One of the most aggressive species in the Galaxy, well known as a threat to both the Terran Empire and the Mond'abi Federation, the Ackalians (uh-KALE-ee-uns) rule an empire located antispinward and "north" of the Terran Empire.

Biology

NOTE: The Ackalians look very similar to the Yautja from the Predator series of movies and comics.

The Ackalians are large, powerful carnivores, the top predators in their native environment. Physically an Ackalian looks like an ogreish monster from Human myth, with a burly, humanoid body, two powerful legs ending in clawed' feet, two strong arms (not clawed), a long tail, and a covering of sparse hair. They have particularly disturbing faces, with four all-black eyes set above a mouth full of teeth. Two small limbs flanking the mouth terminate in killing fangs. A noticeable sexual dimorphism exists: female Ackalians average about 10 percent more mass than males (with proportionately greater strength) roughly 2 to 2.5 meters tall, while males have greater agility. Both genders prefer tight-fitting clothing; males often wear only pants during warm weather.

Ackalians live on meat alone, preferably still warm. They consider cooked food absolutely-unpalatable, but can tolerate slightly rotted flesh. Other species find Ackalian cuisine dull because the Ackalians don't use spices or flavorings (just about any plant products give Ackalians terrible indigestion).

Ackalian females give birth to live offspring, usually one at a time. They do not nurse their young, however, feeding them pre-chewed meat and animal blood instead. Young Ackalians grow up slowly; society does not consider them full adults until they reach nearly 30 standard years. The combination of an all-meat diet and slow matu-ration means Ackalian worlds have low populations by Human standards. In all, the Ackalians number only about 80 billion out of an empire with 300 billion subjects.

Ackal, The Ackalian Homeworld

The homeworld of the Ackalian species, Ackal is a large planet with a surface gravity 10 percent greater than Earth's. Warmer and drier than Earth, it has large deserts and no icecaps (the deserts appear to have resulted from overgrazing and chemical warfare by the Ackalians). It has a population of 2 billion Ackalians (actually a bit more than it can comfortably support). Ackal depends on food imports from subject worlds.

Society

Thanks to the greater size and strength of the female gender, the Ackalians have always had a matriarchal society. Women hold all positions of importance (including Empress) and dictate how the Empire conducts governmental and social affairs.

Ackalian culture has long emphasized war, individual achievement, and the submission of the weak to the strong. No matter what the arena - military, political, social, creative - Ackalians constantly struggle with each other for advantage. They consider this fierce competition a good thing: the perpetual infighting improves the species, they say. At their best, Ackalians are fearless, confident, adventurous, clever, and meritocratic. At their worst they are brutal, combative, cruel, reckless, and overbearing.

This constant competitiveness makes it difficult for other species to interact with Ackalians - the Ackalians always try to achieve dominance, even in situations where it's not necessarily appropriate. For example, if a Human merchant has an Ackalian in his starship crew, he must be able to defeat the Ackalian in combat (to keep him in line) and constantly remain on his guard (in case the Ackalian tries a sneak attack to seize command). Most species solve the problem by avoiding Ackalians as much as possible.

Oddly, connoisseurs hold Ackalian art in high regard. It often displays a raw, primitive, stark quality many people find evocative, though it's also capable of surprising sophistication and depth. Many of the Ackalians best known to other species are artists or entertainers.

In Ackalian society, science and engineering are just another arena of competition, and consequently technological progress is often rapid but uneven. Their most successful developments come from individual researchers or small teams; any large research project quickly becomes a welter of backbiting, bureaucratic, empire-building, and credit-stealing.

The Ackálian Empire

Located antispinward and “north” of the Federation, the Ackálian Empire is perhaps the most immediate security threat to the Federation, and definitely its most prominent competitor. Since the days of the Terran Empire the Ackálians have expanded away from the ever-growing Federation, taking over territory abandoned by the Malvans as well as the most antispinward territories of the former Velarian Confederation. The most recent intelligence suggests that the Ackálian Empire spans over two hundred inhabited systems at this point and nearly a trillion beings. Only the existence of the Roin’esh Union has checked Ackálian expansion to antispinward, forcing the Ackálians to look once more toward Terran and Federation space.
The Ackálian Empire is a matriarchy ruled by an Empress selected from among the ruling families. As in all matters, the Ackálians employ a ruthless sort of infighting within the courts to make sure their leaders are the smartest and toughest available. In earlier times, Ackálian society was oppressive; however, in recent decades the Empresses have held the reins of society a little more loosely, allowing somewhat more public dissent and personal freedom. Nevertheless, Ackálian society remains very militaristic — virtually all adult Ackálians serve in either the government or military, running society from above while the client species of their Empire manufacture, build, and create for them.
Despite having allied with the Federation in the past against the Nibu Gemani, and the fact that many Se’ecra openly express hope that they’ll one day join the Federation in peace, the Ackálians seem to like having the Federation to compete against... and as an eventual target for military conquest. Although the Federation estimates that the Ackálian military, the Ackorsha, is at best 70% of the strength of the Federation’s forces, Ackálian toughness and aggressiveness may make up for the difference if it ever comes to outright war between the two governments. In the meantime, the Ackálians seem content to make occasional plays for planets and territories on the edges of Federation space, or to attempt to achieve various short-term goals through espionage.

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