Sectoids: Organizations
The Greater Hive Commanders
"They are a tenuous ally at best, and more intelligent than they let on."
- Zar'Chon'ravarian'vitiary
Zar'Chon
As part of the progress report on the current project, I believe I know enough to compile a detailed overview of working under a Hive Commander. Joint projects are not something the Sectoids generally do, but after this I believe that we have much to gain if this is repeated in the future. Harsh as the Hive Commanders are to aliens, they know how to conduct research.
I do not know if the template Hive Commander 099 used is a standard one used by the Greater Hive Commanders, or one specific to 099, but it was seemingly tailored for this specific project. There were several different divisions that were established once 099 arrived, all of which centered around specific parts of the projects.
I will note that the additional Sectoid scientists brought almost never directly interacted with us. In terms of importance and seniority, they were by far the lowest, and only 099 was able to order them to perform specific tasks. They performed the bulk of the menial tasks, while we were used for more specific purposes. Through this we saved far more time than normal.
The project was broken into four separate divisions: Infusion, Observation, Testing, and Harvesting. 099 chose four scientists that worked as intermediaries between him and the various division heads; his voice I can only presume, since Sectoids are incapable of traditional speech, and telepathy is restricted.
The Infusion division yielded many initial values, as we have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that the only species that are capable to harnessing psionic abilities naturally are Humans and Sectoids. Elders are confirmed in all but data. With that said, we have had limited success in artificial psionic infusion by genetic information splices into various species from the results gathered from the Harvest Division.
This project has allowed the freedom to perform what is a largely unpleasant, but necessary task. Unfortunately we have been unable to successfully perform an artificial psionic awakening that lasts for longer than several seconds, as the subject soon dies after this. This is even true for Humans that are not psionically sensitive. It appears that you are either sensitive, or you are not.
However, we are aware that it is possible, and further refinement can continue to perform this with more success.
The Observation Division has proven more useful for learning Human and Sectoid psychological patterns, and how psionics changes and affects them. Surviving subjects from the Infusion Division are sent here, and this was personally overseen by 099 as he was the only psion powerful enough to prevent the newly awakened psions from causing unwanted issues.
Now that we have found a species of some psionic power, we have been able to measure how Humans react to psionic awakenings, both assisted and unassisted. The results are interesting. It is difficult to predict exactly how Humans will react; some naturally adapt, and others go insane. We have sent the failures to the Harvest Division to determine if there is some connecting link between the ones who go insane, or if there is a certain genetic combination that forces this result.
Conclusions are still ongoing.
The Testing Division has yielded the most useful data. Even the Sectoids are capable of dangerous psionic potential when pushed. However, the stimuli that achieves this result is markedly different than Humans. Sectoids rely exclusively on the force of their leader. 099 was able to decimate a Human batch of psions by only commanding basic sectoids, but when left alone, the Human batch easily beat them. When Sectoids are placed against each other, it is usually specialization that determines the victor. A Leader will win against a Scientist, even though the psionic potential of the latter is slightly higher.
This has also provided immediate data for the war itself. Psions have ranges, and we have been able to successfully determine general areas of reach Humans of average psionic potential have in regards to Telepathic, Telekinetic, Offensive, and Defensive psionics. Most are limited by sight, but Telepathy is limited by range. I am certain this can be used against XCOM psions, though we are unfortunately unable to give estimates for higher thresholds of psionic power such as the Human Psion Trask, or any Elder.
The Harvest Division is where the majority of the research HC-099 personally conducted took place. Once the test subjects have fulfilled their purpose, they were taken here and analyzed for specific genetic markers that determined psionic power and capabilities, then stripped of them and stored for further research and development.
From here this division also worked on flash-growing members of various species and genetically modifying them with what has been able to be recovered from previous test subjects. At this point Sectoids are benefiting most from these enhancements, and have already seen large gains in psionic potential. 099 appears extremely pleased with this development, and has made the decision to split the project into two parts: One focusing on improving Sectoid psionic potential, and another devoted to decoding how exactly psionics work in Humans.
Should we have the opportunity to continue assisting in these projects, I would strongly recommend it. Sectoids, for all their faults, are more efficient and methodical than we could be, and are not concerned with rules that only hinder our progress, such as what the Aui'Vitakar demand. In addition, if we refuse to take the same measures the Sectoids do, then we have very little hope in matching their achievements and knowledge in the future, which will ultimately weaken our standing in the Collective.
