Nas Choka

"The Supreme Overlord proclaims that your name will live on as an inspiration to others. You will be the zenith all those who follow you will seek to attain."

- Tactican of Yammka's Mount

Nas Choka was a distinguished Yuuzhan Vong warrior who rose through the ranks of his caste to become the final warmaster of his species. Known more as a tactician and strategist than a martial warrior, Choka nevertheless actively participated in the Jamaane Coup of 27 BBY, which saw the ambitious Shimrra Jamaane become supreme overlord of the Yuuzhan Vong. Having pledged his support to the winning faction, Commander Choka was eventually able to attain the position of Supreme Commander of the flagship of the Yuuzhan Vong fleet, as the armada traveled to the galaxy which Shimrra vowed was a promised reward for millennia spent in the intergalactic void. When the Yuuzhan Vong finally prosecuted their invasion in 25 ABY, Choka was still with the main body of the fleet. The invaders witnessed several setbacks until Choka took command of the vanguard and managed, by manipulating an alliance with the Hutts, to mount a major offensive against the New Republic's vital Fondor Shipyards. The battle went awry, however, when Choka lost half his attack force to the destructive capabilities of Centerpoint Station, an ancient construct in the nearby Corellian system. The vengeful supreme commander descended with his warfleet upon the Hutts, who had betrayed the Yuuzhan Vong at Fondor, and over the next two years laid waste to Hutt Space, conquering the entire territory.

The lengthy campaign against the Hutts reaffirmed Choka's reputation, and thus when his superior, Warmaster Tsavong Lah, met his death at the Battle of Ebaq 9, the supreme commander was escalated to the rank of warmaster in Lah's stead. Proving to be a very different leader of the warriors than his predecessor had been, Choka made swift progress against the reorganized New Republic with new tactics and agendas. The vendetta against the Jedi was called off, and several threats against the Yuuzhan Vong, such as the Imperial Remnant and the Yevetha species, were attacked or neutralized. A strike against the enemy's communications network also bore some success, but Supreme Overlord Jamaane desired a rapid end to the war. Forced, against his better judgment, to carry out a final, decisive strike against the Galactic Alliance's capital of Dac, Choka departed Yuuzhan'tar&mdash;formerly Coruscant&mdash;with one of the war's largest armadas, tasked with finishing off the tenacious enemy. The warmaster soon returned, however, when news reached him that a living world had emerged in the Coruscant system, and that the enemy was planning to reclaim their lost capital. In the last battle of the war, Choka conducted the defense of Yuuzhan'tar, all the while threatened by the presence of the living planet Zonama Sekot. The battle came to an end when Choka was halted in his efforts by the news of the death of Supreme Overlord Jamaane. The warmaster chose not to join many of his fellow warriors in ritual suicide, and acted as the spokesperson of the Yuuzhan Vong during the Sekot Accords which ended the war.

The journey to war
"We are the Yuuzhan Vong. We have been entrusted with the true way, the true knowledge of the gods. Our duty is to bring every infidel in this galaxy to heel and either send them screaming to the gods or bring them to the true path. There is no middle ground, there is no faltering. And there can be no failure."

- Nas Choka

By the year 29 BBY, Nas Choka, a member of the Yuuzhan Vong warrior caste, held the rank of commander among his species. The Yuuzhan Vong fleet was in the final stages of its long approach to the galaxy to which it had been travelling for generations, where it had been promised by the priests that the wandering Yuuzhan Vong would find their new home. Already at least one subsidiary fleet was operating in the Unknown Regions, under the auspices of Supreme Commander Zho Krazhmir. It was in that region of the galaxy, however, that Krazhmir discovered Zonama Sekot, a living planet which bore a striking resemblance to Yuuzhan'tar, the original homeworld of the Yuuzhan Vong, destroyed millennia ago during the epic Cremlevian War which had forced the species into the intergalactic void. Krazhmir's report disconcerted Supreme Overlord Quoreal, the leader of the Yuuzhan Vong, who came to believe that Zonama Sekot was an omen of disaster, as invading a galaxy in which there were living worlds was considered taboo. When Quoreal attempted to retreat from the long awaited invasion, it was Domain Jamaane that opposed him. Commander Nas Choka was a member of a group of officers who sided with the ambitious domain and its figurehead, Shimrra Jamaane. Having pledged their allegiance to the Jamaane, as Choka believed that Shimrra recognized that the warriors needed their war, lest Yuuzhan Vong society further decline, the commander and his cohorts helped to bring about the Jamaane Coup, which saw Quoreal toppled from his throne and killed.

Nas Choka went on to take part in the execution of the warriors and intendants who had supported the late supreme overlord. Whole domains loyal to Quoreal were purged, their members executed, as well as Quoreal's advisers and political supporters. Regarding the proclamation by Quoreal's priests that Zonama Sekot was an ill-omen for the Yuuzhan Vong, Choka remained skeptical, perceiving the declaration as an attempt to deny the warrior caste its invasion. The priests, likewise, joined their master in death. The history of the Jamaane Coup was distorted and doctored in the memory banks of the Yuuzhan Vong, all rumors of Zonama Sekot smothered&mdash;without success. Choka would witness, however, over the next decades, as the stories of the living planet persisted; that it had defeated Zho Krazhmir's forces in battle, and that it would bring ill tidings to the Yuuzhan Vong. Choka believed none of the rumors, remaining loyal to Shimrra Jamaane and trusting in the supreme overlord's communion with the Yuuzhan Vong gods. Indeed, it would be over half a standard century before Quoreal's priests were proven correct and their prophecy was fulfilled, all before the very eyes of the commander who would rise to become Warmaster Nas Choka.

Preparations
"I will be arriving soon from our shipyard at Sernpidal with a young yammosk and additional forces. In the meantime, the fleet will divert to Hutt space, under the leadership of Commander Malik Carr."

- Nas Choka

In 25 ABY, the year the Yuuzhan Vong launched their all-out assault on the galaxy, Choka possessed the rank of supreme commander of the flagship of the entire Yuuzhan Vong fleet &mdash;a Koros-strohna worldship replete with its complement of warships and warriors. By this time, Choka had gained a reputation as more of a tactician than a martial warrior; a highly efficient leader whose military prowess and strategies facilitated the capture of many New Republic worlds, even before his arrival in the invasion corridor. Supreme Commander Choka answered directly to the Yuuzhan Vong warmaster, Tsavong Lah, and remained apprised of the actions of the subordinate commanders who were already fighting in the galaxy.

Not every military operation, however, went soundly. The Praetorite Vong advance force attempted to manipulate the invasion plans to gain credit for themselves, and were defeated at Helska 4. Commander Shedao Shai and his fleet were lost during the battle at Ithor. Although the warrior caste was conquering worlds, cutting a swathe towards Coruscant, the New Republic capital, and the Core, such setbacks were most unwelcome for Choka. Before long the supreme commander received word that yet another Yuuzhan Vong scheme had come undone. On this occasion, the priest Harrar, Executor Nom Anor, and Commander Tla had attempted to coordinate a strike against the Jedi, whose Order presented a threat to the success of the invasion. Utilizing a deception sect priestess, Elan, and guided by the strategies of Tla's battle tactician, Raff, Harrar and Anor staged a false defection, which saw Elan surrender to the New Republic. It was planned that, having granted the defection credibility by means of a series of "re-capture" attempts, the priestess would gain an audience with the Jedi and assassinate as many of the Order as possible with a lethal bioweapon. Shortly after its inception, the deception ploy met failure. Elan was killed during a pitched space battle, much to the displeasure of her father, High Priest Jakan, having failed to kill a single Jedi. Nas Choka, at the time preparing forces at the Yuuzhan Vong shipwomb at Sernpidal, contacted Harrar and the other architects of the plot via a villip communications device in order to deliver his judgment.

Nom Anor, already despised by Choka for his union with the ambitious Praetorite Vong, and a much-discussed figure at the court of Supreme Overlord Shimrra Jamaane, remained, as a member of the intendant caste, outside the supreme commander's jurisdiction. Thus the executor, saved from demotion and further punishment due to his birth into the caste that Choka so detested, escaped the warrior's wrath. Instead, Commander Tla and his battle tactician, Raff, were summoned forward to communicate with Choka. Choka blamed Tla for the scheme's failure, but ordered Raff to apprise him of the costliness of the ploy and the progress of the invasion. The tactician suggested either cannibalizing some of the larger ships of the Yuuzhan Vong fleet to replenish the losses suffered during the defection plot, or to divert from the invasion path to conquer new worlds for the growth of the yorik coral which formed the main constituent of Yuuzhan Vong vessels. The tactician also informed Choka of the opportunity presented by Hutt Space to attain these worlds, as Nom Anor had already entered into negotiations with the Hutt leaders, and of the fact that the New Republic had deployed its fleets and was beginning to put to use technology which could better oppose the Yuuzhan Vong. Choka took all this information into consideration; he rebuffed the notion of cannibalizing larger vessels, and dispatched Commander Malik Carr to Hutt Space. Harrar and Tla were, as punishment, recalled to the Outer Rim.

Arrival
"Welcome, Supreme Commander Choka."

