The Krikthasi were large sentient marine mollusks indigenous to Baralou.
The Kirkthasi were a sentient species of large marine mollusk who could not survived for an extended period outside of water. They had flexible, ribbon-like bodies, which grew up to 2.5 meters in length and had four sucker-covered tentacles at each end. At the anterior end of the body, the tentacles were located in near equal spacing around the body behind the Krikthasi's small, well-developed eyes, of which there were four. The eyes sat in a row beneath two openings at the forefront of the body, one of which functioned as a mouth and the other was used to force water through the Kikthasi's body. The water taken in through the opening was then pushed through a series of muscles and expelled from vents located at the posterior of the body. The expelled water allowed Krikthasi to propel themselves through their marine environment at speeds of up to 40 kilometers an hour. The tentacles located at the end of the body were also equally spaced and located above the Krikthasi's dorsal fins. The exact number of fins a Kirkthasi had varied and depended upon its ancestry.
Members of the species could communicate by altering the color of their body, which naturally ranged from black to brown. They changed color using their chromanins, with the location, speed, pattern and fluctuation of the color change all having significance. Krikthasi were carnivores and fed mainly upon schools of fish as well as the eggs of the Multopos, another sentient species native to Baralou who dwelt on the planet's landmasses.
Krikthasi were generally highly intelligent individuals, but also aggressive, stubborn, violent, and territorial. Individuals of the species lived in interlocked cartilages of dead treppoks, a large species of fish, due to the structures easy defensibility. Krikthasi could control live treppoks using "treppok calls" which were sounds that the mollusks could produce which terrified the fish and drove them into a frenzy. The Krikthasis' fragmented, tribal, society developed partially due to a constant conflict between the Krikthais and the amphibious Multopos. The Krikthais fought due to the species natural bloodlust, but also due to the fact they did not realize their opponents were also sentient. The Krikthasi's taste for eating Multopos eggs also played a role in furthering the conflict. They attacked the land-dwellers when a storm or flood gave them access to the Multopos homes, as tides sometimes rose up to 50 feet.
The Krikthasi were constantly at war with the Multopos.
Krikthasi society was based on combat skill, with the strongest warrior normally holding the role of osi. Each osi controlled a junieuw, one of the fiefdom into which the oceans of their homeworld were split with the majority of the ocean was controlled by several of the most powerful junieuw. Each junieuw was then divided into territories controlled by members of the osi's family, who controlled the individual tribes within the area they held power over. As well as the osi controlled tribes, there were also many independent tribes scattered across Baralou. Osi would sometimes go to war with each other over the schools of fish on which they depended for food. Border skirmishes between junieuw were also common and in most of their conflicts Krikthasi used spears made from carved coral or bone; materials they also used to make primitive tools.
The Krikthasi suffered greatly after the Multopos began trading with offwordlers, as they acquired blasters, and began to openly hunt their rival species.
Imperial biologists attempted to decipher the meaning of the Krikthasi's color changes, but were unable to completely understand it. They came to believe that shades of blue or green showed aggression, yellow represented territory, and orange or red was a sign that a Krikthasi was willing to discuss or negotiate.
- Planets of the Galaxy, Volume One
- The Star Wars Planets Collection
- Alien Encounters