Sounds pretty cool to me, kind of reminiscent of a lot of other space opera-type settings; Mass Effect, Halo, etc, and that's no bad thing by a long shout. It's also kind of similar to the original setting for a tabletop space opera game I've been running and playing for years that was influenced by the same kind of ideas, so I'd definitely be interested. Like you say, a lot of potential to go in a lot of different directions. 
Any ideas in particular on what our characters would do, or can we hash that out as we go?