Kha'ak

Kha'ak
Species Type	Kha'ak
Homeworld	Kha'ak Sector 926
Systems	3
Population	Unknown
Government	Hive Mind
Rankings
Unknown

General

The Kha'ak is a hive race in which the individual only exist to serve the hive. A Kha'ak will sacrifice himself to that end without question. The Kha'ak's goal appears to be the destruction of the universe. They employ cluster configuration in which their interceptors, scouts and fighters group together and break apart at will in order to better engage the enemy. Despite their increasing presence in the universe there is still very little known about them; their origin, how many of them there are or what their true intentions are, although there are rumours linking them with Nividium.

It is interesting to observe how Kha'ak ships behave. If you have ever seen a flock of birds suddenly change direction you might agree that it's an amazing sight. Kha'ak fighters emulate this behavior when they chase a patrol ship. Once their target is destroyed they will turn as one and take on their next victim. You may see this yourself one day and your reaction will change very quickly from fascinated amazement to gut-wrenching horror when you realize that you are their next chosen victim. The Kha'ak turn everyone and everything they encounter into space debris. They take no prisoners.

Bzzt!

To expand, the Kha'ak are a hostile race first encountered in an attack on the Argon sector of President's End, during the events of X2: The Threat. They are characterised by their pyramidal fighters and powerful beam weaponry, which makes them a force to be reckoned with en masse, although a lone Kha'ak craft is no match for a ship of equal class produced by most other races. Fighter craft are often found in 'clusters', which are up to 30 scouts and 1 heavy fighter joined together in order to execute a point to point jump. They split apart from this cluster to attack. Kha'ak battleships break from their geometric standard, instead appearing more like large insects with a swollen 'abdomen' at the rear and revolving parts at the front. Upon close inspection ingame (not recommended!), this abdomen is covered by mostly regular hexagonal panelling.

Kha'ak fighter craft can be captured, but it is very hard to even cause one of their ships to become inert (no astronaut is produced upon 'bailing'), let alone retrieve it from the battlefield - Kha'ak tend to come in large groups, and seem to prioritise any captured ships for destruction.

They are rumoured to be a hive mind, and have no sectors inside the X Universe, using point-jump technology to enter Commonwealth sectors. Their aggressiveness is attributed to the Paranid, whose scout craft encountered Kha'ak sectors and began mining the rare mineral, Nividium, which is used by the Kha'ak to create their hives and ships, and the Kha'ak themselves are partially made of it. This is not clear, but it is speculated that asteroids containing Nividium are fragments of the Kha'ak home planet, which was maimed by Black Hole Sun's gamma ray burst. So, have pity on them. Or not - they'll kill anyone who comes near.

Biology

The Kha'ak have both avian and insectoid characteristics, but they differ too much from both types to be considered part of either. An adult Kha'ak is only around 80cm tall, they have a stocky constitution, with a brownish shell and two slightly transparent wings. These are, however, not used for flying, but are used in combination with their abdomen to move in a creeping way. their legs are also covered with feather-like filaments. In addition, they are rumored to have a long proboscis with which they "suck" their victims, but this is not confirmed. The life expectancy of the Kha'ak is unknown.

Government and politics

The Kha'ak do not have a government in the usual sense, but it is believed they have a hierarchy of sorts.

Since the Kha'ak are insectoids, they are probably controlled to a large extent by a queen. Whether an individual Kha'ak has a mind of his own is questionable. It is, however, very clear that the collective has consciousness. Apart from this, Khaak fighters always behave very aggressively against strangers. This may be a form of expression of their character, but there are other possible explanations: It is common in insects that the soldiers show themselves instinctively aggressive against other species (and thus potential enemies) to protect their hives and queens. If this were the case, the aggressiveness would be due to their instincts or the control of the fighters by the queen. Another reason for the aggressiveness of the Kha'ak can also be The Community's fault: At the beginning the Kha'ak could not distinguish between their different species. Therefore, they saw the advance of the Paranids into their space as a warlike act of all peoples, and therefore attacked everyone equally.

In general, the observed behavior refers only to Kha'ak Soldiers. How workers behave is completely unknown.

Foreign relations and military

The Kha'ak hate all Community races and the Terrans equally. They behave like the Xenon; that is, destroy anything that isn't Kha'ak.

History

The Ancients never intended that the Kha'ak encountered the Commonwealth races. Unfortunately, they developed a Point-to-Point Jumpdrive technology, something even The Old People could not do.

