Welcome to the #8 edition of 60 Standard Minutes.

[Guest Admiral_Antilles]

Hello, and welcome to the #8 edition of 60 Standard Minutes. It’s been awhile since I have done one due to a 2 week vacation. So, I have had much thought on to what my next subject would be, after careful consideration I have decided to do a Yuuzhan Vong themed edition. It’s a bit of a read, because I have gone and delved into every possible detail of this fantastic and interesting culture. I hope you enjoy it!

 

The people

 

Yuuzhan Vong

 

This race of beings was native to an extra-galactic galaxy which was devastated by warfare and biotechnology. Evolving first on the planet Yuuzhan'tar, the Yuuzhan Vong worshipped a complex pantheon of gods. Ancient texts discovered by Yuuzhan Vong scholars revealed that, at some point in the distant past, their homeworld was invaded by a highly technological race. More machine that living flesh, these invaders set out to destroy the Yuuzhan Vong. The Yuuzhan Vong, in turn, called upon their gods for help. Although the exact nature of the assistance was clouded by time, the gods provided the Yuuzhan Vong with information on how to use living resources into weapons.

 

After defeating the technological beings who had invaded their world, the Yuuzhan Vong believed themselves to be the chosen masters of their galaxy, a right bestowed upon them by their gods. This new-found pride, along with the skills of war, drove the Yuuzhan Vong away from their gods, and was believed to have resulted in their disconnection with the Force. When individual clans finally conquered all worlds in their galaxy, they began warring amongst themselves. In a millennia-long battle known as the Cremlevian War, Yuuzhan Vong tribes fought to exterminate each other, laying waste to most of their habitable planets. With the end of the Cremlevian War and the unification of the clans, the Yuuzhan Vong found themselves living in a galaxy that contained dead and lifeless worlds. Taking to the stars, they set out to cross the intergalactic void to find a new home, a journey which would take thousands of years and end with the discovery of the New Republic.

 

Roughly humanoid in shape, they often mutilated their bodies with scars and tattoos in order to prove their worth to their gods. Being from another galaxy, the Yuuzhan Vong cellular structure contained no midi-chlorians, thereby rendering them untouchable to the Force. The fleshy faces of the Yuuzhan Vong are distinguished by several key features, in addition to the scars and tattoos that define their social standing: bluish sacks beneath their eyes, sloping foreheads, and lipless mouths. They were masters of organic technology, using all sorts of lesser creatures to perform highly advanced tasks. However, they frowned upon biological diversity, and took severe steps to wipe out or subjugate the other species encountered in their home galaxy.

 

The Yuuzhan Vong society was broken down into three primary castes - warriors, shapers, and intendants - and the minor castes of workers and priests. Much of the Yuuzhan Vong society was centered on the worship of several gods and goddesses, and the belief in those deities forces each member of society to understand his or her place in the universe. Each ritual scarring and tattooing added to the social stature of an individual, and the pattern of disfigurement provided information about the individual's class. It was later discovered that the Yuuzhan Vong had visited the known galaxy some fifty years before their attacks on Belkadan and Dubrillion, when Anki Pace found the remains of a warrior on Bimmiel. After destroying almost every habitable world in their own galaxy, the Yuuzhan Vong created a fleet of worldships and set out to locate another galaxy which they could conquer and inhabit.

 

Somehow, they had penetrated the hyperspacial disturbance which isolated the known galaxy and traveled across the intergalactic gulf. This journey took "incalculable millennia", and was predicated on the death of the original Yuuzhan Vong homeworld, Yuuzhan'tar. Vast numbers of genetic and cellular samples were taken from Yuuzhan'tar, in order for the Yuuzhan Vong to survive the trip. Chief among these samples were the cells of the World Brain that lived at the heart of the planet. The journey necessitated the use of living ships to assist in surviving the journey, which ended when this galaxy was discovered. The initial foray to Bimmiel served as advance intelligence, and gave the Yuuzhan Vong some idea of what life forms existed in the galaxy, as well as their military strength. After establishing a base on Belkadan, the Vong began capturing pirates and enslaving them as laborers on Belkadan. They used gricha larva to form huge, shell-like dwellings wherever they traveled, creating living chambers inside the spiralled nacreous material of the shell. After the Battle of Ithor, it was learned that the Yuuzhan Vong had been experimenting with the various alien species they had displaced while invading the galaxy. Most of the specimens died or were sacrificed, due to their inability to withstand the unusual biological manipulations of the Yuuzhan Vong.

 

Eventually, the Yuuzhan Vong pushed into the Core Worlds and captured Coruscant. The cityworld was quickly demolished, with many structures being destroyed by falling skyhooks and satellites. A World Brain was installed in a yorik coral cavern, and the planet Yuuzhan'tar was rebuilt as the new Yuuzhan Vong homeworld. For many months, a sort of peace existed between the Yuuzhan Vong and the New Republic, as both sides paused to rebuild their forces and defend what each held. This changed at the Battle of Ebaq, where Warmaster Tsavong Lah and his forces were soundly defeated. Tsavong Lah himself was killed in combat by Jaina Solo, and Supreme Overlord Shimrra vowed to destroy anything that got in the way of galactic conquest.

 

However, it was the rediscovery of the planet Zonama Sekot that helped bring the two sides together. Luke Skywalker, Jacen Solo, and the priest Harrar were on Zonama Sekot when it fled the Klasse Ephemora System, and spent many days trying to commune with Sekot. When they did, Harrar revealed that some Yuuzhan Vong believed that they had not fled their home galaxy, but instead had been exiled from it. When Jacen reasoned that this exile might have involved separating the Yuuzhan Vong from the Force, Sekot understood why the Yuuzhan Vong were not visible to the Jedi. They had been stripped of any connection to the Force by their gods - in actuality, the Force itself - a painful act of separation that the Yuuzhan Vong had been trying to reconcile for generations. Only the Shaper Onimi was able to ever regain the connection, after grafting yammosk cells to his own neural pathways, thereby restoring "innocent" living tissue to his Yuuzhan Vong cells.

