The Essential Guide to Force Exile/Niull Shac

"f the Yuuzhan Vong are to exist in this galaxy, at some point, we must be seen as something other than things to be hated and feared."

- Niull Shac

Niull Shac was a Yuuzhan Vong warrior, part of the fairly prestigious Domain Shac. He served the Yuuzhan Vong cause when the aliens invaded the galaxy, serving primarily as a field commander. A series of fairly unimpressive battles, including on Dantooine and Yag'Dhul, led to his being relegated to a secondary role, primarily for mopping operations. Niull Shac proved better in this regard, helping subjugate rebellious Hutt space. While he was often confounded by Jedi Knights or more sophisticated deceptions, he was an efficient and capable crusher of sedition on the worlds where he was assigned.

His sister, Yiu Shac, earned more accolades for her service as an infiltrator and assassin, though she made the strange choice to marry the enigmatic and unconventional warrior Qad Skell. When she perished in battle in 28 ABY against the Yanibar refuge, Niull and his younger brother Tisran took the news hard.

However, the galaxy rallied against the Yuuzhan Vong and forced a decisive battle against the Yuuzhan Vong on Coruscant, defeating them and compelling the surrender of Warmaster Nas Choka. The Yuuzhan Vong were disarmed and resettled on the living world of Zonama Sekot, which then departed for deep into the Unknown Regions where they would not be attacked or pose a threat to others. As one of the oldest remaining warriors who had survived the Yuuzhan Vong War, Niull Shac became an elder and a leader of a Yuuzhan Vong settlement. While there, he met the Human scientist Danni Quee, who had decided to live on Zonama Sekot to better study the world.

In 38 ABY, a Dark Jedi named Ariada, who had fought against the Yuuzhan Vong during the war and was using bioweapons in a terror campaign, sent one of her assassins to kill Danni and poison Zonama Sekot. To counter her, the Yanibar refuge sent a Force-using Elite Guardian named Zeyn, having anticipated that Ariada would attack Zonama Sekot. Zeyn landed near a Yuuzhan Vong village and was confronted by Niull Shac about his presence. Some of the Yuuzhan Vong were wary and distrustful of him&mdash;and the feeling was mutual. However, when word reached them that the assassin had attacked several of the natives, Niull Shac let him go in pursuit of her, telling him approximately where Danni had gone. Zeyn and the assassin arrived at approximately the same time while Danni and her friend Renshi were in the forests of Zonama Sekot. The assassin struck first, slaying Renshi, but Zeyn drove her off before she could kill Danni.

However, the assassin followed them and attacked once more after poisoning Niull Shac's village with the technobeast virus. Though Zeyn destroyed the combat droid that was sent in first, the assassin attacked through the ceiling of the cave and crippled him. She was about to finish him when Zeyn slid his lightsaber over to Danni, who impaled the assassin upon the blade. However, the cave entrance had been collapsed and Zeyn was near death. Only the arrival of a group of Yuuzhan Vong led by Niull Shac saved them. They had evacuated their village when they realized what had happened.

The Yuuzhan Vong treated Zeyn's wounds, and Danni revealed to Niull Shac what Zeyn had told her about his homeworld, about how Yanibar had been doomed to a slow death during the Yuuzhan Vong War by the alteration of one of its moon's orbits by the Yuuzhan Vong. Zeyn had also told her that their planned evacuation had been encountering difficulties. Niull Shac, in a gesture of goodwill and peacemaking between their peoples, offered to help Zeyn's people when Zeyn awoke. Zeyn was highly distrustful of the Yuuzhan Vong, having fought against them in the war, and was furious with Danni for having told the Yuuzhan Vong what he had shared with her.

Nevertheless, with the assassin dead, Zeyn figured his mission on Zonama Sekot was over&mdash;he just needed to find a way off the planet as his ship was in the quarantine zone. Niull Shac told him that the Yuuzhan Vong had found the assassin's ship, so Zeyn, Niull Shac, and Danni went to investigate it. Zeyn was able to defeat one more combat droid with Niull Shac's help, granting him greater appreciation for the Yuuzhan Vong. The ship was rigged to transmit information about its hyperspace jumps and transmissions to Ariada, so Zeyn realized he would have to trust the Yuuzhan Vong both to leave Sekot as well as to help his people. After considerable deliberation, he accepted Niull Shac's offer of aid. Before leaving, he approached Danni to apologize for his angry reaction and to thank her for her help. After some hesitation, they admitted their mutual attraction and left Zonama Sekot together.

They left the world, towed in the assassin's ship by a Yuuzhan Vong vessel, until Zeyn was able to trade the ship in for something else to return to Yanibar. They arrived safely and Zeyn and Danni were able to convince the Ruling Council to accept the Yuuzhan Vong's offer. As Danni was the only one trusted enough by both sides and with sufficient expertise, she was asked to verify that their efforts were done in good faith, which she accepted. When Niull Shac started the work, he was approached by his brother Tisran, who pointed out that these were the people who had killed their sister. He proposed sabotaging the efforts in an act of revenge, revealing that he had already sown seeds of dissent. Niull Shac knew he could not abide such a breach of trust after Danni Quee confronted him, revealing that she knew of the sabotage idea and challenging him to make the right decision. In the end, Niull Shac stood by his word and killed Tisran Shac to forestall any sabotage event. The Yanibar refuge's evacuation ships were able to lift off thanks to the covert aid of the Yuuzhan Vong, who then returned to Zonama Sekot after their work was done.

Behind the scenes
The character of Niull Shac was originally not named or planned for a major role in Force Exile VI: Prodigal. Atarumaster88 had just planned on using a generic Yuuzhan Vong character, but after he decided to have the Yuuzhan Vong assist Yanibar in their evacuation effort, he put more thought into the central Yuuzhan Vong character. He settled on one who was related to Yiu Shac, whom Milya and Cassi had encountered and killed in Force Exile V, but made him a more noble character. Out of all the characters involved, Niull Shac was the most willing to put the past injustices and grievances behind him from the Yuuzhan Vong War. His aid to the Yanibar refuge was written as a sort of precursor to the canonical Ossus Project. While Niull Shac's character was being developed, Atarumaster88 realized that it would give him more depth if he experienced resistance from both the Yuuzhan Vong and Yanibar sides and created the character of Tisran Shac to serve as an opponent to the evacuation assistance.

Appearances

 * Force Exile VI: Prodigal