Andromedons: Organizations

Unions

"To understand how the Andromedons work, you need to understand the Unions."

- Quisilia

Operation: Intergalactic Mystery

Division: Andromedon Counter-Intelligence

Report Author: Zar'poliala'dakka

Authorization: Zar'Chon

Zar'Chon, a pleasure as always to be communicating from the poisonous death trap that is Andromeda Prime, so nice of the Andromedons to have such simple naming conventions. Almost as nice as Sectoids!

Believe it or not, it's actually a bit difficult to infiltrate down on a planet that kills you, and you don't possess the same biological shape as the aliens that live on it, so the Andromedons just kill you because they really do not like outsiders.

So sorry this report is a bit late. Anyway, mission accomplished and all that. Suppose you'll want to read what I found. Can't blame you. Andromedon history becomes much more interesting the more you look into it. There needs to be another complete report on the Federation itself, because from what I've found, something like it shouldn't exist, or whatever made them actually unite really scared them.

Which means it should scare us. Maybe talk to your Elder boss about that?

In the meantime, you know how it works. The Federation is composed of various Unions, groups of Andromedons that generally specialize in something. Not really comparable to families, but maybe more to the Sectoid Hives, where those Hive Commanders always tend to focus on some strange monstrosity.

So I've done as asked and documented the major Unions for you to look over, and some other information that is relevant to them. A lot of the information is very well hidden to non-Andromedons. Even "public information" has to be accessed via a terminal, and everyone knows that the Federation is watching that very closely. So I had to get creative.

Here you go:

Union Apear: Right from the top we have potentially a Union that will doom us all. From what I could find, this Union is pretty old, though I don't know how much that means in comparison to others. It isn't important, ultimately, compared to what their goals are. Union Apear is completely devoted to the research, development, and deployment of artificial intelligence.

As you can imagine, when I found out that little detail I tried to determine where they were operating out of, and sadly, couldn't learn anything more. I was stupid enough to try and hack into their systems, stealthily of course, and my own device was nearly compromised to some kind of…system. It wasn't an AI, but was definitely some kind of active Machine Intelligence program.

Unsurprisingly, they are also master roboticists and machine learning programmers. I'm not sure if AI research is something new for them, a next logical step, or something they've been doing since the beginning. I don't know details on how, why, or when they are doing their tests, but I find it very hard to believe they're not making any progress.

Or worse, they have an AI and just haven't bothered telling anyone.

In fact, I would almost bet that's exactly it. The thing is that Union Apear does not have good relations with most of the other Unions because (Surprise!) they are conducting AI research and even the Federation as a whole sees the absurd risks. It would explain why the Federation isn't using the same level of security that Apear machines are.

Then again, there is some kind of agreement going on, because the entirety of the Andromeda Prime Federation database is under some kind of protection I didn't even try to penetrate. I would keep a close watch on these ones. Maybe recruit one to get an idea of how much they really know.

Union Haruma: You know how most of the Andromedons are very technologically-focused and specialize in some field of that? Not Haruma, they are one of the few Unions to focus on biology and chemistry. As a result, they are both the practicing medics and terraformers of the Andromedons. This is a Union I believe you're familiar with, given that they have Zararch-approved moons for research purposes.

Geneticists, they are not (We'll get to them), but they are not idiots, and when they focus on a project, the results can be devastating.

Case in point, they are the ones responsible for the terraforming of habitable worlds to suit Andromedon needs. They were the ones who birthed the Contamination Operatives, and are extremely skilled at destroying entire biospheres, then subsequently changing them to be actually habitable. How exactly this is done, we don't know, aside from that it takes a minimum of a decade. Two years to kill everything, six to bring in the necessary plants and gasses and introduce them, and another two to stabilize their new planet.

In theory. As far as I know, we haven't seen this done (then again, I'm not in the best position to be saying this am I? That wasn't my job), and I couldn't find where the Federation is currently deploying the terraformers. One thing that is definitely interesting is that they are also one of the few Unions that maintain good relations with everyone. I suppose considering these Andromedons were the ones who developed and maintain Andromedon medical services, this would endear them to everyone else.

