Devour the Stars Epigraphs

Kuchen
Kuchen proverb Hierarchy of Rank, Fleet Training Manual Rights of Ownership, Fleet Training Manual Thank-Gifts, Fleet Training Manual Tactics of Demoralization, Fleet Officer Training Manual

Jossa/Delfi History
nurse of the lis Chuis isk Fuerrus, to Delfi first prophecy of the Delfi Oracle, literal translation head concubine of lis Chuis isk Fuerrus, in conversation with Jossa Chataf Kuchru lis Chuis isk Fuerrus, to Jossalyn head concubine of lis Chuis isk Fuerrus, to Delfi

First Colony Historical Sources
Professor Tolst, New Hopks College of Medicine “Advantages and Disadvantages of Cryo in the Management of Unbonded Sai” Professor Rusithe, New Hopks College of Medicine “History of the Sai: A Scientific Overview” observations, Professor Rusithe, New Hopks College of Medicine “Basic Operations of Freestanding Medical Unit” Professor Ipkus, New Hopks College of Medicine audio recordings, New Hopks College of Medicine recovered data, date unknown “Etymology of He’la” Professor Sandini, New Hopks College of Language “Behavioral Patterns of the Psychically Mind-Linked” Professor Rusithe, New Hopks College of Medicine<Br>

Navlad Karukap
advice to a young recruit<Br> recording, private quarters, Admiral Utten, 1567.602 F.K.<Br> Isloste Kuskik, in conversation with the fuerrus<Br> overheard in Navlad Officer’s Mess<Br>

Navlad Cultural
Benediction of the Activator-Priests<Br>

Miscellaneous Anecdotes
unnamed survivor, Vakunesab<Br> survivor of Uzrus System<BR> spacer proverb<Br> proverb of the Edge Planets<Br>

Technical Data
preliminary report, Geo-Tech Uura Janiu<BR> recovered log files, Skatasi op Essi<Br>

Prologue
These creatures might look human. Might even talk and walk and sometimes act human. Make no mistake. They are nothing like humans. Forget that and next thing you know, you’ll wake up in the Great Beyond, wondering how your life ended so fast. -Professor Tolst, New Hopks College of Medicine.

One
The only truth in life is strength. Strength of arms and strength of will. The man who has neither has no business wearing the Helm. -Kuchen proverb

Two
Some say they are searching. Looking for a place to settle. Those people are sentimental fools. If they are looking for a home, there are plenty of empty planets free for the taking. No. What they want is to swallow the Galaxy whole. -unnamed survivor, Vakunesab

Three
Distance from primary star: ~1 Ayeu Eccentricity:.0254 Orbital period: 298 d, 11 hr Rotation: 30 hr Axial tilt: 28.223 Population: 0 -preliminary report, Geo-Tech Uura Janiu

Four
- - wipe the drives soon. Don’t even know why I’m entering this. We’ve lost - - - Just have to keep moving. Draw them off. Not going to make - - - Miss her already - - [muffled crying] -recovered log files, Skatasi op Essi

Five
The benefits of a strong sai making a bond must be weighed against the possible damages. If the body is left in cold storage for too long, the systems may not be recovered. -“Advantages and Disadvantages of Cryo in the Management of Unbonded Sai” Professor Rusithe, New Hopks College of Medicine

Six
The Head of the Fleet is not the Heart of the Fleet. Just as the Fleet is not the whole of the Kuchen nation. But as a head directs the movements of the body, so too does the Head command its many branches. -Hierarchy of Rank, Fleet Training Manual

Seven
The maruste are our lives, child. Our lives writ in the only thing that matters. Our blood. -nurse of the lis Chuis isk Fuerrus, to Delfi

Eight
Check the wine! Bad grapes have been added to even worse fruit! first prophecy of the Delfi Oracle, literal translation

Nine
Predominantly female, Feels, or empaths, were among the earliest of the psych abilities developed, but by no means the most common. Some only received the outside emotions. Others, rarely, could project as well. -“History of the Sai: A Scientific Overview”

Ten
No one who has not achieved the rank of letten may take a wife. They may have use of the Breeder ships same as any unattached soldier, but the unpredictable nature of the lower ranks is such that trained techs cannot be risked in permanent attachment to them. -Rights of Ownership, Fleet Training Manual

Eleven
“They call the common folk rabbits; did you know that? Copulating like the Galaxy is about to end.” “It makes you wonder, then, who decided that a rabbit should be the symbol of the concubines.” -head concubine of lis Chuis isk Fuerrus, in conversation with Jossa

Twelve
They’re not happy with flattening a planet. Don’t you see? Whoever they can’t load into their ships gets gassed! Gassed. The whole planet. It’s the only thing they make for themselves. That damned Seed. -survivor of Uzrus System

Thirteen
Feels are too useful to put down with impunity when they lose themselves in the minutia of other people’s emotions. But they are also too dangerous leave unbonded. It is advisable to put them in cold storage at the onset of puberty, until someone capable of forming a soul bond can be found. -observations, Professor Rusithe, New Hopks College of Medicine

Fourteen
When another covers the gap in your armor instead of taking advantage of your weakness, repayment must be made. Not only in full, but more than—to acknowledge the fact that your life was in his hands. -Thank-Gifts, Fleet Training Manual

