Ethereals: Dossier
Quisilia
"If we cannot determine his existence, then it stands to reason that he actually might not exist. Unfortunately, we cannot take chances with the Ethereals."
- Andromedon O'Fuionn, in response to failed investigations into the identity of the Ethereal leader of the Zararch
Imperator,
I have finished my initial scouting of the city planet we detected, containing the curious aliens who have some control over the Gift. A fascinating adventure it was, much was learned and I will first say that I believe that these aliens will prove useful to us. They are abhorrent, selfish and despicable creatures, but they control a respectable amount of territory and can produce much for us through their production and scientific facilities.
For our records, I would first begin with what their planet is called, and the species. Their naming conventions are straightforward, but lacking in imagination. Their homeworld is located in the Helion System, as they have dubbed it, and the planet itself is called Helion-7, for obvious reasons I'm sure you can deduce.
What they call themselves is something I am not able to properly translate, but the closest I could deduce was 'Species 001'. They are a species with little thought outside of cold technical terms, as you can see. We will have to find an appropriate name, but until then, that is what we should put into our records.
What made gathering information something of a challenge is that this species has a poorly constructed language, which is why I suspect their documents are largely reduced to numbers and formulas. A large part is because much of their communication is accomplished through telepathy with images, emotions and single words. These aliens lack mouths, but do make a chittering sound that has no usage other than to convey an emotional state.
The species is without a doubt, engineered to be completely controlled by a select few. There are clear and established hierarchies which I will detail in a separate file, but there is only a select caste with any real power: The Hive Commanders, which I will detail later.
Despite the name, I would not consider the areas on Helion-7 "Hives" in any way, shape or form. The entire planet is mechanized and stripped of all resources, so I can only assume that is what they refer to as specific spheres of control. Perhaps a way to dole out territory.
An important thing to understand is how little threat the majority of their population poses to us. While they certainly have the ability to wield the Gift, most are so weak as to be laughable and I was able to manipulate their sight with ease. There are only a few who are psionically powerful enough to even be considered a remote threat:
There are the so-called 'Leaders' which is the closest translation I can decipher, since the literal translation is gibberish. They appear to be largely reserved for military usage, and are otherwise stuck in storage like a useful tool. Their telepathic abilities are largely for coordination, but little beyond that, but they would be useful in ground assaults.
The next one was surprisingly easy to translate: "Helion-7 Defenders". Their purpose is clear, but they are exceptionally rare and I only saw four in my entire mission. But I did infiltrate one of their breeding facilities and from the data I could gather, these aliens are exceptionally powerful, and more curiously, able to psionically link to a Hive Commander. More research will be necessary, but there are several avenues of research we could apply here.
Then are the Hive Commanders, the undisputed rulers of this alien world. These aliens are powerful, though still weaker than even the weakest of our species, but more than sufficient to completely dominate these lesser aliens. However they are exceptionally intelligent and I did not deem it wise to interrogate one because it would be able to put up a fight. But from what I gleamed, they are haughty, prideful and have an amusing superiority complex.
I do not foresee them being amenable to working with us, as they would likely see us as beneath them. At best we they would simply try and use us, an amusing thought, but one that would no doubt appear in their narrow minds. I personally recommend the Overmind make first contact and bend the minds of these creatures to our cause. They are more useful allied to us, than ignored.
- Quisilia
REPORT: 100111100000
TARGET OF INTEREST: ETHEREAL 00 (IDENTITY UNKNOWN!)
KNOWN ALIASES: "QUISILIA"; "THE UNSEEN ONE";
CURRENT POSITION: UNKNOWN
SPECIES: ETHEREAL
INFORMATION OF NOTE: INTELLIGENCE BACKGROUND (SPECULATION)
INFORMATION OF NOTE: AFFILIATED WITH THE ZARARCH (SPECULATION)
INFORMATION OF NOTE: PSION
PSIONIC SPECIALIZATION: TELEPATH (SPECULATION)
THREAT LEVEL TO ANDROMEDON FEDERATION: UNKNOWN
ADDITIONAL MANUAL COMMENT: Despite the best efforts of our Special Operators in trying to identify this Ethereal, we have once more come up with very little. Had we not acquired conclusive evidence of an Ethereal working with the Zararch, I would recommend that we focus our resources elsewhere as this Ethereal is extremely talented at remaining undetected.
