Akkimari

### Average Lifespan

About 70-80 years. There's variation as many get killed before this point though.

## Summary

Humanoid creatures with large, flexible, tube-like appendages on their heads, which house multiple sets of internal 'ears', granting them incredible hearing. Their skin is hard and dull-coloured, with furry bellies and crotches. They have four eyes, the second pair of them being smaller and lying on the sides of their heads. Their jaws are incredibly strong and their teeth are nearly indestructible, allowing them to feed on the many crystalline lifeforms on their home planet of Akris. The Akkimari are nomads and scavengers, building much of their technology out of a combination of scrap metal, the powerful acid substance known as Vaash, and pure ingenuity.

The Akkimari were not always the scavengers and raiders they are now better known as. They once had a more advanced civilization, under the rule of a powerful AI they called Kel'chis. Kel'chis was created by the Centens, who were known by the Akkimari as the "God-Makers". After the Theleans found out about Kel'chis, they took it for themselves, devastating the Akkimari civilization. Many Akkimari hold the hope of finding it one day, so their nation can rise once again.

The Akkimari scavengers are officially considered bounty hunters by the Akkimari leadership back on Akris, their home world. They were sent out to hunt down Theleans, who had previously invaded their planet and abducted Kel'chis, a Centensian AI that acted as the leader of Akkimari society. The Akkimari are highly aggressive by nature, and have very short tempers: it allowed them to survive the harsh ecosystems of Akris, but it gets in the way in their modern society. Kel'chis knew how to control the Akkimari's worst impulses, and allowed them to prosper as a society. When Kel'chis was taken away, these impulses took over their society and much of what they had built fell to infighting. When a new leadership finally arose, their first act was to place a bounty on the head of every Thelean, and to promise an even greater reward to whomever could retrieve Kel'chis. The Akkimari left their home world in droves, but they could only take limited resources with them due to the poor state of Akkimari society at that point. As such, the Akkimari who went out to claim these bounties resorted to scavenging - something they were already quite adapt at back home - which is why the Akkimari are now best known as scavengers. Many Akkimari still pursue these bounties, but many others have abandoned such pursuits and now only seek personal glory, making them pirates, crime lords and other vile characters on the galactic scene.

## History

In short, the Akkimari had a society that was troubled with high crime rates, partially due to the aggressive nature of the Akkimari themselves. They discovered a Centensian ship that had crashed on their planet eons ago, and aboard that ship was a Centensian AI. They named it Kel'chis, and at first, they worshipped it almost as a god that had fallen from the sky. Kel'chis itself grew fond of the Akkimari, and eventually came to govern them, as it could act as a completely impartial judge, brining order and justice to the Akkimari society. Together, they developed the Justicars and the other drone models, which helped Kel'chis spread lay and order across the globe. Eventually, the Theleans got wind of the AI's existence, and launched an attack on Akris (the Akkimari homeworld). They stole Kel'chis, and the Akkimari have been in chaos ever since. Some years after Kel'chis was abducted/stolen by the Theleans, what remained of the Akkimari government placed a bounty on the head of every Thelean, and promised an even greater reward to any who would retrieve Kel'chis. The Akkimari left their homeworld in droves, setting out to hunt Theleans and find Kel'chis. But due to their chaotic and aggressive nature, many Akkimari turned to scavenging and piracy, choosing to serve themselves more than chase after the bounties they initially chose to pursue.

In practice, many of these bounty hunters have stopped chasing the bounties and have instead resorted to piracy, though there are still plenty of loyal bounty hunters too. All of the Akkimari who left Akris knew that they would be without the support of their tribe out in space - supply routes and such would be impossible to set up for the Akkimari - and so all of these bounty hunters became scavengers to get the supplies they need to repair, maintain and build ships. Back on Akris, the constant conflicts also resulted in countless war-torn regions and entire cities getting destroyed, and rather than letting all of those resources go to waste, the Akkimari on Akris were also adapt at scavenging their own ruins and building new settlements from the scraps of those ruins.

Still pretty unstable, their society is slowly recovering from the loss of their Centensian AI.
Their society spiraled into chaos when the Theleans stole Kel'chis, with many Akkimari factions warring against one another, and people rioting all around Akris.

The Akkimari were already quite advanced by the time they found Kel'Chis, though they hadn't been to space yet.

Kel'Chis brought up akkimari. It kept their system in justice. But after it's theft Akkimari society fell apart, pretty much. The Akkimari are, by nature, highly chaotic and prone to outbursts of anger. Their evolution to a civilized species was a troubled one, and they ran into many obstacles becoming the technologically advanced society they are today (their aggressive nature meant that cooperation between groups was often difficult). They could get along decently well within a single tribe, but there was always some war between tribes that stymied further technological development. At some point in their history, they found Kel'chis - an ancient Centensian AI - aboard a crashed Centensian vessel, and they grew to worship it as a god. Kel'chis would eventually act as the primary legal entity in Akkimari society, judging over disputes and finally bringing some much-needed stability to Akkimari society. Kel'chis and the Akkimari would later build Justicars, Arbiters and Flics in Kel'chis's image, which were drones connected to Kel'chis that could act as local judges and law enforcement forces..

If they recovered Kel'Chis, the Akkimari would probably grow even more advanced, and given time, they may grow in numbers and become a very serious force on the galactic scene. Over time, they may even lose (most of) their aggressive tendencies: that's one of the things Kel'chis was trying to improve the Akkimari on.

Many of the bounty hunters have no intention of returning to Akris until they have retrieved Kel'chis.

Before theft of Kel'Chis their society was largely peaceful, though there were still conflicts between some of the tribes and crime rates were still higher than here on Earth. Compared how it was before, though, it was like a paradise: the Akkimari thrived, built many new cities, invented countless new technologies and they had just started exploring beyond Kekris. When Kel'chis was stolen, many of the tribes fell back to their old ways, fighting over resources and having difficulty controlling their more aggressive impulses. Their society is still much better than it was before Kel'chis was even found, but the Theleans stealing Kel'chis destroyed a lot of the peace that the Akkimari had come to know.

## Biology

They are humanoid creatures with a relatively hard, dull-coloured skin. Body hair is minimal for the most part, but they have furry bellies and they usually have short, stubby hair on their heads as well. Their ears are flexible tube-like appendages housing multiple internal ears, which grant them incredible hearing, and their jaws are incredibly strong, accompanied by extremely hard teeth for feeding on Akris's crystalline lifeforms. They have four eyes, and are generally pretty muscular but still slender and very agile.

As with all of  Aegonian's alien species (except Aegi), they don't really classify as any class of animals found on Earth. They resemble mammals most, though: they have live birth, and females give milk to the young.

Akkimari babies are all born with larger heads - like humans and many Earth animals, they have their brains inside the skull, and these don't grow as much as the rest of the body. They have much shorter ears though: these grow quickly, but if they were very long it'd cause trouble with giving birth.

