Deadpool and Onimi
Chapter 1
40 ABY: Zonama Sekot
"I feel it, Jorielle," Harrar said excitedly as he spread out his arms at the tampasi around him. "I can fully feel the life around me. I can feel the Force."
"That is very good to hear, Harrar," Jorielle said. Now a ten year-old, it seemed ridiculous for her to be training someone who must have been more than ten times her age (at any rate, considering that the Yuuzhan Vong's average life span was three times that of the regular human). But Jorielle always had the Force, while the Yuuzhan Vong around her, gathered in an audience within the tampasi, had only begun to feel faint emanations of it. "Now, may you demonstrate how well attuned you are to the Force?"
Harrar was one of the first Yuuzhan Vong to arrive on Zonama Sekot, being that he had first come here in the company of Jedi Knights Corran Horn and Tahiri Veila, as well as fellow Yuuzhan Vong, Nom Anor (who was then disguised as the Shamed prophet Yu'shaa) and Nen Yim, a Yuuzhan Vong that Nom Anor himself put to death more than a decade ago. It was fitting for Nom Anor, who was amongst the crowd, to be here today, as he would undoubtedly be the last Yuuzhan Vong to achieve a connection to the Force–assuming he wasn't killed by any of the Vong who still held their species' previous society close to their hearts. He had done well surviving what attempts on his life came about, and even Jorielle had been surprised by his luck. She wondered if he always had this kind of luck, where, in spite of the danger he was in, he could still survive it all.
"I can," Harrar responded to Jorielle's previous query. He then turned and he made a motion with his hand out toward the mixed Yuuzhan Vong crowd, which was mingled of those who were of the former elite castes and the Extolled. Those within the area of the crowd that Harrar was directing his hand to parted and turned around, watching in disbelief as they saw a rock rise.
All eyes returned to Harrar instantly as he began setting the rock down. Jorielle, being the only human among them, was also the only one to have a look of pride on her face for Harrar rather than fascination, as if she knew he could do it–because she did know he could do it.
"You have all seen what Harrar has done!" Jorielle called out to the crowd gathered around her and the former priest. "For all you skeptics and dissenters who believed that your presence here was all for naught, that you would never reconnect to the Force and you were mistaken to turn your backs on your gods and mingle with 'Shamed Ones'–pardon me for all of you who are Extolled–this is the evidence you need to think otherwise! Your struggles will lead you to salvation, and if you continue down that path, you will all join the Force before any of you reach the end of your lives."
"Who are you to speak to us as if we were children like yourself, Jeedai brat!" a Yuuzhan Vong, a former warrior, called out. "You are not even old enough to produce children of your own! And what we just saw came from your own sacrilegious Force magic, not from anything that Harrar himself brought about!"
"You are to silence before the future Magister of Zonama Sekot!" one of the Extolled exclaimed at that dissenting Vong. "Lest you wish to forever be lost in the nothingness that is your futile belief in the gods!"
From there, eruptions of arguments among the Yuuzhan Vong–those of the former elite castes and the Extolled–had ensued. Very few among both sides, including Harrar, Nom Anor, former Warmaster Nas Choka, and perhaps a few others among the crowd remained silent, waiting for these arguments to come to their end.
Considering what her parents had told her about what their society had been before Zonama Sekot rescued them from the crushing reign of Shimrra–really Onimi, as he was Shimrra's puppet master–Jorielle knew that in a crowd of Yuuzhan Vong like this, things would get physically violent soon. For her age, she was strong and wise in the Force, but obviously, she still had much to learn herself, though she was a Jedi Master compared to any of the Yuuzhan Vong among her, even Harrar. Regardless, there was no way she herself could stop this escalating conflict. The only thing she could take solace from in this situation was that at least this was a relatively small gathering of Yuuzhan Vong compared to the rest of Zonama's population of the species.
But before any of the arguing Yuuzhan Vong could lay a hand on each other, a loud voice exclaimed, "Silence!"
Without another word, all of the Yuuzhan Vong shut up and turned to the direction of Jorielle's mother, who was under the trance of Sekot.
