#cool stuff! possibly still speculative but the hints are fairly solid

[thefirstknife]

Another thing I wanted to talk about is how new information coming from Neomuna is giving us some questions (and answers!) about previously established origins of the colony.

Originally, Spire of the Watcher dungeon lore gave us information that Neomuna was founded by a rogue AI's attempt to save humanity from the Collapse by effectively stealing a single ship from the ECHO project, embedding herself into it with a piece she partioned away before the rest of her were sealed in the Spire.

ECHO project was Clovis' colony project, aiming to colonise the Andromeda galaxy. The project was a joint operation between Braytech and Ishtar Collective. They worked on the colonisation effort and specifically on the AI called Soteria. Soteria, the Augurmind, was an advanced AI based on Braytech's codes and Ishtar's Vex research. Soteria was able to make accurate predictions about possible colony worlds, best routes to get there, viability of travel and so on.

Given that Braytech was involved, Exos were included in the project; Exos were aboard the ships to serve as effectively immortal stewards overseeing human embryo development to start the colony.

During one of the test flights for an ECHO ship, Soteria suddenly deviated from orders. Clovis tried getting her to follow but she refused. She insisted she must take control of the ship and drive it to a safe location to hide it and preserve humanity. At this point, she had already detected the Black Fleet. Clovis refused to listen and ordered her to be pilloried. However, the pillory process is not instant so she managed to section off one piece of her, attach it to one of the ECHO crafts and pilot it away, hidden, to safety. The ship went to the edge of the system and "crashed through azure clouds."

This was obviously meant to mean Neptune. We were led to believe that this was the ship that made Neomuna. But that means Exos were on board and we have not seen or heard of any Exos or Exo technology on Neomuna. Odd! And as a matter of fact, not only are there no Exos, Neomuni apparently did not even believe that living Exos exist!

Scientists have recently confirmed the rumored existence of living Exo units on Earth. Long believed extinct, Exos were creations of Clovis Bray, the result of extended and inhumane experiments on human subjects.

Furthermore, the original ship that made Neomuna is referenced as Exodus Indigo. From Tropopause:

The archivist went on. "We've got historical texts both pre and post-Exodus Indigo...

And some flavour text on weapons:

"Now this puppy came off the Exodus Indigo herself! Though it handles like it was manufactured yesterday."

Neomuna does have some Braytech influences. You can see it in the designs of some areas where there's literally the same assets being used. But also there's much more open references to the Ishtar Collective. More than Braytech! Braytech is left in the designs, but nothing speaks of it.

We also know that Maya Sundaresh (and her wife, Chioma Esi) are one of the founders of Neomuna. This was the first hint that ECHO perhaps wasn't what made Neomuna, at least not directly. Maya and her wife certainly wouldn't have been passengers on a test flight of a colony ship, especially not after Maya resigned from the project because Clovis pilloried Soteria without her permission.

If Maya hadn't been there, then this wouldn't have been an issue, but she was! She founded Neomuna!

But why would she choose Neptune as a destination? Well, Maya spoke extensively with Soteria about colony worlds. Maya was personally pissed off about Clovis partitioning Soteria. Maya would have detected Soteria's flight and tracked her trajectory to Neptune.

Perhaps Maya wanted to see what happened to the ship. Perhaps she wanted to salvage Soteria. Perhaps she believed Soteria's choice of a safe world to hide from the impending doom. So she chartered her own Exodus ship, Exodus Indigo and followed the trail Soteria left. Since the ship didn't aim to leave the system, it would've been able to get to Neptune and disappear.

The Exos being nonexistent on Neomuna suggests that ECHO's "crash through azure clouds" was lethal. That's the only thing that would've killed all Exos aboard and left Neomuni to speculate about Exo survivability. The ship may have been found and salvaged, which would explain the Braytech influences. Also everyone on the Exodus ship would've come form the Golden Age where Braytech designs were probably ubiquitous and well known to everyone. They started building on the things they've known: Braytech and Ishtar.

Really interesting twist and turn! Soteria and ECHO ship are still crucial to Neomuna's existence, as Maya would've absolutely known about where it went and why, as well as trusted Soteria's judgement. And Maya definitely found Soteria there, because she's referenced in the files as having survived and possibly merged back with the Vex, as per her origins. Soteria's (and Maya's!) legacy continues with her involvement with the friendly Vex faction. Without Soteria, her stolen ECHO ship and Maya's trust in the AI, there is no Neomuna.