If our species is not similarly driven to produce the needed results, then at the very least we need to work with those that do.
- Sci'torian'valla
REPORT: 100000000001
ORGANIZATION OF INTEREST: THE GREATER HIVE COMMANDERS
SPECIES: SECTOID
GOVERNMENT TYPE: HYBRID – AUTHORITARIAN/HIVEMIND
MEMBER COUNT: 982 AND CONTINUALLY RISING
LEADER: NONE OFFICIAL – SENIOR MEMBER IS HIVE COMMANDER 001
CURRENT STATUS: ALLIED
VULNERABILITY TO EXPLOITATION: LOW
VULNERABILITY TO PENETRATION: LOW
VULNERABILITY TO COLLAPSE: ESTIMATED MEDIUM TO LOW
INFORMATION OF NOTE: NO NATURAL RECORDED DEATHS OF HIVE COMMANDERS
INFORMATION OF NOTE: HIGHLY XENOPHOBIC
INFORMATION OF NOTE: PRIMARY SUPPLIERS OF ETHEREAL COLLECTIVE FLEET
INFORMATION OF NOTE: ONLY FIGURES OF IMPORT ARE HIVE COMMANDERS
INFORMATION OF NOTE: GREATER HIVE COMMANDER FLEET THREE TIMES LARGER THAN CURRENT FEDERATION FLEET
INFORMATION OF NOTE: ALL HIVE COMMANDERS ARE PSIONICALLY CAPABLE AND HIGHLY DANGEROUS
INFORMATION OF NOTE: TENUOUS RELATIONSHIP WITH SPECIFIC ETHEREALS
THREAT LEVEL: UNKNOWN – ESTIMATED MEDIUM TO HIGH
ADDITIONAL MANUAL COMMENT: Of all the alien species in this Collective, the Greater Hive Commanders pose the largest threat to the Federation. They do not like us, and we do not like them. It is only a matter of time before an incident occurs due to the result of the lax oversight by the Ethereals, and that is the purpose of this document.
The entire structure of the Greater Hive Commanders is based on the Hive Commanders themselves. If they are removed, the species itself collapses as a result. There are fewer Hive Commanders than might be expected for such a numerous species, but this is largely because Sectoids rarely leave Helion-7, their homeworld, and rarely leave the Helion system itself. There are only a few exceptions to this, such as Hive Commander 029.
However, they are not to be trifled with due to their massive fleet, production facilities, and ability to grow millions of Sectoids in weeks. It is suspected, but not confirmed, that they can produce Hive Commanders at a far faster rate than they have officially revealed. As of the discovery of the Humans, they have become increasingly hostile to the Federation's advances into providing resources for the Collective fleet.
But what is more important is that this marked the first time Hive Commanders have been recorded being sent into combat. We have successfully identified that Hive Commander 072 was the first to fall to the Humans, within a small Hive that had been constructed on Earth, and the second Hive Commander to die, during the failed attack on the XCOM base identified as the Citadel, was Hive Commander 043.
You may wonder why I attached the files of 072 and 043, considering they are deceased. This is because there are two Hive Commanders with those exact same designations still very much alive today. I will stress that we do not know if these are clones of the respective Hive Commanders, or if they were simply Hive Commanders that were held in storage as a contingency in case one suddenly died.
The most important piece of information to take from this is that the Hive Commanders have contingencies in place in the event of their death. For all we know, they could have several million Hive Commanders waiting in storage to deploy should a war truly break out. While they are not as powerful as Ethereals, Hive Commanders are still powerful enough to dominate most Andromedons, with the exception of Special Operators.
Unfortunately, at this point if a war were to break out between the Greater Hive Commanders and the Andromedon Federation, with no outside support, it is likely we would lose. We cannot match their sheer numbers, their psionic abilities render our technology pointless, and their centers of command are so isolated even the BlackStar Project would not be guaranteed to have the desired results.
Fortunately, they are several means of attack that have been proven to be successful:
Genetic Plagues: While not our innate specialty, the XCOM bioweapon deployed against the GHC had the effect of decimating their production and fleet for several months, and to date they have not fully recovered, and likely will not for several months more. The viability of this is unknown, as the Sectoids have not revealed the changes, if any, they will make to their known weakness.