Fifteen
It is possible to design a single medunit to cure all ills. However, the thing would have to be the size of a small house just to hold all the supplies needed. This is why even the poorest town has at least one unit for trauma and another for long-term care. -“Basic Operations of Freestanding Medical Unit” Professor Ipkus, New Hopks College of Medicine

Sixteen
We work together as a group. Your sisters may undermine you in petty things. Your mothers may hand down menial chores and play favorites. But when it comes to the safety of the whole, we stand united. Do you understand, child? -Chataf Kuchru lis Chuis isk Fuerrus, to Jossalyn

Seventeen
A concubine’s primary function is breeding. Our people may number in the trillions, but our natural birthrate is too low to worry about pleasure. If your master brings you to the peak, so be it. But woe to the woman who does so on her own. -Chataf Kuchru lis Chuis isk Fuerrus, to Jossalyn

Eighteen
It has been found that each subject has a certain range. Inside which they may feel or hear or otherwise sense another being. Depending on the strength of the psychic ability, the subject may have a variety of reactions. In the strongest, it has been known to cause madness before training can be initiated. -recovered data, date unknown

Nineteen
You try and stand between two halves of a sousi, you’re signing your own death certificate. Don’t matter what you aim their way. They’ll kill themselves to get past you. -advice to a young recruit

Twenty
- - test group has improved on the last one by nearly twenty-three percent. However, the problem of the mood swings remains. They’re too unstable. We’re still cleaning bits of Garcia out of - - - -audio recordings, New Hopks College of Medicine

Twenty-One
Gravity. No matter how we fight it. No matter what we build to negate it. It will not leave us alone. -spacer proverb

Twenty-Two
They’re untrustworthy as Hell, but who else are you going to send on the suicide missions? So long as teams keep comin’ back, alive or in pieces, we’ll keep sending ’em out. No good for anything else. -recording, private quarters, Admiral Utten, 1567.602 F.K.

Twenty-Three
We’ve had crowns as long as we’ve had the tech to make them, child. How else are we to keep gifts of such strength as yours from bursting you at the seams? How else can we hold you inside your skin until you’re sane enough to do it yourself? -Chataf Kuchru lis Churus isk Fuerrus, to Jossalyn

Twenty-Four
Leaving aside the issue of the soul’s existence, it is an apt metaphor. How else would you describe a mental link this strong? Not even marriages have the endurance shown by those with the soul-sibling bond. -observations, Professor Rusithe, New Hopks College of Medicine

Twenty-Five
May your Ancestors see you. May your Ancestors know you. May you carry them with you always. -Benediction of the Activator-Priests

Twenty-Six
If we link the nanites to the DNA, it should give us a complete record of how the breeding program went, even if the original data banks are lost. So long as the subject doesn’t get electrocuted, retrieving their genealogical history should be as easy as taking a blood sample. -recovered data, date unknown

Twenty-Seven
No one knows where the prophetic language originated. What we do know is that all subjects with the ability to foresee started using it around the same time. It can be parsed word by word, but without the translator half of the pairing, its warnings are useless. -“Etymology of He’la” Professor Sandini, New Hopks College of Language

Twenty-Eight
A masker doesn’t work on empty air and dreams. To rewrite someone’s life history, you need to splice in the parts you want to replace. In short, you need new DNA. Blood works best. Easiest to get and to test. -advice to a young recruit

Twenty-Nine
Stay the fuck out of the Uvlaku quarters. They’re animals. The only reason they’re here instead of dead is because the high-ups think turning berserker killers loose on the enemy is ok, so long as we hide the unit inside the command structure and deny it ever existed. -advice to a young recruit

Thirty
Hadra’s Net isn’t a transit hub. It’s a series of defensive watch posts meant to hold the enemy and give the military time to retaliate. If we let the civilians dictate its design, we’ll be overrun within years, if not months. -Isloste Kuskik, in conversation with the fuerrus

Thirty-One
The practice of using a wife and children to demoralize a man is older than our recorded history. On occasion, it has been known to work on soldiers of the Fleet as well. But not often enough to justify the time it takes. -Tactics of Demoralization, Fleet Officer Training Manual

Thirty-Two
What I propose is that the two subjects also balance each other emotionally. One focused on reality and one, as they say, with her head in the clouds. Stable and Unstable, if you will. -“Behavioral Patterns of the Psychically Mind-Linked” Professor Rusithe, New Hopks College of Medicine

Thirty-Three
If it’s done right, you can turn any enemy sai into your weapon. Especially if they’re untrained. Get in close and overwhelm their mind. Even the lowest-level Projective will start infecting the people around her if you hit her hard enough. -advice to a young recruit

Thirty-Three
If it’s done right, you can turn any enemy sai into your weapon. Especially if they’re untrained. Get in close and overwhelm their mind. Even the lowest-level Projective will start infecting the people around her if you hit her hard enough. -advice to a young recruit

Thirty-Four
Contrary to what the commoners think, peace is not the absence of troubles. It’s knowing you have shelter in the storms that life brings. That, my dear, is the essence of the bond. Never forget. -head concubine of lis Chuis isk Fuerrus, to Delfi

Thirty-Five
You cannot collar the soul. Not once it’s seen its way to freedom. -proverb of the Edge Planets

Epilogue
It’s a pity about the temperament of Savages. The old saying about dropping the baby out a window holds true through adulthood. They’re too hard to kill, and too hard to keep long term. -overheard in Navlad Officer’s Mess