Supreme Commander Rupaak Kag, not of the Praetorate Vong, Warrior of the Yuuzhan Vong, devotee of Yun Harla, snorted in amusement. He was not the first to see action in this infidel galaxy, not even counting Nom Anor and his scouts, for if the invasion timetable was proceeding according to plan, then the yammosk secreted at the ice world called Helska should have already sent forces outwards towards the next planets in line. Still, given his mission parameters, he hadn't exactly meant to face action quite so soon, but the inopportune presence of the infidel starship at his flotilla's division point forced his head.

Again he snorted. Though devoted to the Trickster Goddess, he never fell into the trap of trusting her, for she saved her most devious tricks for those in her service. And the sense of humor of Yun Harla was keen, twisted, perverse, and ever utterly inscrutable. As their chance encounter made absolutely clear.

Rupaak Kag was something of an anomaly for a Yuuzhan Vong warrior. He did not favor the frontal assault, the yelling of war cries and the chase for personal honor and glory, unless such a tactic was useful towards completing the mission. And while such tactics often were advisable, he did not disdain the backstab, the ambush, the flanking maneuver and the rear assault. Nor was he afraid of withdrawing to return and fight another day. Such trickery earned disdain and mockery from many in the Warrior Caste... and a devoted clique of like-minded followers.

That clique – and a sizable contingent of traditionalists who regarded their assignment to him as a personal insult and wished heartily to find some action worthy of their exalted honor and skill – had accompanied him on his current mission. They were ordered to stage attacks upon New Republic worlds and supply lines well in advance of the invasion, and thus force the military to redeploy in a defensive fashion, with a little here and a little there, trying to cover everything and thus covering nothing well.

Little enough martial honor to be had in such an endeavor, but Kag had seen value in the task.

Then, of course, Yun Harla had decided to have a merry laugh at his expense and placed that accursed infidel starship right in his path. The Goddess of Deception (Bless and curse her both, he thought with worshipful exasperation) had chosen, in her mirth, to compound the problem for him by allowing his flagship to get a very accurate vector trace, and to place a tracking tag, on the starship. Naturally, the escape of the enemy just Would Not Do for the traditionalists, and so Rupaak Kag had elected to pursue the retreating vessel.

And, he had to be honest with himself, it hadn't taken much to persuade him. Devotee of the Trickster or no, he was still Yuuzhan Vong, and the showing of quarter, or allowing the enemy to escape, was a sour taste upon his tongue. He set two thirds of his fleet our upon their mission, and then he took his flagship (the Matalok command cruiser Erounalok) and three other ships (an A-vek Iiluunu carrier, the Vahong; and two Uro-ik v'alh battleships, the Fra'lat and Drn'ta-Ur), the three which carried the majority of his traditionalist contingent, and gave pursuit.

And ah, how fruitful that pursuit was. He pushed aside his own amusement.

"Tactician," the heavily scared warrior growled, "where are we?"

"My lord, this is the Xenen system, if we read the stars right," the Tactician replied. "It is known to us from the Intendant scouts."

"Is it, now," Kag mused. "What do we know about it, then?"

"It is the citadel of an elite military unit known as the Aurora Force. Their warriors are said to be skilled and puissant, my lord."

"That should please the warriors," Kag said with real amusement. "It seems that we have brought them to a proper fight."

"Yes, my lord."

"Current disposition of this... Aurora Force?"

The words felt strange in his mouth.

"Currently they have several ships in orbit around the planet; the yammosk is still working to identify them. No forward pickets to speak of, aside from a single ship some thirty degrees bearing to starboard. From the activity I can assume that they have detected us and are moving to intercept. Also – interesting."

"Go ahead, Tactician," Kag said after the younger warrior had stopped.

"My lord, it seems that one of the scouts had an encounter with this Aurora Force many years ago."

"What!?"

"He suicided before capture, destroying himself in one of their shuttles," the tactician said with a snarl of distaste. To die in one of the infidel vessels was... not a pleasant concept. "The Aurora Force and the local Imperial forces each dealt with true abominations."

"So does much of this galaxy, Tactician."

"Yes, but these involved the placing of living souls into... mechanical devices."

They both grimaced.

"There were only two of them; the scout ensured that one killed the other, and then he killed the survivor, and was himself killed making his escape from their flagship."

"He did well, Tactician," Kap rumbled, then shifted back to the present. "But we must not focus on such things, save to inspire us to do just as well. Do the infidel ships still advance towards us?"

"Yes, Supreme Commander."

"Good," he said with a very Yuuzhan Vong expression. The lust of battle came even unto Rupaak Kag; he just preferred to be canny when he could get away with it. "Signal the Fra'lat and Drn'ta-Ur to cover the Vahong, and then prepare to launch all coralskippers. Let us at least give these abomination-lovers a taste of the Gods' judgment."