It didn't take long before the allied nations began to suspect that this had been a setup from the start. The Kepler Loyalists had used the hidden strength that the Rebels assured them was secured under their control, leading to the Kepler Royal Family holding almost everything. At the same time, Cygnus got a nice handout for their trouble and a free shot at their weakened neighbors.
It was just after midnight, Station time, when news came through that the section taken by the two mighty Mecha had declared itself the Inner Rim Federation, under the control of Empress Nobu, the Emperor's Neice, daughter of the Emperor's sister, who was best known for her work in designing the MK IX standard issue infantry laser rifle.