The Yaotl

This page details people, events, and organisations from the /tg/ Heresy, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe. See the /tg/ Heresy Timeline and Galaxy pages for more information on the Alternate Universe.

A Yaotl head

The Yaotl are a particularly disturbing case of evolution run amok. As a hermaphroditic species, either partner in a Yaotl mating can wind up pregnant; because this is a clear disadvantage for an individual, Yaotl mating takes the form of non-lethal duels, the loser of which is impregnated. In addition to this, the winner of a mating-duel grows in size and intelligence; this means that Yaotl society is by nature dominated by the most aggressive and ruthless individuals. Young Yaotl are via phermones compelled to serve their dominant parent until adulthood, further cementing the power of agressive Yaotl 'alphas'. The Yaotl have no qualms modifying their bodies with genetic treatments or biomechanical implants. Imperial scientists suspect the species modified itself wholesale twice in the past few thousand years; the first granting regenerative properties, allowing a impregnated Yaotl to survive the young chewing their way out of the womb to mate again in the future, and the second removing all warp sensitivity from the species. Why the Yaotl chose to perform this modification is unknown, but to this day the species goes out of its way to eliminate psykers whenever found.

The Yaotl primarily inhabit the Halo Zone beyond the segmentums Pacificus and Tempestus, where they have built a sizable Empire. Lacking warp travel, the Yaotl instead utilize artificial wormholes forged in moon-sized industrial complexes. These must be towed at sub-light speeds to their destination, but once towed allow for near-instantaneous travel. The Halo Zone, however, is comprised primarily of small, cold stars and planets with low amounts of metals, and is thus incredibly poorly suited to the manufacture of such expensive constructs. To increase their living space, therefore, the Yaotl are forced to raid Imperial systems with sub-light armadas, stripping them of all available material and technology. The Yaotl have no interest in peaceful trade (it is the rare rogue trader who has the acumen to strike a deal with these repulsive beasts) and place no value in human life, even as slaves. That being said, the Yaotl do not seem to deliberately attack populations that don't stand between them and a resource or harbor psykers - which is little comfort to the few survivors of their raids.

Yaotl naval forces are based around swarming tactics. Other than their large wormhole carriers, the Yaotl primarily pilot frigate-sized vessels armed with railguns. Though more advanced than the Imperium in most aspects, the Yaotl do not utilize any form of void shielding, instead relying on holographic projections, electronic countermeasures and point-defense batteries; these defensive methods are all most effective when deployed in groups, allowing ships to support each other. On the ground, the Yaotl rely on stealth and speed, suddenly and brutally striking the enemy at the weakest part of their line or eliminating priority targets from a distance using their built-in weaponry.

Thankfully, Yaotl raids are restricted to the speed of light, making them rare. Though most raids are successful, those that encounter substantial imperial fleets often fail as the Yaotl cannot hope to match the Imperium's industrial capacity, meaning any protracted engagement is likely to result in a defeat for these foul xenos. And defeats they cannot afford; each fleet lost represents a century's accumulation of metals, each colony living space they can ill afford to loose. Though prevented from striking back at the Yaotl en mass by the nature of the Halo Zone, captured wormhole carriers allow the forces of the Imperium to destroy whole colonies; as such, these are high priority targets

Biology

Yaotls are large, quadrupedal creatures bearing a superficial resemblance to certain species of Terran salamanders, although their biology is so freakishly divergent that none could suggest a link between them and Terran life. Yaotls are omnivorous, and possess sharp, bony plats in lieu of teeth capable of both shearing through and crushing their food.

Yaotls are defined most by their bizarre system of reproduction. Yaotls are naturally hermaphroditic; each individual possesses the means to both produce eggs. Yaotl eggs, however, are fertilized by absorbing genetic material from around the egg; this means that the egg must be implanted in another Yaotl to be fertilized. Since Yaotl pregnancy results in several young Yaotl chewing their way out of the unfortunate parent, a Yaotl will not willingly mate outside of their defined mating season, when hormones force them into a state of insatiable lust. Matings resemble duels, with both partners attempting to impregnate the other Yaotl without themselves becoming impregnated; the dominant partner successfully reproduces, while the beta pays the intense physical cost of 'childbirth'. While in previous generations 'childbirth' was almost always fatal, at some point in the past the Yaot race was genetically engineered on a large scale; now most survive their pregnancies, causing rapid population growth.

