The Aqualish are a walrus-faced race of bipeds from the planet Ando. There are two castes of Aqualish society. The higher caste has hands which are articulated webs with opposable thumbs, and is known as the Quara. The lower caste has clawed hands, rather than the webbed ones, and is known as the Aquala. The distinction between levels is very great; webbed Aqualish hold governmental and commercial positions, while the clawed Aqualish are usually left to become bounty hunters and smugglers.

They are a belligerent yet technologically advanced race. The Aquala live in vast sailing ships, while the Quara live on the planet's small islands. They have a long history of civil war, and have destroyed Ando's sister planet because of it. The war was initiated by the Aquala, who blamed the Quara for the declining harvests of fish. The war lasted until an exploration ship landed on Ando. The two groups banded together and killed the ship's crew. Eventually, the non-technical Aqualish discovered how to fly the ship, and even learned how to build their own.

The old grudges soon re-surfaced, though, and the two factions took their battle to Ando's sister planet. When the Empire arrived, the war-loving Aqualish tried to overthrow them. The sheer might of the Empire battered the Aqualish into submission, but it instilled a deep hatred in the Aqualish culture.