 

The war between the Yuuzhan Vong and the Galactic Alliance came to an end at Coruscant, after Zonama Sekot appeared and both Shimrra and Onimi were killed in battle. The costs of the war were estimated to have been some 365 trillion beings, but in the end the Yuuzhan Vong were allowed to surrender and find their place within the galaxy. Many chose to commit suicide rather than surrender, and many others simply fled into the galaxy's farthest reaches. However, the Galactic Alliance and the Jedi Knights agreed that Zonama Sekot was the true home of the Yuuzhan Vong, especially in light of the revelations made by Sekot itself. Although a handful of Yuuzhan Vong remained opposed to any sort of surrender, those who returned to Coruscant were transported to Zonama Sekot. The planet, which was actually the offspring of Yuuzhan'tar, took the Yuuzhan Vong and fled into hyperspace, to find a new home somewhere in the Unknown Regions.

 

Their Planet

 

Yuuzhan'tar

 

This was the name of the long-lost homeworld of the Yuuzhan Vong race. In the native language of the Yuuzhan Vong, the name meant "Creche' of the Gods." It had been abandoned many millennia ago, when the Yuuzhan Vong fled into space to seek out a new galaxy in which to live. Much of the planet was governed by the predatory nature of its indigenous species, a characteristic which manifested itself in the social consciousness of the Yuuzhan Vong. Some 25 years after the Battle of Endor, after the Yuuzhan Vong began their invasion of the galaxy, they targeted the planet Coruscant as a replacement for Yuuzhan'tar. In addition to the fact that Coruscant was located near the center of the galaxy, the loss of the capital planet would serve to fracture the already brittle New Republic.

 

Master Shaper Ch'Gang Hool oversaaw the development of several dhuryam candidates, and allowed Vergere and Nom Anor to allow Jacen Solo to interact with the candidates. After taking Coruscant from the Republic and destroying all its orbital satellites, skyhooks, and other technology, the planet was seeded with lichens and mosses which broke down the various building materials used to construct the city-world. Then, once the World Brain was installed in a yorik coral bunker, Vongforming began in earnest. Within months, Coruscant's urban landscape had been transformed into a passable simulacrum of Yuuzhan'tar. The Yuuzhan Vong went so far as to destroy one of Coruscant's larger moons, using the debris to create the Rainbow Bridge and further seed the planetary resources. Immense dovin basals dragged Coruscant into a tighter orbit around its star, giving the planet a more tropical atmosphere. However, Jacen Solo's relationship with the dhuryam that controlled the planet and its reformation was seemingly stronger than any relationship the dhuryam had to a Yuuzhan Vong, for it agreed to help him cause all manner of trouble with the completion of Coruscant's transformation. Eventually, this forced Supreme Overlord Shimrra to command a huge sacrifice be made to the gods, to show them that the planet - and the galaxy - was ready for conquering.

 

This ceremony was thwarted by the Shamed Ones who rallied behind the message of the Prophet, Yu'shaa. Shortly afterward, the Yuuzhan Vong on the planet awoke to find that the living planet of Zonama Sekot had traveled from across the galaxy into a position above the planet. Zonama Sekot destroying the Rainbow Bridge which had been created in orbit around the planet, and scattered the remaining three moons into new locations. This set off a number of seismic events that rocked the planet to its core, damaging or destroying the work of the Yuuzhan Vong. The sudden appearance of the planet forced the Yuuzhan Vong military leaders to break off their attack on Mon Calamari and return to the Core. During the final battle for control of the galaxy, Zonama Sekot acted purely in a defensive mode, choosing to "fight without fighting" against the Yuuzhan Vong. After the deaths of Shimrra and Onimi forced the alien invaders to surrender, Sekot revealed that the planet - as well as its own consciousness - was actually the offspring of long-lost Yuuzhan'tar. The ancient planet had shed a piece of itself and flung it into the intergalactic void, hoping that someday it would awaken and evolve into a new homeworld for the Yuuzhan Vong. The Galactic Alliance, acting with this knowledge and the advice of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, agreed to spare any Yuuzhan Vong who surrendered. These individuals were transferred to Zonama Sekot, which welcomed them with open arms as long as they chose to ignore their warring ways and try to live in peace. Zonama Sekot then fled into the Unknown Regions to allow the Yuuzhan Vong to find their way in peace.

 

Their ‘Leader’

 

Shimrra

 

A member of Domain Jamaane, this Yuuzhan Vong was the Supreme Overlord during the initial invasion of the known galaxy. It was Lord Shimrra's vision that led the Yuuzhan Vong to leave their own galaxy and seek out the New Republic. He believed that he was given a vision from the gods, of an unclean galaxy which needed to be cleansed. Yuuzhan Vong priests agreed that his vision was true, and approved the generation-spanning mission to cross the galaxies. Shimrra was an enormous individual, and spent a great deal of his time secreted in a vast chamber aboard an unspecific worldship, surrounded by all the trappings of the Yuuzhan Vong elite. An immense hau polyp dais supported his weight, and rare paaloc incense burned in his chamber. Shimrra was distinguished among the Yuuzhan Vong by the fact that he was born with a twin sibling, a rare event that was supposedly pre-ordained by the gods whenever a strong leader was needed. As lore required, Overlord Shimrra killed his twin brother, thereby allowing him to grow powerful and worshipped as the favorite of the gods.

