Yahg

The yahg were a sentient race of towering humanoids native to the world of Parnack, known for their violent and aggressive nature. As consummate predators they possessed unrivaled perceptiveness and mental adaptability, and after their discovery by the Citadel Council in 2125 CE they were barred from interaction with Citadel space for massacring the Council's delegation. Despite this exclusion, a single yahg would secretly rise to occupy one of the galaxy's most powerful positions.

Biology#

The yahg had evolved to fill the niche of apex predator on Parnack. They possessed four pairs of eyes, each pair designed to track and predict the movements of prey, and a keen sensitivity to movement and light allowed them to read the body language of any species, making it almost impossible to lie to a yahg. Their scaly, partially armored skin ranged from red to brown, and they bore a triangular, sharp-toothed mouth, two large horns, and facial markings. Each hand had three fingers including a thumb, and each foot three toes. Their large, muscular bodies stood taller even than the krogan, granting considerable strength and agility, though according to the Prothean Javik the yahg had been much smaller during his cycle fifty thousand years earlier. They could live at least sixty years, judging by the span one spent as the Shadow Broker.

History#

When Parnack was discovered by Citadel Council surveyors in 2125 CE, the yahg were a pre-spaceflight civilization with technology roughly equivalent to that of twentieth-century Earth. A Council delegation of ambassadors made first contact and attempted to establish diplomatic relations, but the yahg perceived the ambassadors' treating them as equals rather than as subordinates as a sign of contempt, and attacked and massacred the entire delegation. The Council immediately severed all contact, declared Parnack off-limits, and maintained that the yahg's aggression and obsession with control made them poorly suited to the galactic community.

Sometime after first contact, the Shadow Broker's agents attempted to abduct a yahg for study, having to kill several before finding one interested in leaving the planet. After displays of intelligence and learning that rivaled the much shorter-lived salarians, the Broker arranged for the yahg to covertly replace one of his operatives and lead strike teams. When the yahg's violent nature became a problem and orders were given to eliminate him, he somehow killed the Shadow Broker in the middle of his own message, assumed the role, and rescinded the order, none of the agents aware that the original Broker had been replaced. The yahg held the position for six decades, gaining a fearsome reputation, with many agents who entered his office never coming out. If Commander Shepard was involved, the true nature of the new Broker was not discovered until 2185 CE, when Liara T'Soni raided his base to rescue the captured drell Feron, an encounter the Broker did not survive.

During the Reaper invasion of 2186, a salarian research facility on Sur'Kesh captured and experimented on several yahg, intending to secretly uplift them as deniable assets much as the salarians had once done with the krogan; during a Cerberus assault one yahg broke containment and went on a rampage before vanishing. The Reapers avoided Parnack entirely, apparently because the yahg remained pre-spaceflight, prompting speculation that if the current spacefaring races were wiped out the yahg might play a prominent role in the next cycle, especially as they had nearly completed their first spaceship.

Culture#

Yahg society was built around a pack mentality. A group of yahg would not cooperate until a single leader attained dominance through social maneuvering or brute force, after which the defeated held no grudge and former rivals served their new superior loyally. Because of this mentality, the very concept of equality was offensive to them.