Orion's Hounds

Plot

 * As the U.S.S. Titan ventures beyond the outermost reaches of known space, the telepaths in her crew&mdash;including Diplomatic Officer Deanna Troi&mdash;are overwhelmed by an alien cry of distress, leading the ship to the scene of a shocking act of carnage: a civilization of interstellar "whalers" preying upon and exploiting a familiar species of sentient spaceborn giants.


 * Appalled but reluctant to rush to judgement, Captain William Riker and his crew investigate, discovering a cosmic spawning ground in a region of active star formation--the ecosystem for a bewildering array of diverse but similarly vast life-forms. While attempting to negotiate an end to the victimization of these creatures, Riker's crew inadvertently grants them the means to defeat their hunters' purpose ... only to learn that things are not exactly as they seem.

Part 1: Giants in the Sky

 * Beneath the sky's triumphal arch/This music sounded like a march,/And with its chorus seemed to be/Preluding some great tragedy. ... Begirt with many a blazing star,/Stood the Great giant Algebar,/Orion, hunter of the beast!/His sword hung gleaming by his side,/And, on his arm, the lion's hide/Scattered across the midnight air/the golden radience of its hair. &mdash;"The Occultation of Orion," by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Prologue
Written in a stream-of-consciousness style, a pair of space-born life-forms meet more of their kind. They are attacked and their call for help is answered.

Chapter 1
USS Titan, Stardate 57137.8: (February 20, 2380, 1030)