 

Shimrra developed his base of power by killing Quoreal, the former Overlord, claiming that the gods had chosen him as the new Overlord. Shimrra did much to cover his tracks, and he continually claimed that his power came from the gods. In reality, he developed much of his power through subtle manipulation of the Yuuzhan Vong religion and the cortexes of knowledge they maintained. As the battle to control the galaxy raged on, Shimrra began to panic as early victories gave way to a grudging stalemate, and then turned to defeats. He continued to manipulate religion to secure his position, but many of his subordinates began to question his authority, primarily Nen Yim and the Shapers. When it was discovered that Shimrra had killed Ekh'm Val to cover up the existence of the planet Zonama Sekot, Shimrra's position began to crumble. His fear of the planet, which seemed to tie the Yuuzhan Vong to the galaxy, became more and more public knowledge, despite his efforts to cover it up. After many months of watching his forces lose ground to the fledgling Galactic Alliance, Shimrra had tired of the growing opposition to his rule, as well as to the unusual problems that kept the dhuryam on Coruscant from functioning properly.

 

Using his people's desire to please their gods as a base, Shimrra told the Yuuzhan Vong that their lack of faith in his leadership was actually a lack of faith in their gods, who had appointed Shimrra in the first place. He then went on to say that the problems on Coruscant and the mounting defeats in battle were caused by the gods' desire to show the Yuuzhan Vong that they had failed to maintain the proper levels of devotion. The situation, he explained, was based in the generations-long migration from their original galaxy, during which time a lack of wars and combat made the Yuuzhan Vong forget about their gods and focus on their own glorification. As if to prove himself, Shimrra created the Slayers, a mingling of warrior and priest to develop a Yuuzhan Vong version of the Jedi Knights. He surrounded himself with Slayer guards, and retreated into The Citadel. Secretly, Shimrra believed that the gods had abandoned the Yuuzhan Vong because they were angry at being cast aside, and jealous that Shimrra had gained so much power over them. He seemed to have his beliefs confirmed when Zonama Sekot arrived in orbit near Coruscant, as he raged to Nom Anor that it was the gods who brought the living planet from the brink of disaster to harass the Yuuzhan Vong. It was an act of war, he claimed, against the beings who had decided they no longer needed the gods. By destroying Zonama Sekot, Shimrra believed he could destroy the gods themselves, thereby gaining absolute power over the Yuuzhan Vong. To accomplish this goal, Shimrra held the dying ship that had returned from Caluula in orbit around Coruscant, then dispatched it to land on Zonama Sekot.

 

Shimrra reasoned that the Alpha Red virus would affect Zonama Sekot much the same way it had affected the Yuuzhan Vong. Ensconced in the Moonbeam Throne, Shimrra commanded the World Brain that controlled Coruscant to begin destroying the planet's surface. Couched in commands that made it seem as if such destruction was necessary to save the planet, Shimrra's words were directed toward a less-noble goal, for Shimrra simply wanted to destroy the planet and make it unusable to either side of the war. This plan was thwarted when Jacen Solo arrived on Coruscant with his sister Jaina and their uncle, Luke Skywalker. The trio infiltrated the Citadel after Jacen gained control of the World Brian's mind, but Shimrra dispatched fifteen of his best Slayers to attack them. The three Jedi held their, in part because the World Brain was tossing the Citadel around like a ball. Shimrra remained in his throne until it appeared Luke as exhausted from the battle. Descending the throne and unfurling the Scepter of Power, Shimrra easily overpowered Luke and wrapped him in the amphistaff's coils. Shimrra then drew a Lightsaber from his cloak, laughing as he revealed that the weapon had once belonged to Anakin Solo. As Shimrra prepared to kill Luke with the weapon, Luke allowed the Scepter of Power to stab him in the side, momentarily distracting the Supreme Overlord. With this small chance, Luke gained possession of his own Lightsaber, as well as Anakin's. In one swift motion, Luke drove both weapons into Shimrra's neck, and then drew them apart to decapitate the Supreme Overlord.

 

It was only after Shimrra's death that the forces of the Galactic Alliance came to realize that Shimrra was not actually in control of the Yuuzhan Vong throughout the invasion. Shimrra, it seemed, had been merely the puppet of his familiar, the Shamed One known as Onimi. It was Onimi who had managed to re-establish a connection with the Force, giving him powers that the other Yuuzhan Vong could never have. His position as a Shamed One had given Onimi the opportunity to take control of Shimrra's mind, using the Supreme Overlord to do his bidding. With the death of Onimi at the hands of Jacen Solo, the true Overlord was indeed killed.

 

The puppet master

 

Onimi

 

This badly deformed Yuuzhan Vong was, at one time, a Shaper of some skill. However, the implants given to him upon escalation were rejected by his body, and Onimi was relegated to the ranks of the Shamed Ones. For unknown reasons, Supreme Overlord Shimrra chose Onimi to serve as his personal jester and familiar. Onimi had the normal appearance of a Yuuzhan Vong, but with severe deformities. One eye lolled on his face, lower than the other, and his entire skull seemed to be oddly distended. His thin limbs twitched constantly, giving Onimi an excited, nervous demeanor. His lopsided mouth was filled with a single, long fang. He constantly spoke in rhymes and riddles, dispensing wisdom that was shrouded in dark humor.

 

Onimi posed as the Master Shaper Kae Kwaad in order to investigate Nen Yim and bring her before Shimrra, shortly after the Battle of Duro. When the battle against the New Republic began to turn against the Yuuzhan Vong, Shimrra demanded that Nen Yim fill the so-called eighth cortex with knowledge of the lifeforms in the galaxy. He used Onimi as his liaison to the Shapers, in an effort to avoid a direct linkage to their work. Onimi, however, seemed to have his own agenda, and always seemed to be able to read the mind of Nom Anor. After the living planet Zonama Sekot suddenly reappeared near Coruscant, Onimi suddenly became quiet, often refusing to recite his ascerbic poetry, and cowered behind Shimrra's growing power. When the Jedi Knights, led by Luke Skywalker, managed to infiltrate the Citadel and reach the Moonbeam Throne, Onimi remained by Shimrra's side until the World Brain began to work with Jacen Solo to disrupt the battle.