We have yet to determine how exactly this is accomplished, though if he is affiliated with the Zararch as we suspect, then it is possible he is using them to intentionally avoid us, which would imply that he knows that there is an effort to unmask him. I will reiterate that we have not had any encounters that would have compromised our mission or identities.
Alternatively, it is possible that we have encountered this Ethereal, and he is powerful enough to obscure himself from both us, and anyone else he encounters via telepathy. If this is the case, it raises serious concerns for the viability of utilizing Special Operators against psions, should the need arise. If the Ethereals have learned how to bypass our most effective unit, then they have negated our greatest advantage against them.
I have compiled several aliases that are suspected to be referring to this Ethereal. The most common is "Quisilia" a name or designation that has been used by the Zar'Chon in several reports that have been intercepted. The nature and writing within indicates that "Quisilia" is in fact, someone who the Zar'Chon answers to, and there could only be a few who would have the authority to command the Zar'Chon himself.
The most obvious explanation is that Quisilia is an Ethereal, though not necessarily the one we are hunting. Alternatively it could be a code name for another Vitakara or even Sectoid that is of a higher rank than the Zar'Chon, though that is unlikely. The other alias we have intercepted is was references to "The Unseen One" from our Special Operator monitoring the Temple Ship.
Such a description fits the profile of this Ethereal, and indicates that he is indeed an expert in subterfuge and subtlety, which again fits into what we have collected. Unfortunately, short of attempting to draw this Ethereal out or infiltrating Zararch outposts, it is unlikely we can continue to find leads on this elusive Ethereal.
RECOMMENDATION: TRANSFER OPERATORS OBSERVING ETHEREAL 00 TO ZAR'CHON OBSERVATION; SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: LOCATE AND IDENTIFY INDIVIDUAL KNOWN AS "QUISILIA"
SECONDARY RECOMMENDATION: ASSIGN PRIORITY TO TEMPLE SHIP OBSERVERS: PHRASE: "UNSEEN ONE"; WORDS: "UNSEEN", "QUISILIA", "ZARARCH", "ZAR'CHON"
REPORT COMPILER: SPECIAL OPERATOR 062; ANDROMEDON FEDERATION; [ERROR: DATA NOT FOUND]
END REPORT
WAIT FOR FURTHER ORDERS
XCOM Profile 162
Authorization Level: Internal Council
Subject: Quisilia
Threat Level: High
Assessment Author: Aegis
Approved by: The Commander of XCOM, XCOM Psychologist Haley Yates
SECTION 1: Physical Characteristics
Hair: None (Ethereal)
Eye color: Solid orange
Skin color: Dark purple
Height: 8'10"
Weight: 201 lbs.
Scars or markings: None
Physical condition: Exceptional
SECTION 2: Assessment
I have been asked to contribute to this document as I have personal knowledge of the Ethereals of the Collective, although Quisilia is unfortunately one of the few who I can say I know much less about than I would like to. Quisilia is very secretive, even among other Ethereals, and the number who know who he really is I estimate to be limited to the Imperator, and the Overmind.
The reason for this likely stems from his past. I am aware that he was once part of the Division of Shadows, and often times members of that Division intentionally kept their roles secret, and it appears to be a habit that he has not broken yet. I first met him soon after the Imperator convinced me to follow his plan, and we got along well, though he certainly learned more about me than I him.
The Imperator holds him in extremely high regard, and is likely privy to knowledge that even I am not aware of, and is regarded as the unofficial eyes of the Imperator, and if necessary, the assassin. Upon reflection, it was accepted among us that Sicarius was the assassin of the Imperator, but now I wonder if that was just both of them taking advantage of her skills to hide that Quisilia is one hiding in the shadows.