Even then though, I don't know if that adds up with how some of the other Unions treat each other. If you don't want to make the group in charge of your medicine angry, wouldn't you also want to keep the ones making an AI or making your spacecraft happy as well?

Union Stuirah: Unlike most of the Unions, I was actually able to find out some history on this one. Apparently they were the first of the Unions to create spacecraft and master space travel, and pretty much dominated everyone during the Union Wars for quite a while, until they pushed the remaining Unions to their breaking point, forced them to (temporarily) unite and brought them down.

Then promptly went back to fighting each other again. Typical.

The point is that Union Stuirah was effectively destroyed, and from what I can find, they suffered the same fate as other defeated Unions and were assimilated into the winning Union. I assume they were split between the survivors, and the Andromedons soon took their eternal civil war to the stars.

I don't know the reasoning behind it, but Union Stuirah was revived by the Federation at some point after its formation, for the sole purpose of spacecraft design, a surprising homage to their history that most Andromedons rarely display. But they are the primary architects of all modern Andromedon spacecraft, both military and civilian.

They are the most apolitical out of all the Unions, and this is likely due to the fact that their formation was one of the few times where the Federation actually collaborated on something, so perhaps they feel a need to be more…lenient? I don't know, but the Union is one of the largest, and they know more than just their own stuff; they can take apart any spacecraft.

They're not even subtle about trying to subvert the Sectoids. Call this intuition (Couldn't break into their sensitive systems either, surprise) but I would be shocked if they weren't designing an anti-Hiveship. Knowing Andromedons, they're going to keep everything as secret as possible.

Union Omega: I found exactly one reference to this. There is no official Union Omega, and it was in a classified document to the Chief Overseer himself (I got lucky). Assuming such a Union does exist…I suppose it's one only certain members are aware of? Not once have I ever heard of secret Andromedon Unions, and the fact that there is no mention of this anywhere is suspicious.

I'm not entirely unconvinced that it's not a code word for another Union, since the name itself is noticeably un-Andromedon. Either way, it's there and should be put on record.

Union Jamoiar: Here's an interesting one, but also one completely expected for Andromedons. This Union primarily specializes in coding and programming, and are the primary developers of all Federation software. And no, I completely believe they are not doing it out of some patriotic instinct for their species, but because the more Unions use their programs, the more backdoors they can plant and the more information they can gather.

Considering none of the major Unions use programs developed by Jamoiar, I'm inclined to think they have the same idea. Everything is based on Jamoiar programming, but it's not quite as good. Actually not good at all compared to real thing, truth be told. They really are experts at what they do, but nobody trusts them.

They are in an interesting position since they aren't excluding any Union from their technology, but at the same time making sure the Unions are aware of the implications of using it. Since no one important uses it, Jamoiar has a distinct technological advantage (Excluding the military) and everyone else who uses it is at risk of whatever logic bombs and worms Jamoiar has decided to put in.

It doesn't help I when a Union tries to reverse-engineer their code, they find Jamoiar codes in a completely unknown programming language everyone believes they developed themselves. Apparently, some have accused Jamoiar of using Kett'Tasira techniques, whatever those are, and every single time Jamoiar has asked for proof.

To this day, they are still waiting.

I suppose the good news is that they hate the idea of AI, so they're rivals of Apear, which can only be a good thing.

Union Irriaran: And here is the other major biological Union, this one specifically focusing on genetic modification, and (surprise) this line of research has made enemies of pretty much everyone in the Federation, especially since they are the only ones to advocate working with the Sectoids as opposed to planning to wipe the species out.

They actually have collaborated with the Sectoids a number of times, and have seemed to become very efficient genetic experts in a very short amount of time (Andromedon intelligence at work I guess). However, there really isn't much of a place for geneticists in Andromedon society, as all the terraforming work is done by Union Haruma, and cybernetics is generally looked to as the way of the future for Andromedon improvement, not genetic engineering.

Yet despite their small numbers and pariah status among the Unions, they are continuing right along, and even if you won't admit it to me, I know we've got an interest in them, and I suspect your Elder friends and the Hive Commanders are keeping them afloat as well.

