This is an amateur, non-commercial story, which is not produced, approved of, or in any way sponsored by the holders of the trademarks/copyrights from which this work is derived, nor is it intended to infringe on the rights of these holders. And so it goes.

She moved with soft, silent steps, gliding from shadow to shadow through the harsh metallic corridors of the station. Her animal-keen senses stretched out in every direction, seeking out any motion, any sound, any scent that might herald oncoming danger. As she darted to the next dark haven, her mind struggled to comprehend this strange, alien universe she'd found herself trapped within.

She had no idea where she was. At first, a glance out one of the many windows lining the walls led her to believe she'd awoken at dusk, but that had been several hours ago, and by her reckoning the sun should have been peeking over the horizon by now. That forced her to consider--and reluctantly accept--the outlandish notion that she was trapped on some sort of space station.

Fortunately, the vampire had long had experience in adapting to the unexpected. And this station was a going concern, filled with an infinite variety of living creatures, each of whom had something akin to blood in his/her/its veins. While the idea of a galactic salad bar had been tempting, she had instead decided to stick to known quantities and sought out a human. Her victim was a school teacher working late in her classroom, and had proven quite tasty; but two hours later the vampire could feel the hunger pangs returning with a vengeance, and thus far she'd been unable to find a suitable second course. It looked as though it was time to try something a bit more exotic.

And right on cue, she collided with an extraterrestrial.

Briefly noting the fellow's odd, slightly distorted facial features--it reminded her somewhat of a clay sculpture in progress--the vampire summoned every bit of her inhuman powers and stared into his eyes. He tilted his head slightly, utterly oblivious to her hypnotic charms. "Can I help you?" he asked in a gravelly voice.

"Yes," she breathed seductively, still struggling to entrance him. "I want you..."

"I'm sorry. I'm very busy right now." To her shock, he nodded politely and turned to leave. The vampire stood there in mute amazement for a moment, then shook her head, muttered "Oh, what the hell" to herself, and lunged forward, sinking her fangs into his throat. Overwhelmed with surprise, her victim didn't even so much as flinch as she began to drink. Her mouth filled with warm, viscous fluid; moaning, she surrendered to the frenzy that begged for release and drank with sheer abandon.

It seemed to last an eternity, but at long last she opened her eyes...and found that her victim was no longer there. But her belly was full, her need sated. Puzzling, to say the least, but at least the hunger was gone. In fact, she was feeling a bit too stuffed....incredibly stuffed....more and more each second...

* * * * * *

There was a loud, squishy, disgusting-sounding pop...

* * * * * *

"If you'll excuse me," Odo said to Sisko, "I'd very much like to wash off somewhere."

"Of course," the commander nodded. "I'm looking forward to your report." The constable bowed slightly and hurried off; the stench from the fluids that drenched his body kept the curious back at a considerable distance. Sighing, Sisko looked around at the mess that was dripping down the walls and ceiling into a growing pool on the floor. "This is," he said softly, "the most disgusting thing I've ever seen."

"Not for the faint of stomach," Kira agreed, looking a bit green in the face. She idly nudged a bloody finger over into a pile of rotting flesh with the toe of her boot. "Gah," she added with a twisted grimace.

"So what do you make of this?" Sisko asked her. "Could she have been some new species from the Gamma Quadrant? Or, as our doctor suggested, a vampire?"

"I don't know," the Bajoran said, shaking her head. "We'll never know now, that's for sure."

"I have to admit I was quite surprised that our constable was able to squeeze into such a small space." Sisko stepped back and allowed Chief O'Brien to hose the corridor down.

"Oh, that's nothing," Kira assured him. "Odo told me once that he's able to compress his body down to about a square foot. Comes in handy for some of his shapeshifting."

Sisko looked at her. "You mean..."

Kira grinned. "Yup. No matter how small the space, there's always room for Odo."