It is the year 3 AFE (16 BBY in later reckonings) of the Imperial Calendar. In the dying days of last year the Empire completed the Western Reaches campaign, crushing the last hold outs of the Confederacy of Independent Systems and ending any formal armed resistance to Imperial Rule.
In this riot quest you play as a grassroots political organization. Whether that be a clandestine insurgent cell, a clique of like minded military officers, an illegal political party (parties and elections are outlawed in the Senate), a persecuted religious community or a group of radical scholars and thinkers, you seek the change the galaxy.