"You have all seen what Harrar has done this day?" Sekot asked them all through Danni Quee's mouth.
They all nodded their heads, especially the Vong who had questioned if it was Jorielle who had lifted up the rock rather than the former priest.
"Good," Sekot replied. "Then you are to return to your villages and grashals, and contemplate what this will mean for all of you, whether you wish to join the Force..." Sekot trailed off as her eyes laid upon the Vong who started the eruption of arguments. "Or not. And if you do not take the time out of your day for any such contemplation, then at best, your re-connection to the Force will be hindered by time. At worst, you will not see any kind of afterlife that had been promised by your faux religion under Shimrra's rule, and which is definitely promised by the Force. You may all go now."
All of the Yuuzhan Vong began to depart.
"Nom Anor," Sekot called out to the former Prefect of Yuuzhan'tar, stopping him dead in his tracks. "Do you mind having a word with me?"
Nom Anor hesitantly turned around, attracting the attention of nearby Yuuzhan Vong, both Extolled and non-Extolled alike. Those particularly interested were Harrar, Nas Choka, former High Priest Jakan, and former Master Shaper Qelah Kwaad. Jorielle, noticing this unwanted attention, began moving around the interested observers, reinforcing Sekot's words, and they reluctantly continued to leave.
"What is it that you wish to speak to me about?" Nom Anor asked when he was face-to-face with Danni.
"You have been here for over a year now," Sekot said. "And yet, you have not told anyone about who had really led your people into the damnation they nearly faced by the end of the war more than ten years ago."
"With all due respect," Nom Anor said, his tone implicating that he had no real respect to give out to the consciousness of the living planet whose surface he walked on, "I feel that there is no need to tell any of my people that it was really Onimi rather than Shimrra who almost led us into ruin. After all, I have enough to contend with against those who still revere the old ways, and telling any of them would be either pointless, or would simply enhance the degree of the attempts upon my life. It is useless knowledge for my people either way, and I am not sure if any of them would believe in my claims; at that, those of the former elite who would believe I'm lying, assuming that any of my people do believe me, would most likely heighten their efforts to kill me."
Nom Anor paused before asking, "In fact, why haven't you told any of my people yourself?"
"As you said, it is pointless," Sekot answered. "I was merely curious as to why you yourself didn't tell any of your people about who was the true Supreme Overlord of the fallen Yuuzhan Vong Empire."
Nom Anor was silent for a moment. When he saw that Sekot had nothing more to say, he asked, "May I go now?"
"Certainly," Danni's head nodded by Sekot's voice. "But do not forget my order of contemplation."
"I certainly won't." At that, Nom Anor turned and walked off into the tampasi to return to his assigned village and grashal. Sekot knew that Nom Anor didn't ask how she knew because he was only partially aware of Jacen Solo's then-lost marriage with Danni Quee, as he had witnessed Jacen himself try to get through to Danni when Nom Anor was first brought here. The former Executor was smart enough to connect the dots and determine that Jacen must have told Danni about his experience in experiencing oneness with the Force and killing Onimi, thereby ending the Yuuzhan Vong War.
~o~
After Nom Anor returned to his grashal, always wary of any Yuuzhan Vong unexpectedly attacking him in the village he stayed, he went to his room so that he could fulfill Sekot's demand of contemplation; when living on a sentient planet, it was best to heed its demands.
But as soon as he entered his sleeping quarters, a former warrior was standing there, and without wasting a second, that ex-warrior dragged Nom Anor in by the shoulders and threw him against his cot. Nom Anor then found that a second ex-warrior was standing over him, and he punched Nom Anor straight in his nose. The ex-warrior at the door then rushed over to the unoccupied side of Nom Anor's bed and the two warriors pinned him there by his shoulders.
As Nom Anor struggled, a voice from off to the side said, "Enough struggling, Nom Anor. While you certainly aren't the most trustworthy individual among the Yuuzhan Vong, can I take your word that if we let you go, you won't try to kill us?"
Nom Anor looked and saw Nas Choka standing there. "Choka! What is the meaning of this?"
"Are you going to stop struggling?" Choka asked.