Union Zacarrim: This is the equivalent of your Hive Commander geneticist obsessed with creating the perfect Sectoid. Union Zacarrim shares this same goal, but for the Andromedons, and their inevitable ascension will not be through the modification of genetics, but by the advancement of cybernetic integration.

This is very common for Andromedons. It is extremely rare for one to not have at least some kind of cybernetic modification. It's mandatory for military service to interface with the battle suits, but for the rest of the unions, they're used for simple data processing, drone control, or simple convenience.

Zacarrim takes the modification to a completely different level. The entirety of their organic bodies is covered in, and monitored by highly invasive and noticeable cybernetics. Their brains are modified to be some kind of biocomputer I can't even guess at the actual workings of. They can survive on planets without any kind of protection, and are better soldiers than ones in the Federation Military.

They are one of the few Unions whose advancements are generally…used…although the more extreme modifications are simply reverse-engineered by lesser Unions. But Zacarrim Andromedons do not have the same motivations or concerns as other Unions, and their only goal is the continued advancement of the Andromedon species. The infighting and rivalries they genuinely do not care about, and simply ignore them.

Ironically, this makes them perhaps the most trusted.

However, I'm not so sure this isn't some very long game they are playing. Union Zacarrim, while a bit odd to converse with (Their primary form of communication is through interfaces in some code language they developed), they can understand others, and can grasp context. If nothing else, I fully expect there is some kind of logic bomb in their cybernetic designs they've shared, in case the Federation ever gives them trouble.

Never hurts to be sure.

Union Reinarm: This is an interesting one, which also has some history behind it. Back during the Union Wars, Reinarm specialized in weapons development and crafting. The first mistake they apparently made was trying to do too much at once, namely managing an army of their own, selling arms to enemies of their own enemies, while also trying to scam their enemies by selling defunct weapons.

So naturally, they promptly got crushed by a larger Union and assimilated. That's generally the end of it.

However, it seemed that Union Reinarm didn't quite die. The Union that conquered them wanted them alive to produce weapons, so they did. This continued for long enough that the Union eventually adopted the name Reinarm and took the exact same role as before. And consequently tried to do the same thing. With the same result.

This happened approximately twelve times during the Union Wars. No one killed Reinarm because they were too valuable to lose, and that eventually became what they were known for, so they adopted the name anyway since by then everyone knew who Reinarm was, and it was a quick way to gain some instant allies, and consequently, enemies.

So as you would expect, the modern-day incarnation of Union Reinarm designs, creates, and tests every single kind of weapon they can think of. Not just regular rifles and stuff, some of the few reports I managed to find describe plans to control the 'interstellar battlefield through the designated targeting and removal of galactic star systems'.

That's what Reinarm's actual endgame is. Superweapons. To presumably use against enemies of the Federation, but knowing how the Unions work, I wouldn't be surprised if they held onto it like the greedy bugs they are and let the Federation fall before 'saving the day' with some miraculous 'breakthrough' weapon.

Andromedons make me cynical, it seems.

Union Viarior: This is a very interesting Union (Yes, even with all the others), because it is perhaps the sole economically-focused Union. They are the only Union that, according to the records I could find, survived the Union Wars from beginning to end, which is absurd considering the Union Wars were literally fought for millennia.

How they managed this makes some sense when you realize how they work. They control the resources of the Federation, and are experts at accounting, management, and mining. Boring for most of the species, but they appeared to have been an extremely stabilizing force for the war economy back then, and subsequently had some stake in every major Union, effectively rendering them immune from attack.

They were the ones who got the metals and gunpowder to Union Reinarm, and the test subjects for Unions like Haruma and Zacarrim. They were, from what it looks like, the most influential and richest Union during that time. This has not lasted, obviously.

Union Viarior still has considerable influence in the Federation, but it is greatly reduced from what it was, and they…do not appear to be satisfied with simply existing. They appear to want a return to the influential days of old, and perhaps unsurprisingly, are proponents of 'dealing' with the Sectoid 'problem'.

