Volus

The **volus** are a species renowned for their business acumen, who were once quite influential associate members of the Citadel Council. Their home world, Irune, is inhospitable for most lifeforms and as a result the volus have a remarkable biology -- though they must wear pressure suits and breathers when dealing with other species.

## Physiology

Having evolved on a planet with an ammonia-based ecology, with a high pressure atmosphere and 1.5 times the gravity of Earth the volus must be properly equipped before they venture away from their home world to places more commonly habitable to carbon-based lifeforms.

Because volus have only ever been seen by outsiders in their protective suits, their physiology is mostly a mystery. Even the sexes and genders of the volus who have been encountered is somewhat mysterious -- volus find the matter both hilariously irrelevant and intrusive, and will often intentionally mislead someone who asks. The Special Tasks Group kept a tally of this misinformation for its own purposes.

It is known that typical nitrogen/oxygen air is poisonous to the volus. Low pressure atmospheres will cause their skin to literally split apart. Volus are capable of spitting, and -- like salarians -- possess cloacae. When exposed to Element Zero, some volus can develop biotic abilities.

Aside from this, the volus remain a mystery.

## History

The volus were the earliest race to come into contact with the Citadel Council after its creation. Their particular skill set -- trade -- proved invaluable in creating a stable economy for the fledgling government. The volus created the Unified Banking Act and established the credit as the standard galactic currency.

Because the volus lack military prowess, they petitioned the turians for client status during the Krogan Rebellion. The turians provide military support and protection for the volus, while the volus in turn help keep the turian economy viable in the galactic community.

By the time humans became associate members of the Citadel Council, the volus had held that status for centuries. They had never been offered full membership -- although the turians had -- and this was something of a sore spot for many volus.

During the Reaper Invasion of 2986, the volus were quickly overwhelmed. Irune was practically indefensible, and what defenses it did have -- provided by the turians -- were quickly defeated. However, after the Miracle at Palaven a joint force of krogan and turians attempted to retake the planet. Once the Reapers were defeated, rebuilding the planet became a primary objective for the turians and the volus.

## Culture

The culture of the volus is centered almost entirely around trading. They are generally not a violent species, and completely did away with warfare much earlier in their development than most species of the Milky Way. Disagreements between volus are usually settled economically, and even if they become violent skirmishes they will typical end with economic sanctions, bargaining agreements, or social castigation.

An ancient book, called the Book of Plenix, is a highly important artifact to the volus. The book calls for forgiveness of debts in cases of war, and also speaks of the importance of charity.

Volus have two names -- but no family name. In their tradition, it is impossible to own a person and family names are essentially claiming ownership of a child. The volus also refer to people by using their origins -- humans are referred to as "Earth-clan". Quarians, who lack of a homeworld, are often called "clanless" or "Migrant-clan". Volus will identify themselves as "Vol-clan."

When in thought, volus have been known to place their hands flat on a surface.

### Economy

The economy of the volus is massive, particularly when taking into account the modest resources they possess. The volus have an astute understanding of finances, which have allowed them to control some of the galaxy's largest banks and corporations.

### Religion

The primary faith of the volus is a polytheistic religion. Some planets have been named after their deities -- for instance: Cherk Sab, the god of luck, and Zada Ban, the god of punishment.

### Government

The government of the volus is known as the Vol Protectorate. It is not a fully sovereign state, as they are a client state of the Turian Hierarchy. This is one of the main reasons they were never made a full member of the Citadel Council, although they are permitted to share an embassy on the station with the elcor.

### Military

The volus do not have a standing military of their own, but do provide auxiliary troops to the Turian Hierarchy. These troops may not physically excel in combat but are equipped with advanced technology and power armor that makes them formidable. The military equipment is often cheaply made and is not always reliable.

Rather than using troops on the ground, the volus prefer to provide air support. They maintain several flotillas of heavy bombers as well as one dreadnought -- the Kwunu. The Kwunu is so well-armed that a turian once declared it could "char a planet three times over."

### Language

The volus speak Iperian Volus. Some phrases from this language include:

* "*bovis tor*" - "the shining sea"
* "*doz atab*" - "sky warden"
* "*vem osca*" - "weeping witness"
* "*welm urun*" - "the golden one"

## Source

The volus are derived from *Mass Effect*. For canon information, please visit Mass Effect Wiki.