Beldon

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The beldon was an enormous gas-filled creature native to the skies of Bespin.

Beldons metabolized the natural chemicals and biospheric plankton of the slushy gas-liquid-solid interface of Bespin's lower atmosphere via long, trailing tentacles. They traveled in free-floating herds. Beldons reproduced sexually, but did not mate: eggs and sperm were released into the atmosphere and drifted like plankton until random fertilization occurred.

Beldons excreted Tibanna gas, which could be collected and used as hyperdrive coolant. They were surrounded by a small electrical field to detect approaching predators, like velkers, who preyed on them by poking holes in them and feeding on them until they entered the poisonous gas layer. The symbotic triggerbirds were capable of inhabiting the tentacles of the beldon without harm.

Some rare species of beldon could actually survive in space, drifting in interstellar nebulae or gas clouds. They could also consume minerals in small planetoids and asteroids by secreting acid on their tentacles to bore into rock and metal. They were known to even latch onto crippled starships for their mineral content. Like the beldons on Bespin, these "space beldons" also excreted Tibanna gas.

[edit] Appearances

• Star Wars Republic 69: The Dreadnaughts of Rendili, Part 1
• Rebel Dawn
• Young Jedi Knights: Trouble on Cloud City

[edit] Sources

• Galaxy Guide 2: Yavin and Bespin, Second Edition
• The Illustrated Star Wars Universe
• The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons
• Alien Anthology
• The Wildlife of Star Wars: A Field Guide
•  Rodeo Thranta on Wizards.com (article)
• Ultimate Adversaries
• Star Wars Customizable Card Game – Cloud City Limited (Card: Beldon's Eye)
•  The Rycar Run on Wizards.com (article)
• The Official Star Wars Fact File 5 (BES3-4, Bespin)
• The Official Star Wars Fact File 104 (BES13-14, Bespin Wildlife)
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
• Star Wars Encyclopedia