Welcome to the Thirteen Colonies.
It's 2760AD and humanity has reached the stars. Making the leap wasn't easy. We struggled in the vast and hostile void, fought with each other, yet persisted and eventually settled hundreds of worlds.
But it's not all roses. Distance has made human space a splintered mess of territories where the ghosts of old Earthbound nations fight for power. The fact we haven't been able to reach the speed of light limits the tension, but also cripples any attempt at central government. In truth, because we can't simply jump from one system to another has spared us the kind of war that might have wiped us out.
Of course, researchers have wrestled with jump technology for centuries, but the science has still not been cracked. Yet a solution of sorts has been found.
The Gates.
The Gates speed up travel. The ancient structures are relics from a long dead civilisation that allow us to access a wormhole network that can take us to a huge variety of set points in space. It seems that a civil war engulfed the Gaters and destroyed them long ago. Now we're taking up their worlds and filling them with our own kind while marvelling at what's left of their charred ruins.
But there are signs we aren't alone in using the Gates. Unknown ships have been detected, and their actions are getting more aggressive as they get closer to our civilisation's core. Are they just smugglers or probing missions from human rivals.
Or is there something else out there, a shadow in the stars, that is moving into our territories?