 

Onimi leapt from his seat on the throne and fled upward into the Citadel. Jaina Solo gave chase, but Onimi was able to double back and capture her, drugging her with poison that he exuded from his fang and dragging her into the command chamber of the Citadel's escape craft. It was during this time that Onimi revealed that he believed Jaina was actually Yun-Harla, and that he believed himself to have been the first individual to realize the eighth cortex was an empty lie. He continued to rail at Jaina, explaining that he had grafted yammosk cells to his own neural pathways to try and enhance himself and save the Yuuzhan Vong. Instead, Onimi screamed, Yun-Harla had shamed him while giving him the ability to manipulate others through the cells inside his body. This allowed Onimi to gain a measure of control over Shimrra, coercing him to usurp the power of Quoreal and begin the invasion of the New Republic. He then admitted that he - of all the Yuuzhan Vong - could see her through the Force, along with the rest of the Jedi Knights, then told Jaina of his plans to kill the Jedi and assume control of the galaxy for himself. Then, Onimi started to launch the escape craft, using his own genetic codes to fire its engines.

 

As Jacen finally reached the escape craft and gained access to the command deck, he realized the truth about Onimi. It was his Shaping that had allowed him to see through the Force, restoring the ability that had been stripped from the Yuuzhan Vong eons ago. By this time, Onimi had come to consider himself the Supreme Overlord, if not by Shimrra's death then by his own belief in the power he held. Onimi tried to hold off Jacen by flinging all manner of things at him, but Jacen had tapped into the Unifying Force in a way that was deeper than before. Onimi attacked as a Shaper, using his enhanced abilities to turn every bodily fluid he possessed into poisons or hallucinogens which could be injected with his fang or simply applied to Jacen's skin. Jacen used his own connection to the Force to neutralize them all, rendering them nothing more than sweat and tears. As Jacen became more and more a living conduit for the Force, he was able to attack Onimi on the level of purest energy. Onimi, unable to let go of the hatred and greed he had lived with for so long, was rendered into nothingness by Jacen's actions. As his body reformed itself into an Unshamed form, Onimi collapsed into death.

 

The traitor

 

Nom Anor

 

This shadowy, black-armored figure worked behind the scenes of the Imperial Interim Ruling Council. He used Xandel Carivus as his agent, and predicted that Carivus would be elected to lead the Council after Nolyds was assassinated. Nom Anor spoke with a raspy hiss, which strengthened his evil image. He claimed to be in charge of the dealings on Ord Cantrell, and that the murders which plagued the Council were within his plans. However, General Immodet was soon poisoned, and not by any of Anor's agents. He claimed to be unconcerned about the rumors of Kir Kanos returning. Nom Anor became known to the New Republic several years later, when he emerged as the spiritual and political leader of the Rhommamoolians. Nom Anor made no effort to hide his hatred of the New Republic and the Jedi Knights, and preached about abandoning technology in favor of looking for the truth in the natural elements of life. In response to his charismatic personality, the Red Knights of Life rose up to further his beliefs. He had managed to incite them to rebel against their neighbors on the planet Osarian, sparking an intersystem battle while furthering his own plans.

 

In reality, Nom Anor was the Yuuzhan Vong leader of the advance forces of the Praetorite Vong, and a member of the Intendent class. When he was given the assignment, he showed his devotion to the Yuuzhan Vong by removing his own eye with the sharpened end of a burning stick. The eye was replaced with a plaeryin bol. He faked his own death by pretending to be on a diplomatic shuttle dispatched to the Mediator, but he was actually in an A-Wing fighter fleeing to Sernipdal. The shuttle exploded in the hold of the Mediator, although Nom Anor himself was in another craft fleeing the battle. He was disgraced upon his return to the Yuuzhan Vong leaders, and was replaced by Shedao Shai. It was later revealed that Nom Anor was a member of a lower caste in Yuuzhan Vong society, and hoped to elevate his people to warrior status by successfully conquering the first planets along Vector Prime.

 

His failure almost guaranteed swift retribution. With the failures of Shedao Shai and Deign Lian, Nom Anor found himself once again in a position of command, leading the forces which destroyed Obroa-skai. He was also part of a growing faction of Yuuzhan Vong which believed the Jedi Knights were the key to taking control of the galaxy. Nom Anor also took steps to form an alliance with Borga the Hutt, which provided a minimum of protection for Hutt Space and gave the Yuuzhan Vong their choice of worlds to use to grow yorik coral. However, Nom Anor found himself entangled with two female rivals during the invasion. The former Jedi Knight Vergere seemed to be favored by Warmaster Tsavong Lah, while Viqi Shesh - the woman he himself had recruited to the Yuuzhan Vong cause - was working behind the scenes to assassinate Borsk Fey'lya and become Chief of State of the New Republic. Nom Anor met both challenges head-on, and was dispatched to Coruscant to meet with the Republic Senate and Chief of State Fey'lya. Nom Anor was summarily arrested, thwarting his immediate plans and those of Senator Shesh, but managed to escape unharmed after rendering the entire Senate unconcscious.

 

Upon his return to the Yuuzhan Vong, Nom Anor was again paired with Vergere, this time on the so-called Solo Project. He argued for the project's existence by showing Tsavong Lah that the New Republic - and the Solo family in particular - were destined to win the Galactic Civil so that the Yuuzhan Vong could invade the galaxy. Speaking heretically, Nom Anor explained that the Empire's centralized forces would have crushed the Yuuzhan Vong, so the True Gods altered events to ensure the Alliance own the war. While this appeased the Warmaster, Nom Anor's failure with the Solo Project did not. He was relegated to duty on Coruscant, which had been reformed into a simulacrum of Yuuzhan'tar, locating and eliminating any pockets of resistance.