They've been putting considerable resources towards lesser Unions specializing in bioplagues and offensive infowar systems, and avoiding larger Unions altogether. Perhaps to build support? They've recently begun taking a direct interest in Humans and Earth, though for what purpose I can only guess at.

This is another one to watch closely. If anyone is going to start a war with the Hive Commanders, it's either going to be them, or someone they are closely backing.

Conclusion: This isn't every Union, obviously, but these are the main ones you should be aware of. While they don't directly pose a threat to either the Collective or the Vitakara…what they have already is extremely concerning.

On a technological level, we are completely outclassed, and I would also assume that the Sectoids are as well. We haven't even come close to this level of cybernetics, programming, or anything in those fields. The Andromedons are not sharing either, or anything they are is going directly to the Elders and not to us.

The only thing that's preventing an actually united Federation is that whatever grudges, rivalries and aftermath that happened during the Union Wars has not faded. It might not be the same dynamics (Can't confirm either way), but most of the major Unions simply do not like each other at all, and will largely keep their developments to themselves unless it benefits them.

The fact that, divided as they are, the Federation is very likely equal to the Hive Commanders in their current state (Read: With a massive fleet and an army of psions) should be highly concerning. Now imagine if the Federation actually united together.

I would predict that there is little that could stop them. It's heretical, I know, but I'm not sure even the Elders would prevail.

Do ask them to prove me wrong, please?

XCOM File 4990

Authorization Level: Internal Council

Subject: Andromedon Unions

Threat Level: Medium to High

Assessment Author: Andromedon V'Thrask of Union Viarior

Note: V'Thrask has restructured several aspects of the template for his own purposes, but the content should still be perfectly readable. – Central Officer Jackson

OVERVIEW: As aliens, you would be forgiven for thinking that the Andromedon Federation is the central governing body of our species. This is not entirely accurate. While for the moment the Federation is backed by the Unions, it is at best tenuous and ultimately, the Federation does not significantly regulate what any Union in the Federation does. To date, there have only been four instances where Federation-wide laws have been implemented, all of which have been passed with unanimous consent.

The Federation is a different topic altogether, suffice to say that it's ultimately a lesser part of the current political situation compared to the Unions themselves.

HISTORY OF THE UNIONS: The Unions are the oldest social structure of Andromedon society; an apt comparison would be asking for the history of cities or tribes; structures that have been a part of Human society from the beginning of sentience. For us, it was the Unions. Initially they were not dissimilar to ancient Human tribes or the Vitakarian nomads, groups of Andromedons that banded together to survive.

Also similar to your ancient tribes, it was not peaceful nor was there any attempt to pretend otherwise. Unions fought, allied, betrayed, and spied upon each other. Rival Unions were wiped out or assimilated, depending on the whim of the one in charge. This cycle of perpetual warfare led to our species gradually becoming smarter, stronger, and more advanced as Unions were created and died over decades.

However, whereas Humans tended to promote more peaceful relations (relatively) over time, we developed along a different path. The Unions slowly evolved to become something different. The most dangerous Unions became those that became experts in something the others had not. Biology, primitive engineering, metalworking, war machines, and they used this knowledge to kill as many other Unions as possible before anyone else accidentally figured it out.

You might wonder why a larger Mega-Union never developed which specialized in more than one thing. The largest reason was that they simply could not sustain enough specialists to maintain a high enough standard for every field, and there was inevitably someone who would be better than them. In addition, massive Unions like that were seen as extreme threats, and Unions would often temporarily form alliances to destroy them before returning to their previous conflicts.

Aliens have a very narrow understanding of our history. It is commonly believed that the Union Wars were merely a part of our history, but they have been our entire history. Only until recently have the Andromedons known any form of peace, but that is another subject entirely.

As would be expected, the specialties of the Unions evolved as the species gradually advanced. Those specializing in primitive or outdated technology and techniques were generally wiped out and an equivalent rose from either a breakaway faction or another Union adapted to fill the need. This was usually incentive to research and develop cutting-edge technology, and punished complacency heavily.

