Shared Universe idea, intro

The known galaxy settles into a tense peace after a generation of strife. 20 years ago, General Nerva D'Acre executed a sudden and bloody coup, taking power in the Terran Confederacy as a dictator. In the chaos that resulted, many systems broke away from the Confederacy before central rule was re-stablished. The core worlds that had broken away were reclaimed under the banner of D'Acre's so-called "Terran Protectorate", but many so-called "Rim" and "Fringe" worlds were left alone, deemed too poor and unimportant. These worlds formed the Rim Federation and the Fringe Republic, and threw barbs at the Protectorate, but were haughtily ignored.

General D'Acre had executed nearly the entirety of the Confederation Parliament and former government, but critically missed three popular and able leaders, who raised the flag of resistance on several worlds. The resistance broke out into open warfare after two years of D'Acre's bloody and heavy handed rule, as a purge on the world of Davos led to widespread riots that the military governor dealt with by orbital bombardment. Despite efforts to clamp down on media reports, several ships left the system and spread word, giving a truthful version of events to compete against the Ministry of Information's.

With the Rim Federation and Fringe Republic supplying it, and using Davos as a rallying cry, the Resistance managed to wrest a third of the Core worlds and nearly all the Periphery in a single month, with a significant portion of the Protectorate Fleet defecting.

The Civil War waged on for 17 years, with Resistance forces slowly gaining the advantage over the Protectorate. The Battle of Mars was the last major fleet action, with the last Protectorate fleet reduced to orbital debris, and D'Acre's flagship crashed into the side of Mons Olympis, with all hands onboard killed. With the battle lost, the most hard-line members of the Protectorate fled Earth, and their orders for a Final Stand were effectively ignored as the army lost cohesion, with a majority of forces surrendering to the Resistance Army.

A year later, skirmishing between Protectorate Loyalists and the restored Confederacy has died down. Senator Eirine Swansae, the last surviving member of the Confederation government before D'ACre's purge, presides over a war-torn and reduced nation, but remains committed to restoring the Confederate Constitution, with free planetary elections scheduled for next year, and rebuilding the decimated civil service. The Rim Federation and Fringe Republic are supportive of the new Confederacy, but have no desire to return, having developed their own national identities. They are also wary of a fully restored Confederacy, as they are economically and demographically outnumbered by the central worlds.

The Confederacy also faces internal issues - internal tensions remain as a result of D'Acre's human-first policies, as people remember who were enthusiastic supporters of the Protector. There are remain those who call themselves "Loyalists", hiding among the population or becoming pirates, who still believe in the ideals espoused by D'Acre.

It is with all this in the background that Captain Adrian Blake, formerly of the Confederation Navy, acquires and refurbishes an old surplus Navy logistics ship. Having convinced the Navy that it would be cheaper than scrapping the ship and paying his discharge bonus, he has begun to seek a crew, long-delayed dreams of plying the stars as a merchant trader in his head.