Starflight was gleefully optimistic to operate with Harthen, as this just lead to more precedent to harass those convoys and claim that they were just pirates, targeting whoever came along those trade routes. These "pirates," obviously, were hired mercenaries from Starflight themselves, and the small losses to convoys expected by Starflight shipping vessels was more than acceptable to kick another competitor OUT of competition. The four companies were more than comfortable with their collective monopoly on most assets. Harthen was offering a better product at better prices, which, if the megacorps were to attempt to match, would draw too many resources from their more militant aspects and corruption schemes.
This new edict from the Bastonian parliament is...troubling. GBE warships in Alsinan space without asking the Parliament?! Unacceptable! A call for retaliation against the GBE ships which enter their space uninvited was made, and this issue gripped the population for long enough to finally unite them in something. The megacorps, eager to keep Harthen's profits as low as possible, dutifully brought this issue to Parliament who then, after orderly and mild-mannered debate which was essentially scripted from beginning to end, sends a formal complaint to the Bastionian government which reads as follows:
"Due to the recent uptick in piracy attacks in space which we do not control, you, the Great Bastionian Empocracy Parliament, passed a motion which allowed your ships of war to protect your convoys. This is not what we take issue with. We take issue with your ships entering Alsinan space without notifying us of this edict. Our citizenry is riotously concerned with these ships of war in our territory, as we had never agreed to anything like this before. We, the Alsinan Defense League Parliament, demand that you have your ships halt at the edge of our space and return back to escort other convoys. The Alsinan Defense Galactic Navy is more than capable of protecting the convoys from there."
This message was sent with great urgency, hoping that perhaps the megacorp's scheme to bully Harthen out of their nation would work.