2056 AD: A colonial freighter mysteriously loses power while passing through the Icari system. Although it had not previously appeared on any sensors, a mysterious planet appears, providing an emergency-landing place for the crippled ship. The planet, which comes to be known as Callisto, is located in a pocket nexus of twisted space-time, thus stranding the colonists from the universe they once knew. Callisto appears to be the home of an ancient civilization-- with tantalizing vestiges of alien technology left behind. Things work differently here.

2058 AD: Two years after touch down, a new light appears in the sky. Tentative contact reveals it to be a satellite platform, encased in an impermeable energy field.

2061 AD: Explorers unearth a large robot, built for warfare. Scientists translate the ancient inscriptions to learn that the robot is known as a "Roven," or autonomous gladiator.

2063 AD: Further research reveals the nature of the ancient inhabitants of Callstio: they were driven to gladiatorial combat and excelled in the production of warrior robots to engage in this task.

2067 AD: Two human clans meet in the desert and engage in their very first robotic gladitorial combat using unearthed Roven. Simultaneously, a strange alien signal is detected from the orbiting satellite platform.

2075 AD: Scientists puzzle together bits and pieces of the strange transmission and identify the satellite's creators as the "SlipSiders," trans-space aliens possessing almost godlike technology. They identify a single Roven aboard the platform-- apparently awaiting challengers.

NOW, 2079 AD: The colonists have now splintered into six distinct factions, some worshipping the SlipSiders as gods, others embracing a technological quest for home. Gladiatorial combat is common now, with the factions each developing Roven gladiators to pursue competition in the arenas.