March 13, 2140: The end of the Earth. An asteroid - in transit to a refining facility on the moon - strays off course. The asteroid plunges into the Pacific Ocean, vaporizing the water, cracking the mantle - and killing the bulk of the human race.

Had Mankind remained trapped in the Sol system, there would be no hope. Fortunately, shortly before the cataclysm, scientists discovered an unusual spatial anomaly, a network of wormholes that allowed travel to the farthest stars. These wormholes - code-named "Alephs" - became humanity's lifeline.

The survivors - the military, corporate and independent population of near-Earth space - fractured into several competing factions. Some witnesses to the disaster reported an explosion prior to launch. Rumors of sabotage, deliberate genocide, and other conspiracy theories abound. Instead of banding together for mutual survival, humanity divides into several warring factions such as the Iron Coalition, GigaCorp, The Bios, and others, squabbling over the remaining resources critical to survival: food, water, fuel, and the Alephs.