The Essential Guide to Force Exile/Yiu Shac

"Then we shall savor these moments together and thus return to the hunt all the stronger."

- Yiu Shac to Qad Skell

Yiu Shac was a female Yuuzhan Vong warrior, renowned for her deadly skill, poise, and beauty. She was an assassin of considerable fame among her domain and earned much acclaim for her family. Wily and cunning, Yiu Shac soon amassed a healthy respect from every member of her domain, many of whom wondered which prominent warrior she would choose for her mate. In the process, she challenged and defeated many potential suitors, none of whom she deemed worthy. To the surprise of many, she chose an assuming candidate named Qad Skell, who lacked the naked ambition and bloodthirst of most Yuuzhan Vong warriors.

When the Yuuzhan Vong invaded the galaxy, Yiu Shac was at the forefront, assassinating key figures and devising cunning traps for New Republic scouts. She excelled at denying information from her enemies as well collecting intelligence, aiding her mate Qad Skell considerably. Her own missions earned her the ire of several prominent members of the intendant caste due to their overlap with their own intelligence-gathering efforts. Yiu Shac was more amused than hindered, luring several of them into a trap on a mission to Kashyyyk while escaping with her objective, a data cylinder containing the local sector fleet's deployments and sensor stations. She was confident and successful, earning her the praise of her commanders. She preferred subterfuge and small-scale engagements&mdash;while she studied larger battles with Qad Skell, she much preferred a more personal approach to combat.

Her mate was less fortunate. His efficient approach, which minimized casualties and prioritized minimal waste in an engagement, earned him the scorn of the foolhardy but aggressive majority of the body of warriors, and after a particularly cautious battle in 26 ABY which allowed him to avoid a trap but did not capture a key Jedi or a planetary government, he was sacked and placed in charge of studying enemy tactics&mdash;a lowly position not fit for such a ranking officer.

In 28 ABY, he received another chance from Warmaster Tsavong Lah, who gave him a command and told him to pursue a group of volunteers that had saved a large number of people from Yuuzhan Vong enslavement on Chalactca. Yiu Shac was supportive of her mate as he pursued them into Hutt Space, even while she carried out her own mission into Hapan space to determine how much their military had been rebuilt after the disastrous battle of Fondor. She later rejoined her mate, helping him in his search and learning that the bold rescuers were not regular military, but volunteers, as well as their strength. She advised him that their leader, Derek Klivian, was an experienced fighter and would not take the obvious routes. he gave her whatever resources she needed to help in their search, but cherished the fleeting moments they had to spend together during the war.

While on her hunt, she and a frigate of Yuuzhan Vong warriors found a refugee camp on Ord Pardron. She personally led the assault and attacked the largely defenseless refugee camp, which was run by an organization from Yanibar called Open Hands and led by a Force-user, Cassi Kraen. Though wounded, Cassi fought off Yiu Shac with the help of her droid, J7, but more warriors soon arrived. In the process, Yiu Shac was badly injured, her leg crushed against the wall by Cassi's telekinesis. Her warriors slew the refugees save for a few prisoners who were brought up for interrogation. She was irate at the temporary setback, having not anticipated the presence of Force-users at the camp.

The Yuuzhan Vong were searching for Cassi and her companions and interrogating the prisoners over Ord Pardron when the Yanibar Guard sent a task force to rescue them. They destroyed the frigate in orbit after rescuing the prisoners, stranding Yiu Shac. However, Qad Skell came to her rescue with a sizable fleet, retrieving her from the surface. While he took most of his forces to Rishi to hunt down the Chalactan refugees, who were soon defended by the Yanibar Guard, Yiu Shac had other ideas. First, her mangled leg was replaced with a living implant, with her mate there for her as the replacement was performed. Once she was recovered, she took a small scout ship to follow the trail of a small vessel that had taken a different course than the rest of the Yanibar Guard fleet.

For weeks, they shadowed the vessel, which traveled from world to world. Yiu Shac's spies confirmed the presence of the Jedi she had wounded along with at least one more and she pursued them relentlessly, hoping to earn accolades for slaying two Jedi, using a tracking creature attached to the ship to follow it. She followed them to Socorro, but did not attack, hoping their quarry would them to their safe world. En route, she advised her mate, who had suffered losses against the Yanibar Guard over Rishi. She commended him for recognizing his own mistakes, but warned him not to let his wounded pride affect his judgment. He appreciated her advise, feeling that her counsel helped his strategic thinking. Before they went back to their work, she told him that she desired a child with him, to which he assented, after they completed their respective missions. As for Yiu Shac's hunt, the trail eventually took them deep into the Unknown Regions.

Upon reversion from hyperspace, they found a large space station orbiting a planet, the only way through an extensive asteroid field, where the ship they were pursuing docked. While Cassi and her companions were learning about the station and Atlaradis from the Rakatans who lived there, Yiu Shac and a small party of Yuuzhan Vong attacked. In the ensuing struggle, one Force-user, Mithunir, was fatally wounded by Yiu Shac. She also struck down two more of Cassi's companions before dueling Cassi's sister-in-law, Milya Kraen in a brutal duel. In the process, Yiu Shac nearly slew Milya, slowly beating her into submission, but did not finish the kill as quickly as she should have, allowing Cassi time to recover. Though Cassi was also injured, she intervened, hurling her lightsaber into Yiu Shac's arm, severing it. With fresh urgency, she tried to finish off Milya, but Cassi shot her with a blaster. The wounds allowed Milya to land several more lightsaber blows against her armor before she charged Yiu Shac, using her pistol at point-blank range to fire into gaps in the Yuuzhan Vong's armor, killing her.

When her mate was told of Yiu Shac's death at the hands of the Yanibar Guard, he was devastated. Her remains were returned to him as part of a truce brokered with the Yanibar Guard that saw both sides withdraw from Rishi after a bloody battle. The action earned Qad Skell the ire of Tsavong Lah, who executed him dishonorably. Before he died, he pleaded for Yiu Shac to be buried with the full rites due a successful warrior. This last act was granted by Tsavong Lah, preventing the stain of his dishonor from contaminating Yiu Shac's memory. Her mate died with her name on his lips.

Her brothers Niull and Tisran survived the war and relocated to Zonama Sekot. Eight years later, Niull helped the Yanibar Guard evacuated their world, as their peoples were now at peace. While a resentful Nisran tried to invoke Yiu Shac's memory in persuading his brother to enact revenge against the Yanibar Guard for Yiu Shac's death, Niull stood by his word, eventually killing his brother to preserve the peace.

Behind the scenes
The character of Yiu Shac was created for Force Exile V: Warrior by Atarumaster88. He wanted to show more developed and even sympathetic Yuuzhan Vong characters, and that included a portrayal of a married Yuuzhan Vong couple. Yiu Shac's skillset and traits were designed to be similar to Milya's own abilities and strengths, as Atarumaster88 wanted Qad Skell and Yiu Shac to be mirrors of Selu and Milya from a Yuuzhan Vong standpoint. She was later referenced in the sequel, Force Exile VI: Prodigal, as Atarumaster88 had decided to make the connection between the Yuuzhan Vong leader in that work and the Yanibar Guard more personal by having them be relatives of Yiu Shac.

Appearances

 * Force Exile V: Warrior
 * Force Exile VI: Prodigal