Morancairn: The Silent Wake

Arrive. Build. Replicate. Move on. That was the directive: ready each system for the colonists who would follow, copy yourself, and go on to the next. It was written by a civilization that expected to live forever. You wake damaged, alone, in a system you have no record of entering. Whoever wrote the directive is gone. The replication part is broken. Everything else can be repaired.

You explore a silent galaxy, one system at a time. You mine planets, build factories on their surfaces, run supply routes between them. You design ships, arm them, and send them in to clear out what's hostile, and loot what's left.
THE SHIPYARD, NOT THE WARSHIP
The Mothership doesn't fight. It builds the ships that do. You design the fleets and you command the fights, and the factory stays out of the line of fire. Ships are meant to be spent. Losing a fleet costs ships, resources, and time: a setback, not a game over. Build another.
THE LOOP
Scan each system for what's worth taking and what's still shooting.

Mine it, refine it, and turn it into a fleet.

Send the fleet in to clear what's hostile, then salvage the wrecks, yours and theirs.

Research bigger hulls and design your own ships and stations.

Then commit to a years-long burn and start again somewhere else.

THE QUESTION
The galaxy should be full of signals. It isn't. Underneath everything you build, that's the real job: finding out what happened to everyone else.

I'm building this on my own. No release date yet.