1. The Factors are not going to be interested in human currencies like rep or credits. They most are interested in the trade of information, cultural artifacts and perhaps raw materials they need. 2. Remember that the Factor's natural state is a collective mass of goo and they only become individuals on a temporary basis. Their mindset as ambush predators mean they favor slow, cautious planning. This means that their economic thought is probably radically different from any transhuman analogue but might have more similarities to socialism in terms of 'central planning' than free market capitalism. 3. Maybe? That sort of thing is a decent plot hook so it'd be up to you as GM. 4. If I recall correctly, they also appeared around Mercury and Titan, so they probably have contact with the Titanian Commonwealth. Since Ozma's technical mission is to focus on xenolife, they're probably the Planetary Consortium's main negotiators with the Factors. 5. "Factor" is a word that can have many meanings. In business, a factor is like a broker or agent who work on behalf of another in exchange for a commission. The Factors allegedly chose this name to refer to themselves because they claim to diplomatically represent other alien species. However, factors are also terms used in biology for enzymes and parts of your immune system. There are other possible meanings too and if you wanted to put a different slant on the Factors, you could perhaps draw more on one of the other meanings of the word.