It is the start of the 30th century, and the golden age of the United Terran Alliance is well and truly underway. Gleaming skyscrapers form the backdrop of towering cities, gilded elite wandering through their terraces. Higher still, in the ultimate, final frontier of the magnificent blackness of space, trade lanes crisscross the stars, cargo ships being protected by stellar navies, raided by mercenaries and pirates, and crewed by hardworking men and women that staff the industry of space.