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand
 * Destiny's Way
 * Ylesia
 * Force Heretic I: Remnant
 * Force Heretic II: Refugee
 * Or Die Trying
 * Force Heretic III: Reunion
 * The Final Prophecy
 * The Unifying Force
 * Dark Nest I: The Joiner King

Notes and references
Shimrra Shimrra Shimrra Jamaane