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Jay Marshall
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Posted - 2008.04.21 01:30:00 -
[1]
Dr. Gweee Nore felt the pavement strike him harshly as he landed on it outside the lecture hall at the Jita Academy of Stellar Physics. Dr. Adon Kermiski watched from the open door as the two security guards dropped GweeeÆs personal effects box on the ground beside him.
ôI kept telling you Gweee, do not pursue this, but you had to push it. You had to take that stupid research paper to the board of governors and then hold that press conference.ö
Gweee stood and brushed himself off, and then looked at Adon with a smug look.
ôThey are out there! I know they are. I have the evidenceàö
ôStories! Rumors! Half baked myths and false legends from drunken pirates from the low-sec zones. Nothing concrete.ö
ôBut my samplesàö
ôAre useless ore deposits! Oh theyÆre rare and strange, but ore. Harmless ore. Not some sort of skin sample from yourà your space whales!ö
Gweee could have sworn that Adon has literally choked on getting the last words out and he stood there, his box of effects in his hands as the security guards closed the door to the building. A chime sounds from one of the cities broadcast towers signaling a rain period, and sure enough, the clouds above the city opened up and showered down on the city.
Gweee stared at his former place of employment, the raid trickling down his neck onto his back.
ôI will prove it, and then youÆll be the ones in the rain.ö
***********
Research Paper by Dr. G. Nore (PhD Astrometrics, Astrophysics, Biology, & Zoology)
Section Head, Stellar bio-morphology Department, Jita Academy of Stellar Physics
Stellar Cetaceans ôSpace Whalesö
Order Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Infraclass Eutheria
Superorder Laurasiatheria
Order Cetacea
Suborder Stellarum
While technically no longer a true ôwhaleö as we have on dozens of worlds across space, they none the less evidently started out as such.
We have evidence of genetic tampering of old Earth species so they could survive on dozens of worlds out here, from the Albino Wolverines of Kazor Prime, the Hell-Sharks of Amarr, to the Kite Bats of Auvergne, we have seen everything from the minor to the major in re-works of species to make them adapt.
Whales have been no different. Take the majestic cloud-whales of Erego, adapted to feed of the planets naturally occurring aerial plankton like species and thus produce a hydrogen gas to let them float and traverse the skies. Then there are the magma-orca of Faktun, genetically adapted to swim in the magma seas, feeding on the strange crocodilians that also inhabit the magma seas there.
The ôStellar Cetaceanö is merely another adaptation of the original species, albeit a much more radical adaptation.
*******
Gweee sat quietly in the chair, a cup of rare synthetic coffee in his hands looking at the pilot across the table. Ilik Mordo was not a typical Gallente, having consented to the interview with Gweee, a Caldari, without much problem or even the typical racial distrust.
ôYeah à IÆve heard of them, but youÆre not going to find much in Empire space. I know of a couple pilots whoÆve evidently found evidence of them.ö
Gweee looked up from his datapad.
ôI could let you have the names, for a tad extra.ö
********
In the Stellar Cetacean we have a truly bizarre mutation and an incredibly majestic and rare animal. They are born, live, eat and die in the vacuum of space.
They consume the ore and ice we mine for sustenance, fueling their vast internal engines and extrude in their wake clouds of gas, harvestable by those with the ships capable of just such ventures. One might argue they are the reason we see gas clouds these days, and the reason we see more gas clouds and the lessening of more belts these days is because the Stellar Cetaceans are now migrating inwards from the low-sec areas where they roamed.
********
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Jay Marshall
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Posted - 2008.04.21 01:31:00 -
[2]
ôSpace whales.ö
Azia Burgi looked at Gweee across the boarding chamber with a stern expression, not one that really did much for her attractive face. A member of the Deteis bloodline, she had the classical dark hair, cut short, and the round, attractive looks often seen among the women of the bloodline. She was the owner of the Cemetery, a massive station in the Molea system of the Khanid Region where she brought the corpses of the dead to be interred in cans to float eternal among the stars.
She was also said to be well traveled, having been out into low-sec a number of times with her crew to collect corpses when needed. Most alliances tended to treat her with respect, allowing her passage to the corpse and then out again or meeting her and handing over the corpse to her.
