Cushioned between two giant nebulae there lies a fertile region of space known as the 'Cradle of Life,' from which all known life emerged on seven distinct worlds. Each world developed in isolation until one species on each planet developed the intelligence and technology to explore beyond its terrestrial boundaries. After thousands of years of space travel, all seven intelligent species developed a long history of trade, immigration and cultural exchange. But all this changed with the development of space gateway technology, which allowed ships to travel vast distances instantaneously. As the second Imperial War comes to a close, the known universe is carved up between two great empires. The last free sector falls to the overwhelming might of empire and a rebellion is born. Fleeing from the conquering occupation forces, one brave captain finds the means to hide and survive until the time is right to fight again. You are that captain, Captain Max, and with the help of the underground resistance, the black market and countless brave citizens longing for the return of their freedoms, you begin to build a new fleet of freedom fighters. Your hopes are that his minor rebellion will grow into a massive uprising, but that hope is far from certain. Unknown to you is that new undiscovered technologies may lay hidden that will play a part for good or ill in the uprising and that eventually, betrayal may have just as significant a part to play.

A new system of 'distributed economics' which offers the player even greater challenges