Inspired by Blue Ghost's thread a while back regarding giant space-going beasts that may or may not be a hazard to navigation, in addition to being something cool to encounter. Just remember I threw this together today over lunch and the wretched sketch is only to help imagine the description - I only play at being a xenobiologist,
So hang on to your seats rocket-jockeys as we go whale-watching...
Space Whales
Armor = Buffered Asteroid and then some Hits = not worth counting unless you have a meson spinal gun
A (maybe, depends on your comms frequency) F (never) Speed= 4
Weapons= Plasma Vent (equivalent to Code 6 Plasma Gun in HG with radiation)
Legends have always been written about monsters lurking just over the distant horizons of known seas, lands, and now space. “Here Be Tygers (or Dragons)” was often penned on the unmapped blank spaces of maps and any disappearance of explorers in those regions was claimed to be proof of the existence of such beasts. Once man began to travel the stars, the legends followed him and sometimes, just sometimes, the reality was more fantastic than the legend could have been.
The Space Whales are gigantic silica-based lifeforms that live single lives among the asteroids of several systems. The beasts have never been found in groups, and scientists know nothing of their reproductive behavior, and speculate that their solitary existence may not have always been so. Studies of their patterns of dispersal, and documented encounters with migrating specimens found in deep space between stars, suggest that the animals originated from the stellar core and have been radiating outward from a dense point of origin. To encounter one is exceedingly rare, but possible if looking for one in the right places and if you know what to watch for.
Space whales that are known to exist range from 800-1200m in length. The overall body form is a segmented, radially symmetrical cone with rows of tall spikes down the two lateral sides and dorsal spine of the beast from behind the head to the rounded, cone tip of the tail. There are two long, segmented limbs on each of the first 4 segments that branch off into smaller segmented clusters of 6 gripping limbs. The limbs have no joints, but have a freedom of movement similar to a tentacle. The head is rounded, with a long, flexible snout-like structure that contains the gaping maw. This consists of a series of circular rasping, grinding rows of “teeth” that run in concentric rings inside the maw towards the actual mouth. Each grinding ring has between it and the next, a ring of manipulative palps used to keep food moving toward the mouth so it doesn’t drift off in space.
The head has four large bands of black and silver organs that appear to act as eyes for the creature. They appear to have (as best as scientists can tell when examining live creatures in the wild) structures within them that will allows the animal to see light and dark visible light, perhaps even color, but most of the eyes look like clusters of concave dishes that may pick up radio and energy waves passing through space, allowing the animal to “see” as a radio telescope would. Given that the the tall spikes running along the animal’s body are known to act as broadcast and receiver antennas for all manner of radio waves, this would be a logical theory about how the animal experiences its environment. The animals broadcast massive bursts of radio waves in what old spacehands call whalesong, and there have been numerous experiments to try to communicate with the animals using radio and other transmission systems. The results have been debatable, and even dangerous, as was recorded in one instance when a research ship was torn to pieces and blasted by radioactive plasma vented by the enraged creature right after scientists broadcast over a previously untried frequency. Ship masters among belter communities have said for generations that when near known regions where a space whale might live it is best to not play around with the radio lest you find yourself charged by an enraged beast capable of melting half your ship away and eating the rest. Scientists are divided as to whether or not this behavior is related to territorial or mating responses, but since no one has repeated the experiment it is ripe for speculation. Some rare reports of large ships, those as large as or larger than the space whale encountered, being attacked, and scientists do agree that this is probably a defensive, territorial response.
Because they are so totally alien in biology, and so large and generally oblivious to anything smaller than a Free Trader broadcasting on all bands while leaking plasma, scientists have actually established small research stations on two space whales for long term study of the creatures. One is on an animal currently active and grinding away on asteroids in a system, and the other is currently transiting between systems and in a dormant cryptobiotic state. The scientists on the dormant whale have made a deep mining tunnel into the beast by drilling through its mineral rich and incredibly dense shell layers in an attempt to learn more about the fission core and crystal lattice nervous system (powered by megawatts of piezoelectric discharges blasting through it) that keep the animal alive. The active animal is not being drilled into due to safety reasons (not that the animal would probably notice so long as the penetration avoided transecting the nerve lattices and channels of plasmas and gases that seem to act as analogs to endocrine and circulatory systems, but radiation leakage might be a problem.
