White Whale

The White Whale is an elusive megafauna first discovered in Hex 1211 pursued by Aguamala Syndicate and Tahora Whai.

Description
Also known as Akhlut

Physiology
A great worm, or wyrm, with many small wings/fins and a powerful tail. Its long, beak-like maw snarls silently in the void with rows of razor-sharp teeth. Below it’s anechoic scales, gravetically-charged organs propel the creature through empty reaches of space.

Behavior
The Whale is fairly reclusive, and avoids conflict with others out in space. Observations indicate that it will attempt to slip away from a conflict and camouflage itself in empty space.

If cornered and without a means to escape, the White Whale has been known to retaliate violently. Utilizing available space debris and mighty tail slams it will attack its foes. It is more fond of batting around asteroids than chomping down on cargo freighters.

Tahora Whai
Sector-west's Tahora Whai have a different relationship to dangerous megafauna. The Whai tend see these creatures as great beings deserving respect or even fellow travelers of the void. While the Whai do indeed hunt megafauna similar to this novel whale, it is typically driven by necessity not sport. The White Whale is thus not a trophy to prove one's honor and fortitude, but an equal that deserves understanding and appreciation. The natural beauty and power of a unique megafauna, such as the White Whale, must be protected and cherished. Dutiful study of this rare specimen is of paramount importance to the Whai as they navigate the stars.

It is the hope of many Whai that the if brought to a sanctuary, the Whale can be studied and perphaps even communicated with directly. The sector is a wild and beautiful place full of mystery, the White Whale the greatest at present.

ORCA
The Organization for Rare Colossus Advocates (ORCA) is an interstellar coalition of xenobiologists, ecologists, and conservationists dedicated to the preservation of rare void-borne species. They are unified in their commitment to direct action and, if need be, violence against those that would seek to harm or profit from this lonely creature.

The extreme measures of these activists are not without controversy. Advocates from various factions have condemned the zealotry as “unhinged attacks on [their] culture and lifeblood.” A decade ago, ORCA ships were targeted by these factions and decimated under superior firepower. Reduced to a fringe cult, the remnants of ORCA fled to the Assembled Commonwealth and persisted as a laughing stock.

Recent discovery of the “White Whale” as many across the sector are calling it has however led to a massive influx of support and manpower to the organization. ORCA moved operational headquarters from Idarast to Telas and the Center system to better coordinate their diverse coalition and to rally support from the interstellar community against the inhumane practices of the White Whale’s pursuers. ORCA as resurfaced in the media following protests on Telas against businesses suspected of supplying megafauna hunters.

They are loosely associated with other groups such as The School of the Great Wanderer and Anti-Hunting Association of Beacon Space (AHABS)
 * (ORCA is represented by the White Whale's Zealot located on Telas)

Background
News and rumor of the White Whale first surfaced among the ports of Nueva Cuauhtémoc. The Agualaman Syndicate soon after launched a great hunt for the Whale with a patriotic hunting song.

Whai whale tenders were aggravated by Aguamala's declaration. The Tahora whai sent missions to intercept the hunters and escort the Whale to a sanctuary in the Kikorangi o te Tahora Whai

La Casa de Fieras
The prized fleet of the Aguamala organization Embrión, a group dedicated to preventing the extinction of rare fauna as well as genetically engineering new fauna. Its primary focus is to act as a mobile research platform to test creatures new and old against various forms of life across Beacon Space.

A significant portion of this fleet is made up of the forces of smaller Lodges who serve as protection both against outside threats and the creatures contained within, should they manage to loosen their shackles. La Casa de Fieras does see a considerable amount of violence, releasing these creatures with robotic observers (and potentially support, depending on the nature of the conflict) and recording as much data as possible so as to produce better monsters in the future.

Currently, it is less being used for active research and more being used to impress the TTGI as a means of displaying what varieties of life could exist on Telas in the future, as well as the benefits of cultivating such life despite their dangerous qualities.

