The planets of the “Great Rabble” have slipped into complete decline. The power that once belonged to the Empire, which managed to subjugate all the known planets of the Universe and considered all the unknown ones subordinate, ceased to exist. The bureaucratic structure and the forces of law and order, left without centralized control, periodically clashed with each other over particularly tasty debris. On many planets, planetoids, asteroids and even individual ships, their own “Great Rulers” appeared, squabbling with each other for cushy places. Anarchy reigned all around.