The animals have a fission core (naturally occurring fission reactions have been found before but it is still unknown how this animal developed such a mechanism through evolutionary processes – current theories point accusatory fingers at The Ancients) that drives the internal chemical processes and organs supporting the animal. As the beast grinds through asteroids of all types (but they do seem to relish any containing fissile materials and rare earth metals, it feeds the reactions inside of it. Occasionally, the process produces waste gases that the animal vents through a posterior orifice in a spectacular display of hot, radioactive plasma that can reach up to 3 kilometers behind the beast. The venting is accompanied by a speaker-blowing burst of static on comms systems and depending on the minerals the animal has been eating recently, the plasma may even be brilliantly multicolored. When such an event occurs, the custom among the knock-on-wood types among crews is to mutter, “Thar she blows”. No one knows why, exactly, but etymologists claim the expression dates back to the time when scratching a wind-powered ship’s backstays supposedly made a ship go faster.
The plasma venting has also been used by animals when attacking ships on those rare occasions when enraged for unknown reasons. The animal on those occasions curled its tail up under its body and deliberately fired on the ship, causing structural damage equal to a bay-sized plasma weapon, along with radiation contamination.
The other byproduct of the animal chewing up and eating mineral-laden asteroids are the resulting deposits of refined and pure minerals that become the outer shell layers on the creature’s epidermis. The largely volcanic black covering of the animals sparkles with deposits of purest metals and minerals. Not only do these many meters-thick deposits help shield the animal from the hazards of its environment, but they are highly valuable. Belter miners will sometimes sink anchor points into the shells of space whales and use plasma torches to carve out sheets of rare metals, while the space whale munches on oblivious to the process. Laws protect the whales from harm, and declare them to be natural treasures of the Imperium. Mineral harvesting and scientific research are allowed only with special permission of the Emperor and the rules for such operations limit the chance of “disturbing or harming the animal.” Any caught poaching are subject to severe legal repercussions. Still, the draw of being able to carve off a ton of pure nickel iron or some rare metals in less time it takes to drill ten meters into an asteroid tempts some to risk arrest.
Mainly, these magnificent animals spend the days of their long lives (core samples of their denser parts have show possible ages of several thousands of years) grinding away tasty asteroids and drifting between systems looking for more to eat. They have no natural enemies (at least none the Navy would want to meet), are peaceable, and their songs over the radio lull many a space traveller to sleep.
So hang on to your seats rocket-jockeys as we go whale-watching...
Space Whales
Armor = Buffered Asteroid and then some Hits = not worth counting unless you have a meson spinal gun
A (maybe, depends on your comms frequency) F (never) Speed= 4
Weapons= Plasma Vent (equivalent to Code 6 Plasma Gun in HG with radiation)
Legends have always been written about monsters lurking just over the distant horizons of known seas, lands, and now space. “Here Be Tygers (or Dragons)” was often penned on the unmapped blank spaces of maps and any disappearance of explorers in those regions was claimed to be proof of the existence of such beasts. Once man began to travel the stars, the legends followed him and sometimes, just sometimes, the reality was more fantastic than the legend could have been.
The Space Whales are gigantic silica-based lifeforms that live single lives among the asteroids of several systems. The beasts have never been found in groups, and scientists know nothing of their reproductive behavior, and speculate that their solitary existence may not have always been so. Studies of their patterns of dispersal, and documented encounters with migrating specimens found in deep space between stars, suggest that the animals originated from the stellar core and have been radiating outward from a dense point of origin. To encounter one is exceedingly rare, but possible if looking for one in the right places and if you know what to watch for.
Space whales that are known to exist range from 800-1200m in length. The overall body form is a segmented, radially symmetrical cone with rows of tall spikes down the two lateral sides and dorsal spine of the beast from behind the head to the rounded, cone tip of the tail. There are two long, segmented limbs on each of the first 4 segments that branch off into smaller segmented clusters of 6 gripping limbs. The limbs have no joints, but have a freedom of movement similar to a tentacle. The head is rounded, with a long, flexible snout-like structure that contains the gaping maw. This consists of a series of circular rasping, grinding rows of “teeth” that run in concentric rings inside the maw towards the actual mouth. Each grinding ring has between it and the next, a ring of manipulative palps used to keep food moving toward the mouth so it doesn’t drift off in space.