- Malik Carr

While Commander Carr and Nom Anor met with the Hutts and begun their negotiations with the species' leader, Borga Besadii Diori, Choka continued his preparations. He remained apprised of the situation in Hutt Space by Carr, and of Anor's involvement in the new scheme, which entailed leaking false intelligence to the Hutts and allowing it to reach the ears of New Republic Intelligence. The supreme commander was unconvinced by the ploy, as Anor's failure over the Elan debacle, and his alliance with the Praetorite Vong, was still fresh Choka's mind. Bearing the salutations of Warmaster Lah for Malik Carr and his troops, as well as a list of warriors whose actions merited promotion, Choka eventually set off from Sernpidal with his force, among which was a young yammosk, creatures used by the Yuuzhan Vong to coordinate their warriors in battle. The supreme commander and his fleet arrived at the world of Runaway Prince, a planet bestowed upon the Yuuzhan Vong by the Hutts as a gesture of good faith. There, with his commanders, subalterns and other troops, a richly attired Choka departed his Koros-strohna and boarded the Yammka, Malik Carr's warship, whereupon he was received in a lavish ceremony. Ten thousand warriors lined his passage, with incense, perfumes and music filling the air, and a selection of 200 captives from the conquered planet Gyndine cowered in a corner of the reception chamber. Ceremoniously, Malik Carr approached Choka and transferred command of his forces to the superior warrior. The supreme commander took his seat on a raised dais and addressed the assembled warriors. Firstly, he passed on Tsavong Lah's congratulations for their successes in the opening stages of the invasion, as well as his own, before moving on to the matter of promotions.

A subordinate proclaimed the list of those to be escalated, and before the congregation four subalterns were affixed with cloaks of command. Choka then announced the end of the escalation ceremonies before turning to the pressing matter of Executor Nom Anor. Rather than escalate the intendant, as Anor expected, Choka criticized the executor heavily, condemning his alliance with the Praetorite Vong, as well as his role in the death of Elan. The two held a brief dispute, before Choka's curiosity had him ask Anor just what was so special about Luke Skywalker's Jedi Order and why they demanded such costly attention. When Anor attempted to explain the threat posed to the Yuuzhan Vong by the Force, the supreme commander dismissed the notion, citing the True Way of the Yuuzhan Vong religion to be far superior to the "idea" of the Force. Having exhausted the conversation, Choka was informed of Carr's and Anor's plan to conquer the Core Worlds, and that a hasty departure was required in order to put the next stage of the campaign into effect. Before the supreme commander accompanied Anor and his subordinate, he warned the executor against the dangers of personal ambition. With that, the Gyndine captives were sacrificed, and Choka, Carr and Anor set off for the world of Tynna.

To take Fondor
Tynna, whilst an important conquest in that its waters could furnish the Yuuzhan Vong with massive dovin basals with which to strip planetary shields, or creatures, such as the ychna, with which to attack constructs in space, was nevertheless only another step in Malik Carr's and Nom Anor's scheme to deal a crippling blow to the New Republic. Knowing that the Hutts would secretly communicate information on the Yuuzhan Vong to New Republic Intelligence in order to prevent themselves from making an enemy of either force, Carr and Anor had given Borga Besadii Diori and the other Hutts details of the next locations the Yuuzhan Vong would be attacking. They stated Tynna, Corellia and Bothawui to be the three upcoming targets, whereas in fact it was the shipyards at Fondor that remained the true goal. Attacking Tynna, however, encouraged the New Republic to trust the Hutt intelligence sources which had provided information on the planet being one of the next Yuuzhan Vong targets. A New Republic spy ship was observed monitoring the conquest of Tynna, and thus Choka, Carr and Anor knew that the New Republic now awaited strikes at Corellia or Bothawui, as the Hutt intelligence on the first of the three targets had been proven correct. Having routed the 200 starfighters and other forces defending Tynna, Choka and Carr traveled down to the Tanallay Surge complex on the planet's surface, leaving their fleet in orbit.

Supreme Commander Choka, along with his subordinate, approached the Tynnan delegation outside the Tanallay Surge complex, but the Yuuzhan Vong officer had no interest in communicating with the inhabitants of the planet, who had been tricked by Peace Brigaders, collaborators loyal to the Yuuzhan Vong, into handing over the world. Instead, Choka signaled a drop ship, which released a host of biotoxins into the waters surrounding the Surge complex. Within moments, the bio-forming of Tynna's oceans was underway. His task completed, Nas Choka returned with his ships to the fleet over Runaway Prince and boarded the Yammka, where a villip relay had been set up to contact Warmaster Tsavong Lah. Genuflecting before the villip's facsimile of the leader of the warrior caste, Choka apprised Lah of the Fondor ploy. To assuage Lah's doubts, Choka informed the warmaster that preparations for the attack on the shipyards were already underway; yorik-et starfighter pilots were readying themselves for the ramming tactics which would wipe out the shipyards, along with any berthed starships, and dovin basal mines were being prepared, with which to seed hyperspace routes between Fondor and its connected systems. Carr also told the warmaster of the trap at Corellia, being set up by the New Republic. The Kuati senator Viqi Shesh, who was passing intelligence to the Yuuzhan Vong, had alerted her new masters to the deception in the Corellian system, but had not specified the nature or capabilities of the trap&mdash;Centerpoint Station, an ancient construct able, with pulses of gravitic energy, to induce supernovas in stars or swat whole fleets out of space. For the time being, the Yuuzhan Vong saw fit to avoid the unknown threat of the Corellian system.

As the time to strike at Fondor drew closer, Choka visited Borga Besadii Diori on Nal Hutta along with Carr and Anor. The Yuuzhan Vong officer toyed with the Hutt, making unsubtle indications that Nal Hutta and its environs could fall to his forces whenever he or his superior chose. Choka also rebuffed the Hutt's offer of transporting slaves. Thus, the meeting was conducted with a good deal of tension, as the Yuuzhan Vong and Hutt retinues faced each other while Choka intimated his dominance over the Hutt. Matters escalated when, after Choka asked the Hutt if her species could obtain a Jedi Knight for the Yuuzhan Vong, Borga announced that one&mdash;Wurth Skidder&mdash;was already aboard a Yuuzhan Vong vessel, the Crèche, in the company of her son Randa Besadii Diori. Choka grew angry at the fact that his subordinate on the vessel, Chine-kal, had failed to notify him of this and demanded that he contact the commander. Borga offered her mechanical communications device and Choka rounded on the Hutt, insulting and threatening her, nearly prompting a skirmish in the Hutt's throne room. The supreme commander communicated with Chine-kal, whose yammosk-bearing clustership was nearing the world of Kalarba in preparation for the jump to Fondor. The supreme commander ordered Chine-kal to remain in the Kalarba system. Before he left Nal Hutta, he warned Borga that if the Hutts betrayed the Yuuzhan Vong, Hutt Space would be conquered. If they remained loyal, however, Choka promised that the Hutt kajidics could keep their holdings. Shortly after the Yuuzhan Vong delegation departed, Borga sent word to the Jedi that Wurth Skidder could be located along with the Crèche at Kalarba.

In the process of making the final preparations for the attack, Choka and Carr received word that the Crèche had been attacked at Kalarba and was now traveling to Fondor in advance of the main force. This development forced Choka to accelerate his plans, but with the New Republic fleets massed at other worlds, expecting a strike on Corellia, and the hyperspace routes linking Bothawui to Fondor mined, there was little risk in a premature attack. The supreme commander led his armada to Fondor. Against Nas Choka's numerical advantage, the New Republic First Fleet, tasked with the defense of the shipyards, was rapidly overwhelmed. Yorik-et pilots acted as ramships in scores, obliterating the thirty berthed vessels, the shipyard annexes and orbital defenses, before driving down to the planet below. The Yuuzhan Vong fleet fanned out, commencing an orbital bombardment of Fondor and driving back the First Fleet. The Crèche, however, was assaulted and boarded a short distance from the main battle, forcing Choka to dispatch warships to aid Chine-kal. Then, just as a Hapan warfleet emerged from hyperspace from the direction of Commenor, a column of energy blazed through the system. On distant Corellia, Centerpoint Station had been fired, and its beam punched through both the newly arrived Hapans and Choka's armada without slowing. In an instant, two-thirds of the New Republic's reinforcements had been destroyed, along with half of Nas Choka's fleet. Choka and his confederates were astounded. In the midst of the confusion, Chine-kal contacted the Yuuzhan Vong officer and relayed the news that the yammosk was dead and that it had been the Hutts who had betrayed the location of the Crèche at Kalarba. Disgusted, Nas Choka ordered the remaining half of his forces to prepare to leave. Having inflicted some parting damage on the ruined shipyards and their defenders, the Yuuzhan Vong departed the system.

Redemption in Hutt Space
"Now we have a score to settle with the Hutts."

- Nas Choka

Although Choka believed that his forces had achieved their aims at Fondor, destroying its production capabilities, the battle was seen as a disaster by many in the Yuuzhan Vong hierarchy, not least of all because Choka had taken, in Tsavong Lah's opinion, an unimpressive number of captives. While he still held his high rank in the Yuuzhan Vong fleet, Supreme Commander Choka took the initiative and moved swiftly to exact his vengeance upon the Hutts. Malik Carr, for his part, was demoted following the Fondor debacle, relegated to overseeing prisoners on the backwater planet of Selvaris, far from the forefront of the invasion.

