Have encountered around a dozen faction wars, so I am familiar with that aspect of the game. I was hoping that there was a retaliation-type feature I had not discovered since I stayed neutral in all but one of the encountered faction wars (the one I did get involved was accidental). I was looking forward to having to deal with something larger than the pirate and Xsotan raids that are so common. The biggest faction war attack force I've encountered had at least 20 ships.
Thank you, Devious, for answering my question.