Quisilia has taken it upon himself to take command of the entirety of all Collective Intelligence agencies, and has co-opted the Vitakarian Zararch in pursuit of this, and also has influence over the Andromedon Special Operator which is officially under the oversight of Sicarius. As such he spends a large part of his time isolated from others of my kind and seems to prefer working directly with specific individuals he deems useful, while elevating them into positions of power.
Concerning his views on Humanity, he has taken an interest in your species beyond simple tools or pawns. He sees high potential in your species, and I know he has already begun work in determining where specific humans would be useful under his command. He does not necessarily view your species as a legitimate threat, but he has a respect for your kind that is more than most hold.
SECTION 3: Psychological Assessment
From observing Quisilia work on multiple occasions, one thing that always stood out to me was how much he enjoyed using other alien species. He greatly enjoys toying with individuals, friend or foe, and although most of it is little more than mildly annoying incidents, he holds no mercy for anyone he deems a threat. For better or worse, Quisilia is almost as involved as the Battlemaster in the Collective, and takes threats to it seriously.
Those marked for death by Quisilia are never informed of the danger, and are personally hunted down by him personally. Quisilia was once being tracked by a group of Nulorians who had no idea who they were chasing. He responded by taking over their minds, driving them insane with hallucinations, and watched as two different Nulorian cells tore each other apart, all taking place in a Borelian wasteland where the battle was fought hand to hand, with him occasionally interfering depending on his whim.
One thing to understand about Quisilia is that he has both what you would call a sense of humor, and a flair for the dramatic. I do not know how this fascination started, but war is a theatre to him, a series of set pieces upon which he wants to control every single piece for his own amusement. Surprise and unpredictability are key, and Quisilia is unpredictable. He will occasionally help enemies, or spare the life of traitors for no other reason than he is curious about what will happen next.
I say this because it is likely that he will begin acting in ways that you do not expect, and thus are unable to properly react to. He is a master of using every tool at his disposal, and in ways that are, again, unexpected. And this is him at his least dangerous. When he is simply interested in a conflict he will make himself known to a select few; important players in the game, as it were.
But if the threat becomes escalated, he will vanish and you will never see him coming. The balancing act must be perfect, Commander, for Quisilia could single-handedly cripple the world should he desire it.
SECTION 4: Concerns and Abilities
Quisilia is an exceptional telepath, as is to be expected from one from the Division of Shadows. However, I am unaware the extent of his abilities due to his imposed isolation on demonstrating, and thus I can only make educated guesses regarding both his training and what he can actually do.
What is for certain is that he can take over the minds of weaker individuals, and is able to at the very least misdirect powerful psions. Quisilia also utilizes a highly unique form of infiltration, which is to simply purge the perception of himself from individuals he encounters. In essence, people can be looking directly at him and see nothing. To the best of my knowledge, no other Ethereal has this potential with the exception of the Imperator and possibly the Overmind.
The extent of this talent is also unknown. At the very least he can affect dozens of individuals in close proximity, and possible more than that. A weakness of this strategy is that he will still be seen by cameras and other recording devices, as he cannot purge his perception from those. The issue is that he is likely aware of it, and as a result will take precautions to not be seen on camera.
He also has some knowledge about the creation of illusions and hallucinations, though far weaker compared to the abilities of Nebulan or Isomnum. I believe these are contingencies for him, a final crutch to fall back on should his plans go awry. But he is not above using them for his own amusement, and is highly interested in the various different psyches of aliens.
Most of his abilities are not nearly as effective against psions, and I do not believe we have to fear him coming here without our knowledge. I or Patricia would sense him, and he is not a front-line fighter, and a team of psions allied against him would likely emerge victorious. However, the rest of the world would not be able to stop.
If Quisilia wanted it, he could execute the entirety of the ADVENT hierarchy, or simply listen in on their plans all without them the wiser. Unfortunately, I can think of little we can do to prevent this short of giving ADVENT leaders personal psion bodyguards, but there are risks involved with that as well. Nonetheless, Quisilia is a danger that needs to be negated before he cripples this war for good.