Saelt - Marae / Legends Saelt - Marae , known by many as Yak Face , was a long - lived Yarkora confidence trickster and information broker who lived for several centuries during the waning days of the Old Republic and the reign of Emperor Palpatine . Marae kept details surrounding himself secret , so little was known about his early life . He spent two hundred years courting his chosen mate , and she later bore at least one child of Marae ' s . Eventually he left her to continue in his life of crime , which was common among the Yarkora people . Marae specialized in wheedling sensitive information out of various wealthy people without their ever realizing it . He was able to learn how a trader protected his goods by simply speaking with him about almost any topic , before eventually stealing from the trader . He also served as an informant to both the Alliance to Restore the Republic and the Galactic Empire , selling his information to the highest bidder . Around 1 ABY , Marae joined the entourage of Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure , outwardly posing as a harmless merchant while really acting as an informant for Jabba . He ingratiated himself with the Hutt ' s various employees , gaining their trust and learning of any plots against Jabba . For his part , Marae was handsomely paid . When Jabba was killed at the Great Pit of Carkoon in 4 ABY , Saelt - Marae stole many of his secret financial records and disappeared . Biography . Courtship . Saelt - Marae was a Yarkora , and like all members of his species , he was very secretive ; thus , next to nothing was known about his background . He was born several hundred years before the Battle of Yavin , living the majority of his early life in the far reaches of the Outer Rim Territories . Like many Yarkora , Marae embarked on a life of crime , becoming a con man early in his life — he noted every little detail he had been told by those he wished to plunder , using them for bribery , intrigue , and blackmail . Eventually , however , Marae took a career break to carry out the traditional Yarkora method of courting a mate . As the Yarkora had a very low population , Marae was required by law to marry and father children . He and his partner spent several centuries discussing various topics as they traveled the galaxy , as was dictated by Yarkora custom . Marae recorded these conversations in both written and digital media , though much of their conversations were communicated through basic telepathy . Marae and his lover did produce offspring , though they eventually parted ways — around two hundred years after they first met . Con man . Saelt - Marae returned to a life of crime after the Republic was replaced by the Galactic Empire . He worked for both the Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic , making a lucrative profit selling information to both sides during the Galactic Civil War . Marae posed as a trader who specialized in obtaining rare and religious artifacts from primitive cultures , though in truth he was a thief , informant , and con man . He held considerable talent at coaxing sensitive information out of people without his victims ever realizing exactly how much they had told him ; he used this ability — which was augmented by his mild psychic talents — to learn of the security measures of establishments , which he later plundered . He specialized in stealing from art galleries , rarely getting caught . By learning a dealer ' s opinions on philosophy , politics , and religion , he was able to discern how the dealer safeguarded his valuables , and could bypass any security measures with considerable ease . He did slip up in one Corellian art gallery , where a local security official deduced that Marae was responsible for the theft of a large amount of expensive artwork , though the Yarkora criminal was long gone by that time . Marae found employment working for Jabba Desilijic Tiure — one of the most influential crime lords in the galaxy — on Tatooine several years before the Battle of Endor . He was hired to pose as a trader and mingle with the various denizens of Jabba ' s Palace , gaining their trust and friendship before backstabbing them ; he learned of many plots against Jabba ' s life before they came to bear and was able to help the Hutt prevent them from happening . Marae profited greatly from this , selling much information to Jabba behind the backs of those he had learned it from . Marae also consorted with members of the B ' omarr Order , the aloof group of monks who had built Jabba ' s desert palace . Marae accompanied Jabba ' s entourage to the Great Pit of Carkoon to witness the execution of Han Solo and his fellow Rebels in 4 ABY , getting into a brawl with another of Jabba ' s employees , Ree - Yees , en route . The altercation ended in a stalemate , though Marae sent C - 3PO , the protocol droid translating the argument , sprawling onto the ground . Jabba ' s sail barge , the " Khetanna " , was destroyed at the skirmish between his forces and the Rebels that followed , and the Hutt and most of his cohorts were killed . Marae was believed to have died when the " Khetanna " was destroyed , but actually survived the explosion , leaving Tatooine with a sizable amount of Jabba ' s secret financial records and raiding many of the Hutt ' s hidden bank accounts . That was his last known activity , and after stealing much of Jabba ' s finances , Marae went into hiding . Eventually , his memoirs were discovered on an unknown planet in the Outer Rim where a group of Yarkora had developed a community . Marae ' s records provided sentientologist s with much previously unknown information on the Yarkora . Personality and traits . Saelt - Marae was very secretive , a trait not uncommon among his species . Marae was a loner , who kept his origins and motives secret from his companions , and often kept even his name from them ; many in Jabba ' s court suspected that " Saelt - Marae " was nothing more than a pseudonym , while others referred to him simply as " Yak Face " because of his whiskered , broad - snouted visage . Marae was highly intelligent , and was capable of learning much about a being through basic conversation . This talent was bolstered by his psychic abilities — which sentientologists suspected could have been latent Force abilities — and the experience he had gained over the centuries . Marae also used his telepathy to further the bond between himself and his wife . By using this ability they could achieve a greater understanding of what the other was saying , and communicate concepts which could not be put into words . Another trait he had in common with his species was his ability to make others uneasy around him . He put this to great use when scouting before a potential robbery and when acting as Jabba ' s snitch , preying on the weaknesses of others and attempting to intimidate them into providing him with information . In his information gathering , the Yarkora employed his large ears for eavesdropping . He also had highly sensitive whiskers about his large snout . Marae had no qualms about taking advantage of the gullibility of other beings , and cared little for laws . He had no loyalty to anyone but himself , and would betray anyone for the right price . While he attempted to hide his emotions , opinions and motivations from those around him , he did occasionally lose his temper . On the journey to Carkoon in 4 ABY , Marae engaged the Gran Ree - Yees in a vicious fight , showing his violent side . He was also known to carry a double - barreled blaster pistol on his person at all times . Marae was a sly being ; it was a testament to his craftiness that none of the members of Jabba ' s Palace whom he spied on ever suspected his true motivations . Behind the scenes . Saelt - Marae was created for , where he appeared as a background character in Jabba ' s Palace . Marae only appeared on screen for a moment , and was given the name Yak - Face during " Return of the Jedi " production . He was portrayed by Sean Crawford . Yak Face was supposed to have a quarrel with another of Jabba ' s minions , Ree - Yees , and although it was filmed , it was ultimately cut from the film ' s release . The fight was included in the , albeit with Ephant Mon taking Yak Face ' s place , though the official " Star Wars " Databank made Marae ' s fight with Ree - Yees official Legends . The character was not given a proper name until 1997 , when the " Star Wars Trilogy Sourcebook , Special Edition " was released by West End Games . His name was used as an example Yarkora name in " Ultimate Alien Anthology " and " The Force Unleashed Campaign Guide " . He briefly appears aboard the " Khetanna " in one panel of the non - canon comic " " . An action figure of Yak Face was released by Kenner in 1985 , though it was never distributed in the United States . Because of this , and because of the overall rarity of the figure , the vintage Yak Face is a highly sought - after collector ' s piece , and mint figures have sold for thousands of dollars . There is a slight discrepancy about Marae ' s fate on the " Khetanna " : " " establishes that he was killed when it exploded , while " Who ' s Who in Jabba ' s Palace " contradicts this , claiming that he survived . As " Who ' s Who " is a more recent source , this article assumes that he survived .