Choka's fleet arrayed itself over Nal Hutta, and initiated a blockade of the Hutt capital, along with the Smuggler's Moon, Nar Shaddaa. The system was placed under a state of siege&mdash;the Hutts could rely on no New Republic aid after their double-dealing, and were soon mired in the fight of their lives. Choka's adversary, Borga the Hutt, defended the capital with only the support of half the kajidics, a force unable to contend with the size of the Yuuzhan Vong armada. With no space fleet threatening his position, Choka ordered Nal Hutta and its moon to be re-created. Both were remotely bombarded with missiles packed with biotoxins and bacterial agents. While Nal Hutta, a world of bogs and muddy marshes, was seen as pestilent, Nar Shaddaa, as a ecumenopolis, was viewed as a religious abomination. Some of the microbes broke down the duracrete on the moon into sand, digesting the buildings. Others attacked metal and transparisteel; the high towers of Smuggler's Moon began to crumble and fall. Further bacteria attacked the Hutts themselves&mdash;those who had remained&mdash;and wiped out the crimelords in their palaces. Later, creatures were sent against any surviving members of the species. Some of the Hutts were told they were welcome to serve the Yuuzhan Vong, while others were not as fortunate, such as the Besadii. Those of the clan who could escape fled to the worlds of Gamorr, Rodia and Tatooine, long recognized as Hutt holdings. Choka relayed images of the conquest to Warmaster Tsavong Lah, who came forward from the Outer Rim Territories to oversee personally the next stage of the invasion&mdash;the conquest of Duro. Meanwhile, Borga the Hutt attempted to open negotiations with Tsavong Lah in order to win some benefits while it was still possible. The Hutt asked for Tatooine to remain in the hands of the Hutts, but ultimately trade talks failed, and the Hutts prosecuted a fierce resistance campaign against their onetime allies. The Yuuzhan Vong also took the planet Ylesia, once a major Besadii holding and, having killed the Hutt administrator and accepted the government's capitulation, grew yammosks in its oceans and allowed the Peace Brigade to use the planet as their headquarters. The world became a police state.

Supplied by their smuggler contacts such as Booster Terrik, the Hutts made Choka's campaign difficult, and the long, exhaustive struggle to take over a large area of the galaxy raised the supreme commander's status considerably. It also served to immerse him in the arts of deception and duplicity, heightening his tactical awareness and encouraging him to become cynical when observing matters of apparent simplicity. In the meantime, the New Republic capital Coruscant was taken, and Warmaster Tsavong Lah, pursuing his strident vendetta against the Jedi Order, continued to direct campaigns from his new seat of power, as Supreme Overlord Shimrra Jamaane traveled in from the Outer Rim Territories. When the supreme overlord did reach Coruscant&mdash;now terraformed and renamed Yuuzhan'tar in honor of the lost Yuuzhan Vong homeworld&mdash;Tsavong Lah was able to report on Choka's good progress in Hutt Space. Eager for a decisive victory against the New Republic, however, Warmaster Lah was lured shortly afterwards to the Deep Core. False intelligence reports indicated that a major New Republic stronghold, known as the Final Redoubt, could be found and destroyed on Ebaq 9, a small moon in the Treskov system. Enticed not only by the apparent validity of the information, but also by the prospect of capturing the Jedi he had so desired for much of his time leading the fleets, Lah journeyed to Ebaq 9 with a massive armada, whereupon he was trapped, defeated and killed. Nas Choka, his reputation buoyed by the Hutt campaign, was recalled and escalated to the rank of warmaster, in order to fill the vacant position. Choka's strategies were seen to be significantly different to those of Tsavong Lah's, and although his warriors thought him more than capable, the new warmaster remained convinced that he had been escalated by default.

Warmaster Choka
"Learn from the mistakes of your precursors, Warmaster, and all will go well for you. Fail me as Domain Lah did, and I will personally make an example of you that future warmasters will be forced to consider before they accept escalation."

- Shimrra Jamaane

At the time of Choka's ascension to the rank of warmaster, the Yuuzhan Vong Empire was undergoing several internal difficulties, which were reflected upon the military. A heretical movement, which had come into being in 26 ABY while Choka was in Hutt Space, had expanded and become a threat to the Yuuzhan Vong religion. Shamed Ones, the lowliest of the Yuuzhan Vong, as well as workers, were flocking to the new system of beliefs, which pronounced the Jedi saviors who were the path to a greater standard of living. Tsavong Lah, who had pursued the Jedi tirelessly since a duel with Jacen Solo on Duro, had made the persecution of the Order a priority, and thus the heretical movement had been similarly targeted. Choka continued the violent suppression of the movement, which was brewing in the lower levels of Yuuzhan'tar, picking up the campaign where his late predecessor had left off. The heresy, however, was not at the time the only concern of the warmaster. The New Republic, which had been victorious first at a battle at Obroa-skai, and later at Ebaq 9, had subsequently reorganized itself into the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, led by Chief of State Cal Omas. Warmaster Choka felt that a change of strategy was required. Campaigns were prosecuted against subsidiary threats to the Yuuzhan Vong, in order to acquire new captives for use in the slave armies, to enable the Yuuzhan Vong to season its warriors, and to consolidate its holdings while fighting weaker enemies. Although Nas Choka realized that many more threats, such as the Chiss Ascendancy, the Corporate Sector and the Hapes Consortium, needed to be neutralized before the Yuuzhan Vong moved against the Galactic Alliance's new capital of Dac, in the Calamari system, two new campaigns were launched. Concurrently, Nas Choka ended his predecessor's vendetta against the Jedi Order, which he viewed as a minor threat at best.

A supreme commander, B'shith Vorrik, had been dispatched to take the fight to the Imperial Remnant, the last holding of the Galactic Empire which had ruled before the New Republic had taken power. Remnant forces had fought Yuuzhan Vong several times, although until 29 ABY no incursion had been made on its territory. Vorrik's assault was initially successful, but soon ran afoul when Gilad Pellaeon, an aged Imperial strategist, defeated the Yuuzhan Vong forces at the Battle of Borosk. Pellaeon then directed the forces of the Imperial Remnant to side with the Galactic Alliance, which was not the result Choka had been awaiting. Successes were noted in the Senex-Juvex system, as well as at the distant world of Bakura, where the reptilian Ssi-ruuk were neutralized. On Yuuzhan'tar, however, the heresy continued to grow, acquiring a mysterious new leader, the Prophet Yu'Shaa. Even with the failure of the attack on the Imperial Remnant, the new warmaster nevertheless had other problems with which to contend. The Yuuzhan Vong advance had now stalled; supply lines had been sabotaged and resistance cells had formed across the empire. Some success was noted in the eradication of the Yevethan race, a species of xenophobic warriors deemed as too serious a threat to be ignored, which was annihilated in the Koornacht Cluster. Despite the mixed flow of defeats and victories, the Yuuzhan Vong had essentially not made any serious progress against the Galactic Alliance since the capture of Coruscant.

There was to be no advance. Supreme Overlord Shimrra Jamaane, with whom Choka was now in close contact as a leading member of the Yuuzhan Vong Great Council, directed all attention upon the heresy among the Shamed Ones, which was set upon with violence and executions. Life among the most powerful among the Yuuzhan Vong was fraught with danger, especially one so recently escalated and, at some point, Choka tripled his complement of bodyguards to ensure his personal protection. The warmaster's headquarters were located in a command grotto deep within Shimrra Jamaane's Citadel, in fact a Yuuzhan Vong worldship affixed to the surface of the planet. Often directing the progress of the warrior caste from this chamber, Choka spent much of his time in the Hall of Confluence, Jamaane's audience chamber in the citadel. A priestess, Ngaaluh, had recently become a permanent fixture at Jamaane's court, acting as an inquisitor into the heresy and frequently rooting out Yuuzhan Vong officials as secret supporters of the movement. Choka observed as heretics were brought before the supreme overlord, having been identified by Ngaaluh, before being summarily executed. With his fellow caste leaders, Most High Priest Jakan, High Prefect Drathul&mdash;both old associates of the warmaster&mdash;and High Master Shaper Yal Phaath, Choka was forced to dedicate many of his resources to combat the insurrection. Warriors were dispatched into the lower levels to kill any heretics they found. Jamaane made it clear at one meeting that such action was to continue, proclaiming that any Yuuzhan Vong who failed to show enthusiasm and dedication in stamping out the heresy would be persecuted as a collaborator. As Choka attempted to conduct investigations into the heresy, the priestess Ngaaluh disturbed Yuuzhan Vong hierarchy by exposing a prefect named Ash'ett as a member of the movement. As Ash'ett was an intendant, the prefect's complicity was not embarrassing for the warmaster, but for instead for High Prefect Drathul, who administered the caste. Still, Jamaane's punishment of Prefect Ash'ett&mdash;the execution of the official and his family, as well as a threat to his entire domain&mdash;proved that the supreme overlord's persecution of the heretics demanded total obedience. For the time being, however, Choka took satisfaction in the apparent guilt, and death, of another of the intendants he despised. His warriors continued their investigations and subjugation of the heresy.

