Zofia Marek
Master and Commander
Name: Livyatan
Designation: Semi-sentient
Homeworld: Unknown
Language: N/A
Average Lifespan:
Juvenile - <1- 20 Standard Years old
Adolescent - ~10-60 Standard Years old
Adult - ~60-180 Standard Years old
Elder - ~180-400 Standard Years old
Venerable - ~400+ Standard Years old
Estimated Population: Solid numbers are hard to obtain as the species is widespread and migratory, but any given gas giant sporting the creatures can easily see a population of around 1,000 to 5,000 individuals spread out individually or in pairs, rarely in groups.
Average height of adults:
Juvenile - ~8 - 20m
Adolescent - ~20 - 40m
Adult - ~40 - 80m
Elder - ~80 - 120m
Venerable - ~120 - 180m+
Average length of adults:
Juvenile - ~40 - 100m
Adolescent - ~100 - 200m
Adult - ~200 - 400m
Elder - ~400 - 600m
Venerable - ~600 - 900m+
Skin color: Generally, Livyatan are gray or brown in coloration, though other colors in blue, green, and even red hues have been cataloged in the wild. Stories of white hued Livyatan have surfaced, but to date none have been discovered, or at least no discovery has been verified.
Hair color: N/A
Distinctions:
Giant size, relative to age
Gas feeders
Capable of 'floating' and maneuvering in the atmosphere of gas giants
Capable of surviving in oceanic conditions
Space capable
Breathes: Type I
Strengths:
Monstrous Strength - Though less 'strength' and more due to sheer size and the amount of muscle mass required for the animal to simply move and survive, Livyatan are considered massively strong and while not naturally aggressive, can easily leave behind a path of destruction in their wake. In fact, when pursuing larger specimens in the wild, hunters often work in packs of small, agile ships as larger vessels can easily fail to avoid a flailing tail or, rarely, come under direct attack by the creature.
Adaptable - Though their primary habitat is the upper and mid layers of gas giants, Livyatan can also survive in oceanic ecosystems as well, though only if their food sources are present. In oceanic environments, the creatures are often found at the bottom of the sea where they congregate around hydrothermal vents that emit wide varieties of gases in a high enough volume that the creatures can subsist on. In their natural habitat, Livyatan are normally found in the upper and middle layers of the gas giant feeding on the natural gas varieties found in those areas.
Internal Respiration - Livyatan do not possess lungs, at least in the conventional sense of the description. Each Livyatan possess a pair of organs within their chest cavity that allows them to breathe, even in deep space. Because of this, the creatures can easily survive in any atmosphere, barring outright hostile environments (i.e. Caustic, magma, excessive radiation, etc.)
Ballast - Each Livyatan contains a number of internal, highly pressurized gas bladders called 'ballasts' that appear in specific points throughout their bodies. These ballast organs allow the Livyatan to float and even maneuver their altitude. To propel itself, a small number of specialized ballast bladders located on the sides and rear of the creature feature external sphincters that act as vents, allowing the Livyatan to properly maneuver, accelerate, and decelerate in atmosphere and space. These organs are highly valuable and are the primary goal when hunting the creatures.
Massive and sluggish - While normally seen as an advantage, the Livyatan's size is just as much of a downfall as it is a benefit. Easily spotted and generally slow, the creatures really have no natural defenses other than their size. While able to accelerate quickly for a few minutes, this ability is quickly expended and it takes many hours to inflate the expended bladders.
Prey - While able to retaliate when cornered and barring the occasional rare instance where a Livyatan turns aggressive on attackers when provoked, Livyatan are naturally passive and often attempt to escape rather than fight an aggressor.
Ballast Dependent - Livyatan are entirely dependent on their vent-capable ballast organs for maneuvering in atmosphere and space (though far less so when found on oceanic planets for obvious reasons). Should the creature become heavily injured to the point that multiple ballast organs are ruptured and deflated, the Livyatan will lose altitude until it disappears within the center of a gas giant or plummets to the planet below. Hunters use this knowledge to their advantage, often attempting to cripple only the vent-capable organs to ensure the creature cannot escape, usually using some form of capture mechanism to properly contain and, eventually, harvest the animal for its remaining, intact ballast bladders.
Races: N/A
Diet: Tibanna and a variety of other gas types found naturally in gas giants and, occasionally, within deep oceans emitting from hydrothermal vents.
