From the introduction: This game is about family, your family.You have a husband or wife and at least one child. Like all parents before you, you want a better future for your family, and that future is definitely not on the cramped and environmentally exhausted Earth. You dream of a better life on the new colonies that have been rapidly expanding with the discovery of Faster than Light (FTL) technology 15 years ago. The year is 2256 Earth is over crowded and its resources are stretched to the breaking point. Resource extraction colonies have been the norm for over a century but until recently they have been limited to the native solar system of humanity. The FTL system has led to a massive expansion of colonies throughout nearby solar systems most of these are resource operations for Earth’s survival but a few habitable worlds have been found and brave men and woman have been sent by Earth to begin life again amongst the stars. As a settler, you would be allowed to bring your family away from Earth and make a fresh start and possibly even make a name for yourself on the edges of known space. The catch, like everyone before you who wanted their settler’s permit, was the mandatory term of service for 9 years in the Earth’s Colonial Army.