The game takes place after the arrival of the UNS Calypso in the Beta Caeli star system. You take the role as captain of the Calypso. The Calypso has been sent from Earth to colonize the system. The UNS Tantalus was sent to the same star system after you, but because it makes use of a better engine, arrives in Beta Caeli before you do. The Calypso, Tantalus, and similar ships were sent to colonize other star systems due to the threat of humanities extinction on Earth as a result of an interstellar war. The story involves the Calypso's attempts to find out what happened to the Tantalus and its colonies which have gone missing, as well as other mysteries involving relics of previous non-human inhabitants of the system.