The eighteen years that followed the Capella supernova were not kind to Terran-Vasudan relations. The reasons for this were as much psychological as political.

As the post-Capella economic collapse accelerated, secessionist movements and brush wars sprang up in outlying GTVA systems. Following the pattern established by Marcus Glaive's GTI insurgency and Bosch's Neo-Terran Front, these conflicts disproportionately targeted Vasudans as symbols and perpetrators of humankind's economic and ideological disintegration. The reasons were not complex - fringe demagogues and seditious militia leaders saw the Vasudans as an easy way to unite disaffected Terrans. Alliance citizens were often initially unwilling to revolt against their own government, but found it easier to accept passive resistance or armed uprising when their hostility was steered towards the Vasudan elements of the GTVA.

The GTVA response to these brush wars was initially coherent and coordinated. However, the Vasudophobic nature of the conflicts presented new challenges. Terran elements of the GTVA fleet had suffered more casualties than their Vasudan counterparts during the Shivan incursion (despite extensive Vasudan operations in the nebular theater). Moreover, the Vasudan Battlegroup organizational scheme was more flexible and versatile than the Terran Fleet model. This meant that, in many cases, GTVA High Command deployed Vasudan warships to take up patrol and intervention roles that would normally have been filled by Terran ships and crews. Perceived Vasudan 'meddling' in border conflicts only deepened Terran fears of the economically prosperous and militarily intact Vasudans, exacerbating growing ideological rifts and prejudices. Meanwhile, Khonsu II's willingness to put Vasudan ships and aid workers in harm's way in missions to stamp out Terran brushfires led to some degree of discontent amidst the Vasudan technocrats and politicians of the General Assembly. This tension inevitably began to contaminate relations within the General Assembly, even between Terrans and Vasudans who had once been friends and political partners.


By 2370, these political effects were boiling over. Vasudan warships on peacekeeping missions were frequently targeted for attack, and in at least one incident, a clever separatist ploy led a Terran corvette to assault a Vasudan cruiser in 'defense' of what the Terran captain believed to be a innocent refugee convoy. Meanwhile, Terran politicians continued to bicker over the terms of Vasudan aid in post-Capellan reconstruction, unwilling to either accept too much Vasudan aid (for fear of angering anti-Vasudan constituents) or too little (simply because Vasudan aid was necessary and vital). Admiral Petrarch's drive to devote funding to the return to Sol rather than to reconstruction efforts frustrated Khonsu II, who accused the Admiral of 'looking to the past instead of to the stars for answers.' In return, Petrarch, once a staunch advocate of Terran-Vasudan military integration, accused the Emperor of petty jealousy over the prospect of the Terrans regaining their homeworld where the Vasudans never could. Khonsu handled the personal affront better than most Vasudans might have, but the damage was done.