You in charge of the NJO

[Coiler]

Two scenarios:

1: You become supreme military advisor to the New Republic. You are transported to Coruscant two years before the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. Your goal is to ensure that the NR does not get beaten the way it did canonically. What do you implement?

2: You become advisor to the publishers of what is to become the NJO. Your goal is to change the series (and all subsesquent EU works) so that they don't suck nearly as much as they did canonically*. The premise (Yuuzhan Vong invasion from outside the galaxy) must remain the same, but just about anything else you can change. What do you implement?

*At least in my opinion.

[Illuminatus Primus]

Two scenarios:

1: You become supreme military advisor to the New Republic. You are transported to Coruscant two years before the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. Your goal is to ensure that the NR does not get beaten the way it did canonically. What do you implement?

War economy. Get the NR Assembly to vote the Chief of State emergency powers. Override member state governments in matters of galactic defense. This galaxy can produce Death Star II's, so it can produce a couple billion ISD-analogs with increased automation without fully war economy. Get the ball rolling and field the Jedi as commanders like the Clone War; use their coordination and battle mediation to your advantage.

2: You become advisor to the publishers of what is to become the NJO. Your goal is to change the series (and all subsesquent EU works) so that they don't suck nearly as much as they did canonically*. The premise (Yuuzhan Vong invasion from outside the galaxy) must remain the same, but just about anything else you can change. What do you implement?

*At least in my opinion.

The "organic technology" Yuuzhan Vong are changed. Replace them with a more insidious assimilationist society - think the Combine from HL2. The initial invasion must be truly enormous to be credible - billions of ships, quadrillions of troops, etc. They've allied with the "barbarians" and such beyond the border of the galaxy - resumed invasions by the Tofs, Nagai, Vagaari, and Ssi-ruuk accompany the real invasion. They should be smart and have measured political goals: dominance or preeminence over the existing galactic order, but not total extermination or assimilation. They should cut rather sweet deals with Corporate Sector, Hutt Space, the Imperial Remnant. The NR must go to war with any collaborationist power and offer carrots themselves to allied and client powers to remain in the NR/Allied orbit.

[Battlehymn Republic]

I have yet to seen a truly compelling alien threat offered as an alternative to the Yuuzhan Vong. A Sith Empire ain't enough- who wants to see more evil Force-users? I do hope we'll get some good suggestions here.

[Stark]

Dude, anyone with a brain can do extra-galactic invasion with political overtones better then the YV. It doesn't have to be Sith anything. IP's suggestion sound good to me, particularly since it'd avoid the stupid biowank an allow the infiltration pre-invasion to be far more insidious.

It also won't cripple the damn Jedi both politically and in combat due to stupid ideas.

[Illuminatus Primus]

The YV are boring. They're religious fanatics, old hat. I suggested the Combine as the starting point of developing because there's just fucking cold and don't give a shit. They'll drain your oceans, stop you from breeding, turn your own governments into nightmarish police states, and kidnap people - brainwash them and drill holes in their skull and turn them in borgified myrmidons.

[Battlehymn Republic]

Oh, I don't mean compelling in a story sense. I mean in a exotic interesting sense, form-wise. The YV are interesting because they are anti-tech and Force nullifiers who worship pain. On the other hand, that's biowank and disgusting looking. A Combine-like alien force would be interesting, yes.

I'd like to see an alternative to the Vong who would fit in into a space opera without falling into the same old archetypes that a setting such as Warhammer 40K nicely lists for us (demons, savage warriors, hive mind insects, robots, etc.)

[Coiler]

One thing I would do is make the series a little shorter. It doesn't have to be a neat "Over in a trilogy" deal, but it shouldn't drag as much as the actual NJO series did.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Hmph! As far as I can see, the Yuuzhan Vong are just a bunch of Mandalorians copies. The only difference is they cart around some... organic filth.

By and far, I wish for saner Republics that won't pursue phony wars and serious fist fights not half-hearted ones or ones with screaming maniacs.

[PREDATOR490]

Would the Jedi even be useable as commanders like the Clone Wars ?

I seem to recall and over abundance of Jedi doing nothing but sitting with thumb up ass deciding if they really should get involved and the role of a Jedi etc. Kinda like how the KOTOR era Jedi decided not to mess with the Mandalorian invasion but a select few like Revan disobeyed. In this case it was people like Kyp that went off and decided to fight.

The easiest way to beat the YV is to have forces stationed at their entry points into the galaxy and to react with the proper force they should have rather than the clusterfuck situation that occured in the early books. If you want to go overboard, pick up Anakin Solo and plunk his ass on Centerpoint station while telling his brother to promptly shut the fuck up and use it to bust up the Vong planets etc.

Go find Zokema Skeot, Ithor so you can use their act of plot goodies while you call a dozen or so Jedi to deal with that "Lightsaber Dark Lord" that was buried in Coruscant. Get the Jedi to piss off along with Luke until they actually decide if they are going to get involved and finally put a bullet between Nom Anor's eyes... or the eye and that implant thing.

[Dark Flame]

*snip* you call a dozen or so Jedi to deal with that "Lightsaber Dark Lord" that was buried in Coruscant.

IMO, it was a dumb sub-plot, but if it was kept I would change it. Why can't Luke just let Nyax run rampant through Coruscant? Sure, it may be a cold decision, but with the way he slaughtered YV warriors he could be utilized as a serious distraction. I really don't understand what exactly made him super-dangerous, but if the Vong never manage to kill him, then surely the GA can get him later with a few turbolaser blasts or something.

