In the year 2052, physicist Mark Holder discovered the Slipstream drive and humanity reached for the stars and began to colonize the galaxy. For centuries, humans continued to populate system after system without coming into contact with intelligent alien life. But man is a natural predator, warlike and greedy. After many generations of minor warfare, humanity faced a near-extinction-level event remembered now only as The Purge.

The vast majority of humanity did not survive. Those that did owe their survival to a few hundred Heroes—starship captains and generals—who brought an end to The Purge and began to restore order in the galaxy.

These Heroes are thought to have had a range of powers, including telepathy (commonly called Psy), telekinesis (commonly called TK), and even a form of second sight that allowed them to see events in the future and thus predict probable enemy movements (these are the Seers).

Over the centuries that followed the end of The Purge, these Heroes of old passed their powers down to their children. And so, the Heroic Families were formed, bloodlines that can be traced to the present day.

After The Purge, humanity embraced a form of monarchy. Each star system with a habitable planet - which serves as the Capital for the system - became a Kingdom in its own right. In almost all cases, the royal families can prove their bloodlines come from Heroic blood. Although, over time, despite efforts to keep them pure, the bloodlines became clouded.

PRESENT DAY, YEAR 3278

Mankind, now in a kind of golden age, has achieved a level of stability not seen since long before The Purge. People live for an average of 175 years. Kingdoms are actively colonizing once again, exploring out through the network of slipstreams. Outposts and settlements become colonies, and colonies eventually become kingdoms.

Science rules the day, and even those of heroic bloodline do not have TK or Psy abilities. Most of humanity believes the stories of the Heroes are only legends and fairy tales.

The military is now partially unified and partially fragmented. No substantial war has been fought between kingdoms for more than two hundred years, so there is now a single United Sovereign Fleet (USF), but the Carrier Groups within this fleet pledge loyalty to a specific king and kingdom. Individual kingdoms also have a royal militia, a kind of security force

Overseeing all of these kingdoms, the United Sovereign Fleet acts as royal peacekeepers and protectors. But what, do you suppose, would be the outcome if they had to face a threat from a superior alien race?