The Mass Effect games are home to many spacefaring races, and one of the most innovative and daring of them is the Salarian race hailing from the jungle world of Sur'Kesh. These aliens are modeled after the classic "Gray" alien look from real-life pop culture: slender and hairless bodies, large heads with big, dark eyes and no noses, long fingers, and minds dedicated to cutting-edge science and exploration.
But the Salarians aren't here to dissect cows or abduct people from their beds. Their ambitions and projects have changed the very face of the galaxy, sometimes for the better and other times not so much. Either way, the Salarians are central to the current shape of the galactic community.
Physiology
The Salarians are warm-blooded amphibians who lay eggs rather than giving live birth. Most eggs are unfertilized and become males, while fertilized eggs become females. Due to societal rules, most eggs hatch as males. These aliens are noted for their high metabolism, meaning they are quick thinkers and have photographic memories, as well as sharp reflexes. As a consequence, these aliens are fast in all their endeavors and have short lifespans. Salarians rarely live long past the age of 40 in standard galactic years, making them the race with the second-shortest known lifespan behind the vorcha. They are not particularly strong, however, and biotics are fairly rare among the Salarians.
Government And Culture
The Salarians have a centralized government named the Salarian Union, which in turn is split up into many local territories and baronies. As a result, a Salarian's full name is quite long, from the personal name and family name to the names of their local duchy, barony, planet and more. One such full name was once heard in Mass Effect, that of administrator Anoleis on Noveria.
Salarian culture has a "can-do" attitude, as opposed to the more tradition-oriented Turians and Asari. The Salarians are a generally liberal race who view tradition, racism and other such things as unnecessarily restrictive. Salarians are always seeking potential in other people, technology and ideas with a pragmatic edge. They will not scorn anything or anyone unless it proves either dangerous or useless to them. For this reason, the Salarians are a strong ally of humanity, a race that is also seeking to discover new ideas and progress at any cost. This makes the Salarians natural engineer, scientists, computer programmers and spies. They never stop learning, and stagnation and complacency are alien to them.
What is more, Salarians have strict and complicated societal rules, often centered around the politics of families and breeding. In short, complex rules and bargains are used to determine mating unions and which eggs are fertilized to become female. Salarians have no concept of marriage or romantic love; they do, however, have friendships.
Military Forces
Although they are predisposed toward science and engineering, the Salarians are not pacifists. They cannot match the enormous fleet of the Turian Hierarchy or the elite commandos of the Asari, but they do boast an advanced intelligence network that keeps their military alert and well-informed. To the Salarians, espionage, wire-tapping and inserting moles in other organizations is a matter of cause, and they prefer to instigate conflict rather than fight on the defensive. If the Salarian military is the one making the first move, then they can dictate the terms of the engagement and strike at will, rather than try and predict an enemy's movements.
But the Salarians won't declare their intentions to their enemies; they feel that declaring war sabotages their efforts, and battlefield honor is nonsense. This may be seen as "fighting dirty" in the eyes of the Turians and Krogan, but given their limited firepower, this is the course the Salarians must take. They gather all necessary intel first, then strike quickly, precisely and never with any warning. In combat, the Salarians use everything from frigates and fighter squadrons to elite operatives armed with rifles, pistols and explosives.
History and Galactic Relations
The Salarians were instrumental in creating the Council, being the second race to join after the Asari discovered the Citadel. During the Krogan Rebellions, a Salarian soldier named Beelo Gurji became the first-ever Spectre, and in turn, the Spectres are molded after the Salarian Special Tasks Group. Members of that Group have advanced skills and a great deal of operational freedom, and Spectres of all races are based on the STG's methods. The Krogan Rebellions ended when the Salarians infamously created the genophage, a virus designed to limit Krogran reproduction. The Turians helped disperse it, and ever since then, the Krogan have indeed been held in check. However, they nurse an intense hatred for the Salarians and Turians alike for it.
The Salarians are allied with the Asari and Turians, since they are fellow Council races, and they are also friendly to humanity, the newcomer race that shares their "progress at any cost" mentality. Naturally, the Salarians have earned the Krogan race's enmity, and Salarians may often be kidnapped, tortured or slaughtered by the Krogan as retaliation for the genophage. An exception to this was Maelon, a young and ruthless Salarian scientist who visited Tuchanka, was welcomed by Clan Weyrloc, and began work on a genophage cure.