Holy BeJesus! I think I just realized something... (and sorry if someone else had mentioned this already, but I don't feel like reading 40 pages, tyvm :P)
1. Read the .86 story again
2. Now consider this as a possibility: a MEGA HOUSE BASH--> Gallia+Kusari+Rheinland vs. Bretonia+Liberty...and maybe + someone else (hispania? (hispania=corsair+outcast?)).
3. Now read the story again more thoroughly and you will see partial evidence of how this might happen.
But in order to save you some 30 mins of reading I've taken the liberty of listing the facts the led me to this idea:
1. Gallia and Kusari join forces...obviously. (for now they have territorial and trade negotiations but forming an alliance, especially with the new shogun sounds quite appropriate)
2. Gallia wants to wtfpwn Bretonia.
3. Kusari also wants to wtfpwn Bretonia
===> Gallia + Kusari vs. Bretonia
4. Gallia places Liberty as second on kill list.
5. Gallia and Rheinland begin negotiations about trade and stuff, which may and, I think, will lead to a major alliance between the two houses.
6. Oh wait, Rheinland wants to wtfpwn Liberty too
===> . Gallia + Rheinland vs. Liberty
7. Carina and the Liberty president would be considered retarded buffoons if they don't see that the only option for survival of their 2 houses is to unite.
8. Now Kusari had nothing against Liberty in the past, but that was the old regime. Seeing as the new shogun is mighty conservative, he might have something against Liberty's import of foreign goods, gaijin ideas, etc., etc.
9. Rheinland has no grudge with Bretonia, but hey, maybe the fuhrer sees the inevitable destruction of the latter and wants a piece of the pie.
10. Furthermore, Gallia might pressure both factions to join its side, which right now isn't difficult as already seen with the case of the IMG.
===> So in the end we have Kusari+Rheinland+Gallia vs. Bretonia + Liberty
Wait, hold on...we need one more house for a 3 vs 3.
11. Ok, first I'm not really sure what Hispania signifies on the updated .86 map. Mine and others' reasoning is that corsair and outcast form a union. And it is already obvious that Outcasts flee when they see the advancing Gallic navy. They run from Orkney, they run from Tau 23, and...whoops, only 2 systems to go before Gallia pays Malta a visit. And seeing the very Reapers of Sirius get ripped to shreds by Gallic glaives is not a pretty picture :( ...
12. Now everyone hates Sair and Outcast, and they hate each other to be fair, but when facing certain impending doom one is ready for unthinkable alliances with whoever has the power to save their arses.
So it would be a whole lot of fun to have this scenario. But considering that story ends right at point 6, this may not be seen until .87 or .88 comes out. But it's a good time waster to ruminate on. Have fun:P
EDIT: If things start to get even remotely close to what I proposed here, expect the BHG to go bananas over the bounty board and negotiate over affiliation :wacko::D