However, XCOM deployed a highly specific virus that would not work on anything other than that specific genetic code. We do not need to restrict ourselves, and while we could endeavor to make a disease or plague Sectoid-specific, using the White Prison method for Sectoid planets would have the desired results and put a halt to their production lines and cloning depending on the planets hit.
Increase Special Operator Production: This is an obvious measure, but an effective one. If suitable candidates are not found within the Federation, the controversial step of growing them ourselves must be undertaken. As of this moment, they are the only ones who would be able to match the Hive Commanders in direct combat.
Development of Automated or Mechanical Forces: Psionics is the greatest weapon of the Hive Commanders, and their Telepathy can turn any organic force against us. This weakness is not present in automated systems, and while weaker, they would be able to reliably engage GHC Forces without succumbing to the psionic powers they wield.
ANDI: This must be developed immediately. We will be unable to win against the Hive Commanders without it.
Anti-Psionic Measures: Andromedon Collective Commander J'Loran has aptly demonstrated the need for our own forces to be able to resist psionics, and as of this moment, little has been done regarding the development of countermeasures for psionics. While this is due to the GHC and Ethereals restricting research into this, it needs to be done and any projects related to this subject must have more resources allocated to them.
Hive Commander Assassination: If the Hive Commanders fall, so does the GHC. While we do not know their methods of replacing their losses, we do know that each one lost sets them back significantly. The more that die, the more we know how they replace their losses. It officially takes ten years to fully grow a Hive Commander, but there is nothing to indicate this is true.
Should a Special Operator have the element of surprise, they would be able to easily assassinate any Hive Commander, but of course the issue is luring them into a position where such an act is viable. Specific Hive Commanders should also be targeted for added effect. The death of Hive Commander 001 for example would certainly give them pause.
RECOMMENDATION: BEGIN INVESTIGATION INTO HIVE COMMANDER REPRODUCTION AND CONTINGENCIES; BEGIN DEVELOPMENT OR ALLOCATE INCREASED RESOURCES TO SUGGESTED PROPOSALS; IDENTIFY KEY SECTOID PLANETS RELATED TO SPACECRAFT PRODUCTION AND CLONING; IDENTIFY ETHEREALS WITH TENUOUS RELATIONS WITH THE GREATER HIVE COMMANDERS; IDENTIFY ALL KNOWN HIVE COMMANDERS AND SUBSEQUENT HIVES OF CONTROL FOR LATER ANALYSIS; BEGIN VIRTUAL REALITY TRAINING FOR THE BLACKSTAR PROJECT, WHITE PRISON STRATEGY, AND DEPLOYMENT OF ANDI
REPORT COMPILER: SPECIAL OPERATOR 003; ANDROMEDON FEDERATION; [ERROR! DATA NOT FOUND!]
END REPORT
CONTINUE OBSERVATION
Operation: Grey and Orange
Division: GHC Counter-Intelligence
Report Author: Zar'valia'intha
Authorization: Zar'Chon
To the Zar'Chon,
The Sectoids are an odd species compared to every other one we have encountered so far, and unfortunately, they don't easily fit into categories that we have as easy as nearly every other alien government does. While the Federation is different from the Aui'Vitakar, and the Sar'Manda Empire and Oyariah Hegemony are vastly different in function, there is a clear structure and hierarchy to them that makes it easy to quantify.
This is not, strictly speaking, true for the Greater Hive Commanders.
I am not even sure if it is accurate to call them a 'government' in the traditional sense. While it is true that the Greater Hive Commanders are the main organizational body of the Sectoid species, figuring out exactly how they work is anything but straightforward. Much of it can only be learned through trial and error, or observation and intelligence gathering.
Everything is controlled by the Hive Commanders. The fleets, cloning centers, mechanical production, distribution, everything. The average Sectoid has no individuality, no purpose other than what they were grown for, and no rights other than to live, and if one dies, they can be replaced within days.
So this will focus more on the Hive Commanders themselves, since they are the ultimate, and only authority within the Greater Hive Commanders. The first issues arise in that there is no official leader of the GHC. There are Hive Commanders that are more senior than others, but they do not appear to be that much more influential than any others with the possible exception of Hive Commander 001 (More details below).
