Akata

ah-KAA-ta(h)

Terrifying predators that dwell in the vast void of space, akatas make their homes on lifeless asteroids, comets, and dying planets, hibernating in cocoons composed of noqual for countless centuries.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Looks similar in shape to a lion, but with hairless, rubbery blue skin and a mane of thick, lashing tentacles. Its face is little more than two eyes glowing with ever-changing light and a fanged maw. Two long tentacular tails extend from its muscular hindquarters. Long, sharp claws on their front pair of legs are used in conjunction with their teeth to shred prey, although they have been known to dig their claws into near-vertical surfaces such as concrete to reach a target when necessary.

Biological Traits

The strange, rubber-like material that comprises the body of an akata is also susceptible to sodium chloride - contact with this chemical has a violently corrosive effect upon them.

Genetics and Reproduction

Once awakened from their noqual cocoons, akata can drastically depopulate a planet as they seek out suitable hosts for their young. A bite from an akata infects their prey with void death, causing their victims to eventually metamorphise into more of their kin.

Growth Rate & Stages

Akatas can hibernate for centuries, protecting themselves in cocoons made from a combination of resin from the creatures’ pores and noqual. When a meteorite carrying an akata colony crashes onto a planet or another astronomical object that can support life, the akatas awake from their cocoons and hunt nearby creatures.

Ecology and Habitats

Akatas don't need to breathe and are immune to the frigid temperatures of space, so they often thrive on asteroids and other desolate areas such as mountaintops, although they tolerate the heat of a true desert almost as well.

They thrive best in swamp-ridden areas, ignoring the deadly toxins of many creatures often found with such areas while devouring them to regurgitate their spawn later.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Akata don't seem to need to eat, but rather participate in it as a by-product of spreading their seed via a bite.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Akatas can change the colour of their eyes to over a thousand shades, which they use in conjunction with complex tail movements to communicate visually. Scent glands located just behind the jawbone on akatas’ necks produce a wide variety of smells that other akatas can 'taste' with their tongues.

Domestication

Illegal, dangerous and unlikely to succeed: A single drop of saliva has the potential to begin a void zombie infestation.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Akatas usually consume the remains of their cocoons upon awakening, but 1 bulk of noqual worth 500cr can be harvested from the remnants of a single cocoon.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Spread throughout the Material Plane, often as a pest.

Average Intelligence

On the same level as most animals. Interestingly, they seem to be capable of overriding their natural survival instinct if they believe there is a chance of infecting an individual - even at the cost of their own life.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Akatas lack auditory organs, lungs, and vocal cords, and they can’t hear or vocalise in any way. Instead, they communicate with each other through uniquely accurate sight and scent.

“We've hit a spot o' trouble, rougher than normal but nuthin' me an' the lads can't handle. Hauled the goods up to the Acreon, but turns out there were these blue dogs in the noqual, used 'em like eggs. Patch went down first...we didn't even hear him drop until he threw a crypto-spanner our way. What a bloody mess...lost a few good lads then. We'll just finish armin' up, then hit back - hard.”

— Captain Grordral of clan Hardscrabble, Dead Suns S1E4

Type: Aberration
Alignment: True Neutral

Genetic Descendants

• Void Zombie

Scientific Name

Canem Infecerit (dog of infecting)

Conservation Status

Pest: Citizens may kill akatas on sight, without repercussion.

Average Height

106cm (3.5ft)

Average Weight

181.5kg (400lbs)

Average Physique

Tough, and quite hardy.

Related Materials

• Noqual