"Admiral," Umi says, "The last Kraktol visitor has taken a physical, and I have finished tallying all of their results." José Rodriguez, the last living Terran, sits up on his bunk and blinks the sleep out of his eyes. In less than two seconds, he swings his legs over the side of the bed and…
It takes José and Kisa around five minutes to walk across the Bloodbearer’s hangar bay. When they arrive at their destination, Kisa gasps audibly. "Wow! Is this the Slipstream? It looks way different from the other ships around it!" José nods. "It is, and you’re right; it does." The Admiral pauses before the bullet-shaped vessel….
"Graugh! I bet you have missed the taste of authentic Kraktol cuisine while you’ve been away!" Lord Drall sits at a small, rectangular table with his two daughters, Megla and Sapphire, as well as his half-daughter, Soren. Soren and Megla sit on one side, while Drall and Sapphire sit on the other. The small family…
Lord Drall’s razor-sharp toe-claws clink and clatter against the steel deckplates as he paces along beside his new comrade and soon-to-be battle buddy, José Rodriguez. The Terran and Kraktol stroll through the Bloodbearer’s main hangar bay past dozens of shuttlecraft of varying sizes. Their path angles them toward a vessel far bigger than the shuttles…
Admiral José Rodriguez walks side by side with Lord Drall, second in command of the Kraktol Empire. The Terran and crocodilian appear mismatched in height, with the human standing nearly a full head taller than his counterpart. This height imbalance, when combined with the Terran’s domineering presence and overwhelming superiority in all manner of warfare,…
Elsewhere aboard the Bloodbearer, Kisa Kindris, daughter of the Thülvik, meanders down the ship’s hallways, flanked by Soren Mudrose on her left, and Megla Brighteye on her right. The three Kraktol females slowly pace about, with Megla chatting excitedly and pointing out various sights along the way, Soren keeping calm and nodding along to her…
The last Terran, a remnant of his extinct species, arrives before the Kraktol vessel, the Red-Tongue. Despite being only a hundredth the Bloodbearer’s size, the Red-Tongue still presents a massive, imposing image when set against the backdrop of the Bloodbearer’s Shuttle Bay. It devours the metallic interior and towers above the nearby shuttlecraft, making the…
"The Kraktol vessel will exit warp-space in T-minus three seconds and counting. Two seconds. One second." Umi, the Bloodbearer’s synthmind, speaks from overhead, announcing the arrival of the Red-Tongue above Tarus II. A moment later, a brief flash of light appears off the Bloodbearer’s starboard bow. A starship, not even a thousandth the Bloodbearer’s size,…
Megla, Soren, and several dozen Kessu stand outside the Bloodbearer’s primary medical facility, staring at the frosted glass as if trying to bore holes in it with their eyes. The two Kraktol rub and wring their claws together, anxiously awaiting Umi’s announcement. Of all the creatures present, only little Lele appears unperturbed. The kitten sits…
Three days pass. Admiral Rodriguez stays inside the holodeck, quietly watching various memories from his life play out in front of him. Sometimes he laughs. Sometimes he cries. Sometimes, he simply looks on in silence. A memory of a criminal blood-cult. They would stab hooks through people’s feet, then hang them upside down and torture…
