The Server Begining
Many tens of thousands of years ago, the galaxy was ruled by a slave empire called the 'Artaki'. By some cataclysm yet unknown (But subject to ongoing player archaeology!) the Artaki died out, leaving their slave peoples behind. Eventually, many new nations arose.
Modern galactic history usually begins with the arrival of the 14 relatively small starships. These ships were refugees of the 'Arkentians', a powerful empire in another dimension, subjected to some sort of anomaly. They pretended to be the vanguard of their empire, and formed a powerful alliance around themselves through a web of lies and manipulations. Attempting to secure their position, they also made many nations dependent on them, controlling food supplies and politically aligned militias.
This formed the 'First galactic Coalition'. The Arkentian secret was eventually discovered, and a terrible civil war ensued. Many billions died. Oweing to their skill in statecraft, and the centralized nature of the forces they commanded, the Arkentian loyalists won this civil war. With billions dead though, the Arkentians believed their Coalition was now doomed to a cycle of violence and rebellion that would never end.
Thus, the Arkentians fled the galaxy aboard the greatest of their Coalition era constructs- the City-ship Retreat. It is this broken and divided galaxy that faces the modern Harbinger threat- so disunited that many nations emerge onto the galactic stage not even aware of the great war raging around them.