There was a prompt released in the world-building community, where we are asked about cults and gatherings of that nature in our setting; I thought it would be a good chance to talk about a few ideas for a few different groups.
Here's A Link To The Post If You Want To Check It Out.
The Doshan Cult Among most of the Free Space races, the Doshans as a whole are said to be very cultish, or cult-like based on their religion, and culture.
The average Doshan is at one with nature, and wherever they go, they bring this understanding and ideal with them. Most who encounter this for the first time can be taken aback by the attitude, and see it as obsessive in some cases. Many small groups of Doshans have made names for themselves and their species as a whole, by utilising their botonny knowledge - sometimes they use it for the greater good and work on medicines and medication, however, there have been groups also who use their understanding for bad and create chemical weaponry, and even narcotics with the intention of using addiction to line their pockets.
This obsession with nature isn't the only thing that separates the average Doshan from most others in Free Space, the thing that does this is their attachment and connection to worlds, people, and every living organism of a planet.
With the right training and discipline, some Doshans can enter a deep trance-like meditation, that allows them to see and hear things that may never or are yet to happen. To Doshan people, they see these visions and sights from afar as the other world and meditation is their way of traveling there.
There was once a large collective meditation that took place, with 76 Doshans going into it at the same time, and this collective is said to safeguard their world and share visions with even the less disciplined Doshan who goes looking for answers in the other world.
The Hoard Feeders Among the outer worlds, far beyond the borders of civilized space lay many planets and moons that are almost completely uninhabited. Most lost their living population during the occupation or were driven away by things unknown. Now, these abandoned places are accessed only by people fleeing the law, or bandit/ pirate clans who want to keep their bases a secret, some are even home to facilities intended to work in secrecy for Free Space governments. One group said to inhabit this region is an organisation known as 'The Hoard Feeders' although, some don't believe they even exist.
The Gnosians follow a matriarchal society, and at the head of it is the Brood Queen. There are separate clans of Gnosians, each led by a different Queen and most are hostile toward each other. Their species evolved to get the upper hand over the other Broods, and the only way they could do this was with Genetics.
A unique characteristic of Gnosians is that a Queen can hold DNA from any creature or race in the Galaxy, and this is transmitted sexually. The Queen can store this indefinitely and use a combination of all genetics she has ever been introduced to in order to produce Broods to fit any world or situation.
Many men throughout Free Space have gone missing as of late, and some have speculated that these people may have been abducted and brought to some hidden world where they are forced to be bred off by some Gnosian Queen. It was only a story made up by drunk star jumpers to frighten people, especially considering the possibility of having sex with one of those things.
This conspiracy was just a scary tale, until one of the group's members was captured alive and to avoid being imprisoned they wove a tall tale about what they were involved in.
Apparently, they don't just consist of Gnosians of the Brood in question, but also women of many Free Space races who willingly help lure unsuspecting victims to their deaths. Their goal is to produce the perfect Gnosian army; one that will be able to call all Gnosian Broods to heel and conquer far and wide throughout the Galaxy in brutal Gnosian fashion. Anyone who helps in this endeavor is promised a lot in return for their work.
The detainee gave coordinates to the whereabouts of this base, but any attempt to find it was met with a dead end. Many people were sent to that particular region of space, but never returned.
They were either killed by the brood or by some of the other threats that lurk in the outer regions.
The Scrappers Guild This organisation has very little known about them due to their extreme secrecy.
Prior to the occupation of Free Space, they were outlawed on every known world in the Galaxy because of their constant tampering with illegal tech. They are said to have the largest collection of schematics for every kind of ship, weapon, and general appliance ever made.
They treat tech like a religion, and in a way worship it in an unhealthy manner. The fact that they are passionate collectors of antique/ modern tech isn't the problem, and the fact that they collect schematics for illegal tech isn't the main reason they are outlawed and on some worlds hunted. The fact that they are known to break down people's vehicles and tech to steal and sell parts isn't even the reason for the hate they receive.
The main reason they are hated so much is that they produce inhumane tech to sell to criminal, and terrorist organisations which has led to the downfall of entire governments, and the destruction of entire worlds. Prior to The Free Space Occupation, a small world known as Hagnia was rendered completely uninhabitable in an incident known as "The Sorrow."
Anyone who escaped fled to all corners of Free Space, and eventually, their entire culture was wiped from the face of the Galaxy. They live only as a small percentage of individuals who still carry their genes.
Although some say that the distributors of illegal tech are only a sub-sect of The Scrappers Guild, the entire FSA decided it was safer to outlaw their group as a whole, and some planets opted for a far darker approach; to rid the Galaxy of their Guild completely. Kah-Vita is one such world that actively seeks them out, and even pays bounties for anyone of this group captured alive, or dead. They have their own reason for hating them so much, and even though many find their methods a little bit extreme, nobody has tried to get in their way.
Post-war, The Scrappers are almost completely unheard of, and unthought of, but they still live on in the shadows.
Most engineers, junk dealers, and recyclers can be suspected of being a part of the illusive group, but it can be hard to be sure.