Kett

The kett are a hostile race encountered by Andromeda Initiative personnel in the Andromeda galaxy from the planet Sarhesen.

Biology
The kett have a natural bone armor over what appears to be a heavy skeletal bipedal structure. Around the back side of their neck is a large armored-covered bone collar. Their eyes are pale white and receded. Kett blood is brownish-green. Kett biology retains traits taken from many other species. One such trait is that kett can survive for limited periods in inhospitable environments without protective suits, including vacuum.

Kett appear to reproduce only through an artificial process called exaltation. It is speculated that exaltation arose long ago in kett history when their genetics reached a point of stagnation. The kett began adding beneficial genes from other species into their own genome in order to continually improve themselves, which they refer to as harmonization. Kett mastery over genetic manipulation enabled them to develop a serum to rapidly convert other species into obedient kett, which became the basis for exaltation. To build an army or replenish their numbers, kett simply capture members of other species and transform them through exaltation. Heleus Cluster species that have been subjected to exaltation include the challyrion, who become Wraiths, and the angara, who become Chosen and Anointed.

Following the arrival of the Andromeda Initiative, the kett become interested in exalting Milky Way species. They begin developing an exaltation serum for krogan, but the process remains incomplete and the only example of a partially-exalted krogan was mindlessly hostile to both non-kett and kett.

History
Exaltation unified the kett homeworld of Sarhesen, and in time the other worlds that the kett empire conquered.

The kett are not native to the Heleus Cluster, which they call Sector 1-19-NYKZ, and began invading it in 2744. When the angara encountered them, the kett lured them into a false sense of security with gifts and offers of friendship, before kidnapping their leadership and providing information which provoked arguments between angaran worlds. The uncoordinated and separated angara were swiftly defeated, though the kett would continue to have to deal with various resistance movements and later the unified Angaran Resistance led by Evfra de Tershaav.

The Archon assigned to the Heleus Cluster eventually began deviating from kett protocols. He blocked all research on angaran genetics from being sent to his superiors, using it to empower only the troops in his command, and took an obsessive interest in Remnant technology. This led to a schism between the Archon and Primus, his second-in-command.

Culture
The kett have been shown to be highly militaristic, and look down on other species considering them lesser beings, this can be shown from the fact they experiment on prisoners with genetic traits considered useful and kill prisoners with traits deemed useless and have enslaved angara who are subject to the same treatment. They do not refer to individuals of other races with gendered pronouns (ie, defaulting to "it"), further devaluing them.

Technology
The kett possess technology that is comparable in advancement to the Andromeda Initiative, but have an unparalleled mastery of biotechnology and medical technology. Bio-engineered components are used in all of their machines and devices. Instead of conventional research and development programs, kett prefer to improve their technology incrementally by taking features and designs from other species' technology. Soon after the Andromeda Initiative came into contact with the kett, the kett began weaving aspects of Initiative tech into their own.

Kett starships use FTL drives with a radically unique design. When traveling across smaller regions, such as a star cluster, these drives function almost identically to Milky Way drives, but over longer distances, they function like Alcubierre drives. This is similar to having an on-board Mass Relay, but compared to actual Mass Relays, kett drives are extremely inefficient.

Language
The kett language is called Tonaizhet. Known Tonaizhet words are listed below.


 * dhan - "peacebringer"
 * hesh - "order"
 * naladen - "taker"
 * rozerad - "infinite fire"
 * soned - "resistance"
 * thokin - "sudden death"
 * zalkin - "three stars"

Religion
The kett revere exaltation as a sacred ritual, believing that the species selected to undergo exaltation are ascending to greatness and helping the kett do the same. These subjugated species are initially called "Chosen", and may later advance to higher tiers with the kett hierarchy, such as "Anointed". The kett exaltation facility on Voeld is called a temple, and is considered holy ground.

Government
The kett government is referred to as an empire with the main ruling body being referred to as the Senate, situated on the kett homeworld of Sarhesen. According to Dr. Medrow Aden's intelligence, their society may be an eugenocracy. There are apparently twenty-one ancestral lineages from 'pure' ancient kett that act as the heads of ancestral lineages who lead their society. Contingents of kett stationed in a star cluster are led by an Archon, also called a "campaign leader". These Archons have a high degree of autonomy but still ultimately answer to the Senate and are required to report on their progress every 15 cycles. The kett send forces across the galaxy to exalt new species and expand the empire. While exaltation of other races is the goal of the kett, their empire is also compromised of at least a dozen vassal species such as: the eealen, thusali, and sirinde.

Military
Kett military units include:
 * Anointed - Kett shock troopers equipped kinetic barriers that wield plasma mini-guns; exalted from angara.
 * Ascendant - Kett commanders who use energy barriers as both defensive and offensive weapons; exalted from a species beyond the Heleus Cluster, but enhanced with the angaran trait of bioelectricity manipulation.
 * Behemoth - An experimental kett unit; exalted from krogan.
 * Chosen - Standard kett soldiers who accompany and support more specialized units; exalted from angara.
 * Destined - Cloaked kett squad leaders armed with energy based shotguns; "ancestral kett" exalted from a species beyond the Heleus Cluster.
 * Fiend - Hulking kett creatures with natural resistances to weapons fire and overwhelming strength; exalted from eirochs.
 * Wraith - Hostile dog-like creatures capable of cloaking; exalted from challyrion.

Notable Kett

 * Archon
 * Archon's Sword
 * Cardinal
 * Invictor
 * Prefect
 * Primus
 * The Valiant

Kett Worlds

 * Sarhesen (homeworld)

Trivia

 * In the French version, Kett are called "Kert". This may have been because in French, the word "Kett" sound like "quête" means "quest".
 * Given their leader's name, the kett may also be inspired by gnostic archons. Like them they are oppressive figures consuming the souls of their victims (albeit via assimilation in this case), and their semi-theocratic motifs offer them a link to the divine.
 * In some respects the kett empire is like the Roman empire, military leaders had autonomy but answered to a senate and they took traits that were useful to them from their conquests, the difference being these were cultural and technological traits and not genetic ones.
 * In other respects the kett empire are also similar to the Spanish empire, as they have come to a new land to convert its native population and often times has had skirmishes with another foreign civilisation, with the Andromeda initiative playing the part of the British empire.