Alikaia

The Akikaia of Alikherrnz are a Minor Race with a non-Humanoid appearance.

Located in Near Side of Yonder Sector, beyond Charted Space, the Alikaia are a young starfaring power.

Biology

Alikaia have six limbs and a "centauroid" body structure; they walk on four legs, with the front two limbs adapted as grasping hands.

Native to a damp world, Alikaia are adept at swimming and climbing, moving through thick vegetation at speed. Originally at home in shallow lakes and watercourses, the Alikaia retain buoyancy sacs that can draw in air or expel it through gill-like structures. Light, segmented chitinous plates, with a honeycomb structure, cover much of their body.

The Alikaia have evolved extreme specialisation into four biological castes, known today as breeders, thinkers, workers and warriors.

Society

The interplay between a breeder and the community built around her is complex. Unlike other Alikaia, breeders typically have only animal-level intelligence; on the other hand they are objects of veneration. The result is that communities expend considerable effort on pleasing their breeder, which can be counterproductive if she is unaccountably displeased by something. Setbacks and interruptions in major works are common.

While previously conflict was rare in Alikaia society, today, there are two antagonistic factions. The mainstream cities are far more numerous but loosely coordinated, whereas an aggressor faction is far more focused; their breeders have started to develop greater intellect than others of the caste, and a sense of "manifest destiny" is taking hold.

Linguistics

With Alikaia-named systems, the names of gas giants typically begin with the same 'Ehhh' sound, which signifies a large object, followed by the name of the system's primary star.

The full name of what Humans translate as the Tinzal-Kabinid planetoid belt, in the Tinzal System, amounts to 'not really any different to Kabinid (a world in the Alikaia home system) but here instead of there'.

• Durun-Isk: "Does everything"; the name applied to a small blade weapon or tool carried by warriors and workers alike.

Technology

The Alikaia possess a uniform technology rated at the lower end of TL-9, with TL-8 installed across their society. Technological progress has been relatively slow and patchy.

References

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Mongoose Publishing or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Martin Dougherty. The Riftsedge Transit (Mongoose Publishing, 2021), .
• Traveller Map (stellar data matching Riftsedge Transit, allowing for precise placement of Alikaia space)