The Laresic Merchant Republic

The Laresic Merchant Republic is a technologically advanced faction within the Galaxy of Exiles, ahead of the Hegemony in all but military advancements. Comparison to the Stewardship of Rythe is, of course, unavailable.
The Republic is run by a collection of wealthy guilds known as the Quorum, although they delegate much of the running of individual planetary regions to elected governments.