Akkimari have relatively soft skin too, and have quite a bit of hair (it's especially thick on their bellies, but there's hair all over their bodies). Their skin is definitely harder than ours, but it's not like an exoskeleton ar anything. They have some soft hair, mostly on their bellies and crotches, and a bit on their heads as well. The shorter hairs on their heads are soft, but the longer ones are thicker and bristly. Soft ones are more common on the sides of their heads, and on their ear tubes, while bristly hairs are predominantly on the top of their heads.

Their ears much like our ears, made of primarily cartilage. They can bend, but they'll snap back in place when they can. They have three middle ear bones.

Despite their often ragged appearance, the average Akkimari is actually incredibly intelligent, and even a simple scavenger can easily construct advanced weaponry, spaceship drives and more from the scavenged remains of alien ships. On average one of them is more intelligent than the average Avikan, Aegi or even Dremeton. The reason for their 'broken' speech pattern is quite simple: they don't use any sort of translation device, and are actually trying to use an alien language that they don't fully understand. Their own language is structured differently and is generally simpler than ours, since their natural short tempers call for a language that can convey information very quickly before conflicts can escalate.

Akkimari lifespan is somewhat similar to Avikan lifespan (about 80 years), though slightly lower on average. There's a lot of variation there though, since many Akkimari get killed before their natural lifespan would be over.

Akkimari silk is a natural product produced by the Akkimari! A far ancestor of the Akkimari used it much like how spiders use it on Earth: to weave webs for trapping prey. The Akkimari can still use it for that purpose to some degree, though its use has diversified quite a bit. The silk has lost some of its stickiness over the years, making it less effective for traps, but the Akkimari now use it for other things too. One example is for treating wounds: they actually wrap their own wounds in silk to create a natural bandages. They can also wrap prey or other food in it to save the food for later, and the early Akkimari learned to use it to create tools. Modern Akkimari most frequently use it for weaving fabric, which is used in clothing, but it's also used for weaving ropes, and creating many other products. There's entire tribes dedicated to the weaving of silk. It's a very strong material that's useful even in some construction projects, especially when combined with modern inventions. It is a key part of much of their makeshift technology and tools.

Akkimari are omnivores. That being said, their primary diet is neither meat not plants: their home planet is home to countless crystalline lifeforms, and those are the primary diet for Akkimari. They also eat meat and plant equivalents from Akris, but the crystals are where they get most of their nutrition from.

They have four eyes for increased field of view, depth perception and ability to see in multiple spectrums. Their jaws are incredibly strong and their teeth nigh indestructable, allowing them to feed on the many crystalline lifeforms on their home planet. They also have hight physical strenght. As of this point in time Akkimari hands and feet haven't been finalized. Current design has 4 fingers on each hand.

Akkimari are incredibly prone to anger and violence. Do something to annoy or disturb them, and there's a good chance it won't end well for the other party. Casualties are somewhat common on board Akkimari ships: if a crew disagrees on how to approach a situation, and a Justicar isn't around to intervene, it's very well possible that the arguing Akkimari draw their weapons in a frenzy and shoot the one disagreeing with them.
The quick to anger behaviour served them well throughout their evolutionary path, but in larger societies things tend to get chaotic. When the Akkimari had smaller communities they were better able to cooperate with everyone around them, but now that they're such a large and diverse community disagreements are much more common. (and as such, so are hostilities between groups and individuals)

Brute Akkimari are just large and strong individuals, but they're the same species and race. They'll have the right genes to promote such growth, which is part of what makes them larger, but an Akkimari's diet also determines their size quite a bit. An Akkimari who eats a lot of the right types of food (so not just sugars and fats, which makes them fat much like it does humans) is much more likely to grow large as well. Therefore, most brutes are from wealthier tribes and houses.

Their anger was an evolutionary benefit. Akris is quite a hostile world, home to many dangerous creatures, and the Akkimari weren't apex predators. They have very sensitive senses and their short temper meant they'd attack predators quickly and unexpectedly. Running from those predators was often not an option, so reacting with quick aggression allowed them to fight back and often scare away a predator.
That trait didn't translate well into their more advanced society, but they have the Justicars to help them with it now.

Music also often helps to keep the Akkimari calm - they've even been known to take alien musicians hostage, since they often enjoy alien music and aren't likely to ask nicely for anything.

Akkimari have occasional sickness outbreaks too - primarily amongst the many bounty hunters interacting with strange alien lifeforms - but they have the advantage of being incredibly resilient to disease by nature. Their immune systems have allowed them to survive the harshness of Akris, and they've seen few worlds that could match the danger of their homeworld.

The Akkimari are also more resistant to toxins, thanks to their evolving in a more hostile environment.

They have sweat glands just not as many as humans have.

The Akkimari have a relatively heavy gait, although they can walk (and run) very lightly if they need to. When just going about their day, the Akkimari are a bit lazy and don't care much for the way they walk. But when hunting, stealth may be necessary and so they evolved to be quite adapt at that.

## Culture

The Akkimari have a philosophy that's pretty much the polar opposite of the Avikan views on AI.
They believe that organics require the aid of synthetics/AIs to achieve peace and order, while synthetics require organics to give themselves meaning in their existence. For either to prosper, they need to cooperate.
They also worship an AI, to top it all of. The Akkimari had Kel'chis as their physical god, before he was stolen away.

By nature, the Akkimari are a very aggressive and short-tempered species (hence their philosophies on AI - Kel'chis brought peace and stability to their society, which was largely lost when it was abducted)
The Akkimari are bounty hunters and scavengers, who generally only serve themselves and attack anyone they believe to be an easy target. Kel'chis, the Centensian AI that acted as the leader of Akkimari society, managed to give the Akkimari some much-needed structure and stability, and acted as a neutral judge in all conflicts (being a highly advanced AI, he could easily analyze and judge thousands of conflicts at a time). Thanks to Kel'chis, the Akkimari were able to create a large, functional society, whereas they were stuck in smaller communities before Kel'chis was found. The Justicars now act in Kel'chis's place, and do a decent job keeping the Akkimari calm, but they can't fully replace Kel'chis.

Akkimari can kill another Akkimari over a minor dispute. This sort of thing happens all the time in their society without Kel'Chis to bring them stability. It'd be incredibly hard to find something that can rally all of them together without Kel'chis. Even the fight to retrieve Kel'chis hasn't been able to unify the Akkimari.

The Akkimari are divided into dozens, possibly hundreds of tribes, and they often disagree and turn to violence
Kel'chis managed to keep the tribes (mostly) together, but without their AI the Akkimari are struggling.

