The origins of the miner's horrors are unknown; perhaps they evolved in a distant star cluster in an arm of the galaxy; perhaps they come from beyond the galaxy itself.
Although miner's horrors are exceedingly rare, the devastation they can inflict on small spacecrafts and populated asteroids is enough to make a pirate cringe.
Pirates first discovered the horror some five millennia ago; no one believed their transmissions until a junker salvaged the remains of a ship devastated by the horror. Two armed freighters were sent to kill the beast. One came back intact; the other suffered severe damage. Since that first contact, other reports of miner's horrors have surfaced. To date, none have appeared further in than the relatively remote Tion, but it may only be a matter of time before they spread to more central regions of the galaxy. Some fear that the creatures are part of a slow but determined invasion force, sent to soften up the Empire for some massive attack. Others believe that miner's horrors that have already been encountered are tiny compared to the ones that may be on the way.
Miner's horrors feed on minerals ground from asteroids. The creature's saw-like teeth chew space rock into dust while an efficient filtration system absorbs the dust, refines it into pure minerals, and circulates them throughout the monster's body. Though minerals eaten are digested slowly over time, miner's horrors remain hungry throughout their lives. Whole asteroid belts have been consumed by one creature, although this destruction can take decades.
Through some unknown organ or process, a miner's horror can "sniff out" quantities of minerals. Since starships are composed of refined ore, a miner's horror would regard a ship as a veritable feast. Fortunately, horrors are slow. Unfortunately, they are difficult to destroy. Battling one is like fighting a small starship - one without guns but carrying an incredible boarding weapon. Some mining companies have hunted horrors; the few that have been killed yielded a bonanza of refined ore. The catch is finding, stalking, and killing such a creature - a heroic task indeed.
With one exception, all miner's horrors thus encountered have been solitary. This exception, the site of a massive starship battle, became the feeding ground for three of the massive beasts (this sector is now off-limits to any astrogater with half a brain). Xenobiologists theorize that the horrors lay eggs or embryos within asteroids. No such cache has ever been found, but the bodies that scientists have obtained suggest that the horrors lay eggs and reproduce asexually. Their lifespans are unknown, but may last for centuries. | 
