User:Cavalier One/Workpad2

"We all do what we must."

- Nek Bwua'tu, to Natasi Daala

Nek Bwua'tu was a male Bothan naval commander in the Galactic Alliance who was known for his loyalty and servitude to the Alliance. Hailing from Ruweln, he served as an officer in the Galactic Alliance Defense Force during and after the Yuuzhan Vong War. He was the commander of the Galactic Alliance Fifth Fleet at the outbreak of the Swarm War, having attained the rank of Fleet Admiral. Known for having defeated the Thrawn Simulator numerous times, Bwua'tu was respected by all in his fleet, even though as of just prior to the outbreak of the Swarm War he had never seen fleet combat as a commanding officer.

During the Swarm War in 36 ABY, Nek Bwua'tu captured and detained Jedi Leia Organa Solo and Saba Sebatyne for running the Blockade of the Utegetu Nebula. During their stay on the Admiral Ackbar, Leia warned Bwua'tu about an impending attack by the Killiks. The two worked together to escape the Ackbar before it was commandeered by UnuThul and the Killiks. Bwua'tu redeemed himself, however, by his work during the Battle of Tenupe that helped win the war.

Still serving as the commander of the Fifth Fleet by 40 ABY, Bwua'tu was informed by Jaina Solo and Zekk of a suspected attack on the Hapan Queen Mother, Tenel Ka. When the attack did come, Bwua'tu led the Fifth Fleet against the Corellian forces threatening to overthrow the Hapan Consortium, succeeding in repelling the attackers. Bwua'tu was later given command of the Fourth and Sixth during the Second Galactic Civil War. He led his forces against the Confederation at Kuat, and later at the Battle of Nickel One, defeating the forces of both Natasi Daala and Cha Niathal. After the end of the war, Bwua'tu was offered the position of Chief of State, but declined the offer and recommended Daala. He was then granted the rank of Supreme Commander of the Galactic Alliance Defense Force. During this time, he developed a strong relationship with Daala.

Early career
Nek Bwua'ta was born on Ruweln, a planet in the Bothan sector of the Mid Rim. By 36 ABY, Bwua'tu had married three times, and was a commissioned officer in the Galactic Alliance Defense Fleet, holding the rank of admiral. He was assigned to command the Fifth Fleet, and flew his flag from the Admiral Ackbar, a that had been outfitted with an asteroid tug tractor beam and classified as a pirate-hunter. Although he was noted for his tactical skill in defeating the Thrawn Simulator consistently, Bwua'tu had not commanded a military engagement as a fleet commander.

Blockading the Utegetu Nebula
In 35 ABY, the Killiks&mdash;a hive-minded insectoid species that citizens of the galaxy had believed to be extinct&mdash;began to aggressively expand their territory in the Gyuel system in the Unknown Regions, coming into conflict with the isolationist Chiss. The Killiks were under the influence of the Gorog, an invisible "Dark Nest" that kept its presence hidden from the other Killik nests, but nonetheless subconsciously directed them. This nest was controlled by a pair of Dark Jedi&mdash;Welk and Lomi Plo&mdash;who had crashed onto a Killik planet during the height of the Yuuzhan Vong War. They had been absorbed into the Killik hive-mind, becoming joiners. However, their innate Force-sensitivity led them to dominate the Killik hive-mind rather than submit to it. In parallel, a Jedi Knight by the name of Raynar Thul, who had crashed in the same ship as Plo and Welk, had been absorbed by another nest. His proclivity in the Force led him to unite the other nests under his leadership. However, he was not immune to the suggestions of the Dark Nest, which pushed for war against the Chiss. A series of battles between the two forces was waged in the Gyuel system, until the Jedi Order stepped in and settled the conflict by seemingly destroying the Dark Nest and offering the Killiks the coordinates to the Utegetu Nebula, a shell nebula containing fifteen planets. Raynar Thul, now styled as UnuThul, leader of the Colony, accepted the offer and transported the Killiks from the Gyuel system to the Utegetu Nebula. However, the nests were not content to stay in the Nebula, as the Dark Nest had not been destroyed and was still controlling the Killiks. Pushing for war against both the Chiss and the Galactic Alliance, the Killiks started to push out beyond the Nebula, using an addictive alcoholic beverage known as membrosia to seduce other insectoid races to their cause, in some case converting large amounts of the species into Joiners. Pirate bands, under direction from the Dark Nest, used the Utegetu Nebula as a base, furthering the nest's goals. A year after the Killik withdrawal from the Gyuel system, Chief of State Cal Omas ordered the Fifth Fleet&mdash;which had been patroling the Hydian Way&mdash;to blockade the Utegetu Nebula in an effort to appease the Chiss, and show that the Galactic Alliance was not in league with the Killiks. Bwau'tu, commanding the Admiral Ackbar, led his fleet to the Nebula.



During the blockade he impounded the Millennium Falcon with Barabel Jedi Master Saba Sebatyne and her apprentice, Leia Organa Solo, onboard. Both Jedi sensed that there was something odd aboard the Ackbar, but Bwua'tu brashly ignored their advice, declaring it to be simply Jedi trickery and sorcery.

Losing the Admiral Ackbar
The Admiral had many busts of himself mounted conspicuously aboard his ship, which were gifts from a shipping conglomerate that had benefited from the Fifth Fleet's patrolling of the Hydian Way. These busts were, in reality, sold by a company which had been allied with the Dark Nest. Full of Gorog larvae, they would eventually explode, sending the assassin bugs all over the ship. Despite ordering a task force of the Fifth Fleet to attack the incoming Killik fleet that was taking advantage of this incident, his ship was overtaken by the Killiks, led by former Jedi-turned-Joiner Alema Rar. Finally following Leia Organa Solo's advice, Bwua'tu and his surviving crew were forced to evacuate the Star Destroyer; the ship thus fell into the hands of UnuThul.

