The true history of Orax begins long before any official records of settlement. On 16 February 2403, the Mandate established a clandestine Psionic Resonance Aedificium deep beneath the planet's crust. This black site, designed for potent psychic research and containment, generated a powerful, automated localized interdictor field, the source of Orax's perceived "geothermal activity." Though later abandoned by the Mandate, its automated systems continued to function, silently shaping the world.

Centuries passed until the galaxy plunged into chaos during the Sundering in 3200 CE. The terraforming survey frigate Sovereign's Reach, navigating the fractured stellar lanes, was not a victim of random misfortune. Pulled out of warp by the Aedificium's unseen interdictor field, the vessel suffered a catastrophic system failure and was forced to crash-land on the volatile volcanic world.

The public narrative describes the Sovereign's Reach crash as a tragic footnote, its crew forced to cannibalize their ship for survival. Over the subsequent millennium, the harsh environment and lack of rare earth metals led to a profound technological regression. The descendants of that crew adapted to a Neolithic existence, harnessing the planet’s abundant geothermal vents for warmth and basic metallurgy.

However, this simple survivor story is a meticulously crafted lie. The planet’s enduring geothermal activity is merely the waste heat of the malfunctioning, massive containment grid of the Aedificium. The population's technological regression was partly engineered, as radiation from the buried facility gradually induced latent psychic potential within the inhabitants, unnoticed for generations.

Fifty years ago, the Red Sun Dominion rediscovered Orax. Recognizing the planet's true nature as a pre-Sundering black site and the powerful psychic potential simmering within its population, they saw not a lost colony, but a valuable resource. Figures like Dominion General Kaelen Thorne, exhibiting latent psychic abilities, served as proof of Orax’s unique qualities.

The Dominion opted not to uplift the locals, but rather to maintain the primitive status quo, viewing Orax as a "free-range farm" for expendable psychic operatives. This strategy kept the population manageable and the gene pool concentrated for maximum yield. Their intervention was limited to abducting promising children, whisking them away under the guise of "ascending to the stars."

Currently, Orax exists in a state of controlled stagnation, its population unknowingly cultivated for their inherent psionic gifts. This carefully maintained facade, however, faces an impending exposure, threatening to unravel the Dominion's dark secret.