Akkimari tribes are actually more similar to nations, despite the name. The largest tribe, the Kelchaari (or God Keepers), is home to over 8 million Akkimari, but they don't all live in one big city (and there's plenty of conflict, the Justicars are really what keep these tribes from falling apart)

The Akkimari nation - the Kel'chis Covenant - is the collective of all Akkimari tribes (which count in the hundreds). While Kel'chis ruled the Covenant, the tribes managed to live together somewhat peacefully, but after his abduction most tribes have started fighting again. They aren't very friendly to outsiders and it's rare for Akkimari to be accepted into other tribes, but they do trade with each other.

The Akkimari do have clothing, but not wearing clothing isn't much of a deal in their culture - they mostly wear clothing for the protection it provides. They tend to wear pretty minimal clothing, so you'll often find them wearing only a skirt, some sort of short pants, possibly some cloth or silk wrapped around the chest and such. Much like the Avikan, the Akkimari aren't afraid to walk around with no clothes at all, and they don't need clothes to stay warm on much of Akris. In the colder regions you'll see them wearing some more full-body clothing, but overall they don't wear much. What they do wear is usually made of either cloth crafted from animal products, or from the silk that Akkimari naturally produce themselves. (and often a combination of those two)

Akkimari are somewhat religious. Many see Kel'chis as their "god" (though not as their creator), but Shalakka is a sort of religion as well. Shalakka is an Akkimari religion. The Shalakka shaman are some of the best healers the Akkimari have, though Kel'chis has given the Akkimari more modern medicine as well that rivals the effectiveness of the Shalakka rituals. Shamans are generally healers and promoters of the older Akkimari religions. They mix a variety of ingredients and use their special staves to release these into clouds. The dancing movements of the staff cause a different mix of gases to be released, allowing them induce various hallucinations and such in their followers.

The cloth worn by Akkimari is actually a type of silk the Akkimari produce themselves. They'll definitely have full body armour. The armour in the (Starbound) mod now is all scrap metal armour hastily put together by scavengers. Their tiered armour will include more sophisticated armour, like what they produced back on Akris when they still had Kel'chis.

The Akkimari generally prefer sleeping in small groups of about two to four Akkimari. Sleeping alone is alright for most of them too, but they do desire close relationships with a small number of other Akkimari, and aren't generally fond of being completely alone. On board scavenger's spaceships, they're often forced to sleep in close proximity with larger groups, which occasionally causes trouble that needs a Justicar intervention.

Akkimari numerical terms would likely use 10 as well. (Since that's what Kel'Chis would have taught them.)

Pretty much every Akkimari outside of Akris is officially a bounty hunter. To the (loyal) Akkimari, finding Kel'chis is likely the single most important common goal: Kel'chis gave the Akkimari order, and he allowed Akkimari society to thrive and evolve far beyond what they'd have accomplished on their own. There are Akkimari who've abandoned their quest for personal gain - not all bounty hunters still view themselves as bounty hunters, but rather as pirates or free Akkimari - but the majority remain loyal to the quest of retrieving Kel'chis. To them, it feels like the future of Akkimari society depends on the retrieval of Kel'chis, so they cherish it unlike anything else.

The Akkimari use all sorts of drugs. They have a lot of "native" drugs produced on Akris, but plenty of pirates/scavengers have also grown fond of some alien drugs. (much like how they often listen to alien music, try alien food and generally partake in the more hedonistic parts of alien cultures)

They are (mostly) monogamous, and have a concept somewhat similar to marriage. Usually, an Akkimari's spouse is one of the few who don't quickly lead an Akkimari to anger. The Akkimari are very easily set off by minor things, and they tend to choose their mates based on who they can suffer best. There's a lot of chemistry involved too, which makes the Akkimari's instincts for anger weaker around certain others, allowing them to have close relationships despite their short tempers.

Regarding LGBT, The Akkimari are a little more divided, though not nearly as much as humans have been historically and to this day. For most, finding a partner is hard enough - with their anger management issues, finding someone who you can stand to be around and be close to for so long is quite an achievement. If that partner happens to be of the same gender, few care about that nowadays. Before Kel'chis, homophobia was more common, but Kel'chis has always advocated equality and has managed to eliminate most of these issues. There's much more sexual dimorphism in the Akkimari, very comparable to humans, so there's a bit more transsexualism in their society too. Again, most Akkimari don't care much, but you may see some more (small) LGBT communities and also more groups that disprove of it.

### Cuisine

The Akkimari are an odd bunch. Their cuisine isn't very refined: it's mostly just whatever they can find mixed together into a weird dish. There's a lot of odd plant-like lifeforms on their homeworld of Akris which serve as a source of food. The vrelli is a type of plant that looks like a terrestrial seaweed, while the achvass is a hard to define non-moving lifeform with a hard skeleton which produces a type of edible jelly. The achvass is a bit like a plant in that it is rooted to the ground and can't move on its own, but it's not at all like a plant on the cellular level. It looks a bit like a strange kind of (terrestrial) coral. The Akkimari also eat a lot of meat from various types of wildlife, and perhaps their oddest type of food comes from the crystalline lifeforms found on Akris. These are sort of like organic crystals, with a very hard crystalline shell which is actually quite rich in resources. Most aliens would break their teeth and jaws trying to eat it, but the Akkimari can crush it with little effort. These crystalline lifeforms have a milk-like substance inside too - which is the actual living part of the lifeform, the crystal is more like a skeleton - which the Akkimari love to drink and mix. And then there's the Akkimari's own silk, which they use for crafting tools, bandaging wounds and wrapping up prey for later consumption. The silk is edible too, and is used to slightly prolong the lifetime of food and sometimes to add additional taste or structure to Akkimari dishes.

Anything that's clearly inedible, like rocks and metals, will be ignored by them. Some alien (and some native) foods are also poisonous to them, and those are obviously ignored too (although usually only after some unfortunate Akkimari got sick or died from trying it). Food that doesn't provide much nutrition, like tree bark, isn't generally consumed either, though the Akkimari go pretty far if they're starved. Otherwise, they try to eat almost anything, and their bodies can metabolize a lot more than our bodies ever could.

### Entertainment

The Akkimari mostly love tinkering with everything they find. Even children are often seen building electrical circuits out of scrap, building strange tools and devices just for fun. But they love physical activity, too: something akin to parkour is very popular, as are a variety of physical competitions (they don't have many formal sports due to their difficult relationship with rules). Hunting is another popular activity, as is exploration (of caves, natural areas and anything else they find - the Akkimari are innately curious creatures). They have a great love of music too, though their own musical styles are somewhat limited. Akkimari scavengers are actually known to abduct alien singers and musicians, forcing them to play music for the Akkimari. It's also not uncommon to hear alien music being played on board Akkimari spaceships.