The head has four large bands of black and silver organs that appear to act as eyes for the creature. They appear to have (as best as scientists can tell when examining live creatures in the wild) structures within them that will allows the animal to see light and dark visible light, perhaps even color, but most of the eyes look like clusters of concave dishes that may pick up radio and energy waves passing through space, allowing the animal to “see” as a radio telescope would. Given that the the tall spikes running along the animal’s body are known to act as broadcast and receiver antennas for all manner of radio waves, this would be a logical theory about how the animal experiences its environment. The animals broadcast massive bursts of radio waves in what old spacehands call whalesong, and there have been numerous experiments to try to communicate with the animals using radio and other transmission systems. The results have been debatable, and even dangerous, as was recorded in one instance when a research ship was torn to pieces and blasted by radioactive plasma vented by the enraged creature right after scientists broadcast over a previously untried frequency. Ship masters among belter communities have said for generations that when near known regions where a space whale might live it is best to not play around with the radio lest you find yourself charged by an enraged beast capable of melting half your ship away and eating the rest. Scientists are divided as to whether or not this behavior is related to territorial or mating responses, but since no one has repeated the experiment it is ripe for speculation. Some rare reports of large ships, those as large as or larger than the space whale encountered, being attacked, and scientists do agree that this is probably a defensive, territorial response.
Because they are so totally alien in biology, and so large and generally oblivious to anything smaller than a Free Trader broadcasting on all bands while leaking plasma, scientists have actually established small research stations on two space whales for long term study of the creatures. One is on an animal currently active and grinding away on asteroids in a system, and the other is currently transiting between systems and in a dormant cryptobiotic state. The scientists on the dormant whale have made a deep mining tunnel into the beast by drilling through its mineral rich and incredibly dense shell layers in an attempt to learn more about the fission core and crystal lattice nervous system (powered by megawatts of piezoelectric discharges blasting through it) that keep the animal alive. The active animal is not being drilled into due to safety reasons (not that the animal would probably notice so long as the penetration avoided transecting the nerve lattices and channels of plasmas and gases that seem to act as analogs to endocrine and circulatory systems, but radiation leakage might be a problem.
The animals have a fission core (naturally occurring fission reactions have been found before but it is still unknown how this animal developed such a mechanism through evolutionary processes – current theories point accusatory fingers at The Ancients) that drives the internal chemical processes and organs supporting the animal. As the beast grinds through asteroids of all types (but they do seem to relish any containing fissile materials and rare earth metals, it feeds the reactions inside of it. Occasionally, the process produces waste gases that the animal vents through a posterior orifice in a spectacular display of hot, radioactive plasma that can reach up to 3 kilometers behind the beast. The venting is accompanied by a speaker-blowing burst of static on comms systems and depending on the minerals the animal has been eating recently, the plasma may even be brilliantly multicolored. When such an event occurs, the custom among the knock-on-wood types among crews is to mutter, “Thar she blows”. No one knows why, exactly, but etymologists claim the expression dates back to the time when scratching a wind-powered ship’s backstays supposedly made a ship go faster.
The plasma venting has also been used by animals when attacking ships on those rare occasions when enraged for unknown reasons. The animal on those occasions curled its tail up under its body and deliberately fired on the ship, causing structural damage equal to a bay-sized plasma weapon, along with radiation contamination.
The other byproduct of the animal chewing up and eating mineral-laden asteroids are the resulting deposits of refined and pure minerals that become the outer shell layers on the creature’s epidermis. The largely volcanic black covering of the animals sparkles with deposits of purest metals and minerals. Not only do these many meters-thick deposits help shield the animal from the hazards of its environment, but they are highly valuable. Belter miners will sometimes sink anchor points into the shells of space whales and use plasma torches to carve out sheets of rare metals, while the space whale munches on oblivious to the process. Laws protect the whales from harm, and declare them to be natural treasures of the Imperium. Mineral harvesting and scientific research are allowed only with special permission of the Emperor and the rules for such operations limit the chance of “disturbing or harming the animal.” Any caught poaching are subject to severe legal repercussions. Still, the draw of being able to carve off a ton of pure nickel iron or some rare metals in less time it takes to drill ten meters into an asteroid tempts some to risk arrest.
Mainly, these magnificent animals spend the days of their long lives (core samples of their denser parts have show possible ages of several thousands of years) grinding away tasty asteroids and drifting between systems looking for more to eat. They have no natural enemies (at least none the Navy would want to meet), are peaceable, and their songs over the radio lull many a space traveller to sleep.
