A lone ship flew through the vacuum of space towards parts unknown. Aboard this ship was a space pirate*, Kanjar Ro. Just outside this ship, and preparing to enter, was a Green Lantern, John Stewart. John's arrival on board was greeted by Ro himself and a contingent of his pirates, trying to look as non-threatening as they could, heavily armed and armored as they were. Ro spoke first.

"Stewart! My friend! What can I-"

"Don't bother, Ro. Why are you here?"

"Why? I'm just passing through, that's why. Why is it that every time I enter a new sector, you Green Lanterns always act like I'm there for some nefarious purpose?"

"You usually are. Now, if you'll just let me inspect your cargo, I'll be on my way."

Ro's men readied their weapons.

"I'm afraid that won't be necessary."

Stewart's ring began to glow.

"I'm afraid it will."

Ro fled into the cargo bay, hearing the sounds of the fight behind him. He ran to the Gamma Gong and rolled it into position, just as the last of his thugs was thrown clear over his head. He prepared to strike the gong, only to be pulled away from it by a green hand.

"Give it up, Ro. Whatever you've got on here, as if that gong isn't enough to run you in, it's not worth it. Speaking of which, what do you have in here?"

"See for yourself, Lantern."

John heard loud, heavy footsteps, and turned around to see a massive furred and fanged creature. The closest comparison to an earth animal would be to call it a giant wolf, but it was clearly alien in origin. He threw Ro into an empty box and closed the lid.

"What is that thing?"

It roared and took a swipe at him with its claw. John blocked with a shield.

"Not too friendly, that's what."

It tried to bite him, but he put a spherical construct in its mouth and pushed it back.

Doesn't seem intelligent. My ring can't translate what it's saying. Probably found by Ro and kidnapped for work or entertainment. I'll need to bring it back to Oa to figure out what planet it came from.

John looked around at the rest of Kanjar Ro's cargo, looking for something useful. A few metal tanks of an unknown gas, a crate marked "Hand Grenades," an open canister of liquid nitrogen, and a spilled box of fine powder. The hand grenades and the liquid nitrogen were too dangerous, and the gas was too much of an unknown. That left the powder. He took some with his ring, which he then used to analyze it. Knock-out powder. He was in luck. Now, to administer it. The creature took another swipe, knocking John across the room.

Easier said than done.

John began maneuvering around the creature, taking note of its breathing patterns. He held the powder up to its nose just as it was about to inhale. Now all that was left was to wait it out. The creature knocked a pile of more empty boxes on top of John.

Once again, easier said than done.

By the time he recovered, however, the creature had already fallen asleep.

"Alright, Ro. Time to-"

He saw that Ro was gone. After looking for a moment, he realized where Ro had gone. He was in the ship's control room, and venting the cargo bay into space. John protected himself and the creature, but the moment he was outside, the ship flew away towards another sector.

"Well, I'd better get you back to Oa. G'nort's probably going to freak out when he sees this."

*I've found conflicting information whether he's a space pirate or a planetary ruler in the original continuity, but he was a pirate on the Justice League animated series, and I needed a space pirate character, so that's what he's going to be here.