Internal dissent and external threats
"Things must change. The infidels have adapted. They have undermined many of our strengths, but we have undermined ourselves even more. The pride of our warriors weakens us."

- Nas Choka

It was around this time that rumors of Zonama Sekot began to return. A commander, Ekh'm Val, who had been conducting a long-term reconnaissance mission in the Unknown Regions, appeared over Yuuzhan'tar with his frigate, Noble Sacrifice, and claimed to have encountered the living planet and, furthermore, brought back some of its organic technology. The supreme overlord had Choka's forces destroy the frigate under suspicion of harboring spies, but not before a single yorik-trema landing craft left the frigate for Yuuzhan'tar's surface. The warmaster remained unaware of Ekh'm Val's discovery, or the living craft, and only followed Jamaane's orders. Commander Val disappeared, executed for his discovery, and Jamaane covered up the affair as best he could. Other problems wracked the Yuuzhan Vong on their new throneworld. The World Brain, which had been installed on the planet to oversee its terraforming into the image of ancient Yuuzhan'tar, had seemingly gone rogue, ignoring attempts from Jamaane to pacify it and causing difficulties across the planet. Coupled with Ngaaluh's exposure of another prefect, Drosh Khalii, as a heretic, the situation seemed stacked against the Yuuzhan Vong and their empire. Ngaaluh's inquisition, however, came to an abrupt end shortly after the exposure of Khalii. When the priestess collated new evidence against Prefect Zareb, another of Drathul's subordinates, and brought it before the supreme overlord, Nas Choka was once again present. Jamaane took the news of another seeming betrayal with an anger which disturbed those watching. The supreme overlord questioned Choka's failure to discover how so many of his trusted servants were turning to heresy, though the warmaster was swiftly able to deflect attention onto Drathul, citing the intendants as possessing the most heretics. The blaming continued, as Yal Phaath and Jakan similarly came under scrutiny. In the tense atmosphere, Jamaane rounded on Drathul and blamed the high prefect for the corruption. To all present, it appeared that Drathul would be executed, though as it transpired the guards came forward to arrest Ngaaluh. Jamaane then exposed the priestess as the true traitor to his empire&mdash;she had manufactured the evidence against the prefects, and was allied with the heretics. Nas Choka was shocked, as were the others present, to see heresy at the court itself; before she could be questioned, however, Ngaaluh killed herself, bringing an end to the affair.

Although Ngaaluh had been exposed and Choka managed to remain in favor with the supreme overlord, the heresy was already on the increase, and the Galactic Alliance were on the move. Supreme Commander B'shith Vorrik launched a strike on the Galactic Alliance communications base at Esfandia, whereupon Vorrik's command was defeated by a combined Imperial Remnant and Galactic Alliance force. The loss was sorely felt by Nas Choka. Key worlds encircling Coruscant began to come under threat and fell to the Galactic Alliance. Choka's opponents secured Thyferra, which produced the healing agent bacta, and Yag'Dhul, a strategic hyperspace junction. The warmaster was still stationed over Yuuzhan'tar aboard the Yammka when a Yuuzhan Vong commander, Zhat Lah, who had hitherto been in charge of the defense of Fondor, returned with the remnants of his occupation force. It transpired that the Galactic Alliance had used hit-and-fade tactics&mdash;ideal against the over-extended Yuuzhan Vong fleet&mdash;to set up a feint at Duro, luring Zhat Lah's forces there, before striking suddenly at Fondor and catching the commander's garrison unawares. Contrary to typical Yuuzhan Vong practice, which was to fight to the death, Zhat Lah had retreated his forces, preserving two frigates and a battle cruiser rather than expending them against a stronger enemy. Choka surprised the penitent commander by praising Lah's initiative. The warmaster voiced his concern that the Yuuzhan Vong had been spread too thinly over too much territory&mdash;blaming Tsavong Lah for the situation&mdash;and reminded the commander that to defeat the defenders of the galaxy, the Yuuzhan Vong would have to set aside their pride and refusal to surrender or retreat. In order to counter the efficiency of the Galactic Alliance tactics, Choka decided to initiate a fullscale attack on the HoloNet, using the recently developed mabugat kan organisms to destroy the relay stations. Having ordered Zhat Lah to remain to defend Yuuzhan'tar with a new battle group, the warmaster waited for his strategy of disrupting his enemy's communications to bring results.

The strike on the HoloNet was successful. A small Galactic Alliance task force arrived over Bilbringi, an ideal staging point for an assault on Yuuzhan'tar. The Yuuzhan Vong fleet there caused heavy losses among the Galactic Alliance forces, who could not call for reinforcements due to the collapse of the HoloNet. Although the task force ultimately escaped, and the Yuuzhan Vong suffered their own losses during the engagement, Choka's tactic had seen off the attempt to take Bilbringi. A downside of the disruption of the HoloNet, however, was that the Yuuzhan Vong would not be able to eavesdrop on enemy communications. With an uneasy balance existent between the Yuuzhan Vong and the Galactic Alliance, Warmaster Choka made preparations to scatter the Galactic Alliance forces at Dac, which had created a bastion in the system that would take many Yuuzhan Vong forces to overcome. Nas Choka launched attacks on two worlds, Caluula, in the Tion Hegemony, and Toong'l. Both planets were ideal staging points for an assault on Dac, and Choka hoped that the obvious Yuuzhan Vong interest in the two worlds would encourage the Galactic Alliance fleets to flee Dac, whereupon they could be hunted down individually. What Choka did not want to do, however, was attack the massed Galactic Alliance forces at Dac, which he felt would no doubt result in huge losses for the Yuuzhan Vong. Supreme Overlord Jamaane, however, was keen for a final strike against the enemy, and began to make plans for a grand sacrifice ceremony, during which over 1,000 Galactic Alliance officials would be executed as an offering to the gods, in order to gain their divine favor in the coming campaign. A prison convoy was dispatched to all the Yuuzhan Vong penal colonies in turn to transport prisoners to Yuuzhan'tar.

The struggle for sacrifice
"Even now this war takes unexpected twists and turns."

- Nas Choka

Two months after the Galactic Alliance's defeat at Bilbringi, Nas Choka was present at another meeting of Supreme Overlord Shimrra Jamaane and the upper echelons of the Yuuzhan Vong hierarchy. As with many occasions on Yuuzhan'tar, there were problems with the World Brain, and the congregation inside the Hall of Confluence was disturbed by a steady fall of stink-beetles from the sky. The supreme overlord addressed his audience and attempted to shed light on the numerous setbacks challenging the Yuuzhan Vong, this time by blaming his followers for not trusting him, and thus not trusting the gods, who had placed Jamaane on the throne. Indeed, Jamaane's hold on the polyp throne appeared tenuous to many. Jamaane spoke of the divisions which had existed among the Yuuzhan Vong during the species' journey to the galaxy, and attempted to restore his followers' faith in his leadership by citing events in the past when he had been correct and others had failed&mdash;others such as Tsavong Lah, and his father, Czulkang Lah, who had long ago opposed Jamaane. Choka was warned by the supreme overlord, in front of the congregation, that the consequences would be dire if he failed Jamaane in the same manner as his predecessors. The supreme overlord also revealed the manner by which the Yuuzhan Vong would conquer the insidious enemies of the empire present on Yuuzhan'tar&mdash;resistance fighters and Jedi. Jamaane's shapers had created a new breed of warriors, known as Slayers, ten of whom were presented to the congregation. The hybrid warrior-priests caused consternation among the Yuuzhan Vong present, especially the quartet of Royal Seers, as they had the appearance of Shamed Ones. Indeed, one of Choka's subordinates, Supreme Commander Chaan, voiced his disapproval, and was subsequently forced to fight the warriors. The meeting ended with further remonstrations from Jamaane, and Choka and his cohorts prepared for the arrival of the prison convoy and the coming mass sacrifice. Meanwhile, over Caluula, the Yuuzhan Vong were being prevented from taking the world by the defenders of Caluula Station.

It so happened that the Galactic Alliance military was apprised of the prison convoy's location over the prison planet Selvaris; the Yuuzhan Vong and Peace Brigade vessels were ambushed, and only the chance escape of some of the Peace Brigade freighters, and timely intervention of a number of Slayer ships, prevented the Galactic Alliance from absconding with all of the captives. The remaining vessels and captives were brought to Yuuzhan'tar. Whilst the Peace Brigade ships were forced to remain in orbit, the rest of the convoy was welcomed at a field near Westport, a landing area north of the former Legislative District. Choka accompanied the Yuuzhan Vong elite and Supreme Overlord Shimrra Jamaane to the field, where the Galactic Alliance captives and the Peace Brigaders were being held. Also present were the Yuuzhan Vong warriors who had been guarding the convoy, and their commander, Bhu Fath. Fath informed Warmaster Choka that 500 captives had been delivered&mdash;a number far below the necessary amount, as Most High Priest Jakan and the Royal Seers pointed out. Choka was nevertheless quick to point out that were it not for the actions of Commander Malik Carr, his former comrade during the Fondor campaign, who had been in control of the Selvaris prison camp and had taken charge of the defense of the convoy, many more captives would have been rescued. Jamaane called out for Carr to be brought before him and, at a motion from the warmaster, the warrior was escalated to the rank of supreme commander. There still remained, however, the issue of the dearth of captives. Bhu Fath recommended that the Peace Brigaders be used as substitutes, but Jamaane forbade it and, having asked Choka for a suitable world upon which the Yuuzhan Vong were fighting a land battle, ordered the Brigaders dispatched to the warmaster's suggestion, Corulag, in order to be implanted with surge-coral and to fight as thralls.