It is because of this brutal incentive that we estimate that Andromedons advanced at a rate nearly twice that of your species, perhaps a third faster than of the Vitakara, and one point five times that of the Sectoids. This was offset by the millions of Andromedon deaths, but in context of what was achieved, it was certainly impressive. However, even the Unions would not generally perform unprovoked acts of genocide, since they did want to ensure that the species wasn't accidentally wiped out. Assimilation was preferable to annihilation.

This changed with the creation of cloning technology and spacecraft. That was seen as a barrier broken and now that numbers could be easily be replaced, the size of the Unions exploded and we became far more comfortable with killing each other because we could all be replaced. Assimilation of defeated Unions was still common, but one would not hesitate with wiping out a planet controlled by a hostile Union whereas before they would likely try to defeat them conventionally.

Needless to say the Unions that existed then generally follow the same principle today. The Federation did not change that. The Unions still form alliances, they still have rivals, and they still have infighting. The difference is we don't kill each other anymore.

For now, at least.

UNION MENTALITY: The goal for every Union is the eventual control of the entire Andromedon species. The understanding is that any Andromedon Union that manages to conquer every Union in the process will be the pinnacle of what our species can be. There will be no more fighting and conflict, as any who would have been capable of challenging the winning Union would have done so already.

While you might scoff at such a notion, do recall that our species has yet to accomplish anything like this without being destroyed soon after. Should one Union take control, they very well may be the pinnacle of our species.

There is no such thing as an allied Union, not a permanent one. Alliances are created and dissolved as each Union sees advantage for themselves. If betraying their previous alliances is needed to acquire an agreement with another one to ship raw materials to them, they will do it. Likewise, allies with them may betray them at any moment.

This has had two notable effects. The first is that we do not take a harsh view of betrayal, especially that done out of selfishness. It is generally accepted when entering into an agreement with a Union that at some point one will betray the other. At worst it will sour relations with the Union for decades, until they decide they gain more from allying with them again than the alternative.

This also applies to aliens to a degree. All of the Unions are, at some point, expecting the Ethereals and Sectoids to break their agreements and attack. This is not an insult, and some do consider it a sign of respect that our species is worth consideration of being conquered. For Unions, self-preservation comes above all.

The second effect is that all Andromedons are paranoid and skeptical to various degrees. No major/smart Union ever relies on their allies. Each one has contingencies in the event of betrayal, from one ally to all of them. The fact that Andromedons actually form alliances fairly fast gives a false impression. Andromedons do not need you, ever, but for now they see more value in having you on their side than the alternative.

Do not be mistaken, Commander, this alliance with XCOM is no different.

This is why the Unions are working much closer together than usual, since they believe the Sectoids are a growing threat, and at no point, no matter how heinous their rival, would an Andromedon ever put an alien before another of their kind. That is the largest reason the Federation was even formed. The only thing that can temporarily make the Unions cease fighting is something that threatens our species.

First it was the Kett'Tasira, it may soon be the Sectoids, and if pressed, the Ethereals as well.

UNION STRUCTURE: It varies, and there is no 'set' template for Union organization. However, most generally have a Union leader/head, who is the one who controls critical aspects of the Union. In most cases, they will have a council of advisors or Andromedons with set positions within the Union to manage the work.

Some Unions will have a set of Andromedons for every single position you can think of, and continuously rotate them through various locations for no reason other than that's what they do (In that more extreme case, there is likely some internal reason they do not share with anyone else). It is entirely possible for even Union leaders to be rotated or swapped on a predetermined basis.

There are no laws on managing Unions. Some follow what you would consider democratic forms, with the leaders being elected based on vote, and some are completely authoritarian, and placement in the Union is based on a certain set of criteria. Odder ones involve Andromedons like Union Zacarrim working in a state closer to a hive mind than actual individuals, and Union Irriaran basing their hierarchy on genetic purity rather than skill.

But there are very few Unions that have 'bad' or 'inefficient' forms of Union governance, simply due to the fact that poor governance often led to the Union being wiped out or assimilated into a larger one. This does still happen in the Federation, in a way, but only among the lesser Unions, and badly managed ones are not taken over via force, but equivalent to a hostile takeover of a business, and enforced by the Federation Military.