The Akkimari are also very much focused on physical activities, but they also place a lot of focus on experimentation with technology and other intellectual activities.
Music is very important to them as well - it can often help them control their impulses - and scavengers/pirates are known to sometimes abduct alien musicians (especially singers) and force them to make music for the Akkimari. One they make themselves is incredibly varied. The Akkimari mostly play drums and other simple instruments, and their music is mostly improvised. That being said, their favourite type of music is calming, trance-like music much like what the Aegi generally make, especially if it's combined with angelic vocal sounds. It calms them down in much the same way as weakly pulsating lights do, only the effect is much stronger. That's why they often kidnap alien musicians and force them to play music for the Akkimari. The Akkimari sometimes attempt to make similar music themselves, too, but only very few have shown any sort of skill in doing so. They'll play any instrument they find though, but don't expect them to play it with any sort of skill. Their music is often very ragtag.

### Language

As for the language, the Akkimari already had a language by the time Kel'chis was found: they were already a modern civilization by that point, though a very troubled one. Their language definitely evolved after the discovery of Kel'chis, though. Many Centensian terms were adapted into the language, including a lot of navigational terms. But at its core most of the language is still created by the Akkimari themselves. They have raspy voices with growling sounds mixed in. That's why so many Akkimari names make extensive use of 'r', 'k' and 'ch' sounds: their speech sounds a bit harsh, but there is some grace and subtlety to it as well. The Akkimari always have a bit of a rumble to their voice, like an almost continuous 'rrr' sound, which is especially pronounced when they say things like Akkimari. The k sounds are usually a bit higher pitched, and are used a lot in their language.

Collective terms: Akkimari is essentially just their word for "we" or "us", and could apply to any group of Akkimari. Their society is split into tribes, but they often travel in smaller groups which are usually referred to as crews (mostly for spacefaring Akkimari) or packs (for those on the ground).

It'll depend a bit on the composition of the group and how closely the Akkimari feel connected to their alien companions, but usually it'll be "akkimari" or "kekkimari". Akki means "me" or "I", while kekki means "someone" or more specifically "one of everyone". Nokki on the other hand means "not-me" and is usually used to refer to aliens.

The suffix "-mari" generally translates to "many", so akkimari is "many of me", nokkimari is "many of not-me" and kekkimari is "many of everyone".

Akkimari could refer to Embassies as "Kekkimari-Places", but while it works, Aegonian says they'd have more direct translations. In a similar manner, Akris means "home", Kekris means "home of everyone" and Nokris means "not home" or "home of not-me". Akris is the name of their home planet too, and Kekris is the name of their planetary system.

Some additional known words: "Assa" - eat; "Yala" - Hello/Hi/Hey; "Dakka" - you.

Some are not set in stone yet, but there is a concept for 'mehgi' - single child and 'mehgimari' - children. In English, Akkimari children are usually called 'younglings', with 'children' being just as viable.

### Architecture

Akkimari architecture is going to be the 'messiest' of all, since they don't have a very well-defined architectural style: they build what they need, and use scrap metal and re-purposed spaceship parts for a lot of their structures. The 'anthill' design seen in their randomly-generated towers are one of the more common styles, but there's gonna be a lot of variation and asymmetry in Akkimari architecture.

## Technology

They use a lot of scrap metal and scavenged materials/technology, but their own technology is quite advanced as well. Their weapons generally fire a highly corrosive organic substance found on their homeplanet, which will burn organic material and corrode metals as well. They would scavenge any abandoned spaceship and often raid operational ones, building fleets from the scavenged materials to bolster their strength and help them find and reclaim Kel'chis. They have taken over many abandoned outposts and facilities, and occasionally attack cargo ships, killing the crew, taking the cargo and stripping the ships for parts. Despite the scrappy look of their tech, they are actually incredibly technologically advanced and can create things from scrap that most other races would need a sophisticated factory for. Weapons, communications equipment, spaceships and more: give the Akkimari raw materials, and they'll find a way to build whatever it is that they need.

Akkimari scrap metal is approximately the same strength as Kavanite, but a bit weaker than Allosteel since that canonically has ferroverium in it, which the other two don't. Higher quality scrap metal approaches Allosteel a bit more, but it's processed a lot so it isn't truly scrap metal any more. All scrap metal is processed and hardened at least somewhat, and most of the metal comes from very good sources. The Akkimari scrap alien spaceships and the like to gather their scrap metal, so with good techniques, they can extract metal of a similar quality
Highest tiers of scrap metal would have some small amount of ferroverium mixed in.

### Vaash utility

Vaash is a type of microorganism native to Akris, the Akkimari homeplanet. Liquid Vaash is water with countless Vaash microorganisms inside: they can't survive for long outside of the water, hence why it is always found as a liquid. Vaash bites into both organic and inorganic matter, and can quickly reproduce. Vaash can spread quickly but it needs more than just water to do so. And in a body of water as massive as an ocean, the Vaash spreads out quicker than it can reproduce, isolating the Vaash cells to the point where they become harmless, which eventually results in all of the Vaash dying. Vaash needs water, but too much water and it dilutes and eventually dies, especially if the water is constantly in motion like in an ocean. Still water is a far better breeding ground for Vaash.

It's made up of countless micro-organisms that very aggressively attack anything they touch. They can feed on almost anything - hence their aggressive behaviour towards pretty much everything - and can be grown very easily. Just take a big reservoir of water, either in the open air or in some type of container, and add food to it. The Vaash micro-organisms will devour the food and replicate at pretty alarming rates.

If if was aerosolized it'd likely die and lose its effect. The Vaash micro-organisms can only survive in water, making it into too thin of a spray would cause the Vaash to dry out and die. If you keep the spray a bit denser, and ensure that the Vaash is never separated from its water reserves, you could make a Vaash spray weapon. The flics (the small drones) actually use a spray like that to attack their targets.
A spray like that won't kill, but it stings horribly and can cause some burn-like wounds. Good for peacekeeping, but not so much for warfare.

It's actually not too hard to create a Vaash-proof container. Most forms of rock are Vaash-proof - though a rock container isn't very practical in most cases - but there's a few other materials as well. There's a few types of crystal glass that the Akkimari make that's completely Vaash-proof as well, and a crystal glass lining is what's usually used for Vaash based weaponry and the like. Metal is a decent container too - Vaash will eat at it, but very slowly in most cases. Not great for permanent storage, but decent enough if you need a quick and temporary way of transporting it for s short time. Bombs might have to be stored for a good while before they see use, so metal containers generally aren't a good idea for those. They too have a crystal lining in most cases.

Their weaponry usually fires bullets filled with small amount of Vaash. Some other weapons, like the Ashatok, simply fire pure pressurized Vaash, while weapons like the driftrifles and trackers fire a small tracking projectile coated in Vaash, with a tiny containment field to keep the Vaash from leaking too much. Driftrifles in the canon don't always have homing capabilities - that's partially a Starbound storyverse adaptation - but in general such homing weapons don't just fire Vaash. In fact, very few weapons, other than things like Vaash sprays, use pure Vaash as projectiles. Most weapons fire a Vaash container, and the homing projectiles have tiny 'engines' inside which can change the trajectory of the projectile. As for Tracker rifles, they fire a small tracking projectile that's coated in Vaash and also has a small Vaash container which breaks on impact. These tracking projectiles use tiny mechanisms that can adjust the projectile's trajectory, and a small sensor to track the target. Some versions of those weapons use projectiles without the sensor, having the weapon itself wirelessly communicate trajectory adjustments to the projectile.

