It has been 241 years since the eleven lost races first found themselves together in the Echo Cluster. Despite an ongoing and ceaseless war all eleven races have survived and established colonies using a combination of cunning strategic tactics, unique technology, and artful diplomacy.
The races of the Echo Cluster have come to know each other well and, contrary to the wishes of some die-hards, the belief that it is possible to exterminate the others is slowly dying. Instead, a new desire is arising from the gestalt, and the wars are taking a new direction. The high ranking officers from the military of each race are beginning to talk not of how to destroy their enemies, but rather of how to control them. The war to become Emperor of the Echo Cluster has begun.
You have just completed your basic military training and have been promoted to Midshipman, the lowest ranking officer in the fleet. You have been assigned to a remote outpost in the outer quadrants with the mission of developing the colonies in a local star system. In order to get promoted and become a higher ranking officer, you must somehow distinguish yourself. You have been given a planet and a starbase to manage.
You soon learn that you are not alone. The enemy races have followed you to this system and want to claim it for themselves. Now is your chance to prove your worth to your people! You must put every effort into building the most powerful fleet of war ships possible before you are attacked. Your best hope is to send freighters in every direction to drop off colonists and supplies so that they can grow in numbers on new planets and extract the minerals that your starbase needs to build more ships.
You need to act quickly because your enemies will be expanding as well. Pay close attention to the starmap, because you can see the ships belonging to rival civilizations as they travel between planets.
Good luck, commander!