Csilla – Chiss Ascendancy

Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano, head of the fifth of eight ruling houses of the Chiss Ascendancy, had difficulty hiding his displeasure at being asked out in the middle of an important Aristocra gathering on Csilla, the capital of the Chiss Empire to rush to the holoprojector.

He was still struggling with this technique from the galaxy's core, perhaps because he rarely used it. It was still a good thing that there were employees who did this work for him and had already activated the caller beforehand. He entered the room as that clerk discreetly exited, and faced the holoimage of the current Head of State of the newly-called Galactic Alliance.

"Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano, I am pleased that you have found the time so quickly, as the matter I am contacting you on is of the utmost urgency."

"I'll be gone soon too, so don't waste any more time with those formal, meaningless sentences, Cal Omas. And that's why from now on you'll call me simply and briefly Aristocra Formbi."

"The Yuuzhan Vong have conquered Corellia and taken possession of the battle station called Centerpoint. The station has been active since the Yuuzhan Vong came to this galaxy, and..."

"I remember," Formbi cut the Head of State off in a bored tone, "and much of your Hapan allies' fleets were destroyed in the process, as were those of the enemy, but rest assured that the Chiss Ascendance did not take credit for such waste of Chiss and ships involved. All the rest of the Aristocras will surely agree, for the Chiss Ascendance will not make preemptive attacks on other powers, nor will we join their war with the Yuuzhan Vong. The Chiss have always been, and always will be, limited to themselves and their sphere of influence. And what makes you think that the Yuuzhan Vong don't simply destroy Centerpoint as a technical work of the devil, as is known from these people?"

"Because their new Warmaster, Nas Choka, is not like their former one, Tsavong Lah. And Nom Anor, their emissary, has announced that soon that battle station will destroy the planet Zonama Sekot. Most of our Jedi are there right now."

Formbi's red eyes narrowed. "So your concern is that we should rescue your Jedi?"

"Our Jedi have flown to Zonama Sekot themselves, and they will of course be able to save themselves from there, but I also want to mention, that there are also Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade among them - two Jedi who came to your aid during the Trouble with the Vagaari. And they did much more than just stood by your side."

"All right," Formbi said formally. "I will send an escort ship to ensure that the Jedi evacuation of Zonama Sekot is not compromised by the Yuuzhan Vong, if that world is really that close to us."

"Zonama Sekot moved out of the Tingel Arm a few decades ago and has since been a moon of the planet Mobus," Cal Omas went a step further.

"Mobus," Formbi repeated with a bland expression.

Cal Omas' voice dropped very low. "Mobus is in quadrant M18 - near the Chiss Ascendance."

Formbis expression froze. "Just a moment please."

The already elderly Chiss left the room, took his datapad and searched for the mentioned world - Mobus was indeed almost on the border of the Chiss Ascendancy; and no power that has yet claimed possession of this planet and its moons in the Klasse Ephemora system.

Until now.

He used his own local communicator. "Admiral Ar'alani, establish an outpost for the Chiss Forward Defense Fleet on the world of Mobus immediately."

"Can I get that in writing too?"

"Later, but most of all, you will be assured of further glory and renewed honor," Formbi solemnly promised the admiral.

It was quiet on the other end of the line for a while, and Formbi assumed Ar'alani was also digging out the Mobus data in her datapad.

"May I ask what is so special about this system, Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano? The only thing I see here is an abandoned gem processing facility that has not been able to operate profitably due to atmospheric disturbances in the Mobus stratosphere."

"I know, but that was fifty years ago, now there may be newer technology to deal with the problem. But that's for later," Formbi dismissed. "More importantly, for at least twenty-five years, when the last cartographic probe visited the system, Mobus has had a new moon, so that it now has eighteen moons instead of the previous seventeen, as my comparisons with old maps show. And on the new, eighteenth moon called Zonama Sekot, there are many Jedi right now that we might need some help in the future from; so I wish to see them protected there, since a Yuuzhan Vong attack on that moon or planet is imminent. And who knows what refreshing joys this world still has in store for our people."

You mean for your 5th house. "As long as they are not Jedi like that unspeakable Jorus C'baoth... or his clone... Fine, I'll get the fleet ready. Mitt'raw'nuruodo would be proud of you, Aristocra."

Formbi nodded. "Then good luck, remember the gravity projectors and... Chtraa*!"

