In the end, however, it didn’t matter. The damage was done and now the people really had somewhere to focus their fear and anger: The Asianic Union, one of the five major enclaves that made up the Terran Confederacy. The AU was a manufacturing powerhouse with a large population and had apparently not been content with the nine worlds it controlled. One of the documents that had been released in the dump was a detailed report from an unnamed source within the Confederate Intelligence Section that made a compelling case squarely placing the blame on the AU’s unauthorized colonization beyond the Frontier that allowed a terrifying and implacable enemy, the Phage, to find them in the first place. The AU government tried to squash the report, but it was too late. It wasn’t long before New America, Britannia, and the AU’s closest stellar neighbors, the New European Commonwealth, began demanding some sort of punitive action be taken. The Warsaw Alliance, longtime allies of the AU, refused to join the chorus condemning them.

While the remaining tatters of the Confederate Senate would have liked nothing more than to issue some sternly worded resolution regarding the enclave’s illegal colonization efforts, the fact was that with the loss of Haven and Jericho Station they had little with which to project their authority.

At first, the people turned to Earth, feeling that the birthplace of humanity, that had remained untouched during the war and had an intact government, might be a logical place to form the new capital. But Earth would not so easily forget the centuries of neglect and outright abuse by the worlds of the Terran Confederacy and quickly released an edict stating ships and refugees from Confederate planets were not welcome in the Solar System or on Earth.

This was seen as the final act that tore the fabric of the Confederacy beyond repair. With hostilities mounting, the Asianic Union declared themselves independent and recalled all of their remaining ships. The Warsaw Alliance followed shortly after, as did roughly sixty percent of the New European Commonwealth. These splinter factions wasted no time in reorganizing themselves into a bloc and closing off their space to any and all Confederate ships, even going so far as to deny inbound com drones safe passage.

Within two short years there was a literal blackout of information coming from the worlds that formed the new Eastern Star Alliance. Official diplomatic channels were still open, but general communication was tightly monitored and controlled. Many in the remaining Confederate worlds said good riddance, their anger still smoldering for the actions of the AU that they believed had led to such a horrific conflict with the Phage. Others were a bit more pragmatic, however, as they knew that the Phage were likely not the only other stellar neighbors out there and would much prefer that humanity presented a unified front when they came face to face with them.