Somewhere in the time between 742 NT/2912 EY and 764 NT/2934 EY, the Kha'ak Homeworld, located in the sector known by the Commonwealth as Kha'ak Sector 926, was hit by Black Hole Sun's gamma ray burst, induced by #efaa and #deff, while they fled from the Commonwealth's territory. The searing ray pulverized the southern hemisphere of the planet, and burnt the rest of the surface, leaving it a broken and burnt rock.

The Argon Jumpship prototype "Providence" entered their territory, and attracted their attention, and they traced its origins with their own Point-to-Point Jumpdrive technology. A Paranid ship mining a Kha'ak Station and its population didn't help either.

The first official contact with the Kha'ak occured in the Sector of President's End, in 764 NT/2934 EY, where they destroyed everything. The Kha'ak later led another attack on Elena's Fortune, with similar results, they even managed to destroy the Jumpgate to Olmancketslat's Treaty.

The last great attack on that year was on Omicron Lyrae, where they brought an M0, unwillingly controlled by a captured Kyle Brennan, to blow up the main colony. Fortunately, the attacked was stopped by the Argon Federation's fleet, led by Ban Danna and Julian Brennan. The sacrifice of Brett Serra allowed the fleet to save both Kyle and Omicron Lyrae from death and destruction, and the M0 was destroyed. Unfortunately, this could not last, as only one year later, the Kha'ak led a massive invasion force centered on Heretic's End, which could only be stopped by the reconnection of the Solar System to the network, and the timely arrival of the ATF's fleet, which quickly slaughtered the Kha'ak Fleet.

During the next 4 years, the Kha'ak led several raids throughout the X Universe's sector network, causing a lot of grief on the way.

In 768 NT/2938 EY, the Community finally had enough, and began Operation Final Fury. Led by the Split Fjunny Scct, the OFF fleet finally managed to kill the Kha'ak Queen. Only then the Kha'ak's attacks stopped.

It was believed the Kha'ak were driven to extinction after the Queen's death. However, at least one hive survived in the Toride system, which was connected to the Solar System just before the gates shut down.

Culture

Due to the inability of other races to decipher information about Kha'ak society, no one knows how the Kha'ak's culture operates. It is known that they're able to communicate with each other.

Much like Earth's bees, the Kha'ak use for communication waggling dances and the emission of pheromones. However, to communicate via laser radio and other digital channels, the Kha'ak have developed a highly complex symbol language. No one has ever succeeded in translating this language. Furthermore, it is assumed that the Kha'ak can also communicate by video transmission through those dances.

Geography and Climate

The Kha'ak's sectors are covered in a blinding purple mist. Due to their Homeworld's destruction, nearly all Kha'ak live in outer space, except for a few who live in individual pieces of their world's remains.

Science and Technology

The Kha'ak only use weapons of their own design. Their weapons are limited to Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Kyon Emitters, along with Sting, Needle, and Thorn missiles. Kyon Emitters are deadly beam weapons. While their damage is inefficient compared to their energy consumption, their accuracy more than makes up for this. Additionally, their Kyon Emitters make it frustrating for non-swarm missile volleys. Since Kha'ak ships tend to attack single targets in swarms, this can lead to devastating effects, as their high accuracy along with massed fire can bring ships down very quickly. Their missiles are mostly good for light/medium applications; the Thorn missile, their heaviest missile, is moderately threatening to medium ships, but is a minor threat to corvettes and capital ships. Overall, all of their weapons are lacking in the firepower department for their class. Their ships are generally of average quality. They tend to be above or below average in most areas, depending on the model.

Ships

Their ships are of an unusual pyramid shape and resemble crystalline structures. Their capital ships have an odd resemblance to insect nests.

• M1 Kha'ak Carrier
• M1 Kha'ak Guardian
• M1 Kha'ak Hive Queen
• M2 Kha'ak Destroyer
• M3 Kha'ak Fighter
• M4 Kha'ak Interceptor
• M5 Kha'ak Scout
• M6 Kha'ak Corvette
• Kha'ak Cluster (1 M3 + several M4/M5 craft)

Stations

• Kha'ak Station

This very mysterious station is found in Kha'ak sectors 931 & 841 (sometimes found in unfocused jump drive sectors.) The station has no known purpose due to the fact that it cannot be accessed by players or Kha'ak ships themselves (even if it is spawned by scripts.) They're presumed to be residential habitation, allowing the Kha'ak to live in space.

• Kha'ak Guardian

A weapons platform that fires Kyon Emitters at enemy ships, they're only encountered in Kha'ak Sector 926

Territories

Border Worlds

1. Kha'ak Sector 841
2. Kha'ak Sector 926
3. Kha'ak Sector 931

Food

The Kha'ak have no known sustenance. However, it is believed that they are able to eat.