Ever since the original trilogy was released in 1977, Star Wars has made its mark on history, remaining a household name and a popular topic of discussion even now, over 40 years later. In the vast and dangerous galaxy, beyond the well-known lightsaber duels and the conflict between good and evil, the survival skills of characters who are not Force-sensitive are critically important. This has led many highly skilled individuals to aspire to one of the galaxy's most dangerous professions—the bounty hunter. The planet we're introducing today is the homeworld of many such bounty hunters, a world covered in water, much like Glee Anselm.
>>>The Aqualish
The Aqualish hail from the planet Ando in the Mid Rim, a world with a surface that is 95% covered by water. Consequently, the Aqualish possess amphibious characteristics. They are divided into three subspecies based on their limb structure: the Aquala, the Quara, and the Ualaq. Their shared features include large eyes, a bald head, a pair of tusks protruding from their mouths, and hairy jowls, all of which suggest a resemblance to arachnids. Their skin color ranges from green to a more common gray, with black or dark red eyes. They are quite tall on average, with heights ranging from 170 cm to 200 cm.
The Aqualish's arachnid-like mouths are highly sensitive to heat and cold, and their hard tusks allow them to easily feed on shellfish and fish—a unique structure evolved from living on an ocean planet. As mentioned earlier, the Aqualish are divided into three subspecies. The most numerous and primitive are the Aquala, who make up 90% of Ando's population. Their limbs have a fin-like structure, which prevents the Aquala from holding weapons or objects like other species. They rely on their vast numbers to ensure the subspecies' survival.
The Quara subspecies holds significant animosity towards the Aquala, with major disagreements and conflicts over which subspecies should be the dominant one on Ando. The limbs of the Quara evolved into a pincer-like structure with five fingers, similar to humans, allowing them to use weapons like blasters. This enables them to take on a wider range of jobs, and the Quara are the most commonly seen Aqualish subspecies on other planets. Finally, there are the Ualaq, whose most distinct features are their four eyes and hands with three to five fingers. Due to racial discrimination from the Aquala, some Ualaq have chosen to emigrate to other worlds.
The social structure of the Aqualish is also unique due to the conflicts between the different subspecies. For instance, the most numerous Aquala are quite xenophobic, even considering other species to be inferior. Each subspecies believes itself to be the planet's dominant race, and competition over food and fishing resources has become increasingly fierce, even leading to civil war on Ando. The three different subspecies also inhabit vastly different environments: the Aquala occupy the oceans, the Quara prefer wetlands, and the Ualaq reside in caves or dark forests.
The Aqualish are aggressive, cruel, and cunning by nature, which leads many off-world Aqualish to work as mercenaries, bounty hunters, or pirates. The primary language of the Aqualish is Aqualish. Although it is used by all three subspecies, each has its own distinct dialect. Due to their lack of a tongue, the Aqualish language sounds quite rude and gruff, often interspersed with profanity and insults, fully reflecting the fierce personality of the Aqualish. Despite this, the Aqualish are capable of learning Galactic Basic Standard. However, their poor communication skills have always been a point of criticism in their diplomatic relations.
The most famous Aqualish is undoubtedly Ponda Baba, who had his arm severed by Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope. As a member of the Quara subspecies, Baba was a tough character on his homeworld and formed a spice-smuggling duo with the infamous Dr. Cornelius Evazan, employed by the crime lord Jabba the Hutt. After his arm was cut off by Obi-Wan, Dr. Evazan attempted to reattach it but failed. It was only years later that Baba was fitted with a cybernetic arm and returned to smuggling. In addition to his appearance in the original trilogy, Baba also made a surprise appearance in Rogue One!
Another Aqualish who appeared in the films is Senator Po Nudo, who represented Ando in the Republic Senate. He was one of the rare Ualaq and allied with the Separatists during the Clone Wars, ultimately being assassinated by Darth Vader on Mustafar. In the series The Book of Boba Fett, the Aqualish can be seen controlling one of the three territories of Mos Espa, showing that this species is quite common throughout the galaxy.
Source: https://www.fandom.com/