For that matter, there is no command structure at all, much less a hierarchy of who does what. I would assume the GHC does indeed have some way of remedying this problem, but for the most part, Hive Commanders are allowed to literally do whatever they want, whenever they want. The only hard rule appears to be that they cannot interfere with the projects of another Hive Commander without approval.
The GHC do not have an overarching policy, laws, or anything that remotely resembles an organized government. At best there appear to be unwritten rules each of them follow, and all of them are unified under one noted vision of Sectoid supremacy, and the means by which they accomplish this are clearly not important. The one, and only time the GHC has actually made a unified decision was when they allied with the Ethereals and joined the Ethereal Collective. This has not been replicated anytime else.
The Sectoid Hives are the haphazard pieces that form the GHC. The closest comparison would be that each one is a nation-state of sorts, or a better comparison would be the Collective itself. Each Hive is part of the GHC, but that doesn't mean all of them follow the same rules or goals. So when determining exactly what runs the GHC, you have to look at the Hives themselves, the most important of which I've documented below:
Hive Commander 008, of Helion-7 Hive 008: If the Sectoids have a weapons expert, this is it. The Hive of 008 is, from what has been gathered, the place where weapons development is the primary purpose of the Hive, and is home to dozens of experimental weapons. What exactly these are is unknown, but we do know this is where the Sectopod was initially produced, and since Sectoid technology and weapons suddenly explode into production, we will likely not know what exactly is being worked on until half their army is handling it.
Hive Commander 801, of Helion-3 Hive 801: 801 is already unique because his Hive is not on Helion-7, but more importantly, this is the Hive where Sectoid spacecraft are designed. Not produced, just designed. But he is without question their primary naval designer, and the designs of every single Sectoid spacecraft, from the Transport to the Hiveship have come from this Hive. Latest intelligence reports indicate that Hive 801 is working on no fewer than four potential designs at once, all of which seem to be in direct response to the medium-sized frigates the Federation excels at, and the one aspect of their fleet that is lacking. I would expect to see deployments shortly.
Hive Commander 001, of Helion-7 Hive 001: You are certainly aware that of all the Sectoids, 001 is considered the unofficial leader, and commands an unknown amount of influence throughout the GHC. He knows everything that happens in the GHC, and I sincerely doubt that projects can even move forward without his approval. It should not be a surprise that unlike most, his Hive appears to be devoted more to data management than a scientific or engineering focus like most Hives.
Hive Commander 100, of Helion-7 Hive 100: The focus of Hive 100 is one of the more disturbing, because even through the emotionless text of intercepted Sectoid documents, you know what they are doing is unnatural. Hive 100 specializes in cybernetic augmentation, which is a benign name for what appears to go on there. You may recall this is where the Cyberdisks were originally produced from, and whatever species was subjected to that transformation no longer exists in its previous state.
"Cybernetic augmentation" is for Hive 100, code for turning a species into an unclassified abomination. They are doing it to Sectoids, they are doing it to Mutons, and it would be naïve to assume they are not doing it to us or the Andromedons as well. Outside of the Cyberdisk, nothing has been produced, but we do not know if that is because everything has ended in failure, or they do not want anyone else to know what they are doing.
But we have reports that they are moving towards some kind of goal. We also know that Hive Commander 001 has visited this Hive multiple times, and 100 has project agreements with fifty other Hive Commanders, all of which take place at Hive 100. There is almost no chance the Hive Commanders would pour this many resources into this Hive unless it was producing reliable results.
I doubt we will learn exactly what these are unless we go to war, or if the Ethereals demand answers.
Hive Commander 099, of Helion-7 Hive 099: While Hive 099 is not the only Hive devoted to psionics, this is the only one we have been able to find that specializes on how aliens use and react to psionic powers. Sectoids are used as well, but the purpose seems to be learning how psionics works in other aliens, and then applying that to the Sectoid genome. Allegedly. What happens in this Hive is something of a mystery currently, and will likely remain that way for some time.
Hive Commander 029, of Helion-7 Hive 029: While 029 is known more for his diplomatic skills, most tend to forget he is without a doubt the foremost authority in the GHC on xenogenetics, xenopsychology, and xenobiology. His Hive is a reflection of this, and experiments and research on every single known alien species are conducted within it, and it is presumed the findings are distributed to the other Hives for practical usage.
