Basic Information

Aliases

Yaz (nickname)

Huma (callsign)

Little Bird (by Doctor Weller)

Affiliation

The Polity

Experimental Science Unit

The Union (formerly)

Biographical Information

Place of Birth

Iran

Physical Description Species

Human

Gender

Female

Media

Voice Actor

Golshifteh Farahani

Quote

"You are the shield. Without you, all hope would have already been lost. Perhaps you just need a better sword"

-Yasamin

Appearance

Yaz is an adult woman of Iranian descent, possessing pronounced cheekbones, a narrow chin, a rather small nose and prominent lips. She styles her short black hair in a swept back fashion and has a pair of brown eyes. Yaz is also in excellent physical condition, with broad shoulders and muscular thighs.

Over her gen:LOCK Suit, which is shades of yellow over the uniform black underlays, she often sports a tan jacket. She wears the jacket casually as well, with brown padding on the sleeves, black pants, a necklace, a black shirt, combat boots and a pistol holster worn over it.

Yaz's Ether avatar is largely the same as her usual appearance, with the only major changes being the donning of a red hijab, a saffron coat and her hair being longer.

Personality

Yaz is known to be informal, often making dry commentary and quips, bluntly calling the new gen:LOCK recruits “lab rats” yet still following her duties without issue. She is very sensitive about her past with the Union, taking offense to any suggestion that she might still be working with them in some way. Perhaps to make up for this, she is extremely dedicated to the gen:LOCK program and eager to make progress, and is ecstatic upon reaching phase two. She can be touchy about her past.

In her Ether avatar, Yaz prefers to depict herself in clothing that incorporates traditional Islamic elements. This indicates that Yaz misses much of her life back in Iran.

Yaz is very by the books while at the Anvil, and she reprimands Cammie’s desire for alcohol, stating that the beer for sale at the commissary is not for her, as she is under the legal drinking age in North America.

In combat, Yaz is a determined team player, often working seamlessly with her teammates, and she frequently provides covering fire.

Yaz has a great deal of trust in Doctor Weller, as he secured her release from the Mesa Detention Facility. When a security detail comes to arrest a spy posing as Rob Sinclair, Yaz mistakenly believes that they came for her due to her former affiliation with the Union and trusts that the doctor will vouch for her. She also trusts Weller to talk Valentina Romanyszyn into staying with the gen:LOCK program more than herself, and she threatens the Union Spy when he takes Weller hostage, swearing that he would not be taken. Their relationship is so close it borders on parental, and she, like the rest of the team, was devastated by Weller’s death.

Abilities

Military Training

Yaz has significant military experience, being the top of her class in infantry training and having experience as a combat pilot. Doctor Weller describes her record as being similar to Chase despite her previous affiliation with the Union.

gen:LOCK Compatibility

Yaz is one of the few people in the world capable of undergoing gen:LOCK. By having her mind digitized, she can be placed inside a Holon and operate it as if it were her own body, giving her a much greater degree of control than traditional pilots.

Marksmanship

Yaz is proficient in the use of firearms, and she normally carries a pistol in a chest holster inside the Anvil. After the Union Spy was exposed and was running for cover, Yaz was able to fire at him multiple times without hesitation and hit him.

Yaz instructed Cameron MacCloud and Kazu Iida in firearm use during their training. While inside a Holon Yaz prefers using dual SMGs, and is able to hit moving Union drones with her Holon's wrist laser.

Combat

Yaz is skilled at hand to hand combat, being able to hold her own against the Union Spy in close combat after he overwhelmed several of the Vanguard's military police, despite the Union Spy ultimately being able to gain the upper hand. Chase holds her skill at high regard, warning Kazu that Yaz will "kick his ass" despite Kazu having a size and strength advantage. Yaz was later able to fight Kazu in equal grounds during sparring.

Yaz's combat capabilities are further enhanced by her body suit. While inside a Holon, Yaz is able to combine agility, close combat and firearm use against Spider Tanks.

Piloting

Yaz worked as a Union combat pilot, and was compared to Chase, who is a skilled pilot himself. Yaz had no problem piloting a Hornbill, which impressed Valentina due to Yaz's unfamiliarity to it as a Union pilot.

Holon

Yaz's Holon is equipped with a wrist-mounted beam weapon in "The Best Defense" and as of the events of "It Never Rains...", Yaz's Holon is upgraded to include bird-like wings, taking advantage of Yaz's skill in combat aviation. Likely due to Cammie's influence, Yaz's upgraded Holon also sports beam weapons in its eyes; Cammie had previously mentioned that Yaz's Holon would be cooler with 'heat vision'.

Trivia

Yaz’s callsign, Huma, is a reference to the huma bird, a mythical bird of Iranian legends which is akin to a phoenix; fables said it spent its entire life flying, not once touching the ground.

This is likely the source of Weller’s nickname for Yaz, “Little Bird”.

Her Holon’s weapon of choice and upgraded appearance, a yellow hued laser beam and wings, also reflects the phoenix-like bird which usually is associated with the Sun, fire or heat.