As soon as the connection was broken, long-suppressed anger swelled in his red eyes. No, he, Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano, would never shed the shadow of the far better-known Chiss from the glamor of his own glory. And it wasn't the first time Admiral Ar'alani had used such needlepoints on him, but he had to forgive such snubs from capable people like her. Deciding to put his anger to good use, he returned to the room at that holoprojector link with Cal Omas.

"What?! And that's where these extragalactic barbarians want to attack and destroy this wonderful world in the process?" Formbi exclaimed excitedly. "Let me assure you that an attack by the Yuuzhan Vong on Zonama Sekot, and therefore on Chiss territory, is tantamount to an attack on the entire galaxy. And any attack by the Yuuzhan Vong in this galaxy is now tantamount to an attack on the Chiss Ascendance. We Chiss will do everything we can to fight back and provide whatever help we can to the Jedi on Zonama Sekot. Going forward, we will send out a formidable armada to the Yuuzhan Vong to ensure that Centerpoint neither reaches our territory nor becomes operational. If need be, we will march from Csilla to Corellia, nay, to Coruscant for this war aim, to put an end to these fiends' nefarious organic or non-organic trades and drive them back where they came from. That's what our Admiral Ar'alani—that glorious hero of the Expansionary Defense Fleet of the Chiss—did successfully fifty years ago." Formbi's red eyes glowed like fusion furnaces. "And we can and will do so again, until this threat to both the Chiss Empire and the galaxy as a whole is banished and erased from the face of the entire universe forever! May Yuuzhan Vong black blood be spilled throughout the void between galaxies!"

Cal Omas' blue eyes regained their normal size after this suade ended. "I am absolutely overwhelmed by your speech, given my prior knowledge that the Chiss have maintained an isolationist and consistent non-aggression policy."

"This is the Swift Charric Doctrine, and henceforth it will guide the Chiss Ascendancy," Formbi announced apodictically.

"Thank you, Aristocra Formbi."

༺═────────────═༻

The Springhawk was the longest-serving ship in the Expansionary Defense Fleet of the Chiss, and after an hour's voyage, including a brief hyperspace jump, she had reached the Klasse Ephemora system. Admiral Ar'alani stood on the gracefully curved bridge and gazed through the transparisteel at the bright green gas giant known as Mobus. The nav computer's targeting system emitted a series of repetitive, dissonant tones - a sign that the target could not be located. The admiral counted the planet's moons, over and over, while her ears adjusted to the never-ending cacophony of the nav-computer's error display and tuned it out. Ar'alani counted Mobus' moons again, compared them to the list of names and numbers for them, and realized how tired she was getting.

"Is something wrong, Admiral?" her aide asked.

She held out a piece of flimsiplast. "See for yourself. These are the coordinates given to us by Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano of the Fifth House. The coordinates are correct - Mobus and seventeen moons are there, but Zonama Sekot is gone."

"Then we may be too late," the Adjutant said, his eyes scanning Mobus's orbit for hidden enemies that might be responsible for the discrepancy between map and reality.

"I'll forward this to the Aristocra immediately," the admiral said dejectedly.

"Without us even knowing what happened here?" the adjutant contradicted. "What if we find out for ourselves instead, before we bombard the Aristocra with an unfinished piece of information that could reflect badly on what we're doing out here."

"And how are we supposed to do that without the moon or planet, whatever you want to call Zonama Sekot?"

"This ring of debris around Mobus could have been the former planet," the aide suggested.

"No, the chunks are already too well incorporated into that circle formation," Ar'alani disagreed, "and they're too rounded for recent destruction."

"I could call the other outposts to see if they saw anything suspicious."

"So that we look stupid in front of them? But it would always be better than doing nothing," Ar'alani said.

The comm center came alive. "This will be Formbi, impatient as ever," Ar'alani said in exasperation, her blue hands smoothing out the white uniform as a precaution before she went to the communicator. The lower half of a face appeared on the screen, the upper part of which was covered by a mask.

"We are the Vagaari!" It came out of the loudspeaker in absolutely correct basic with a slight accent. "Get ready to be boarded and pay for the shame you, Aristocra Formbi and Admiral Thrawn fifty years ago brought upon our people!"

"Look!" the aide shouted.

Ar'alani looked out the window and saw at least thirty spherical ships that must have jumped out of hyperspace during their conversation. The ships were very large and the lower bays suggested runways or gun ports.