She had seen many things in the darkness of low-sec space, and was one of the three people Ilik had suggested Gweee talk to.
ôA pilot named Ilik told me to talk to you.ö
Azia motioned to her chief engineer to proceed down the docking arm to the ship and she crossed over to Gweee.
ôI know the name.ö
ôAnd? Do you? Have evidence? Seen one?ö
AziaÆs brow furrowed in thought, and then she pulled out her datapad and tapped on it briefly. She pulled a data chip from a pocket on her jumpsuit and plugged it into the datapad.
Gweee stood and watched, fidgeting with his own datapad with one hand while feeling his stomach growl. He hadnÆt eaten in the last couple of days as he researched information, rumors, stories and such on the trip to the Nakregde system and the Imperial Shipment Storage facility at Nakregde VI Moon 1.
Finally, giving Gweee a strange look, she pulled the data chip from the datapad and handed to him.
ôIgnore anyone else Ilik has asked you to talk with. Follow these directions and look for an Amarrian named Brother Shasoun. He will put you on the path you are seeking.ö
Gweee looked at the chip.
ôEverything you need to find him is in there, including a pass to protect you as you travel in the low-sec areas.ö
Azia turned and walked down the boarding tube to her ship beyond, the airlock doors hissing closed behind her, leaving Gweee standing amid steam and the stink of hydraulics.
********
It is unknown in which system the first stellar cetacean was created and let loose, but one can just imagine the joy and elation on the teams faces as their creation swam out amongst the stars and began to feed on the surrounding asteroids. From there more of the creatures were obviously introduced and a thriving community grew of the creatures.
It is also unknown at what point the creatures grew beyond what their creators intended and when they broke free and became truly wild animals, but happen it did, and the stellar cetacean was out into the low-sec regions, which at that time were a vast emptiness.
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Jay Marshall
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Posted - 2008.04.21 01:31:00 -
[3]
********
Gweee had forgone AziaÆs advice and decided to stop and talk with one of the other people on IlikÆs list, after all he was actually on the way to finding this Brother Shasoun.
He had docked at Sobaseki XI Moon 1 and sought out the rather massive hanger facility of one Jay Marshall. Frigates, destroyers and cruisers of every race and design hung quietly in the cavernous area, robotic tenders cleaning and servicing them. A team of various engineers, techs, and other crew were hear and there tending to the ships while getting a large Badger MK II ready for flight, the name, Wintermute, emblazoned on its side along with the Caldari ship registration numbers.
ôIlik sent you?ö Jay asked from he sat, his left leg stretched out beside the table. Like Azia, he was a member of the Deteis bloodline, and also had dark hair and a plain angular face.
Gweee nodded and held out a datapad for him to look at. Jay took it and read down it for a moment, then looked up at him.
ôAre you serious? This is want you want to talk to me about?ö
Gweee nodded and Jay arched an eyebrow and made a tut-tut sound.
ôHave you spoken to Azia Burgi yet? SheÆd really know more than me.ö
Gweee nodded again.
ôShe has me going looking for a Brotherà ô
ôShasoun, yeah I know who he is.ö
Jay reached down to one side of his chair and pulled out a cane and then stood up. Gweee blinked in surprise. Considering the level of medical technology, seeing someone using a cane was rather archaic and bizarre, especially a pilot.
He watched as Jay limped, favouring his left hip, to a desk covered in data chips, datapads, papers and other odds and ends. Jay sorted through things, muttering to himself till he finally found what he was looking for. He brought a data chip back over to Gweee and handed to him.
ôThis is a copy, and if anyone asks, I didnÆt give to you. Now go find that monk.ö
********
The most amazing thing about the Stellar Cetacean is its ability to form its own jump portal. It is completely unknown how it does this, and it is reasoned, based on what little information is still available from the digging through the records prior to the collapse, that the original teams of creators were trying to develop a way to create a organic jump portal technology that would require little to no fuel other than bio mass to sustain it.
It has also been reasoned that perhaps the jump portal ability was a mutation that was not foreseen and thus why the creators were unable to contain their experiments.
What ever the case may be, the sheer fact that these majestic creatures that sail the stars can leap between then as easily as their oceanic cousins can leap out of the water.