Akkimari usually use a synthetic fuel that's partially Vaash-based: it's a mixture of a couple of substances, and one of those substances is dried Vaash. Living Vaash doesn't burn well - it needs water to survive which doesn't work well as fuel - but when Vaash is left to dry out and die, it becomes flammable.

They'll use anything they have, and sometimes a crew might not have enough Vaash rifles for everyone. The nail guns are quite powerful too though, so while Vaash would be stronger against most enemies, the nails deal decent damage too.

### Drones and AIs

Their drones are full AIs, and built in Kel'chis's image, but their programming is Akkimari and their primary goal is to serve the Akkimari and keep them from attacking each other. They do generally manage to calm the Akkimari when they get into fights amongst each other, but there's nothing in their programming that keeps them from attacking other alien species if the Akkimari in their pack want to do so.

The Akkimari use a lot of drones, but they use them for fewer roles than the Alliance (or at least the Aeginian Federal Union) does. The Aegi use drones for transportation, construction work, surveillance and much more, while drones in Akkimari society are largely peacekeepers with some additional utilities (combat capabilities and tools to assist in scavenging and construction). Overall the Alliance probably has more drones, but drones have a larger impact on society for the Akkimari. They mostly build law enforcement drones, which often connect to Kel'chis for additional guidance. They are built to monitor and assist the Akkimari, and to judge and punish them where necessary. They are incredibly good at what they do: they can quickly assess situations, judging the situation even if laws don't offer a precise answer, and come up with the ideal response. The drones don't have a personality of their own, but are rather highly specialized AIs that do their jobs almost perfectly. Although it's usually only the Justicars who share a direct connection to Kel'Chis. The Justicars spread information to the Arbiters and Flics from there on out. The Justicars and other law enforcement drones are mass manufactured, but an autonomous fleet would not serve the Akkimari. Kel'chis's goal has always been to better the Akkimari, and the drones were designed to assist the Akkimari, nothing more. They'll never do anything that wouldn't benefit the Akkimari, just like how Kel'chis would never do anything to hurt the Akkimari. (as a species/society, at least - the drones regularely physically hurt the Akkimari, but only because it actually benefits them to be kept in line like that)

The Justicars and Arbiters have speakers in them that allow them to speak the Akkimari language. They often don't need words to make themselves known though: facial expressions (through manipulation of the drone's 'eyes') and brief alert sounds are generally enough. But if need be, the drones are able to fluently speak as well.

The average Akkimari drone is fully waterproof, though they have difficulty moving around when submerged. They can be used for underwater operations if need be, but they lose some of their effectiveness in doing so (especially since most Vaash weaponry isn't very effective underwater).

The Justicars (along with the arbiters and flics) are able to suppress the impulsive and aggressive nature of the Akkimari to some degree, but Kel'chis would be far better able to control their worst impulses.

There are larger versions of the Justicars that oversee large settlements, though they aren't mobile like the Justicars, Arbiters and Flics are. Those three are field models that travel with the Akkimari and oversee ships and small settlements, and there's a host of other variations back on Akris that don't usually leave the planet.

The larger, richer tribes were able to create sub-AIs that now help keep order. They don't do quite as well as Kel'chis, and could never replace him entirely - they're only designed for keeping city sectors orderly - but they largely manage to keep the peace within the tribe.

The Striker and other stealth drones are a relatively recent development built specifically for use against alien hostiles. They were used in very limited capacity on Akris too, but they only really found their place amongst the bounty hunters and have developed much faster outside of Akris. Whereas the other drones - Justicars, Arbiters and Flics - were primarily social drones built for settling disputes and enforcing the law, Strikers and similar drones are combat drones used to scout out locations, hunt down (alien) targets and assist the Akkimari in combat by performing flanking attacks. Besides acting as Kel'chis's mobile judge platforms, they're also built for law enforcement, riot control and even for defending positions in warzones. They are equipped with very advanced computers designed by Kel'chis, and the weapons also serve as a form of self-defence since there are plenty of recorded cases of Akkimari who attack social drones in a frenzy. They act as the central unit commanding all nearby Arbiters and Flics, and have to be able to defend themselves against anything, since they're often deployed in rather dangerous situations.

Most Akkimari Justicars, Arbiters and Flics are produced on Akris, and sent along with the Kelraaki (bounty hunters) who chase after Kel'chis. However, Justicars and the other drones are often damaged or destroyed out in the field. A damaged frame can be repaired with relative ease, while destroyed ones are harvested for parts to be used in building a new drone. It takes a lot of effort and many high-quality materials, but skilled Akkimari drone engineers are capable of creating new drones without having access to a factory on Akris. It's not something every group of Kelraaki will be able to do, some some groups have to return to Akris if their drones are destroyed, but the more skilled and well-supplied Kelraaki groups are able to replace and grow their drone populations.

### Vehicles and spacecraft

In the lore, the Akkimari have countless types of vehicles. Hoverbikes, small dropship-like vehicles, wheeled vehicles, Chaseflights, shuttles and far, far more.  Even things like submarines. The Akkimari definitely have greater need of off-road vehicles than we do on Earth, since there's generally a lot more variation in the terrain on Akris. They definitely have wheeled vehicles too, but they aren't used very frequently now that hover technology exists (and now that they can generate enough energy to power hover vehicles on a large scale). Flying vehicles like the Chaseflight are more common, and they have a much longer history of flying vehicles than Humans do.

The Akkimari never built any dreadnoughts. Large ships require cooperation from massive groups of people, and even with the Justicars the Akkimari had trouble with that. They also haven't been spacefaring for very long, unlike some of the other species.

Ships disguised as asteroids are actually a very common tactic for the Akkimari. They often build ships with huge chunks of rock attached to the sides, and sometimes even build ships by hollowing out asteroids and installing a basic cockpit, thrusters etc. If they turn off their main drive, these ships are barely distinguishable from actual asteroids, since the rock absorbs most of the outgoing radiation. Only visual detection could tell you there's something wrong, but by the time a target notices the thruster sticking out it's already too late.

Many ships have no escape pods at all, while others have relatively basic ones, and crafty, patient Akkimari have built a few very advanced pods as well. Like most things Akkimari, it's all chaos.

### Centensian tech integration

The Akkimari excel at some things, but are pretty lackluster at others. Their understanding of Centensian technology rivals that of the Avikan, possibly even exceeds it, as they had a fully operational Centensian AI to guide them for hundreds of years. Even the Akkimari haven't been able to replicate Centensian technology from scratch, though they've been able to integrate Centensian tech into their own with greater ease than most others. Kel'chis has also given them some knowledge of Centensian technology, but not enough for them to be able to manufacture their own jumpweaponry and such. (Kel'chis was built primarily as a navigational AI, so weapon systems aren't Kel'chis's specialty.)

