The fact that the Flagrant Swordmaidens entered the deep frontier hit home among the rank-and-file. The Vandals may be a lot less familiar with the frontier than the Swordmaidens, but once they heard the stories, they started developing nightmares about entire sandstorms engulfing their fleet.
Trespassing sandmen space was as perilous as their run through Vesian space! Danger lurked in every star system, and the main form of protection they relied on consisted of some inscrutable religious blessing by a bunch of whack jobs who worshipped some alien entity named Haatumak.
The lack of understanding and the difficulty of comprehending their circumstances led a lot of Vandals to grumble about their mission. Had the Starlight Megalodon really crash-landed in the middle of sandmen space? How come the CFA battleship hadn't been chewed into bits by the sandmen that reigned over this territory?