Someday the Stars

It's been ten years since the Lunar Free State established itself as an independent nation on Earth's Moon. Since then, other Earth nations have pushed out into space, competing with the LFS for the untapped resources of the Solar System; but thanks to the advantages provided by its gravity-driven spacecraft, the lunar nation has grown and prospered. All is going well for the "Moonies" until the research ship LFS Stephen Hawking encounters an anomaly while surveying Saturn's rings -- an alien spacecraft that leads the LFS vessel on a merry chase before vanishing into... well, for want of a better term, hyperspace. The alien craft is obviously not from "around here" -- which leaves the LFS facing two undeniable facts: Humans of Earth not the only intelligent life in the universe, and travel between the stars is possible. Now the LFS just has to figure out how to do it...