Immature Yaotl and, following the genetic engineering of the species, Yaotl who have recently been impregnated are driven by hormones into slavish devotion to their Alpha, forming a natural clan structure in the species. Yaotl are naturally highly territorial, and clans do not tolerate individuals not bound to their Alpha except during mating season. Upon maturity, the young Yaotls wander off into the ill-defined borders between clan territories and attempt to survive until they can mate, start their own clan, and claim territory for their own. The need to acquire new territory and avoid large-scale social conflict, fed by this instinctual behaviour, has been one of the driving forces behind Yaotl expansion.

The most alarming trait the Yaotls incorporate into their bizarre biology, however, is the rise in intelligence in a dominant Yaotl following a successful mating. Still poorly understood by Imperial scientists, after a Yaotl implants another with its eggs its neuron density begins to increase rapidly; over a period of several Terran months, the Yaotl in question will have gained roughly 10% more neurons than it previously had. No limit to this growth has yet been discovered, although as the brain grows to the extent that the body cannot support it the individual Yaotl often upgrades itself to compensate with cybernetic or genetic enhancement. Whether or not this trait was engineered into the Yaotls is unknown and highly debated among the Ordo Xenos.

The earliest Yaotl encounters, recorded in the late Dark Age of Technology and recovered by Imperial archaeologists, seem to imply that the race was highly psychic. However, following Imperial contact, no Yaotl with psyker abilities has been observed. In fact, Imperial psykers do not report any Yaotl presence in the warp at all; they are seemingly a race of nulls. It is generally agreed that the Yaotl must have engineered all psychic ability and warp signature out of their species during the Age of Strife.

Society

While the Yaotl are clearly organized and capable of cooperating on projects of massive scale, it is debatable as to whether or not they have a society at all. Yaotls do not naturally socialize as humans do, as they do not negotiate for mating rights and are too territorial to interact with anyone other than their hormonally indoctrinated young.

Yaotl are organized by their biology into clans, consisting of a dominant individual, their immature servants, and other Yaotls that have either been recently impregnated by the Alpha or are recovering from the birthing process. Between the territories of these clans lists an ill-defined neutral zone, where mature Yaotls who have not yet mated (or have mated, but as the inferior partner) languish, awaiting the opportunity to seize their own territory and start their own clan.

This would be the highest state of Yaotl 'civilization' were it not for the natural creation of multiple hyper-intelligent individuals. These individuals can effectively manipulate less intelligent Yaotl alphas, allowing for clans to form larger political structures (frequently, without the knowledge of those inside the clan itself. Thus, the Yaotls have a complex and ever shifting web of alliances, tributary clans and manipulated clans. Yaotl politics is to shadowy, complicated and chaotic for most races to grasp; fortunately for diplomats but less fortunately for neighbors, the Yaotl do not seem to be interested in dealing with outsiders in a non-violent fashion apart from the extremely rare trade.

The Yaotl Hierarchy, the main Yaotl polity, is found in the Halo Zone near the border of the Segmentums Pacificus and Tempestus; smaller Yaotl empires can be found in the surrounding regions, or rarely further into Imperial space. Due to the nature of the Halo Zone, there is little contact between the Hierarchy and the Imperium beyond periodic raiding fleets and the rare Imperial reprisal when the opportunity presents itself.

Forces of the Yaotl

Xenos of the /tg/ Heresy
Orks	Da Merc - Kaptain Blackjawzz - Khork WAAAGH! Mongo Mork - WAAAGH! Sarkus
Eldar	Craftworld Eldar - Harakien Empire Webway Lords & Dark Eldar
Compact of Free Galactic Interchange	Ellonoi - Metabasil - Slaugth - Tau - Vespid
Other Dangerous Aliens	Anatik - Cyfecti - Morkai - Strixoros - Yaotl