BLACKEST BLOODLUST
The small group of dragons flew loosely together. All the others had gone in separate directions in search of opportunity to satisfy their hunger. Fueled bloodlust and hate they didn't fully understand, they searched for their destiny. It seemed an eternity in the blackness, never having known the surface of the planet where their ancestors had lived.
They had accumulated great speed but they didn't realize it was a different type of flight from those their ancestors had experienced back on the surface of the planet where their race was born many generations before. Having not thought about it they didn't even realize there was another kind of flight. They didn't know it would be different within an atmosphere or with gravity.
Looking for a place to rest their wings and sleep some they take rest on a small rock floating through the blackness. Faint memory of previous generations told them that this was called an 'asteroid' in the language of their creators. It was small, barely large enough for the three of them. Not understanding that their roars weren't supposed to be silent they settled in to rest. The edge of anxiousness made their sleep fitful and short before something jerked them awake.
They stood and looked around instantly when their senses suddenly sprang to life with the realization that they were no longer alone in the blackness. Then they saw it, leaping into flight without hesitation they headed for the metal rock. Something was different about this rock. Somehow they knew it was their purpose to find out what it was. Somehow they knew they had to investigate and satisfy their curiosity.
*****
The alarms sounded. Antrel leaped from the game of Glosrah he was engrossed in and raced to the nearest interface room. The flurry of activity distracted him only momentarily but he soon found a seat and slipped his fingers into the thick foamy solution used to interface with the ship. Instantly a virtual screen appeared in front of his face as he gave the ship commands via the visual receptors implanted at birth. The ship reported that they had been boarded externally but the integrity of the ship was still intact. He fired a probe to get a visual feed of what was on the outside of the ship.
Panic ensued all around him as he worked to determine the cause of the alarms. Then he saw it. The creature was unlike anything he'd ever seen but was obviously a formidable opponent should it prove to be aggressive. As he sat studying the creature, making note of the physical attributes, he felt both excitement and fear at this contact. The others had made their own discoveries. He switched over to the other probes that had been launched to see more of what they were facing and simultaneously turned off the screeching alarm. Then his stomach sank at what he saw and fear overtook him, but only for a moment.
He watched frozen in place for only a moment as one of the creatures literally RIPPED the outter shell of the ship open with his claws. Their shields were designed to protect the ship from asteroids, floating debris and both projectile and energy weapons. They hadn't been designed to repel a biological intruder. Too late Antrel had the brief realization that this was a major flaw in their defenses. He was both awestruck and dismayed at the ease at which the creature shredded the metal shell of the ship. As he flipped back through the other probes it occurred to him that this was a coordinated attack. "Halshnirk! We're under attack!!", he cried before sounding the alert to arms, knowing these creatures would be difficult to combat.
Antrel joined his shipmates and friends to stop this intrusion. Grabbing up his Vlantoi he ran towards the nearest intrusion point. The shouts of anger and haste followed him down the corridor while the screams of pain and fear awaited him somewhere up ahead. The corridor was full, from side to side, with his comrades eager to join in the defense of their ship. Then they heard it and all stopped dead in their tracks. They heard it again and again, coming from around the next bend in the corridor.
