The Advent then returned, having become much more powerful, and started a two-front war. To defend against the Vasari, the Traders formed the TEC, mobilized their economy towards military production and managed to hold the Vasari off by converting their merchant vessels and mining ships into warships, and later produced the Kol capital ship which was their first battleship design in 750 years. In recent times the Vasari entered the scene as they fled from their Xeno enemy.
At one point they cast out the Advent, a religious desert sect that the Traders despised (see Advent) which lead many to mark the end to the Golden Age.
The Trader Emergency Coalition ( TEC) was originally a group of trade worlds that descends from earlier human exploration, in the 'Golden Age' their economy flourished and society grew.