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Ackbar of Mon Cala
(A Fan-Fiction story based on the character of Admiral Ackbar (first seen in The Return of the Jedi) of the water planet Mon Cala (Dac). The story depicts Ackbar's earlier days, taking place some time before the events of the prequel and before The Battle of Mon Calamari.) (Star Wars created by George Lucas)
Chapter One: Ocean Hunter
Gial Ackbar swam gently through the corals of his world's great ocean. He paused every few minutes as he searched for kroork, the tiny crustaceans which were a favorite meal among the members of his species. This particular species of beings (known as the Mon Calamari, or Mon Cals for short) were amphibious, but also possessed the features of a fish. As Gial swam, his complex gill system allowed for constant oxygen and carbon dioxide gas exchange while he was underwater; and yet he was equally at home above the water breathing air, equipped as he was with a hardy set of lungs. At present, his pulmonary arteries were closed, but they would open again the moment he reached the surface.
Gial presented a strange contrast between land and sea. He was bipedal and yet his hands and feet were webbed. His body resembled that of a Human, and yet his salmon-colored skin was shinier than the dry epidermis of a mammal. His bulbous eyes stuck out fish-like from his large domed cranium, capable of moving and seeing in any direction.
The temperature in the amphibian humanoid's hemisphere was warm to hot most of the year, as Gial inhabited the southern half of the aquatic world that was known throughout the galaxy as Mon Cala, but also referred to as "Dac" in several local dialects.
When he was above the surface of the waves, Gial wore clothing to protect his skin; but when he went underwater, they were mostly a hindrance. Gial Ackbar, like most Mon Cals, preferred to swim naked whenever he had a choice in the matter. During the underwater military drills, of course, he wore his wet-suit uniform but today he was not involved in a drill. It was the season of Haatha, a religious festival that involved meditation, feasts, and solitary swims in order to purify the soul. The festival gave Gial the permission he needed to take a short rest from his responsibilities as Captain of the Guard of Mon Cala, based in Coral Depths City. It was a rare occasion when he was able to spare the time to immerse himself in the luxury of the solo hunt.
At last, he thought, I am blessed with the opportunity of purifying myself in the deep coral forest, cleansed until I am once more as innocent as a Tad hatching into his parents' Birth-Pond. It is here, alone underwater, where I can feel The Force swimming through me.
Gial was weary of the skirmishes that had continuously cropped up between his people and the Quarren, a second, squid-like group of humanoids that shared the beautiful aqua-planet with their Mon Cal brethren. Historically, the two groups of beings had always competed over hunting territories, but as they all became more technologically advanced it was foolish to continue the old grudges. He had been involved recently in aiding King Yos Kolina of Mon Cala in his negotiations to maintain peace between the more aggressive tribes, but progress was aggravatingly slow.
The Mon Calamari people knew that the time for planetary unity was drawing near, and that they needed to strengthen their ties with the Quarren so that both races would not be ripe for manipulation by outside political forces. At present, The King and his Council were taking a conservative stance in favor of supporting the long-standing Galactic Republic, but the Quarren were being drawn in by groups which encouraged separatist ideologies.
Some representatives on the Calamari Council suspected that many of the Quarren people were also being fed poisonous propaganda against King Yos Kolina and the Mon Calamari people, but these suspicions were difficult to confirm or prove as it was usually done in such a surreptitious manner. It seemed as though competing political forces in the galaxy were causing tensions on so many different levels on their world and star system; and so it was only a matter of time before Mon Cala/Dac became ever deeper embroiled in the wars and conflicts that were affecting many of the other planets.
On Ackbar's last trip to the Capital City of Mon Cala, The King had openly confided to him that he had been having dark nightmares about the future: Kolina feared that Mon Cala and its people would one day fall prey to a large-scale planetary conquest.
Gial Ackbar was determined not to let that happen on his world...not if he had anything to say or do about it. As he thought about the fearsome forces of the darkness he darted swiftly in and out of the coral structures, mercilessly snapping up crustaceans in his mouth as he went. He imagined that the little creatures were the enemy soldiers in Kolina's shadowy nightmares, and as he did so he ground them up into little pieces with his sharp, spiny teeth.