La Lanza
A collection of ships primarily of two or three large Lodges with several smaller or up and coming ones tagging along. The Lodges of this fleet lean heavily into the culture of the hunt and are always looking for new challenges to take on and overcome. The hulls of its ships always contain a portion of their previous conquests. These remains are sold as artwork or narcotics wherever the fleet travels.

Lepides Pagu
Constructed by the Salcedo family on behalf of the Syndicate, the fleet was developed using Gomese production facilities recently brought online. Several novel systems including a wing of semi-autonomous drones designed to seek out and detect targets in congested areas, such as asteroid fields.

Armada of the Wild Expanse
A group of veteran space fauna hunters who have gathered to participate in the hunt against the White whale, seeking to be a part of a historic event in Aguamalan culture, and to bring glory to the lodges they represent. With them, they bring experienced specialists who have traveled across the sector to learn about space whales, to better understand and anticipate the creatures they are pursuing.

Etheris Squadron
A squadron of nimble transit ships, repurposed to provide scouting and covering fire for missions into unfamiliar space in pursuit of the White Whale.

The Viridescent Fangs
Consisting of many up and coming novice hunters, what they lack in experience they make up for in focus and determination, seeking to make a name for themselves.

Rites of Spring

 * "In other news, work on a newly refurbished fleet over Telas has been completed through work in collaboration with Children of the Vein. With that work finalized and teams of hunters assigned to man it, the newly mobilized fleet is set to join the ranks of Aguamalan ships patrolling the regions around Telas."

Væringi Vipers
A classic Dynaean fleet; a mishmash of custom whale-bone corsairs and old scavenged ships retrofitted as multi-purpose whalers and pirates. The crews are hardened veterans and typical Dynaean Whai.

The Black Ghorāb
A fleet of heavy gunboats from the Puluhanni Navy exchanged to the Whai to secure safe travels in the Nusantara System

Kaipahua Waimārie
Recently assembled from ships impounded and seized around Telas. Kaipahua Waimārie are more sleek and shiny than their kin (although most of the serial numbers have been filed off), with many of the crews having only recently taken to the void, although they have seen some unnaturally good luck in their first major outing.

Waka Hourua
The fleet of Waka Hourua's ships are generally larger, slower, and overall less nimble within a star system but are just as armed as typical whalers of the Tahora Whai. However, they have higher power inter-system drives, expanded living quarters, and more advanced life support systems. As a result, the Waka Hourua are crewed as long-distance ships for exploration and deep space tracking. Without this fleet the Tahora Whai would never have established an expansive network in the area of Beacon Space known as the Kikorangi o te Tahora Whai.

Akelarre Bigarrenda
Akelarre Bigarrenda are strange humanoid figures from Langgan's temple that were sent to defend the White Whale from harm. Utilizing the Emari (or Bleed as it is known to many) the Akelarre Bigarrenda warp and distort the fabric of reality to their will. An unsetting resonance hums through these promethean hulks as they chant an eldritch chorus in forgotten tongues.

Fluguafli Klíka
Known colloquially as the Flycatchers, are a group of Tahora Whai who operated out of Telas. In partnership with Silent Night Cargo Concerns, the Fluguafli were tasked with ensuring shipping in and around Telas remained calm. Due to navigational and communication errors, the Flycatchers were sent to Hex 0710.

Starlit Court Mercenary Fleet
Several knightly orders of the Starlit Court took a contract to defend the White Whale, (known as Syr William the Free by many knights). The Orders Griffon, Lion, First Forge, and Mystic Dragons all committed ships and mechs to the cause. The Starlit court Fleet was comprised of the Order of the Lion and the Order of the Mystic Dragon's capital ships the SCS Pride and the SCS Leviathan, supported by the Griffon frigates the SCS Albatross, and the SCS Gauss Hawk, with First forge capital ship the SCS Crucible as a support vessal.

