though the federation pact determined that punitive action against the offenders was to be swift and definite , the fire of war still kept igniting among territories holding ancient grudges ; one reason was that the msf found itself torn on hundreds of fronts , which kept the rebellious territories safe for a time , until the offenders had already passed on and their children could not be punished as severely for a crime of insurrection that had not been their own ; thus it came to pass that in fewer than three hundred years after the first ephor war , the msf could no longer keep order effectively , and for the first time , there was widespread talk of the federation weakening , of federation power weakening .