For the most part, the lesser Unions attempt to emulate the leadership of major ones, or more specifically, which ones they want to ally with. What all of them fail to understand is that innovation and failing is ultimately better than a poor mockery of a success. But that is ultimately one part of creating a successful Union, though such imitation rarely indicates future success.

INTER-UNION RELATIONS: While this was covered to an extent earlier, some more detail can be given. The basic rule of Union relations is that 'everything is temporary'. Your allies may be enemies and your enemies allies within days. Your closest partners may betray you, or your largest rival will unexpectedly support you. Andromedons expect ultimate betrayal, and are rarely disappointed. In fact, a Union refusing a chance to increase their expertise or influence in favor of loyalty is generally looked upon with disapproval as that Union is likely too 'safe' to be of much use to the overall advancement of the allied Union and Andromedon species as a whole.

While this is no doubt backwards to you, Unions with no history of betrayal are looked upon with a lot more hesitation and suspicion than those who do casually betray those who are allied to them. Again, I should stress that betrayal isn't viewed with nearly as much negativity as it is in nearly every other species.

For some reason, the Ethereals seem under the impression that we are one of the more loyal, which many Andromedons find highly amusing, since if dissolving our alliance with the Collective is in our best interests, we will do it immediately. The Ethereals have never really made an attempt to understand our motivations, and that might have unfortunate consequences for them in the future.

Returning to the subject at hand, this does not necessarily mean that Unions do not have longstanding friendships or rivalries. Unions have been allied to others for millennia, and some are to this day bitter enemies with others, though not in a position to do much about them aside from outpace their technological development.

But such 'permanent' fixtures are fairly rare, and the members of the Unions don't hate each other as the Vitakara seem to believe. Betrayal does not equal hate, and in fact, it is very likely for Andromedons from currently rival Unions to remain friends since there was a good chance they would likely be allied again in the future.

It is a highly complicated game with the balances of power shifting by the day, especially during the Union Wars, and even today it continues on a much smaller scale. Now as you might guess, not all Andromedons have this mindset, and think the infighting and constant rivalries hurts our species and would prefer to emulate the Ethereals, Vitakara, and yes, Humans, in their united quest to advance their species. And there is such a place for these Andromedons.

THE FEDERATION MILITARY: While not technically a "union" this operates like one to a certain extent. It is a Union in the sense that it is not. To clarify, those who join the Federation Military must renounce their Union for the good of the Andromedon species and only work to protect it, not just the Union they came from.

There isn't as much of a stigma in renouncing a Union as you might think, especially with Andromedon views on betrayal. Most Unions would prefer to remove one who is not devoted to the Union entirely, so this was seen as an excellent compromise. The Federation Military never acts directly against another Union unless enforcing the few laws in places, and has the unfettered full support of all the Unions in all fields.

This means that, in theory, the Federation Military is the most advanced Union in the Federation, despite technically not being one. It is also generally full of what you would classify as Andromedon-Supremacists, and Andromedons who see aliens in a largely suspicious and negative light. We do not like aliens as a general rule. There can be benefits to working with them, but like every other ally, they will betray us when they see an opportunity.

I expect Humans have similar views, given your experiences with them.

This is not to say Andromedons with favorable views to aliens do not exist, but at best they view aliens as equals, and they never really stop seeing them as threats. Ironically, all Andromedons in the Collective Military are drawn out of the Federation Military. The Battlemaster isn't actually an idiot and is aware that Andromedons don't have the highest view of aliens, but he is perhaps the one alien that most Andromedons at least respect.

Andromedons in the Collective Military are generally kept isolated from other aliens, generally have command over other aliens if deployed with them, or work in Andromedon-exclusive teams. Unless the Battlemaster himself is directing an attack, Andromedons are not placed under the authority of another alien. To do so would be extremely insulting, and might lead to an Andromedon simply returning to the Federation Military, or more likely, killing the alien who thought to give the orders.

CONCLUSION: This should give some basics on our society and species as a whole, Commander, there are other topics to cover, but this is what I consider to be a good starting point. If nothing else, remember this: Andromedons are forever opportunists. Almost none are exceptions, even us.