Earth's two main governing factions have gone in different directions now that interstellar travel is a reality. One has decided to focus on Alpha Centauri and the other, The Republic, has decided to focus on New Eden. The main difference being that Alpha Centauri is uninhabited while New Eden is controlled by a sentient species known as the Zodarks. Of course, attempting to take New Eden from the Zodarks has blow back potential for all humans because the Zodarks are clearly technologically superior to us. If they ever discover where Earth is located then there is no way we could defend ourselves from the inevitable attack. The Republic's fleet is still rather small, but they are going all in on New Eden. Basically, they are gambling humanity's future against the ability to mine the precious resources that New Eden contains, which will quickly advance their military power if acquired.

​​​​​​​As the title suggests, this book is set in a timeframe when humanity first discovers faster than light travel and is finally able to expand out into the stars. At the time of this discovery, Earth is ruled by three governments that have an agreement to partner when it comes to space exploration. However, that agreement is coming to an end and it doesn't look like all parties are eager to renew. This is especially true for the Republic who feel they can gain an advantage among the stars by going their own way. The other governments have their sights set on Alpha Centauri, but the Republic has secretly discovered a habitable world in another system and they plan to grab it for themselves. This world is dubbed New Eden and its discovery contains an even bigger secret. The images obtained by the probe clearly show some sort of mineshaft, likely from long ago, and The Republic fully expects to discover ancient proof of sentient life upon their arrival. I think we all know where this is going....