The world
When Earth ended, it turned out far more ships had left than any nation had admitted. The space nations outnumbered the old countries, and for a while they searched together for a new home.
Then a warlord named Hazi took his father's ship, enslaved its people and started taking others. On Talon, the capital of the fleet, the answer was censorship to keep people safe. Twenty years later nobody remembers why they believe what they believe, and nobody asks. What the people of Talon want now is entertainment, and they always want more.
The story
Scout is a genius whose job is to find the next act that will satisfy Talon. At 2 a.m. in the studio, his model gives him an impossible answer: the best place to find talent is a planet that has been marked forbidden. It should be ideal for life. Nobody has explored it. Nobody will say why.
So he makes up an excuse to his friends, spoofs a space bus and flies out to find it.