So as to provide a solution for the lack of captives, Choka suggested to the supreme overlord that the defenders of Caluula Station be acquired as prisoners, to replenish the lost sacrifices. In order to secure these new captives, Choka asked Jamaane for permission to double the resources required to take Caluula. The supreme overlord acquiesced, and Supreme Commander Malik Carr was dispatched to effect the conquest of the world. Carr was successful in raiding Caluula Station and acquiring the requisite number of captives to allow the ceremony to take place, who were delivered to Yuuzhan'tar three days later. The event was held in the Place of Sacrifice, and was one of the greatest ceremonies of its kind in generations. With three dozen of his supreme commanders, Nas Choka entered the Place of Sacrifice and took up position near Jamaane's throne. As the captives were readied for execution, however, a large contingent of Shamed Ones emerged from hidden entrances in the floor of the square. The slayers closed ranks around the supreme overlord as the Shamed Ones began their attack, but it soon became clear, even as the ceremony descended into pandemonium, that the heretics had come to rescue the Galactic Alliance captives. In total, the Shamed Ones absconded with three hundred captives; Shimrra Jamaane called for three thousand Shamed Ones to be delivered to an ossuary, known as the Place of Bones, near the Western Sea district, three days later. Warmaster Choka and the rest of the elites watched as giant beasts executed scores of the Shamed Ones. Further embarrassment, however, ensued, as the arrested Yuuzhan Vong went to their deaths cursing Jamaane and his courts, and praising the name of Yu'Shaa, their prophet. Such an occurrence suggested that all Shamed Ones were heretics, not only those who had participated in the movement, which was a shocking development for the Yuuzhan Vong Empire.

The path to Dac
"Surely you harbor no doubts that your mighty armada can prevail?" "No, Great Lord, of that I have no doubts. It is instinct that compels me to ask: at what cost to us?" "Continue, Warmaster, so that all here gathered might get a glimmer of the inner workings of so strategic a thinker." "Great Lord, I do not counsel against striking Mon Calamari. I question only the timing of the assault."

- Shimrra Jamaane and Nas Choka

Two days after the events in the Place of Bones, a troubled Nas Choka finally decided to voice his fears to the supreme overlord. Caluula and Toong'l's capture had failed to cause the retreat of the Galactic Alliance fleets at Dac. The warmaster was convinced that a period of consolidation was necessary; the current Yuuzhan Vong holdings would be fortified, and the Galactic Alliance could be pushed back from the Mid Rim to a single region, where they could be destroyed in one battle. The warmaster delivered his advice alone, in the Hall of Confluence, with no support from the ranks of the elites watching from the sidelines. As Choka feared, the supreme overlord believed that the Galactic Alliance had already been forced back into one region&mdash;the Calamari sector. In vain, Nas Choka spoke of the strong pockets of resistance located in the Hapes Consortium, the Chiss Ascendancy and the Corporate Sector, as well as the losses incurred during the Remnant campaign, at Esfandia and at Bilbringi. The supreme overlord gave little heed to Choka's warnings, and instructed the warmaster to prepare for the strike against Dac. Choka retired to his command grotto beneath the citadel, where he observed a map of the galactic arena, joined by a warrior-seer and a tactician. Intending to follow his superior's orders to the letter, Choka warned his subordinates against criticizing Jamaane's decision, even though he personally disagreed with the attack on the waterworld. Fleets from distant star systems were massing in the Calamari system, and Choka and his tactician admitted that alliances with the Remnant, the Yevetha and even the Hutts would have better served the Yuuzhan Vong than their destruction; the attacks on the galaxy's various factions had only served to unite it more firmly against Jamaane's rule. Choka also admitted that his strategy of fortifying Caluula and Toong'l to encourage the Galactic Alliance to disperse without an actual attack, had failed&mdash;the enemy commanders remained in position, indicating that either they would disperse upon Choka's arrival, after the warmaster had withdrawn warships from across all Yuuzhan Vong territories to amass the armada. The other possibility was that Supreme Commander Sien Sovv and his cohorts had prepared some form of a counterattack.

Such uncertainties troubled the warmaster, and he felt that more time was required to study the situation. Choka did not rule out the possibility that the Galactic Alliance were preparing for a strike on Yuuzhan'tar itself; in fact, the warmaster encouraged the notion, as it would entail a battle tilted in the favor of the Yuuzhan Vong. His warrior-seer informed him that she would attempt to delay the timing of the attack on Dac, but Choka knew that the supreme overlord would see through such a deception. Instead, he ordered that the Yuuzhan Vong sleeper spy network should be activated, in order to accrue information on the nature of the Galactic Alliance strategy. Several days later, Nas Choka received word from Supreme Overlord Jamaane that the attack on Dac was to occur in three days. The news frustrated and angered the warmaster, who went to his command grotto to hear the report of his intelligence analysts. Choka was informed of a large-scale rise in enemy activity, across great expanses of the galaxy, and that half the fleet defending Dac had dispersed; he felt that it was a diversion, its purpose unknown due to the destruction of the HoloNet, an action which Choka found himself regretting. Likewise informed that the commander of the yammosk emplacement on Caluula, Malik Carr, had given permission for scientific teams to visit the occupied world, Choka ordered his tenders to bring him a villip so that he could confer with Carr. The warmaster ultimately decided that the Galactic Alliance's target was their lost capital, and took measures to prevent its recapture by the enemy. Aware of the build-up of activity at Contruum, an Expansion Region planet which was an ideal staging point for an attack on Yuuzhan'tar, Choka decided that the Galactic Alliance fleets would mass there. Therefore, in order to trick his opponents, Choka decided not to use Caluula and Toong'l in his campaign at all. He decided that rather than retreat the armada via the two worlds, which had, according the intelligence provided by his analysts, been compromised, a different route back to Yuuzhan'tar would be cleared in secret. In this manner, if the Galactic Alliance did launch an attack on Yuuzhan'tar Choka's fleets could return quickly along the Perlemian Trade Route, to strike at Contruum, bypassing any traps laid at Caluula and Toong'l.

After the three days had passed, the Dac armada was arrayed over Yuuzhan'tar, daubed in the blood of the sacrificed captives and readied for departure. Jamaane delivered an address to the assembled armada, speaking of the necessity of a final battle against the denizens of the galaxy and the ongoing work of the Yuuzhan Vong to purify their promised domain. With a massed volley of plasma, launched into Coruscant Prime as a salute to Jamaane and the gods, the armada departed, led by Warmaster Nas Choka abord the Yammka's Mount, a new vessel which had been created to serve as the armada's flagship.

The Battle of Dac
"This battle is not the last stand. It has nothing to do with honor or a willingness to meet death. This is a feint."

- Nas Choka

The armada, organized into the formation of a multi-tentacled yammosk, moved towards Dac. Choka's massive force had to exit hyperspace at a transit point on the Perlemian Trade Route, which had been mined by the Galactic Alliance. The armada incurred minor losses before the leading vessels were able to clear the passive defenses. Instead of jumping directly from the Perlemian transit point to the Calamari system, however, Choka moved his armada through the Qotile system, where the world of Quermia was located. As with the Perlemian transit point, the Quermia transit point had similarly been mined, and once again the armada suffered losses. The warmaster's tactic baffled his opponents, as it appeared to them to be an unnecessary additional hyperspace jump. Unbeknownst to the Galactic Alliance commanders, Choka's armada was clearing another route back to Yuuzhan'tar should the need arise. Having destroyed the minefields at the two transit points, the warmaster was now content that if necessary, his forces could return unmolested to other theaters of engagement, such as Contruum. His armada reverted from hyperspace at the furthest reaches of the Calamari system, near a frozen comet known as Iceberg Three. Immediately, Choka's force was accosted by a Galactic Alliance attack. Thousands of probe droids were launched into the armada, which broadcast the gravitic signals of Galactic Alliance starfighters. The Yuuzhan Vong pilots set to work destroying the machines, unaware of their true nature, and meanwhile the probe droids communicated firing solutions and other pertinent data back to the defenders of Dac. The outward "tentacles" of the armada were then assaulted by waves of enemy starfighters, opening up firing lanes which distant Galactic Alliance capital ships poured turbolaser blasts down. Choka's forces took heavy losses in the barrage, but the warmaster had only been biding his time. The Yuuzhan Vong capital vessels poured plasma volleys down the Galactic Alliance's own firing lanes into the paths of the oncoming starfighters which had rushed in to continue the fight. Numerous enemy vessels were destroyed, and the armada rotated itself, bringing fresh warships into action.