Turn 18
An uneasy stalemate emerged in the hex of 1211, the rumored location of the Whale. Aguamalan Lodges and Whai Fleets scanned the area for any signs of the Whale. The two sides exchanged cold acknowledgement of each other, quietly assessing one another's strength. Using their estensive drone fleets and scanners Aguamala were the first to uncover the Whale.

La Casa de Fieras, designed to exploit the weakness of void-creatures, began the first attack from Aguamala. A major salvo landed by Aguamala's prime fleet pierced through the thick hide of the creatures.

Witnessing the attack, the Vaeringi Vipers sped across the empty space to defend the whale and caught La Lanza before they managed to take a pass on the Whale. The Whai disrupted the hunters but retreated before becoming embroiled in a lengthy exchange.

Lepides Pagu, now aware of the Whai response, moved out to meet the slow gunboats of The Black Ghorāb. The hunters picked off the uncoordinated ships one by one, driving the vessels off before reengaging with the Whale. The disturbed White Whale swiped its tail through the void sending debris and asteroids at Lepides Pagu. The fleet’s scouting drones took the brunt of the damage screening the vessels from the onslaught.

Phase A
Shattered by Lepides Pagu last turn, the remnants of the Black Ghorāb fled the scene, narrowly escaping the battlefield and making a hasty jump out of the hex.

The Væringi Vipers, noticing the Whale in an aggravated state, switched target and harried La Casa de Fieras. The Vipers’ strikes crippled the hunters severely.

At the far edge of the hex, a new Whai fleet, Kaipahua Waimārie, emerged and moved out to strike at Lepides Pagu's back lines preventing the hunters from reorganizing after the Whale’s tail slam. They unloaded their batteries into the hunters vessels, disabling their targets completely.

Phase B
Despite the added defense from the Whai, The White Whale had taken serious damage in the initial exchange with the Aguamalan Hunting Lodges. The hunters all pressed on, each hoping to land the fated killing blow. However, the Whai ships were ready, Lepides Pagu had been knocked out for the count and two fleets remained guarding the Whale.

Turning to their harassers, La Casa de Fieras responded with a Trident Maneuver. Understrength, the attack did not deal a decisive blow to the Dynaean veterans who saw through the web of drones.

La Lanza continued its run against the Whale, but was once again blocked by a Whai fleet. Fresh from the fighting with Lepides Pagu, the Kaipahua Waimārie landed several lucky shots and intercepted many of the Aguamalan harpoons. La Lanza's ships scattered in all directions, its crews bickering on their next course of action.

Disagreeing with the errant fire and mess of the battle, the White Whale left the mess of 1211 for the quiet of 1012 flanked by a pair of Whai shepherds.

Nueva Cuauhtemoc
A handful of ships of The Black Ghorāb fleeing the fight arrived over Nueva Cuauhtémoc in the Mentta system. The sight of the Aguamalan homeworld further insensed the debilitated vessels against the White Whale's attackers and they launched a desperate attack. Advanced Armored Personnel Carriers from the planet neutralized the weakened gunboats' senseless attack.

Hex 1012
The sole surviving Aguamalan fleet, La Casa de Fieras, followed the White Whale to the empty space of Hex 1012. Charging past the poorly armed Whai Shepherds, the Aguamalan Hunters launched themselves fully at the Whale in a last ditch attempt to eliminate the dangerous beast. The noble tilt at the White Whale was ultimately a quixotic attack at a far stronger foe. The Whale, tickled by La Casa de Fieras' sensor drones lashed out and crushed the fleet, rendering the research platform inoperable. The remaining ships of the fleet splintered off away from the raging Whale.

By the time the Whai Fleets of the Væringi Vipers and Kaipahua Waimārie arrived on the scene, the Aguamalans had absconded.

Nueva Cuauhtemoc
Prevented from attacking the world of Nueva Cuauhtémoc itself by the local defences, the depleted Whai gunboats of The Black Ghorāb turned to their bread and butter of piracy in the edges of the Mentta system. Any vessel that wandered too close to the Whai ships were terrorised and plundered for food and supplies. Whai piracy in the system was not to last as response teams from the far reaches Aguamalan space readied to combat the threats posed by the whalers.

