One planet orbiting
Tau Ceti (most astronomers in our world call it Tau Ceti e, I'll call it Endymion) has bases for every interstellar navy.
The planet is Earthlike in temperature and has plentiful surface water. Earth algae were introduced into the environment and thrived. There isn't enough oxygen for most earth life forms yet, but the tends are good for a fully breathable atmosphere soon.
A Franco-American geological expedition has discovered what appear to be ruins of a local civilization. Once the first ruins were found the floodgates bust. Ruins have been found planet wide. As the local civilization had a fairly high tech level and many of their books have survived, the
periodic table of elements acted as a
Rosetta Stone to allow basic translations. Soon the discovery of some dictionaries in different languages allowed far greater understanding.
The few histories of the later period deciphered seem to hint at the existence of a "stagnation bomb" that stopped the life processes of an ecosystem. It is now clear that these bombs were used millennia ago on Endymion. This weapon would allow someone to sweep a planet clean of life and then effortlessly reseed that planet with your chosen life forms.
There is now a quiet nasty little race on to be the first to discover the nature and formula for the "Stagnation bomb." Some wish to sequester this toxic data. Others seek to use it.
The desolate plains and mountains of Endymion are the sight of a brutal contest.