Deeming the losses incurred in the opening engagement as acceptable, Choka was irritated by what he viewed as a cowardly use of machines. The supreme commander of the Yammka's Mount, Loiric Kaan, delivered the report; when the officer commented on the futility of the Galactic Alliance defense, Choka had him escorted from the command chamber, as he believed the supreme commander's presence to be equally pointless. The warmaster turned back to the unfolding battle, ordering more volleys of plasma to be directed down the firing lanes between the armada's tentacles against the enemy starfighters. Once scores of the small craft had been destroyed, the warmaster brought his matalok cruisers to the fore, to act as the fleet's spearhead. Still, however, Choka was aware that matters were amiss. With only half the fleet present at Dac, he knew that the Galactic Alliance had staged a feint. Following a brief conversation with Supreme Overlord Jamaane via villip, during which the ruler of the Yuuzhan Vong gave Choka encouragement, the warmaster ordered just under half of his armada to depart the battle for Contruum, to eradicate the Galactic Alliance forces there before they could strike at Yuuzhan'tar. The domain groups of Shen'g, Paasar, Eklut and Taav, which made up the departing half of the armada, separated from Choka's force as the warmaster drove his flotilla past Iceberg Three to Sep Elopor, a gas giant further in the system. As Choka's remaining forces moved, they were accosted by destroyers on either side as the Galactic Alliance attempted to divert the attention of the armada's defenses. Other Galactic Alliance battle groups fled before the armada, which continued to fire volleys of plasma against the attacking starfighters. Choka's force bore down on Sep Elopon and Mon Eron, the latter of which was an inhabited world, as the warmaster raced to defeat the Galactic Alliance defenders.

Still hours away from Dac itself, the armada met heavy resistance from its opponent battle groups; with half of the flotilla gone, the Battle of Dac had become a more even struggle, and the Yuuzhan Vong fought with added ferocity. It was during this stage of the battle that Choka was contacted by Saluup Fing, the supreme commander in charge of Yuuzhan'tar's defense, with urgent news that shocked the warmaster. Over the Yuuzhan Vong capital, a planet had appeared from hyperspace. Immediately Nas Choka ordered the armada's withdrawal, and the entire force leapt to hyperspace. Additional battle groups were called in from Hutt Space and other sectors. The warmaster ordered its reversion somewhere in the Mid Rim, so that he could contact Supreme Commander Fing again and hear a follow-up report. Choka ordered all of his crew to leave the command chamber, except his tactician, while they listened to Fing's report. The planet's arrival had resulted in massive groundquakes across Yuuzhan'tar, hurling a moon out of orbit to slingshot across the planet's surface, and had wiped out the Rainbow Bridge which had been created during Coruscant's terraforming to simulate the ancient rings of ancestral Yuuzhan'tar. Choka ordered the supreme commander to remain over Yuuzhan'tar, and to take no action against the recently arrived planet. The warmaster's tactician nervously broached the subject of a living world, encountered by Zho Krazhmir during Quoreal's reign&mdash;a rumor which Nas Choka was well accustomed to hearing. Now, however, the warmaster had to grant the legend of Zonama Sekot his attention. Although the pragmatic warrior did not view the living world as a portent of defeat, he did fear its military capabilities. Choka considered his tactician's suggestion that the world was a fabrication, created by the Galactic Alliance, but was more inclined to believe that it was indeed Zonama Sekot. Putting on a display of confidence, the warmaster proclaimed that against the two returning halves of the armada, as well as the coming of additional battle groups, no world of any kind could prevail.

Defending the capital
"It is a rare occasion when well-matched warriors have an opportunity to face each other a second time, in a different arena."

- Nas Choka On the return of the Yuuzhan Vong armada and subsidiary fleets to the Coruscant system, Warmaster Choka was ordered by Jamaane to refrain from moving against the living world. In the shadow of Zonama Sekot, which orbited Coruscant Prime between the insystem worlds of Muscave and Stentat, Yuuzhan'tar was in turmoil. The falling debris from the Rainbow Bridge, as well as the massive structural damage the new capital had sustained, had thrown both the planet's defenses and populace into disarray, prompting a mass uprising from the heretics, who viewed the living planet as a holy world whose arrival had been foretold in prophecy. Further disconcerting updates reached the warmaster&mdash;several Yuuzhan Vong battle groups, such as those of domains Muyel and Lacap, had elected to disobey the recall order, and remained in the territories assigned to them by Jamaane. Choka traveled down to the citadel with his supreme commanders in order to be present at an emergency gathering of the elites in the Hall of Confluence. Once there, the warmaster was made privy to Jamaane's plan for the destruction of Zonama Sekot, which the supreme overlord announced to all Yuuzhan Vong present. To the shock of the elites, Jamaane admitted that the living world was indeed the same planet whose existence he had denied when Quoreal had been ousted from the throne and killed. The supreme overlord claimed that Zonama Sekot was a test, engineered by the Yuuzhan Vong gods, as one final trial for the Yuuzhan Vong. Citing a prophecy by which he proclaimed to have been visited, Jamaane pronounced that Yun-Harla, the goddess of deception, had, to aid her subjects in their final test, granted the Yuuzhan Vong a weapon with which Zonama Sekot could be vanquished. The Galactic Alliance had created a potent anti-Yuuzhan Vong bioweapon, which they had deployed on the planet Caluula. From Caluula, one lone vessel had escaped, infected with the lethal virus. Jamaane shouted that the infected vessel should be taken to Zonama Sekot and used to poison the living world, which was no doubt connected to Yuuzhan Vong biochemistry. Jamaane ordered Warmaster Choka and his subordinates to enact his commands.

Muscave
"We could be destroyed, Warmaster." "An acceptable risk. For today we serve our species as no Yuuzhan Vong have. We prove our worth to the gods who fashioned us. If we are to die, we do so discharging a transcendent obligation."

- The tactician of the Yammka, and Nas Choka

Warmaster Choka, his faith in Jamaane's brilliance reinforced, accepted his supreme overlord's commands at face value. While he trusted emphatically in the supreme overlord, however, Choka was not as convinced by Jamaane's trust in the goddess Yun-Harla, who was believed to have associated with Jaina Solo and Harrar, the former of whom had killed Tsavong Lah in personal combat, and the latter of whom had disappeared off Yuuzhan'tar around the time of the Second Battle of Bilbringi. Choka's faith resided firmly with Yun-Yammka, the god of war, and before the battle was joined he commanded a coven of the priests of Yun-Yammka to accompany the armada and make a blood-offering to the god of war. The warmaster felt that an offering to the patron god of the warriors would reinforce the faith of those who fought at his command&mdash;it had become common knowledge that the fact that the gods were testing the Yuuzhan Vong meant that their divine support temporarily rested tacitly with the Galactic Alliance, and openly with Zonama Sekot. Having travelled back up to the Yammka's Mount in orbit, Nas Choka prepared to lead his armada to Muscave, an outer-system world where the Galactic Alliance Second Fleet and other forces were assembling. Before departure, Choka spoke to the crew of the infected Yuuzhan Vong vessel, led by a dying shaper. The warmaster encouraged the shaper in her mission to take the virus to Zonama Sekot, and, as the vessel was dying itself, followed the advice of his tactician that a larger warship should ingest the ailing vessel and carry it to Zonama Sekot in case it failed in space. As the Galactic Alliance forces had massed at Muscave and block the path to the living world, Choka planned to break through their line and attack Zonama Sekot. At the same time, he was wary that the Galactic Alliance fleets which had been assembling at Contruum, which had never been engaged by the second half of the Dac armada, were likely to appear over Yuuzhan'tar and attempt a capture of the capital. Tasked with destroying Zonama Sekot, Choka decided that he had to entrust temporarily the defense of the capital to Jamaane, until the gods rejoined the Yuuzhan Vong following the death of the living world. The warmaster did, however, leave a number of his warships in orbit over Yuuzhan'tar as a home defense fleet before departing for Muscave.

Choka's attack on the Galactic Alliance battle line at Muscave was intended to lure the enemy out away from Zonama Sekot, his true target. An hour after Choka's departure for Muscave the Galactic Alliance Fourth Fleet emerged over Yuuzhan'tar and began to land troops on the planet, but by then Choka was committed to the pitched battle over Muscave. His armada traded salvos with the Galactic Alliance line, overwhelming the enemy, while a subsidiary task force, with the infected vessel among it, detached from his fleet and made an insystem hyperspace jump to Zonama Sekot. Once again, Choka soon received urgent news. The pilots of the yorik-et starfighters which the task force had sent forth to attack Zonama Sekot's few defending craft had discovered that they were engaging living vessels. Furthermore, Nas Choka was informed by the commander of the task force that the yammosks had grown confused directing the Yuuzhan Vong against other living vessels. Desiring permission to attack Zonama Sekot with capital ships, the warmaster instructed Supreme Commander Laait to bring the news to Supreme Overlord Jamaane on Yuuzhan'tar. The information sent the elites into an uproar&mdash;some felt that the gods were not granting the defenders of the galaxy tacit support, but were openly opposed to Yuuzhan Vong victory, rendering suspect Jamaane's assertion that the species was merely being tested. Jamaane ordered all heretics and Shamed Ones on Yuuzhan'tar to be killed, prompting what amounted to civil war on the capital. As the clash at Muscave intensified, Choka's Zonama Sekot task force remained 200,000 kilometers distant from the living world, awaiting further reinforcements for an all-out assault on the planet. Meanwhile, the Galactic Alliance forces over Yuuzhan'tar continued to land thousands of troops on the surface, who joined with the Shamed Ones and followers of the heresy to fight Jamaane's warriors.