 

His continued failure to capture Jacen Solo, combined with the loss of Ganner Rhysode and the near-destruction of the World Brain, forced Nom Anor to flee into the depths of the planet to escape execution. There, he met up with a group of Shamed Ones who had begun to revere the Jedi Knights. Their heretical beliefs gave Nom Anor the idea of turning them in to Overlord Shimrra, as part of a plan to regain his stature. When the band of Shamed Ones was routed by Yuuzhan Vong warriors, Nom Anor was again forced to flee deeper into the planet, relying on Shoon-Mi and Kunra to survive. However, his plans were not in shambles, and he continued to gain power as Yu'shaa, the Prophet who would lead the Shamed Ones to freedom. He gathered the Shamed Ones and used their religious fervor to build his own base of power, from which he hoped to strike back at Shimrra for abandoning him. He thought his plans had come to fruition when the living planet Zonama Sekot was located, as he believed that the destruction of the planet - which was a source of fear to Shimrra - would return him to the Supreme Overlord's good graces.

 

After arranging to reach the planet with Nen Yim and Harrar, along with the Jedi Knights Tahiri Veila and Corran Horn, Nom Anor found the rumors of the living planet to be true. He set his plans in motion, hoping to overload the planetary hyperdrive and destroy the planet. He was forced to kill Nen Yim, who had discovered his true identity, only to be revealed later by Tahiri. Nevertheless, Nom Anor managed to escape Zonama Sekot and return to Coruscant, where he was restored to a position of power by Shimrra himself. Nom Anor was named the Prefect of Yuuzhan'tar, much to the dismay of High Prefect Drathul. Drathul decided that Nom Anor should be the individual to put a stop to the heretical cult of the Prophet Yu'shaa, a move that Nom Anor believed would earn him even more power. He was unprepared for Kunra's own plans, however, when the Shamed One twisted his warnings into bold proclamations to the Shamed Ones. Kunra thus forced Nom Anor to lead the masses, rather than abandon them. However, the weight of serving two masters began to force Nom Anor into a corner. When Shimrra finally ordered the World Brain on Coruscant to literally destroy the planet, making it useless to either side of the battle, Nom Anor did the only thing he could to save his planet. He shed his Prefect's cloak and took up arms with the Shamed Ones, fighting against the establishment of Shimrra.

 

Once again, his actions were merely executed to save his own skin, and Nom Anor hoped to escape in the midst of the fighting between Shamed Ones and warriors. He was tracked in his escape by none other than Mara Jade Skywalker, who was part of an infiltration team dispatched to capture Shimrra. Mara's combat skills, both with a Lightsaber and barehanded, were no match for Nom Anor, who was already breathless and tired from trying to escape the battle. She forced him to surrender, at which point he told her about Shimrra's plans to use the Alpha Red virus against Zonama Sekot. He then agreed to take the Jedi and the Solos to Shimrra's Citadel, in the hopes of locating Luke Skywalker and Jaina and Jacen Solo. Along the way, Nom Anor continued to look for a way to turn the situation to his own needs, but the deaths of Shimrra and Onimi left him with only two options: rejoining Nas Choka or joining the Galactic Alliance. Neither prospect gave him the kind of power he wanted, however. As he led the Jedi to Shimrra's escape pod, even his attempt to force them into the waste disposal system went awry. Jacen recognized the ruse, and confronted Nom Anor. In a last-ditch effort, Nom Anor used his plaeryin bol to squirt poison at Jacen. The young Jedi, however, simply restructured the poison into nothing more than water. Left with no alternative, Nom Anor chose to die when the escape craft crashed back into the surface of Coruscant.

 

His alter ego

 

Yu'shaa

 

This was the name adopted by Nom Anor after he survived a Yuuzhan Vong attack on a Shamed One enclave on Coruscant, after the alien invaders transformed the planet into a simulacrum of Yuuzhan'tar. The name, which translated into the Basic language as "The Prophet", was meant to indicate that Nom Anor had decided to become the living vessel for carrying The Message to the rest of the Shamed Ones. He began gathering legions of Shamed Ones to his cause, furthering The Message of the Jedi while building a base of power from which he could strike back at Supreme Overlord Shimrra and the rest of the Yuuzhan Vong who had turned their backs on him. As Yu'shaa, Nom Anor wore a hideous mask that represented Shimrra and the Yuuzhan Vong gods. He wore the mask at the beginning of his speeches, but soon removed it to reveal his own visage. Of course, his own face was covered with an ooglith masquer, but Yu'shaa's removal of the mask symbolized the throwing off of the old ways and the old gods.

 

Among the heretical beliefs proposed by Yu'shaa was the theory that the Force was actually the soul of Yun-Yuuzhan, cast into the universe when Yun-Yuuzhan created it. His ruse was revealed on the planet Zonama Sekot, after Tahiri told Harrar and Corran Horn that it had been Nom Anor who killed Nen Yim. When Nom Anor returned to Shimrra on Coruscant and was escalated to Prefect of Yuuzhan'tar, the Shamed Ones did not falter in their belief of Yu'shaa. Instead, they made the Prophet a martyr, killed at the hands of Shimrra himself for his pursuit of the living planet Zonama Sekot. Much to the relief of the believers, Yu'shaa reappeared, and warned them that their plans to disrupt Shimrra's grand ceremony had been discovered. Kunra, however, was not about to let Nom Anor put a stop to the plans of the Shamed Ones. He twisted the warnings to incite the masses, forcing Yu'shaa to lead his people into battle.

 

Nom Anor found himself caught between two masters, but his quest for power was smashed when Shimrra ordered the World Brain of Coruscant to destroy the planet, rather than have it fall into the hands of the Galactic Alliance. Angry that Shimrra had cast him aside; Nom Anor shed his Prefect's robes and took up the cloak of a Shamed One. He led the Shamed Ones into battle as Yu'shaa, demanding that the Yuuzhan Vong warriors be slaughtered.

