Void Runners

The year is 2347. Humanity has achieved the impossible: Faster-Than-Light travel. The galaxy, once a distant dream, is now a vast, explorable frontier. But with expansion came conflict. The United Earth Consortium, initially a beacon of unity, has fractured. Megacorporations, fuelled by unchecked ambition and alien resource extraction, hold sway over vast swathes of colonized space. Independent colonies struggle for survival, caught in the crossfire. You are Aris Thorne, a second-generation spacer born on the fringe colony of Kepler-186f. You inherited your grandfather's dilapidated freighter, the 'Stardust Drifter', and a legacy of debt that threatens to swallow you whole. Your days are a relentless grind of hauling questionable cargo, dodging corporate patrols, and praying your aging engines hold out for one more jump. You're not a hero, you're not a villain; you're just trying to survive in a galaxy that doesn't care whether you live or die. A routine delivery to a remote orbital station changes everything. You overhear snippets of a hushed conversation, talk of a lost Precursor artifact hidden on a forgotten moon, an artifact rumored to possess unimaginable power. Power that could reshape the balance of the galaxy, or doom it entirely. Suddenly, you're not just trying to make ends meet. You're caught in a web of conspiracy, hunted by ruthless corporations, fanatical cults, and shadowy figures who seem to know more than they let on. Every choice you make has consequences. Who will you trust? What risks are you willing to take? Will you succumb to the allure of power, or fight for the survival of the little guy? The fate of the Stardust Drifter, and perhaps the galaxy itself, rests in your hands. Welcome to the Void Runners. Strap in, pilot. Your journey begins now.