never managed to find and retrieve the cargo they wanted, so I can't even say if it exists...

however, I had a bunch of my companions (corvus vults) turn on me and force me to kill them... this is all fine and dandy (well, not really... I kinda liked my corvus faction) but... each one I killed, would either increase or decrease my faction either significantly or enormously... seemably at random.

I'd get messages like this:

Corvus is not pleased that you destroyed so-and-so
Corvus standing has decreased enormously
Corvus is not pleased that you destroyed so-and-so
Corvus standing has decreased significantly
Corvus is not pleased that you destroyed so-and-so
Corvus standing has increased enormously
Corvus is not pleased that you destroyed so-and-so
Corvus standing has decreased significantly
Corvus is not pleased that you destroyed so-and-so
Corvus standing has increased noticably
Corvus is not pleased that you destroyed so-and-so
Corvus standing has increased significantly
Corvus is not pleased that you destroyed so-and-so
Corvus standing has decreased significantly
Corvus is not pleased that you destroyed so-and-so
Corvus standing has increased enormously

I think I ended up at around -300 after going on a killing spree of *ALL* of the corvus NPCs (at least a score, all-told)