In 2028, the Kepler Space Telescope confirmed the existence of a habitable planet orbiting Tau Ceti, and over the following decades, a plan for colonization materialized. A ship was built in Earth orbit over the course of the 2070s and 2080s, with its nuclear pulse propulsion system and ion engines capable of taking it to Tau Ceti in 40 years. Finally, in 2095, a repository of human knowledge, art, and culture, the most comprehensive ever assembled, was loaded onto the ship's computer system, and 41,150 colonists embarked. Meanwhile, construction of a similar craft entered its early stages.

During the voyage, over 500 of the original colonists died, or were killed, and at least 4,000 were born. The first signs of conflict appeared even before the ship left the solar system, and during the voyage, there were four separate mutinies, two of which were successful. A mutual reliance for survival held the mission together just barely, and upon reaching the Tau Ceti system, under the leadership of Peter Crisci III, progress had been made at mending relations, though many clearly-defined factions were already long-established.

The colonists transmitted a message back to Earth announcing their arrival and thus the new reality of interstellar travel. When the ship reached orbit around the habitable planet, Tau Ceti a, the first short-range studies were conducted, confirming it to have a thicker atmosphere and to be much more humid than initially believed.

The original plan called for colonies to be established at six different landing sites around the planet, the locations to be finalized upon arrival pending the results of the closer studies. Factionalism, however, increased this number to 10. Spreading the colonies out had been deemed prudent all along as the overall success of the mission would not be jeopardized if some of the colonies failed, but increasing the number of landing sites meant that limited resources would be spread thin. Moreover, conflict erupted over access to the vast data store in the ship's computers, the resultant compromises causing it to be downloaded piecemeal, and, due to various issues with remote access, only in part. The mothership was parked in a high orbit and most of the colonists traveled down to the planet. Transit was provided by 40 shuttles, one of which never made it to Tau Ceti a and was assumed lost with all its passengers.

One of the original colonies, located in present-day Zabagoa, was destroyed in a volcanic eruption only a few years after being established. The survivors eventually scattered among the islands between Morigu and Kalentana, though with some traveling far to the north eventually to establish the reclusive Dominion of Manginis. Another colony, located in present-day Gabresia, was destroyed through the in-fighting of its inhabitants. Some of those who remained eventually founded New Eurasia, the predecessor to the modern Gabresian state, while others, in two major expeditions led by Frank Jopin and Hugo Rilar, settled the northern extremes of Kalentana. The colony founded on the shore of what is today known as the Praesent Sea lost most of its people after several contracted an alien virus while exploring the surrounding jungle. In turn, however, most of the native fauna on the planet was ultimately wiped out by diseases carried by humans, pathogens inadvertently incubated and transformed in the decades of isolation on the ship. Most of the other founding colonies eventually would develop into various other modern states, including Teras Surumi, Volutpat, Cajoria, Pari, Mibia, and Peteria as well as now-defunct states such as Paternani and the Nostrudit Alliance, marking the end of what historians now refer to as the Colonial Era.

All the potential problems of building a civilization essentially from scratch became clear almost as soon as the shuttles started landing, and all the colonies had at best limited success establishing themselves. By the time a reply to the colonists' final message to Earth was due to arrive, no one was still listening. Almost all remaining sense of unity between the colonies was lost, and technological understanding rapidly declined as the last of the original colonists died. The regression ultimately plateaued at a level of technology similar to that of late 19th-century Earth, with some more modern technologies surviving, and though social development did not fall back as far in most cases, Tau Ceti a languished in a kind of dark age for much of the next three hundred years.

Aside from various religious sects based in the Dominion of Manginis, which hold that the gods created human life directly on Tau Ceti a, almost everyone retained awareness of how they came to exist on the planet, but a great deal of knowledge about Earth and human patrimony was lost or distorted. There are few records from the dark age, and progress was slow as most effort had to be directed toward survival alone. The spirit of exploration that drew the original colonists to Tau Ceti a in the first place now drove many of their descendants to go their own ways, splintering them even further and spreading the human population across most of the planet.

