Akwin

The Akwin were an aquatic sentient species of amphibious mammals that resided in the oceans of the planet Lazerian IV. Though Akwin society was advanced, the Human population of Lazerian IV—the Lazerians—believed the Akwin to be sea monsters, which convinced the oceanic beings to refrain from contacting their land-dwelling counterparts. The Akwin's isolationist attitude continued into the New Republic era. As the Lazerians continued to react poorly to sightings of the Akwin, the latter concluded that their land-dwelling neighbors were still not ready to meet them formally. Despite their continued isolationism, the Akwin had multiple interactions with some travelers who visited Lazerian IV.
The Akwin utilized a degree of industry in the form of manufacturing plants and ore mines, though their pride for Lazerian IV led to restraint from polluting their planet. For the same reason, they were frustrated by the pollution caused by the Lazerians on the surface. Akwin utilized technology such as net guns and speeders and practiced an art called coral-sculpting. The Akwin lived in multiple independent city-states ruled by a king or queen, built on the ocean floor.
==Biology and appearance==
An aquatic mammalian sentient species, the Akwin were amphibious, allowing them to reside on land and underwater. Their bodies had six limbs, with the first pair at their shoulders acting as arms. Each of their arms ended in a hand with three digits. The middle set of limbs were flippers resembling arms, which Akwin used to steer themselves through the water. Their third and final pair of limbs acted as the Akwin's legs, which ended in webbed, two-toed feet that allowed them to stand and locomote on land. The mammals also had a tail and fins on their backs, a set of gills below their jaws, and acute hearing.
An Akwin's body was tough and muscular, which allowed them to tolerate the pressure of the oceans' depths. They had elongated skulls with a broad mouth, a pair of eyes adjusted for night vision, and two blowholes. Cilia grew from their heads and faces and could often be mistaken for hair. This cilia was typically white, silver, green, blue, or black in color. An elongated crest extended from the back of their heads and had two holes in its end. The Akwin were carnivorous, primarily consuming small sea creatures, but also on marine plant life. They ranged anywhere from 1.5 to 1.8 meters in height and had blue-green skin.
==Society and culture==
Due to the discovery by the Lazerians—the Akwin's Human neighbors—of space travel, their interest was focused primarily on exploring the galaxy and the Lazerian system. As a result, the Akwin remained almost entirely undisturbed by the Lazerians, as the latter believed them to be sea monsters. The presence of minerals that blocked sensor scans of the oceans also kept their people hidden. Although the Akwin's technology was on par with their Human neighbors, they were not interested in space travel. They had made significant progress in perfecting water-resistant technology and developed their own fast-moving variant of speeder with two sub-variations: one that could move both in water and in the air and one that could move both in water and on land.
The Akwin also utilized manufacturing plants and ore mines, though they took great care to prevent polluting their home planet Lazerian IV's environment, as they were proud of their world. Likewise, excessive pollution from their surface-dwelling neighbors infuriated them and had the potential to cause the Akwin to reveal themselves to the Lazerians. Despite their civilized and advanced nature, they could be rather mischievous. They were often equipped with underwater equivalents to many surface-dweller technologies, including blaster pistols, comlinks, and Akwin Net Guns.
Although the Akwin could live on land and in the sea, they spent most of their time in Lazerian IV's oceans—Caz Ocean and Dox Ocean—which they referred to together as "Father Ocean." The species raised the creatures that comprised their diet on underwater "ranches," while the plant life they ate was grown on special underwater farms. The Akwin were a peaceful people who lived in large cities built on the ocean floor, which operated as independent city-states, each ruled by its own king or queen. They enjoyed music as well as the art of coral-sculpting. The Akwin communicated through both spoken words and gestures. Additionally, they kept historical records dating back to their savage ancestors, who lived thousands of years before them.
Contact with the Lazerians was greatly discouraged by the Akwin, who believed both were content with their homes and that it should remain that way. To some extent, the Akwin believed themselves superior to their counterparts, as they were not confined only to the soil, which was further reinforced by them being far more aware of Lazerian civilization than the opposite. What little knowledge the Lazerians did have of the Akwin was often relegated to stories or legends and usually dismissed as mirages or a product of inebriation. The idea that their people were a myth was promoted by the Akwin, who believed the Lazerians were not yet prepared to share their planet with another advanced civilization. The Akwin were also aware of a ruined outpost on the planet's surface.
==History==
===Life with Lazerians===
During the reign of the Galactic Republic, the Akwin once witnessed a battle at the ruined outpost involving Jedi Knights—whom they regarded as strangers—using their lightsabers to cut through objects easily. Shortly after the death of Emperor Palpatine at the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY,The New Essential Chronology a scouting party of Akwin—including the scout B'dasssa—saw the Lazerian capital Lazeria City, ensuring they remained unseen. They listened as a group of Lazerian army troopers discussed the demise of Palpatine and their dissatisfaction with change.
As the scouting party continued eavesdropping, they failed to notice the arrival of a second army group. The newly arrived troopers noticed the Akwin scouts and began shouting before opening fire, missing as the Akwin fled. A few minutes later, B'dasssa instructed their party to remain in the depths while they returned to investigate further. They were surprised to learn that the troopers believed the Akwin to be a hallucination of giant creatures. Although the incident convinced B'dasssa that the Lazerians were not yet prepared for contact with the Akwin, they also confessed that they were curious about the Emperor's fate.
By the time following the New Republic's formation in 4 ABY, the Akwin had become aware of the Galactic Civil War. They considered it the natural result of other species' immaturity, though it was possible for their view to shift in favor of the New Republic had they encountered a member of the Quarren or Mon Calamari species—the consequences of which would be severe due to the Lazerians' pro-Imperial stance.
===Travelers on Lazerian IV===
Following the rise of the New Republic during the New Republic era, a trader took a holoimage of an Akwin on an island near the continent Laz. He later went to a bar, where he attempted to inform other patrons of what he believed to be a sea creature. Most patrons, however, brushed him off. Unbeknownst to the traveler, the Akwin whose image he had taken informed his friends of the incident.
One group of travelers believed the trader and learned of its probable location on the island after buying him some drinks. A marine biologist under the employ of the Galactic Empire had also overheard the conversation and departed for the island, interested. After the trader himself left, he was harassed by a group of cloaked Akwin—including the individual whose image he took—who stole the holoimage from him without injuring him. When the band of travelers tried to intervene, the Akwin attempted to subdue them, again taking care not to cause injury. The travelers later left to investigate the island themselves but found themselves to be the Akwin's unwilling guests.
Another Akwin scouting party had seen the King's Own Guard marching into the mountains. What the Akwin did not know, however, was that the King's Own Guard had been bound for the Crystal Valley, intending to harvest Empeth Crystals that were about to "bloom."
When another group of travelers managed to befriend the Akwin, they were informed of the King's Own Guard squad in the mountains.
==Behind the scenes==
The Akwin were created by John Terra for Twin Stars of Kira, a 1993 supplement to West End Games' Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. Twin Stars of Kira uses "Akwins" as the plural form of their name. However, the 1998 releases Alien Encounters and Star Wars Encyclopedia,Star Wars Encyclopedia as well as the 2008 reference work The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, utilize the plural form "Akwin." As the three aforementioned publications use the plural "Akwin" more frequently, and these sources are more recent, this article assumes it is the correct form.
==Sources==
*Twin Stars of Kira 
*Star Wars Encyclopedia
*Alien Encounters
*The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
==Notes and references==
Category:Aquatic sentient species
Category:Expansion Region species
Category:Mammalian sentient species