Hive Commander 101, of Helion-7 Hive 101: I am including this on the list not because of what it does, or has done, but because of the exact opposite. Hive 101 appears, for all intents and purposes, dead. Since the first contact and observations of the Hives, we have never seen Hive Commander 101, and there has been no activity of any kind from his Hive. We don't know what is in there, what is conducted, or anything else that gives some indication of life. This might warrant an investigation at some point, but you should be aware of the oddity here.
Hive Commander 666, of Olganar-2 Hive 666: The terraformer Hive Commander himself, and at the moment, only the third Hive Commander to establish a Hive outside the Helion system. This is the Hive Commander that turned Olganar-2 into the largest shipyard in the entire Collective. The entire planet is essentially a Hive, but one that is capable of producing up to thirty Hiveships every six weeks, and it is the primary source of most Collective spacecraft, as well as the GHC fleet. 666 clearly molded the planet after Helion-7, and it is only a matter of time before more Hive Commanders begin establishing Hives there, likely after growing a few more for just this purpose.
Hive Commander 007, of Helion-7 Hive 007: Sectoids do not have intelligence organizations, but they do have data processors and analyzers. Hive 007 is the primary location for any information related to the Sectoid species, and as a result, it is one of most heavily guarded in the entire planet. Not only do they supposedly contain the rumored Genetic Vaults, but they also just might have a documented history of the Sectoid species itself.
More than that, Hive 007 supposedly has access to the networks and files of every single Hive in the GHC, as well as anything remotely affiliated with them. If there is one location where we are guaranteed to learn everything about just what the GHC are doing, Hive 007 should be our target. That being said, the chances of actually penetrating it are close to zero.
These are the major Hives that should be investigated more closely, although there are literally hundreds more that I have not mentioned. Each Hive Commander has their own Hive, and is responsible for both building and maintaining it. The process behind the creation of a Hive Commander is extremely secretive, and I would assume that only the Ethereals would have an idea of what the process actually entails.
The Hive Commanders are not predictable. Their actions cannot be anticipated in the same way the Federation's can be, and if they ever decide to do something unexpected, I am not confident we could stop it, much less predict it in the first place.
The formation of what is now known as the Greater Hive Commanders is shrouded in mystery and intrigue. The Hive Commanders would never reveal it openly, not to any alien species, and thus the only way to learn just how such an alien collective rose is through unfortunately distasteful methods. While acquiring information through such dishonest methods is unfortunate, how the Hive Commanders rose to power is not something that should be hidden forever, even if it doesn't need to be widely released.
To my mild surprise, the history of the Sectoids is actually well documented by the Hive Commanders, but is something that many do not consider to be overly important anymore. From speaking to many Hive Commanders and viewing their scrambled language for myself, it is surprisingly unbiased as to what happened. Sectoids have always been blunt, at least within their own species, and they seem to have no reason to lie to themselves, so there is a lack of bias that would otherwise be present from other governments and aliens who would try and justify their actions, while demonizing the other side.
Sectoid history is broken into four different sections: The Prehistoric Era, The Homogenization, The Formation of the Greater Hive Commanders, and the Expansion.
The Prehistoric Era: The Sectoids are surprisingly split as to how exactly they originally evolved. Before they terraformed Helion-7 into what it was today there were several alien species on the planet that they believed they could be distantly related to from an evolutionary perspective. Sectoids seem to accept that they evolved from an underground primate they called Species-152 (Their naming conventions were uninspired even back then), which was a creature of similar grey skin, bulbous eyes and four limbs. The Sectoids were never able to prove it one way or another, but filed it away as a possibility before eradicating the species entirely. However, this is skipping ahead significantly.
The other possibility the Sectoids have acknowledged was that they were altered millions of years ago by another alien species, as they do not have another explanation for their psionic abilities which, much like our own, have been used by the Sectoids since the beginning of their sapience. It is an odd pattern I have been noticing, and it raises questions as to why such a high number of species keep coming to this conclusion.
Regardless of how they came about, the Sectoids were one of the few species that was never threatened by wildlife, or the planet they lived on. Their ability with telepathy allowed them to avoid threats by wildlife, and they formed small tribes that were led by a single individual, a central mind that was the ultimate authority.