 

Their gods

 

Yun-Harla

 

This Yuuzhan Vong deity was known as the Cloaked Goddess, or the Trickster. She was often prayed to in tandem with Yun-Yammka, in order for the warrior to have guidance as well as strength in his battle. Yun-Harla was never visible to her servants, and was never actually portrayed in Yuuzhan Vong writings or pictures. It was believed that her body was formed from borrowed parts, and was covered with borrowed skin. Some Yuuzhan Vong even believed that Yun-Harla's eyes were villips, while others believed them to be the actual eyes of Yun-Yuuzhan, which were discarded when the Creator ascended to a higher plane of existence. Her clothing, whenever she wore it, was designed to confuse and deceive those who saw her. Thus, only her spirit actually made contact with those Yuuzhan Vong who worshipped her.

 

Shortly after the Battle of Coruscant, Jaina Solo stole the frigate Ksstarr and renamed it the Trickster, as a goad to the Yuuzhan Vong priest Harrar. However, this moniker eventually became something more, as Jaina discovered how to fool Yuuzhan Vong sensors into believing that another ship was actually the Trickster. Among the subordinate Yuuzhan Vong who served Harrar, there was a growing belief that Jaina Solo was actually Yun-Harla made incarnate. This belief was based on the relationship between Yun-Harla and Yun-Yammka, which greatly resembled the relationship between Jaina and her twin brother, Jacen. At the end of the war, the Shamed One Onimi revealed to Jaina that he had come to believe she was actually Yun-Harla, since he alone of the Yuuzhan Vong could see her through the Force.

 

Yun-Yammka

 

This deity was the Yuuzhan Vong god of war and carnage. Known as The Slayer, Yun-Yammka resembled a large brain with a single eye and a puckered mouth. An array of tentacles emerged from around its body. Every Yuuzhan Vong warrior kept a statue of Yun-Yammka among his possessions, and prayed to Yun-Yammka for strength in battle.

 

After the Battle of Coruscant, the Yuuzhan Vong planned to retake Borleias and turn the entire planet into a shrine for the priests of Yun-Yammka, as much to appease the priests as to discredit Domain Kraal. Yun-Yammka was often associated with the Trickster goddess, Yun-Harla. Because of this, many Yuuzhan Vong began to associate Yun-Yammka with Jacen Solo, especially after his twin sister, Jaina, adopted the guise of Yun-Harla. At the end of the war, the Shamed One Onimi revealed to Jaina that he had come to believe her uncle, Luke Skywalker, was actually Yun-Yammka, since he alone of the Yuuzhan Vong could see her through the Force. Harrar later revealed that, in fact, there was no original god named Yun-Yammka. This deity was created by the priest caste after the ur-Yuuzhan Vong were severed from the Force and took up their warring ways.

 

Yun-Txiin

 

This Yuuzhan Vong deity was known as one of the Lovers, along with Yun-Q'aah. Together, these two sibling deities protected those Yuuzhan Vong who discovered the emotion and passion of love, although they forbade relationships between castes. Worshippers of Yun-Q'aah and Yun-Txiin were part of a religious movement known as the Undying Flame.

 

Yun-Q'aah

 

This Yuuzhan Vong deity was known as one of the Lovers, along with Yun-Txiin. Together, these two sibling deities protected those Yuuzhan Vong who discovered the emotion and passion of love, although they forbade relationships between castes. Worshippers of Yun-Q'aah and Yun-Txiin were part of a religious movement known as the Undying Flame.

 

Yun-Shuno

 

This was the most grotesque of the Yuuzhan Vong gods. Also known as the Pardoner, Yun-Shuno was the patron deity of the Shamed Ones, those Yuuzhan Vong whose bodies refused to accept implants of surge-coral and implanters during the ritual of Escalation. Among the more escalated castes, Yun-Shuno was referred to as the "many-eyed mother of snivelers." At the end of the war, the Shamed One Onimi revealed to Jaina Solo that he had come to believe her brother, Jacen, was actually Yun-Shuno, since he alone of the Yuuzhan Vong could see her through the Force.

 

Yun-Ne'Shel

 

This hermaphroditic Yuuzhan Vong deity was worshipped by the Shapers, and represented life itself. Yun-Ne'Shel was believed to have created all forms of life with the tools and materials presented to her by Yun-Yuuzhan. She was considered among the rest of the Yuuzhan Vong gods as something of an idealistic fool, having preached about a peaceful galaxy where all life existed equally. Her dreams of an ideal galaxy were shattered by Yun-Harla and Yun-Yammka, the twin gods who shaped the Yuuzhan Vong civilization the most. Shapers worshipped Yun-Ne'Shel, who was known as She-Who-Shapes or The Modeler, in an organic grotto which was similar in form to a yammosk, and was created to enhance the mental abilities of any who entered it.

 

Within the body of the grotto were nodules of flesh which were essentially mouths, filled with eight knife-like teeth, Each Shaper Adept was required to enter the chamber and meditate before placing a hand into the nodule's mouth. The teeth then closed over the wrist and bit through flesh and bone. Once the teeth clamped down, the nodule flexed and twisted ninety degrees, neatly severing the hand. The Adept was then fitted with a new hand, which was grown to provide the Shaper with the tools they used in their work. At the end of the war, the Shamed One Onimi revealed to Jaina Solo that he had come to believe that Tahiri Veila was actually Yun-Ne'Shel, since he alone of the Yuuzhan Vong could see her through the Force.

