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 the Yammka

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 avowed 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 reorganised 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 Yevetha and the Ssi-ruuk, were neutralized. A strike against the enemy's communications network also bore some success, but 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, as he realized that the enemy was planning to reclaim their lost capital. In the last battle of the war, Choka conducted a strong defense of Yuuzhan'tar, all the while threatened by the presence of the living planet of Zonama Sekot. The battle came to an end, as did the war, 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. Following the surrender, Nas Choka accompanied the remnant of his race to Zonama Sekot, which was thought to have been a seed of the ancestral homeworld of the Yuuzhan Vong.

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 was a commander. The Yuuzhan Vong fleet was approaching the promised galaxy, and already at least one 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. 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 a taboo. When Quoreal attempted to retreat from the planned invasion, it was Domain Jamaane that opposed him. Choka was a member of a high-ranking group of officers who sided with the ambitious domain and its fearsome leader, 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. To 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 enshadowed, erased from the qang qahsa of the Yuuzhan Vong, all rumors of Zonama Sekot smothered&mdash;without success. Choka would witness as the stories of the living planet persisted, that it had defeated Krazhmir's forces in battle, and that it would bring ill tidings to the Yuuzhan Vong. Choka believed none of this, remaining loyal to Shimrra and trusting in the supreme overlord's communion with the 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

Choka gained a reputation 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. In 25 ABY, the year the Yuuzhan Vong launched their assault on the galaxy, Choka possessed the rank of supreme commander of the flagship of the entire Yuuzhan Vong fleet &mdash;a Koros-strohna replete with its complement of warships and warriors. 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 had already failed at Helska 4, Shedao Shai and his fleet were lost during the battle at Ithor, and before long the supreme commander received word that yet another Yuuzhan Vong scheme had come undone. 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. On this occasion, the priest Harrar, Executor Nom Anor, and Commander Tla had attempted to coordinate a strike against the Jedi, whose order was seen to present 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 had staged a false defection, which saw Elan surrender to the New Republic, whereupon it was planned that, having granted the defection verisimilitude 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 came undone. Elan was killed, much to the displeasure of her father, High Priest Jakan, and Nas Choka, at the time preparing forces at the shipwomb at Sernpidal, contacted Harrar and the other architects of the plot via villip 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 an intendant, outside the supreme commander's jurisdiction. Thus the executor, saved from demotion and further punishment due to his birth into the caste 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, but ordered Raff to apprise him of the costliness of the scheme 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 ploy, 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, as Anor's failure over the Elan debacle was still fresh in his 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 forces, 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 cowering 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 there was to be a hasty departure 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 Gydine 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 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 which 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 structure, but the Yuuzhan Vong officer was not interested in communicating with the inhabitants of the planet, who had been tricked by Peace Brigaders into handing over the world to the Yuuzhan Vong. 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, but this crucial lack of knowledge concerning the New Republic trap there would almost bring about the end of Choka's career.

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 his forces whenever he or his superior chose. Choka also rebuffed Borga'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 communications device and Choka rounded on the Hutt, insulting and threatening her. The supreme commander communicated with Chine-kal, whose yammosk-bearing clustership was nearing 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 kajidics could keep their holdings. Shortly after the Yuuzhan Vong delegation departed, Borga sent word to the Jedi that 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 Choka's massive 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, orbital defenses, and 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 was assaulted and boarded, a short distance from the main battle, Choka dispatched warships to aid Chine-kal. Then, 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 were gone, along with half of the supreme commander'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. 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.

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 visit 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. The two warriors, however, would cross paths again before the war was ended.

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 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 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, others were not as fortunate, such as the Besadii. Those of the clan who could escape fled to 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 personally oversee 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 collaborationist organization 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, along with his strident vendetta against the Jedi Order, continued to direct campaigns from his new seat of power, as Supreme Overlord Shimrra traveled in from the Outer Rim Territories. When the Supreme Overlord did reach Coruscant&mdash;now 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 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 and 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. 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. The heresy continued to grow, acquiring a mysterious new leader, the Prophet Yu'Shaa and, even with the failure of the attack on the Imperial Remnant, the new warmaster still had other problems with which to contend. The Yuuzhan Vong advance had now stalled; supply lines had been sabotaged, resistance cells had formed, and although 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, the Yuuzhan Vong had essentially not made any serious progress 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, set upon the heresy with violence and executions. 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 hierachy by exposing a prefect named Ash'ett as a member of the movement. As an intendant, Ash'ett's complicity was not embarrassing for the warmaster, but for 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. 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. 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 reconnaisance 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. Commander Val disappeared, executed for his discovery, and Choka and Jamaane covered up the affair as best they 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 Most High Priest 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, the heresy was already on the increase. Choka had managed to remain in favor with the supreme overlord. The Galatic Alliance, however, were on the move. Key worlds encircling Coruscant were being threatened, and falling. Choka's opponents secured Thyferra, which produced the healing agent bacta, and Yag'Dhul, a strategic hyperspace junction. For the Yuuzhan Vong, matters worsened. 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 the same tactics of hit-and-fade 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, 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 results
 * Bilbringi
 * HoloNet down - TUF p.209
 * Caluula and Toong'l
 * Preparations for Dac campaign
 * Prison convoy - Selvaris sacrifice

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 hierachy. 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&mdash. 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 Jaamane, and Choka and his cohorts prepared for the arrival of the prison convoy and the coming mass sacrifice.

It so happened that the Galactic Alliance military was apprised of the 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 countless generations. With three dozen of his supreme commanders, Nas Choka entered the Place of Sacrifice and took up position under 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 embarassment, 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 occurence 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 mihgt 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. 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. With no ally to stand alongside him, 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 and 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 in Shimrra's Citadel, where he observed a map of the 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. It also appeared to Choka 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, beginning a lengthy campaign to hunt them down across the galaxy, or that Supreme Commander Sien Sovv and his cohorts had prepared 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 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 intelliegence analysts. Choka was informed of a largescale rise in enemy activity, across great expanses of the galaxy, and that half the fleet defending Mon Calamari had dispersed; he felt that it was a diversion, its purpose rendered unfathomable 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 forewent using Caluula and Toong'l in his campaign. 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, upon which Contruum was located.

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, the armada departed, led by Warmaster Nas Choka abord the Yammka's Mount, a new vessel 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. Due to the convoluted nature of the journey, Choka's massive force had to exit hyperspace at a transit points 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 to the Calamari system, however, Choka moved his armada through the Quotile 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&mdash;in truth, Choka had no intention of retreating via Toong'l and Caluula. Choka was well aware that the Galactic Alliance planned to compromise the two worlds as exit vectors for the armada, and had no intention of using either planet, and the yammosks upon them, to orchestrate a coordinated retreat to Yuuzhan'tar, or to alternate destinations. Instead, 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. 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 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. Having guessed correctly that the Galactic Alliance did indeed intend to strike at Yuuzhan'tar, using Contruum as one of their staging points, Choka wished to eradicate the enemy forces there, a task which the departing forces could achieve with ease. 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 then 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; the tentacles were drawn back in 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 give the legend of Zonama Sekot credence. 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 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

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

The strike on 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

Defeat and surrender
"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's address to the Yuuzhan Vong warriors

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

- Harrar, to Nas Choka

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

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

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.