Battle of Coruscant (Yuuzhan Vong War)

"It's not the same as watching your home dying. Not the same as if they'd descended on Corellia. But seeing orbital platforms drop onto the city, knowing that millions were dying with every impact, and that the few who were streaming into space on private vessels and leaving their homes behind were the lucky ones...Coruscant is dying, Wedge. I don't know if I can describe the misery of it."

- Iella Wessiri Antilles

The First Battle of Coruscant, otherwise known as the Fall of Coruscant, was the great battle that resulted in Coruscant, the capital of the New Republic, falling into the hands of the ruthless extragalactic Yuuzhan Vong. It was one of the most ferocious battles of the Yuuzhan Vong War and perhaps the most destructive Battle of Coruscant in history.

The Battle
"I have seen the Temple in ruins, the Senate smashed, and Coruscant itself shattered by orbital bombardment from immense ships of impossible design. I have seen Coruscant, the seat of galactic culture, become a jungle far more hostile and alien than any on Haruun Kal. I have seen the end of civilization."

- Mace Windu, 21 BBY

As predicted by Mace Windu nearly five decades before the Yuuzhan Vong War, the Yuuzhan Vong warfleet attacked Coruscant from the OboRin Comet Cluster, having assembled at Borleias. They used refugee ships containing prisoners from earlier battles to shield the Yuuzhan Vong fleet. Even with the efforts of leaders such as Garm Bel Iblis (commanding Fleet Group Two who attempted to confront the Vong fleet head on), Admiral Traest Kre'fey (commanding Fleet Group One which stood off to the side while resorting to long range combat), Wedge Antilles (commanding Fleet Group Three), Carlist Rieekan (commanding the Coruscant Planetary Defense Force) and Luke Skywalker, the Yuuzhan Vong were too plentiful to be stopped. It was said that the Yuuzhan Vong fleet numbered "tens of thousands" of ships, and that half of the New Republic Defense Fleet was present.

For the battle, Borsk Fey'yla gave Admiral Sien Sovv, Supreme Commander of the New Republic Navy, full command of the fleet. Sovv's unwillingness to risk the refugee ships in order to stop the Yuuzhan Vong advance lead to disciplinary breakdowns and caused Bel Iblis to take full command of his fleet, leaving Kre'fey with only a few thousand ships while others joined Bel Iblis. A distress signal was sent out for the rest of the fleet from Corellia, Kuat, Balmorra and Kashyyyk but no reinforcements were able to arrive in time to affect the outcome of the battle.

The refugee ships which were taken from captured refugee convoys from worlds including Ralltiir and Rhinnal, which were piloted by Yuuzhan Vong, were deliberately smashed into Coruscant's shields to weaken them. This tactic worked, as eventually whole shield-grids failed, and the surface shield-generators exploded. Even the orbital defense platforms could not stop the advance of the Yuuzhan Vong. Soon Coruscant's skyline was burning with crashing vessels and plasma fire from the battle above. Even Orbital Defense Headquarters was crippled, and fell out of orbit to the surface. During the battle, Luke Skywalker and other Jedi from Eclipse Station targeted the enemy war coordinating Yammosks, and managed to destroy four of them.

Meanwhile Han Solo and Leia on board the Millennium Falcon attempted to evacuate Chief of State Borsk Fey'lya from the planet, but were tasked with rescuing Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade Skywalker. The second assault wave was thousands of Yorik-trema dropships, Tsik-Seru airskimmers, swarms of Yorik-Vec assault cruisers and Coralskippers, legions of Yuuzhan Vong warriors, and Chazrach support troops. In desperation, Bel Iblis' Fleet was firing on the refugee ships in an attempt to halt the enemy advancement, but this tactic fell foul of Admirals Sovv and Kre'fey, who didn't agree with the killing of innocent refugees. Coruscant did have extensive mine fields, but these didn't have quite as large an impact as desired.



At the Imperial Palace, Tsavong Lah's aide Romm Zqar tried to force Borsk Fey'lya to surrender. When Fey'lya refused, he was killed. But before the Chief of State died he had planted a Proton bomb in the Imperial Palace, which would be triggered by the cessation of his heartbeat. This resulted in the deaths of Romm Zqar, 25,000 Yuuzhan Vong warriors, the destruction of a portion of the Imperial Palace along with the data towers, 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 getting into the hands of the Yuuzhan Vong.

The battle lasted for several days, with heavy casualties on both sides. The Chazrach slave soldiers would perform most of the hard fighting deep down in the lower levels of Coruscant. Many of the planet's citizens were forced to flee the capital world during the battle, while those who did not manage to escape were forced to retreat into the city planet's lower levels. Many Senators, fearing for their lives, commandeered bits of the fleet and escaped to their sectors as the battle progressed. The New Republic Defense Fleet was somewhat diminished as a result. The third wave was a biotoxin in the form of green algae released by the Yuuzhan Vong which devoured many of the buildings including dead bodies and left behind black spots. Coralskipper and Yorik-Vec squadrons bombed the devastated city world causing damage to the defenders. The Yuuzhan Vong eventually captured Coruscant and had it terraformed and renamed Yuuzhan'tar after their homeworld.

