Contact is lost with the Far Spinward Colonies.

Disaster / Destruction

Contact is lost with the Far Spinward Colonies. The exploratory scout vessels Phebe, Cronus, Mnemosyne, and the American are sent to investigate. An FTL probe flyby reports what appears to be surface ruins on LV-1113 in the 26 Draconis system. Skeptics call it a trick of shadow and light, claiming they are simple rock formations. The Cronus is diverted to investigate. The science team is left behind when one of the trinary system’s three stars inexplicably collapses into a black hole. The Cronus goes missing. The scout ships also go missing. Only the Concordat mission to the Hyades Cluster is successful, establishing several mining outposts. The other far colonies are declared lost. Colonial stocks plummet. Fearing economic collapse, the UA bails out the megacorps that funded these endeavors. The 20 Parsec Limit is established. Any world more than 65.2 light-years from earth is no longer guaranteed governmental or corporate protection. Worlds past the limit are officially on their own. A Network Expansion Program begins. Hyperdyne decides to develop the Hyades Cluster without government support or protection.