 

Yun-Yuuzhan

 

This was the greatest of the deities worshipped by the Yuuzhan Vong. Yun-Yuuzhan was known as the Cosmic Lord or the Creator. Yun-Yuuzhan was considered the beginning of all that existed, and it was Yun-Yuuzhan who took parts of his own body to form the other gods as well as the Yuuzhan Vong themselves. Thus, statues of Yun-Yuuzhan often appeared incomplete, representing his own sacrifices. After the Yuuzhan Vong reformed the planet Coruscant into a representation of Yuuzhan'tar, an underground group of Shamed Ones began to spread The Message of the Jedi Knights.

 

Nom Anor, cast out of his role as Executor because of his treachery, rallied the Shamed Ones while posing as the prophet Yu'shaa. Part of his heretical beliefs involved the true nature of the Force, and Yu'shaa theorized that the Force was actually the remnant of Yun-Yuuzhan's soul, after Yun-Yuuzhan gave birth to the universe. This theory, when repeated by countless Shamed Ones, evolved over time to state that the Force was actually the linger exhalations of Yun-Yuuzhan, instilling power in the Jedi Knights and linking the two civilizations together.

 

Their ships

 

Worldship

 

A bio-engineered form of capital ship, the Yuuzhan Vong worldship was created from a community of yorik coral. Known to the Yuuzhan Vong as a Koros-Strohna, these ten-kilometer-wide ships were living creatures designed to cross vast distances of space. Each was propelled by a collection of dovin basals, which could lock onto a nearby gravity source and use it to "pull" the worldship toward it at incredible speeds. A series of bio-engineered, membranous creatures were attached to the worldship, and could be extended whenever there was no strong gravitational field for the dovin basals to lock onto. The membranous creatures allowed the worldship to be pushed by the interstellar winds.

 

Each worldship carries a compliment of coralskippers for added protection, and several were used to keep the membrane creatures extended. Because the worldship was a self-contained living environment, many Yuuzhan Vong inside began to go mad from the confinement. To ease this situation, special drugs were released into the atmosphere inside the worldship, to calm the Yuuzhan Vong population. Once the worldship was ready for landing, a huge, tubular worm was extended from the craft into the surface of the landing area, allowing the Yuuzhan Vong to establish a planet-side base and maintain contact with the worldship. Like all living creatures, worldships had to be regularly fed and nourished in order to maintain their systems, a chore which was carried out by the Shapers of the Yuuzhan Vong.

 

However, also like living creatures, these huge ships eventually aged and died. Many of the worldships used by the Yuuzhan Vong to cross the intergalactic gulf were quite old by the time they reached the New Republic, having traveled through the intergalactic gulf for many generations, and many began to die shortly after the invasion began.

 

Kor Chokk Grand Cruiser

 

This was the name used to describe the "grand cruisers" of the Yuuzhan Vong. These ships, like other Yuuzhan Vong starships, were literally grown from yorik coral, and had a form of sentience which allowed them to survive. Measuring an average of 8,180 meters in length, the Kor Chokk was first formed as a small cruiser, which was then placed into service by the Yuuzhan Vong. As an individual Kor Chokk gained more experience in battle, more and more smaller ships were grafted to it, allowed the Kor Chokk to grow into a huge monstrosity which was more space station that actual cruiser.

 

Each Kor Chokk could transport up to 216 coralskippers, as well as 30 yorik-trema landing craft. Armed with 120 plasma projectors and huge dovin basal, a Kor Chokk cruiser could also generate a huge interdiction field, similar to the Interdictor-class cruisers developed by the Empire. Each of these ships required a crew of 2,140 Yuuzhan Vong warriors, and could transport up to 4,640 passengers and 26,880 metric tons of cargo.

 

Yorik-vec

 

This was the primary Yuuzhan Vong assault cruiser, filling the gap between the coralskippers and the corvettes of their unusual fleet. These ships were dedicated warships, used for space combat more than transporting troops to battle arenas. On average, the Yorik-vec cruiser measured thirty meters in length, and required a crew of two pilots and three gunners to operate. The ship also had the capacity to handle eight additional passengers and up to 100 metric tons of materiel. The Yorik-vec cruiser was armed with a turret-mounted quad volcanic cannon, as well as four twin volcanic cannons.

 

A-vek Iiluunu Fighter Carrier

 

This 800-meter-long Yuuzhan Vong warship was similar in appearance to a flat, ovoid stone. A collection of branch-like appendages studded the exterior surface of the A-vek Iiluunu, each of which could hold up 144 coralskippers. The mission profile of this ship was to deposit its complement of coralskippers into a battle zone and then retreat to the fringes, where it awaited the end of the fighting. Coralskippers could return to the A-vek Iiluunu to be rejuvenated at any time. Each of these carriers required a crew of 320 to operate, and could accommodate up to 480 pilots and 280 metric tons of cargo. Twenty plasma projectors and several dovin basals gave the A-vek Iiluunu adequate protection.

 

Coralskipper

 

This form of Yuuzhan Vong starfighter was created from yorik coral in much the same way as a worldship, only on a much smaller scale. They performed a number of missions, including fighter cover for the worldships as well as maintaining the placement of the membranous organic sails used to propel them. Measuring about thirteen meters in length, on average, the coralskippers were armed with volcano missiles, which it seemed to spit out of its hull. Individual coralskippers could refuel and rearm themselves by "eating" rocks.

 

The pilots of coralskippers were linked directly to their craft by another form of ooglith cloaker, one engineered to resist vacuum and provide life support to the pilot. Individual coralskippers were originally created to act on the instructions of a yammosk, which could coordinate the attack patterns of a multitude of ships while monitorin the ebb and flow of a battle. However, when the New Republic began destroying yammosks as the first course of action in an engagement with the Yuuzhan Vong, coralskippers were gradually given over to living pilots. In this manner, a pilot could fly in concert with a yammosk controller, or independently if needed, allowing the Yuuzhan Vong to remain active in a firefight for longer periods of time.