[Old Plympto]

I loath the concept of the Yuuzhan Vong as it is now. Star Wars was never about war between species as it is war between idealogies among numerous species.

I'd have a Vong arc that start out as normal, intergalactic invaders consisting of a single governing species with other slave species and not just the Chazrach. In the middle of the arc, have the Jedi quickly overcome the "untouched by the Force" thing, and have them easily beat the shit out of the Vong.

But when it seems like the Vong are defeated, their leadership is taken up by a handful of Vong survivors as well as species from the GFFA.

Finally the war will be between the GFFA and the Vong Theocracy or somesuch, with humans, Twi'leks, Rodians, etc. on both sides.

Also, instead of the theocracy being just "we have to cleanse the universe of technology because the gods told us to", I'd also have a real goal and purpose why they use the bioorganic grafts and genetically-engineered machinery. Perhaps a history of the Vong culture which led to something like the Butlerian Jihad (Encyclopedia of Dune version, not the KJA version) and why some citizens of the GFFA would subscribe to the teachings.

[Knife]

The NJO sucked for two reasons; one the characters and organizations were boring and emo and two the war was the back drop and the boring organizations were spotlighted.

So:

1: You become supreme military advisor to the New Republic. You are transported to Coruscant two years before the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. Your goal is to ensure that the NR does not get beaten the way it did canonically. What do you implement?

I would have actually fought a war.

2: You become advisor to the publishers of what is to become the NJO. Your goal is to change the series (and all subsesquent EU works) so that they don't suck nearly as much as they did canonically*. The premise (Yuuzhan Vong invasion from outside the galaxy) must remain the same, but just about anything else you can change. What do you implement?

Change the YV to a more refugee type race that for what ever reason (and perhaps keep it mysterious) left its galaxy to colonize a new one so there was no going back. The YV would and could be different in their personal beliefs about the right and wrong of the war and other related things, but all unified in the fact that they had no choice but to colonize in the SW galaxy.

You could even make an analogy with the barbarian tribe of old and the Roman Empire. Refusing them from being apart so they invaded and took land since they had little choices otherwise.

I would have struck down all the emo bullshit from the Jedi Order. Will we fight, what will we be if we fight? What a load of bullshit. It's a martial order, let them fight.

I also wouldn't have let the NR be a bunch of pansies either. Sure, let them lose as a nation even if they win as a society, but it's a disgrace how they made the NR be.

And lastly, I would have focused on the war and not a bunch of side stories with main characters with the war in the back ground.

[Darth Fanboy]

Two scenarios:

1: You become supreme military advisor to the New Republic. You are transported to Coruscant two years before the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. Your goal is to ensure that the NR does not get beaten the way it did canonically. What do you implement?

Immediately go to Luke Skywalker and start consulting. The first thing to do is to get someone important who will believe me, and he would be able to do this using the Force. IF I am being given canonical knowledge I could also give him a few heads up on what is going on so that the Jedi are better prepared.

The other thing that needs to be done very quickly is to seek out and kill Nom Anor at whatever the cost. The Jedi won't do it like that, but others will.

2: You become advisor to the publishers of what is to become the NJO. Your goal is to change the series (and all subsesquent EU works) so that they don't suck nearly as much as they did canonically*. The premise (Yuuzhan Vong invasion from outside the galaxy) must remain the same, but just about anything else you can change. What do you implement?

*At least in my opinion.

Get rid of the biotech, but if there is too much insistence at least get them to drop the biotech spacecraft and allow for real technology to be used. Make the Vong a race of technological scavengers who have a great ability to innovate what they can scrounge, pushing technology to further limits. Make them a species whose surivival is dependent on heavy breeding and terraforming planets. The species thus has no Force sensitives because generations will be extremely short. It will turn out that the Ruler of the race is a Force sensitive, and uses the Force as a method of sustaining his or her long life.

[Tiriol]

Change the YV to a more refugee type race that for what ever reason (and perhaps keep it mysterious) left its galaxy to colonize a new one so there was no going back. The YV would and could be different in their personal beliefs about the right and wrong of the war and other related things, but all unified in the fact that they had no choice but to colonize in the SW galaxy.

You could even make an analogy with the barbarian tribe of old and the Roman Empire. Refusing them from being apart so they invaded and took land since they had little choices otherwise.

The Yuuzhan Vong COULDN'T return to their own home galaxy; it simply could not support them (apparently they cleansed it of most life). And even if it would still be viable in essence, they couldn't do so since their worldships were dying and they were in desparate need of new material. One of the reasons Shimrra rose against the previous Supreme Overlord - the previous one had wanted them to avoid the Star Wars galaxy and Shimrra and his supporters felt that they would all perish if they didn't make a bid for that galaxy.

[Knife]

The Yuuzhan Vong COULDN'T return to their own home galaxy; it simply could not support them (apparently they cleansed it of most life). And even if it would still be viable in essence, they couldn't do so since their worldships were dying and they were in desparate need of new material. One of the reasons Shimrra rose against the previous Supreme Overlord - the previous one had wanted them to avoid the Star Wars galaxy and Shimrra and his supporters felt that they would all perish if they didn't make a bid for that galaxy.

Indeed; because of the possibility of a living planet in the SW galaxy, they didn't want to go there but did anyways, tempting the fates and lo and behold, the living planet was indeed there and spelled their doom.


Blah, horribly written.