Akkimari too have some good knowledge on Centensian tech, thanks to Kel'chis. They tend to integrate that knowledge into their own tech rather than replicate Centensian technology with any sort of accuracy, though.

They don't have access to many Xanafian Shards, so Xanafian tech is rare for them, and instead that tech is mostly used to enhance Akkimari tech. Improved processors for more compact computer systems, highly efficient tools for quickly assembling scrap into something useful, and energy generation tech to power everything more efficiently than the Akkimari could have managed on their own.

### Other

Their tech easily rivals that of the Alliance. The Akkimari themselves are extremely intelligent, and Kel'chis gave them access to Centensian technology and crafting techniques, improving their technology only further. The aggressive nature of the Akkimari (and their tendency for infighting) is what's kept them back: if Kel'chis can free the Akkimari from those tendencies, they could easily become amongst the most technologically advanced species in the galaxy.

The Akkimari have active personal camouflage technologies, but they're generally only used for specialized combat units and drones - you won't ever find them on a spaceship, for example, since invisibility in space is next to useless.

They definitely experimented with humanoid robots a bit, but those only ever resulted in prototypes and never any mass-produced humanoid robots. The Justicars, Arbiters and the like have proven capable enough, and are more symbolic than any humanoid robot would ever be. They may continue experimenting with such robots in the future, and it's possible some standard model is eventually developed, but they'll never take the place of the Kel'chis-inspired drones.

The Akkimari definitely have access to atomic weaponry. The use of those weapons had been locked behind Kel'chis's control though, and now the atomic arsenals are still governed by lesser AIs that take after Kel'chis. The Akkimari could easily create more - even the scavengers outside of Kekris have been known to build them - but despite their aggression issues the Akkimari still understand the consequences of atomic warfare. They know themselves well enough to not risk using such weapons in a fit, and on Akris at least, they keep the weapons locked behind AIs.

Nanites aren't used very frequently yet - the technology is still fairly new to them - but there's a few places where the Akkimari use them. The "hologram" projectors are an obvious one: they send nanites into the air, with a projector below them to supply wireless power to the nanites and control their formations. It's kinda like those large 3D drone projections, only on a very small scale. It creates truly three-dimensional projections, that can even be interacted with physically.

Nanites are also used in medicine to some degree, to enter the bodies of patients and fight diseases and the like directly, and some Justicar drones carry nanites with them that can do minor repairs to the drone. There's been some experiments with nanite weaponry too, which have proven quite lethal if also quite limited in their use. The nanites can't actually get through good armour, and may even have trouble penetrating the skin, but if the enemy isn't covering their face and the nanites enter the body directly, they can do some serious damage from the inside. Rather gruesome these weapons, really. But the nanites have a very short range as they can't hold much of a charge, which further limits their use. Hence why those "hologram" projectors need to send waves of energy to the nanites to keep them floating.

It's a bit of a new field for them, but they do have cybernetics. It's mostly mechanical limbs at this point, but they have already done some unusual things with them like adding additional limbs or integrating all sorts of weapons into them. It's not a common sight, but there are some groups (mostly amongst the Kelraaki) who are actively experimenting with the technology.

The large drills you see in the encounters (Starbound mod) are used for extracting surface ores on alien worlds, and are highly mobile allowing them to be deployed anywhere, anytime. They hover into position, then extend the drill bit and have it drill at least a few meters into the ground. All of the dirt, rock and ores it drills through are transported through the (rather complex) drill bit and into the drill's main body, where it is processed. The processing system can be configured by the operators, but usually the drill will filter metals, rock and dirt, and then spray out most of the rock and dirt while keeping the metal stored.

Akkimari generators can run on almost any type of combustible fuel. Dried Vaash is one option, but you could also pour in gasoline or some other fossil fuel and it'll work nearly just as well. The Akkimari are incredibly good at building makeshift tech, and they don't always have their preferred types of fuel available. Therefore, most of their off-world tech is built to run on just about anything.

Nuclear is very common for them. Especially for large systems that require a lot of power, like industrial complexes, but nuclear power also powers much of the basic grid on Akris. Vaash biofuel is a very common type of fuel, too: it's primarily made of compressed dried-out Vaash, and since Vaash is so prevalent on their home world, it can be found used as fuel very commonly too. Before they discovered Kel'chis, fossil fuels were quite common too, but Kel'chis quickly steered them away from those and focused development on nuclear power and bio-fuels (especially Vaash-based ones). Back on Akris, wind power was quite common too because the winds on that planet are generally stronger than on Earth, while sunlight is less reliable.

## Interaction with other races

It's unlikely they'd take any interest in other factions at all. They hardly know what the Alliance is and may have never heard of the Avikan at all. Their only goals are retrieving their Centensian AI - which was stolen by the Theleans - and raiding ships and small colonies for resources to achieve that first goal. They simply aren't in a state where they can act on any of the information, and nothing will divert them from their goal of retrieving Kel'chis (their Centensian AI). That being said, it's very likely that Akkimari scavengers will start picking off individual ships in the Starbound regions for the simple purpose of scavenging for resources to build new ships (and fleets by extension).

Akkimari leadership - or rather what currently passes as leadership - wouldn't show much interest in alien civilizations as a whole - they'd simply see resources ripe for being raided. The Akkimari have only recently started raiding in Alliance territory, and have only had infrequent encounters with the Avikan (who are still constantly on the run from the Theleans). All encounters with the Akkimari have also been very small in scale so there isn't any ongoing conflict, only occasional run-ins.

Any alien who comes to Akris is likely to meet their end - the Akkimari aren't very open to outsiders after the abduction of Kel'chis. The Akkimari have trouble cooperating in large groups, and large military ventures are difficult, but should they unite they will have the upper hand. Akris is still around, and while it's in chaos without Kel'chis, the planet itself is still home to many Akkimari, and it's rich in resources.

They generally prefer to keep to themselves, and haven't given anyone the chance to become allies yet. Like the Avikan they've been scarred heavily by the Dominion. Akkimari can coexist with other species, but it's certainly rare. The other species will have to adjust to the Akkimari for sure, removing sources of aggravation as much as possible. Playing specific types of calming music, using soft pulsating lights and using other tricks to reduce the Akkimari's aggression can help a lot.

The Akkimari can learn to speak alien languages fluently, but it can be a tough process to them. It's actually quite remarkable that they try to learn alien languages at all: they aren't known for cooperating much with aliens, so there's limited practical reason for them to learn the languages.

It's unlikely the Akkimari will have any significant diplomatic relations with the Alliance until Kel'Chis is returned, since the bounty hunters are too disorganized and don't represent their nations as a whole. And without Kel'Chis, their nation isn't currently in a state to communicate with other nations. So there's neither peace nor war: only a large group of individuals doing their own thing, some of them quite aggressively so.

