No one knows how it happened, much less why. Theories range anywhere from extraterrestrial invasion, which, given the presence of the Cloven and the Vice, is entirely likely, to unstable mutations that spread throughout the original planet Earth, eradicating our species at a terrifying, exponential rate. Genocide? Check. Zombies? Check. Extra dimensional tentacle monsters? You bet. Our species’ ability to rationalize anything comes at the fault that we can’t ever agree if we don’t know all the details. The only thing our elders ever agreed on was that they called it the Great Exodus of Humankind. Exodus for short. Every record of our civilization was erased nearly overnight. The only thing we know for sure is that we can’t go back to Earth, and we haven’t been there in nearly two thousand years.

At first, there weren’t many of us. It was mostly the inhabited, stable colonies and a few space station hubs that were staffed for deep space exploration. Something happened on Earth and the people who didn’t get off the planet right away died within weeks or days or hours. I don’t know. I just know they died. What used to be a beautiful planet of blues, greens, browns, and whites has decayed into blacks, grays, and occasional burning reds. For whatever reason, we still cling to the hope of fixing our home and going back, but we already expanded our populations far more than the resources could provide before that cataclysm. The pragmatics among us know that we can’t go back.

The first alien contact we had was with Cloven. Religious fanatics called them demons, hell spawn sent to destroy us for our sins, but the alien species proved to be as diverse and dynamic as ourselves. They are as intelligent as they are physically intimidating, and even the smallest of their breeds tower over us at a “scrawny” seven foot, six inches. Then came the Vice, the Gen, the Vathra, and all the rest. We had suddenly become aware that we were no longer alone in the universe, and that we were runts of the pack.

It’s been 1500 years since we’ve assimilated into the greater cosmic parade, shuffling along.

Now, there’s something coming for us again. This time, there is far more at stake, and the tensions are already on the rise. Whole colonies and planets are being consumed, and no species is any exception to the rule of this approaching Death. Scientists are toiling in their labs until they die, uncaring of the inevitable doom, while fanatics are attempting to appease the gods of death and darkness with unspeakable sacrifices that never sate their hunger.

At this point, there is no safe haven for any of us. All of our species have to work together while doing the one thing that we can do. Survive. Hop from planet to planet, station to station, scavenging supplies and carrying on.

Gods forbid that any of us get stranded on the ground of any place. The cold, dead void of space is the only thing keeping us from the all-consuming Thing that is coming for us all.