Over the subsequent decades, most of the rest of the current nation states coalesced from far-flung settlements, though many of these splintered themselves through disputes, wars, cultural and ideological drifting, and inadvertent isolation. Attempts were made through the years to unify Tau Ceti a and put the focus back on the original mission, and about two hundred fifty years after humanity's arrival, the first clear signs of recovery emerged.

King Alfondos Benu made significant progress toward bringing together the nations of the islands in the Laraeum Ocean and focusing their citizens on the common goal of human development, which triggered an ongoing period of recovery known as The Reawakening. He did succeed in uniting a number of the islands under the Molua Confederation, but it broke up shortly after the king's death in 2423. Otherwise, a wider, formal reunification never materialized. By the turn of the 26th century, Peterian overtures to neighboring states greatly strengthened the bonds among the people of the eastern hemisphere.

In the meantime, Gabresia and Cajoria became more militant and competitive, conquering or otherwise dominating most of their neighbors. Gabresia relied heavily on overt military action, forming an empire, while Cajoria relied more on political pressure, intimidation, and puppet governments to form its confederation. Both states consolidated their power through colonialism, attempting to monopolize the labor and natural resources of Sudozia, while Peteria and Mibia began to interfere more heavily in the affairs of the nations of Morigu. The various resistance movements that resulted around Tau Ceti a became increasing sources of tension within and among the world powers, and one of the oldest of them, The Republic of Greater Rilar, collapsed because of a resulting civil war.

In 2576, to counter the threat of Gabresian and Cajori domination, North Rilar, Jopin Province, Mibia, Peteria, Hezavaki, Peronia, and Xaxoja entered into a defense pact, the Peterian Alliance. Shortly thereafter, a more moderate government rose to power in Gabresia, expressing some willingness to negotiate toward reducing tensions. Ten days later, however, a series of bombings in Gabresia City killed the Prime Minister and other high-ranking Gabresian officials along with several hundred civilians. The military immediately seized control of the country, blaming anti-Gabresian paramilitary forces based in southern Mibia for the attack. The Gabresian army swept into the region, and after two weeks attempting to negotiate their withdrawal, the Peterian Alliance engaged the occupying forces. At the same time, Cajoria seized the opportunity to press its claim of Tepozaz in northern Sudozia, moving troops into Gabresian-held regions and triggering a world war.

The momentum of the first weeks of the conflict soon transformed into a stalemate, and the three belligerents finally agreed to a resolution a year and a half later with the Treaty of Lorentia, the terms of which included the establishment of a demilitarized zone between the Gabresian Empire and Cajori Confderacy, the independence of Tepozaz, and the cession of part of southern Mibia to Cajoria. More countries joined the Peterian Alliance, and a constitution was ratified in 2579, establishing the Peterian Federation. All three superpowers have continued in a state of cold war since the end of open hostilities.

In recent years, there has been much renewed interest in the original colonization of Tau Ceti a, specifically in rediscovering the technology that made it possible, the current level of advancement on the planet in most respects contemporaneous with that of early 21st-century Earth. Attempts have been made to contact Earth ever since radio was rediscovered, with no success, and there is much speculation as to the fate of the mother world. Two complete Colonial-Era shuttles still exist, one based at the People's National Research Institute in Gabresia City and the other at the University of Panpeterium, with both Gabresia and Peteria attempting to use the technology to further their own space programs. The original mothership, now in a decaying orbit, has spurred a space race between the superpowers, each hoping to reach it first to reverse engineer its technology or perhaps even to salvage the vessel altogether before it hits the atmosphere.

A major source of conflict between Gabresia, Cajoria, and Peteria is that each claims to be carrying out the original intentions of the colonists and thus to have the most right to their technology. In one recent incident, Gabresia threatened a missile strike against the mothership after the successful test launch of the Cajoran Terra III manned rocket system. In contrast, during a recent address to the League of Tau Ceti, the Chancellor of Lora-Fulumo, Theresa Hoffmann, viewed the goal of reaching the mothership as an impetus to cooperation rather than conflict, observing "This is our origin, where we all came from. When that ship set out, there were no Peterians, or Gabresians, or Cajorans, only people united in the goal of seeding the stars with human life."