Whaladon

"That's one whaladon of a ship you've hooked, Kyle."

- Rogue Leader

Whaladons were large sentient mammalian creatures native to the oceans of Mon Calamari. They were large whale-like animals with short snouts and long flippers.

Biology and appearance
Whaladons were large, whale-like creatures. They had a large, horizontal tail fin, which propelled them through Mon Calamari's depths, and dual pectoral fins for maneuvering. Some Whaladon breeds had three large humps on their backs, and whiter skin than their more common cousins. The underbelly of the Whaladon was scored with ridges that ran parallel to the length of the creature. They also had large mouths, which ran across their snouts, from one pectoral fin to the other.

Society and culture
The Whaladons enjoyed sing-songs, and would teach songs that they had accumulated to their younglings. Their songs were recognizable by other sentients, and were a means of identification to them. The songs were also used as a form of communication, and Mon Calamari, such as Ackbar, could understand them.

For food, the Whaladons ate plankton, which grew on the sea floor.

Whaladons swam in the deep trenches of the Seascape Mountains and surfaced for air three times a day. The cetaceans subsisted on schools of minnows and could grow as long as 30 meters. Their language was a sing-song infusion of high whistles and low booms.

The Whaladon Processing Center
Prior to the Imperial presence on Mon Calamari, it was highly illegal to hunt and kill Whaladons. When the Empire occupied the planet, however, they did away with the Calamari laws. In 5 ABY, Captain Dunwell set up a Whaladon poaching system on Mon Calamari. His actions caused the Whaladon species to become endangered, but Dunwell expressed no concerns over the matter. He had allies in the Central Committee of Grand Moffs, and recieved ample business from them, since Whaladon meat was considered a delicacy. The Moffs constatly purchased Whaladon meat to be served at their frequent meetings, but it was reserved only for them; slaves and Stormtroopers were forbidden to eat the meat.

Dunwell had the Whaladon Processing Center created, as well as a gargantuan submarine, that would allow him to accelerate his Whaladon hunting endevaours. The Center featured large whirlpool generators that would draw Whaladons in from nearby waters, and deposit them into internal chambers. The Whaladons were then skinned by the Dunwell's Aqualish employees, and chopped into large segments for shipping. The slabs of Whaladon were then taken to the Whaladon Meat Quality Control Division. When they had finished harvesting the meat and blubber from the Whaladons, Dunwell's men would consistently deposit all the bones at the one location, effectively creating a Whaladon graveyard.

As a result of Dunwell's poaching, the Whaladons found themselves endangered. Young Whaladons were left motherless and uncared for, and the adult ones found themselves hiding in caves, escaping the wrath of the poachers. More damaging still, without the Whaladons to eat it, plankton was able to grow unfettered, and through photosynthesis, it began to use up Mon Calamari's carbon dioxide, potentially damaging the planet's ecosystem.

Leviathor, a member of the rare humped white breed of Whaladon, realized that something had to be to save his species, and so he attempted to contact the city of Aquarius. There, he came across Ackbar and Luke Skywalker, who were on Mon Calamari for New Republic business. Ackbar was one of the few Mon Calamari who could understand the Whaladon's sing-song, which told of their plight, and the poaching operations of Dunwell. Ackbar, disgusted, resolved to help the harried mammals.

Meanwhile, Trioculus, a man who sought to wrest the Imperial throne from Ysanne Isard, toured Dunwell's facility, inspecting the processing of Whaladon meat. He intended to retrieve the Glove of Darth Vader from Mon Calamari's depths, and use it against his enemies in the New Republic. Dunwell had apparently located the Glove, and set out with Trioculus to find it, in his new Whaladon hunting submarine. Skywalker and Ackbar began tracking Dunwell's sub, hoping to stop his operation. At the same time, Leviathor had been able to round up a group of Whaladons, in the hopes of finding them asylum somewhere safe. Dunwell's men on the submarine, however, spotted Leviathor's pack, and used the ship's whirlpool generators to capture them.

Whaladons in the galaxy
One of the Whaladons still alive during Dunwell's poaching raids was Leviathor, known to Ackbar as "Wise One of the Calamarian Seas". He was inscenced by Dunwell's actions, and mourned the loss of family and friends. He was constantly hunted by Dunwell's Aqualish men, and even encountered the Captain's gargantuan submarine. He was, however, able to elude capture and death. Realising that something had to be done to save his species, he sought help at the Domed City of Aquarius. He found it in the form of Luke Skywalker and Ackbar, and with his new allies, he was able to end Dunwell's opressive poaching.

Appearances

 * The Paradise Snare
 * Rebel Dawn
 * Galaxy of Fear: The Nightmare Machine
 * The Glove of Darth Vader
 * Star Wars: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
 * Force Heretic III: Reunion

Notes and references
Whaladon