The Nine Colonies - where did the come from?

[Seanot]

From book 3 Unification Chapter 6...

The Nine Colonies were just that, colonies. Just who they were
colonies of had been lost over the millennia, for their parent civilization
died out long ago, or vanished, or something, for all that was left of them
was the Nine Colonies. The race of the Nine Colonies was probably what
all the U.F.O. hype was all about early in Earth’s history, for they were
small gray-skinned creatures with long fingers and large black eyes. But
unlike the myths, the race, which simply called themselves The Colonists
because they long ago forgot their proper name.

Are we ever going to find out where they came from?