The Discovery

>SPACE RPOBE U.N.S. DISCOVERY TRANSMISSION TO HOMEBASE; Dt. 24.5.21.0200:
>Encountered unknown object.
>Attempted to take sample.
>Sample attempt failed.
>Communication attempt…
>Communication attempt successful.
>Communication from unknown object:

You are not the first ones out here.

END TRANSMISSION

It was thanks to the above transmission from the aptly named Space Probe U.N.S. Discovery that humanity discovered that in the realms of space exploration the dragons had, as they had in so many other pursuits, gotten there long before us.

The idea behind this is simple: dragons get everywhere. Thus it follows they get into outer space. Thus: Space Dragons!

Space Dragons are huge, this one is obvious only a juvenile, and live off of solar energy they collect using the photovoltaic cells imbedded in the scales of their belly and the fins of their wings. They supplement this power by eating space debris, which they filter out of the void with baleen-like teeth. They have an air-lock in their esophagus, and their digestive system is similar to a subterranean cave on earth, with a high nitrogen based atmosphere and a small ecosystem of molds and fungus that aid in digestion. Though they live their entire lives (upwards of several hundred thousand years) in outer space, they must lay their eggs on a planet with liquid water and an atmosphere. Because of this, it is suspected that they have carried the seeds of life to many planets throughout the galaxy.

Space Dragons move slowly, using their wings to sail on the solar wind, and sling-shot from planet to planet. For traveling great distances they create rifts in the Space-Time Continuum, hence the term Worm-hole.

Space Dragons are highly intelligent, peaceful, and have no natural predators or prey.

No one knows where they came from, or how long they have been around (except it is far, far longer than us).

Colored pencils on 9"x12" illustration paper. This picture appears on page 98 of my Black Book. Art and concept © myself, some rights reserved.