"Get everything ready for the jump," she instructed her aide in Cheunh, then turned back to the attackers in Basic. "First of all, Thrawn wasn't even an admiral back then, just a commander of a forward outpost of the Chiss Ascendancy; Secondly, who am I actually talking to?"

"I am the current Miskara of the Vagaari, Rumpsh!"

"You have learned a lot, Vagaari. Your basic is remarkable."

"Well," Rumpsh replied haughtily. "We Vagaari are full of surprises."

"Why don't we jump?" she impatiently asked her aide in Cheunh.

"That will not do. We're stuck. I think the Vagaari have us trapped with one of their gravity projectors."

"What about our gravity projectors?" Ar'alani asked indignantly. "Didn't you get these ready for use as soon as we exited hyperspace?"

The aide shrugged. "But we just got here and you've been counting moons ever since, Admiral."

"Your aide is absolutely right," boomed the Vagaari Miskara, now on Cheunh, "We have captured your ship with our ship nets and soon we will destroy it! Your two paltry projectors can't compete with our far more modern and numerous ones, so surrender and life will be yours. After that, we'll dump you on that abandoned gem processing facility via Mobus, since we're no brutes. At least there is still a bit of atmosphere left and enough outdated technology that you can use to call for help."

"That's really very generous of you, Miskara Rumpsh, but I think we have other options."

With these words, Ar'alani ended the connection.

"It's a shame Zonama Sekot is gone," the aide said regretfully. "If the Jedi were there, then surely it was a more beautiful world than all the other lunar lumps I see here."

Ar'alani arched an eyebrow. "Was?"

"Maybe the Vagaari destroyed the planet."

"Vagaari don't destroy planets, they plunder them," Ar'alani rebuked the aide. "And all because you were dying to find out for yourself what happened to Zonama Sekot!"

"I'll try to activate our gravity projectors as well, to neutralize the enemy's at least enough at one point that we can escape through this loophole."

"That's the first reasonable word I've heard from you today. Commodore Kwiz'apa'turoklu."

The aide left, and Admiral Ar'alani saw no reason to delay the long overdue call to Aristocra Formbi.

༺═────────────═༻

A day later on Mon Cala - Office of the Head of State

Head of State Cal Omas had to wait a bit before Aristocra Formbi deigned to appear on the other end of the line.

"It's time," the Alderaan declared solemnly. "Our troops are on their way to Coruscant to retake the ancient capital. It would be strategic if your troops defeated the enemy via Corellia as you suggested..."

"We will do no such thing," the Aristocra replied harshly. "Based on your information, Admiral Ar'alani has fallen into a trap set by the Vagaari, and it was with great effort and loss that she and her ship were freed from the pincers of those pirates."

"Thanks to my information?" the human wondered.

"Your Zonama Sekot is no longer in the Klasse Ephemora system. If you hadn't personally given us that information, I would think straight away of a trap on your part."

"Then the Vagaari must have intercepted some radio traffic," Cal Omas surmised. "It's also quite possible that the Yuuzhan Vong are already ready, unobtrusive agents in Chiss ooglith hues and with perfect Cheunh skills, to join the ranks of your Expansionary Defense Fleet of the Chiss, infiltrate them, who in turn diligently provide the Vagaari as your old adversaries with information."

"Our language is far too difficult for such barbarians to learn fluently and without an accent!" protested Formbi. "Jacen Solo once told Admiral Ar'alani that the protocol droid C-3PO claimed the Yuuzhan Vong language is quite simple."

Cal Omas realized he wasn't getting anywhere. "Well, I wouldn't exactly compare the capabilities of a protocol droid capable of six million forms of communication to that of a Yuuzhan Vong or Chiss brain, but what happened to your new Swift Charric doctrine?"

"This doctrine applies only to a world permanently in Chiss territory," Formbi declared snootily. "But a world that wanders around aimlessly like Zonama Sekot, teasing the cartographers and other people, has no place in our realm and we will no longer bother with such cosmic wanderers. And we only intervene when we are attacked ourselves. Aristocra Formbi Over and Out!"

This chapter contains events from the book series "New Jedi Order" from Vol. 16 "Forces Heretic II: Refugee" by Sean Williams and Shane Dix; Vol. 19. "The Unifying Force" by James Luceno (both 2003), and some Timothy Zahn lore like "Outbound Flight" (2006) and "Survivor's Quest" (2004) as well.

*Chtraa! – means "Forward!" in Cheunh