Read Cracked Dagger, Book One of Allies and Adversaries Page 32
Void exploration was begun in earnest around the cas 4000, after the last of the Rell departed the planet. The Novan void program concentrated on building colonies on outlying moons in the Novan solar system, creating platforms for agricultural growth, and the mining of asteroids, with real progress being made as the meta became more advanced. The prohibitive distance the rest of the galaxy was from Novan discouraged serious void travel until the cas 7709. In that cas, three massive ships created by the OLMAC corporation were launched, with the hopes that they would be able to travel to the nearest planet that had the best chance of supporting sentient life, and return before the Ascension with their findings. Called the “Envoys,” most believed the ships couldn’t last a journey of that length, and few expected their return.