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Jay Marshall
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Posted - 2008.04.21 01:32:00 -
[4]
********
Gweee sat alone in his Caldari shuttle, huddled under a blanket, a forgotten cup of synthetic coffee sitting cold on the desk to one side of him. The comm-unit continued to broadcast its signal as AziaÆs instructions had noted.
A week heÆd sat here, deep in low-sec space, systems away from anywhere civilized. Apart from a lone fast moving Buzzard class scout that had screamed past him almost six days ago, heÆd not seen another soul.
He looked around the small compartment at his worldly possessions and sighed. His stomach grumbled and he checked his rations again. Three days of food and water left. After that he would slowly starve unless he returned to Empire space, at which point his passes would become void and heÆd never get back out here again.
The resounding ping of a scanner nearly caused him to have a heart attack and sent him scrambling into the pod. He quickly linked in and space blossomed around him in a 360 degree view, readouts showing everything around him, including that massive Apocalypse class Amarrian Battleship that was slowly bearing down on him. He briefly contemplated trying to flee the massive ship but reasoned that he had nothing to loose from staying.
Almost out of food and hope, Gweee turned the shuttle to face the monolithic ship and waited for his death.
********
Encounters with these incredibly rare creatures have been reported down through the years ever since humanity reached back out into the stars. As we started to once again forage into the unknown and uncharted regions of space, we started to spot things. Phantom blips that could be ships, which vanished without a trace before a proper ID could be made. Asteroid belts that were full and bountiful one day, but the next, gone, nothing but a cloud of gas left in its place. Even some of the rather bizarre rock formations found here and there left people wondering if they were perhaps skeletons of some massive creature that had died and been ravaged to the bone.
The last sighting was nearly two months ago, when several Ishkur class assault frigates belonging to the Triumvirate Alliance entered a system under their control and while performing a routine patrol of the belts for unauthorized mining, evidently stumbled across one of these creatures feeding. The hazy reports that were smuggled out seem to indicate that one of the pilots decided to make a run on the creature, only to be rendered powerless by an energy drain. The others, staying at range, opened fire at the creature, only to watch as their turrets splashed uselessly against the creatureÆs hide. If the survivorÆs story is to be believed, the creature then turned and ôswallowedö the attacking Ishkurs with one gulp of its massive maw, leaving the powerless Ishkur floating there. The creature then turned, shimmered and jump portaled away.
Based on the smuggled report, the pilot put the creature at the size of a dreadnaught.
********
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Jay Marshall
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Posted - 2008.04.21 01:33:00 -
[5]
Gweee walked slowly down the long corridor, the echoing music of choirs and hymns around him, and Brother Shasoun beside him.
A typical Amarrian of the Amarr bloodline, his bald head was creased with lines and he had a look of frustrated concern on his face. This was at odds with the rather jovial nature that Shasoun had, his booming laugh and pleasant voice droning out the choirs of his ship, Light of the Dying Star.
ôYouÆre lucky I monitor the comms traffic, listening for them, for their songs.ö
Shasoun lead him into a large theater like room with a massive window that looked out onto space. A couch with a small table sat in the roomÆs center, allowing for one to sit and bask in the vista.
Shasoun offered Gweee a small cup of tea and then sat in the couch. He gestured to the vista beyond.
ôThey are out there, friend Gweee. They swim and sing among the stars. I have seen them, heard them and swam with them with the ship. They are truly an example of GodÆs work among us.
Gweee nodded and sipped his tea.
ôWill we be able to see them? Today?ö
Shasoun smiled. He reached down and pressed a button.
ôBrother Philip, take us to 3G2-2C6.ö
ôAt once, holy one.ö Came the curt reply.
Gweee watched as the ship swung about and powered its way to the outer edges of the system, going even deeper into uncharted and low-sec space. An aging Caldari designed stargate lay waiting for them.
Shasoun held onto the couch and looked at Gweee.
ôI hate stargate jumping.ö
********
Today we now see reports of asteroid belts vanishing again, the entire belts reduced to rubble. We know that some are being stripped by various corporations, but others, others are not well known and shouldnÆt have been stripped as fast as they are. These lost belts are now even occurring in mid-sec space, in the regions of 0.2 to 0.4 ratings, and I have even seen a report of something in a 0.8 system.