Zonama Sekot
"Divert to Zonama Sekot the vessels of Domains Tivvik, Tsun, Karsh, and Vorrik. Caution the commanders not to make their intentions too obvious&mdash;even if this requires their taking additional time to reach the living world. We will make the Hapans suffer as they did at Fondor. Then our barb will find its mark, and, with the gods at our back, we will rid this galaxy of vendetta and warfare."

- Nas Choka

Choka dispatched capital ships to assist the Zonama Sekot task force. Moments after the capital ships begun their advance on the world, a Hapan warfleet emerged from hyperspace and blocked their path, much as had occurred at the First Battle of Fondor four years previously. Adding their own firepower to that of the Hapans were the defenses of Zonama Sekot itself, which sent barrages of ion fire against the oncoming Yuuzhan Vong. With the living vessels of Zonama Sekot firing upon them, as well as the massed firepower of the Hapans and the ships of the Smuggler's Alliance, a Galactic Alliance-aligned flotilla, the Yuuzhan Vong turned upon the infected warship which travelled among them. The warship was cracked open, releasing the dying craft within, which began to make its path towards Zonama Sekot. Nas Choka remained at Muscave, where the clash between the two warfleets had devolved into a hectic brawl. The warmaster presented Yammka's Mount as the primary target, despite the massive damage the vessel was incurring, and held the Galactic Alliance forces at Muscave. Choka knew that his opponents felt they were succeeding in holding his armada at Muscave while the conquest of Yuuzhan'tar took place, but the warmaster bided his time, equally aware that he was luring his enemy into a false sense of security. Receiving word that Traest Kre'fey, admiral of the Galactic Alliance First Fleet and one of the leading military minds among the opposition, had emerged in the Coruscant system from Contruum, Choka realized that he had to press on to destroy Zonama Sekot quickly. His tactician conveyed news from Yuuzhan'tar&mdash;the planet was under heavy siege, but the World Brain was holding its enemies at bay. Jamaane was safe in his citadel, and had sent his blessings to Choka. The warmaster felt that blessings were useless if he failed to destroy Zonama Sekot, and, when he learned of the involvement of the Hapans, he ordered four domain groups to move subtlety into position to attack the Hapans, paving the way for the infected vessel to eliminate the threat of the living world.

As domain groups of Tivvik, Tsun, Vorrik and Karsh approached the living world and assaulted the Hapan defense line, bringing the total number of supreme commanders attacking the planet up to six, elements of the Galactic Alliance Second Fleet broke away from the engagement at Muscave to hurry to the Zonama Sekot's defense. Although the Jedi pilots in their living craft, and the planet's own weapons, had seen off scores of yorik-et, the Yuuzhan Vong task force pressed on, with Choka providing guidance from the battle over Muscave. At Muscave, the engagement was drawing to a close; space around the outer-system world was littered with destroyed warships, more of the hulks belonging to the Galactic Alliance than to the Yuuzhan Vong. The warmaster's Muscave armada had suffered extensive losses but, as his supreme commanders reported in with news of Zonama Sekot, Choka remained confident that his name would be added to the roster of legendary Yuuzhan Vong warriors, and that the Second Battle of Coruscant would rank among the greatest battles in Yuuzhan Vong history. Supreme Commander Tivvik informed Choka that Zonama Sekot's defenses had fallen silent, and that the living ships defending it were immobile. Rather than rejoice or doubt the news, Choka ordered Supreme Commanders Tivvik and Sla Tsun to sacrifice themselves by escorting the infected vessel to the surface of the world. To minimize the risk of contagion, all other Yuuzhan Vong ships were ordered to retreat. The warmaster gave Tsun and Tivvik final encouragement, before he was informed that Jedi had penetrated Jamaane's citadel, the World Brain was passive, and that Shamed Ones and Galactic Alliance troops held much of the planet. The warmaster comforted his tactician with the opinion that the supreme overlord could never be captured or killed, as the Yuuzhan Vong had fulfilled his orders, and overcome the test of the gods, by defeating Zonama Sekot. Confident that the living world would die without his presence anyway, Choka ordered some forces to remain at Muscave, before leading the remains of his armada to pursue Kre'fey's fleet to Yuuzhan'tar.

Yuuzhan'tar
"All Supreme Commanders. The war is ended. We are defeated by the gods and by their allies. Though they have abandoned us, we will suffer our defeat with honor, because it is what the gods would expect. But any of you who wish to follow the Supreme Overlord's example and die as warriors may do so; just as any of you who wish to commit ritual death may do so. Those who choose neither will join me in accepting the shame of surrender, and finding what nobility we can in capture and graceless execution."

- Nas Choka

Yammka's Mount and the much of the armada emerged over Yuuzhan'tar, whereupon Warmaster Nas Choka received the report that Supreme Overlord Shimrra Jamaane was dead, killed by the Jedi who had invaded his worldship-citadel. Still putting his faith in the fact that the gods would not have deserted Jamaane or the Yuuzhan Vong after they had successfully overcome the "test" of Zonama Sekot, Choka refused to believe the rumor. His tactician informed him that the announcement had been made by the priest Harrar, who it had transpired had defected to the Galactic Alliance. Nom Anor, Nas Choka's old foe, had also been revealed to be Yu'Shaa, the prophet of the Shamed Ones; such developments concerned the warmaster, but none forced him to recount his faith. Choka's tactician persisted, however, in presenting the leader of the warriors with rumors and possibilities&mdash;that the Jedi had overrun Jamaane's inner sanctum and killed the supreme overlord, or that the silence of Zonama Sekot's weapons was not a sign of defeat but of certainty in its victory. As Nas Choka attempted to come to a conclusion, he received word that Jamaane's worldship-citadel had launched from the surface of Yuuzhan'tar, proving that the supreme overlord was still alive. His spirits buoyed by Jamaane's apparent survival, Choka ordered his entire command to attack the Ralroost, Traest Kre'fey's flagship. Even as the Ralroost was overwhelmed by the onslaught, Nas Choka watched Jamaane's giant vessel rise unsteadily into orbit with unease, his nervousness heightened by Jamaane's failure to communicate with the fleet.

Having retained his faith in Jamaane's course for so long, the warmaster was aghast to see the worldship-citadel suddenly fracture and vent atmosphere, signifying both its death and that of the supreme overlord. The enormous vessel exploded at the far reaches of Yuuzhan'tar's orbit, the force of the detonation crippling much of the Yuuzhan Vong home fleet defending the capital. With Jamaane's death, Nas Choka knew, came the end of the war. Without the supreme overlord, who acted as the conduit of the will of the gods, the Yuuzhan Vong were cut off from the divine pantheon&mdash;a deeply religious species with no ability to follow the will of the gods. The warmaster felt that the Yuuzhan Vong had been totally abandoned, relegated to the status of Shamed Ones, with no purpose in fighting now that there was no hope of salvation in the Yuuzhan Vong afterlife. Under the expectant gaze of his subordinates, Warmaster Choka addressed his supreme commanders via villip. He informed his subordinates that the Yuuzhan Vong were a godless species, abandoned by their deities, and that the only options left to the species were ritual suicide, surrender, or death in battle. While his command crew opted to kill themselves, many Yuuzhan Vong chose to drive their ships into collisions with those of the Galactic Alliance. A defeated Nas Choka stood and watched from the command chamber of Yammka's Mount.

The last warmaster
"Great things are still expected of you."

- Harrar, to Nas Choka

Over Zonama Sekot, the vessel infected with Alpha Red was repulsed by the living planet's defenses and harmlessly sent into space. The attempt to poison the living world had failed. The Yuuzhan Vong pilots were brought to the surface of the planet, where their technology was rendered docile&mdash;amphistaffs slithered into the undergrowth, and projectile weapons flew off into the sky. News of these occurrences reached Nas Choka, who viewed the world as anathema for the Yuuzhan Vong. For days, while the Galactic Alliance sorted through the aftermath of the war's last battle, Choka underwent ritual bloodletting. The remnants of the Yuuzhan Vong armada, once Choka recalled the flotillas from Muscave and Zonama Sekot, was left 2,000,000 kilometers away from Coruscant, though none of Choka's remaining forces were willing to fight, nor was their warmaster. While Nas Choka refrained from communicating with the Galactic Alliance, the armada's passivity left the opposing fleets at a stand-off for four days, until on the fifth morning the supreme commander of the Yuuzhan'tar defense fleet agreed to act as a liasion. Villip transmission were set up, and it was agreed that Nas Choka and several of his subordinates would be transferred to the Ralroost to discuss the terms of the Yuuzhan Vong surrender. The warmaster remained in inner turmoil; uncertain of the reasoning behind the gods' abandonment of the Yuuzhan Vong, or whether the blame lay with Jamaane or the Yuuzhan Vong as a species. The warmaster and five of his supreme commanders submitted to a personal search before they were allowed to board the Galactic Alliance shuttle which conveyed them to the Ralroost. Choka kept with him his baton of rank, the ceremonial amphistaff known as a tsaisi which denoted his rank of warmaster.