The Akkimari generally prefer ambushes and hit and run tactics, but it depends a lot on the type of target they're fighting and what their intent is (scavenge for supplies, kill a target or full-on combat).

The Akkimari prefer not to get caught up in full-on combat, but if they do fall under fire and can't escape (or don't want to lose the enemy), they'll generally employ hit and run tactics while deploying drones to occupy and distract the enemy. They'll launch long-range attacks, swoop in a little closer for more powerful close-range weapons to be effective and get out before the enemy can properly retaliate.

If their intent is to ambush an alien ship and scavenge it for parts, they'll try to drop out of hyperspace (relatively) close to their target, launching a quick tactical assault that targets the enemy's engines, weapon systems and comms. They'll try to jam sensors and comms and hit vital systems to disable the enemy as quickly as possible. Once the enemy is disabled, they'll get in close and launch powerful hooks on chains/cables, and literally rip the enemy apart. They'll kill whatever crew remains, or perhaps kidnap some survivors, and take whatever materials they deem worthwhile before dropping into hyperspace again, leaving behind an empty carcass.

When they assault an enemy with the intent to kill - like an unsuspecting Thelean vessel - they'll ambush them in much the same way they would when scavenging. However, they'd launch a full-on assault instead of just targeting vital systems, trying to destroy the enemy vessel as quickly as possible. They may scavenge some of the remains, but they likely won't get to use the hooks.

As for weaponry, they tend to use their own versions of some of the most common types of weapons in the THEA universe: railguns, coilguns or other extreme velocity slugs for (relatively) close quarters combat and missiles for longer ranges. The railguns are immensely powerful, but since the shots are unguided you need to be (relatively) close in order to guarantee a hit or else your opponent can simply evade the projectile. The missiles are a bit slower, but they are guided and are impossible to evade (a ship can never hope to outmaneuver a small missile). The only option is to destroy incoming missiles before they hit.

The Akkimari generally also have a lot of specialized drones to assist in combat. These drones are fast and highly maneuverable, and can either get in close to attack with kinetic projectiles and small explosives, or they can swarm around the Akkimari vessel in a protective bubble. The drones can then help destroy incoming missiles to lighten the load on the vessel's own defensive systems, and they can help eliminate deadzones or weak spots in the vessel's own defensive grid.
Vaash weaponry is generally ineffective in space due to low velocities and powerful armour, but it's sometimes used in boarding actions and the like to weaken an enemy hull. The Akkimari, more than most others, also tend to use nuclear explosions for their missiles which have the added benefit of acting as EMPs.

### Alliance

The Akkimari and the Alliance haven't formally met yet: all interactions thus far have been between individuals. It's unlikely the Akkimari will ever join without Kel'chis to keep them in check. Even with Kel'chis it may be difficult, but the Akkimari may see the importance of having allies when facing the Theleans.
Some Akkimari believe they may need help, but many are convinced that they'll be able to reclaim Kel'chis on their own. Unfortunately, there's also many Akkimari who initially set out as bounty hunters looking to reclaim Kel'chis only to become pirates instead, abandoning their search for Kel'chis.

First contact with the Akkimari was actually in a thread on the Reddit roleplay. They tore an Aeginian cargo ship in two and pulled half of the wreckage with them into hyperspace. It wasn't pretty. The Akkimari simply saw a great opportunity to salvage materials for their own ships. They don't care much for aliens they encounter in space, and there are plenty of internal conflicts with the Akkimari too. They were chased off by Alliance vessels responding to the cargo ship's distress signal. They would have taken far more with them if they weren't chased off.

### Avikan

The Akkimari and the Avikan haven't run into each other very often: the Avikan are always on the move and the Akkimari prefer taking over abandoned outposts and raiding predictable supply chains. The few times that they have met were not especially peaceful, though. The Avikan and Akkimari share a common enemy, but they haven't had a chance to properly communicate yet and both are generally distrustful of strangers.
They might be able to improve relations sometime in the future - that shared common enemy could definitely bring them closer together, as could their shared history with the Centens - but it'll be a long and difficult road for the both of them.

The Avikan and Akkimari definitely have a lot in common, and could one day end up as allies. However, both are xenophobic and are unlikely to try attempt any sort of diplomatic action on their own. The Avikan are distrustful of all aliens they meet, and prefer to stay hidden to protect what's left of their fragile society. The Akkimari roaming the galaxy are mostly bounty hunters and scavengers, pirates and other unpleasant folk: they'd sooner attack an Avikan (or any other alien) than try to talk to them.
If the two ever realize their similarities, and Akkimari leadership manages to unite the Akkimari again (or if Kel'chis is returned to them), the Avikan and Akkimari may end up in some sort of (likely uneasy) alliance. For now though, any first contact will likely be bloody.

### Centens

The Akkimari might revere them a little, but nowhere near as much as the Avikan and Theleans would. Kel'chis is their god, not the Centens who created him. Many Akkimari might not even know what a Centens is.

### Rimdwellers

If the Akkimari can set aside their aggression (and their light xenophobia, Theleans left a bad impression of aliens), they could be accepted by Rimdwellers. The biggest question here is whether or not the goals of the Rimdwellers and Akkimari would align: if both are scavenging to build new ships/outposts for their own use, they're competitors who likely wouldn't pool their resources and knowledge. Many Akkimari are still loyal to the quest of reclaiming Kel'chis, and they likely wouldn't share resources with aliens. The ones who've resorted to simple piracy no longer have such an overarching goal, and so they're more likely to join up with alien pirates and scavengers.

### Theleans

At some point, the Theleans caught wind of Kel'chis's existence, and they invaded the Akkimari homeworld of Akris. They stole Kel'chis away from the Akkimari, and left their society in ruins. After a few years of utter chaos, what remained of the Akkimari leadership placed a bounty on the head of every Thelean, and promised an even greater reward to whoever could reclaim Kel'chis. This caused the Akkimari to leave their homeworld in droves, seeking to reclaim Kel'chis and claim their bounties, and they became known to most of the galaxy as relentless scavengers.

The Akkimari homeworld was invaded by the Theleans only once, in a very brutal, lightning-fast and precisely targeted attack. They raided the capital of the Covenant and "abducted" Kel'chis, the Centensian AI that acted as the leader of the Kel'chis Covenant, leaving Akkimari society in shambles. The Akkimari have now started rebuilding their society, and a massive bounty was issued for whoever would retrieve Kel'chis from enemy territory. The new Covenant leadership has also placed a bounty on the head of every Thelean, so the Akkimari are actually hunting Theleans more than the reverse.

Kel'chis himself had hardly any defensive capabilities, but he essentially had the entire Akkimari nation at his command. The Theleans might have actually been repelled if the Akkimari were prepared for an assault, but the Theleans attacked with no warning and struck with great precision, taking Kel'chis before anyone could properly respond. The attack crippled the Akkimari before they could even rally their forces.