The Stellar Cetacean is a reality and possibly a problem to our now growing ore shortages in tritanium. We must therefore make a effort to seek out these enigmatic creatures and either make contact and if they are intelligent, as has been proven with their terrestrial cousins, warn them off to the low-sec regions again, or sadly make an effort to curtail their numbers.
********
The ship had jumped through several systems, heading farther and farther outwards. With each jump Gweee felt his stomach twist, and the sweet tea that Shasoun had been plying him with wasnÆt helping. Finally they seemed to reach a place so far away from anywhere else; Gweee swore they must have been halfway back to ancient Earth. The last gate had been of an ancient pre-collapse design and seemed ready to fall apart from use.
Now in the system, the massive ship spun lazily on it axis then sped off deep into the inner zones. Gweee sipped another cup of sweet tea looking at the stars streaking by when the ship dropped out of system warp, into a massive asteroid belt. In the distance he could make out ships mining centered on what was probably a Rorqual class mining ship. Shasoun stood and walked to the window and gestured to Gweee.
ôCome, watch. This is a common place for the young to feed with their mother.ö
Gweee slowly walked over to the window and looked and then stopped. The tea cup shattered on the floor.
It wasnÆt a Rorqual and small mining ships in the belt.
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Jay Marshall
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Posted - 2008.04.21 01:34:00 -
[6]
Its basic, but it was fun to write.
Comments?
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Gweee
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Posted - 2008.04.21 15:47:00 -
[7]
Jay that was great reading! I loved it! Now if only my research could actually be as fruitful as my fabled counterpart's, I would be set. You should definitely write another chapter sometime. And remember! They're out there...
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Azia Burgi
Caldari
Science and Trade Institute
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Posted - 2008.04.21 16:02:00 -
[8]
lol! i want to read more!
Azia Burgi
http://azia.geekandproud.co.uk
BP Profit Calculator
EVE Cemetery |
Garion Avarr
Amarr
Zero Zero Traders
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Posted - 2008.04.22 20:38:00 -
[9]
Very amusing.
________________________________
This is not a signature. |
Achran Dexx
Caldari
CompleXion Industries
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Posted - 2008.04.23 08:06:00 -
[10]
Continue please! |
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Jay Marshall
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Posted - 2008.04.30 23:02:00 -
[11]
Edited by: Jay Marshall on 30/04/2008 23:03:37
Not sure what else to write about the gallant Dr. Gweee Nore. He found his space whales... maybe.
I have been tempted to perhaps try another angle of stories, perhaps involving my character and his times. Of course my good online friends, Gweee, Azia and others might make appearance (with their permissions gathered 1st of course).
As for the stellar cetaceans... well maybe another story at another time.
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BrysonBennington
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Posted - 2008.06.06 02:30:00 -
[12]
He is a Gall story line...ship pulls close to your ship. Smiles are exchanged and then the Gall pilot drops trow and the full moon is seen.
"fraqqing caldari"
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Stitcher
Duty.
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Posted - 2008.06.06 10:57:00 -
[13]
"Gweee" sounds like a girlish squeal of delight, I reckon. Which pretty much perfectly sums up my feelings about the story.
Love it, mate. very well done.
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Verin "Stitcher" Tarn-Hakatain. |
Jay Marshall
Caldari
Walks Forever Trade Inc
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Posted - 2008.06.30 02:25:00 -
[14]
Thanks Stitche,
Though you going "gwwwwweeeeee" doesn't quite seem right lol.
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CEO
Walks Forever Trade Inc
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Zarch AlDain
Hematite Rose
Bionic Dawn
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Posted - 2008.06.30 11:07:00 -
[15]
Very well written. I liked it :)
I always thought the idea of space whales was silly but this story could almost convince me otherwise.
Zarch AlDain
----
My corp is recruiting. See the recruitment thread here.
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Arderich
Bruderschaft des Wahrhaftigen
A.R.K.
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Posted - 2008.06.30 13:16:00 -
[16]
I think I'll send an expedition.
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Jay Marshall
Caldari
Walks Forever Trade Inc
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Posted - 2008.07.01 19:49:00 -
[17]
You'll need to find Brother Shasoun. Only he knows the old jump routes beyond the outer rim.