The Swarm War
Aboard Mon Mothma, commanded by Commodore Gavin Darklighter, Bwua'tu again took command of the Fifth Fleet, though he himself doubted he would remain in that capacity for much longer. With many Jedi serving under his command now&mdash;including Luke Skywalker&mdash;and a bare ten-ship advantage over the Killiks, he ordered the fleet to engage the Killik ships with everything they had, thus starting the Swarm War.

While Nek Bwua'tu was removed from command of the Fifth Fleet, he continued to serve as a strategic influence all the way through until the end of the Swarm War. Many of his strategies and tactics proved instrumental in ending the conflict.



In the aftermath of the conflict, Supreme Commander Gilad Pellaeon allowed Bwua'tu to retain command of the Admiral Ackbar. The Bothan admiral continued to feel embarrassment from temporary capture of his flagship, causing him to work towards being more humble of his own abilities. Instead of his own likeness, Nek Bwua'tu installed busts of the deceased Mon Calamari admiral for which his ship was named across the vessel. This served as a reminder to the Admiral of this newfound humility.

The Vow of Krevi
Assigned to command a task force of Star Destroyers, cruisers, and frigates, Admiral Bwua'tu monitored the secret Corellian fleet being assembled in the Kiris asteroid belt. Using Jedi Knights Jaina Solo, Zekk, Lowbacca, and Tesar Sebatyne, Bwua'tu was readily given intelligence on the Corellian fleet. When Jaina and Zekk returned, giving Bwua'tu intelligence pointing a Corellian attack on the Hapan Queen Mother Tenel Ka, Bwua'tu dispatched both to aide the Queen Mother. Bwua'tu was then dispatched to protect the Queen after a failed assassination attempt on her life. Upon arrival the Alliance ships under his command were able to finish off the remaining Corellian forces, securing the system for the Alliance and ensuring that Tenel Ka remained leader of the Hapes Consortium.

Later Bwua'tu would command the combined forces of both the First and Sixth Fleets at the Battle of Kuat where he would assure Jacen Solo that his vow of krevi would keep him loyal to the Galactic Alliance. Bwua'tu was angered when Grand Master Luke Skywalker fled from the Battle of Kuat as well as Jacen Solo's abandonment of the battle in pursuit of the Jedi, but managed to fight the Confederation forces at Kuat to a standstill after a week.

During the Second Battle of Roche, Bwua'tu was able to defeat the combined fleets of Cha Niathal and Natasi Daala along with Confederation forces. At the end of the war he was offered the position of Chief of State, but turned it down, the position instead going to Daala.

Galactic Alliance Chief Naval Officer
By 43.5 ABY, Bwua'tu had achieved the rank of Chief of the Galactic Alliance Naval Forces. During a conspiracy against Daala led by Kuati Senator Haydnat Treen and Imperial Moff Drikl Lecersen, General Merratt Jaxton was recruiting support within the armed forces. Bwua'tu was a considerable problem for them, as it was obvious that he was loyal to the Chief of State. Treen believed this was due to his personal ethics, though other analysis seemed to show that he sided with Daala far more often than simple ethics and support for the government would lead him to. Unknown to the conspirators, it was implied in subtle conversation that Bwua'tu and Daala were having an affair.

After Daala ordered the siege of the Jedi Temple over their refusal to turn over Jedi Sothais Saar and Turi Altamik, the Jedi were at a loss for what to do, especially after the Mandalorian murder of Jedi Apprentice Kani Asari. Bwua'tu then contacted acting Grand Master Kenth Hamner on a secure network, sympathizing with him and assuring him that he values the Jedi and wishes to see a good outcome to the problem. Bwua'tu, having received word from an anonymous tip, asked Hamner rather bluntly if the Jedi were fueling a strike team of StealthXs, which Hamner subtly confirmed. When Hamner assured him it was not to be used against the Galactic Alliance but an unknown foe of the galaxy, Bwua'tu agreed to keep the fleet's existence a secret- even from Daala. He instructed the acting Grand Master to wait until he gives the say-so for the StealthXs' launch, otherwise Daala would be more inclined to not only shoot the squadron down, but the entire Jedi Order as a result.

Ambush
A few days later, Bwua'tu visited Daala in her apartment and discussed the political issues facing the Alliance. After leaving her quarters, he was attacked by two assassins who pretended to be insane Jedi. During the fight, Bwua'tu lost his arm to a lightsaber strike, but after managing to hold out against his attackers for three minutes, he surmised that the two men were not, in fact, Jedi. He managed to shoot one of his attackers in the face, but the man fell on top of him, his lightsaber slashing across the Admiral's belly, and Bwua'tu lost consciousness.

Following the ambush, Bwua'tu remained in a coma under the care of Ysa'i, a Bothan doctor specializing in Bothan physiology. During a visit by Chief Daala, Wynn Dorvan, and Rynog Asokaji it was noted that Bwua'tu's brain was responding to Madhi Vaandt's coverage of the slave revolt on Blaudu Sextus.

Appearances

 * Dark Nest II: The Unseen Queen
 * Dark Nest III: The Swarm War
 * Tempest
 * Inferno
 * Invincible
 * Backlash
 * Allies
 * Vortex

Notes and references
Category:Bothans Category:Galactic Alliance Defense Fleet admirals Category:Males

Nek Bwua'tu Nek Bwua'tu