 

Seedship

 

This was the term used to describe a Yuuzhan Vong ship dedicated to carrying biological material to a new planet. Once at the planet, the seedship disgorged its cargo, initiating the terraformation of the planet into a world better suited to the Yuuzhan Vong physiology. After the Battle of Coruscant, the Yuuzhan Vong used a highly specialized seedship to transport several immature dhuryams to the planet. The interior of the seedship was reconfigured to allow the dhuryams to compete with each other in the management of their environment.

 

Once a dhuryam had defeated its brethren, it was allowed to take control of the seedship. It then began breaking the seedship up into a huge number of smaller seedships, which carried biological samples to all parts of the planet to be seeded. This gave the dhuryam a link to all the other seedships, allowing it to coordinate the dispersal of biological materials to specific locations, thereby ensuring a complete ecosystem would be formed on the planet.

 

Vua'spar Interdictor

 

This Yuuzhan Vong interdictor ship was developed after the invasion of the New Republic galaxy had begun. Resembling two huge cones connected at their bases, the 908-meter-long Vua'spar interdictor was equipped with three enormous dovin basals for generating a gravity well that could drag ships out of hyperspace. The strength of this gravity well also had one other affect: it caused sever disruption to the brain-wave patterns of most sentient beings, rendering them unconscious for several minutes after their ship reverted to real space. These interdiction capabilities, coupled with several yorik coral arms that housed a full wing of thirty-six coralskippers, made the Vua'spar a deadly addition to the Yuuzhan Vong fleet.

 

The Vua'spar was crewed by 638 warriors, and could transport up to 1,144 troops and 17,450 metric tons of cargo. It was armed with twenty plasma projectors and a forward-mounted heavy plasma projector, and it was protected by a collection of smaller dovin basals. These ships first appeared after the Yuuzhan Vong subjugated planets such as Duro and Fondor, after the New Republic began putting up increasing resistance to the invasion plans of the Yuuzhan Vong.

 

Slaveship

 

This was the term used by the New Republic to describe the immense, spherical ships used by the Yuuzhan Vong to acquire living beings from a conquered planet. The main body of the slaveship was protected by dense yorik coral, and was studded with dovin basals for protection. The slaveship was unarmed otherwise, and required a coralskipper escort when it was called for. After the Yuuzhan Vong had taken control of a planet, they brought in the slaveship to collect their prize - the living inhabitants. Five thick tentacles hung from the stern of the slaveship, and were lowered to the planet's surface. The muscular tentacles, then, literally sucked up any captured beings, ingesting them in such a way that very few were killed.

 

Once inside the slaveship, captives were bound to the inner walls with a modified form of blorash jelly, where they were fed just enough to keep them alive until they could be processed by the Yuuzhan Vong.

 

 

I hope you all enjoyed this edition of 60 Standard Minutes; it was great fun for me. I would also like to note that I can no longer continue my nightly editions of 60 Standard Minutes with school starting and all. Therefore I am going to try and do them every other night. I hope you look forward to #9 when I investigate the Rebel Alliance leaders.

Edited August 5, 2004 by Admiral_Antilles

[Trejiuvanat]

Cool! Great job! And it's about the Vong! Though I think you missed to add me to your Vong research list.

 

I'll update the encyclopedia entries!

[Guest Admiral_Antilles]

Glad you enjoyed it my friend. I thank you for doing those entries by the way.

[ADarkJedi44]

Great edition! Especially about the Vong. Keep up the great work!

[mawshiye]

That's a lot of info there Antilles Great job!!!!!!

[Guest Admiral_Antilles]

Thanks fellas, for the kind words.

[Mad78]

Well done keep it up!

[Krytos]

Argh !!! I'd love to read this Antilliles, though I still havn't read UF, so I don't want any spoilers about the Vong (Damn Broders, the say the books "unavailable" !).

 

Though, guessing from the rest of your work, I'd say it would be a great read - so I'll book mark this page, and once I read UF, I'll get to read this

[Mad78]

BTW AA I must ask for darky's sake... When are you goignt o make an edition about the swr members?

 

And must also admit that I didn't read this edition entirely for fear of spoilers

[Guest Admiral_Antilles]

Well, I have some surprises still up my sleeve, Mad. I promise I will do an SWR edition, but it will not be done for awhile.

[ADarkJedi44]

You do them quite quickly, so I don't think we'll have to wait too long.

[Mad78]

I jus can't wait. And what is the next one going to be on.

 

 

And BTW I have updated the Spam Corps site.

[Guest Admiral_Antilles]

Well, as I stated at the end of my post, it will be on the leaders of the Rebel Alliance.

[Mad78]

Oops didn't notice it.

[Jahled]

Like a complete ignorant fool i've only just picked up on these threads double AA; outstanding stuff! And I mean that! a big fluffed-out woo * is without doubt in order! This also; though you might realize I spent my earliest years being brought up by the family hampster

 

*Brian was that fat Gungan Boss in Episode One btw. We love him to bits over here.

[bobandrubert]

Argh !!! I'd love to read this Antilliles, though I still havn't read UF, so I don't want any spoilers about the Vong (Damn Broders, the say the books "unavailable" !).

 

Though, guessing from the rest of your work, I'd say it would be a great read - so I'll book mark this page, and once I read UF, I'll get to read this

 

Last time Borders said it didn't have a book I looked around and found it.

 

AWSOME INFO I now know whey they can not be seen in the force.

[bobandrubert]

What is the point of putting up terible in poll? If they do it they are ethir joking or crazy.

[Mad78]

I must admit it is true. Everyone agrees that each edition of 60 minutes is fantastic so why bother with a poll which has always the same answer?

[Guest Admiral_Antilles]

Well I always like to give my readers a freedom of choice. If they entirely disagreed or disliked a certain edition, I want them to click 'terrible' and then point out why, so I may make corrections for that edition or note it for future editions.

[Mad78]

You must understand this will surely never happen.