From Introduction: The year is 2501. The war-torn nations of the Stellar Ring are finally recovering from the ravages of the decades-long Second Galactic War, which lasted from 2346 until 2472. Out of contact for over a century, the frontier colonies of the Verge were left to their own devices while the Stellar Nations waged a brutal war that ended only when the survivors were too exhausted to continue to fight. Now, under the leadership of the Galactic Concord, the Stellar Nations have turned their attentions back to the Verge and growing threats unlike any which humanity – and their allies have ever faced before.