The Sin Eaters
Those Who Broke Into Hell...
Mute and Caydie stepped into The Archive. Mute spent so much time there since his arrival, but he still felt like a stranger. It wasnt just the archive. He felt like a stranger to the whole planet. He missed the vibrations of the station's various machinery and the smell of sterile air. He even missed the days of silence. Talking to so many in such a small period of time was exhausting. The Archivist greeted them, and Mute noticed how his body moved, stiff and without grace, like a machine should move. Mute narrowed his eyes. Caydie looked at The Archivist from head to toe and raised an eyebrow. "You called for us?" "Indeed I did." The archivist replied, staring at an empty steel table in front of him. "Is something wrong?" "Yes," he began, pausing to look up before continuing, "close the doors, if you would." Mute walked to the nearest set of double steel doors. "What's this about?" The Archivist gave a light chuckle, watching as they obeyed. "My friends, do you believe in ghosts?" "No," Caydie said, laughing. "What kind of question is that?" The archivist ignored her and turned to Mute. "And you?" "'fraid not," Mute answered, closing the final door. He stepped forward and waited for the archivist to explain. The archivist's head snapped to the left, his attention drawn to something on the far side of the room. He spoke in a whisper, his eyes fixed on what appeared to be empty space, "Neither do I."
Ghosts have no place in our rational reality. You wanted to know more about what happened on the station, yes? I've studied the feeds. I've gathered every piece of information in the archive, and even petitioned the Eden to give me access to theirs. Still, these creatures are an enigma. I do not know what they are.
They haunt the void in black ships, with black flags and black sails. They are a story told in faintly lit space stations to keep travelers away from lesser known stars. I don't know what they call themselves. They may not even have a name. Data from Invicta referred to them as "Sin Eaters." It never mentioned why.
They feed on death. They worship it, even. They thrive on fear, and are capable of technological feats that push the boundaries of not only our science, but that of most other species. They collect biomass from everywhere they go, their ships silently drifting through space. We don't know what they do with it, only that they actively refuse to destroy ships in fear of losing what they can gather on board.
Ghost stories
The sin eaters are a recent anomaly. The Origin Exiles encountered them first. They met in a time before their strange transformations. The Eden would encounter them next, and the encounter did not end well. Several ships were found empty, barren of life. Imagine your own gods being abandoned in the void, falling before a single enemy vessel.
From there we hear tales of strange invisible lifeforms roaming the galaxy and abducting those who wander too far from home. They infiltrate planets, unseen and unheard. They take to robbing graves and collecting bodies on distant battlefields. Cloaking technology shouldn't be possible to that degree.
Their presence often leads to madness. The few who survive their encounters report hallucinations, strange whispers, and a lasting fear of the dark. What are they? How do these creatures tick? If these things exist, then we may have a serious problem on our hands.
Black Sails, Black Flags
Their ships lack cloaking technology, or perhaps they don't bother to use it. They don't need to. Eden reports claim their ships lack any form of weaponry. Their technology seems to focus on defense, their shielding and armor far superior to anything we know of.
Any attempt at communication often ends in silence. This is preferable. Occasionally, trying to communicate can lead to a response consisting of endless overlapping whispers. It is as if thousands tried to speak at once. Ships tend to fall into chaos soon after.
Their ships lack transponders, the means all those in the galaxy used to identify vessels. Most ships will broadcast their designation, and name, so they can be identified in the vast expanse of space. This fact indicates they have little intention of communicating with anyone, including each other. That, or they have some unknown means of doing so.
Scavengers
One thing that seems to always be true across the many reports of this strange species is how they don't like to fight. They have no weapons at all, not even for soldiers.
They pick off the weak and broken. They hunt in packs but never attack a well-armed opponent unless provoked. The Eden managed to destroy a vessel. Since then, they flee in terror when shown strength greater than their own.
Despite this, they have taken an interest in humanity. We are indeed weak, and we are broken beyond repair. Perhaps they seek to harvest us en masse one day. Perhaps they wish to study us for an invasion. We must learn more.
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As always, I *adore* this. I'm loving the lead up here about the Sin Eaters. I'm sensing more to come, am I right? I hope I'm right! :D
Oh yessss. More to come for sure! Thank you as always. I'm glad you enjoyed it