Wordlessly, Nom Anor complied and nodded. Then, at Choka's nod, the two ex-warriors unpinned the former Prefect of Yuuzhan'tar, who sat up in his bed. "Now, Choka, what are you and these two warriors doing in here? If you wanted to kill me, you would've done so already."
"Very observant, a trait you obviously haven't lost since the war," Choka said. "Yes, my men and I are not here to kill you. Instead, what I want to know is what Sekot discussed with you today."
"Why do you want to know?" Nom Anor asked.
"When the consciousness of this planet would take a few moments out of its existence for a despicable individual like yourself, it becomes something of interest to me and a few others, like my men here," Choka answered.
"How flattering you think that of me, Choka," Nom Anor retorted.
"Now tell me," Choka said. "What is that Sekot discussed with you?"
"Trust me, Choka, you really do not want to know," Nom Anor said.
"Oh, but I do," Choka replied. "And I know how much of a coward you are. I always knew even before the invasion began, and it always bewildered me why Shimrra wanted you in his court, especially after the disaster at Ebaq 9. So you either tell us, or you die. Which is it?"
Both ex-warriors looked poised to pounce on Nom Anor and beat him to death at Choka's behest. Nom Anor himself nervously saw this, and acquiesced. "Very well, if you want to know so badly," he said. "But truth be told–"
"For once," Choka said sardonically.
"Truth be told," Nom Anor picked up, "you wouldn't believe me."
"Well, that's a first," Choka said.
Nom Anor took a couple of a seconds for himself before he said, "Onimi was really the Supreme Overlord of our race."
There was a moment of silence in the room. The two ex-warriors looked at each other and at Nom Anor in confusion. Choka's expression was blank.
"Onimi," Choka said finally. "Shimrra's familiar?"
Nom Anor nodded.
"That irritating Shamed One?" Choka exclaimed.
At that, both ex-warriors looked down at Nom Anor in anger. They then looked to their leader for permission to beat Nom Anor to death, but he waved them off. "You were right," Choka said. "I don't believe you. And if we were still under the order of Shimrra–or Onimi, as you claim–I would have no hesitation of having my men beat you to a bloody pulp, Nom Anor. But seeing as how we are on a planet endowed with life, and I myself do not directly condone any of the attempts on your life in the past year, I am willing to hear what fable you have for me."
"Onimi was the first of us to achieve the re-connection to the Force," Nom Anor said. "I don't know how he did it, but he did, and it must've given him his deformities. My guess would have something to do with a yammosk, because he controlled Shimrra telepathically since the downfall of Quoreal."
"And how did you come about this, Nom Anor, assuming this isn't another one of your lies, which I strongly believe it is?" Choka asked.
"Because I saw Jacen Solo himself defeat Onimi in combat," Nom Anor said. "I saw Solo achieve oneness with the Force; I saw Onimi's deformities disappear and revert his form back to normal; and then I saw him become nothing more than a stain on the bulkhead of the escape cruiser from the Supreme Overlord's Citadel–Onimi's Citadel, not Shimrra's."
"Indeed, he lies, Warmaster!" the ex-warrior who dragged Nom Anor in exclaimed. "He must die for his insolence!"
Choka raised a hand. "I am no longer the Warmaster, Zhat Lah," he said, then returned to his attention to Nom Anor. "And as tempted as I am to kill you, Nom Anor, I am not hasty in my decisions, unlike the likes of my predecessor as Warmaster." He looked back to Zhat Lah with a reminding look, considering that he was of the same domain as Tsavong Lah, the first Warmaster of the Yuuzhan Vong War. Returning his sight to Nom Anor again, Choka said, "Which is why I am going to see if Sekot herself can corroborate what you say."
"Aren't you worried that Sekot will punish you for breaking and entering into my home?" Nom Anor asked.
"It is a price I am willing to take," Choka said. "I will keep Zhat Lah and Narra Val out of this."
With that, the three Yuuzhan Vong who invaded Nom Anor's grashal left, leaving their former captive laying back in his bed in relief.
But as the thought settled, he realized just how much trouble he was going to be in.