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CEO
Walks Forever Trade Inc
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Brother Shasoun
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Posted - 2008.07.01 19:58:00 -
[18]
Such routes are only for those pure of mind, pure of vision.
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Remus Navillum
z3r0 Gravity
Interstellar Alcohol Conglomerate
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Posted - 2008.07.07 08:33:00 -
[19]
Superb story.
I'd travel a hundred jumps into the deepest and most forsaken depths of space to see something like that. Preoccupied by our petty human affairs and social constructs, desperately trying to jockey some some sliver of advantage over the next pilot, we forget that the forces of nature give rise to phenomena more awe-inspiring than any human creation.
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Stitcher
Caldari
Duty.
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Posted - 2008.07.07 08:43:00 -
[20]
 Originally by: Jay Marshall
Thanks Stitche,
Though you going "gwwwwweeeeee" doesn't quite seem right lol.
yeah, it kind of jeopardizes my reputation as a manly type, doesn't it?
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Lt. Verin "Stitcher" Tarn-Hakatain. |
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Jay Marshall
Caldari
Walks Forever Trade Inc
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Posted - 2008.07.07 13:31:00 -
[21]
Thanks Remus.
I am thinking I might write some more soon just for fun.
And Stitcher ... ummm .. yah. lol.
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CEO
Walks Forever Trade Inc
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Freyya
Under the Wings of Fury
Atrocitas
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Posted - 2008.07.07 23:32:00 -
[22]
I lolled. Very original topic and very well written. Would definatly like to read more on this part of space science. Or anything else for that matter.
___________
NOW COLLECTING ISD AND CCP AUTOGRAPHS
It'll be worth something someday. -Rauth
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White Ronin
Gallente
Screenout
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Posted - 2008.07.09 20:20:00 -
[23]
Outstanding.
Now if ccp could silently introduce one of these in the deepest regions of space to be glimpsed in passing from the corner of the eye I would die happy.
Perhaps expanding on them and the industry of "space whaling" or even the mishap of their once-every-500-year salmon spwn that destroys everything in their path might work.
But whatever.
Great story man.
Keep it up.
---------------------------------------------
"There have always been ghosts in the machine . . . random segments of code that have grouped together to form unexpected protocols. " |
Jay Marshall
Caldari
Walks Forever Trade Inc
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Posted - 2008.07.10 20:31:00 -
[24]
Thanks
Gweee himself petitioned for Space Whales as was turned down. :(
Maybe we should toss the idea into the dev channel itself lolol
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CEO
Walks Forever Trade Inc
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Freyya
Under the Wings of Fury
Atrocitas
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Posted - 2008.07.10 22:44:00 -
[25]
Perhaps the CSM is worth a try  Open up a topic about introducing space whales on the CSM forum and i bet that it will be at page 20 with /signed in no-time 
You know what happens if a topic gets enough support right 
___________
NOW COLLECTING ISD AND CCP AUTOGRAPHS
It'll be worth something someday. -Rauth
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White Ronin
Gallente
Screenout
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Posted - 2008.07.13 05:17:00 -
[26]
Edited by: White Ronin on 13/07/2008 05:21:04
As I have no pride nor vanity....
Take that!
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"There have always been ghosts in the machine . . . random segments of code that have grouped together to form unexpected protocols. " |
Jay Marshall
Caldari
Walks Forever Trade Inc
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Posted - 2008.07.14 18:42:00 -
[27]
Dude!!!!
heheh
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CEO
Walks Forever Trade Inc
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Gweee
Caldari
The People's Fleet
Virtual Alliance Core
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Posted - 2008.07.19 07:37:00 -
[28]
Glad to see so many people have been enlightened to the tale of the space whale and that your story has done so well Jay. And White Ronin I love the proposition! Going to support now. Long live the Cetacea Stellarum! And Jay we should get together and come up with the next chapter of adventures.
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Gweee
Caldari
The People's Fleet
Virtual Alliance Core
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Posted - 2008.08.01 21:40:00 -
[29]
Part Two is up! \o/ Here it is. Good job again Jay; I love them! Linkage
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J Kunjeh
Gallente
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Posted - 2008.08.03 17:00:00 -
[30]
A very inventive story. Great job, I loved it!
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