"This is not the end, two years ago, the Yuuzhan Vong entered our galaxy. They came not as friends and equals, though we would gladly have welcomed them as such, but as thieves and conquerors. They saw the galaxy at peace and mistook the strengh of our convictions for frailty of arms, and wisdom of compromise for the timity of cowards. They attacked without provocation or mercy, slaying billions of our citizens, enslaving entire worlds, and sacrificing millions of beings to appease the bloodlust of their imaginary gods. They believed we would be easily defeated, because they believed we would yield without a fight. They were wrong. We have fought at Dubrillion, Ithor, the Black Bantha, Borleias, and Corellia- we have fought them every leg of the way from the Outer Rim into the Core. We have lost untold numbers of loved ones, my own son Anakin and my husband's dear friend Chewbacca among them, and now we are battling in the skies over Coruscant itself. We are still fighting. Soon the enemy will be on our rooftops, in our homes, roaming the dark underlayers of our city. To those able to evacuate and to those trapped behind, I say the same thing I would tell my twins- were I able to reach them behind enemy lines: Keep fighting. This is not the end. Twice already, Jedi-led forces have decimated Yuuzhan Vong fleets, and we enter each battle with new weapons and better tactics. We have revailed against ruthless enemies before, against Palpatine, against Thrawn, against the Ssi-ruuk. This war we know how to win. Keep fighting until you can fight no longer, then exhaust the enemy chasing you, and turn to fight some more. Keep fighting. I promise you, we will prevail."

- Leia Organa Solo

Yuuzhan Vong losses
"Do not assume I am a fool! You have earned your victories by sending your troops over a rampart of our own dead!"

- Supreme Overlord Shimrra

But Tsavong Lah had also made a huge military mistake. By simply sending the Warriors in waves, and by ordering some of his own vessels to collide with the planet's shields, he caused massive casualties among his own soldiers. The first two waves he sent into the teeth of the New Republic fleets and orbital defenses were wiped out, the third although successful paid an awful price. Exact casualties are unknown, but Supreme Overlord Shimrra would soon comment that following the costly losses of 'Battle Plan Coruscant' a full third of the Warrior caste had died during the course of their invasion of the Galaxy. The Yuuzhan Vong now had a massive empire to control, and Domains once again began competing for resources. Shortly after this battle, the Yuuzhan Vong's single strategic reserve was destroyed in a New Republic ambush and combined with the horrific losses, it meant from this point on if the Yuuzhan Vong moved forces to any part of the Galaxy, it would be at the price of somewhere else being left undefended.

Disintegration and despair
"The New Republic? Are you blind? There is no New Republic anymore! It died before the Yuuzhan Vong came."

- Leia Organa Solo to Han Solo

The New Republic all but disintegrated after the battle. Though the Senate had been withdrawing fleets to the Core Worlds since the war began, many fleets lost coordination. Several planets immediately capitulated outright, receiving little better treatment. In the initial aftermath, Councilor Pwoe, the Quarren Senator for Mon Calamari, declared himself Chief of State, intending to sacrifice the New Republic in hopes for his own survival. The Senate denounced Pwoe, but the Republic did not regain any sort of cohesion until the election of Cal Omas as President of the Senate. Omas, a former Rebel soldier, had come to the conclusion that the Senate and the Advisory Council were grossly unqualified to conduct the War in any competent fashion, an opinion the New Republic populace also soon held. There was also the realization that the Yuuzhan Vong had broken their word too many times to be trusted with future negotiations. But perhaps most importantly, the Jedi's actions during the Battle had placed the order on the populace's better side. Using the political clout, Omas reorganized the New Republic into the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, stripping the Senate of much executive power, and confining it to legislative duties. He also formed the High Council, which finally gave the Jedi a role in the war effort.

While it may have killed the New Republic, the Fall of Coruscant also decided the eventual outcome of the Yuuzhan Vong War.

Participants
"The end of the world. Who'd've thought we'd live to see it?"

- Han Solo to Leia Organa Solo

New Republic

 * Adarakh
 * Anga
 * Tam Azur-Jamin
 * Wedge Antilles
 * Ba'tra
 * Brand
 * Lando Calrissian
 * Cilghal
 * C-3PO
 * Kyp Durron
 * Borsk Fey'lya
 * Godt
 * Corran Horn
 * Garm Bel Iblis
 * Traest Kre'fey
 * Drif Lij
 * Meewalh
 * Rigard Matl
 * Muun
 * Rabb
 * Danni Quee
 * Carlist Rieekan
 * R2-D2
 * Saba Sebatyne
 * Ben Skywalker
 * Luke Skywalker
 * Mara Jade Skywalker
 * Han Solo
 * Leia Organa Solo
 * Sien Sovv
 * Garv Tomas
 * Shev Watsn
 * Wonetun
 * Izal Waz
 * Yeel
 * YVH 1-1A
 * YVH 1-24A
 * YVH 1-32A
 * YVH 1-507A

Yuuzhan Vong

 * Dab Hantaq
 * Maal Lah
 * Tsavong Lah
 * Seef
 * Viqi Shesh
 * Romm Zqar

Appearances

 * Shatterpoint
 * Star by Star
 * Destiny's Way
 * Ylesia
 * Force Heretic III: Reunion
 * The Unifying Force
 * Betrayal