The Exodans are the primary faction in the Forge. They primarily control Terminus.
The last ship is a Hunter, a small but lethal fighter. It’s broadcasting an unaffiliated ident, but marking on the hull show that it belongs to the Unity Defense Corporation, a merenary corporation with close ties to the Exodans.
The main settlement itself is massive, complex, and well-armed. It manufactures weapons for the Exodans and any Forgers who can pay. The shipyards in orbit and testing sites dotting the surface seem to suggest that business is good, which is always worrying to Isaac.
We didn’t leave our nature behind back home. The most hospitable and densely-populated area is governed by the Exodans - an empire and a religion. Outside of that, sectors are controlled by cartels, pirates, warlords, and madmen - Forgers all.
Exodan Ironsworn take vows on pieces of the Fleet. These pieces are prized by Exodans for their connection to home and by Forgers for their rarity.
Exodans have significant liturgy around “Home” and the Fleet. Forgers know that they are alone, removed, and changed from all of that. Some treat the Precursors as dead gods, but most just pray to the void and blind chance.
Exodans have access to advanced AI from the Fleet (at least those in power do), but they are unable to replicate it.
The Exodans have a standing army of “peacekeepers” that patrol their sectors and prevent internal unrest and external incursion. Forgers are separated into factions which sometimes have little scraps, but probably nothing that could be called war.
A merenary corporate that mostly operate in the Outlands. They have close ties with the Exodans, and are often used in shadow wars waged by the Exodans.