Void Whale

Void Whales are one of the most unusual and exotic species of animal in the observed Galaxy. They are the only known space-borne species that is capable of interstellar travel, and closer resemble semi-living mineral spaceships than animals.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Void Whales resemble living asteroids more than anything. their bodies are mostly mineral, composing most of their endoskeleton, exoskeleton, skin, organs, and even brains, with everything held together with extremely tough yet flexible organic matter.
Their heads extend into their bodies, with a 'sensory dome' at the front, and four lower jaws underneath. Their tails make up roughly half their full length, and have both dorsal and ventral heat fins. The sides of the tail are dotted with 'thrusters', which expell gas to generate thrust. The tail is overall a highly rigid structure, but is capable of minimal movement.
From below the body and underneath the tail is the whale's excretionary tract, from which it excretes whale pearls.
Internally, the whale's has a heart, pumping vast amounts of blood through its body. its heart is attached closely to its stomach, which itself is a natural, nuclear-powered crucible, melting down whatever the whale consumes, and preparing it for separation and processing through its digestive tract. The energy produced by the crucible is also its central source of power and heat.
Void Whales are capable of interstellar travel at sub-light speeds. While this is a journey that can take decades to complete, void whales have such long lifespans that it does not matter to them at all.

Ecology and Habitats

Void whales can be found in any and all star systems, grazing asteroid belts for necessary mineral sustenance.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Void whales live off of space debris, asteroids, space dust, and whatever else they can find in the void of space. Void whales have been observed trying to consume debris of spacesips, broken satellites, and even small stations.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Void Whales are hunted for their mineral wealth and rare animal products.
Since void whales consume asteroids for resources and energy, they essentially operate as vast, natural refineries. They excrete asteroids of refined minerals as a waste product, and accumulate others within their own bodies, organs, skin, and skeleton.
Whale Pearls, as their excrement is known, is sought after for containing Exotic matter, which is otherwise expensive to refine and hard to find.
The brain of the void whale is essentially a form of mineral circuitry, a natural computer capable of navigating star systems and plotting a course between systems.
The blood of a void whale is a very stable medium for transferring minerals, and also acts as a highly conductive coolant.
Their bones are highly prized for their structural strength and were once prized for their use in industrial applications. They have since been artificially replicated, and are now only prized by collectors and for use in jewelry.
Their heat fins are not especially valuable but have been key to developing contemporary heat dispersion technology for spaceships.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Reach-wide, potentially galaxy-wide

Average Intelligence

unknown, though an instinctual understanding of interstellar travel and navigation is apparent

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

void Whales senses closely resemble and operate like the sensor arrays of spaceships.
They have sensory organs along the length of their bodies to detect their proximity to asteroids, as well as a keen sense for fluctuations in gravitational pull, helping them navigate star systems and avoiding atmospheric entry, which would be a death sentence.
The 'head' of the void whale contains an advanced system of senses that are capable of detecing direction, range, and distance. These are extremely keen and rival similar sensory systems in modern spacecraft. These are primarily for navigation through fields of debris and asteroids, as well as identifying and locating food. They can also detect heat and light, which supposedly helps with orienting themselves within star systems and identifying other whales.
Additionally, they have a very keen sense of 'sight' which is optimized for operating over extremely long ranges. It is this sense they use to navigate to distant stars.

Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms

Being the only species capable of interstellar travel naturally, and having supposedly existed for untold millions of years, void whales have become host to many symbiotic and parasitic space-born creatures that will either spend their entire lives living off the whale, or hitching a ride to another system to expand their species. Space whales are responsible for the widespread presence of hull barnacles.

Lifespan

unkown, geological lifespans.

Conservation Status

very rare, but unknown numbers of whales probably still exist in transit between systems.

Average Length

500-600 m

Geographic Distribution

• Galenaran Reaches