During this time period, there were two distinct genders of Sectoids, and reproduction was accomplished via live births. Sectoid records indicate that the male gender was preserved, and the female one phased out due to no need for childbirth and that females were on average of lower intelligence than male counterparts, and were more prone to experiencing stronger emotions; a significant evolutionary disadvantage.
Their physiology at this time was also different. They possessed small mouths, and their heads were not quite as bulbous as they are today, and they were actually shorter on average than they are today. Skin pigmentation actually included several additional colors, which included red, white, and black. This appeared to have been the result of differing climates and sunlight exposure. This will be important later.
This era is significantly shorter than it would be for other species because something peculiar happened to the Sectoids once they encountered other tribes. The Sectoids never had a war during this period, they have always appeared to be a more peaceful species, even if they are more than capable of developing means to defend themselves.
The Homogenization: Sectoid tribes that encountered each other joined into a larger tribe, there are no exceptions to this. As a result after several hundred years of wandering, the largest tribes eventually settled in mild locations and began constructing structures to live in. Soon after the initial construction of these cities, the first formations of a government emerged.
It is not entirely dissimilar to what is today, Sectoids have never once developed a democracy or republic. The leaders of the tribes took the title that roughly translates to "Commander" and began ordering their underlings to perform specific tasks. Even back then Sectoids were extremely methodical and curious; the first proper dissections they ever performed were on their own, and within several decades they had expanded to every other animal species on the planet.
Other tribes developed along different paths, and each time a city encountered another, whatever advancements one had made were shared with the other, and the Sectoids expanded further. Each tribe discovery accelerated their advancement exponentially. Electricity, medicine, engineering, mathematics; all this was perfected over centuries, all until the Sectoids had explored their entire world and had decidedly made contact with every tribe.
Sectoids never truly developed a government. They were, ironically, one of the more selfless species we have encountered. The concept of making a discovery and not sharing it with the rest of the species was unheard of. Money was never developed, nor was really any complicated economy. If one of the Commanders needed resources, they would simply ask another and it would be provided without question.
With that said, there were very specific castes that were created over the centuries. It was most notably visualized through skin color, but for the Sectoids, skin color indicated very specific things about the Sectoid in question. Grey was the most common, and they occupied lower to mid-range castes, as their intellect could either be average, or very poor. Red was considered higher than average, and was usually the result of a Commander mating with a lower caste. They tended to work directly with the Commanders and were often project leads, scientists, and engineers.
Orange indicated a Commander, the highest caste in Sectoid society and unequaled in intellect, psionic power, and size. Orange-skinned sectoids were physically larger and stronger than any other Sectoid, and their brains were more developed as a side effect of greater psionic potential. Black and White-skinned Sectoids were always considered the lowest caste, and even before the first conflict, the Commanders mandated that Sectoids born with that condition were to be recycled and killed. By the time of the Formation of the Hive Commanders, that particular genetic defect had been completely wiped out.
The Formation of the Hive Commanders: The Sectoids soon reached a point where they could successfully perform genetic modifications on themselves, as well as cloning, and as a result the Commanders held a planet-wide gathering to determine the future of their species. This in the records is referred to as Meeting-16652, with no indication as to the significance of the meeting itself.
During this meeting there was much that was decided. The Commanders decreed that they would put the efficiency and enhancement of the species above all else, and that would involve the removal of the inferior female gender, the inferior Red-skinned Sectoid variant, and the transition to Sectoid templates of a limited intelligence for growing.
One thing to understand is that the basic Sectoid during this time was not like it is today. Even the mid-caste Sectoid was capable of independent thought, even if they weren't especially intelligent. They were conditioned to rely on the Commanders, but otherwise had the same curiosity and drive. But the Commanders didn't need that, they only needed roles and functions to be fulfilled; curiosity and drive were not needed, for only the Commanders had the vision to bring their species forward.
However, the Commanders had, for the first time in their species history, made a mistake. They had never once been directly questioned, nor been threatened before. But also recall that there were female Commanders during this time, and they did not agree with the overall decision, despite being a minority. When the upper red-skinned caste learned of this, they had a similar reaction.
