Akamai

Species: Companion Creature | Role: Engineer’s Assistant

Small, clever, and never far from Ma’Tak’s shoulder. Akamai may look like a pet, but this AI-enhanced creature is an essential part of the Acus’Rube’s engineering team.

Appearance

Akamai looks like a cross between a ferret and a gecko—sleek fur over flexible scales, large curious eyes, and a prehensile tail capable of gripping tools or handholds. Small enough to fit in a pocket, agile enough to navigate the tightest spaces in a starship’s systems.

The creature’s eyes reflect more intelligence than a typical pet would possess. AI enhancement has made Akamai something between animal companion and engineering tool.

Bond with Ma’Tak

Indrilum engineers traditionally work with companion creatures—small beings enhanced with basic AI to assist with tasks requiring access to confined spaces. Akamai has been with Ma’Tak since his apprentice days, and the bond between them runs deep.

They communicate through a combination of chirps, gestures, and what appears to be genuine intuition. Ma’Tak claims Akamai understands complex engineering concepts. Skeptics suggest it’s pattern recognition and training. Either way, the results speak for themselves.

Capabilities

• Small-space access - Can navigate conduits, ducts, and maintenance passages
• Tool manipulation - Prehensile tail and clever digits handle basic tools
• AI enhancement - Enhanced problem-solving beyond natural capability
• Diagnostic assistance - Trained to identify common system failures
• Retrieval - Fetches components, carries messages, runs errands

Personality

Curious, loyal, and occasionally mischievous. Akamai has been known to hide tools from crew members who annoy Ma’Tak, and to bring “gifts” of interesting components scavenged from around the ship.

The creature’s distress at Ma’Tak’s injuries or stress is obvious and genuine. Whatever the nature of their bond, it goes beyond simple utility.

Connections

• Ma’Tak the Fourteenth - Partner, bond-mate, family
• The Acus’Rube - Home, workspace, territory
• The Crew - Tolerates most, actively likes some
• Engineering Section - Domain to be explored and maintained

Akamai appears alongside Ma’Tak throughout Books 2-9 of the Fannec Records series.