Disguised as merchant ship, a commando team of Aguijón prepared to plant a hidden swarm of stinger drones within the pirates' vessels. Purposefully falling into the hands of The Black Ghorāb's harpoons, the Aguamalan operatives snuck aboard with their deadly payloads. However, the paranoid Whai discovered their intentions reading through an obviously forged manifest. Bitter hand-to-hand combat between the two sides ensued in the narrow confines of the starships. The drone swarm was unleashed prematurely, but it enabled the Aguamalans to force their way back to the merchant frigate and decouple the ships, although they suffered several casualties in the confusion.

By the time the Whai destroyed the jelly-fish like drones and took command of The Black Ghorāb, the Aguamalans were long gone. Unfortunately for them, the mostly Puluhan crews of the gunboats had a natural immunity, an adaptation to the toxic algae of their homeworld, to the class of toxin delivered by the drones. Debilitated by severe, but not life-threatening, reactions to the stingers Whai fled once again. With Nueva Cuauhtémoc in their rear-view, the Whai ships jumped to the Center system, fearing further retaliation from Aguijón and the world's other defenders.

Turns 21 thru 23
After defending the White Whale from the Agumalan lodges, Tahora Whai’s fleets prepared a secure travel lane for the Whale through the Southwest of central beacon space as well as repairing their damaged ships.

The Aguamalan hunting lodges returned to Nueva Cuauhtémoc empty handed. With their flagships and fleets destroyed or scattered, the hunters were unable to challenge the Whai's escort mission to Saarinen over the following turns. Instead, Aguamala replenished their fleets and assembled new lodges ready and eager to defeat the Whale. During these monts it remained uncertain how the lodges would decide to act after these troubling events for the Aguamalan Syndicate.

The Whale itself slipped back into the inky void. It is inferred by many that it then spent some time resting and recovering.

Turn 24
The Tahora Whai fleet Kaipahua Waimārie, overconfident from their success against the lodges, was caught out by two armadas searching for the Whale. Pinned in by a pair of flanking cruisers, the body of the Armada of the Wild Expanse pummeled their firepower into the core of the defending Whai. In a single foray from just one of the Aguamalan fleets, the lucky Whai’s fortunes turned sour. Ultimately uncontested in the void of Hex 1012, the Aguamalans found the hidden Whale, but were unable to challenge it before a Whai scout guided it to Hex 0811.

0811
Consolidating a third strike fleet into their Armadas, the Aguamala struck at the Whale once more:

The Væringi Vipers, recognizing the odds the Whale was facing, hedged their bets seeing the aggressive Armada of the Wild Expanse and allowed them to approach the Whale. Instead the Vipers would ready their ships to challenge the other lodges in the area. The gambit however was unsuccessful.

Armada of the Wild Expanse, emboldened by their success against the Kaipahua Waimārie, struck true against the White Whale with several well placed strikes.

Etheris Squadron, although appearing much weaker and smaller than the Armarda of the Wild Expanse, were able to dash forward and rushed past the Dynaean screens of the Væringi Vipers. Behind the Whai defensive lines, the agile transit ships deployed torpedoes against the lead ships Höggormura and The Odze, shaking the veteran pirate’s formation apart. With several major ships blasted open, the Whai ships attempted to reform and defend the Whale, but were broken once more by secondary blasts.

With the path to the Whale cleared by the scouts of the Etheris Squadron, the novice hunters of The Viridescent Fangs launched their first attack against the great Whale, pummeling the beast with fire.

The Black Ghorāb arrives too late to defend the Whale nor the Vaeringi Vipers. But they manage to scoop up and save a few survivors along with information about the Etheris Squadron in the mess.

The White Whale flees to the planet Dachia, a pilgrimage site for many.