However, none of them knew how to respond. Warfare was alien to them, and not one single weapon had ever been developed in their history. They certainly had the capability, but the idea of turning science into a weapon or a means to cause harm was foreign to them. The male Commanders had anticipated this reaction, and had also agreed that the higher-caste Sectoids might cause problems, and had stated that inferior genomes in prominent positions would be repurposed immediately.
The vast majority of female Commanders were killed within moments of coming to this conclusion, and only a handful escaped, and ordered their own underlings, as well as organized the red-skinned caste to develop weapons to use against the Commanders. Thanks to Sectoid efficiency, the Commanders weren't quite prepared as their own thralls, and even some Commanders were killed by the first developed weapons.
The response was swift and brutal. While the rebels had the initial advantage, they were vastly outnumbered and underpowered against the Commanders themselves. They took this to mean there was a fatal flaw within the female gender itself, and instead of their initial plans to slowly phase it out, they simply killed every single one, with most of the lesser thralls simply allowing it.
The Commanders were merciless in dealing with the higher castes and rebelling female Commanders. The red-skinned males they captured alive with telepathy and immediately subjected them to experimentation to see if there was anything that could be salvaged from the genome. The last female Commanders and red-skinned caste had their minds broken and were simply tossed into the wastelands, the highest insult that could be administered to a Sectoid; indicating that there was nothing even worth learning from their corpse (When Sectoids died, their bodies were generally dissected and recycled. Only the truly inferior were left to rot).
The entire war, if it could be called that, lasted approximately thirty-two hours.
The Commanders quickly reestablished order and immediately put their cloning technology to immediate use, for the templates and technology had been built well ahead of time before it was formalized. Then they made an official address to the entirety of the species, formally announcing the formation of the Greater Hive Commanders.
There is speculation as to why they have referred to themselves as the "Greater" Hive Commanders. I believe this knowledge provides an answer to that question. In their view now, there were two castes of Commanders they never acknowledged, males and females, and since that distinction wasn't known, they perhaps didn't want to be associated with traitors who were also Commanders. Thus, with this designation they remind everyone that they are the superior Hive Commanders, Greater than their predecessors.
The Expansion: With full control over the species, the Sectoids began a dedicated expansion throughout the planet. They fully intended to control it before moving to other planets, and over the following centuries slowly terraformed the planet into what it is today. They killed all native life, likely storing it in their Genetic Vaults, flattened uneven terrain such as the mountains and hills.
All natural vegetation was removed, and moved to greenhouses within the preliminary Hives. They soon brought the weather under control, and stabilized the climate to a temperature they considered comfortable. Once this was accomplished, they began the construction of the Hives. The completion of this project took a minimum of one thousand years.
Throughout this time, the original Sectoid castes had died, and had been replaced by the drones you know today. The Hive Commanders also underwent changes, though curiously, none of them were ever recorded as dying. I should stress that this only applies to Hive Commanders, the Commanders of the earlier years were noted as dying of old age, though after living an exceptionally long life.
Space travel was not something the Sectoids were interested in until they had fully secured their own planet, but they were regularly sending out probes and automated drones to map out their immediate system, and encountering one of these probes was how we first made contact, and flew to Helion-7 itself.
The arrival and knowledge that they were not alone was certainly a concern for them, and if it were not for our own intervention, I do not think they would have gone to war with us, nor willingly helped us. The Sectoids are not a warlike species, nor do they seek danger. But they are without a doubt one of the more intelligent alien races, and one that will be needed in the coming war.
It is interesting seeing them adapt to the wider galaxy in light of their history. They do not build their fleets by the thousands, nor develop weapons because they want to. They do it because of a contingency, or out of self-preservation. It isn't done to provoke another alien species, or to make a threat, such concepts they do not believe in.
Those who think the Greater Hive Commanders will ever go to war with another species willingly do not understand Sectoids, and to an extent, I cannot blame them. The Federation is foolish to fear them; all that needs to be understood is that the Hive Commanders will only act out of necessity. I believe that honestly, they would prefer to just be left alone.
But unfortunately, that cannot be permitted. Too much is at stake to throw away the tools we are given.
- Ethereal Cogitian, on the history of the Greater Hive Commanders
XCOM File 5572
Authorization Level: Internal Council
Subject: The Greater Hive Commanders
Threat Level: High
Assessment Author: Aegis
Approved by: The Commander of XCOM
SECTION 1: Overview
The Sectoids, under the Greater Hive Commanders, are an organization that could both be considered your greatest enemy, and least at the same time. In the end, the Sectoids likely do not want war. They can wage it, but they are not particularly good at it. They can develop highly advanced and dangerous weaponry, but they would have trouble applying it correctly.
