Nebula Whale

The nebula whale (or Balin Coelex, in Vox) is a macroorganism that lives within massive dust clouds and nebulae in space, where it feeds upon cosmic dust. Though they are solitary creatures, and groups are incredibly rare, a group of nebula whales is called a "cluster."

Anatomy
The average nebula whale is about 1000 kilometers in length. They feed upon cosmic dust and nebula, and they are, in fact, made up of the very nebulae they consume. This strange phenomenon is due to the presence of nonillions of symbiotic bacteria present within the whale's flesh, octillions of which that secrete a chemical that causes the gas particles to solidify and unify; once the whale has reached maturation, these bacteria will cease, only reactivating to repair damaged flesh.

The brain and nervous system of the nebula whale consists of a web-like culture of Uni, which stretches throughout the entire body. The Uni have a symbiotic and psychic relationship with the whale wherein the two separate organisms function as one singular creature, and, truly, they are not even separate organisms; the Uni are simply the neural network of the nebula whales. This psychic connection between the Uni and the nebula whale itself means that the two can be physically separated, but still function as if they were one.

The nebula whale is also commonly plauged with various parasites. These large parasitic creatures dig tunnels in its flesh and feast off of its body. The parasites reproduce asexually, thus there numbers can swell rapidly, and they can become out of control, eventually killing the host whale.

The nebula whales also have several patches of tiny bioluminescent dots on their bodies, which can be used as pseudo-lighthouses.

The lifespan of the nebula whale is not known exaclty, though it is theorized that they are functionally immortal, provided that they never run out of dust to consume.

Industry
The nebula whale plays a pivotal role in many galactic markets. Within its nuclear intestines, it synthesizes heavy metallic compounds from hydrogen and various other particles in the dust clouds. These compounds are then extracted by whalers for use in markets and industries across the galaxy.

The whalers work on massive whalestations, which are large structures built on top of, on bottom of, around, and sometimes within the whales themselves. The whalers on these whalestations also frequently have to deal with culling the parasite herds, as if they grow too large, the whale can be lost. When a whale is lost, the whalestation must be abandoned, leaving behind a massive decaying carcass with a ghost town built upon it overrun with carnivorous aliens monstrosities.

Another compound produced by the nebula whale is psyrilium, which is exported all across the galaxy for its potential as a drug.

Furthermore, Uni are often mined from directly within the nebula whales. Though this process has been largely abandoned in favor of farming and harvesting them on Cetan Farm Worlds, it still happens.

Mysticism
The nebula whales, in actuality, are god-like beings. Though they hold no omnipotence, their divinity is still there, subtly, but still recognizable by some. The nebula whales care not to interact with the mortals of the galaxy, however, as they are content with floating about and consuming vast troves of space dust. The true nature of their divinity is unknown, and likely unknowable, but this does, in turn, make the Uni gods as well. Though the Uni, and therefore the nebula whales, are barely sentient.