- "The enemy that wiped out Komm Karsh was hardly broken."
- ―Supreme Overlord Shimrra
The Second Battle of Obroa-skai was a battle between the New Republic and the Yuuzhan Vong, occurring in 28 ABY.
Pre-battle[]
New Republic Intelligence Service received information that Supreme Overlord Shimrra was on the move to his new capital of Yuuzhan'tar, the Vongformed Coruscant. Later, agents on the ground at Obroa-skai learned that a large fleet was moving into the system, presumably to view something of importance in the libraries. NRI hastily assumed that it was Shimrra himself, and Jaina Solo came up with a plan to use the captured Ro'ik chuun m'arh frigate Ksstarr, nicknamed Trickster, to attack the Yuuzhan Vong fleet, with a view to killing Shimrra and crippling the Yuuzhan Vong leadership.
Battle[]
When the Yuuzhan Vong fleet arrived in-system, Jaina, aided by Jedi Knights Lowbacca and Tesar Sebatyne, managed to make the Trickster appear damaged. As the Yuuzhan Vong forces slowly moved towards Obroa-skai, trying to contact their "damaged" frigate, a task force of New Republic warships under the command of General Keyan Farlander leapt into the system. From his flagship, the Mon Adapyne, Jedi Madurrin coordinated with the various Jedi leading the starfighter squadrons. Flying in ultra-secret snoop craft, Wraith Squadron deployed a yammosk jammer. Its effect was short-lived, as Yuuzhan Vong forces continued to be coordinated, responding to each move made by the New Republic forces. The New Republic formation began to take a hammering; the Corellian gunship Pulsar was disabled, and the cruiser Far Thunder was damaged nearly beyond repair.
As losses amongst pilots mounted, Jaina realized that the tactic had not failed—there was a second yammosk present. Contacting the Wraiths again, Jaina ordered them to deploy a second jammer. The effect was instant; the initially coordinated Yuuzhan Vong fleet began to show signs of confusion. New Republic forces, long used to imperfect communication, pounced on this disorganization. Rogue Squadron and the Dozen-and-Two Avengers managed to destroy numerous coralskippers, while decoy dovin basals attached to Yuuzhan Vong warships caused them to open fire on one another.
The final act of the battle occurred when a Hapan fleet under the direct command of Queen Mother Tenel Ka jumped into the system, completing the trap. The Hapan warships had been equipped with quick-charge turbolasers, a gift from the New Republic following the disaster at Fondor. The two Hapan Battle Dragons and three Nova-class battle cruisers tore into the Yuuzhan Vong formation, destroying the two large troop transports and laying siege to the massive command cruiser. As the Yuuzhan Vong flagship began to break apart, another frigate was destroyed by New Republic cruisers. The battle turned into a complete rout, with only a single Yuuzhan Vong frigate managing to escape.
Aftermath[]
Faulty intelligence[]
- "Can someone tell me what's going on here?"
- ―Jaina Solo demands an explanation
It was only after the battle that the New Republic fleet learned that Shimrra had not been killed. The flagship of the Yuuzhan Vong forces was Komm Karsh's, a Supreme Commander. Tenel Ka remarked that the victory was still noteworthy, as the rank of the Supreme Commander was second only to that of Warmaster in the Yuuzhan Vong military hierarchy.
Major victory[]
As noted by Tenel Ka, the battle was still more significant than the New Republic had thought—Karsh's fleet was the Yuuzhan Vong's sole extragalactic reserve. From that point forward, the Yuuzhan Vong could expect no further assistance from beyond the limits of the galaxy. Furthermore, the success of the combined New Republic—Hapan foray ensured further cooperation between the two governments, contributing to the later decision of the Hapans to joining the Galactic Alliance. Even so, the battle was not without its losses. The disabled gunship Pulsar was abandoned, and the damaged cruiser Far Thunder was destroyed by a swarm of rogue coralskippers not long after the fighting had concluded.
Behind the scenes[]
The Second Battle of Obroa-skai appears in the 2003 novel The New Jedi Order: Destiny's Way by Walter Jon Williams. In an in-universe document in The Essential Guide to Warfare, published in 2012, the Yuuzhan Vong are erroneously said to have sacrificed a spare worldship to give the New Republic the victory, but Destiny's Way proves this to be false; the forces at Obroa-skai are, in the novel, purported by Supreme Overlord Shimrra to be a vital strategic reserve, one that would leave the Yuuzhan Vong Empire vulnerable if lost.
Appearances[]
- The New Jedi Order: Destiny's Way (First appearance)
- The New Jedi Order: Force Heretic II: Refugee (Mentioned only)
Sources[]
- The Essential Atlas (First identified as Second Battle of Obroa-skai)