Free Worlds: Reconciliation vs Checkmate Branch

While I am doing the Free Worlds story, I am hearing about the "Reconciliation" and "Checkmate" branches. What are those and what are their differences to each other?

SPOILER ALERT!

The Reconciliation branch is when you rescue the Syndicate defector in New Tibet, even if it means war with the Syndicate. You think that the defector is the only hope to have peace with the Republic. You want to tell the Republic that the Free Worlds are innocent.

The Checkmate branch is when you refuse to rescue the Syndicate defector and you decide it is more important to defend against the Republic (and having peace with the Syndicate is important for that). Here you are not convinced the defector is telling the truth (since there are positive tests in the moon Clark, contrary to what the defector says that the testing happened in a pirate planet).

In the Reconciliation branch, there are less fights, and the Navy becomes friendly to you (since the Questioner determines that the defector is telling the truth). They stop attacking Free Worlds planets. Your new enemy now is the Syndicate.

In the Checkmate branch, there are more fights, and it will take longer for the Navy to stop attacking you. You take part in defending the Free Worlds planets in the north border. The Free Worlds also capture more planets here.

In the Reconciliation branch, your ship almost got nuked by Syndicate ships. In the Checkmate branch, you nuke some Navy ships (if you want) and plan for a nuclear attack to Earth, which is known as Operation "Checkmate".

You get a free Jump Drive in the Reconciliation branch. In the Checkmate branch, you need to plunder one from a Pug ship.

In the end, in both branches, all humans have a common enemy: the Pug. Thanks to the intervention of the Pug, the civil war has now come to an end.

The Syndicate extremists are brought to justice in the Reconciliation branch. In the Checkmate branch, never (because you didn't believed in the defector in the first place).

You get a cloaking device in the Reconciliation branch, while you get an ionic afterburner and two shield regenerators from the Syndicate in the Checkmate branch.