In the end, it comes down to just how threatened the Sectoids become. The more you threaten them, the more dangerous they will become. Your bioweapon has no doubt provoked them, and it is only a matter of time before they properly respond. This is to say nothing of the two Hive Commanders that have perished in the fighting on Earth.
They are a species that is driven by curiosity and discovery, they find aliens fascinating, if inferior, on a purely academic level. Had we not manipulated the Sectoids into joining the Collective, they would likely still be on Helion-7 and you would only have to fear them if you went out of your way to travel there. It is not to say the Hive Commanders are not dangerous, but at one point they were peaceful.
However, at this point it seems clear the Sectoids have undergone a more substantial change. They are a galactic power in their own right, and the assumption some Ethereals have that they would not use it, especially when Hive Commanders like 001 exist, is naïve. The Sectoids only care about advancing their species, and one of the quickest ways to do that is through subjugation.
You are aware of the general mindset and goals of the Greater Hive Commanders which has been covered elsewhere, suffice to reiterate that there is almost no dissent within the Greater Hive Commanders, only debate on what the optimal path to proceed is. The drones are unimportant, the only ones that matter are the Hive Commanders themselves.
SECTION 2: The Hive Commanders
I suspect that the Imperator knows how the Hive Commanders add to their number, but for most others, the process is secretive. All that I am aware of is that it is an extremely long and complicated process, and the birth of a Hive Commander is one of the only things that is considered an event.
The Hive Commander emerges at full size, is given a designation and Hive, and then sent to go do with it as he pleases. I suspect that there is some level of telepathic information transfer, or flash-training as this is the only explanation for how Hive Commanders are literally able to start working and using Hives instantly.
One thing that is interesting and slightly concerning is that Hive Commanders do not appear to die. Not a single one has died since our first contact, aside from those you fought on Earth. This does not appear to be possible, since they do demonstrate aging and have not developed gene restoration techniques that Ethereals once used. Yet every single Hive Commander from 001 to 982 is alive today, again excluding the ones you killed.
I am aware that the ones you killed were replaced, but those are not the same ones and that brings to light that the Hive Commanders are holding some in reserve in the event of an unexpected death. But if you wish to know one interesting thing that few in the Collective are even aware of, it is that it is possible for Hive Commanders to develop radically different ideologies.
SECTION 3: Hive Commander 101
This is an event that is only known by the Ethereals and the Greater Hive Commanders, and happened before first contact with the Vitakara and Andromedons. 101 developed along a much different path than other Hive Commanders, and to date they are still not sure how such a mindset could develop. The goals of the Sectoid species were ones 101 fully espoused, but his method of achieving them was radically different.
The reason for this is that 101 somehow reached the conclusion that the current path of the Greater Hive Commanders was not correct. He felt that intentionally limiting the intelligence of drones was self-destructive and wasteful, and began work to fix this. Since the Hive Commanders are largely autonomous, no one questioned his experiments.
What they did not realize was that 101 was creating Sectoids that were far more intelligent and psionically powerful than was permitted, and also knew that simply announcing his plans would get him terminated. By luck or accident, another Hive Commander accidentally discovered what 101 was doing, and as a result, 101 launched the first and only attack on Helion-7.
You would not be able to recognize it today, but at least six Hives were destroyed by 101 and his army, his own forces easily beating the inferior ones of other Hive Commanders, and it was only after the fleet was called in, and the Hive Commanders themselves retaliated, that the rebellion of 101 was put down.
At this point we intervened, and since the Sectoids were likely simply going to dispose of the body, Revelean wanted to experiment on it to determine how exactly an event like this could happen. In addition, he also took all remaining forces of 101 for experimentation. I do not know what his final conclusions were, but I do know he shared his findings with the Hive Commanders, and as a result, there have been no further revolts or rebellions.
I mention this as a potential method, Commander. If the process of creating Hive Commanders could be compromised, I believe they would be more than capable of turning on the Greater Hive Commanders on their own. The possibility exists, we would just need to determine exactly what is required.