{In a what-if scenario who would win Thell or Akkimari?}
Theleans would absolutely win, they already destroyed much of Akkimari society when they invaded and stole Kel'chis. But the Akkimari are great in guerrilla warfare, so in small numbers they can easily have the advantage.
They'd never be able to take on the Theleans in their entirety though, and guerrilla warfare won't suffice if you'd try to finally defeat the Dominion.

Vaash is quite effective against the Theleans. It is especially harmful to organic matter, though it can also bite into metals and other hard materials. Ferroverium is too hard to really be affected by it, which means that Thelean technology can be shielded against Vaash relatively well, but Vaash has a nasty way of finding its way past the tiniest cracks and thus working its way into the more vulnerable core of Thelean drones and such.

Most Thelean ships have a self-destruct feature to prevent enemies from salvaging and re-using Thelean technology. The cores of these ships don't have the standard safety features that prevent overloading, and so the core can be overloaded which will result in a massive nuclear explosion once the core's power levels reach past the threshold. This process take a little while (usually a few minutes), but is fast enough for the vast majority of instances. The Akkimari can still salvage some materials from an exploded Thelean ship, but some groups of Akkimari have also learned how to quickly disable the self-destruct function so they can actually scavenge the Thelean ship for useful technology.

## Trivia

This section includes random bits of trivia and quotes by Aegonian. Which don't seem to fit into other categories.

* Aegonian always wanted to have a scavenger-themed species in the THEA universe, but wasn't sure how to handle them. Their primary source of inspiration were the Fallen (or the Eliksni, as they call themselves) from the Destiny universe: they gave me a direction to take the Akkimari in. There were other influences too, mostly minor things from various sci-fi movies and games, but mostly he just wanted a scavenger/pirate species and another minor antagonistic faction.
* If somebody entered Kekris solar system, they'd be found almost immediately. Never to reach surface of the planet. While the Kel'chis Covenant fell into disarray after Kel'chis was stolen, they did manage to ramp up planetary defences quite significantly. There isn't as much protection in the rest of the system, but if anyone notices alien presence they'll soon be welcomed by an Akkimari welcome party.
* The Akkimari outpost could be a small asteroid base where bounty hunters convene, but final decisions have been made on it yet. It could still change to be set on Akris, but lore-wise an asteroid base would be a more likely place for them to convene.
* They could certainly be interested in the gems. At first, they'd likely try to eat the gems, since the Akkimari often feed on crystalline lifeforms on Akris.
* For the Akkimari, green is actually a warning colour, mostly because Vaash emits a green glow and it's a very natural hazard on their home world.
* The red banner features the symbol of the Kel'chis Covenant, while the purple banner shows the symbol of the Shavaari tribe. The Shavaari are the tribe specialized in stealth and assassination.
* A pile of Akkimari younglings is very cute. With four adorable large eyes per youngling, they're really quite adorable.
* There's no detailed mechanical explanation for why the Vaash projectiles fly in a wavy pattern, but the short explanation is that the tracking mechanism inside the projectile needs the rotation to properly seek out targets. While the projectile looks to be made entirely of Vaash, there's a small physical bullet inside that emits the Vaash and keeps it close to the bullet. That bullet is also responsible for the tracking behaviour
In 3D, the movement would indeed translate to a somewhat chaotic spiral, the exact trajectory constantly being adjusted by the bullet's tracking mechanism.
* [Asked about Vaash liquid cigarettes] "The Vaash would burn away your cigarette or cigar, then continue to bite away at your fingers. If you get some inside your mouth, there's a good chance you'll die in agony as well."
* Akkimari tend to re-use waste in some capacity too, but they'll frequently dump waste as well. Some pirate groups have been known to store it and create projectiles from that waste for use against enemies. It's quite effective.
* Akkimari have definitely had cases of insanity: being the scavengers they are, they can never refuse taking strange alien technology with them and trying to break it apart. It's turned at least a handful of spaceship crews insane, to the point where the crew rejected the Justicars in favour of their Remnant tech. They'd never form a large cult - the Akkimari aren't organized enough for that, especially not the scavengers and most certainly not without Justicars to lead them - but there were single ships that you could consider a cult or sect.
* The Akkimari would react to alcohol much the same way humans and other Earth animals do. Alcohol exists on Akris too: it's a relatively simple molecule, and can be found in many places. Akrisic life has building blocks that are quite similar to those of Earth life, and so you'll find similar substances there and the effects of alcohol are similar too. Alcohol is essentially poison that damages the body, and drunkenness is the reaction to that poisoning. It's poisonous to Akkimari too, but they are actually more resistant to it than most humans thanks to the fact that their bodies are stronger and more capable of getting rid of poison. Feed an Akkimari enough alcohol, though, and they will get drunk. And that's generally not a good combination with their natural short temper...
* [When asked about Akkimari resiliance to venomous substances] "In general, the Akkimari are also more resistant to those, thanks to their evolving in a more hostile environment. It's hard to say what a rattlesnake bite would do, exactly. The Akkimari have a higher overall protection, but specific toxins may still be very dangerous to them. A rattlesnake is unlikely to do much harm, though. Now, if a human were bitten or stung by some venomous Akrisic creature, that might be troublesome. Most Akrisic toxins are more potent, and something that might cause minor illness to an Akkimari might kill a human."
* [About Dart frogs poison] "Hmm, those are quite likely to do serious harm, possibly even kill an Akkimari.
It would take a higher dose than what would kill a human, but those frogs could well have enough to still be deadly."
* Vaash batteries aren't really possible: Vaash is made up of countless micro-organisms suspended in water, and they don't hold much of a charge. The best way to use Vaash as an energy source is to let it dry out and use it as combustible fuel.
* Some Akkimari can have ADHD-like conditions.
* [Asked if THEA races can have allergies] "They can be allergic to some Akrisic substances that aren't typically harmful, and since immune systems are very prone to small issues (due to mutations and other circumstances), you'll find similar issues in pretty much all of the other species too. Some may have less trouble with these issues, and using technology/medication you can often prevent them from being a real issue, but allergies are common throughout the galaxy."
* [Asked about which kingdoms Akkimari and Dremeton are] "Officially, the Akkimari and Dremeton are neither of those. The terms mammal, reptile and fish really only apply to lifeforms on Earth, since alien biology introduces lots of new variables which these Earth categories may not account for. There's plenty of similarities too, though, so while none of the categories are a perfect fit, some fit better than others. For the Akkimari, the best fit would be mammals. The Akkimari have live birth, for example, and also produce some substances to feed babies. Their brains are organized differently though, and things like having three middle ear bones don't apply either."
* Of Aegonian's alien races, Akkimari are the most humanoid. (Excluding Aegi, who are descendants of humans.)