0710
Whai reinforcements, comprised of Telas customs ships and Fluguafli Klíka are sent to the wrong hex due to navigational errors and are unable to provide aid to the Tahora Whai’s defensive actions.

0811
Witnessing the demise of the bulk of Væringi Vipers’s ships, The Black Ghorāb sheltered the fleeing ships and crews. With the Dynaean veterans on board they learned of a clear target for their sights. Approaching quietly through the dark of the void they unleashed a torrent of fire from the Ghorab’s guns at Etheris Squadron. The scout fleet were still rejoicing after their successful torpedo attack against the Vipers and had not returned to a proper formation. A broadside from the heavy Puluhanni guns struck true at the commanding vessels of the scout squadron, and caused the remaining Aguamalan ships to disperse. As soon as The Black Ghorāb unleashed their fire, the Whai left the area along a pre-charted course to Dachia and the Whale.

Telas
Snowballing in size, the Aguamala Syndicate added a fourth fleet to their forces. Refitting and refurbishing damaged fleets at the Children of the Vein Faction Turn shipyards over Telas, a new group of ships is brought to bear in the hunt for the White Whale.

Fresh from dangerous exploration in the Rangi, the longships of Waka Hourua fail to rally against newly refurbished ships of the Agumalan Syndicate. Unaware of the recent developments of the Telas Shipyards, the Waka Hourua’s large ships were caught out in the narrow shipping lanes around the station when Aguamala sallied forth. Unable to turn and face their attackers, the Whai vessels suffered catastrophic damage. Their crews abandoned their ships seeking refuge on the station.

Dachia
The Starlit Court establishes a base on Dachia and watches over the White Whale with an assembled mercenary fleet composed of the Knightly Orders Griffon, Lion, First Forge, and Mystic Dragons.

When the triumphant Armada of the Wild Expanse charged froth against the Whale the mercenary fleet of the Starlit Court launched interceptor mechs and fightercraft to hold the line against Aguamala’s drones. The ships SCS Gaus Hawk and SCS Albatross of The Order of the Griffon suffer considerable damage and are forced to retreat from the engagement. Prominent mechs from The Order of the Lion are also knocked out of action. Despite these losses, the mercenary fleet as a whole stands fast not letting a single Aguamalan munition harm the Whale.

Having failed to defend the Whale last month in Hex 0811 the Black Ghorāb’s armaments spool up again: now over Dachia. The gunboat–bolstered by a handful of ships from the Væringi Vipers–held fast against the determined sortie from the Viridescent Fangs. The novice Aguamalans are unable to once again slip past the Whai and are met with a torrent of fire.

During an attack from Rites of Spring against the Whale, the lenses of the Akelarre Bigarrenda revealed themselves to the sector on Dachia during the defense of the Whale. Commandeering several civilian vessels, these piratical beings approached the Aguamalan fleets arrayed before the whale. In sight of a newly refitted Aguamalan fleet, the Akelarre cried out in unison to bent the arcs of their foe's missiles and drones. The hunter's munitions, instead of striking true against the Whale, curved back and struck their senders.

Whale is bothered, but unharmed, in the altercation over Dachia. Whai loyalists guide the Whale to Saarinen via the Tahora Whai homeworld of Dynae

0710
TBD: Warlike Armada of Wilds Expanse strikes and kills Fluguafli Klíka in 0710
 * It is believed that they were destroyed by Aguamalan hunters.

Dachia
Starlit Court’s fleets clear the planet Dachia of Aguamalan hunters as they prepare to seize the planet with local forces. In their haste to catch the hunters, the Court arrives over Dynae with Aguamlans nowhere to be seen.

Dynae
The White Whale remains on Dynae, much to the delight of the locals. The month-long festival held in honor of the Whale’s visit is extended indefinitely with the arrival of The Black Ghorāb.

Dynae
The Whale finally arrives on Saarinen to a grand welcome from the Whai preparing the sanctuary.