The Barlos Star System.
In a forgotten corner of human history, before the years when Warp Storms raged most fiercely, this had been a highly advanced and relatively independent human colonial empire, nurtured in the radiance of the Dark Age of Technology.
Though its territory was small, technology far ahead of its time and sophisticated automated systems had made it a self-sufficient, prosperous, stable "pocket empire."
Then the Warp Storms sweeping the galaxy arrived as expected, forming an invisible gulf that severed Barlos completely from its homeworld and the main body of human civilization.
Communications failed, shipping routes vanished, and it became an island adrift in a sea of horrors.
Yet the forebears of Barlos had displayed astonishing resilience and technological prowess.
In their desperate isolation, they poured generations of accumulated resources and wisdom into braving violent Warp turbulence capable of tearing conventional ships apart, painstakingly reclaiming and consolidating control over the entire Star System, inch by inch.
They repaired and improved ancient starships, slipped through gaps in the storms, and rebuilt their homes upon the ruins, keeping the flame of civilization alive in this isolated corner, burning stubbornly and even giving rise to new, distinctive cultural and social structures.
Sadly, peace did not long favor this land that had survived disaster.
As time passed, their initial unity and the pressure to survive gradually faded, and the taste of power began to corrupt hearts.
The rulers who followed splintered into factions, divided by conflicting ideals and tangled interests. Irreconcilable disagreements arose over the direction of development, the distribution of resources, and even the interpretation and application of ancestral technology.
Arguments escalated into hostility, hostility became conflict, and ultimately, war reignited in a Star System whose people should have faced hardship together.
The formidable military might once used to fight xenos