Communication: Clicks and variable pitches of ultrasonic sound
Culture:
The Livyatan are not sentient enough to possess a culture. However, the creature is common enough and prevalent in enough societies that it has easily affected aspects of many civilizations' cultures. These cultures have developed their own views of the creatures and some very primitive cultures have even grown to regard the Livyatan as divine gifts when spotted.
Technology level: N/A
General behavior:
Generally considered lone grazers, the Livyatan are known for living solitary lives, coming together during mating season or where copious amounts of food are present. Occasionally, a mated pair form a lasting bond and remain paired after mating season ends. When this occurs, the two Livyatan form what is called a Bonded Pair. This bond lasts until one of the two dies, after which the remaining Livyatan lives and travels alone, ignoring mating season entirely and wandering until its own death.
Rarely, when large amounts of food are present, small numbers of Livyatan converge on the area. Generally, the numbers remain between a dozen to two dozen in a rough vicinity of each other and the grouping lasts only until the food source is depleted or diminishes.
The only point where large quantities of Livyatan are found in one place is during mating season. During this week long period of time scores of the creatures flock to a singular location, usually a random location where food is plentiful and where the area is proximal to the Livyatan that are close by. Normally hunted all throughout the year, Livyatan hunters almost always avoid the creatures during this season as during mating season is the only time that Livyatan become actively aggressive when provoked. Throughout the rest of the year, Livyatan are extremely passive and rarely retaliate unless outright cornered.
Generally, the creatures live and thrive in the upper and mid layers of gas giants, grazing on tibanna and other similar gas clouds found in such environments. The Livyatan are also capable of surviving on oceanic worlds, flocking to hydrothermal vents that spew the proper gases the creatures require for sustenance. When migrating between worlds, the creatures generally travel from cosmic gas cloud to cosmic gas cloud, following the food sources to a new world, though such migration is relatively rare as it requires the complete depletion of the food source from their previous world.
The creatures rely on internal ballast organs or sacs to 'float' in atmosphere and control depth when on ocean worlds. Arrayed on the rear and sides of the Livyatan are specialized ballast sacs featuring external sphincters. These sacs allow the Livyatan to propel itself forward and to maneuver while suspended in atmosphere or in zero gravity. These sacs also allow the creature to move very rapidly for a short period of time, usually to escape an attacker, but require many hours to refill after being fully emptied.
History:
The origins of the Livyatan are unknown as is their initial homeworld. The creatures have slowly migrated throughout the galaxy over the past few thousand years, primarily found on gas giants or oceanic worlds with heavy tectonic activity. In the process, they have come into contact with many cultures and civilizations, most of which have been affected by the creatures and many of which have turned to hunting the Livyatan for survival or for profit.
While their meat fetches a high price and is prized for its nutritional content, the Livyatan is primarily hunted for two things: oil and its ballast sacs.
The oil of a Livyatan contains various agents that, when properly refined, allows the material to be used as a primary ingredient in the medical and cosmetic realms of the galaxy. While valuable, the oil's profit pales in comparison to the money made from the Livyatan's ballast sacs. Each sac contains a gas that is a natural byproduct of the creature's metabolism, processed from the tibanna and other gases ingested by the beast. The gas is highly unique and extremely volatile, something many weapon manufacturers desire in a material. When harvested intact and properly refined, the gas burns far hotter and far longer than most other tibanna products, making it a highly sought after material by many companies and corporations, both legitimate and illegal.
Currently, most worlds allow Livyatan hunting, though many place strict limits on how many can be hunted and with what equipment*. The worlds that bar hunting often consider the creature an endangered species for said planet or, in some cases, see Livyatan hunting as cruel and inhumane.
Notable Player-Characters: N/A
Intent: I wanted to see how this kind of creature would function and operate. Besides, it has some neat applications if hunted and can net some fun rewards for folks. It also gives companies a potential route for new materials so long as their okay with a Neutral Evil method of doing so. Lastly:
* It should be noted that Livyatan are large enough that most small arms are rather ineffective. Larger grade weaponry such as capital weapons will generally kill a Livyatan, but render the carcass unusable or, in the case of thermal weapons, react with the ballast organs and cause the creature to explode violently. Preferred (and often the only legally allowed) weapons used to hunt Livyatan are man-packed or portable heavy weapons such as harpoon guns and other such crew served weapons. Blasters are, generally, a poor option to hunt Livyatan and are often barred from legal hunts as they can potentially react with the creature's ballast sacs and cause a violent detonation.TL;DR - Don't use big guns off big ships if you want to have an intact space whale and only use thermal/blaster weapons if you want space whale bits all over the place.
