Well there is a very very extensive backstory on KZ.com, and what happened was that as the government could not afford to start colonising, private enterprise stepped in, and it was the Helghan Corporation which founded the colonies on Helgast and Vetka. However, they were not independent, and I think that Helgast was the one that separated from the human empire, but I have history notes to do now, so I can't look it up myself, but I recommend you read the backstory, it is very interesting











