Yevetha

"Your wars are decided by the death of a tenth of a population, a third of an army. Then the defeated surrender their honor and the victors surrender their advantage. This is called being civilized. The Yevetha are not civilized, General. It would be a mistake to deal with us as though we were."

- Nil Spaar

The Yevetha were a lithe, skeletal species indigenous to N'zoth in the Koornacht Cluster.

Physiology
Physically, the Yevetha stood almost two meters tall with large black eyes and light gray skin. Their ghoulish appearance was enhanced by their lack of body hair. Two pair of crests on upper and low face swelled red during mating or combat, respectively. The most notable feature of Yevethan physiology is their dew claws housed in mounds on the underside of each wrist. The blades extended to almost a foot in length for use in close combat and blood sacrifice.

Female Yevetha carried a birth cask in a mating ridge. Young Yevetha were gestated in the birth casks, known as mara-nas, which were fed with the blood of sacrificed males.

The disease known as “gray death” affected Yevetha, but is symptoms are unknown.

Psychology
Death was by the Yevetha viewed with no fear. Under Yevethan law, murder only occurs when an inferior slays a superior, while slayings in the other direction are considered an acceptable occurrence. When an inferior has disrespected a superior or failed in some capacity, he customarily kneels before his superior or offers his neck for sacrifice. The superior then chooses to either slaughter the nitakka with his dew claws or allow him to live despite his failure or disrespect. This practice, termed dominance killing by xenoarchaeologists, was performed unflinchingly on a regular basis. Sacrifice, particularly to provide blood for a birth cask of an important Yevetha, was considered an honor to the family of the sacrificed Yevetha.

Culture
Yevethan culture is organized into a strict hierarchical system headed by the Darama. Politically, Yevethan society was led by a Viceroy, who also operated as the chief of state for the Duskhan League. The Darama and Viceroy were linked positions, connecting Yevethan spirituality and politics. Departments of governance, commerce, science, and culture were led by Proctors, and supported by various guilds. This structure was mirrored in the Yevethan military and shipboard staffs led by Primates.

History
"I'm beginning to wonder if the greatest indignity that the Empire subjected the Yevetha to wasn't holding them to a higher standard of behavior."

- Leia Organa Solo

A relatively young species, the Yevetha advanced quickly and in relative isolation from other sentient species. The combination of their rapid evolution, isolation and the harsh environment of N’zoth combined to produce a culture of xenophobia and an internal concept of superiority.

When the Galactic Empire expanded into the Koornacht Cluster, they noted the Yevetha’s rapid ability to learn new skills. The Galactic Empire subjugated N’zoth and its nearby star systems, built the Black 15 shipyards and put the Yevetha to work as skilled slave labor building, repairing and modifying vessels of the Imperial Starfleet.

Almost a year after the Battle of Endor, the Imperial garrison at N’zoth was ordered to retreat and destroy the repair yard. Before they could initiate their withdrawal, an assault led by Nil Spaar took advantage of the Empire’s view of the Yevetha as mindless labor and seized control of the vessels undergoing repairs, the operational warships and the yards. Imperials were killed or enslaved.

Over the next decade and a half, the Yevetha developed their technical capabilities, developed advanced technologies in the form of starship shielding, gravity bombs, Aramadia-class thrustships, and D-type fighters. They established the Duskhan League, which grew to encompass thirteen worlds.

In 16 ABY, the Dushkan League came out of its isolation to engage the New Republic. A delegation led by now-Viceory Nil Spaar arrived at Coruscant to seek a peaceful co-existence. Using the New Republic’s lack of intelligence on the Dushkan League and senatorial political infighting to his advantage, Nil Spaar extended his negotiations with Chief of State Leia Organa Solo over a period of weeks. During this period he played into her empathy towards a species subjugated by the Empire, allowing him to cultivate assets on Coruscant. Finally, Nil Spaar set off a series of political machinations that sowed confusion amongst the New Republic. Nil Spaar returned to his people, and with the New Republic is disarray, the Yevetha launched a campaign of brutal expansion and colonization. The Yevethan Purge, called the Great Purge, the Cleansing or Second Birth by the Yevetha, saw the elimination of entire species like the Corasgh and communities like the Norat Sovereignty, and the colonization of many nearby star systems in the Koornacht Cluster. In the following weeks, foiled reconnaissance efforts by the New Republic prompted an armed conflict between the Dushkan League and its hidden Black Fleet and the New Republic Defense Force’s new Fifth Battle Group. For more details on the political and military conflict, see Black Fleet Crisis.

The conflict concluded with a Yevethan loss at the Battle of N’zoth and the death of Nil Spaar at the hands of Sil Sorannan. A victorious New Republic disarmed the Yevetha and kept them under close watch. It is unclear how long the New Republic’s close watch of the Yevetha continued, but active patrols were removed by at least 25 ABY. However, no-one actually entered the N'zoth system in that decade, during which the Yevetha built up an even larger force than the Black Fleet, consisting of thousands of Aramadia-class thrustships.

It was then that the Galantos Guard encountered the Yuuzhan Vong. In exchange for what the Galantos believed to be protection from the extragalactic invaders, they informed the Yuuzhan Vong of the brutal Yevetha and the threat they may pose. Taking heed, the Yuuzhan Vong invaded the N’zoth system. The details of the battle may never be known, but if the Yevethan and Yuuzhan Vong tactics say anything, the Yuuzhan Vong destroyed every single ship in the system, and unleashed a horrible orbital bombardment on N'zoth that rendered the planet a molten wasteland. At the end of the conflict the Yevetha were either extinct or severly enperiled.

Appearances

 * Before the Storm
 * Shield of Lies
 * Tyrant's Test