So it seems more like Earth's "colonial commitments" were one at a time, and with (much)FTL travel not generation ships, either - but it doesn't seem like there's FTL communication, so Earth must not expect to hear back from its colonies right away. (Cherryh's FTL seems to be "cross a fold in space" FTL rather than "go really, really fast" FTL, so it's not a matter of a hundred years passing for Earth between sending and arriving, at least.) Still, you have to wonder if Earth is wondering what happened to the Phoenix!