The Rulers Voted to Exile Earth But Humanity Was Already Gone

The seats of the human delegation were empty, not left in protest, not vacated in anger, simply empty, as if no one had ever sat there. By the time Calvesh finally finished his sentence, every human ship within ruler-controlled space had already jumped to hyperspace. All personnel accounted for, Admiral, her tactical officer replied, zero casualties, zero assets left behind, were ghosts, good, Sarah opened the strategic display, while the so-called rulers had wasted months debating humanity's fate. New colonies and unclaimed territories hidden shipyards inside uncharted nebulae and trade packs with independent species who had no loyalty to the ruler's empire. Within five years, the question was no longer whether humans would be allowed back into civilized space, but whether the rulers would be invited into humanity's new galactic order.