The ceremony was held in the docking bay of the Ralroost; upon disembarkment from the shuttle, Choka looked out over the journalists, musicians, Galactic Alliance officials, Yuuzhan Vong interpreters and defectors who were present to observe or take part in the surrender. Warmaster Choka and his supreme commanders sat facing a semicircle of Galactic Alliance commanders, Jedi and the members of the Advisory Council. Also present were the remaining members of the elite&mdash;High Master Shaper Qelah Kwaad and Most High Priest Jakan. High Prefect Drathul had perished, along with Nom Anor, during the battle. In front of the assembly, Choka proffered his tsaisi and announced the total surrender of the Yuuzhan Vong. The warmaster then requested that he be allowed to kill himself, but Supreme Commander Sien Sovv denied him the opportunity. Confused at Sovv's statement that there would be no executions, Choka assumed that the Yuuzhan Vong would be enslaved. Jakan and Harrar urged the warmaster to listen to the terms of surrender. Nas Choka remained skeptical, aware that the warrior caste he commanded had no role in a peacetime scenario. The warmaster was then addressed by Luke Skywalker, who proclaimed that the warrior caste would have to renounce its violence and surrender itself to Zonama Sekot. The announcement appalled Choka, who viewed it as worse than execution, calling for the warriors to be at least sent back into the intergalactic void to die. Harrar attempted to calm the warrior, but Choka adhered to his belief that the warrior caste had everything to lose with its incarceration on the living world.

As it was revealed by Harrar that Zonama Sekot was itself the living offspring of the ancestral Yuuzhan'tar, Choka forewent his alarm for bitterness. The priest tried to explain that the god of war, Yun-Yammka, by whom Choka swore, was a concoction of the Yuuzhan Vong, a deity created when the species had turned to warfare in the distant past. The warmaster nevertheless believed that Harrar had been deceived, yet resigned himself, and the warrior caste, to a future on Zonama Sekot. Skywalker explained that the living world would transport the Yuuzhan Vong to the Unknown Regions, were they would be safe, and that there the Yuuzhan Vong could create a new society. Before the Sekot Accords were concluded, Choka agreed to cooperate with Kre'fey and Sovv in removing all the entrenched Yuuzhan Vong pockets of resistance across the galaxy, and that Yuuzhan Vong shapers would aid in Coruscant's recovery. Immediately following the summit on the Ralroost, the Yuuzhan Vong warriors were loaded into Galactic Alliance vessels. The warships of the Yuuzhan Vong armada were subsequently launched into Coruscant Prime, with all of the armaments of the warrior caste aboard. During the next week, tens of thousands of Yuuzhan Vong were transported down to Zonama Sekot, where they set to work repairing the damage wrought by Zho Krazhmir's attack decades prior. Once the transfer was complete, the living world engaged its hyperdrive and transported the Yuuzhan Vong to the Unknown Regions. Although the caste clashed with the Extolled, the new name for the Shamed Ones, over their status in society, Nas Choka's warriors eventually integrated themselves into a peaceful existence.



Personality and traits
"Our mission is more important than you or me, Commander, and it is more important than your honor or mine. Lord Shimrra himself has said it. And so, feel no stain. To win this war, we must set aside what we cherish. The gods ordain the sacrifice. We are blameless. We are those who do what must be done."

- Nas Choka, to Zhat Lah

Nas Choka was principally a realist and a pragmatist, traits which set him apart from Tsavong Lah, his fanatical predecessor, and marked him as a formidable opponent of the leading Galactic Alliance military minds. Choka's sentiment that the pride of the Yuuzhan Vong warriors was dooming the war effort was innovative and forward-thinking; as warmaster, Nas Choka recognized that a refusal to retreat or surrender, and a habit for expending resources fighting impossible battles for the sake of pride, would cost the Yuuzhan Vong their promised galaxy. While the warmaster recognized that surrender and retreat were anathema to the warriors, he understood that the war could not be won without some sacrifices being made by the Yuuzhan Vong. It was this same outlook on the true duty of the Yuuzhan Vong warrior which led Choka not to suicide in the final battle of the war, but to surrender and negotiation. Choka's realistic approach to warfare was also reflected in his dealings with his subordinates&mdash;when, during the Battle of Dac, his flagship's supreme commander began to exalt in the imminent defeat of the enemy, the irritated warmaster ordered him removed from the command chamber. Similarly, Choka was surprised when Centerpoint Station wiped out both his forces and those of the recently arrived Hapans, as he viewed such a sacrifice a savage and costly strategem.

Nas Choka proved his boldness as he openly warned against Shimrra Jamaane's strategies concerning the strike on Dac, in a session of the Yuuzhan Vong Great Council, although he refrained from voicing his discontent with his superior's subsequent decision within Jamaane's citadel, as such talk could have led to his execution. Indeed, Choka was often forced to involve himself in court politics following his escalation, and was viewed by at least some to be shamelessly currying favor with the supreme overlord in his attempts to root out the heresy. The officer also often grew disgusted with the failure of his subordinates, such as that of Chine-kal, or the ambitions of others&mdash;Nom Anor and the intendant caste being the chief culprits of the trait, in Choka's eyes. The act of defection was also despised by Choka. The warmaster looked forward to a galaxy without vendetta or warfare, and saw it as his duty to defeat the Galactic Alliance while sparing the lives of as many Yuuzhan Vong as possible. During the Sekot Accords, Choka proclaimed that the Yuuzhan Vong warriors had only ever adhered to the practice of their caste.

Choka was also extremely loyal to the supreme overlord who had guided the Yuuzhan Vong warriors from internecine strife to a promised galaxy. When Jamaane ordered the warmaster to assault Dac, Choka carried out the order and encouraged his subordinates to place their trust in the supreme overlord and the gods with whom he communicated. Nas Choka's total faith in Supreme Overlord Shimrra Jamaane, however, was misplaced. At the time of the Jamaane Coup, Shimrra deceived his followers by treating the rumors of Zonama Sekot as false, knowingly leading his species' into a galaxy where the living world resided. Over fifty years later, Jamaane once again duped Choka into believing that Zonama Sekot's arrival in the Coruscant system was all part of a divine plan to test the Yuuzhan Vong. This belief led Choka to direct the majority of his forces against Zonama Sekot, trusting that once the living world was destroyed, the future of his species and the safety of Yuuzhan'tar and the supreme overlord was assured. When this trust was proved wrong, Choka's faith was shattered and he lost all will to fight, surrendering the fate of his people to the Galactic Alliance at the Sekot Accords.

Many of the warrior's strategies throughout the war were later regretful for Choka, as events beyond his control forced him to revise his plans. Tsavong Lah's strategies, while vital in winning half the galaxy for the Yuuzhan Vong, left the fleets overextended, forcing Choka to adopt a new approach to the war. B'Shith Vorrik's failure to crush the Imperial Remnant, and death at Esfandia, cost Choka's fleets dearly, as did the actions of the Galactic Alliance commander, Wedge Antilles, at Bilbringi. When the warmaster did go head to head against the Galactic Alliance military, he was able to mislead his opponents, such as at Fondor, Caluula and Toong'l, or over Muscave. Choka's long campaign in Hutt Space won the entire territory for the Yuuzhan Vong, and his tenacity and commitment resulted in his escalation to the rank of warmaster; a rank which the modest warrior believed he had not deserved. Despite his abilities in warfare, deception and divination, Choka ultimately failed to understand the true nature of his opponents. Viewing the Jedi Order as a race of warriors equal to those he commanded, the warmaster also expected mass execution or enslavement for the Yuuzhan Vong following the surrender, and the leniency he felt was being afforded to his species surprised him.

Behind the scenes
Introduced at the end of James Luceno's Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial, via a communications device, Choka was revealed to be a high-ranking Yuuzhan Vong military officer. The supreme commander appeared in the second installment of the Agents of Chaos duology and, while the narrative is never told from his point of view, acts as one of the principal Yuuzhan Vong characters. The Battle of Fondor sets up Choka's campaign against the Hutts, an event frequently referenced by other books in the long-running New Jedi Order series.

Following Destiny's Way, which saw the death of longtime Yuuzhan Vong antagonist Tsavong Lah, Choka returned to the forefront of the New Jedi Order, as the military leader of his species in The Final Prophecy and the series' finale, The Unifying Force. In The Unifying Force, once again written by Luceno, Choka had several scenes narrated from his perspective.

In The Unifying Force, Nas Choka's flagship is named Yammka's Mount, which is noted by Jaina Solo to be a newly-constructed vessel in appearance. In Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse, and The Final Prophecy, Nas Choka's flagship is stated to be Yammka, a much older vessel. In the Unifying Force, however, Yammka's Mount is referred to on occasion as Yammka. This article assumes that Nas Choka was provided with Yammka's Mount, a new flagship, during the events of The Unifying Force, and that it was referred to as Yammka as a contraction of its full name. Other than their names, therefore, the two vessels are not connected.

Appearances

 * Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial
 * Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse
 * Balance Point
 * Destiny's Way
 * Force Heretic I: Remnant
 * Force Heretic III: Reunion
 * The Final Prophecy
 * The Unifying Force